Man Oh Man

It's been so long since I've blogged! Honestly....I haven't missed it. I don't have enough complete sentences in my head so how am I supposed to get them written down! Last night I got over 8 hours of sleep so I'm feeling a little more spunky today :)

The Trobough's have been keeping busy lately. I keep the girls entertained at the gym, playdate, MOPS, church, and various outings around town just to stay out of the house. Tantrums from the girls and mental breakdowns on my part tend to happen the most when we are at home, so for now, I am choosing to stay busy :)

Chris is busy at work. Long hours but at least he has a job and he enjoys it!
WC still LOVES MDO at Fairborn First Baptist. Her and Natalie go on Wednesday's from 9:30-2:30 and it's the best five hours. Ever.
Natalie is walking like crazy and has almost mastered a slow run :) She has to keep up with WC!
I somehow got pregnant. Seriously I have no clue how it happened. HA! We were told by doctors that I wouldn't be able to have any more kids since Chris's chemo and WHAM! I get pregnant with T3. We were expecting it, but oh how blessed we are! So here's my Christmas present from Chris since we couldn't fit 3 carseats in the Mariner:

 

It was such an awesome surprise!

I may spend most of my days cleaning up explosive poop, pee accidents, and breaking up cat fights, but my Loves are my life!!!! Aren't they just the cutest?  :)

Go Bulldogs!

 It's that time of year again!!! Our family loves this time of year. College football has begun and we're going to be busy every Saturday for a long time :) It's a fun thing that we all enjoy! We're looking forward to a great year watching the Bulldogs win victory after victory (or hoping at least)!!!

Life Lately

I feel like I go through blog spurts....I am actually proud of myself for not consuming all of my time on the computer. However, I wish I could say it was because of better things, but darn it! I've just been to lazy and tired :)  Actually, I've been crocheting a lot. A LOT. I've just launched my own little "mini business" called Baboo Baby. You can find me on Etsy and I have a FB page www.facebook.com/baboobaby. I have just recently noticed there is another Baboo Baby on FB (don't know why they let me create the page if the name was already taken) and I am the page with the yellow sign :) NOT the home and garden page! I have also been reading like crazy about different discipline techniques using the Bible so that has been a new interest. I've finally realized that I needed some Christian guidance so these books have helped reference a LOT in the Bible that I've always wondered how to preach it to my kids. I felt at the end of the ropes with Miss WC....this last book is called Don't Make Me Count to Three and it's wonderful. It actually gives examples of how to discipline your kids using scripture. So far, it's effective. Now I just kind of feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, I'm not supposed to be perfect and I have been given a lot of grace!

 

 

Check it out! Totally worth the money! All nine dollars of it :)

Chris has started a new position at his work. He's the new Executive Officer for the Commander. Which means long hours but at least he's keeping busy! Chris has also been a rockstar at physical therapy! He told me last week he was able to shoot some hoops with his therapist. Which hasn't happened in almost 2 years. Huge accomplishment! 

We've launched a new small group within our church with another family that meets at our house on Sunday nights, so we've been busy praying and planning for that. This is an exciting thing because our other small group wasn't so small anymore. We miss all of our friends from the other small group, but we're looking forward to what God will be doing with this group!

WC is keeping busy with playdates, Mother's Day Out, and Gymnastics. She is such a social butterfly. Just the other day I asked why she was cleaning and she told me, "I'm cleaning for my friends come ober (over). To play...". This was news to me. I hadn't invited anyone! Ha! She is always surprising Chris and me with silly sayings and she repeats everything we say...She loves to call me dude which is kind of funny now, but it's on the line of being disrespectful. Chris and I are learning about boundaries with WC and what to let her do because everything is a challenge. We are starting to reap what we sow with her though.....lately she's been using her manners without being prompted. It's just taken so darn long!

Natalie is just happy being Natalie :) She loves to play and any kind of social interaction. She loves dogs and little babies (I think she forgets she is one!) and everything that sister does is HILARIOUS. She's going to be walking soon.....she is cruising from one piece of furniture to the next! Nat's a great eater too. She eats with such force that I have to really keep an eye on her. Everything just tastes so good! Which I can relate too.....

