Cousins and such

Yesterday afternoon "the boys" (Fischer and Tate) came for a visit.  The older these babies get the more thankful I am at how close they are and the more I realize how much they love each other! They fight together like siblings, but they also have the funniest nicknames for each other and play so well together.  Anyway, it was such a fun treat to have them over in the amazing weather we had yesterday.  Weekends like this one make  me love the crazy weather of the South.

Sweetest baby on the planet.  Maybe his new cousin will be half this good ;)

Look at these little teeth, ha!

You can't help but smile at B and the craziness of her hair. It is truly who she is :) :) 

Fischer is growing up so, so fast. He is such a little man these days!

Collin would prefer to be shirtless all day and everyday of his life, so yesterday's weather made him mighty happy.  He even tried to lose his shirt at church the other day. Sorry buddy!

If there is anything that makes me want to repeat my childhood, it is the freedom to dress in whatever the heck you want and get by with it. We rarely ever wear regular attire at this household.

Breakfast of champions=fruit smoothies and cinnamon rolls.

But seriously, I made the mistake of making smoothies a while back and now it is expected. Brantlee wakes nearly everyday asking for a fruit "smoovie." 

Our quick and super easy smoothie recipe:

1 cup/container of fruit yogurt (any flavor you like)

1 banana

a splash of fruit juice to add a little more sweetness

a little ice

Throw it all in a blender and you have a healthy compliment to the Poptart or cinnamon roll :) And your kids call you the greatest mom ever. Win/win situation.

Ready to enjoy the rest of the weekend!

What a weekend

This past weekend we had lots going on. I turned the big 2-9 on Friday. Kyle and the kids sang me Happy Birthday at 6:30 a.m. They were so cute all bed-headed and sleepy :) I took a picture of just the kids. I was fresh out of the shower, so a picture of me obviously wasn't happening.

It was a such a sweet, special morning. All three of them each had a card, and the kids helped pick out my gifts :) :) That evening we all went to eat. I loved my birthday date with my three favorite people! Then we had cake for dessert when we got home.  Kyle wins the Thoughtfulness Award for quite a while.

Saturday morning the kids, Lolly and me went on a trip with our church children/preschoolers to the Children's Museum in Jackson.  I am trying to figure out why we have waited so long to go. It was awesome!

I think they were all most excited about the bus ride though, and I'm not exaggerating.

I can't explain how cool and fun this place is, so I won't even try. But we will be back!

Collin is building a house here.

Brantlee and Lolly discovered a Dorothy dress. I think the picture says it all!

The kids stayed with Lolly and Poppy Saturday night while Kyle went to a high school football reunion and I finished up some details for the baby shower we hosted on Sunday. We hosted a baby shower for Danielle and Baby Laura who is due in early March.  This family is so, so special to us (and many, many other people too.) Danielle is the strongest, most gracious person I know right now. We know the Lord is truly with them right now as they prepare for Laura and as Justin begins his long journey through chemo and his fight against cancer. But if you talk to Danielle, she will tell you they are so blessed right now. That kind of faith is truly humbling. Wow.

We had the best time at the shower! We laughed a lot and did a lot of oohing and aahhing over the all the beautiful gifts she got. Now we can't wait to meet this baby!

 Needless to say after all the excitement of the weekend (including church twice on Sunday), we were all worn out! It is weekends like this, we thank the good Lord for mothers (and mother in laws). I know I am very grateful for mine and all the help she gives me. 

On an ending note, I just can't stop laughing at this picture!!

A big birthday!

This past week we celebrated Paw Paw Bob's 76th birthday! The great grands were so excited to sing him Happy Birthday, help him blow out the candles, and open his gift.

I LOVE this picture! Can't wait to frame it.

Paw Paw got a Kindle Fire, which he loves from what we understand.

These kids are so incredibly blessed to know & love their great grandparents. Collin and Brantlee have 5 living great grandparents. Such an incredible blessing!!

Collin got his stitches out this week and it looks like a tiny scratch now. School is back in full swing. He is so into writing and reading words lately, and his coloring skills are better than mine ;)

Brantlee had her 3 year check up this week (a little late). She weighs 38 lbs and is 41 inches tall!! I had no idea she was this tall?! Her doctor made the funny comment that she could clearly see that she was not behind in the area of speech, ha. As soon as the doctor walked in, she immediately began sharing her life story, what she got for Christmas, etc. It was hilarious!

New Baby Crager and I also had an appointment this week. We got to hear its little heartbeat which was strong and very FAST! I am now 15 weeks, and at our next appointment we will get to see another peak at the baby. Everyone of course asks, "So when will you find out what you are having?" The truth is... we probably won't know until July! That's right, we want this one to be a surprise! AHHH, that was crazy to type! If the truth was known, I could totally be swayed to find out. Waiting it out goes against everything I am, ha. But Daddy and I are staying strong in the decision, and I think it will be fun and exciting. Mom and I have a vision for the perfect neutral nursery that I would probably use even if we did find out. So, here we go... :) :) :)

Temperatures are FRIGID this morning!! 22 degrees! And Collin was not wanting to stir. BUT it is Silly Sock Day at school, so he knew he had to get up and get to school!

He is so proud of his Spiderman socks.

And I do mean very proud ;)

Stitches

There is a first time for everything, and last Monday Collin got his first set of stitches. I was grocery shopping when I got the call from Kyle that said the kids had a minor incident on the trampoline involving Brantlee throwing a sippy cup (which may or may not have been on purpose.) This somehow in some freakish way resulted in a busted head. Anyway... here he is waiting on the doctor!

Getting all stitched up and being so calm. He was such a little man. We didn't have to hold him down at all, even though that would have totally freaked me out at 4 years old!

5 stitches later we were done! AND he had a cool story to share when he returned to school on Wednesday ;) Things like this are just bound to happen, and I honestly don't know how we have avoided stitches thus far with 2 little ones.  Mom quickly reminded me that this will certainly NOT be the last time we do this with 3 children! GREAT! ha

Happy 2012!

We rang in the New Year last night with the Burchfields and many other friends with a bonfire, great food, fireworks, and lots of marshmallows. Last night was the latest the kids have ever been up, and we all paid for it at church today, ha!  But it was so much fun. Kids and adults had a great time!

Brantlee was NOT a fan of the fireworks. After each one she would ask if this was the last one. She and I finally had to just go inside :)

But pyromaniac Collin loved every single one!

Good friends, good times

Trying to make the best of it

Loving the sparklers! That's always the best part, isn't it?

Welcome 2012!!