Merry Christmas from Arkansas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Six Months Old and Sweeter Than Ever!

Our baby girl is six months old and we can hardly believe it. Before we know it, we'll be celebrating a very big 1st birthday! What a little bundle of joy she is. Sofia is pure happiness, full of giggles and toothless grins.

Besides rolling all around and enjoying a countless array of fruits and vegetables, Sofia loves to be tickled and to laugh. Her favorite thing to look at is her brother's face- nothing makes her happier!

After her 6 month exam, the doctor declared her "perfect!" and we couldn't agree more.

Things You Should Not Do When Your Child Wakes You Up at 4:45 am...

• Decide not to bother going back to bed so that you can get a shower in
• Postpone making coffee until "closer to breakfast"
• Sit on the most comfortable chair in your home
• Decide to start reading...anything
• Allow the dog to get up and start barking at the door
• Start cleaning
• Turn on ANY children's programming during the day
• Skip nap time, even if it means your kid will be up until 10:30 tonight
• Attempt to accomplish anything of consequence before bedtime
• Take two kids and a dog to the most socially retarded and moderately rude veterinarian in the greater Little Rock area...in the pouring rain.

Priceless

I am constantly amazed at how fast our kids grow, but for some reason, over the past two weeks, Daniel has grown by leaps and bounds. He is talking in complete sentences and replys appropriately when we speak to him, making conversations a possibility for the first time. We say "thank you", he says "you're welcome"- without prompting. As I'm writing this I am sitting on the floor in our bathroom (thank God for laptops) while Daniel enjoys an early morning bath- (never mind why). As he scoops up soapy water and pours it over himself he says "Mommy, look-it's like rain. God made rain." I love that!

Love Waking Up to This Face

It doesn't get any better than this. I can't help but look forward to seeing it every morning!

I Want my Mommy

Germs of some unknown sort entered our home the other day and are ruthlessly passing from one person to the next. Daniel started with a fever last Wednesday. By Thursday, the fever was almost gone, which gave way to the snuffy, runny nose and the horrible coughing. He managed to muster enough energy to Trick-or-Treat on Friday, but continues to battle the most stubborn cold he's ever had. Saturday morning, Sofia woke up with a fever, which reached it's peak that afternoon at 103 degrees. I had visions of us in the E.R. at Arkansas Children's Hopsital, but thankfully the Tylenol has managed to keep it down. It is still hovering aroun 100 degrees and she remains virtually snot free, at least at the moment. Over the last 5 days, we've gone through more Tylenol, cold medicine, and Kleenex that I ever thought possible, with no sign of relief.

Then, last night, the unthinkable happened. I found myself with a fever. I know what's coming. So here I sit, popping my own Tylenol, nursing back to health two sick kids, with a husband traveling to Florida for an entire week.

I want my mommy!

No matter how old you get, when you're sick, there's only one person who can make you feel any better. I remember countless times of laying on the couch with my pillow, remote control in hand, watching cartoons while mom brought me plenty of liquids and lunch on my metal Strawberry Shortcake tray. It's easy to want your mommy when you're not feeling your best. Who do you go to when you are the mommy?

Trick-or-Treat

What a fun day! Daniel couldn't wait to put his costume on and get his treats. He has finally gotten to an age where he can fully participate and understand what is going on and boy was he ever excited!

We ran some errands during which Daniel told everyone he came in contact with that he was going to be a puppy dog. You can imagine his excitement when he received his first official "treat" from the greeter at Walmart.

That evening, we gobbled down some food, threw the costumes in the car and headed over to our Halloween Party at the Halberg's. As we waited for some late stragglers and had cupcakes to celebrate Will's birthday, Daniel could do nothing but pace around the house. He was ready to go! We had such fun walking around the Halberg's neighborhood watching the kids trick-or-treat. Our little pumpkin, Sofia, enjoyed the evening from the comfort of her stroller and even got to trick-or-treat once herself.

Dan and Misty (okay, so really it was all Misty) did a great job putting together a fun night for the kids, complete with goodies, crafts, and the monster mash. We are very blessed to have such great friends here and are so thankful we have such fun Halloween memories.

Sofia's sweet ride

Birthday boy, Will, and Daniel needed a break