My parents and I are driving to ElPaso tomorrow to see my brother before he deploys for Iraq on Saturday. I made him this video to help say goodbye. You will definitely have to MUTE the music at the bottom to hear the videos.
Our sweet Madeline is 3 and a half today. She is turning into such a beautiful little girl on the inside and out. She is quite the spunky little diva these days and she says the craziest things now. She is so imaginative and likes the "read stories" to us as well as have us read to her ALL the time. She dances...and I mean everywhere and anywhere. I think we are going to put her in dance in the fall. She is so sweet to her baby brother and loves to make him laugh. Maddie is such a mother hen with him and SO reminds me of how I was with my own brother.
Here are a few Madisms to mark this special day:
Mom, it looks like we are driving in a rain forest! (on the way out to Truett's party)
Me: Maddie did you see that plane fly over us? Maddie: Too Cool!
Me: Did you catch any fish today?
Maddie: not fish mom, wobblers.
Me: What are wobblers?
Maddie: The fish I caught today. (wobblers really means bobber...which Nick kept telling her to watch the bobber so she would know when she had caught a fish)
Mom, if you don't let me ride my bike then I'll be so sad and will never be able to ride my bike again! (yea...check out all those words)
We love you Maddie and you make every day an adventure!
We were invited to a birthday party yesterday afternoon for our friends Tate and Abbye's little boy Truett. He was turning 4 and they had a Backyardigans themed party (Maddie LOVES the Backyardigans). Wyatt started running a fever right before we left...so Nick stayed home with him and Maddie and I set off for the boonies. Maddie ran wild and enjoyed playing in the country VERY much! She was so worn out when we got home. Thanks Ellison's for inviting us to a wonderful party and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Truett!!!
Our nephew, Carson and his mommy. (Isn't he so cute?!)
Giggles and Squeals!
My blue icing mouthed beauty!
Oh my goodness...where has the time gone! I am finding it very hard to believe my baby boy is a year and half old. He has changed so much here recently and has definitely been developing his personality. Wyatt is NOT going to be soft spoken and given the meaning of his name means Warrior...I think that fits him just fine. He is so lovable and cuddly when he wants to be and ready for action the next. It is NEVER a dull moment with this little guy. He is weighing in at 27lbs. 11oz these days and I don't know exactly how long he is but he comes to about Maddie's shoulders now. He has started saying more words such as: shoe, Mommy, Car Car (for his cousin Carson), woof woof, Shhhh (and he puts his finger over his mouth), and Shewie (when he is stinky). He has also picked up on a few more signs: eat,milk,no, yes, please and more.
We Love you Wy-Wy...you are so fun and it is such a joy to be your parents. We think God has BIG plans for you and we can't wait to watch you grow.
Love you,
Mommy and Da-Da
Tonight after Wyatt ate dinner he of course wanted a snack. (He is a bottomless pit ya know!) So Nick gave him some Graham Cracker Honey Bees. They taste like banana and he LOVES them! Nick started making a bzzzzzzz sounds while he was giving the bees to him and Wyatt quickly caught on. You can even hear him say "thank you" at the beginning of the video. He is getting so BIG and learning new stuff every day. I can't believe in 3 days he will be 18 months old. Time sure is flying by!
Yesterday evening we had our Easter Celebration with our Life Group. We have done this for the past 3 years and it has been a blast! Here are some pics of the kids Easter egg hunting.
Maddie in a hurry!
The Four Amigos!
Maddie being silly with Truett.
Look at that face!
All he really wanted to do was open the eggs.
Maddie showing off her loot!
How many do I have?
Gotcha!
He didn't want to put them in the basket at first...but he hands were just too little to hold them all.
We've Grown! --last year there were only 4 kiddos in this picture.
We have had such a busy weekend. We left town Thursday night and kicked Friday morning off with a trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. That place is amazing! Then we went to visit my mom at her office and eat lunch with her. This morning we woke up early and Maddie helped Papaw in the garden....she loves digging in the dirt! Then we headed to my best friend Shell's house and hung out with her husband Larry and their daughter Mia. We finished the day off with a special lunch for my brother. Our family bought him some Coins that were made from gold inside Saddam's Hussein's destroyed palace. Jame should be deploying soon to Iraq again so this was a special time to wish him well and say good bye. We are finally home now and the kids are so worn out. I had to get this posted tonight since the BIG Easter pics are coming tomorrow!
Wyatt looking at the sharks.
Maddie looking for the Otters.
Maddie and Wyatt visiting Nana at work.
Wyatt thought he ran the place...he was ALL over that floor!
Maddie in the garden.
Maddie helping Papaw in the garden.
Maddie and Mia (my best friend Shell's little girl)
Aren't we cute?
My brother opening his coins.
Yesterday, I went to Walk for Autism at the Abilene Zoo. So many people were there to raise awareness of this disorder and to show support to the families that have autistic children.
Me and Macey...the speech path that works with me
The AU Crew
The back of our shirts.
Me and Allison
Did you know…
1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
67 children are diagnosed per day
A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined
Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
Autism costs the nation over $35 billion per year, a figure expected to significantly increase in the next decade
Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
There is no medical detection or cure for autism
If your baby shows any of these signs, please ask your pediatrician or family practitioner for an immediate evaluation:
No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
No babbling by 12 months
No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
No words by 16 months
No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
