afternoon with Lauren

Yesterday afternoon, Arden got to go the park with our friend Lauren. She of course had a blast and Lauren got some incredible pics of the event! Click here to go to Lauren's blog to check them out. Arden says, "Thank you Miss Lauren for all the the fun!"

a visit from G.G.

This last week G.G. was here visiting! Papa brought her down and spent the weekend with us and then returned the following weekend with Hannah to see us and take her back home. The girls had a such a great time and loved the constant extra attention! The first couple of mornings after G.G. left, Esther would go look for her, saying "G.G.? G.G.? Papa?" and then she would say "home" remembering that they had gone home. Some highlights of the girls time with G.G. and also Papa were going to the park, going to see baby chicks and bunnies at a nearby feed store (they loved this!) and making Valentine cookies!
Arden was so excited about "decorating" the cookies with G.G., otherwise known as cutting them out! We told her we would decorate them the next day at our playgroup. So at 3:30 in the morning Arden wakes up and as Woody's putting her back to bed, she says with much excitement for 3:30 am, "We're gonna decorate cookies with G.G. tomorrow!!" Here's a pic of her and G.G. getting the cookies ready. The next one is of Esther with G.G. actually decorating them at the playgroup we had with friends from church and then a few more taken at the playgroup.











Sorry I don't have pics of the girls and the baby chicks...I meant to get them off of G.G. and Papa's camera and forgot. But they were really cute too!
Thank you G.G., Papa and Hannah for coming to visit us and thank you G.G. for staying with us all week! We loved having you here!

feeding the ducks

Still catching up...two weekends ago we went to a nearby park that has ducks. We've been several times, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that the girls actually fed the ducks. While I was in NC at a mother's conference with Allison and Brittany being encouraged and inspired, Woody took the girls to feed the ducks and they had a blast. So as soon as Woody mentioned going to feed the ducks again, the girls were all for it and I got to tag along this time and be a part of the fun! The best part of the whole thing was that Esther fed herself over half the bread we gave her instead of feeding the ducks!

Esther's new ride and more

Okay, sorry, I know its been a while. I'll try to catch you up on the little things that have gone on the past couple of weeks. First off, I was washing dishes in the kitchen one day while the girls were pushing their strollers all around. It got quiet for a little while and then I heard them coming back up the hallway. I turned to look and saw this...Arden pushing Esther in the baby doll stroller. Esther was very content with her new ride and I guess I'm surprised that this was the first time they actually tried this!


The rest of the pics are what the girls are into these days...Esther LOVES "reading" books and bringing them to you so that you can read them to her.


In this first pic of Arden, she's sporting a new t-shirt from her Daddy. He's all official now and has a great logo for his new business. He got company shirts printed up and made sure to get one for Arden and Esther too! Also, Arden is into changing clothes several times a day. She's actually been doing this for quite some time, but in the last month has really gotten into trying Esther's clothes on. The "capris" in this picture are actually Esther's 12-18 month jeans! It's been pretty funny to see what all fits Arden, even though the lengths are off!



Esther caught in the act...we had had muffins for breakfast and there was one left that I forgot to take off the table. She had already climbed on the table and gotten the muffin from the middle of it, climbed down and was tearing it to pieces by the time I got the camera!


And finally, a pic of all the fun colored shirts Woody got for his business...I'm really excited for him and proud of all he's accomplishing!

a new president

I'm a sucker for stately historical occasions like Inauguration Day, and I must admit I had the tv on a lot today taking it all in. The grandeur of everything is mesmerizing to me for some reason. Anyway, not only did I tell Arden that it was her cousin Halli's birthday today (Happy Birthday Halli!), but also that we were getting a new president. I kept trying to point him out to her and explain in the very simplest of terms what was going on. She would repeat after me, "it's a new president," so I thought maybe she was sort of getting it. Well, this afternoon I again pointed President Obama out to her and realized she wasn't really getting it...instead of president, she was saying present. I think she's still immersed in Christmas and her birthday because she finally said, "I want new present. We can open our new present."...so much for trying to explain our political system! I must say though that she was impressed with the music and all the people, so at least she got a little something out of the day!

naturally curly hair...

you gotta love it!

Arden's three!

It's hard to believe, but our sweet Arden turned three on Saturday! She is such a miracle to us. It's already been so incredible to see God work in her little life and to see how He has used her in our lives to draw us closer to HIm. Lately it's been her sweet voice singing praise to God throughout the day, no matter what we're doing! For her birthday we went up to see my family overnight and Arden had an absolute blast celebrating at Halli's house! Happy Birthday Arden, we love you!!