Drew at Two

He maybe two...but man, he's still my baby with his baseball blanket, Donald Duck sleeping partner and Car's pj's.  All boy by day and Momma's boy come time to sleep!

Meanwhile, he's thinking about forgiving for tricking him into a 2 yr check-up almost 2 months after he turned two...83% on his height (36 inches) and 89% on his weight (32.8 lbs). He made a nice sticky mess before I pried the sucker out of his hands and now he's demanding ice cream. I'm thinking a nap is a better idea!

Then There's Ava

When Carli unloads my dishwasher, the silverware drawer gets reorganized and each utensil is carefully and neatly stacked...when Ava unloads the dishwasher well, the silverware at least gets in the right drawer. I can't say the same about the Tupperware bowls...somehow those ended up in the floor of the pantry today...

What's funny...ask Ava to clean the toilets and you've never seen such a well cleaned bowl (by 7 yr old standards). I'm pretty sure Carli just hides in the bathroom and doesn't even attempt to clean the toilets when it's her day for bathroom duty!

Ava is suppose to put 5 things that tell her class about herself in this brown paper bag...here is what she put in her bag:

1. Softball rings - b/c she likes to play softball and "apparently I'm pretty good."

2. Mini Emoji Pillow - b/c she collects the bigger ones and is obsessed with all things emoji.

3. A picture of her and her siblings - including her new baby sister coming in January.

4. A Sonic Peppermint - b/c "we go to Sonic an awfully lot."

And last but most original...

5. A bag of dirt - b/c "Mom, I like dirt. It's fun to play in and roll around in and when it gets wet, guess what?! You have mud and then it gets even more fun!"

First Day of School 2017

Another first day has come upon us!  Carli was very ready for her first day of school.  Ava was a bit nervous.  She missed meet the teacher b/c she came down with a case of strep throat last week...maybe she was getting it out of her system before the school year started.  One can hope!  :)

Carli Lynn (3rd Grade) & Ava Ruth (2nd Grade

Keeping the tradition alive...I may have to bribe them to hold hands next year.

Carli said the highlight of her day was this...picking her seat, right in the middle in front.  :)

Ava with her teacher, Mrs. Grigsby and Carli with her teacher, Mrs. Hultberg.

Ava was ecstatic to be in the same class as her buddy, Autumn.

Their first day went great and they were all smiles when Drew and I picked them up.  We think Drew is mad at Keith for taking his sisters away from him all day!  I had a lot of cuddles today but he struggled to nap, it was apparently too quiet in the house to sleep.  :)  Here's to a great school year!

Happy 40th Anniversary Grammy & Pa!

"I come from a long line of love
When times get hard
We don't give up
Forever's in my heart and in my blood
You see I come from a long line of love."

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Just a Little Trim

Carli cut a good 5 to 6 inches off her hair today...and despite my urging, Ava refused to donate her locks and only cut off maybe an inch or two. She even refused before and after pics bc she looks the same!

Ava's First Softball Tournament

Ava played in her first 8u tournament as a Sassy Slugger this Saturday.  She was a wee bit nervous but once she got out on the field she did amazing!  She played outfield and a mean catcher.  She got some really good hits too!  This was her teams first tournament together and they won 3rd place!  The only teams to beat them were two teams who were moving up to play 10u ball at the end of the month. 

Drew with his buddy Braleigh.  Drew was not a fan of Ava being out on the field and not on the sidelines playing with him!

This was also Keith's first tournament to coach his team.  He did a great job.  Pa stood in as a pitcher, pitching all 4 games in one day!  All in all, we had a lot of first today and it ended really well!

Sunday morning we asked Ava if her legs were tired and sore from squatting at catcher for 2.5 games and she laughed and said, "No, why?" Ha!  Must be nice to be so young!  :)  Keith and Pa were a bit sore Sunday!

Ava was very blessed to have both sets of Grandparents get to watch her play in her first tournament.  She had quite the cheering squad!

We are looking forward to a great season!

