ECU fun!

Here are few pictures from a couple of the ECU games that we have been too! Very thankful for the time to go to these games and spend time with the Cookes as well as catch up with some of our friends in Greenville!:) MY SECOND FAMILY

LOVE THEM

SWEET CHLOE

CHLOE IS POOPED AND IT WAS THE HOTTEST GAME WE HAVE EVER BEEN TOO!!!!!

ONE PROUD DADDY!!!

Halloween 2012

Halloween was a lot of fun this year and it was extra special because now we were closer to family and friends. I must say that we did miss our two special stops at the Cooke's and Baker's! We attended a Harvest Party at our church in which, my niece was voted having the cutest costume. She was Minnie Mouse and she was pretty dang cute. Dakota was spiderman and Sadie was a cat. Chloe was a pumpkin. Then on Halloween we went to Nana's church for games and dinner and trunk or treat. Sadie was still a cute cat and Dakota was Batman and Chloe was a cute bumble bee. They were all so cute and it was fun playing dress up. We finished off the night allowing sadie to trick or treat in our neighborhood where there were tons of kids!:)

Few Random Photos!

Here are a few random photos over the past few weeks! To begin with we have my three panther babies showing off their panther jersey's. It would be nice if the panthers would actually give us a good season though.....

The next photo is of my niece playing with Chloe. Savannah absolutely loves playing with Chloe anytime that she can! Hopefully it will stay like that when Chloe has to learn about sharing:)

This one is of Sadie one morning before church. She wanted me to curl her hair and I actually took the time to do it! She was so proud of her curls! She said she had curls like mommy:)

Sweet Chloe and a new outfit from Nana and Papa!

Sadie is off to Kindergarten!

Well my first born in growing up way to fast! She is off to her first day of Kindegarten! Sadie was so excited to go to school for the first day. She goes to school with Chloe and Dakota and then get to ride the bus from there to school. She has always dreamed of riding the school bus and we feel this is a safe way for her to do it. Chloe and Dakota go to a school at church and then the church takes Sadie to school. She is attending Riverdell Elementary School and so far we are very pleased. She loves going to school everyday and she is truly learning so much! We are amazed at how quickly she is catching on to things:) Right now her favorite thing to do is PE, which makes me very happy. She is also already learning how to spell words and recognize them on other papers, books, etc. We have to keep you up to date on how well she continues to do!

Unpacking truly brings back the memories.....

My life for the past month has been about unpacking! Praise the Lord that it is almost done and we are finally in our new home. I was unpacking just last night and I ran across a picture of my precious Granny! It made me sad and made me miss her oh so much but then I was reminded of what she would want and that is pure joy! You see this time of year was my Granny's favorite time of year. I remember when I was younger she would decorate her yard for Halloween! It had to look perfect also (also known as hideous to some of us). Then came Thanksgiving and Christmas which she also loved. I wish my kids could have known her. I remember so many Friday nights when I would come home from Mount Olive just to spend the night with her. I loved it. We would go to Walmart and just do whatever she wanted. That often involved a meal at the Four Oaks Restaurant or something like that. If she didn't feel like going out, you better believe that she had my potato chips and dip and m & m's, and those small bottles of coke waiting for me when I got there. She truly sacrficed for me. Did I mention that I love her. One of my greatest memories is when I was really young and I was spending the night with her and I was watching Duke play in the NCAA tournament. They were seriously about to lose to a team in the sweet 16. There was only 1.7 seconds left and it's like midnight and I am watching it because I am a Duke fan. They chunk the ball down the court and swish the ball strips the net. I scream because I am so excited. Well, you have never seen an old woman move as fast as she did that night. I scared the mess out of her. I am laughing typing it now, and she is probably smiling too. She was great for me. She loved me unconditionally until her very last breath. I am so thankful that she is not sufferring anymore. I am also thankful that she waited on me to see her before her last breath. It was shortly after that the Lord brought her home. I am also convinced that she was waiting for me. Her sweet last words to me were I love you and don't ever forget that. She told me to always show love to others......... She then shut her eyes. Thank you Jesus for this special Lady who I will NEVER FORGET!:) I love you Granny!:)

Chloe and Sadie

I truly love the way that Chloe and Sadie interact. Chloe loves to play with Sadie and Sadie is a very big helper. She will do anything to protect her and take care of her. This was a cute picture of them in their matching outfits!:)

