A hint of fall maybe?

Okay maybe it's just wishful thinking. BUT it has been a tad cooler these last fews days. We are all so, so ready for fall. However, I do believe that Collin and Brantlee are going to be disappointed when they can't strip down to nothing and play in the water hose. This activity has been a lifesaver this summer.

Don't drink the water B! (too late apparently)

Cheese! Too bright to see

"Let Bant Blee have a turn"- Brantlee

That's how she says her name these days. It's hilarious!

Last Sunday we celebrated Lolly's birthday. She had just a little help blowing out the candles ;)

Last and certainly not least... we are pleased to announce that the Cragers are getting a new baby- a Springer Spaniel!! It will be a girl, and we are picking her up this weekend! At this point we are still undecided on a name. We have narrowed it down to two: Stella or Ginger. Collin and I are sold on Stella. Kyle likes Ginger. Brantlee is the wild card and goes back and forth between "Tella" and "Ginga." She has even suggested we name her Miss Dog-ha. That's our favorite!

We went to Pet Smart Tuesday evening to pick out a crate, collar, etc. Guess who was more interested in the fish display?? Go figure.

Have a great weekend! Can't wait to post some pictures of the new addition :)

LASIK Success!

Kyle is seeing the world in a whole new light. Literally. His Lasik surgery went great Friday! Whew! We are all breathing a sigh of relief. Poor Kyle has been in glasses and/or contacts since the 4th grade, so this is a major change for him.

His vision is continually improving, and he feels great. We can already notice a difference in the way his eyes look. They are brighter and healthier looking. The entire Lasik process is nothing short of amazing. I was able to watch the entire process by looking into the actual surgical room and a screen that zeros in on each eye. It blew my mind how it all works. So much so that I took pictures of the screen with my cell phone- ha! I know I am possibly the only person dorky enough to do this, but I am okay with that fact.

This is an actual picture of Kyle's eye after it was cut and was receiving laser treatment. Cool right?! We think so too :)

Pre-Op and full of nerves

Post-OP (the next day) feeling and seeing great!

Here are some pictures from this last Friday before and after school.

I took Collin to school for the 1st time Friday, and he didn't cry the first tear at drop-off. We are still not sure what they do at school, but it must be great is all I can say ;)

Brantlee grabbed Collin's other backpack and thought she should go to school too. But she knows much better than that. Her mommy would NEVER let this baby go out of the house with such bedhead-ha!!

Now that's much better ;)

All smiles and ready for a nice weekend.

The Unexpected

This week was Collin's first week at Laurel Christian Preschool. We have all been very, very anxious these last few weeks just wondering how he would handle starting preschool, even though he only goes 3 days a week. I'll be honest here. I/we expected lots of panic, fear, tears, clinging, crying, etc. I just knew we would experience a repeat scenario of when we were politely kicked out of a mother's day out program when he was one year old because he could not handle the seperation.

For weeks now people have said, "Oh I bet he will surprise you," or "He is just going to love it. Just give it time." I would just smile and think to myself how they didn't understand our situation. And guess what.

They were right.

Without any shame, I will confess that I am still eating my words. He LOVES it. I am in a state of shock - the good kind- of how well this whole week has gone. Now don't get me wrong, drop offs have been a little tear-filled. After that, the teachers says he has been great!! In our family right now, we feel like we have overcome the world. He has been so excited about the songs, the painting, and the playground. One thing to note here is that Kyle has been taking him in the mornings. Does this break my heart into a million pieces?? I won't even go there. BUT it will be easier on Collin and me if his daddy takes him. Plus Kyle loves it!

Before orientation Monday night where we met his teacher Mrs. Hunt and saw his classroom for the first time.

The 1st day of school :)


Brantlee has been the most excited about it all.
Wishing big brother a great first day!

In trying to prepare Collin for school, we have been talking about his teacher Mrs. Hunt and how great she is. Well, apparently Collin has not been the only one listening. Brantlee requested that Mrs. Hunt rock her to sleep for her nap today- ha!

