Jumping!!!

Reed helping Anna Grace jump in her jumperoo!!!

I looked up and she was a little bit too high!!! He was getting with it!!! HAHA! I had to come to her rescue;)

Reed loves playing with his little sister! He sometimes can get too rough and I have to be the referee! However, it is pretty cute to watch them interact. Anna Grace will giggle at him....it is PRECIOUS!

Two teeth at one time.....

I stayed home from work with Anna Grace on Monday because she was running a fever. I really felt like she was cutting teeth because she had been sleeping SO good before this all started. This past weekend she woke up each night and by Saturday around 2 a.m. she was burning up with a fever. I gave her some Motrin and her fever broke and she slept. She was pretty happy for the most part during the day just a little clingy!

She was a little trooper because as I was looking around in her mouth, I noticed she had 2 teeth coming in at once!!! OUCH! She has 4 teeth that are completely in , 2 on top and 2 on bottom, and this makes 6 total now! Another one on top and one on bottom. Reed got his teeth early and had most of them way before he turned 1! My mom told me I cut my teeth early too.....guess it runs in the family:) I am just glad her teeth are in and she is feeling better before our mini vacation to Memphis today!

On my heart......

I have had so much on my heart lately about a million and 1 different things......my kids and my hubby, family( living 5 hrs away) , quiet time, family moving( sister), friends moving, friends who have experienced losing a child......the list goes on and on..... Here is a verse that really stood out to me I read from another blog.

There is a time for everything.......a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance...... Ecclesiastes 3:4

It really made me think about what is truly important in our lives and how there is a time for everything. God is so powerful and is ALWAYS our constant. I just have to remember to be faithful to him on a DAILY basis. I struggle with many things, but my problems tend to be so small when I look at the big picture. A tantrum seems so difficult at the time, but when I step back and regroup (give it to God) I see things in an entirely different way. I need to remain faithful to him and teach my children how Jesus wants us to be. If I handle myself in a more controlled way with Reed instead of losing my cool (which is so easy to do these days) he responds better USUALLY. I tell myself this is just a phase and if I am consistent and firm he will hopefully learn from his mistakes and be a better boy:)

My heart aches for my friends who have lost a child.....I just cannot even begin to fathum that, however GOD reminds us how good he is and he is the one who can lift our spirits and bring us joy. I pray for my friends alot. I pray especially for strength, understanding, and hope. God only gives us what we can handle......even though sometimes that is SO hard to grasp.

This is my all time FAVORITE verse in the bible:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillippians 4:13

I needed to share what was on my heart as I am home with my baby girl today. She has been running a fever (she is either teething or just has a little cold).

Hope everyone has a happy monday!!!

Anna Grace 8.5 months old

I LOVE dressing Anna Grace up in girly outfits.........it is SO much fun!!!

She is finally sitting up good. I don't know why but my babies are late sitters for some reason.

She was so happy this morning so I decided to take some pics.....I will do a 9 month post soon, so I will just stick to the basics. I am so blessed with a really good sleeper. She usually goes to bed around 8:30-9:00 and sleeps til 7. She takes about 2 good morning naps and 1 afternoon nap. She sometimes will take a cat nap after her dinner, but I like to hold her off so she will go to bed earlier. She loves her swing.......so I usually let her take her morning nap in it while I enjoy my coffee:)

For a while, I just could not even think about enjoying 1 warm cup of coffee. I would have to heat it up because I just did not have my routine down. I am all about routines and so I try to keep my babies on a schedule. I have learned over the years to bend it every now and then. I am so OCD about naps that it can really rock my world sometimes when Reed decides he will just play instead. I have to just go with the flow and tell myself.....it will be fine! And for the most part, he eventually wears himself out and finally crashes! ha! He also usually goes to bed earlier if he does not nap so that is nice:)

I could just kiss these sweet cheeks over and over again. Love my sweet baby girl!

Playing

Reed and Anna Grace love to play with each other and they can also entertain themselves:)





Reed loves to color and play with markers. We make sure they say "Washable" just to be on the safe side:)

Anna Grace loves to pull up on just about anything and crawls EVERYWHERE!!!! I forgot how busy it got once they get to be mobile!

Reed dressed himself this morning and HAD to wear his boots.......even though it was 105 outside! ha!

He loves to put puzzles and his train track together......although he gets frustrated easily if things don't go smoothly. I usually help him out and everything is better:)

Anna Grace loves playing with her big brother's trucks......

she always gets the bright yellow one......every time;)

Reed concentrating really hard on his train track.......

I just love how they play so good together.....at least for now;)

My little cowgirl!!!

Anna Grace LOVES to ride her horse......she has to have a little help though.


She will start to belly laugh because she is having SOOOOO much fun!

It is absolutely adorable!!!

I just love her little dimples when she grins real big:)

Look at those chubby little arms.....

What a bundle of LOVE!

Giddy up baby girl!!!!

Pulling up

I can't believe my baby girl has been pulling up since around 7.5 months old! I don't remember Reed doing this at her age.

I feel like time has FLOWN by already and my baby boy has now all of a sudden turned into a BIG boy!!! It really makes me sad. I love every minute of being a mommy, but it definitely is WAY different having 2 kiddos:) So much fun though!

Anna Grace can pull up and hold her self steady and ease back down to sit on the floor!

She is busy but continues to be a very content baby:)

She is such a sweetheart! LOVES to cuddle and will usually go to just about anyone.....she loves her daddy too. She just lights up when she sees him!!! Love that:)

She is so curious and just loves to explore!

Having a toddler and an 8 month old who is crawling and pulling up everywhere is super busy...... but I would not trade it for the WORLD!!! I LOVE being a mommy!!!!

Sacked out in her swing:)

Play date with Lawson

My husband and some of his friends went to Montana to run in a half marathon about a month ago. I stayed in Fayetteville and was a single mommy for the weekend! Usually, I take off to my mom and dad's but I really just did not have the energy to pack up the car. I did manage to schedule a girl's night out on Friday night with a few of my friends. We went to Bordinos for a delicious dinner and had a fabulous time! I always forget how nice it is to get together with some of my besties:) We laugh until we cry or pee our pants....lol! Anyway, it was a much needed break for me for SURE! I love my kiddos to death, but it sure does help to get some girl time!

Saturday, I was lazy and just hung out with my babies.....we did not even get out of our PJ's until that afternoon! Sometimes, it is just nice to lounge and not feel the least bit guilty about it!:) Lauren called to invite Reed and Anna Grace over for pizza and a play date outside. Reed was super excited about seeing his buddy Lawson! He kept on saying....."I wanna go see Lawson....mommy" over and over again about a MILLION times until we pulled up to their house. It was cute how excited he gets to see his sweet friend. They played outside, jumped in the baby pool, played with "Woody", drove trucks around, Reed crawled through their doggy door a MILLION times, and ate pizza of course. Anna Grace was crawling and pulling up everywhere so it was busy, but I did manage to get a good visit in with Lauren:) We had so much fun and the kiddos were WORN out when we left!

Sunday, I was determined to get the kids ready for church all by myself for the very first time. I was worried how I might get them both inside since Reed still likes for me to carry him. We have the sweetest greeters that welcome us there and help me carry Anna Grace into church. It worked out just fine. We LOVE Cross Church!!! We all took really long naps after church! We had such a fun filled weekend and by Monday we were sooooooo glad to see daddy!!!! I think he was pretty happy to see us too:)