Another night with the Girls!!!!

We had another night of fun at the Alabama Gymnastics Meet! I got my new camera, so I had fun taking pictures and trying it out - I still have SOOOOO much to learn - anyone know of any good websites out there that are easy?

enjoying some dippin dots!

Getting down with the chicken dance!

Just hangin out - in section A!!!!

ROLL TIDE ROLL - our signs made it on the dance cam this time, but not our faces!!!! - We still have one more week to come up with some creative signs (or outfits) that'll draw the attention of the camera man!!!!

Cousin Chandler is in the upcoming play, "Annie" by the local children's Theatre group and they did a short performance in the lobby before the meet - Emma Claire LOVES her!

Little man has LOTS of teeth now and uses them!!!!!

ON another note, this past week I took Wilson to his "Failure To Thrive" check up with our pediatrician. He weighed in at a whopping 24 pounds --- he's 2 and a half - still not on the charts for weight, but in the 10th percentile for height - Yay!!!!!

He has started him on Periactin, which is an antihistamine with a side effect of "increases appetite" - it seems to be working!!!!

The other side effect, like with most antihistamines, is that it makes him drowsy - I was like," well, that might not be a bad thing!" Turns out, it just makes him extra fussy and aggressive - so that's another thing we're dealing with right now. He has to take it every morning and night - the night one obviously isn't a problem, but the morning dose, well, all I can say is I hope he gets accustomed to it soon!

That's all folks - I'm off to play some tennis and enjoy this SUPER DUPER SPRING WEATHER - 80 degrees YAY!!!!!!!

Tasty Treat

We made some tasty comfort food on this COLD day at our house, using these fine ingredients!

Make the cake mix according to the package instructions and bake.
As soon as it comes out of the oven, poke holes in the top and then pour a can of sweetened condensed milk over the top (be sure and get a lick b/c it is OH.SO.GOOD!!!) Let this cool completely.

I don't drink milk, but if it tasted like this I would drink it EVERYDAY!!!!! YUM!!!!

Remember to let it cool COMPLETELY or your cool whip will turn to liquid!
Next spread a container of cool whip over the top and crumble your choice of cookie or candy on the top!

I've seen this done with a yellow cake mix and butterfingers or strawberries - whatever your tastebuds desire - the sweetened condensed milk keeps it so moist! Remember to store it in your refrigerator!

She's my eater - can you tell?

Wilson didn't eat even one bite - so I gladly finished his off!

Tonight we went to Will's church league championship basketball game.

We ALL went.

Picture your church gym with the bleachers sitting 4 feet off the court.

I was holding Henderson in my lap and Emma Claire and Wilson were sitting beside me.

It was the tip off and the ball came straight for Wilson.

It was either sacrifice Henderson in my lap, or sacrifice Wilson.

Wilson got it!

Hit him smack in the nose and knocked him back off the bleachers.

The funny thing was that his daddy was the one going for the ball and he LET it go out of bounds!!!! Wilson cried that his daddy pushed him off the bleachers! I held him but couldn't help but laugh! He was alright - he's tough as nails.

They lost, but it was a fun time!

Snow Fun!

For ALABAMA, we got LOTS of snow today 2-4 inches!!!! People in the north would have laughed their heads off at us - churches all over the city were canceled and people gathered in herds anywhere there was a slight hill - we used everything from plastic swimming pools to cookie sheets to slide down the hill. We had a fantastic time - adults and children alike! The trampoline gathered snow perfectly!

In case you can't tell, Emma Claire is still in her pajamas here - we were so excited to see the snow this morning that we just threw on rain boots and a coat and headed out!

Here we are at North River Yacht Club at the bell tower - there were probably 50-75 people there - everyone with their on idea of what would make a good sled. The swimming pool was fun because several people could go down at once! Cookie sheets were pretty fun too!

Emma Claire was our "adventurer" - she's not afraid of anything!

This is my sister-in-law, Ellen, not that you can tell from all the clothes!!!

Emma Claire, Mary Alice and Patton

Emma Claire prayed for snow last night and God answered in a BIG way! It was magical and so much fun!

Power of Pink

Last night we braved the torrential rains and severe weather and attended the Alabama vs Auburn Gymnastics Meet - it was the Drive for the Cause or Power of Pink meet to raise money for the treatment of Breast Cancer. Over $150,000 was raised and it was a sell out meet of over 15,000, though not that many were in attendance thanks to the flooding roads. WE HAD A BLAST.

