Mother's Day

I've not been very good about taking pictures the last couple of weeks. Emily has been here for a couple of play dates, we've been to her house to keep Mandy company, and Lillie came for a sleepover this week...but I have no pictures to show for it! Braylee also hit off the pitching machine...and got a triple!! But no pictures. She told everyone she got a home run b/c they let her run into home after the inning was over. ;) Last night was the girls' last night of Awana. They sang songs, recited Bible verses, and then had a picnic...again no pictures. :(

On Mother's Day, the girls surprised me with a Mello Yello and Whatchmacallit in bed. (I blame both of these obsessions on my dad. ;)) After church, we went to the children's museum in Evansville. (I think I look so tired in this picture.)

I loved the girls' scary dinosaur poses. :)

They were good about delegating jobs.
Here Brynna is the "worker" and Braylee is the "builder."
Then Brynna was the "doctor"...
while Braylee was the "pet nurse."

May 11th was a special day. It's been a year since Gramps died...hard to believe. The girls and I went to my Grammy's for the day. Luke (my cousin's son who is the same age as Braylee) was there too. We ate lunch and then took flowers down to the cemetery. I loved walking around the cemetery as my Grammy explained how we were related to so many of the people buried there. I love how she knows so much about her heritage. She showed me my great-great-great grandparents' grave...and then the lineage down to her and Gramps. We also drove around the town she grew up in. Her parents built a house when she was 3 that she grew up in. I still remember visiting my great grandmother there. We stopped by the house and I couldn't believe how little it had changed. And...Braylee climbed in the big old tree that I climbed in as a little girl..just like my mom and my Grammy had too. We talked about Gramps a lot and I know it was very therapeutic for all of us.

The 12th was Braylee's Spring pre-school program. The school year has flown by! Here she is with her buddy, Brycen N.
And with Lillie Y. & Addison H.

Tomorrow is a big day for Braylee...her preschool graduation!!

Mr. Right

Wow, I can't believe it's been 8 years since I said "I Do" to my Mr. Right! :) I've known for 12 years how special Alex is and how he was my perfect match. I had to laugh though when I watched an Oprah episode a few months ago. They were discussing dating and making a list of all the "musts" someone is looking for in a spouse. One guest read her list of requirements for Mr. Right. The therapist said her list was too strict and no one existed like her list. Oprah laughed and said something like, "Yes, there is someone like that...Jesus!" ;) Basically, she was saying this girl was not looking for Mr. Right but "Mr. Perfect." So why did I laugh?! In my eyes, Alex met each requirement on the girl's list! I'm one lucky girl.
Saturday night, Bridgette babysat while we went down to French Lick. We walked around West Baden and French Lick Resorts and then ate at 1875 restaurant. Every year, we seem to run into brides/weddings on our anniversary...weddings on beaches, brides standing in the middle of Michigan Ave in Chicago or by Niagara Falls, etc. This year was no different. Our view from the restaurant included an outdoor wedding. :) Very sweet. After dinner, we had planned to go to the casino...but I forgot my ID. So we decided we would go to a movie instead but arrived there just a few minutes too late. We stopped to get ice cream at Dairy Queen on the way home and Alex said, "Knowing our luck tonight, they are probably out of ice cream!" :) So the evening didn't go as planned, but I still had fun spending it with my baby!

Here's the link to a montage I put together a couple of years ago.

April & May Highlights

It took me a month to update on our trip so now I need to catch up on everything else that's been going on!
During "T" week at pre-school, the kids had a magical tea party! I love the picture Braylee brought home. She invited Jesus and Cinderella to her tea! :) The best part is always how she explains her pictures...she gave herself orange hair so she wouldn't be confused with Cinderella. She gave Jesus tennis shoes so he would look like a normal boy, but they must be special shoes because you can see his feet inside. ;)
Braylee also had her pre-K evaluation at pre-school. It was like her 1st report card! :) She had an "X" next to tie her shoes (common problem in this generation I'm sure) and knows her birthday. But when I asked her about her birthday she replied "September 22nd" so she must have had a mental block that day. ;) Otherwise, she had lots of check marks. At the end, her teacher wrote she was "every teacher's dream." I hope that continues!! She has loved pre-school and is pretty excited about kindergarten. Mommy...still struggling with the idea. I want to keep her home with me!

One evening, Abbie & Max came for dinner. The weather was nice so we went on a golf cart ride too. Abbie and I have been friends for so long and lived together in college for two years. She is definitely one of my besties!

A couple of weeks ago, we went to BR's Grand March. The girls enjoy seeing all of the pretty "princess" dresses. Brynna literally turned to me every time a new couple came out and said, "Oooh I like that dress!" She is such a girly girl. My girls love their cousins Dillon & Bridgette!