Chloe Turns One

Just after we moved from Greenville, our precious baby girl turned one! We were so excited and reminded of the wonderful blessing that was given to us a year ago. Chloe has been a wonderful baby and still continues to be. She is very happy. She is a very fast crawler and doesn't really show any interest in walking yet. She loves to talk and say mama, daddy, nana, papa, ball, and loves to grunt when she wants something. She loves the water and playing in the pool (although she doesn't really care for a bath). Sadie and Dakota absolutely adore her and she loves them so much. She wants to do everything that they are doing. She is definitely a mama's girl and really doesn't want mama out of her sight. Chloe is small for her age and she is only on the 10th percentile for her height and weight and she is on the 30th percentile for her head circumference. We are very thankful that she is healthy although she does need to gain a little wait. Chloe is an excellent sleeper, sleeping all night long and she loves her two naps a day. Her biggest fall back has been the trouble that she has had with her ears. She just can't seem to swing those ear infections. We have to keep a watch on these as I think tubes may be in the near future. We had a birthday party and nana and papa's since that is where we are living right now. We had a lot's of people to come and celebrate Chloe's special day. The only problem was Chloe was sick and felt awful. We actually let her eat the cake a few days later when she was feeling better. She was fighting another ear infection and eye infection. SHe bounced back quickly and loved all her toys and gifts that she received for her birthday. We can't wait to see how she grows in the months ahead and hopefully she will walk sometime soon!:)

I am back

It's been so long, but I promise to update you on all that you have missed. I have missed some pictures, but hopefully I will be able to get most of them to you. We have been in a huge transition for the past few months as we have moved from Greenville, NC to Clayton, NC. We spent August and September with my mom as we searched for the perfect home for our family. At the end of September we finally found our dream home an closed on it. It was finally time to move in. The in betweens will now be posted with some pictures.

Today I am married to an amazing man for ten years! I love you and love every minute that we spend together! I can't believe it has been 10 years and three kids later!:)

Family Vacation 2012

Instead of the beach this year we traveled to Williamsburg, VA. We stayed at a resort, went to Busche Gardens and Water Country, did some shopping, and a little relaxing. We had a blast and were shocked at how well the four kids under five years old did in the parks. They were pros. We can't wait until next year when we can do it again! By the way, these parks have tons of stuff for kids to do! Highly recommend! And Dakota got to meet Ernie, who is his life hero!:)

More May fun and Memorial Day

We spent memorial day with some of our friends from college. It was so nice and refreshing to see all of these sweet faces again. Thank you Lord for these encouraging little reunions!

Sadie's Graduation

Well it's here! Sadie has graduated pre-school. I actually held up really well but then when I made this video and watched it, tears came to my eyes. She is growing up oh so fast. I love her and her sweet care and compassion for other kids. I continue to pray that she will trust in the Lord one day and follow him! The graduation was beautiful and we were very proud of her and Dakota!:)

Encouragement for Mother's!

My sweet friend Sarah asked me to a tea party that she was hosting in honor of Mother's Day. I was very encouraged and loved being around some of my special friends. I was reminded of how we are called to be mother's of love, compassion, and sacrifice. Thanks Sarah for a five star party!:)

Sadie's 5th Birthday!

We honestly cannot believe that Sadie is five years old. She had a wonderful party at the park and all her friends were able to attend. I can't believe that she starts school next year. We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished so far. She is a very spunky, caring, loving little girl! Reminds me a lot of myself, but the spunkiness definitely reminds me of my sister! Let's see what the next year has in store!:)

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

It's been such a long time and the kids are doing wonderful. I am going to catch you up a bit from what's been going on in the past few months. In May Sadie and Dakota were very excited about the nice weather we were getting. They loved playing outside and especially in our plastic pool in the backyard. Chloe seemed to enjoy it also, but she was much more focused on learning to crawl and babble more. She has become and pro at eating and will basically eat anything that you give her. We were also thinking about starting potty training this month, but that is for a later post! Here are a few pictures!