Also, this morning Kyle had both Brantlee and Collin in the car because he is off today, as usual on Fridays. When he pulled up to the school Collin started crying a little because he didn't want to get out. When he got out of the car and they began to pull off, Brantlee started crying because she wanted to go to school to see Mrs. Hunt. Actually, the child cried for the next 5 minutes over this. Oh mercy.... it's just the difference in children. HA!

We have faith and are so hopeful that this year will continue to go as smoothly as it has this week. How could we have ever doubted?

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:6

Out and about and beating the heat

I feel like we been on the go so much this past week, but we haven't done anything really exciting. Nothing too much to blog about just some pictures. It is important to note that this was the last week of summer break for Collin and me. I think we both have mixed emotions about it - ha.

Look at these too rascals in my makeup. Collin went with the lipstick while Brantlee decided she needed some concealer to hide all her blemishes.

These 2 + lots of toys= One wet mommy or daddy

Friday night we dined out at Crescent City. And notice Kyle in the spectacles??? He is having Lasik eye surgery soon, and he has to wear glasses for 2 weeks prior. Doesn't he look so handsome in them?!


This is why my new favorite grocery store is Kroger. Enough said.

This past Tuesday we all went to eat to celebrate Kyle finishing his Doctorate! It will be official the end of August, and this will certainly deserve its own post.

Roooaaaarrr!

Dragons, castles and a Spiderman shirt. I just love the "boyness"!!

Sleeping beauty :) Her first nap in the big girl bed earlier last week.

Isn't this bed ginormous for such a small person?? But we went ahead and converted the crib to the full bed. We already had the mattress that wasn't being used. Plus it just gives a little more room in case she has a bad night. We put up a rail just for more security. So far she loves it and is sleeping like a champ in it! However, she doesn't make any noise when she wakes up, and we have found her standing by our bed in the mornings or roaming through the kitchen after a nap ;)

Today we had a playdate with MeeMaw, Paw Paw and Pammie.

Then we hurried off to a birthday party.

The kiddos spent the rest of the day playing in their diaper/underwear because it is SO FLIPPIN HOT!! These two are also EXHAUSTED and running on fumes. We are shooting for an early bedtime for them and a movie night for mommy and daddy. We shall see...

After 6 Years of Marriage...

• We pretty much know that only one of us is going to buy a card on a special occasion. And we are okay with this. This time it was Kyle :)
• We have completely different ideas on handling major purchases. I like to save, save, save and then pay cash and never look back, just so it isn't hanging over our head. Kyle prefers to finance with a 0% interest rate in order to build good credit at every possible opportunity. We have learned to compromise.
• He likes to go ahead and fork out the money to buy everything, including croutons (not kidding), in bulk to be sure we NEVER run out of something important. I am way to frugal (cheap), and I'll buy the smallest container of something and swing through the Dollar General if we get in a tight.
• We both seem to have this instinct in the middle of the night on which one of us needs to get up with a crying child. Without speaking, we both know whose night it is or who needs sleep the most. This also applies to early wake up calls. After 2 babies in 15 months, this instinct just comes with the territory.
• We still cannot make a decision. Period. We are both plagued with indecisiveness. I hope we can resolve this problem in the next 6 years.
• Kyle can impersonate my wake up routine with precision... it's hilarious. But he wouldn't dare laugh at me while it's going on.
• We both know that Kyle is the master of making coffee. It just turns out better when he makes it.
• "we are on the same team" is our motto. A week or so before Brantlee was born, Kyle told me that no matter how frustrated we got at each other, we had to remember those words. And he was so right.
• we have seen through our many failed attempts to be a good spouse or parent that marriages just don't work without our Heavenly Father as the center of all we do. Slowly but surely, we are being molded into what He wants us to be.

We actually celebrated our 6th anniverary last weekend with a quick trip to the coast. We ate at Ruth's Chris, and it was beyond fabulous! Because Kyle made the reservations online, he specified that it was our anniversary. Our table had little confetti hearts sprinkled all over it. It made me laugh a little. Then our dessert came out looking like this...

it made my day!

We also spent some quality time on Mississippi's crystal clear beaches ;) And when I say quality, I mean we were the only people on the beach for miles. We sat out there and talked and just enjoyed the quietness. That's right, just us and the jelly fish and stingray.

Have you ever???!!

