The End of 2014

little ballerina :)

playing a word game together :) 

Lainey, making up her story using the story cubes (these are GREAT, by the way...they encourage creative story-telling).

Walker and his friend Brayden played hide-and-seek with Reagan.

Reagan didn't think it was all that fun. Walker and Brayden thought it was hilarious, though!

We celebrated the New Year (well, from 6:30 - 9 p.m.) with friends at a local country club. The kids loved running around and drinking the grape sparkling cider! (It was really good.)

We had told the kids we were going to "toast" the new year with sparkling cider and champagne. After we toasted, and drank our respective beverages...Lainey asked us about "eating the toast" that we had been talking about all evening. She thought we were literally going to be served toast. Bless her. :)

Lainey and Kaitlyn...sweet friends since they were three years old!

Walker...looking a little crazed. :-/

Sweet Camryn. Little photographer in the making. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Many blessings to you and your families in 2015!

Walker and the Gorilla Gym

Walker's Christmas present from Emmy and Tuck was a Gorilla Gym. This thing is amazing!!! It holds SO much weight, doesn't leave permanent damage (no drilling), and there are a variety of attachments for kids and adults...one of which is an indoor swing. The kids LOVE IT. They will easily play independently for a couple of hours. There have already been a few bumps and bruises...but we're learning. :) And please excuse the mess in the picture!

Walker has, recently, become the singer in the family. He sings ALL THE TIME. Whether it's his need for a glass of milk (he'll sing "I need some mi-i-i-ilk please" to some sort of tune) or his need to express his love for his mommy ("I love Mommy so-so-so-so mu-uch")...he's singing. He sings a lot about me...lately, to the tune of Christmas songs. For example. "Jingle Mommy, Jingle Mommy. Jingle all the Mommy....oh what fun it is to Mommy..." or "I love Mommy! I love Mommy! I love Mommy so so much! Because she's the best mommy! In the world! I love her so so much." (This one is also to the tune of Jingle Bells.) Basically, Walker can change any (familiar) song's lyrics into words about his needs/wants or his mommy. :) Maybe we should get him into music lessons! :) 

Just a cute picture of Reagan. When she's not barking she's pretty cute. :)

Holiday Happiness

Wow! Lots to catch up on! I am not quite sure what happens to me and why I get so far behind on blog posts, but I am determined to get these pictures on the blog before 2015. :) Such a busy time of year! So, while Lainey is sweetly reading books to Walker in his room - this usually happens at night before bed...never during the day...they are usually not this compliant and helpful when I need to do something - I am going to post our Christmas pictures! 

Lainey's last day of school...she and Baby Sofia have coordinating outfits. :)

celebrating Morgan's 8th birthday at Sweet and Sassy

hanging out at Target, post-dance

doing (supervised) tricks with her friend Lauren at dance

We saw the Collin County Ballet Theater's performance of The Nutcracker. It was so much fun, especially since we knew 5 of the dancers from school! Lainey was very interested in the ballet this year, making it much more fun for her (and me). I didn't have to ask her to be quiet or sit still at all; she's getting all growned-up. :) We took home a Nutcracker, and Lainey practiced being Clara for several days. ;)

Ben and I at a Christmas party...we look a little tired. We were at a bowling alley. I proudly wore my tacky Christmas sweater! Ben did not. ;)

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Fast-forward a few days (during which we attended a Stars game, did a little gymnastics and dancing, saw friends, played Minecraft, and enjoyed Christmas Eve at Uncle Greg and Aunt Tisha's house) to Christmas morning, when I discovered that I didn't charge the battery for my good camera. Yay for iPhones!

Lainey's gifts from Santa: Baby Annabell, Baby Annabell's Diaper Bag, and a giant stuffed teddy bear. Yes. She wanted a giant stuffed teddy bear from Santa. Baby Annabell was impossible for Mommy to find, being that she's only SOLD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, but thankfully, Santa pulled through on this one. Did you know that there is an amazon.co.uk? It's a great resource for some things. :) 

Opening stockings...Walker is obsessed (totally obsessed...like he was with trains) with Minecraft. He had a very "Minecraft" Christmas. He got a "Sheepy."

And a Creeper hat. Walker's favorite stuffed animal these days is "Creepy" (from Minecraft). So the hat is just awesome. :)

Lainey got some Shopkins (she loves collecting these little things). 

so happy about her giant teddy bear

Lainey's GIANT dollhouse from Emmy and Tuck. It's awesome!

