Shadowy Fun and Black Eye

Lindsay was babysitting Eden while Michael and I had something several Sundays ago and it was so nice that they spent the whole time outside. They had so much fun and by the time Michael and I got home, we had beautiful chalk paintings on our drive and one hot and sweaty little girl. Of course when Aunt Lindsay comes to play so does Harley so he was worn out too after all the ball throwing and fetching he did.

Here are Zizi and Eden playing with their shadows. Apparently Eden thought this was so funny and probably funnier because she was mimicking Lindsay's movements=)

This was just some of the chalk art we came home to. So beautiful.

Eden is in love with Harley. She has been saying lately how much she misses Harley and when he can come play. They are really, really cute together.

Two weekends ago, Eden got her first really bad black eye thanks to a golf cart. Kind of funny, but when the brakes were applied she fell off the seat and hit the dash from what I have been told. Neither Michael or I were there when it happened. It didn't bother her too bad several days later when I got home and she was telling me what happened. Currently it is fading to a yellow. It really just looked like she had heavy eyeshadow on only her left eye=) See below for pictures.

Wye Mountain 2011

Eden and I drove up to Wye Mountain a few weeks ago before I was leaving town and we had the most beautiful afternoon running around up there. It had been cold for many days before we found a Wednesday late afternoon that was warmer and beautiful so we took off last minute and drove up to the mountain to try our hand at pictures again. Of course she didn't want to cooperate very much but I took some Smarties candies with me and that helped bribe her a little bit. There weren't very many people there late in the afternoon/evening so she could run and run. They had a little area roped off where you could pick a few of the flowers so Eden loved getting to do that and then she would find all the smashed ones in the regular fields that she thought she needed to pick up. So cute, she couldn't help herself. It was so nice that Eden wouldn't wear her little cardigan to cover up her pirate tattoo that is on her left arm. So the whole time I'm trying to get her to turn certain ways to avoid it being seen. It was so funny. She loved climbing up on the trees and just running and running through all the flowers. Wye Mountain never disappoints. I love all of it's beauty. Here are some of the better pictures=)

Eden's Announcement

Eden's going to be a big sister and can you tell she is thrilled=) We told her first by giving her this shirt but of course she can't read and when we told her she was going to be a big sister she still didn't get it. So when I said that there was a baby inside mommy's tummy she lit up and said, "There is?, like Aunt Sarah?". She has been wanting one for a long time so she was so excited. Then we proceeded to tell our families.

I am due Oct. 5th and have been very nauseous and sick quite a bit but hopefully that will subside soon. It's kind of funny because on my side of the family someone has a birthday on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of October so maybe we can get baby to come on the 4th. My mom said we may have to start doing Christmas then with so many birthdays close together;) It's not great timing for Michael though because it is right in the middle of his budget season when he's super duper busy so we will see how that all plays out. He might not have very many days with us in the beginning but I'm sure our families will be around to help.

A lot of you don't know this but we had been trying for a year and things just weren't happening so in January I had a doctor's appt with my doctor and we were going to start some infertility testing to see if I had secondary infertility problems that had come up since having Eden. I was days away from going for testing when I got the positive pregnancy test. I was in shock and kind of still am that it finally happened. I cried and cried. We waited a month until after my first appt to tell family and then slowly started telling others around us. We have been praying for a healthy baby and that everything will remain good and normal through out this pregnancy. Eden has been pretty adamant that it's a girl but who knows. Michael and I are fine with either but I think deep down Michael would love it to be a boy;) We should find out towards the end of May I think. Please keep us and the pregnancy in your prayers.

Dentist, Doctor, and Hair Cut

Monday morning Eden had her very first dentist appointment. She was not real thrilled and I have no idea why she wouldn't be. Who would have told her about dentists? Anyways, we got there and she did most of what they asked of her. They slowly introduced her to all the instruments and the hygienist was really, really nice. She was very patient with Eden and said that Eden brushes her teeth really well for a three year old. Her teeth were perfect, no cavities. YEA!!!! I was a little nervous. The dentist did warn us that looking at how close her teeth are right now, there will probably not be much room for permanent teeth, big sigh:( She may have ended up with her daddy's mouth. Poor girl. My siblings and I never had braces or anything but all of Michael's family did so it was 50/50 for Eden. All in all she did great. It did take a little persuasion to get her to take x-rays but she did it. I was so proud. We go back in six months. Sorry the pictures are so bad. I tried to take them in a hurry. Eden was watching the hygienist like a hawk, so funny.

Eden getting her teeth cleaned and polished. She did really well with this probably because she has a spinning tooth brush at home.

Getting a quick squirt of water. She thought the water gun was really cool.

Wednesday morning before bible study we had Eden's three year check up. Here are her latest stats:

Height: 39 1/4 inches, which is about the 92% percentile

Weight: 33.4 lbs, they didn't give me the exact percentile

The doctor said she still looks perfect, so that was good. She got two shots which she did not like. She screamed and kicked while the nurse and I held her down for them. She couldn't even calm down afterwards. She was still crying when we walked into bible study. She keeps telling me she doesn't like shots and showing me the little pricks on her legs. Poor baby girl. There will be plenty more in your future.

