Daddy is FUN!

Ivy always says to me, "Daddy is FUN!" I was looking at pictures that I have taken over the past two weeks and came across several that were of him and his girls having FUN! Here are pictures of daddy taking all of his girls (me included!) to the Mad Badder for breakfast! Ivy loves their cinnamon rolls and it's a BIG treat for her to get to sit in the seats looking out the window. Here is another picture of daddy reading to Hayley! Notices how Hayley wants to eat the book and grab it with her hands! Also, here is a picture of Daddy playing "old maid" with Ivy. It was so funny to watch daddy playing this with Ivy. Ivy couldn't help but "give" away every time she had the Old Maid. Daddy also played Go Fish with Ivy with a set of Princess cards. It was hard for Brent to win this game because he isn't too familiar with the Disney Princesses and didn't know who to ask for!! We love our daddy!

Sisters take a bath!

Ivy and Hayley took a bath in the BIG tub. It was so much easier than giving Hayley a bath in her little tub. Ivy is such a big help. She was so excited that Hayley was going to take a bath with her. I remember taking bath with Sharon when we were little. We used to play and laugh and splash. There are five years age difference between Ivy and Hayley and there are five years age difference between me and Sharon. I am so thankful that God blessed Ivy with a sister. I am so thankful that Hayley has Ivy for a big sister! Ivy already pushes Hayley around the house in her walker, reads to her, feeds her from time to time and tickles her. I pray that God would form a bond between these two sisters that is so tight that only HE could do it! I know they will fight but my heart cries out that He would save them both and that they would run toward each other because they see Jesus alive in each other!

Madeline

We read the book Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. We talked about Paris, France and the Eiffel Tower. We watched a 360 degree view from the Eiffel Tower. We colored the Flag of France and found France on a map We made French Crepes with blueberry filling sprinkled with powdered sugar. Ivy invited her daddy, Ellen and Nana to come have one with her! She loved it when they all came at different times and she got to have a bite with each "special" person! I really enjoyed talking about symmetry with Ivy. We used chocolate chips and lined them up symmetrically just like the 12 girls were lined up in the book.

Shower of love!!!!

Alicia and other women from our church had a shower for us! It was a lot of fun! We Praise God for blessing us with a wonderful church family! Thank you sweet sisters for showering us with diapers, cute clothes, etc. Most of all thanks for the prayers and love.

Fun at Nana and Paw's

Wearing Ivy's old clothes!!!

Brent took Hayley to the doc today. She had a great 6 month check up. She weighed 14 pounds and 3 ounces. (Well, she has been alive 6 months but her adjusted age is 4 months.)

I'm so thankful for my husband! I haven't been feeling well lately. Just tired and still recovering from a terrible sinus infection. I also woke up with a cold yesterday. Brent has washed clothes today, took Hayley to the doc, cleaned house and is right now helping Ivy with her homework.

In these pictures, Hayley is wearing one of Ivy's old dresses. I love that Hayley gets to wear some of Ivy's old clothes.

First bite of Rice Cereal

We gave Hayley some rice cereal mixed with her formula. She wasn't that crazy about it. We will keep trying. Hayley has always loved her bottle and that was one of the reasons she came home from the NICU so early. I remember her sucking her bottle in the hospital and the nurses being amazed at her. Hayley still loves her milk.

Last Tuesday, Hayley had a check up at the Asheville Children's Center. She was evaluated by several different therapists. God is so FAITHFUL! The therapists were VERY impressed with her progress. We will continue to take her to Asheville every couple months. The physical therapist were amazed at her ability to roll over, hold her head up, and put support on her legs. The stiffness that was in her legs a couple months ago is much better. The therapists are so encouraging and always give me new ideas. Last week, they reminded me that eating is a skill. Babies need to get most of their nutrients from their milk until they are a year old. They recommended a flat spoon and that the rice cereal be very runny. (I'm adding this information in here for all of my friends who are pregnant...lol)

God has given Hayley a lot of strength. Thank you family and friends for lifting up Hayley. Father, Thank you for answering our prayers!

Magic School Bus--Missing Bones

We read the book Magic School Bus and The Search for the Missing Bones. We did a unit on Skeletons. One of Ivy's favorite things in this unit, was making a skeleton out of cookie dough. In this unit, we talked about the different names for each of our bones, read several books about our skeleton system, watched several very interesting movies on our skeleton system, and wrote in our science journal about our skeleton system. I am so pleased that Ivy has added the words skull, sternum, and ribs to her vocabulary. I know these are easy words for older kids and adults but I often forget that we all have to start with the basics. Ivy also recognizes that our hands and feet have more bones than any other part of our body. Ivy has been feeling for the bones in her legs, my bones, daddy's bones and sissy's bones.

Ivy also made a skeleton craft with Nana. Nana and Ivy took different pasta shapes and crafted a skeleton.

In the pictures of our Cookie Skeleton, you can see a picture of the skeleton before he went into the oven. Ivy named him "Skinny." When he came out of the oven, he was not "Skinny."

Daddy LOVES to Kiss the cheeks!

Brent loves to kiss Hayley's cheeks! They do look so sweet and I have to admit I love to kiss them too. Hayley doesn't mind if I kiss her but she DOES mind her daddy's beard! She squeals every time daddy kisses her and daddy loves her squeal!

Fun with the Arrowoods

We had so much fun at the aquarium with the Arrowoods! Karis was on the look out the whole time for a crocodile. Ivy liked the dark room with all the glowing jellyfish! I think Krieg's favorite was the Shark! My favorite was Panera afterward! I love you and miss you Cat!!!

Easy Bake Oven

Nana got Ivy an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. Ivy loves it. Me?
It's sure has a lot of different parts! We are learning how to use it. In our first attempt at cookies, we used too much cooking spray. In our first attempt at pretzels, they didn't look or taste like pretzels. Ivy keeps saying mom just watch me, you don't have to help, just watch. ha. I'm trying to "just watch" but she still needs a little help!