Nolan's First Girlfriend

Gracie also came over to play this week. She's a friend from church and dare I say, Nolan's first girlfriend? Although, if Gracie had her say, she'd rather Nolan not hug her. Good girl, Gracie! You've got plenty of time for that; no need to rush into anything! Nolan, you can slow it down a bit, please!!!

It was so interesting to watch him interact with a girl his age just a day after playing with Zane. Wow, how they played so differently! I noticed Nolan seeming a bit dominant, and Gracie wasn't so sure she liked it. Their playing was much more calm and docile; the influence of a sweet girl, I'm sure!
They sat and colored together.
They played in Nolan's room a bit, too, but everything was still in its place when Gracie's mom came to get her.
We baked, too, but this time we used a cookie mix, which I very rarely do. And let me tell you, we didn't think they were very tasty either. But Nolan and Gracie had a good time baking together.

Friends

It's so fun to watch Nolan interact with other kids around his age. Zane came over to play earlier this week, and the boys had a good time together, as always! I was ambitious enough to bake cookies (from scratch, I must add) with two two-year-old boys. The boys listened very well, and had a fun time helping me bake.
Zane's turn to stir.
Nolan's turn.
When Nolan and Zane get together, they act like true boys! They're typically shouting, rough housing, and tearing up everything in Nolan's room. Sometimes there are tender moments like giving each other a hug, but that's usually preceding a tumble to the floor. Boys!

Bathtime with Britt

Uncle John (my brother) and soon-to-be Aunt Brittain came over and had dinner with us Friday night. We had a nice time visiting with them, and Nolan always loves spending time with his Unlce John and "Bit-an" whenever they're around.

Brittain gave Ella her bath, which was her first experience bathing a baby. She's a natural and welcome to come over and bathe my kiddos anytime!

They both enjoyed bathtime!
I've said it before, but I think it's worth saying again: We're blessed to have such a loving, caring, and giving family! I'm so grateful my children have wonderful grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to love and experience their love!

Associations

I'm amazed by how perceptive children are! Kids are such sponges and truly watch everything we do. It wasn't long before Nolan associated things with the people he loves. Being truthful, he associates the remote control and Diet Dr. Pepper to Daddy, the telephone and a bottle of water to Mommy, Diet Coke to Papa, and ice cream and ice cream cones to Mimi. (I don't mind him associating a bottle of water to me, but do I really talk to Aunt Amy and Mimi THAT often?)

Tonight he was able to indulge a bit with Mimi. He loves that Mimi will give him his own ice cream cone! (This started off as Mimi's ice cream cone and quickly became Nolan's.) I'll share with you, Mimi.
Almost gone! (He was already bathed and ready for bed and needed another bath by the time he was finished eating his ice cream!) Mimi and two of her four grandkids. We love Mimi, and she sure loves us, too!

Sesame Street Live!

We decided to take our biggest Elmo (I mean, "Melmo") fan to see him in person. He was so excited when we told him he was going to see Elmo tonight!
Nolan's excitement was priceless when he saw his favorite Sesame Street characters first appear on stage. It's those moments when we as parents are so thankful for these memorable moments! To see him light up the way he did is unforgettable.
We were able to have some special Mommy, Daddy, Nolan time. Ella stayed with our wonderful neighbor, Lou, that's always willing to spend time with our babies. Thank you, Lou, for this much needed one-on-one time with Nolan! We all had a blast!
Elmo's World, our favorite segment of Sesame Street!
Nolan loves his Melmo! When he wasn't singing or dancing, he was enjoying his popcorn while watching the show. Cheese!!!
What a wonderful evening we had with our son! We'd do it all again in a heartbeat! These are the times!

Ella's Dedication

What a wonderful day! Today we dedicated Ella to our Lord and promise to bring her up in a Christian home where she can know her Lord and Savior personally.

Keith Smith, our Children's Pastor at Pantego Bible Church, did the ceremony. He did a wonderful job making her dedication very personal. We are so grateful we have a thoughtful and caring children's pastor to minister to our most precious blessings!
Ella received a special blessing with water from the Jordan River, the river Jesus was baptized in. It was so amazing! As soon as the blessing was said, Ella closed her eyes, became completely relaxed, and fell asleep. Although there is no "magic" in the water, we believe the Holy Spirit was moving in her.
Heirlooms! The gown she is wearing is a Christening gown my great-grandmother made. My father, his siblings, me, my siblings, some of my cousins, Nolan, and now Ella have all worn this gown. In addition, my great-grandmother made this shawl and won a prize for it. There is so much detail in it! It's a very beautiful piece!