We went with my dear friend Ashley and her daughter Mary Alice. I have to give Ashley credit for the ideas of the Power of Pink sign and the pink accessories. Our goal was to have a great time and get on the big screen tv! And we succeeded! We got on the tv TWICE - the first was mainly the sign (and me b/c I was holding it) and the second time was ALL of us. The girls had a great time dancing during the rotations - I saw Emma Claire dance like I've never seen her dance before. I think it may have something to do with the funky outfit I let her wear - as opposed to the usual conservative clothes she wears!!!

We ate lots of these, and sour patch kids, which may also have attributed to the dancing!

This morning we woke up to some blueberry pancakes and sausage and eggs. In a little while, the children and I are heading to Birmingham to spend the day with my parents!
In true Wilson fashion, he likes to walk around with his pancake and then NOT eat it

Daisy is ALWAYS right behind him!

Wilson enjoyed some movie time in Henderson's exersaucer - you're never too old!

We're Happy!

This little guy got a GREAT report from the doctor yesterday - his white blood cell count was down to 13,900 - not quite "normal" but definitely lower than 20,000!!!!! He did great - they went ahead and pricked his toe in the pediatrician's office and YA'LL, he didn't flinch or cry when his toe was pricked or the ENTIRE time the nurse was squeezing his little toe to get that tube full of blood - not ONE tear or whimper!!! That's my boy!!!!! Because the levels had gone down so much, we didn't have to venture to the hospital lab to have more tests done. YAY!!!!!! And more good news - he went from 15#4oz three weeks ago to 16#3oz yesterday!!! That's a record for my boys!!!! I haven't looked, but he might have even made it ON the growth chart!!!!

Emma Claire had soccer practice last night and before that I took the children and met my friend Ashley and her girls at McDonalds for a fancy smancy Birthday dinner!!!!! Will couldn't join us b/c we had to eat at 4:45 before the practice and he had to get home and get ready for his basketball game. Don't you all choose McDonalds on your birthday?????

the next pictures are from our campfire/SS social on Saturday night. The pictures are all blurry b/c they were taken at night and my flash is broken - I am in the market for a new camera, but haven't quite decided on a new one (but know I definitely want an SLR - any suggestions?) We had a great time - the children played hard, we ate good and then roasted some marshmallows and made smores - YUM!!!!!

Maybe my blog should be called "Potty Training Diaries"

Yes, I know, "this too shall pass" -
Only to begin again in one year with Henderson!

We had a very successful weekend with potty training with Wilson. He did a poo-poo in the potty 3 TIMES!!!!!! Do you know how happy this made me? I danced around and sang like a crazy lady and Wilson just sat there and smiled with the biggest grin on his face - he was SO proud of himself!

He did have one teeny tiny accident at Will's parents house last night, but they were playing outside and I know that tends to be where a lot of accidents take place - it's definitely worth it to him to be dirty and keep on playing!

Hopefully this will be a good week as far as potty training goes. I know it will be a busy one for me - we go back to the doctor tomorrow for Henderson's re-check and labs, so keep us in your prayers!

It was a great weekend! The TIDE won a basketball game - in double overtime - ROLL TIDE!! And then we had a fun time Saturday night at a Sunday School campfire/potluck at Thad and Melissa's house- I'll post soon with those pictures!

Yesterday we celebrated my Brother-in-law, Stan's b'day and my b'day at Will's parents house - the food was wonderful and the children played outside nearly the entire time, despite the frigid temperatures. Then we put all 7 children in the whirlpool bath - that's alot of youngins in 1 bath tub - but they all loved it. After we got the babies out, the older ones turned on the jets and laughed like I've never heard them laugh before. It did my heart good! Wilson was the last one out of the tub and once all the others cleared out I noticed a brown blob in the bottom of the tub - I started laughing hysterically, mostly out of disgust. I just KNEW it was poo-poo and that every child was going to have to be re-showered. I couldn't bring myself to touch it, but Emma Claire (who's not afraid of anything) did and it turned out to be the head of a Barenstein Bear doll - Will's mom and Ellen and I shared a big laugh!

Has anyone ever heard that laughing is good for the soul? I agree wholeheartedly!

Laugh a little (or a lot) today!