. hello, 2010 .

 

. she's ThReE .

dear sweet karsyn,

tonight mommy put you to bed for the last time as a two-year-old.  i cried.  yep, just like last year.  life with you only gets better every single day and i am so so so glad God chose me to be your mommy. 

 
i don't think i ever imagined you being who you are at three.  you are amazing.  you light up my eyes and my heart every moment of every day and your personality is so infectious and you constantly make us laugh.  some of the things you say make our jaws drop and then we laugh til our tummies hurt.  i absolutely love your innocence and the witty personality you posses.  basically, i cannot get enough of you. 

 
this year you became a big sister and stunned us all at how awesome you did, not that we doubted you one bit, but you surpassed our expectations by far.  you absolutely adore your little sister and i'm pretty sure she likes you too.  you are very helpful and somewhat protective of her and that makes my heart sing.  you love to make her laugh, which makes my heart smile to see you laughing together. 

 
you adore your friends as well.  i'm so thankful for the friends God has placed in your life already and i cannot wait to see where your friendships lead you.  you are definitely the leader of the pack, but a people-pleaser at the same time.  you don't like to see your friends hurt or sad and i'm so thankful for that.  you and juju are still best of friends and cry daily to see each other.  i hope we can be neighbors forever so you will always have your bestest friend right by your side.  and my absolute favorite with the two of you is that you play church all the time.  you go to worship in the laundry room.  how sweet is that? 

 
your curly hair still wow's the crowd.  everyone is in love with it, including me.  you have said several times recently how you want long hair like juju, but i hope you know that mommy and daddy love you the way you are.  your blonde curls and blue eyes make you, you. 

 
right now you are simply in love with life.  you sing and dance like no one is watching and play ballerina all day, every day.  my heart melts though when we listen to praise and worship songs in the car and you sing along.  my most favorite thing about you is that you love Jesus.  every night at dinner you pray "thank you Jesus for our food, amen."  i pray you never stop listening to God and praying to Him.  I know that God is going to use you in big ways.  He has blessed you in so many ways and has thoroughly blessed us by putting you in our life. 

 
sweet karsyn.  sissy.  we love you more than words can say.  i'm so thankful for this past year with you and how you grew and changed so much.  this year is going to be a trip, but mommy is ready.  i love you, sweet girl. 

happy birthday.

xoxo mommy

. she sleeps .

karsyn has always been a good sleeper, just not a late sleeper when morning rolls around.  she's definitely an early riser and, as much as i hate to admit it, i was the same way when i was young.  now, not so much. 

road trips are always hard on my sweet girls, as they are very much in love with their routine and their own beds.  do ya blame 'em?  so on a recent trip to llano, both girls slept the entire 3 hours there, but it was almost 10:00 when we finally got there and they were still zonked.  of course, karsyn didn't sleep well there and was up off and on.  and, like a good wife, i begged my favorite man to get up with her and he actually got her back to sleep ...

 

poor baby was passed out. 
 

. prayers for a sweet baby .

not a day goes by that i don't thank the Lord for my healthy babies, but too often i come across another story of an extremely premature baby or a baby with cancer or some other type of health problem.  my heart aches for parents that have to endure that pain.

today my prayers are with sweet baby calla.  she was born today at a mere 1 lb 15 oz.  i can't even fathom a baby that small, but i pray that she grows and her little body is strengthened with each passing day.

 

please pray for baby calla and her for mom, julie.
 

. long time, no post .

dear blog,

i'm a slacker.  i admit it.  i'm sorry i have neglected you terribly.  forgive me please as i try to make up the past month of posts.  sometimes a break is good, but i think i'm ready to see you again.  several things have happened in our family and a whole holiday is already in our past since i last visited you.  i'll try to not let it happen again (anytime soon).  promise.

erin.  aka blog slacker.

. eleven months .

 
YES, sweet baby is 11 months old.  ELEVEN.  that's so hard to say.  i blinked.  what a BIG mistake.  i was certain that i could hold on to her forever and she would stay little, and smell pretty, and coo, and have that sweet gummy smile. 

BUT, at 11 months ...

1.  she is a BIG girl.  i'm not sure how much she actually weighs, but she's not little anymore. 

2.  she eats and gets dirty.  she flings food like you've never seen.  instead of telling me "all done", she simply throws her food on the floor.  thank you, sweet baby.

3.  she talks and screams.  her and sissy have screaming contests daily.  it's rather cute.

4.  she now has 6 teeth.  2 on the bottom and 4 on the top.  and she knows how to use them.

5.  she's been sleeping a lot lately.  i think she may be growing again, sadly.  she sleeps for 12-13 hours at night, which you know i LOVE.

6.  she cruises while holding on to everything, but refuses to let go.

7.  she likes to climb. 

8.  she loves animal crackers and water.  what a snack?! 

9.  she has the best laugh ever.  and loves to play peek-a-boo. 

10. she is still the happiest baby in the world.  she does, however, get mad when she has nothing to eat or when mommy isn't holding her.  yes, she's spoiled.

 
i think i have decided that i'm officially going to keep her from turning 1 next month.  i'll just stop time and keep her a baby.  i know it'll work.  i'll let you know how it turns out on january 10th. 

. a new kind of canvas .

my sweet girl LOVES to color and do any sort of art.  painting is her favorite and on occassion, we get out the markers.  why, you ask?

 

welp.  it was bound to happen some day, right?  for the record, i was out on a photo shoot and left daddy in charge.  i returned home to find this sweet face staring back at me.  i think she was at a loss for words.  the artist?  oh, here she is ...

 

proudly displaying her masterpiece.  

and to answer everyone's question, yes, it was washable marker.  thankfully.  it came right out of her hair and her ears with a little water.
 
 

. sweet sam .

 
"blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  matthew 5:4

i don't think words can even express what sweet samantha was to everyone she encountered.  see that smile?  that was sam. 

today we're in deep prayer for my favorite man's family as they mourn the loss of this sweet girl.  she was truly a blessing to everyone she met and will be missed terribly.