Cinnamon Roll Sales

This year with both girls playing for Sassy Sluggers, the amount of dues doubled!  I'm a firm believer in not asking for money but working for it.  With the help of Naggy and Pappy the girls came up with the idea to sell pans of cinnamon rolls to try to reach their goal.  They had an amazing support system!  Between their Naggy & Pappy helping them make over 42 pans of cinnamon rolls and actually selling them all we were amazed and humbled by the support they received.

Naggy and Pappy were so patient to have the girls help with making cinnamon rolls!  Even Drew got in on the fun!

My house smelled absolutely AMAZING for a week and I didn't even get a roll!  They sold them all!!!  It was a lot of fun to cart the girls around for deliveries.  They were very proud of the work they put in to earn their dues this year!

Drew's Bday from Naggy & Pappy

After the excitement of finding out about a new sibling, Drew had even more fun when Naggy and Pappy brought out some birthday gifts for him!  He was pretty stoked for a new hat, baseball bat/ball and Car's PJ's!

Baby Hays #4 Reveal

Over Easter, we lost our 6th pregnancy at 9.5 wks. The roller coaster that started us off on was not one we had planned. When I went back for our follow up with the OB, everything was fine. But 2 wks and still I had no cycle, so we went back and it felt like we were dropped off a cliff. The blood test showed I was pregnant but the doctor seemed to think it was chemical. They told me to come back in two weeks and we'd have a sono and we did but all we could see was a sac, an empty sac. The OB still thought probably chemical b/c nothing lined up to be otherwise. But still, he wanted to wait two more weeks before he intervened. So two wks later, we went back fully expecting to see an empty sac, only they found an baby that only measured six wks, not the eight they expected. Still, the doctor said to keep things realistic, the baby measured up to two wks behind where it should according to all the data we had. 

So 10 days later we went back, and there was a heartbeat and the baby measured 8.5 wks...a full wk bigger than it should have. So the doc said, sometimes science can't figure it out...let's see again in a couple of wks. All this time, I've had blood draws out the wahzoo - I'm on progesterone which makes the nausea worse...so I'm on nausea meds twice the normal dose to keep functioning and still no knowing what to expect. We went back two wks later and baby measured 10 wks! Right where baby should be if they went back original data and we surpassed the 9.5 wk mark where I had lost my other two babies. Keith and I breathed a sigh and thought maybe just maybe we can see God's plan now.

That was on a Thursday. The following Monday night we were at Ava's district softball tournament in Quitman riding back to the hotel and a balloon popped and there was blood. Lots of blood. And I knew that was it...we were done. After 2 hrs at Quitman ER, an ambulance ride, lots of tears, and even more prayers they found a very active, healthy baby on the ultrasound...but told us there's a 50/50 chance we'd still miscarry. I continued to bleed for the next five weeks. But each wk, the baby has grown and they eventually found the hemorrhage and it has gotten smaller.

So, today at 16.5 wks, after lots of nerves and prayers...we told our kids we were having another baby. A baby girl to be exact, she's due to arrive in January. We are excited, scared and still protecting our hearts a bit. But the joy and excitement on the kids faces makes the tears and fears of the unknown worth it. I can't say we planned four, but I can say God did. And He has always had a plan for our family...what's one more strong willed child in our household?! :) If you've made it this far, thank you and we won't turn down any extra prayers if you wish to send some our way.

Motorcycles and Disappearing Acts

Drew recently has discovered motorcycles and he was so excited to see one outside Legend's after we had dinner.  God bless the couple who asked him if he wanted to have a seat on it for a minute.  His night was made!

The face I make when mom gets on to me...if I can't see her, she can't see me...

Cousin Week

Logan and Eady came to spend a few days with Grammy and Pa, so naturally we had to meet up a couple of times so the cousin's could make some memories!  We had a lot of fun crafting and playing together at the lake one day.

And then we made sure to have some fun at our house and go visit an inflatable jump house place too!  I think it's safe to say, the couple of days they spend together flat wore them all out!

8 Years - Same Face

Same blue eyes, same silly face...a little more hair and a little less rolls. I am not sure where the time went!