Pappaw would be proud...

Cade and his favorite toy, his John Deere tractor...
He pushes that thing everywhere!

He will even "oooo" like the cow and sometimes "Baaab" like the sheep. :) It's adorable!

My poor, sick kiddos

It's a miserable day in the Davidson household. Both our sweet kiddos are sick! I hate it for them! At least one of them was up every hour last night- Cade vomiting and Ella with a fever, wheezing, and tummy ache. Not sure if it's the same bug, just manifesting itself differently in each of them. If it's two different bugs, I'm keeping my fingers crossed they don't get what the other one has! Anyways, it was a long (and short) night for everyone. I felt so bad for Chris, getting woke up so much through the night and then having to get up at 5 to go to work. We'll have to try to make it extra easy for him when he gets home tonight.
My sweet baby boy kept waking up wimpering and just covered in vomit. I wanted to snap my fingers and make it go away!
A little sighing. I feel the same way, Buddy!

The little guy is such a trooper though. Between being sick and having to try to wear this silly collar on his neck, he still finds something to cheer about. :)

Then there's my little princess. She doesn't have all that much energy today, and to be honest, neither do I! I'm not sure I could keep up with her normal, energetic self today! She has spent a good part of the day cuddling on the couch with Crispin...

After I took that picture, she said, "But Mommy, we need a pretty picture, too!" So we took this one (okay, so maybe she's starting to feel a little better! haha!)...

This momma's saying lots of get well prayers for these little rascals today!

"Just like a family"

We had a happy, leisurely, peaceful weekend full of togetherness. Days together, when neither Chris or I have to work, usually come around only twice a month- every other weekend, we have Saturday evening and all of Sunday together. These "short" weekends have grown so precious to us and we all cherish them. We try all the time, but especially when the four of us are together, to emphasize to Ella what it means to be a family: that we love and take care of each other, that we have fun and laugh together, that we support each other when someone is sad, that the time we are together is super special no matter what we are doing. It warms my heart to see that Ella is really starting to get it. She has started asking me almost on a daily basis, "Mommy, tomorrow do you or Daddy have to work? Can Daddy eat orange rolls with us for breakfast just like a family? Can you both stay here and have fun and everybody be a family all day?" And yes to two questions- we do have dinner together through the week, almost every evening, but it is a little more rushed. And yes, it warms my heart and also breaks my heart, too. For now though, I will be grateful for the fact that she treasures our time together just as much as we do.

So Saturday evening, we stayed home, "just like a family", and had steak, sweet potatoes, and creamed corn for dinner, with homemade-by-Ella chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Chris commented that he loved the corn, to which Ella commented, "I really love you and Mommy." Yes, we melted. And she probably thanked me twenty times for dinner. Then we played games and a little on the Wii until time for bed. Sunday morning, we were up and ready for church with enough time left over to sit and have coffee together (I know you're shocked! haha!). Look at my two handsome men in their Sunday best...
At church, Chris and I got to listen to a great message about how being more prioritized and generous with our time and money can actually make our lives feel more free, while Ella had fun in Sunday school and Cade flirted and made eyes at all the ladies sitting around us. :) Then we went onto lunch at Cheesecake Factory and walked around the mall. I was finally able to return some Christmas gifts that I hadn't had time to do until now. Last night, we played a few games and had old-school Chef Boyardee pizza for dinner (which made both Chris and I think of eating at Jennifer and Janie's house-haha!). Ella was worn out from a busy day and no nap, and Cade had put in some hard work cleaning up the kitchen...
so our sleepy kiddos went to bed early, and Chris and I relaxed! I know, I know, now you're probably thinking we're such party animals and how in the world can we keep up with such a busy social schedule, right?! haha! I have to tell you, it was a great weekend and I loved every second! Okay, almost every one, except for Ella having a few meltdowns, one of which when I wouldn't let her lick the dressing room mirror at Express. What a mean Mommy, right? :) So other than those moments, the weekend couldn't have been better. I love my family and our times together "just like a family". Hope yours was just as great!!

And it happened...

Maybe an extra cup of coffee in the morning would not be a bad thing- I think I might need the extra energy to keep up with this little guy!

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean, in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when he wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because he sees the sun shining on his cradle.
-Vincent Van Gogh

Special times

Grammy came up this weekend and Pappaw tagged along. Ella was so excited to have them both here! She was mostly Pappaw's girl though, because he took her all around the neighborhood on her bike and on a special date to "Old McDonald's" for breakfast. :)

That was fine with Cade, because that meant he had Grammy all to himself!

Ella even got some "real paper money" for being such a good girl and bike rider!

We love you all so much! Come back soon!!