All in all, everything is great :) I am so blessed!

Date night of the year!

Let me just start out by saying that since Natalie has been born, I haven't been away from my kids for more than 4 hours at a time...it's been 9 1/2 months. Needless to say I was doing a little jig allllllll the way to Cincinnati!

We started off our date night at The Montgomery Inn Boathouse. We enjoyed ribs, shrimp, homemade potato chips, and broccoli (at least I did anyway!). This was such a pretty place. The restaurant had a great view of the river but too bad it was not pleasant outside!

 

Then we headed over to the Reds game and drove around looking for the closest handicap parking. I have got to hand it to Chris...he's a champ on those crutches!! I can barely make it down the drive way walking with those things. Let alone walk long distances in a ball park!

  A really nice ballpark!!!

 Our view from our seats!!

The Reds and Braves played a great game and in the in the Braves won! YAY!!! There were very few Braves fans around...... We stayed for the fireworks after the show and it was so beautiful!!! They were right over the river and you could see all the boats gather around for the show too. We can't wait to take WC sometime. She would love them!

 

We ended our evening with a quick stop to the Hofbrauhaus.....this crazy German bar where half of the menu I couldn't pronounce. They had a polka band and everyone who worked there was dressed in your traditional German garb. It was just a crazy place!! Inside there were long wooden tables with benches and you just sit with everyone! People were dancing on the benches and acting a fool! ha! I was definitely enjoying people watching and I realized that half of the people there were under the age of 25. University of Cinci was not too far away so I'm guessing that is this bar's main clientele :) We had a great time here.....it was nice to hang out with friends for about 45 minutes!

The drive home was loooooooooooong. After a few wrong turns and hunting down an open ATM, we made it back home to relieve our AWESOME babysitter, Becca (who conveniently lives across the street). She's only 14 (or 15.....can't remember) and she is one of the few teenagers I trust with my kids. She tells me everything that happens and was a real trooper dealing with Natalie who went TEN HOURS without nursing. Becca is GREAT!

This date night was a real treat. It's not something we can afford all the time.....but TOTALLY worth it. Chris and I needed this date night B-A-D. 

We didn't get home until 1:45 and didn't go to bed until about 2:30, so needless to say I was really tired when the girls woke up!! I think WC was up a whole hour by herself before she realized that Chris and I were home....I walked in to the living room and all her toys were out there and she looked at me with this big surprised look on her face then asked where Becca and Sarah (Becca's little sis) were. Poor baby thought she was home alone!! Well...poor baby nothin'.....she was probably LOVING it. HA!

I am so blessed to be able to share these kinds of moments with my husband!

Here's to date nights!! HIP HIP HOORAY!  :)

Strawberry Pickin' at Fulton Farms

We had a great day! This Ohio summer weather is absolutely gorgeous and we went to Fulton Farms with a few friends this morning. We have never done this before since our move here almost 3 years ago. WC is at the age where she would actually enjoy something like this!

We loaded up a few buckets of berries and now I have lots of things to make :)  I'm going to make jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberry ice cream, and a few other delights along the way! The berries are so sweet and now I'm not so sure I could ever buy store bought again....

 WC kept yelling, "Straw-da-berries mom!!!!" She tasted one, but quickly spit it out. She said she was going to eat it but I knew better..........

 There were so many strawberries to be picked! I don't see how people do that for a living. My back was killing me after only 30 minutes.

Natalie at 8 Months

Sighhhhh....my 2nd offspring is now closer to one than newborn. She is growing so fast and I really have been trying to just soak her up before she looses the "baby" part of her.

She's our "smiley girl" and "boo head" (a random nickname...) and she really does light up a room with her smiles. Natalie thinks that everything WC does is HILARIOUS (which I don't find so funny sometimes) but I love the bond that they already share. They're favorite time with each other is in the car. WC will just act a fool and Natalie always lets out her belly laughs...so of course I can never get a video, because I'm driving!

