Rainy morning fun

Today was just another rainy day at home with the kids.  With winter upon us, I know these types of mornings are going to be around for a while.  The daily question is always what to do, what to do?  

On this particular rainy morning, Lexi decided she would spend some time reading Dr. Suess' "Mr. Brown can Moo! Can You?"  I know what you're thinking, and yes, she IS very advanced for her age. =)

 And Levi?  Well, he found some entertainment in jumping off an old box that was sitting by the stairs waiting to be taken to the garage.  I'm thinking he would prefer I leave the box right where it is. 

He said "oww" after every landing. Hahaha!  Such a ham!

I may not be a "Pinterest" mom or come up with any grandiose ideas on how to entertain our little people, but I'm okay with that.  As long as these kiddos keep smiling I'm a happy mama!

5 months

Well, my attempt to take a few pictures of Lexi at 5 months old didn't quite go as planned.  If there's one thing I've learned in my 23 months of being a parent, it's that most of the time, things won't go as planned.

We started off pretty well, and Lexi was kind enough to let me capture a few of her super cute faces...

And she also let me capture a few of her super silly faces...

Then decided she wanted to hold the sticker...

Which was fine, despite her occasional issue maintaining her balance...

Then it was my turn again to decide where we put the sticker, and Lexi humored me through a few more pictures by giving me a few more cute looks...

She fell over another time or two...

And then this happened...

And then what was once one sticker quickly became three stickers...

And then whatever remained of the sticker was rapidly swooped up and removed from the room entirely.

Nevertheless, the show must go on.  So we ended our make-shift photoshoot without the sticker, which - as you can tell by the look on her face - was just fine by Lexi.  =)

Quick 5 month facts about Lexi:
*She is right at 15 lbs and wearing 6-9month clothes
*She can momentarily sit up on her own without help (emphasis on the "momentarily").
*She is still a super calm and relaxed kiddo, and tough enough to take a beating from her big brother without getting too fussy.
*She loves to sing and talk
*Favorite songs are "You are my Sunshine" and "Twinkle, Twinkle"
*She will smile at anyone who is willing to stop and chat with her for a minute
*Current dreams and aspirations are: To someday be able to take a bite of Levi's banana, AND to someday very soon have her bed moved out of mom and dad's room and into her own.  She's still working on consistently sleeping through the night, and once she can do that she gets to claim her own room!  You can do it, Lexi, we know you can!

Levi Says Bye to Vance

 Tonight I watched Levi say goodbye to one of his best buddies.  In fact, I may even be so bold to say he said goodbye to his BEST friend (not counting his daddy, who is of course his number one).  Molly and Vance Morris have played a huge role in Levi's short little life.  Other than me and his daddy, I can't think of anyone else that Levi has spent more time with.  Molly has been watching Levi since his was only 3 months old.  Just the other day we were talking about how Levi was younger than Lexi when she started watching him.  Vance has been there with them since the beginning, and Levi has really bonded with him (Molly and I have often joked about how he likes his Dad and Vance more than both of us. LOL!)  They quickly became best buddies, and even at the young age of 22 months, it's very obvious to us that Levi loves and cares for Vance deeply.
This week Vance will be leaving us and heading overseas with the Army for a nine month deployment.  And after his deployment he will be moving back home to Arkansas.  So today, on a day when we celebrate and honor veteran's, we said goodbye to one of Levi's favorite soldiers.  Levi is of course too young to understand that when he told Vance "SEEEEE YAAAA!" it meant for a very, very long time.  I cried, of course... that's just kind of what I do these days... but I was at least strong enough to hold it until we got to the car.  We pray this goodbye won't be for too long, and that God will bring us all back around again soon.  Now, when Molly leaves us next month, I'm not sure I'll be able to be that strong.  But fortunately we get another month with her before we have to find out.

Vance - We want to thank you for loving our son.  We thank you for caring for him and for being a positive, Christian male influence in his life.  You have blessed our family more than you know.  We prayed for you tonight at bedtime and we will continue to pray for you while you are away fighting for our country.  Thanks for everything, and God Bless!

Kady

This past Tuesday was a sad day for me.  We gave Kady away to a new family.  After six years, I found myself in love with a dog that I was no longer able to adequately take care of.  Don't get me wrong, she was never neglected, and in comparison to so many other dogs, she was living quite a luxurious life.  However, with two very young kids I just really didn't have the time to take care of her the way she deserved to be taken care of.  And as much as Levi loved her and she loved him, I think she was getting a little to old to be played with in the way he wanted to play. 
We were so blessed to find a wonderful new home for her.  Kady now lives outside of the city with a nice young couple.  They were looking for a dog to go camping and hiking with, and they even intend to bring her to work with them during the week.  I miss Kady like crazy, but I'm at peace with it because I know she is being loved and cared for, and I'm sure she will absolutely love being the center of attention again.
Kady was the best dog, and I have no intention of ever "replacing" her.  Pretty sure I won't find another pet that can live up to her.  In the few days she's been gone the house feels a little empty, a little quieter, but also a lot less hairy. ;)   I have caught myself instinctively going to the door to let her in from the backyard, and I still wake up and cautiously "step over" her as I'm getting out of bed.  Levi has called out for her several times (kind of breaks my heart), but he's young and resilient, so no worries for him. 
I know, I know... some of you think I'm crazy, or maybe just a little pathetic.  She's just a dog.  I keep reminding myself of that.  She's just a dog.  However, she was MY dog, the only dog I've ever owned, and yes, I loved her.  Do I miss her?  Yes.  Did I cry?  Yes. Will I be okay?  Of course I will.
So now we go back to living a pet-free life.  More time to focus on the kids, a little less poop in the backyard, and six years of memories of some good times with a great dog. =)