Bikers

Before Mike left for his Chaplain school, Logan begged for him to take her training wheels off.  After a few weeks of her asking, it was finally warm enough to pull them off.  Before taking them off, Mike warned Logan that he wasn't going to put them back on after he took them off.  After her first lesson, he came in and let me know that he was really sorry he had told her he wouldn't put them back on because she wasn't quite ready.  And he was leaving in two days.  Imagine my panic!  

She and I talked after he left and decided we were going to have a secret mission to get her riding on two wheels so she could surprise her daddy.  It took 4 days, 4 little boy naps and a lot of patience and persistence, but she got it!

(you can see her riding way up in front of us)

She was so enthusiastic about biking that she made it her goal to help Brody graduate from his tricycle (which had JUST learned to ride) to his bike with training wheels.  A few days of Logan and me pushing him and coaching and he was riding, too!

It was such a fun way to work together to accomplish a goal and we really surprised Mike.  Now they both bike like pros all over the backyard!

Soccer

Brody has been itching to play a sport and with Mike gone, he needed an outlet where he could be a boy and run and fall and enjoy himself without worrying about hurting his siblings.  

I found an 8 week class that was at an indoor field.  Logan and I loved to go sit and watch him play and do schoolwork and Lincoln happily completed his morning nap in the Ergo while we were there weekly.  

It was fun to see Brody doing his own activity, and it was fun to have special time with Logan.

By his last session, Brody's coordination had improved quite a bit and he was dribbling the ball, kicking goals and doing all kinds of fun exercises.

His class size was small, but it made for a lot of quality one on one time with the coaches.

And they finished off the "season" with medals.

I really can't believe he's big enough to be doing things like this!  

Everyone Loves The Baby!

The older kids frequently ask me to take pictures of them with our sweet JuJu.  I think they want to keep him this size, too!

Visiting Friends

My friend Valerie's husband happened to be away while Mike was gone this go around again.  So, we took a trip out to see them on the coast!  It's fun to hang out as adults, remember being young together and encourage each other in our walks as wives and mothers.  I am so thankful for her friendship and for her sweet children who get along so well with my own. 

The boys had so much fun playing with the sparkle dough Val made.

They also wrestled, played super heroes, built block towers and had fun being boys together.

The girls giggled, played house, and recited the entire frozen dialogue over and over.  In the 24 hours we were together, I don't think we saw much of these two!!

We've come a long way in our 20+ year friendship! 

We look a little different now, don't we?  :)

While Daddy Has Been Gone

While daddy has been gone, Logan has taken up reading to her brothers most days.  They are absolutely enthralled by her ability to read stories to them, now!!

We purchased the digital copy of Frozen and have watched it what feels like a million times!!

The kids and I took a trip to the North Carolina Symphony to see "Music, Noise and Silence."  It was  a part of a kids' series that the symphony does to introduce children to performing arts.  They loved it!!  Logan is ready to start violin lessons as soon as we can get our hands on one that's small enough.

Sweet Lincoln has been lighting up our days with smiles and giggles!

And the kiddos have shown each other extra love in daddy's place.

Lots of snuggling has happened.  Many joint naps.

We've spent a very small amount of time outside when the temperatures aren't freezing!

And we also celebrated a third birthday!!

Of course, Logan has turned into a teenager while daddy has been away.  :)   But in all seriousness, she has grown up and has been such a huge help without Mike's extra hands.  She gets diapers, wipes, puts clothes away, holds her brother, helps when I can't do things on my own.  She's been invaluable and I'm so thankful for her!

Three

Three.  I ask this each time each of my children gets older, but, how is this even possible?  I can vividly remember the day I went to the hospital to have Brody and now he's THREE.  Per his request, we did a superhero photo shoot.  It was so much fun and absolutely captures his little personality at this age!!

Brody is:

Weight: 26lbs (10 percentile)

Height: I don't remember, but he's in the 15% for that.

Sizes he's wearing: 18-24 month pants/shorts, 18-24 month and some 2T shirts.

Favorite activities: Playing dress up (superheroes, fireman, construction worker, etc), playing catch, playing "golf," running, and playing his guitar/singing along.

Favorite TV show: Jake and The Neverland Pirates

Favorite Movie: The Incredibles

Favorite superhero: Depends on the day!  Batman, Spiderman, Superman and now Captain America all make their rounds in our home.  Oddly enough, he's never seen any of them other than on clothing/toys at Target.  

Favorite Book(s): Puff Puff Chugga Chugga, Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site.

What he's learned: Letter recognition (most of the letters), shape recognition, color recognition, number recognition (to 10).  Counting to 30.

What he's learning: Letter sounds.

Brody wants to be a superhero or a fireman when he grows up.

Favorite food(s): Oatmeal, burritos, hummus.

Favorite color: blue

Favorite drink: water that's spicy (sparkling water w/ fruit in it) or ginger ale which he's gotten a few times when he's got a stomach bug.

Brody loves to cuddle, read books, watch movies and sing songs.

He loves to spend time with his big sister and when asked will tell you (depending on the day they're having ;)) that she's his "bestest friend ever."  Not to be confused with his best buddy, who is his daddy.

We are so thankful for the addition of Brody to our family.  He's changed our lives and the way we look at things forever.  He is a blessing.  God teaches us things through Brody that we didn't already know.  Our prayer for him is that the Lord would grab hold of his heart, that he would follow after Jesus and help others know about him, too!

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet one!!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

We drove home quickly from Disney so that Logan and Mike could attend the Daddy/Daughter dance our church was hosting.  Logan chose her dress and accessories.  We did nails, hair and makeup, daddy came to "pick her up," and then we did some prom style pictures.  She was in heaven!!

It was a very special time for them.  They signed a "date contract" while they were there committing to two dates a month.  They'll start that when he gets home.  

It's so important to us that we build up this father/daughter relationship so that Logan can get a feel for how much bigger God's love for her is and so that she realizes how the Lord wants her to be treated in the future when she starts thinking about a spouse.  We're thankful for a church body that wants to come alongside us in doing this!