Around here

We've been trying to take it easy around here the last few days. Not sure whether it's post-holiday exhaustion or the cold, dark weather, but it seems like everyone is just worn out! Mamaw and Papaw came to see us over the weekend, and Mamaw generously cooked us dinner Saturday night. Thank you! It's so nice to step back and be taken care of every now and then.
Sharing a little popcorn over football...
Ella finally got to get snuggled up and play in the snow...

Cade wanted to be out there, too!

I didn't get many pictures and this one kind of tells why- a little snow on the face...

...equals a crying girl. :)

In other news, Cade has learned to point and I'm thinking we have a preacher man on our hands- he gets to yelling and that little hand starts waving...

Of course, Daddy and Papaw think he's saying, "Cowboys #1!" :) It's super cute!

And look at this two-tooth grin! I just love, love, love this little face!

Hope everyone is doing well, staying warm, and fighting off the winter blahs!! Happy Wednesday!

On the move

Have I mentioned that our little man is on the move?! He's everywhere! The week of Christmas, he was "officially" crawling (with belly up) just 2-4 steps at a time. Last week, he would go a little further, maybe 6-8 steps, at a time. This week, however, not only is he crawling all the time, but pulling up on everything!
Case in point (and trust me, Sis wasn't very happy about this!)...
He chases Ella all over the place, which she thinks is just great, and gets into absolutely anything he wants.

He hasn't quite figured out how to sit back down yet. This has resulted in a few late night cries for help, where he's been standing up in his crib and "stuck". :) He's also gathered a few bruises (check out the top picture again and look at the right side of his face) from just letting go and falling. Poor baby! He does sometimes balance for 2-3 seconds before falling though. I'm sure he will be cruising in no time!

E's new friend

Introducing "Cocoa Davidson the Bear"...
Ella built her new friend yesterday. She stuffed her with love and even made a wish on her heart! Thanks for the gift, Kyle and Kellie! We had a lot of fun putting her together. Ella was kind of amazed to watch her go from a shapeless piece of fur into "a real, live teddy bear"! Now she has an honored place in Ella's bed, right next to Crispin, Pinky, and Blackie. :)

My resolution

Mother, oh, Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
Why, she’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and the bills are past due.
Pat-a-cake, Darling, and peek, peekaboo.

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew,
And out in the yard, there’s a hullabaloo.
But I’m playing Kanga, and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So, quiet down cobwebs; dust, go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.

-R.H. Hamilton

I came across this poem and it put into words something I've been feeling for a long time. I sometimes feel like my life is out of control. My weekends are consumed with work, and here at home, there's always an errand that needs running, bills that need paying, phone calls to make, cooking and cleaning to be done... the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, I always manage to get all of these "important" things accomplished, but I don't always read that last book with the kids. I don't always play that last round of One Fish, Two Fish with Ella. I don't always sing an extra song at bedtime. I don't always spend those five extra minutes rocking with Cade. And while these may be small things in and of themselves, and they may not be on my "important" daily to-do list, they are things that are so important for my kids. Those are the things that define the kind of mom I want to be.

In the past, I have felt like being an ideal mom, wife, daughter, friend, and woman meant having a clean house, putting dinner on the table every evening, getting the kids to bed at the same time every night, hardly ever saying no to anyone, being there and doing things for people no matter what. Don't get me wrong- I think those can all be wonderful things, if you have tireless energy and unlimited time to do them. I don't. And after all this time, I have finally come to realize that. This pressure I put on myself to be all things to all people not only gets to me emotionally, but my chest and head ache on a daily basis. And of utmost significance to me, in striving to be "ideal", I have ventured away from being the kind of mom that I want to be and that I want my little rascals to have. I want to be the kind of mom who always has time to play, always has time for a cuddle, always has time for an extra song or kiss at bedtime. Call it classic Mommy-Guilt, but many years from now, I want to know that I didn't take this special time with my sweet babies for granted. I want to know, without a doubt, that I made the most of every single day with them.

So, that being said, my resolution this year is to let go- of my striving to be perfect, of my idea of perfect. Just let it go. God sent His son to be perfect, so I don't have to be. I'm going to try to make that my daily mantra this year. If a phone call doesn't get made or the laundry doesn't get done for a day, so be it. If I snuggle up and take a nap with my kiddos instead of cleaning the bathroom, no big deal. When I can't see the living room carpet because toys are thrown and strewn about, well... I'll remember that article I read about how allowing your children to be messy makes them more creative, and just let it be. And if we have leftovers for dinner, because it's raining, the kids are rowdy, and I just don't have the energy to tackle the grocery with them in tow, then oh, well. Instead of stressing about it, I resolve to play an extra game of One Fish, Two Fish and enjoy my time with my babies!

"Mom, you stay there..."

"...I'm just gonna' run up to my room and grab something. I'll be right back!" haha!
Boy, oh, boy, are we in trouble!!

Happy New Year!!