Haven Molly is 4!!

This year between three and four years old felt like you grew 5 years in that time and not just one! You have changed so much over this past year and moved from being our baby girl to being our sweet little girl.

Your hair has grown in a hurry, you have gotten taller and outgrown shoes in a hurry and your speech and knowledge have seemed to quadruple. You recently got 6 inches cut of your hair for your first cut since you were a baby.  Thankfully you still have your sweet little lisp when you talk and we love it. When you say like it come out "yike" or instead of love you say "yove" and I cherish it. You are game for anything Haven, you are the first to want to try something new. Foods, adventures, riding a big bike, doing flips on the trampoline or even climbing the cabinets you do it all first and once your older brother sees you survived then he will try. You are fearless and that scares me tremendously! You asked for a big bike from Santa Claus this Christmas and he delivered a Frozen themed big bike to you. You jumped on it in a hurry and were out riding in no time! We put you in gymnastics this year and you fearlessly jumped into class and were trying out balance beams and different techniques without hesitation while other kids in  your class were sitting on the sidelines crying.


Haven you love big! There is no doubt in anyone's mind where they stand with you because you tell everyone how much you love them. You give the sweetest kisses with your big full lips and you hug with all your might. Your favorite person is your baby sister who  you think is your personal baby doll. Even though she is over half your size now you still want to pick her up, put her in chairs, have her lay in bed with you or push her around in your baby stroller. She is getting more independent on her own though and does not go willingly to which you try and make her cooperate all the more and it turns into a bit of a squabble. Your love for her is just so big you don't quite know how to handle her not wanting to be your plaything. You tell me though she is your best friend and I hope yall will always remain that way!



You are extremely protective of those you love Haven. At your preschool you are in class with your cousins Merritt and Whitten. The teachers recently told us that sometimes Whitten will try to mess with Merritt some to which you will step in to protect Merritt, when he sees you in the  middle of a squabble then he comes back in to try and help you out. I can only imagine the scene unfolding but you have learned early my girl that you don't let others mess with "your people!" I know the day will come when Merritt will have to fight people off in your honor but for now you are doing it for him. You love school so much and love to learn and try new things. You have come home and practiced your writing and letters and can already spell out and write your own name.

Haven you are so full of energy you never slow down! You love to sing and dance around the house usually in some sort of princess dress or wonder woman costume. I love to hear you sing and it doesn't take you more than hearing a song once or twice before you sing the lyrics on your own. I would love for music to be a passion you could pursue in your life. You are always goofing off coming up with silly faces or voices or walks. You have taught Rory some funny little walks and keep us all laughing. Everett thinks you are the funniest person ever and often has to run to the bathroom to keep from peeing his pants when you are making him laugh. Your laugh by the way is the absolute best!! Its loud and not girly at all and just hearing it makes the other person laugh. You laugh with your whole body!



You are very much into babies still and have had a Target version American Girl doll but currently have no interest preferring only your baby "Annie." You sleep with about 15 little things on your bed and check to make sure they are each there every night but your baby is your most cherished. You also must have your two dream blankets that you have had since you were a baby. When Dad or I are going to the store you are always the one to ask to go with us and love to push the cart and grab the items needed. Sweet Haven you are the one that loves to come and snuggle with me in bed though and wants to be as close as possible. You are always wanting to be held or rocked still like a baby. I will often say to you "sweet girl" and you have started saying it back to me. For instance you said "thank you for my dinner sweet girl," or "I love you sweet girl mom!"



Haven Molly you are so cherished and loved! We adore you and are so grateful to get to be your parents! We are proud of you and can't wait (but do want to wait) to see what your future holds!
Happy Birthday our precious girl!!

A Super Magical Birthday Party

I had a brilliant idea this year to host a joint birthday party for Everett and Haven!

Since last May when Henley's birthday party was at gymnastics center in Midland Everett had said he wanted to have his next birthday there. As time started approaching and I called to book a date the only available time was the week between Everett and Haven's birthday's so I decided we would have one big blowout for both kids. It also made it easier on family who would have to travel in to only come in for one occasion and not be forced to pick between which party to attend. Haven had recently started taking gymnastics at this center and was thrilled to get to have a party there as well.









Haven wanted a Princess Party, Everett wanted a Superhero party and thankfully it was pretty easy to combine themes for a Super Magical party.












We served sandwiches with pasta salad and had a white princess cake for Haven and a chocolate Superhero cake for Everett. We were surrounded by lots of family who joined us to celebrate and our neighbors from next door. Everyone played and had a blast for a few hours!





I doubt that every year we will pull off the double birthday celebration but for this year at least it was a massive hit with both kids feeling so much love! 

Everett is 6!!

I remember every single thing about the day you were born and it feels like there is absolutely no way it could have been 6 years ago!

