Glad You're Feeling Better!

Pap has been very sick lately, but it seems like he is recovering well. He had flu symptoms for about 10 days-he couldn't really eat or even drink much of anything. When he went to the doctor they tested him for swine flu, that's what we all thought it was. Mom was picturing what would happen when the news reporters showed up at their door. She imagined that Bernie would come out in his boxers and beater and do the interview like that. Thankfully for everyone, it was not the swine flu. After a bunch of tests and visits to the doctor they have decided that it was an infection that was in his liver. Today was his first day back to work so I am sure that it will be a long exhausting day for him! The "doctors" just wanted to let you know that we're glad you are feeling better-we were all very worried about you! Layne is just in a diaper because this was taken after lunch. She is the messiest eater that I know!!

He is a SHE!

Unfortunately, due to Layne's lack of hair most strangers think that SHE is a HE even though she wears pink. So, Angela gave me these bows that she uses for her baby. She just sticks them to Sarah's head with corn syrup and there you go! So, after someone in Walmart yesterday said, "The little guy is hungry, you can't bring a hungry little boy to the grocery store." I decided that I was sticking a bow to her scalp! Pretty cute if you ask me!! Thanks Angela!

I know it's out of focus, but her face was just so cute-I had to post it.

Turtle Cheesecake!

Tonight we are going to the Comptois' for dinner-the Cipolla's will be there too. I was asked to make a dessert, so I tried out a cheesecake. Can't wait to see how it tastes.

Angel Trumpets

I have a few angel trumpet plants and I get so excited when they are about to bloom. I just love the shape and sweet smell of the blooms. All of these came from one plant last night! This morning when I woke up the entire house smelled like fresh fragrant angel trumpet flowers! The weird thing is that about half of these blooms were pure when when I picked them last night. Now they all have the pink tips!!

Road ID

It finally came today-my human dog collar! It's really just a bracelet, but it's for identification purposes in case anything happens to me while I am running on the road. Johnny is really into cycling and I noticed that he had one and thought it was a pretty good idea, so I ordered one for myself. It's laser etched and pretty stylish! The scripture comes from Hebrews 12.

"A Dangerous Mess"

When I took a shower this morning I just put the girls in Hayden room and moved a lightning speed to get cleaned. When I returned this is what I found! I said, "Oh my!" and Hayden said, "Don't worry mommy, we are cleaning up because this is a dangerous mess!" Yeah....dangerous to your freakishly organized mother's sanity-is what I thought in my head! All Hayden heard was my laughter....

Picnic at the Park

Last night we met Grandma and Pop at the park and had a picnic dinner and then played. Here is Layne crawling up the slide, with a little assistance from daddy.

Layne will walk if you are holding her hands or arms, but that's as close as we are getting for now.

Two slides, two girls, two different methods of getting down...

I was really surprised that Hayden had the guts to try the really big slide, but it was her favorite!

Just walking away

Love it.

Check out the hair!

Peek-a-Boo!

Daddy the Hip Hop Model

I got Jeremy some new clothes today. He very rarely gets new clothes, but when he does I do the shopping for him-it's just safer that way! I loved these shorts but Jeremy wasn't sold on them. He tried them on, with one of the new shirts and he just went a little hip hop crazy. He added the hats on sideways for a little flair. What do you guys think!?

The barrette......finally! We really don't need it, but it looks cute.

H-A-Y-D-E-N

Yesterday we were out to lunch with some families from church. David and Lisa have a three year old son named Ethan (House of Collinsworth is their blog listed to the right). He is super smart for his age! He was spelling his name for me at lunch. So, of course when we got home it was time for daddy to teach Hayden how to spell HER name. Here is video, taken this morning, of Hayden spelling her name for us. She is making a face in the beginning because of the boogies in her nose. I feel like I have to explain the two deer that are "breaking through" the walls in our bedroom! We used to have all of Jerm's hunting trophies in our office, but we moved the office to our bedroom when we had Layne because we needed two bedrooms for the girls. So, the deer and one turkey fan made the cut and were moved to the bedroom (it was there or the family room so I opted for the bedroom!). Let me tell you how awesome it is to look up in the middle of the night and see two deer watching you sleep. If I am lucky sometimes the light reflects off of their glazed eyes and wet looking nose! Sometimes when Moo (our cat) is cleaning herself at the bottom of our bed I wake up and certain that the noise is Bambi's father licking his lips and is about to pounce on me at any minute-It HAS been a very long time since he last ate-maybe he would enjoy human! Maybe one day we will have a house with a "man room" just for daddy's office and dead but made to look alive animals. One can only hope....

Well, today was the big surprise day! I took Hayden to see Dora the Explorer LIVE at the Fox Theater!! For the first act Hayden just sat in her seat and took it all in-no participation. I started to think that maybe Dora Live wasn't such a great idea after all....

During intermission Hayden and I talked about what she had just witnessed. I answered some of her questions and we talked and talked.