Sadie and Dakota

Nothing very new is going on with Sadie and Dakota! Sadie is getting ready to celebrate her 5th birthday so stay tuned for details on that! Dakota is finally starting to talk a lot more. He is putting sentences together really well! The phrase he says most often right now is, "mama i see......(fill in with whatever he sees)". It was really cute to hear him say this when we were going over the big bridge at the beach, "MAMA, I see the water, Mama I see the water, Mama I see the water" Until we finally got to the other side and then he saw the ocean and didn't know what to say! I must honestly say that I am one proud mom, these two love each other so much. Dakota thinks the world of Sadie and Sadie does the same! Precious times!:)

Chloe 8 Months

Chloe is now 8 months old. She is still a blessing and pleasure to be around. She hasn't really done too many new things this month. She is definitely cooing and caaaing more. She says "dada", she loves to sit and play with legos. She continues to love mum-mums and yogurt snacks. She will basically eat anything we give her, but she really loves the sweet things (wonder where she got that from?). She is just now getting over her first sickness and it was a really bad one. She got some kind of viral infection. Her temperature went as high as 104.8 in which we had to take her to the doctor. She had to get blood drawn, cath, pokes and prods, and then an antibiotic shot. She is finally doing much better today. Oh yeah, and just like the other kids, Chloe loves to be playing outside and doing something all the time. She is a wonderful sleeper as she goes down at 9:00 and sleeps until around 7:00. Not sure about her height but she weighed 15lbs 11 oz as of 4-18-12. Hopefully she will continue to grow. We love her and are so blessed to have her at this stage of life!:)

Bath Time at Nana's!

Gotta love bath time at Papa and Nana's! Chloe get the sink and the kids get the big garden tub. Savannah even got to come in until she was tackled and had to be removed from the scene:)

Spring Break with Radez's!

We went to the beach this year with our dear friends, "The Radez's". We had such a wonderful time relaxing and watching our kids play together. They really played so well together, we were even shocked at how well they entertained themselves. It was a bit cold to begin with, but we still made the best of it and enjoyed our time together so much. We can't wait to live closer to our dear friends!:) We were also able to take some really cute family pictures on the beach. It was of course almost impossible to get all three of my kids to look at the camera, but it was still fun. Hopefully after I edit them we will have at least one with everyone looking!:)

Pullen Park

I used to go to Pullen Park in Raleigh when I was little. Recently they finished some construction and upgrades to the park. Over spring break we decided to take the kids for the first time. They had a blast. Chloe even enjoyed it as she rode in the stroller all day. I will definitely be spending a lot more time here in the near future!:)

Easter 2012

We had a wonderful Easter 2012 this year! We spent in with family friends and it was filled with lots of food, fun, and many egg hunts. We enjoyed the time so much. We are actually looking forward to next year where we will hopefully be living a lot closer to family and it will be a lot less traveling. Here are a couple of videos with lot's of pictures!

Sadie Playing Softball

Sadie is playing softball for the first time this year. She is really enjoying playing for the Pitt County Girls Softball League. She is learning more and more everyday. Being the social butterfly that she is, she tends to lose a little focus at times. This is actually not tee-ball and they encourage kids to hit off a toss from the coach. Sadie is finally starting to catch and she can do it every once in a while. Being so little, she has trouble swinging the bat. We are proud of her and how well she does. Her friends, Haven, Aubry, and Kaleigh are on her team, so she loves that more than she does playing the game!:)

My friend Elizabeth and I have our friends Mike and Sarah a baby shower. We were so glad to welcome Ramsey John Robbins everyone loved meeting the little guy!

Papa's Birthday

Last week we celebrated my dad's birthday. We went to Kickback Jacks and had dinner and had a wonderful time together. We are so thankful and blessed to have him as an amazing father and Papa! Hoping for many more years together!:) I found these shirts at Old Navy for the kids, which I LOVE! Although my kids didn't cooperate very well, the pictures are still cute! They love their Papa and Nana so much! They can't wait until they can live closer to them one day!

Chloe-Almost 8 months old

On April 3rd Chloe will be 8 months old. I am not sure how busy I will be then, so the update is coming now!:) Chloe is doing great. She is sleeping so very well. She has such a sweet personality. She never cries except for when she is sleepy or hungry. Words cannot express how truly blessed we really are. She just smiles at everyone when they see her and she is trying her hardest to talk. She is still babbling and saying "DADA". I think she is really trying to say other things, but they just won't come out. She got her first tooth sometime last week, so that's pretty cool. She likes to eat most any kind of baby food, especially if it is sweet (must take after me). She LOVES to snack on puffs and mum-mums! A couple of weeks ago she learned how to sit up on her own, so she loves playing with toys in front of her now. I must say that she has nothing to do with laying down now! (unless of course she is sleepy) She is on a very good schedule is just really seems to be doing great! She has finally made her way into 3-6 months clothes, although I think it will be short lived because she is growing quickly these days. Here are some cute pictures of our special little girl. I will keep you posted on her weight and growing chart when we have another doctor's appointment!:)

Kids!