Oh my sweet boy you have the kindest heart and are Such A Mama's Boy!! You love to be cuddled by your Mom and give out the sweetest kisses freely. You will not go to bed without telling me no less than 100 times that you love me. Sometimes it is just in a whisper from across the room because you have already been tucked into bed and gotten back up to tell me, again. Sometimes it is with hand motions but every way it melts me! You may look like your Daddy but you act so much like your Mom. There are so many things you do now that straight from me, like getting annoyed when Sissy (or Daddy) freely doesn't follow instructions exactly but makes up their own rules. You are very specific about your bed and how your blankets are. You like your food to be nice and separated and not mix together. Speaking of food you continue to be a very picky eater but have ventured out of your box a bit more. Chicken strips (only not nuggets), waffles, oatmeal, and buttered pasta remain a steady part of your diet. We have gotten stricter with you eating other things and you somehow always make yourself throw up. You absolutely love oranges and will eat little cutie fruits like no ones business.




This year you have been in 5 day pre-k and have really thrived. We decided to let you have another year of pre-k and not start kinder right at 5 which your Dad wasn't quite sure about. This has proved to be such a great decision. You are thriving in your class! You are one of  your teacher's favorite students and she always remarks on how smart and sweet you are. You have only gotten in trouble once all year and after that time you have reported back to me who else in the class has gotten strikes but you never have. You love to learn and try new things but get frustrated when you don't get it right away at first, again like your Mom. You have made some really sweet friends in your class and tell me that yall play lions or sonic the hedgehog in recess. It broke my heart to send you to school 5 days a week although I knew it would be so helpful for our transition into full kinder next year. I miss my time with just you so sometimes you get to stay up later than your sisters or skip nap time.

Everett you remain completely enthralled with dinosaurs and animals. Your knowledge of dinosaurs and their scientific names is unbelievable. You have also made the jump to superhero's though and love equally Batman, the Hulk and Captain America. You have developed the funniest little dance moves and love to dance to music. Lego's are something that has also been a big hit with you since last summer and you can often be found sitting for a long time playing at the dining table with your box of legos spread out before you. You love to play on the trampoline and spend extra time in the bathtub playing in the water.




Haven is your best playmate right now, she makes you laugh harder than anyone but also can annoy you more than anyone. You quickly come to Rory's aide when Sissy gets a little to handsy trying to make Rory do whatever it is she wants. You are such a good sweet big brother. Sometimes I overhear you trying to explain things to Haven and it melts my heart. We signed both of you up for soccer this spring and before her first practice I heard you telling her to not be scared of the ball and to have fun. Melted my heart although you were talking about t-ball not soccer.


Everett you still must sleep with Meyer every night and I love it. He is most nights found laying over your chest while you sleep and it takes me back  to you being 6 months old when you got him. You love to play and wrestle with Scout who is now twice your size and can take you down. Sometimes you come in and tell me how Scout is your best friend and how much you love him and it is so sweet! When I decorate for a holiday or add some new decor or when we rearranged our bedroom, you are always the first (and usually only one) to remark on how beautiful it looks or how awesome the new things are or how much you love it. You are very attentive to details and show your appreciation for them.


Everett you are such a sweet thoughtful boy! You always Thank God for Sollymoo and Grandy in your prayers which makes me so happy! We are so proud of who you are and are so unbelievably thankful God chose us to be your parents!! Happy Birthday Buddy!!

Snow day!!

Midland finally got snow! It was the kids first real experience with snow that they had been anxiously awaiting all through Christmas! Midland didn’t know what had happened and the city shut down! We bundled up and played our hearts out in it! 

61.

Mom would have turned 61 this year. We celebrated by making a cake in her honor and the kids blew out the candle. We talked about how much she loves them. Memories like Everett and her dancing in the living room together. Every night when we say prayers Everett says "and thank you God for Sollymoo and Grandy who are with you." I try to keep her very alive and present in their lives.







Oh my gosh I miss her so incredibly much. Time doesn't heal, the hurt doesn't go away it just becomes longer since you saw her last.

Rory looks just like you, it’s remarkable. She has your piercing blue eyes and your ornery personality! 
We celebrate you Mom!

Christmas 2019

Last Christmas was a tough one with Everett, then the girls getting sick and our plans being completely changed because of it. This year thankfully looked nothing like that one because we had 3 healthy kids who were giddy with excitement about Santa coming! Because of all the excitement I didn't take many pictures on Christmas but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy!






Drew had wanted to start a tradition with the kids of giving them a snowglobe each year. Last year we waited too long and ended up with weird ones that ended up getting broken anyway so this year was a fresh start with a new tradition.






We spent Christmas night at Nana and Mimi's having dinner and opening presents with our family and it was absolutely perfect!

Spreading the Holly Jolly around!

We dug in hard for Christmas this year trying to partake in all the fun events we could.

We started with the kids Christmas program at school which was extra special this year getting to share it with Nana, Mimi, and Aunt Kelsey. They were all so cute in their holiday attire getting easily distracted by each other and those who came to see them!

We didn't chance meeting Santa Claus this year as Midland's is always crazy but we did manage to meet the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who at our favorite Tea place. Haven was the most excited leading up to it and promptly decided it was NOT for her, Rory wanted nothing to do with him either but Everett was a team player.




We decorated cookies at Aunt Nene and Uncle Lane's where she of course had all the trimmings set out with matching aprons for everyone!
















Aunt Cindy came in and shared her special tradition with all of us again this year of giving each family a book she read allowed to all the kids and a coordinating ornament. She also brought along a craft to do. The kids thanked her by serenading her with their own Christmas Carols.