The second half of the show was a different story for Miss Hayden. She was out of her seat dancing and jumping around. She helped out in every way that Dora asked her to. She even came up with questions and things that Dora may as her to do and then she answered those questions (ex. "Can you help me find the vine? Yes, it's right there Dora"-as she points in the direction of the vine).

There were moments during the second act that I looked over at Hayden and actually got emotional. It is such an amazing thing to see your child so genuinely filled with joy-the simplest little experience made her little 2 year old world! The thing that I have always loved most about all kids is their innocence. She was so elated to be there, it was as if she thought that Dora was talking right to Hayden Chenayi Ross and that Dora could hear her responses. It's as though she truly thought that she was helping Dora and Boots out by dancing, clapping, jumping, or doing anything else that they requested. I think that's why I get so emotional and have to blink like crazy to flush the tears and swallow to push the lump down again. It's so bitter sweet because it's also during those times that I realize that this innocence will leave my sweet babies some day.

Posing during intermission

Going down the fancy steps of the Fox.

Here she is sitting on the steps outside of the Fox Theater with her new Diego Rescue Pack on her back.

On a different note-I wanted to include three of Hayden's funny little self questioning comments that she has been saying lately:

"I don't know why I'm feeling so sick today"

"I don't know why I am feeling so tired today"

"I don't know whey I am having so much trouble today"

I guess I do a lot of self questioning and talking to myself throughout the day and little Miss Mirror has picked up on it. She cracks me up every time she says it.

Today was a day that neither one of us will soon forget-each of us for different reasons! I am so blessed to have such an amazing little family-I wouldn't trade them for anything in this world.

Sponge Bob!

Last night was a long night. I am going to deliver this cake to my neighbor this morning for her grandson's 5th birthday party tomorrow. I really wanted to be able to go for a long run this morning so I decided decorate the cake last night once we got home from DP around 9:30. I hope they are happy with it-I was happy with how it turned out.

The Little Helper

Layne is very interested in anything that belongs to big sister-especially clothes and accessories. I asked Hayden if she would help Layner put her shoe on. She was happy to help out-as usual.

She did not want it photographed though!!

Here is Layne this afternoon hanging out in one of her favorite places. She often just lounges in her bright green chair. Most of the time her back is against the arm rest and her legs are hanging over the other. Today she shared her seat with her "ball". Hayden just laughs when Layner calls this a "ball". She is sure to correct silly little sister, "that is a ballOON, not a ball silly Layner!!"

Hayden is now able to go to the potty all by herself, if she is just going pee pee. She will go back there, turn the light on, pull her pants and undies down, get on the toilet, go potty, wipe, flush, get dressed again, and of course wash her hands....all by herself! Growing up too fast if you ask me!

Thank You Cupcakes

We have a big dinner up at our church tonight in honor of all of our volunteers. This weekend is Servolution weekend. We have a dinner tonight (smoked BBQ, baked beans, coleslaw, and cupcakes) and special stuff planned for the service on Sunday. It's going to be a great weekend honoring and serving our beloved volunteers! If you click on the picture it will make it bigger so you can see what kind of cupcakes we will be offering tonight.

A total of 96 cupcakes!! I have seen these cute little cupcake flags in stores and on other blogs recently. So, I decided to make my own-card stock, toothpicks, and hot glue!! So easy but so cute and personal too. I hope the volunteers enjoy this weekend.

Shoe Organizer:Kids Version!

So, I got this amazing magazine in the mail today-thanks to September-called FamilyFun. It is just the greatest magazine-even better than Real Simple! It has all of these cute crafts, activities, recipes, and tons more. I saw that this one lady in the magazine got a place mat and had her daughter put 4 different sets of foot prints on it for their "mud room". That way her daughter knew where to put her shoes. I decided to get a piece of cardboard and have Hayden do it on a larger scale for her closet!! So, that's what we did tonight. Here she is saying, "Ta-da"....

Update on Grady: He's back!! A neighbor called me this morning and told me that she had him!! Don’t know where he was last night, but she said her neighbor was “beating him off with a stick” and they went over and “saved him”. They called the vet to see who he belonged to since he had never ventured that far from our house she didn’t know who he belonged to. Then she called me. He has been sleeping all day! He was wet and smelled when I got him. What a crazy dog!! We are glad to have him back though and glad that he’s ok!!

Missing Dog!

So, last night I took the girls to the library around 5:00. I am pretty sure that both dogs were outside when we left. When I got back around 5:45 Grady was nowhere to be found. He still hasn't returned. I was so terrified that when I went running this morning I would discover that he'd been hit by a car, but thankfully (in that case) there was no sign of him. I called Animal Control and they said nobody picked him up. Have you ever had those times where you just wish you could literally put yourself in someone's shoes even if it's just for a minute or two. Well, this is one of those times where I wish I could just turn into Grady for a few minutes so I could figure out where he is and go and rescue him! Please keep him in your prayers....we have no clue where he could be.

Hollywood Here We Come!