This kid never wears hats. I was so surprised when he wore it around the house Christmas morning. And notice the Elf on the Shelf jammies...our elves brought them to the kids on Christmas Eve! Yes, we have two elves...our elf, Elf, brought a friend with him. A girl. Her name is Ella. :)

Walker's funny words as of late:

school: "sh-ool" or "st-ool"

survival: "sur-bye-bal" 

(He knows the word "survival" from Minecraft.)

The "k" sound still frequently emerges as a "t" sound... "Skeleton" is usually "Steleton."

His "r" sound is still not developed. It's more of a "uwh" sound.

Just a picture of the complete chaos. 

Walker received Minecraft Papercraft from Santa (to the right of him in this picture). Basically, we can create all of these Minecraft "scenes" and play using the characters and building blocks. We can make our own "worlds."

A little Christmas morning meltdown at Yiyia and Bud's house. I am pretty sure we were all talking instead of opening gifts. And this didn't make Walker happy. :) 

Walker and Collin...playing Minecraft. After opening gifts! :) 

The girls and their dolls...Lainey wanted a specific Baby Annabell...a certain "version." And Ebay had them for about $350. Again, I'm grateful for Santa and amazon.co.uk. This baby cries real tears, has cheeks that move (to imitate the sucking motion) when she drinks a bottle and sucks on a pacifier, cries, falls asleep, sneezes, giggles, and babbles. Truly like a real baby. Lainey didn't leave her side ALL day. At one point she declared, "I wish she would just go to sleep. She needs a good nap!"

At Emmy and Tuck's house Christmas night...still with Baby Annabell. Lainey was thrilled that she got to see Uncle Matt and Whitney THREE nights in a row (Stars game, Christmas Eve, and Christmas night). She loves them! They gave her some rollerblades...which are awesome. However, at one point, while skating, Lainey said, "Oh! I was wondering where my gum went! It's in my hair!" This is SO her...our slightly clumsy, somewhat absent-minded, more-likely-to-drop-something child.

Daddy was really good at soothing Baby Annabell. Most of the time, she just needed a change of position. ;)

Sofi. This dog is a good sport. I think Walker took about 50 pictures of her and recorded maybe 20 videos. She looks a little put-out here.

And now she has two bows. (Walker took this picture. And also placed the bows on her head.) 

Game. Over.

Merry Christmas!

Our Weekend and More

Dance Convention/Competition time!

 So many girls! These girls are ages 6-10.

sweet friends...Anna, Lainey, and Faith

Ouch. Before competition Saturday evening.

Reid and Lainey :) 

Walker and Daddy had fun at the Stars game on Saturday night! Lainey and I were still at the dance convention.

Anna, Allyson, Lainey : 2014

Anna, Allyson, and Lainey : 2012

(same convention)

Here's our Reagan dog. Her kneecap (patella) is being held in place on the side of her leg by a ligament! :( She's in pain. Poor baby. No one wants their kneecap on the side of their leg! She is on medication, which seems to be controlling the pain, and we'll look into surgery after the new year. 

And we made some fake snow on Monday. Three cups of Baking Soda, half a cup of hair conditioner. :) And done! Easy peasy. Lainey could have played with it all day. Walker, not so much. He didn't like getting his hands dirty. Lainey is my creative, messy child whereas Walker is my less-adventurous, more-cautious child. 

On a similar note, Lainey isn't one to be in a hurry. Ever. For example, the other morning, I asked her to get dressed for school. Instead of getting dressed (mind you, we have very limited "free" time in the morning before school...) she decided to make a flower out of toilet paper. :)

Daddy's Ducky Blankie

Daddy has been begging for a ducky blankie, like Walker's. So we got him one for his birthday. His very own. Initially, when I said we were giving Daddy a ducky blankie, Walker actually volunteered to give Daddy one of his beloved duckies. He said, "I'll have one and Daddy can have one." I thought that was sweet! And very un-Walker-like. :) Thankfully, Daddy got a brand new one...while it's not exactly like Walker's, it's pretty similar! :)

Walker told him, "Daddy, and if you ever need to feel comfortable, do this to the ducky." And he proceeded to demonstrate how to scratch the little duck (on the patch) back and forth with his fingernail. This is definitely how Walker seeks and finds comfort.