Happy Birthday Ron!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband / daddy around!  We love you so much and are so grateful to have you in our lives, thank you for all that you do for us and all of the love that you give to us!
You are our favorite!

(Taking a little step back in time :o)

Love Always,
Ashley, Braison, and Lilian

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILIAN!

Two years ago, today, at 4:06pm Lilian made her debut.  A stubborn, quite, bald, 4 pound 4 ounce baby girl.  Time sure has flown since that day.  This morning Lilian weighed in at 22 pounds, and is a far cry from that struggling baby.  She has lost the "quite" but managed to really hold on to the "stubborn" and the "bald" :o)
Lilian continues to amaze us each day.  She loves to say her ABC's (only if her brother is not helping) and she is able to count to ten with little help.  She talks non-stop, but what can you expect, right?  She loves to help all of the time; whether it be helping cook, clean, do laundry, write a note, get dressed, you name it, she wants to help.  She has become very independent wanting to do most things for herself.  She is doing well with potty training, and is now in big girl panties.  She loves to read and be read to.  She has one second year molar that just popped through and it is looking like there is one more on its way in too.  Lilian loves to love on everyone; she hands out kisses, hugs, and "I love yous" like they are candy!  She still has quite the temper and will let everyone know it when things are not going her way. Oh boy is she a feisty, stubborn child!
Lilian really loves dolls of any kinds, Abby Cadabby (her birthday theme of choice), Tinker Bell, and Barney.  She still loves to be swaddled and won't go to bed without her "lovie," which is a bear/blanket.
Lilian really enjoyed her birthday party.  She loves to be a ham for anyone that will watch her!  She loved looking back at the photos of herself.  She is having so much fun with all of the new toys, books, and everything.  Although she didn't sleep the night after her party, it was worth it!
Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us, or who were with us in memory!
Thank you to our precious little girl. It is such a joy to see your bright smile day after day.  You have blessed our lives more than you will ever know.  We can't imagine our lives without you, we love you so much!

How wonderful for our Heavenly Father to show himself through the eyes of children!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAISON!

Two years ago, today, at 3:46pm Braison came into this world. A curly (black) haired 4 pound 9 ounce peanut.  It seems so hard to believe that it was two years ago.  You wouldn't know it today that he came into this world struggling as much as he was.  This morning Braison weighed in at 31 pounds, and he has lost most of that black curly hair!
Braison has grown into such a big boy. He talks like crazy and is such a lover!  He will never pass up the opportunity to cuddle, at least for a minute, until something more exciting catches his eye.  He can count to ten with very little help and can easily count to five all by himself.  He will repeat the alphabet with us and loves doing it.  He has not yet received his second year molars, but all of his other teeth are in and looking good.  He is getting into the "mine" and "I do it" stage now.  It takes a little longer to get ready in the morning, but that is ok; he is always so proud when he puts on his own clothes.  His favorite food is hot dogs, he asks for one at every meal of the day and is some times very disappointed that he doesn't get what he wants.  We are working on learning the difference between whining and asking like a "big boy" for different things, it isn't going very well :o) And, as far a potty training goes, well...we will get there one of these days, and we don't think it is very far away.
He is really into Mickey Mouse now, in fact he sleeps with both a Mickey Mouse and a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal.  He also really loves choo-choo trains (Thomas the Train) and Elmo.  In fact, he chose Elmo as his birthday party theme.
The birthday party was quite a time!  All of the balloons, presents, people, cake....wow, what a day!  After being around them for a little while, he got over his fear of the balloons and started to play with and enjoy them.  And, he is loving all of the new gifts that he received!
Thank you to everyone who helped us to celebrate and make Braison's birthday so special!
And, thank you to our sweet baby boy.  Our lives are filled with so much more love and laughter because you are in it, we couldn't have asked for a sweeter child.  You truly are a gift from above and we love you so much!

