Front row seats still available!

All new performances starting every hour... Best money Santa ever spent!Though Daddy could probably do with a little less Hannah Montana! ha! =)

January 20, 2012...

...will forever be known as...

(drum roll, please)

...the day Ella learned to tie her shoes!!
And what a proud girl she is!! She got a new pair of kickers that have thinner strings. It took her all of three minutes to figure it out once I showed her. She was so excited and even fussed at us when it was time for bed, "but I want to keep tying my shoes!" She grabbed them first thing the next morning, "I'm going to tie my shoes all day!" And she did! ha! Quite a big deal for this big girl!

Cade's big trip

Cade is having a big week! He is spending a few days with Grammy and Pap all by himself! Mom was here earlier in the week, and he kept asking to go to her house. Mom said she'd love to have him, but he needed to ask his mommy. When I told him he could go, he was so excited! He was jumping around and yelling, "I go Gram's house! Mommy said okay!" He put on his shoes and was ready to go right then and there. He also had to call Papaw and tell him he was coming to ride his tractor. haha! So, he's there getting spoiled and having so much fun. And the funny thing is how many times his big sister has asked about him. She called him three times last night "just to see what he's doing" and kept saying things like, "I wonder what Cade's playing with" or "I wonder if Cade's already in bed." This morning she was wondering what Cade was having for breakfast. I would never have guessed she would miss him so much! Sweet stuff.
And I miss that little guy and his giggles, too, though I have enjoyed giving this gal some extra attention this morning. And when my big girl gets home from school, we are planning to have a fun girls' day, complete with shopping and the new Chipmunks movie. Can't wait!

For moms

A friend shared this with me on facebook and, as a mom of young kiddos, I found it encouraging. It goes without saying that we love our children more than life, but, let's face it, we all have our days when being a mom is exhausting. I, for one, can get so bogged down and worn out by the busy-ness that is mothering- the chasing kids, cleaning up messes, breaking up arguments, constantly correcting and redirecting and on and on. I know everyone feels this way sometimes, but we don't talk about it! I guess we're afraid others may think we can't handle it or we don't appreciate our kids or we're not doing a good enough job. So, of course, when I start feeling that way, I also start feeling guilty for feeling that way in the first place. Then when people are constantly telling me to "enjoy every minute" when I'm already feeling guilty for feeling frustrated, I find myself getting discouraged that maybe I'm not doing it "right". Kind of confusing, but I know you moms out there get it. Anyways, this mom just put it out there. I appreciate her honesty and just thought I'd share for the ones who haven't already seen it.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html

Guess who's six months old?

This cute gal! You are growing up so fast, Harper Noelle, and are beginning to find your voice in this loud and crazy family. You're not afraid to let us know when you need attention, but you snap back to happy in no time. You greet me every morning with the biggest smiles on your face, and I'm beginning to think of you as our laid-back, glass half-full child.
You love to be tickled under your neck. You think it's funny to "give kisses" by licking my cheek. You so enjoy bath time and being read to. You keep a close eye on what Ella and Cade are up to. Ella adores you and makes you laugh. Cade means well, but he's a little rough and makes you nervous. You usually look to make sure I'm watching closely when he plays with you. =)
You can hold yourself in a sitting position for a few seconds, and it won't be long before you're sitting on your own. You don't stay on your back and roll over the second we put you down. Sometimes you get stuck on your belly though and don't like it. You really show no interest in moving or scooting around yet, and why would you? There are more than enough people willing to do your bidding! =) You are chewing and drooling like crazy, so I'm wondering if we'll see some teeth soon. You eat one cereal meal a day and are enjoying trying new fruits and veggies every few days. You also love getting nibbles off our plates. Ella and Cade want to give you a bite of everything they eat, and I'm sure you'd love it, too, if I would let them. You take a short morning nap and a longer nap in the afternoon. You take your last bottle around 8pm, then go down for the night and usually sleep 10-12 hours. You are getting chunky and we love it. You wear mostly 9 month clothes, and we are thinking it won't be long before you are bigger than your brother. =)
You bring so much joy to each and every day, Harper, and your mommy and daddy love you so very much!!

Children's Museum

On Ella's last day of Christmas break, we went to the Cincinnati Children's Museum. Chris has taken the kids a couple times when I've been working, and Ella's has been asking for a long time to "take Mommy", so she was pretty excited to show me around. =) It just so happened to be the last day of the Duke Energy train display, too, so we lucked out. One of the first things we got to do was walk through a real train car. Checking out the trains with Daddy Harper was happy to be there, too! Playing at the train tables. They even got to ride a little train around the exhibit, but I didn't get a good picture. They were grinning ear to ear though! After we made our way through all the trains, we checked out the other parts of the museum. Ella couldn't wait to show me all the tricks at the water tables. Cade was a wet mess after playing here, but he had so much fun. They could do this for hours! Next was the "ball place". Walking on this treadmill powers a conveyor belt that carries balls to the top of a tower. It was pretty tough and Cade was not strong enough to make it go. Ella, on the other hand, was all about showing Cade, "See? I can do it, Cade, because I'm bigger than you!" =) There were lots of fun, little spots to stop off and play. Ella loves to role play, so getting to pretend to be a Kroger cashier was right up her alley. And Cade made a cute bagger. =) The perfect ending to our trip- a stop at the ice cream shop! That evening at dinner, we were answering some of Ella's discussion questions for school. One of them asked If you could have any gift in the world, what would it be? Ella thought for a minute then said, "Another day like today." Aww, she knows how to go straight to this momma's heart!