In addition, Ella wore my baby bracelet and my dad's baby ring. Shown in other pictures, she also wore a bonnet. Her Aunt Amy and Uncle Brian gave her the bonnet the day she was born. This keepsake bonnet came with a very sweet poem:
A tiny square of linen, and a dainty edge of lace,
Designed into a bonnet, to frame a baby's face.
After baby's worn it, fold and tuck away.
It will become a hanky, for baby's wedding day.
If the baby is a boy, on the day he should marry,
This will be "something old" for his joyful bride to carry.

We count ourselves blessed to have such a loving family. Shown below are Ella's parents and big brother, grandparents, Poppy, Mimi, and Papa. In addition, the Hankins, Bullard, Kling, and Yucuis families came to be a part of her dedication. Not pictured is Uncle Jim and Faye VanDam that was also present at the dedication. During the dedication, we presented Ella with a spiritual time capsule that will be given to her later when she is at a point in her life that she understands what it means to have a personal relationship with God.

Poppy gave her a beautiful heart charm with a praying angel that will soon be engraved. Her Mimi and Papa gave her her first Bible, and we gave her a book by Dr. Seuss called, Oh, The Places You'll Go.

This is the prayer we wrote for her:
Ella, you're our sweet angel. God has entrusted us to be an example and to raise you in His image. We promise to guide you to come to know a personal relationship with the Lord and to seek His will and calling for your life. May you surround yourself with Godly people that will mentor and build you up so that you will be an example for others. We pray that you always know God's grace, mercy and peace in all this life brings.

Thank you to everyone that made this a very meaningful day for us. We count on our family and friends to help us raise our children in the Truth.

My Valentines

Nolan has been quite the help in the kitchen lately. He's helped me make meatloaf for dinner one night, and then we made cookies together yesterday. It's bitter-sweet for me. I love that he's engaged with me and wanting to be involved. BUT...if you've never cooked/baked with a two-year-old, you have no idea how exhausting it can be, not to mention messy! I turned my back for two seconds yesterday, he turned on the mixer, and cookie batter went flying all over my kitchen and all over his face! Caught, red handed! I wished I had my camera when he shouted, "Aw, man!" and looked at me with batter dripping down the side of his cheek. I couldn't help but to laugh. These are the fun moments we'll remember as moms, right?

So today we made cupcakes for our neighbors and a heart-shaped cake for daddy. I was sure to have my camera with me this time!

The frosting madness started off pretty tame.

Then we started decorating and things got a little hairy. When he first started shaking the sprinkles over the cupcakes, he was determined to pick up every little sprinkle that fell on the cookie sheet. Cute. As you can see by the mountain of red sprinkles, he never thought they had enough on them!
The cake for daddy was just a crazy mess. It all started with the cake falling apart as I was taking it out of the pan. So of course, we had to "glue" it together with mounds of icing! And to be honest with you, I was having just as much fun as Nolan was. It's amazing how I get swept up in the innocent excitement he finds in the simple things. Sometimes we all need to roll up our sleeves and get a little messy; it's really quite fun!

By the way, our cake said "We heart U" before the top to the sprinkles was rammed into it. Again, Nolan had a heyday with the red sprinkles, hence the mountain. Daddy's lil' cupcake had to join in the fun. She was an observer this year, but don't you worry, she'll be in the middle of the fun next year, I'm sure!
This was a very fun and exhausting day for all three of us! Thankfully, daddy appreciated our hard work! He appreciated mommy's exhausting day so much that he gave me a gift certificate for a manicure and a pedicure for Valentine's Day. What wonderful pampering! I was also suprised with beautiful yellow tulips. Thanks daddy!

I'm sure we'll be baking again soon since it's pretty cheap entertainment, especially on those days that we can't go outside and play. A $0.69 box of cake mix and a $1.25 container of icing provides a good couple of hours of entertainment, not to mention great bonding and fun with your kiddos, if you do it the fun way!