Today after mother's day out I took Eden to get her hair cut. It is so long and gets in EVERY THING. The ends are always stuck together due to food, snot, and no telling what else. So I had it. She got five inches cut off. I love it. She did so good and let them cut it off. We can still do ponytails and all that. It just won't be so heavy and messy hopefully. Here are some pictures of it.

Before hair cut. It was so long.


After. So cute.

Ta daaa. She likes it and has been showing it off. It makes her look older. I can't believe it.

Other Happenings

After Eden's party we got to eat and play with Jamie, J. David, Myles, J. Pops, and Mimi before they headed back to Searcy. We played games and caught up over the afternoon. Myles is so photogenic I can't help but take pictures of him.

I got some great snuggle time in with Myles. He is the best most laid back baby ever and so cuddly.

J. David and Eden just played and played. They did so well together.



Myles laughing. He has the sweetest laugh and he is so ticklish.

The kids, along with Mimi and J. Pops, playing with Eden's new games.

Just a cute random photo of Eden that I liked.



Today was the perfect day for Eden to wear her rain gear from Granna and Gigi that she was given for her birthday. She was so excited she could finally play with her umbrella=)

Eden was having the best time.

Thanks Granna and Gigi. She couldn't be happier.

Stay tuned for the dentist and three year stats tomorrow.

Eden's 3rd Birthday

On Eden's actual birthday, we were still in Searcy so Eden got to have breakfast with lots of family. She loves cinnamon rolls so she was thrilled to get to eat some for breakfast on her birthday and the fact that we put candles in it was wonderful to her. She blew them out like a pro and devoured the two cinnamon rolls within minutes and if you know her she is the SLOWEST eater ever, so it was a record. We ended up leaving Searcy mid morning so Michael could work half a day and to get home before some storms that were headed our way. That evening Lindsay brought Eden some balloons to celebrate her real birthday and Eden chose to go to Chick-Fil-A for dinner, her favorite.

Eden blowing her three candles out.

Eden and Zizi holding the balloons she got for her birthday.

Eden's party was at Jump Zone on the Saturday morning following her birthday. It is one of her favorite places and we had been there for several birthdays already and she had asked to have hers there too. Well we made that happen and she had a blast. I spent all of Friday and I do mean ALL DAY making her castle cake. She wanted a "Cinderella Party" at Jump Zone so I decided to do the cake kind of princessy and Eden saw a picture of this cake when I was browsing for ideas and she loved it. So I tried to duplicate it. Here it is.....

I will NEVER make another one unless someone has some major money to throw down=) It took ten and a half hours just to ice and decorate (not including baking times) and tons and tons of fondant which is not cheap. Eden LOVED it so it was all worth it.

The princess in her throne at Jump Zone.

Eden on one of many slides.

J. David and Lindsay playing together. We were so lucky that Jamie, J. David, and Myles were able to come into town the weekend of Eden's birthday. We were so glad they were there and we had a blast playing with them after the party until that evening.

J. David, Zizi, and Eden

A closer picture of Eden enjoying her birthday party. I think all the other kids enjoyed it too by the pictures I got of everyone.

Myles hanging out so patiently in the stroller.

Lindsay sliding for Eden.

I had to throw this in. Carrie taking Lucy down a slide for the first time. Can you see her face? She was scared to death and hated it=)

Matt, Beth, and Brisco got to make it to Eden's party and then they flew out. It was so special to Eden that they were here for her birthday and her party. What great timing for their visit!

Eden blowing out her three candles on her cake.

Most of the kids but missing a few.

Eden got to open her presents from the throne and she enjoyed opening each one so much. She wanted to play with each toy she opened right then. It was so cute.

We are so blessed to have such great friends and family that helped celebrate Eden's 3rd birthday with us. Thank you so much!

Searcy Vacay

I'm so far behind and it took me forever to go through the five hundred pictures on my camera. So here goes a quick recap of what's been happening. The third week of Febuary we went to Searcy to hang out with Michael's family. Matt, Beth, and Brisco were down from Michigan and Jeff, Sarah, and Lydia were there to hang out too. We missed Craig and Tiffany a lot but we know they are busy hard working people saving for a wedding=) We hung out a lot that week and apparently I was really bad about taking pictures. I thought I had taken more but I didn't see very many when I downloaded them. Oh well. Here is what I got.

Michael holding Brisco.

What a handsome boy? I couldn't believe how big he had gotten since the last time we had seen him.

Eden loving on Brisco.

Brisco caught playing with a baby;)

Eden playing with her older cousins.

Five of Grandmother's seven great grandkids.

Eden holding Brisco. She was all over him that week.

Granna and Eden playing together.

Lydia and Eden opening their birthday gifts from Matt, Beth, Brisco, and Gordie. They were so excited.

Eden holding her doll. She named her Sophie.

Eden and Lydia with their new dolls. Eden plays with Sophie all the time. She loves her so much!

We had a great time and we hated seeing everyone leave. We can't wait until we can see everyone again.