I accidentally brought my sunglasses inside yesterday and Hayden got a hold of them. She put those things on and it's like she was transformed into Miss Thing!

She came home from preschool yesterday with a coloring sheet of Jonah and the Whale. They must have sung a song about it because she kept singing, "he was in there for three days and three nights." Then when we were at the library I asked her if she wanted to see if they had a book about Jonah and the Whale she said yes and then said, "Jonah didn't obey God!" over and over. She was super excited to go back to school again this morning.

Little Layner eating her breakfast. Even though this picnic table is designed as a place to sit and eat-Layne does everything BUT sit. She will eat there, but she's constantly climbing, squatting, and standing all over the thing. It's like her own personal jungle gym. Hayden just watches in amazement.

I was telling my mom and sister in an email the other day that I am going to have to take the video camera to the grocery store with me one of these days. Layne is a little Houdini when it comes to the shopping cart seat belt. The other night she turned herself around and got into a squatting position-she couldn’t fully stand up since the belt was being stopped by her diaper. She was so frustrated because she was just pushing and pushing and couldn’t stand up. Then she decided to turn back around and sit right so that she could start to work the seat belt upwards. She maneuvered it enough to get the belt around her neck, but she couldn’t quite get it over her head. This girl is amazingly creative, crazy, and darn determined! Her problem solving skills are dynamite-well, they need a little tweaking, but she is on the right track!! I was also telling them that one of the funniest things is that with Hayden I don't think that I EVER buckled that little seatbelt thing in the cart. With Layne it is a necessity!!

New School Year New Preschool!

Well, this morning was Hayden's first day of preschool at First Baptist Church which is literally 1 minutes from our house! Once again this year, mom and Bernie have agreed to help us out so that we can put Hayden in school-thanks guys!! She actually cried when I left this morning, but they called shortly after that to let me know that she was doing great. Here she is coming out of preschool at the end of the morning.

I was telling her all about how she was going to a new school and she'd have new teachers and make new friends and she was so excited. She even let out a little squeal! I pray that she will love her teachers and new friends at FBC just as much as she loves the ones at HHBC. The good thing for now is when I asked her if she wanted to go back again tomorrow she said, "YES!!"

Strawberry Blossom Cake

I made this strawberry cake with cream cheese icing birthday cake for a woman at HHBC. Her daughter requested fresh strawberries, so that's what I gave her!!

Not sure if you can tell, but the strawberries are patterned to look kind of like a flower.

"Awww, don't bark at the babies...."

When we were in Florida there was an older man, his wife, and their dog staying in the condo below ours. When we walked past their front porch on the way back from the beach every single day the do would bark at us. And every single time he would say to his dog in this reprimanding yet sensitive tone, "Awww, it's just the babies. Don't bark at the babies. You're just a baby too!" So, Aunt September would say it to us to get a laugh. We taught Hayden how to say it too. So, this one's for you Aunt September!!

So Silly...

There's not much else I can say about this video. You just have to see this crazy nut for yourself.

Favorite Things....

I caught Layne trying out her new trick that sister taught her today-blowing in people's faces. In this case she was trying it out on Grady. Layne has a lot of drool that accompanies the air though!

Still loving that table top. I am sure that Pappy didn't envision that this is how his precious little one year old granddaughter would use this great gift that he gave them. As a matter of fact, I bet I will receive a phone call about this once he checks the blog!! Always overly cautious Pappy, but we love him that way!

Today we went to the library and got a Dora and Diego book and 2 DVD's. Hayden and Layne had a great time exploring the library. Here she is reading her new jewel.

Daddy and Mommy have a HUGE early surprise birthday present for Hayden in a couple weeks. You'll have to keep visiting to find out all about her big day!!

Out and About

We decided to go out in nature as a family today. We went to Black Shoal's Lake and it turned out to be pretty great. We walked on some trail that followed the lake. It was kind of hard pushing the stroller since we forgot to pump up the tires, but it was a good workout!

Jerm handled the dogs. On a different note, he has nice defined legs for not working out at all.....it's just not right!

We came across this gazebo thing and stopped for a picture. Grady decided to stop TWICE for a different, messy stinky reason!!

Daddy taking a turn with the stroller. By this time we had pumped up the tires.

Hayden "running just like mommy does!"

Random covered bridge that we never knew about. When we went through the bridge Grady, who was riding in the back of the truck, got scared and jumped out!! Kind of funny, but Jeremy wasn't laughing!

I thought this was just awesome! God created a beautiful world for us!

I think this is called the Walk of Heros. It's not completed, but it was still pretty powerful.

We were surprised that there wasn't a reference to this verse listed! John 15:13

I really wanted Hayden to stand next to one of these men, but she wouldn't even think about doing it.

Black Shoals Lake

Grady was so hot, but he wouldn't go in the water (imagine that-a lab that doesn't like water!?)...

Until Jerm took off his shoes, rolled up his shorts and went in with him!

Jerm pretending to see a crocodile.....crikey!!