The next day, we celebrated Gabe's 3rd birthday!! Aunt Mandi decorated with a jungle theme and lots of animal prints. They had a treasure hunt! At the end was a box full of goodies with the kids' names on them! Such a cute idea!

Alex & I with his brother Adam and his girlfriend Tristen

Monday, Abbie stopped by on her lunch hour. We were standing in the kitchen chatting when Braylee came to the balcony railing and said, "Do you know what's the closest star to earth?!" I was still trying to figure out what she was asking when she yelled, "The Sun!" Then the next day, she drew me a big picture of space...complete with the sun, stars, moon, Earth, Saturn, and Mars! She is such a science girl. I can see it now...Braylee will be wearing a lab jacket in a chemistry lab someday and Brynna will be designing and modeling her own clothing line! ;)


We are loving our fun neighborhood with lots of little friends. Braylee, Kate, & Lillie will all start Kindergarten together this fall at BR (along with a little boy on our road too!).
The other day we were headed to Taco Bell. When it came into view, Brynna said, "There it is! God just picked it up and put it here for us!" Braylee said, "No, He didn't....but He could've because He can move mountains!!" :)


Braylee has been busy with softball the last couple of weeks. This past Sunday was "Opening Day." Unfortunately, it rained, but we still had pictures taken, team introductions, an indoor picnic and then finally... a fire truck ride around town! This was a moment out of my comfort zone! ;) My little 5 year old on top of a big truck and not fastened in! She thought it was so cool!

This past Monday, they had a practice game. I literally had to choke back tears when I was sitting in the bleachers and leaned over to tell Alex, "Our daughter is playing Little League!" I do like how BR allows them the chance to be pitched to (with a pitching machine and then by a coach) before using the tee. Braylee needed the tee the first time, but her second at bat, she hit off a pitch and made it to first! Yeah! It's soo funny to watch them!

Cheering for Braylee

Braylee's first at bat

Today was their first official game. It was windy and cold, but Braylee scored her first run!

What else have we learned the last few weeks?

Brynna can go to town on a chicken leg! ;)
You can never have too many Mickey sandwiches.
Gabe isn't embarrassed to sleep with a pink blanket.

Miss Brynna has proudly earned TWO ribbons at gymnastics...one for bars and one for vault!
And God always keeps His promises!!

Can't wait to see what the rest of May brings!

What's in a name?

Over at Kelly's Korner, they are discussing how/why people chose their children's names. Most of you know...I L.O.V.E to talk baby names!!! :)

I always wanted to marry a boy with a T name so I could have a family full of T names like I grew up in. (Tarry, Teresa, Travis, Tera, Tracee, & Trista) I love the unity of names starting with the same letter. Obviously my in-laws like it too because Alex's brothers are Andre' & Adam. :) Alex and I always knew that we'd stick with whichever letter we started with... which also helps my indecisiveness because I could never decide if I had free use of ALL names!!


Braylee Annelise

Miss Braylee was basically named back in 1998. :) Alex and I were talking baby names one night. I would toss out random names...some I liked and some I didn't to get his honest opinion. I was sad when he vetoed some of my favorites. I tend to like old-fashioned names (and not ones that fall in the top 150 most common) but he wanted something trendy because of our last name. One of the names I mentioned to Alex was Braelyn (college friend's niece). He said, "No.........but maybe Braylee." I'd never heard the name before so I tucked it in the back of my mind. A few days later I mentioned it to him again about how we'd spell it... Brailey, Braylie, etc. I wanted to spell it with two e's on the end because that's how my family does it. :) From that point on, we talked about how we'd have a little Braylee some day.

When we found out we were actually having a little girl, I started having second thoughts. Her middle name was going to be Annelise, but I was starting to think I wanted it for her first name instead. It was the old-fashion part of me coming out. Annelise was chosen because both my mom & Granny have the middle name Ann and my Grammy's middle name is Elise. I love the princess-y sound of it and the family significance. BUT, I wasn't in love with any "A" boy names for future siblings! ;) So...Miss Braylee Annelise she was!

Brynna Annabelle

Brynna's name was a little harder. We had narrowed it down to two first names. I wrote each of them on a piece of paper and told Braylee to pull one out. She chose Brynna. When Alex came home, I asked him to do the same thing, he pulled out the other name and then immediately said, "I like Brynna better." So that decided that! Again...decisions about how to spell it. I had originally thought we'd spell it Brenna...but I liked how the Y made it "match" Braylee's name more...and less likely to be called Brenda.

