cake

Neither Addison or Morgan dug into their cake on their first birthday. Addison cried and wanted nothing to do with it. Morgan put her finger in it and proceeded with caution. But M was all about it.

M loves to make this face. It looks even cuter covered in icing.

I think her and Morgan are sugar soul sisters.

I had some cake too. Probably more than M and Morgan combined.

official soccer mom

I was a little worried about Addison's first game because yesterday morning she kept telling me she didn't want to play soccer. I wasn't going to force her to go out there, but I figured once she got all dressed in her gear that she would perk up. She was so excited all I could do was smile. They got to pick their own jersey's and she chose #4. Because she's four she told me.

She's out on the field a full 10 minutes at a time running around after the ball so there's no time to get bored. She even got a few kicks in. I LOVE this picture. I think it perfectly shows how much fun she was having.

I didn't take too many pictures because I spent half the time cheering her and the team on. Honestly, I have no idea who won. I think at some point we were tied at 2, but I'm pretty sure the other team won. Those kids were 5 and had a year under their belt. And you could tell the difference.

The coach told them to come up with a team name. Some of the parents thought Orange Crushers or Orange Slicers would be kind of cute, but they decided to go with Orange Dolphins. You know, they're 4. I guess in their world it's cute and a little funny.

This was during her halftime snack.
I'll try not bore you every week with the same pictures, but if there's a good one you can guarantee I'm going to post it. And there will be video. I won't leave my Flip in the car next time.

happy birthday

One year ago today baby M was born. I had a new niece! I can only imagine how excited and nervous my brother and sister-in-law were. They were about to become parents with not much notice. Two days later they brought her home. On the way they stopped to introduce me. I will never forget the moment I saw her and burst in to tears.

It was a special moment for me and I still tear up thinking about it. Just like her parents, I loved her instantly. Now she's one. She's walking, still drools a lot and gives big open mouth kisses to her cousins. She's got chunky legs and the biggest, brownest eyes. She lets me hold her whenever I want and never fusses.

M with her daddy.

Happy Birthday M! We all love you so much.

*top photo by Taryn Lewis from Sugartree Studios.

first day at the new school

The girls started their new school this morning. Addison is an official VPKer. They were all decked out in new clothes, backpacks and lunch boxes. Morgan took it all in stride and had no worries. Why would she though? She had a teacher and three other kids move over from her old school. Add in a potato head and blocks and she was in heaven. Nothing to it.

Addison was as cute as she could be. She was excited and shy at the same time. She picked out all of the stuff for her lunch and requested pig tails in her hair.

When we left her she was writing and coloring, maybe her favorite thing to do. But when I peeked in on her after I checked again on Morgan she was attached to the teacher and following her around. Her normal shy behavior.

I'm going to check in and have lunch with her today. I love that I'm only two minutes away. I'll still have time to go to Target!

soccer practice

We signed Addison up for soccer. I figured it would be a good first sport to see how she does. Last night was her first practice. I was so caught up in her that I wasn't listening to the soccer mom talk and I forgot that Michael was chasing Morgan around.

She was a little shy at first. I caught her with her finger in her mouth a few times, her usual sign of shyness. She only ran over for water and a hug just a couple of times. When it was her turn to kick the ball she perked right up.

The coach was great with the kids. They all seemed to have a blast.

I'm dying at how grown up she looks in all her gear.

For the next 8 weeks we'll be practicing and playing. Maybe I'll even learn a thing or two, since I know nothing about soccer. I'm really excited.

friday night

We like to go to Chick-fil-a. It's become our little thing to do with friends. It's a win-win for everyone. The kids eat their chicken and then run around like mad men in the play area, releasing all the energy from the week. I get to have a semi-normal adult conversation with a good friend. And the men get the job of checking in on the crew and pretending to be monsters. Then we have ice cream. All is quiet while eating ice cream.

These four are the best of buds. Addison keeps telling me that her and Jake are going to get married. I don't mind as long as she's 35.

look what i did

I've always wanted to be able to french braid. I loved when my grandma used to do my hair when I was a little girl. When I could find someone who could braid it for me in school I would jump at the chance. Addison's never been into me doing her hair and whines as soon as I head her way with a brush. But I finally got her to sit long enough. This was only the third time I've done it and I think it came out pretty good.

She still whines and complains toward the end that I'm taking to long, but she likes the result when it's over.

I still can't do a true french braid down the middle of her head. Maybe I can put a movie on one day and practice. Or use a babydoll. They don't whine.

starting her young

The other day I went to World Market to look at the rugs. I didn't find a rug, but I did find the soda display. I love a good root beer and cream soda. Evidently, Morgan likes it too.

I really had no doubt. She is still my sugar child and got a lot more sips than I did. This picture kills me. She almost looks tipsy.

You better slow down there kid.

Good little treat on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

No one was harmed drinking root beer. The bump on her head happen when she fell off a stack of rugs at the rug store the day before. I think that day she was drinking moonshine.

one year ago

It was 9:09 a.m. one year ago today when I got a call from Michael that he had called 911. Morgan had a seizure and the next two days were complete misery. (Here's the entire story.)

It's been a year without seizures. That doesn't mean I haven't worried. There's been times when she's spiked a fever and I was afraid to let her out of my sight. There's been times when her stomach's bugged her and she wouldn't eat so I chased her around with Gatorade to make sure she was hydrated. I can promise you that her having another seizure is always in the back of my mind. It probably always will be.

I took a little video of Morgan when she was in the ER last year. I don't think anyone has ever seen this. She had just woken up from a long nap and was hungry. I gave her some of my quesadilla and she seemed to be feeling better. Less than 30 minutes after this she had another seizure. Worst thing I've ever had to witness.

I'm so thankful and blessed that Addison and Morgan are healthy and happy. Hopefully we'll never have to go through it again.

snacks

Besides building sand castles and collecting seashells, the other favorite thing the girls like to do at the beach is eat. This day it was pudding. Who brings pudding to the beach?

There were some popsicles too. Everyone was happy.

Who knows what we'll come up with next time.