Here are a few photos of the kids over the past month. Nothing new is going on, but you are always requesting some picture updates, so here ya go! There will be more of Chloe coming later in another post!:)

All things come to an end!

Well the 2011-2012 Volleyball Season is officially over. We had our athletic banquet a couple of weeks ago. I feared that I would be sad and have a hard time speaking, but thanks to the good Lord above, everything went great. I think the girls were very encouraged and appreciative of all their awards. I am so proud of how they represented Pitt County and the state of North Carolina. I will always and forever remember this team as long as I live. Thank you Lord for this small blessing that taught so many lessons!

Random pictures at Nana and Papa's!

It doesn't take toys to have fun at Papa and Nana's! Just a simple basket did it this time! Sweet memories though!:)

Dakota's Bday-Part two!

As most of you know, I lost my camera! Well, guess what......MAMA to the rescue! It has been found! So hear are the rest of the pictures from Dakota's birthday:)

Chloe at 7 months old!

Chloe continues to be a very happy baby. It is not often at all that she even cries. She goes to bed around 10:00 and sleeps all night long (praise the good Lord). Chloe wakes up around 7 or 8 and she loves to talk in her crib. She is also eating very well. She loves her bottle and she loves most any food (didn't like the green beans of course). We have started trying some of the seconds foods. She loves puffs now and mum-mums are her favorite thing EVER! She also can drink a little juice mixed with water now and she loves that. She is constantly babbling about something and the most exciting news is that on Feb. 21st she said her first words "DADA". It was so exciting and JJ even got it on video. I will have to load that another time. She doesn't say it on command, but she does say it every once in a while. Chloe really loves to chew on things now and she especially loves to be with her mommy. She runs errands with mommy all the time and just rides in her stroller and stares at mommy. She plays on the play mat much better than she used to also. She is loving those toys so much. The exersaucer is one of her favorite things to play in also. She is truly a miracle blessing from above and we are so thankful. I can't wait to see what she does in the next month. She may conquer sitting up on her own next!:) I guess we will see!:) This is little bit holding her own bottle:)

Here we have fancy Miss. Priss!

Here we have Chloe sleeping on her belly in the bouncer. It looks so uncomfortable, but she loves it!

Here Chloe is at her first Softball game and it was FREEZING!!! GO JAGS!!!!

Last two cute pictures of Chloe showing of her personality and then just one proud mom!:)

Chloe's Six Month Statistics!

I promised I would get the numbers from Chloe's 6 month check-up. It went really well and the doctor said that she is perfect and very healthy. I was a little upset that she hadn't gained any weight, but the doctor was not concerned at all. I was very thankful for that! Hopefully now that her acid reflux is improving, she will gain a little more weight and not spit up quite as much! We do appreciate everyone's prayers concerning that. She is just one happy baby as you will see in the pictures below at her doctor's visit! Six and Half Months Old: Weight: 13 lbs 11 oz (7th percentile) Height 24 (7th percentile) Head circumference: 16 and half (29%)

Sweet Kids!

These are just a few of cute pictures of the kids in the last month or so. Love them!:) Dakota enjoys his pasta!

This one of my favorite pictures that I just love so much! So sweet!:)

Movie night is every Friday night and my kids look forward to it every week! They're loving this movie!:)

Dakota turns two!

We were blessed with another wonderful birthday with our sweet Dakota! Another wonderful reminder of how we should be thankful for a healthy child. We pampered him at breakfast and as you can tell he is a very happy birthday boy!

We then were off to school and work. We decided to take a half day of work and pamper our little boy some more. We had some gift certificates to Marbles Museum, so we took off to Raleigh for an afternoon of fun. Dakota and Sadie of course had a complete blast!:) After Marbles we decided to meet Papa, Nana, Aunt Manda, Uncle Thomas, and Savannah at Logan's to eat! It was fun and there was even entertainment there with someone making balloon toys! The kids enjoyed themselves and loved the Mickey Mouse cupcakes. We also had a birthday party for Dakota, which was a blast, but I have not pictures to show for it. It appears that my camera is GONE (which I am so saddened by) and all the pictures from the party were on that camera. If for some odd reason it ever shows up again, I will be sure to load them right up. As for Dakota's development. We did take him to the doctor and he is right at the 50% on most things. His head of course was on the 75%. He is starting to talk more and has begun saying sentences. He loves to play with Sadie more than anything in the world, which does get on her nerves at times. He is also getting his molars in. He has all of them completely in except for one. We have had a tough time disciplining him lately because he is throwing temper tantrums and that kind of thing. Hopefully its only for a limited time. He really is sweet boy who loves to cuddle and just sit in your lap. He continues to love to play with cars and he also loves any stuffed animal. He is still sucking his fingers (which we hope to break very soon). He sleeps with them and in the other arm in usually ernie or goofy or cliffy. He uses some piece of them to stroke his face to sleep. We are not quite sure where is got that from. We are blessed to have a healthy two year old we wouldn't change it for anything! Happy Birthday, Dakota!