There's something sucking up my free time these days...

I started classes for my master's a couple weeks ago. Wow. It's been busy! They added a third class on at the last minute, so I'm taking eleven hours instead of the eight I had originally planned on. I thought I had a lot going on before, but, well, I guess I had more "free time" than I thought, because now I really know what it means to be busy!! So far, it's been pretty interesting, and I'm just really excited about this new adventure. It's going to be hard, but I know it will be so worth it in the end. Chris has been great about picking up my slack around the house, and he's so supportive of me doing this. After the first week, he said, "Look, one week down, only 90-something left to go!"

Other special holiday stuff

We were happy to be part of the Lawyer Christmas Reunion, as it was so called this year. Only once or twice a year is my dad's whole family able to get together. It may be loud, wild, and chaotic when they do, but it is never short on stories, jokes, ribbing, and laughter. The sitting around, chatting, cracking up, and just catching up is something I look forward to so much.
Jared and his favorite comedian cousin, Hannie The proud grandparents holding the newest of the Lawyer clan- Uncle Tim holding Amy's little girl, Alexandria, Dad and Harper, Mom and TyA few of the boys, er, men.All of the Lawyer grandkids and great-grandkids. Papaw and Grandma would be so proud of all of us!Later that evening, we stopped off to visit a very special friend. Our lives may have changed a bit over the years, but we don't look a day past 18, do we??It was fun to let our kiddos play for a bit. Given the chance, I think Ella and Abby could be great buddies. Cade was kind of tongue-tied around all the ladies, and, well, Olivia was not in the mood to make new friends. haha! I feel so fortunate to have seen so many loved ones on this trip home. I only wish we could see them more often and not just at the holidays!!

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

I finally got a picture of the five of us once we got to Mom and Dad's on Christmas evening. The kids were already in their jammies and getting ready for bed, but I wasn't backing down! haha! Our family- Christmas 2011 It didn't take long for Harper to sack out on Uncle Jared's lap. Cade couldn't wait to cuddle in close to him, too.Jared waited till the kids were in bed to bust out his special beverage. Liquor, you ask? Nope, EGGNOG!! This kid downs the stuff like it is water! Eww! The annual stocking picture. I love it. Mom had to double up on a few steps this year. Just because she's pretty Uncle Jason grabbed up Laila as soon as she walked through the door Monday morning. She's not quite sure about him, but too polite to say anything. =) Little Chad, aka Ty, could not possibly be any cuter!! The Lawyer grandkids Harper and her sweet pink stocking Laila couldn't keep her hands off "Baby Hawper". She wants to watch her and be right where she is every second. On to the chaos! The kids were ripping open presents left and right and I could hardly keep up. Cade opened a new Mobigo game from Jason and Carla. He got a new tractor and trailer from Pap and Grammy that he LOVES! He has been pushing that thing everywhere! Pap and Gram were super excited about their new camera. Harper opened some new girly toys. Ella got a new 500 piece puzzle, a couple of new games, and a bunch of clothes. Spoiled!! Laila lost interest in presents pretty quickly and decided to watch the fish instead. =) Cute one! Ella's favorite gift of the day- press-on nails. Really, Gram?!! haha!A couple of not too happy babies at their first Lawyer Christmas We are blessed and spoiled beyond belief, and I'm not just talking about the presents! I love spending time with our family!!

Christmas with the Davidsons

I'm waaayyy behind on blog posts, so please bear with me, people!! I'm trying to play catch up, at least through the holidays! On (the actual) Christmas morning, we woke up at Papaw and Mamaw's. Kyle, Kellie, and Payton arrived early and these kiddos were super excited!!The Davidson boys and their toys

Harper and Aunt Kellie

Our best attempt at a photo of the four grandkids

Finally time for presents! The excitement was contagious. Cade's mouth was wide open yelling during this one even though he had no idea what it was! haha!

Papaw and Mamaw got him his first baseball glove and ball. Awesome!

Ella opened some new clothes and, well, you know she had to go change right away! =)

Payton, Kyle, and Cade checking out some new gifts.

Kyle and Kellie gave Ella and Cade books with their pictures in them. They are so fun! My Super Cade Ella in Glittergills Mamaw loved the wall frame with pictures of the grandkids. Pretty family And, well, I didn't even manage to get one of the five of us! Go figure. Harper sat with Great-Grandma awhile. Payton and Chris tried out Payton's new Mind Flex game. Whether it's a gimmick or not, it is pretty neat. Cade, Papaw, and Ella tested Cade's new car track. Mark and Cheryl gave us the greatest gift- a deep freezer and all the meat and seafood we could possibly want to fill it up. Not sure what happened to cutting back this year (?!), but I can't tell you how wonderful it has been to not have to stand in the kitchen wondering what's for dinner! Thanks so much to everyone for all our thoughtful gifts!!