We struggled even more on the middle name. I wasn't set on using an A name. Others on our list were Leann (my middle name), Claire, Caroline (family name), Teresa (my momma's name), Avery, Amelia, and probably others at some point! One day I came across Annabelle on the internet and it jumped out at me. I called Alex right away and he said, "No, but ask me again in a few weeks and I might change my mind." :) A few days later, my mom said, "I have a middle name for you...not sure if you'll like it...Annabelle." Crazy!! We finally narrowed it down to Claire, Caroline, and Annabelle. As I was pushing in labor, I looked at Alex and said, "What's her middle name?!" He wasn't being picky and my mom picked Annabelle. I'm so glad we chose it because it's probably my favorite of all 4 of the girls' names! And...I will never forget when she was 4 days old and Gramps called to tell me that he liked the name Brynna but he just LOVED the name Annabelle. Awww.

So, what if they had been boys? We were leaning toward Brody Drew for baby #1. When I was pregnant with Brynna, we welcomed a little cousin into the family named Brody. So we decided we'd go with Brock...but two weeks later, we found out we were having a girl. :)  We have 3-4 boys names we've tossed around, but if we have two more girls in the future, we may be in trouble.

Magic Kingdom

I received the copyright release for our castle picture today! :)

Easter 2010

After our magical week at Disney, we returned home just in time for Easter Sunday! The girls loved the goodies the Easter Bunny brought for them. And yes, that's exactly what Brynna slept in...slippers and all. She is a ballerina through and through! :)

Brynna loves her new bunny.
She named her "Sugar Plum Fairy Ballerina Bunny."

So excited to find her favorite polka dot egg.

I was a little nervous of how the girls would look when they arrived at church. I had to be at the church early for choir practice so Alex was in charge. He took them with no bows or sashes...knowing Mommy would just redo them anyway. ;) Aunt Tracee picked out their sweet dresses! They looked so adorable and very classic.

Posing with their cousins.

After church, we went to Grammy and Gramps' house...just like I've done pretty much every Easter of my life. Of course, this year was different. :( We enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine and tried not to think about what I'm sure was on everyone's minds. We definitely shared a few laughs about Gramps, and I did notice those dandelions in the yard that he despised so much... But we had so much to be thankful for too!! We serve a RISEN Saviour! God loves us so much He sent His Son to die for our sins! Truly a reason to rejoice!

Hunting for Easter eggs with Daddy's help.

Braylee with her Great-Grammy (Doesn't she look amazing at 74?!)

Emilee, Brynna, & Braylee did a few cheers for us too!

Disney Vacation 2010- 4th & Final post :)

The following day (Thurs, April 1st) was a quiet day. Speaking of April 1st, I forgot to share about the April Fools' trick my parents played on me! At Disney, they offer a PhotoPass card where the photographers all over the park will snap pictures for you and load them on this card. Once when we were standing in line, I realized the card was no longer in my back pocket. I was praying Alex had it but I could not remember giving it to him. I was already getting panicky...My mom left the line to go find Alex and my dad. Alex did have the card but my dad sneakily tells my mom to tell me that he doesn't. She comes back to the line and says, "You're in trouble. He doesn't have it." My heart sank. Thankfully, my mom knew I would be sick and she handed the card over right away...talk about relief!! :) The girls are still laughing about how Mamaw & Papaw tricked Mommy!

Anyway...Thursday, Alex & my dad went golfing while we girls went shopping! The weather was gorgeous though, and we could hardly stand being in the mall when we knew we could be at the pool. So we finished up early and went back to the resort.

Cannon Ball!

That evening, we went to Downtown Disney to eat at T-Rex. The girls were a little nervous about the dinosaurs at first but then loved it.

Friday, we went to Hollywood Studios. The girls really liked this park. I would say their 3 favorite parts were: 1)Playhouse Disney Live 2)Seeing Beauty & the Beast on stage & 3)Meeting Daisy & Donald Duck. We had lunch at Play & Dine at Hollywood & Vine. (I've actually been to Hollywood & Vine in LA...not quite the same atmosphere! ;)) At the restaurant, they danced with June from Little Einsteins and also met Leo, JoJo, and Goliath. It was such a relaxed day.

"Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground

Dancing with June

When we made it back to the resort, we played at the pool, ate leftovers for dinner, and packed to come home. :( We had a wonderful week! On the way home, the girls asked when we could go back. I said, "Maybe when Brynna is about 6." I've already heard Braylee say, "When Brynna is 5 or 6, we can go back to Fworda." ;) (For some reason, the girls think Florida & Disney are one and the same.)

Here's a link to more pictures: Disney Vacation 2010