Sadie and Dakota

We certainly can't forget Sadie and Dakota! They too are doing well and growing up quickly. Sadie's most favorite thing on this earth is a barbie doll and baby doll that Nana and Papa gave her for Christmas. She loves playing pretend with them. Almost everyday when she gets home, she goes to her room and starts dress-up time with her and the barbies. So, where does that leave Dakota,you got it.......dressing up and playing with barbies as well as bringing Mickey Mouse Rockstar into the pictures. He also loves playing with cars and tractors. I also think he is the official driver of the Barbie car. Sadie and Dakota play really well together. They love each other so much and I am so thankful the relationship they are building together. Don't get me wrong, they do have their times of arguing, but for the most part they love each other a lot! Another one of their favorite things to do is build a camp out (as Sadie says). This is when you make blankets for all the babies, stuff animals, cars, and such. It's not my favorite thing because it is a complete disaster, but you can't help but smile when they coming running to you and say, "Come here mama, Look and me and Dakota's camp out". They're so proud at what they have accomplished. The both continue to love school. Dakota can count to ten now and he know a lot of his ABC'S. Sadie has also learned how to write her name. We are very proud of them. They like nothing more than to go to a ballgame at school. A few weeks ago we turned in the parking lot and all you here is Dakota taking his fingers out of his mouth and he says loudly.........YEHAHHHHHHHH!!!! BALLGAMEEE!!!! And of course Sadie says, can we get some popcorn. Man, I just love them! Sweet handsome Dakota

My sweet underarmour girl, Sadie!!!

My baby is 6 months old!

I can't believe six months have already gone by. Chloe is 6 months old today. She is truly a joy to be around. She loves being around other people. She really loves smiling at her brother and sister. She does love mom the most right now. She whines everytime time I leave the room or enter room. We just gave her her first baby food last week. She has had apples, sweet potatoes, prune, and bananas. I must say that she is a lot like here sister was.......she loves those prunes. She is doing a great job sleeping at night, which is really good for mom and dad. I am trying to enjoy every moment that I have with my sweet baby, because Lord willing there will be no more. She tries to talk so much, but she hasn't said a word that we can understand yet. We are anxious to see here first word soon! She continues to love playing with her feet, drinking her milk, playing in her exer-saucer, sitting in anyone's lap, and of course eating her mum-mums. The only bad thing I can honestly think of would have to be her acid reflux. She spits up really bad and we really feel sorry for her. He is growing and gaining weight though, so we are thankful for that. She has also transitioned to formula now and seems to be responding very well to that also. She is still wearing 3 month clothes and can wear some of Sadie's 3-6 month clothes. She continues to be such a cutie although we do need some hair soon. We will be giving another update in a couple of weeks when she gets her 6 month check-up and we find out how much she weighs and how long she has gotten.

Debby's Birthday Party

Last weekend we attending Debby's 1st birthday party. She belongs to our friends Mike and Sarah Robbins. The party was a lot of fun and we enjoyed visiting with some good old friends!

Chloe at 5 months old!

So much happened during the fifth month of Chloe's life. She had her first Christmas. She turned over! She began holding her own bottle. She is constantly cooing and caahhing. She loves to be held and smiles a lot. She will even laugh every one in a while. She is eating very well, about every 3.5-4 hours. She doesn't really care for rice cereal, so she hasn't had any food yet. She loves to watch Sadie and Dakota plays and really loves to laugh at Sadie dancing in front of her in the bouncer. She started playing in the exersaucer and she really likes it too, especially when Dakota helps her press all the buttons. We were most excited to see Chloe sleeping through the night. Praise the GOOD LORD!!! Finding her feet was also very exciting. That is probably what she is most excited about. Every time she is laying down, she constantly wants to put them in her mouth.

Here Chloe is feeding herself her bottle! This was exciting for mama and daddy!

Here are some miscellaneous pictures: