Cousins

My very talented friend, Chantal, was brave enough to take on a photo session of my and my sister's kids together. It was no small task, but she did an excellent job. Here are just a few of the best shots.

This post is a little bittersweet for me because my sister and her family are moving to Oklahoma on Saturday. We've been extremely blessed to live so close to one another most of our adult lives, and anyone that knows us knows that K and I are closer than the average sisters. They came to Texas shortly after we did, and bought a house about five miles from us. We got jobs in the same school district and attended the same church. We were pregnant together TWICE, and have firstborn girls and secondborn boys only months apart from one another. I got to keep my niece and nephew while my sister worked part time, so we have a very special and close bond. They are moving closer to both sets of grandparents and it's a wonderful opportunity for them, but it's really sad to see them go. Our lives won't be quite the same without them. I hope that R is ready for some serious miles on our car, because I see quite a few trips to Oklahoma in the future!

Revive Carnival

Northwood Church has an amazing ministry called Revive, which provides a free "parent's night out" to families of children with special needs. It reaches out to many families that would otherwise never have a break from their many responsibilities. Northwood holds a carnival every year, which is a great opportunity for us to support this ministry. Of course, Tink was happy to oblige by using the tickets we purchased to ride rides with her friends :) Click on the link above to learn more about Northwood or the Revive ministry.

Birthday Girl

For Tink's third birthday (sorry, did I say THIRD? What in the world?!?!?) anyway, she chose her favorite character, Dora, as the theme. We had a great time planning and getting ready for this one - a full Dora reenactment! She LOVED every minute and was really excited to have her friends and family celebrate with her. It was a great weekend that she's still talking about - just a few weeks ago, she told Miss Becky all about it :)

Getting ready is half the fun! Stuffing her "Backpack" favor bags

Oh no! Swiper swiped the pinata! (I had to move things along before she started crying)

Who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go? The map!

We went across Turtle Pond ...

past Lollipop Forest ...

through Rainbow Cave ...

and that's where we found Tink's pinata! We did it!
Three is the perfect age for "pretending", and most of Tink's friends had as much fun as she did. It was totally worth the late night effort :)

Happy birthday to you!

Sweet friends patiently watching her open presents

Her big present - a talking Dora house

Pancakes in the shape of I and 3

The celebration wasn't complete without a trip to her favorite place with some of her favorite friends

Tink, I am so proud of everything you've learned in the past year and I am having a blast watching you grow into your sweet, cautious, inquisitive, talkative personality! I love you and I'm proud that you're mine!

First Prayer

Yes, I've been MIA for quite some time... There's a lot to catch up on, and I promise to deliver in the weeks to come. But for now, I couldn't let today pass without recording a special milestone: Tink said her own prayer tonight, and it was sweet music to this Mama's ears. For the past few months, we've been leading her in a simple prayer of thanksgiving at the end of the day. "Today we went to the zoo and played outside. What do you want to thank God for?" Tonight I listed the days' activities and our prayer began as usual, but when I prompted her to continue with, "In Jesus' name", she stopped me because she had more to say. And so, she continued:
"Dear God, thank you for M's house, thank you for going to Miss Sara's to get the 'partment keys, and for her saying hi to me, thank you for her new car, and for keeping Daddy safe. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Daddy Daughter Dance

A few weeks ago, R took Tink to her very first Daddy Daughter dance! We started the afternoon with pink fingernails and some curls. Tink was completely into it - she kept talking about her "Cinderella dress" and "glass slippers". When Ryan knocked on the door and gave her a flower to wear on her wrist, I thought she was going to burst. I couldn't wait for them to come home and tell me all about it - she didn't stay awake long enough, but woke up the next morning to let me know that it was "really loud" and there were lots of "big girls". Apparently, not much dancing occured. She was a little overwhelmed, and her Daddy held her most of the night. She did enjoy the cookies though ... maybe next year :)

Can you tell me how to get ...

We had SUCH a fun girls night out Thursday! We took Tink and her cousin to see some of their favorite Sesame Street characters on stage. Tink went last year and was excited, but it took M awhile to warm up to the lights and sounds. On the way there, she kept saying, 'I don't want to say "hi" to Elmo. I'll just wave at him.' :) Half way through the show, she decided she needed to go sit on the steps with Zoe (on stage)! They both had a blast singing and dancing, and we had just as much fun watching them. Tink's favorite part was the fruit song and M's was the toothbrush song. They squealed and giggled all the way home - music to the ears of two Mamas who acted the just the same after nights like this when we were the little girls in the back seat.

Let it Snow

Just after Bug's birthday, we had a huge snowfall! It caused a little stress when travel came to a halt (R was away and my Mom needed to go home), but everyone returned safe and sound and we enjoyed a few days at home together. This was Bug's first time in the snow and Tink's first snowman, so I was really excited that R was here with us! Bug was a fan until a little got inside his mitten, and then decided his afternoon might be better spent taking a nap (who could blame him?) Tink did better than I expected, and wasn't ready to come inside even though she was freezing! She's game for just about anything her Daddy is doing, so I should've known being in the cold wouldn't be any different. She LOVED the snowman, and kept shaking it's hand, telling it "nice to meet ya", and giving it hugs. R even turned it around so she could see it from the kitchen, and she enjoyed talking to it for the rest of the day from the kitchen window. Unfortunately, this is Texas, and she woke the next morning shocked to see that "his face fell off"!