Glasses

So, a couple of weeks ago Lilian went in for her first eye doctor appointment.  Her left eye had been crossing a lot and we also noticed that she didn't seem to see things at a distance.  Well, the eye doctor explained to us that the crossing of her eye is an involuntary muscle movement and that she is farsighted.  So, she needs glasses to correct both the farsightedness and her eye crossing. 
We were a little nervous about how she would do with glasses on, she doesn't like to keep things on her face.  Then, surprise....she loves them!  So, we went to the store to pick out frames and she did so well, she wanted to take them with her right then.  Well, of course we had to wait for the glasses to be made, so we went back later to pick them up and had Braison with us as well.  Everything went great, until we left and Braison realized that he didn't get to have a pair also, let the jealousy begin!
Anyway, she has been wearing them for about a week now and always wants them on, once she realized how well she could see with them.  She looks so precious....

Happy Halloween!

The kids went as a pair of dice for Halloween this year.  At first they were very skeptical of putting a box over their heads, but after we told them that if they put it on and said "Trick-or-Treat" they would get candy, we had a hard time getting them off! 

We went to the Outlet Mall where the kids could trick-or-treat through all of the stores and they had a costume contest.  There was a 3-way tie for first place and the kids were one of the first place winners!  They had fun collecting candy and were very excited to see their Aunt Jen there too.  Then, we went to visit Great-Great-Grandma Barbara.

Grandma B was so excited to get to see the kids dressed up and we had a nice visit with her.  Then it was time for more candy colleting!

So, the kids collected enough candy to very easily last them the rest of the year and we had a fun time showing them off :) Now, to just get them to sleep tonight.....

**Thank you Grandma Sheryl for all of your help!**

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight we carved the kids'pumpkins.  The kids helped to clean out their pumpkins, then drew faces on them for Daddy to cut out.

Braison was fine until the face got carved into his pumpkin! After that he wasn't too sure, he didn't want to get too close! Lilian, on the other hand, kissed the pumpkins goodnight before we headed inside!

Family Photos

We got our family photos back, here are a few...

This is the tutu that I made for Lilian














We had a lot of fun doing these photos, thanks Jennifer!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins to carve for Halloween.  We went with Ron's sister, Jen, and our friends, the Blankenship family.  We all had fun, the kids enjoyed themselves.

Braison and daddy by the scarecrow, Braison wouldn't sit by himself, or even with the other kids.

Lilian and Cooper only sitting by the scarecrow long enough to get their photo taken!

They take you on a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch.  The kids loved the fact that we were being towed around by a tractor.

Braison and Lilian enjoying the ride.

 

Braison and his Aunt Jen

Then we all got to pick out our own pumpkins to bring back.  Five adults, three two-year olds, one baby, and eight pumpkins was no easy feat to get out of the patch, but we made it!

It was a great experience and we look forward to doing it again next year.

(Never could get a photo with all three of the kids, oh well)

Swimming Lessons

Monday night Braison and Lilian started swimming lessons.
My dad and step-mom had asked if they could put the kids into swimming lessons a while back, but we couldn't really find a place to go that we like. We tried the YMCA, but it was so incredibly packed that we weren't comfortable with it. Also, their classes are large and the kids would go every night for two weeks. That would be too much for us! A lady I work with was telling me about her son being in swimming lessons at the Nampa Rec Center; the class was small and they went a couple times a week. So, I looked into it, and it is wonderful! The kids go twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday nights for a half hour for six weeks. And, they only have 6 other kids in their class, so lots of one-on-one time with the instructor. My dad and step-mom have taken them this week and will probably continue to take them, it is something fun for the four of them to do together (also coupled with the fact that Ron does not really care for the water!).
Lilian instantly loved the pool. Braison was a little more aprehensive, but warmed up fairly quick. By the end of the first lesson they were both very excited and loved practicing "up & downs." They are so fun to watch learning new things!

Blogging Bandwagon

So, here we are, hopping on the blogging bandwagon. I think it is about time...

I will be taking down the kids' website and this will be our new form of keeping everyone informed as to how we are doing.

First "real" post to follow shortly.