It's winding down.

Summer that is. In fact, the kids and I went to my classroom this morning to start getting things ready for the start of school. I'm not sure how much help they were, but it was a moderately productive day I suppose. I go back to school August 9th. School actually starts on the 11th. That includes Collin too. We are all anxious, but excited about what the fall holds. Lots of new things coming!

This post has some random pictures of some things we have been doing lately. We finally got together with our dear friends the Pierces this past week. The kids play so well together and always have a great time!

These four would all hold hands and take off running through the yard. Then they would all fall down on top of each other and laugh hysterically. These four kiddos have been "playing" together since they were born. It was such a blessing to see them all together getting so big. We have come a long way from bouncy seats and bottles. It's bittersweet, I guess.

The boys getting their game plan together.

But don't think for one minute that Brantlee sat on the sidelines and watched. She was right in the middle of it all being just as tough as these boys and loving every minute of it- ha!

Another day this week we went swimming with these same fabulous friends! Amanda and I loaded up all four kids (including four car seats) in her Tahoe and headed to Hattiesburg. We hit up a couple of stores and even ate some ice cream and played at Chic fil a. There wasn't the first dull moment on this adventure. We had a blast though!


There is a lot to say about Brantlee these days. First of all, she has spent the last two nights in a "big girl" bed. At this point, we are giving the situation a grade of C+. Not horrible, but we are hoping for an "A" night somewhere in the future. Her room is in the process of a transformation (new bedding, curtains, etc.) When everything is finished, I am sure I will post some before and after pictures. I am super excited about it all! But I want it finished tomorrow- ha.

She is just growing up so fast... expressing her interests and opinions, playing in her jewelry, and helping with laundry. Her two loves right now are Minnie Mouse and playing with Mommy's hygiene products such as ANY lotion, facial cream, eye shadow, lip gloss, toothpaste. If it exists in a woman's bathroom, she WANTS it. Bad. I wonder where she gets that??? (Any ideas, Mom?) And speaking of bathroom, while I was brushing her teeth the other night I notice 2 new bottom molars!!! I had no idea she was cutting them! I am guessing the top ones are right around the corner maybe?

Brantlee has also started waking up dry in the mornings... as in she often doesn't wet her diaper in the night. Does this mean she wants to use the potty when she wakes up? NEGATIVE. No ma'am. End of discussion. This week though I have forced the issue and put her on the potty in front of the t.v. with Minnie Mouse playing. It worked. She actually uses the potty, but this is the face I get afterward.

Clearly, this was not her idea ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's DORA!!

Yesterday Nana and I took Collin and Brantlee to see Nick Jr. Live in Jackson. I knew nothing of this event until a friend on Facebook posted that she needed to sell her tickets. I immediately jumped on this opportunity! The show featured the Wonder Pets, Backyardigans, Ni- Hao, and of course .... DORA. How could we miss this?? Is was a really great show!!

Collin was mesmerized for the entire performance -well worth the time and money to see his little face in awe for an hour and a half. Brantlee missed her nap (which is usually close to 3 hours), and we had to stay seated in a crowded theatre. She did as well as she could (she really tried), but that was honestly asking a lot of Miss Brantlee. She did like the Dora part though. Photography during the show was not allowed, so I did my best to contain myself (even though nobody else followed that rule.) But when Dora came out, I just couldn't help it. I jerked out my camera and snapped away... and so did everyone else.

Just for memory's sake, we loaded into the Yukon all excited to leave the house and go meet Nana, and guess what. The car wouldn't start. Dead battery. That's a bad feeling when you have two dressed and excited kids already in their car seats. Soooo, Nana graciously met us at our house and we took her car. Whew! Collin was almost in tears because he thought we weren't going to get to go. Ahh, the memories...

Killing time waiting on Nana to pick us up.

In front of Thalia Mara Hall

Right when we walked in there was this booth of all kinds of character toys, shirts, etc. We ended up with two swirly wand things that light up in the dark.

And here she... the real DORA ;) Oh, and Boots, of course !

Swiper NO swiping!!

the finale with all the characters

Overall, we give this show two thumbs up!!! We hope to go back next year when they are both a little older.