At 8 months, Natalie is completely on table food and breastmilk. It's been about 2 months of her being on table food after only doing baby food for a few weeks (following her sister's footsteps here) and I can never give her her food fast enough. She wants everything on your plate and she wants it now!!

She is low-crawling and will regular crawl for about 3 feet. But she's really slow at that so she just flops down on her belly to go really fast :)

I think she will be giving up her 3rd nap soon.....but she's a really good napper now, so I am very thankful for that! I haven't even begun night training yet for sleep. I have a tender heart when it comes to crying it out at night. She is waking every 4 hours and every now and then I'll get a 6 hour stretch. I know she can do it...and she's ready, but I'm not I don't think...almost there though!

Natalie is really easy to be a mom to. You can give her a bucket of toys and she'll entertain herself for at least an hour...then she'll move to the entertainment center and pull out all of the DVD's. Rosie is her pal, and she loves to eat her food and her hair. Lovely.

Natalie has made such a happy addition to our little family :)  She is the spitting image of Chris, but definitely a momma's girl!!

Parenting by The Book

I've been very convicted lately by my newest read, Parenting by the Book, by Dr. John Rosemond. He is one of the "old school" docs along with Dr. Dobson and Dr. Lehman :) And much kudos to my awesome brother-in-law for surprising me with this book through the mail :) It was a nice package to open!

Before reading this, I had never thought about how parenting has drastically changed since the late 60's early 70's. I have wondered, "Why in the heck was it SO easy back then to parent? Why were children much better behaved?". It's because of  "psycho-babble" and "ADHD" and all that other nonsense. Post-modern Psychological Parenting (PMP) is the term he has coined for the way parents parent their children now a days. Long gone is the advice from "Grandma" and how quickly parents send their kids to therapists for "behavior" issues when the real issue is parents don't know how to parent. Not to say I do this perfectly. HA HA is what I have to say about that if you know my amazing but stubborn 2 year old.

I'm not going to keep babbling about the book...because I could bore you on things that may not be of interest. But I do have to mention 10 verses that Dr. Rosemond pointed out about "what the Bible says" about discipline. I am not afraid to spank. I'm not afraid to discipline. I'm doing it out of love and out of obedience to My Heavenly Father.

1. Discipline and love are two sides of the same coin.
         The Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in  (Proverbs 3:12)
2. Punishment is NEVER pleasant but produces great benefit for the person punished
         No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of    righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it  (Hebrews 12:11)
3. Punishment is essential to proper discipline
         Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son (Hebrews 12:6)
4. Proper discipline validates a child
        If you are not disciplined....then you are illegitimate children and not true sons (Hebrews 12:8)
5. Obedient children are pleasing to their parents
       Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul (Proverbs 29:17)
6. Children are to obey their parents
       Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord (Colossians 3:20)
These six stood out to me. And I copied everything he said...so yes I'm plagiarizing but I'm admitting they are not my own thoughts!

God has really been working in my heart about turning to the Word for EVERYTHING. It's a good practice to start and I've seen a dramatic change that He's made within me.

I highly recommend this book. It is biblically sound...a little old school, but hey.....I would rather be "old school" than considered part of the generation now that I am in. Parents have it all wrong....I wish I could just tell everyone about this!

Lydia Jeanne Robsinon

My new neice!! I love her!!

 

WC and her babies!!

 Proud Meena to three beautiful girls!

Natalie @ 7 months

This little girl just makes me giddy looking at her!! She is so lovable and just smiles at everything. I can't believe we are over the 6 month mark....it won't be long until she is one! Sniff Sniff.....

She is low crawling EVERYWHERE. She is getting pretty fast too! Everything that WC does is hilarious to her and she watches WC very carefully.....maybe she's taking mental note on what NOT to do so she won't get spankings :)

Natalie has been on table food for a couple of weeks now. She eats almost whatever we eat. Mostly fruits and veggies. I'll give her some meat every now and then.

Sleeping still isn't something that happens a lot in this house. The Trobough children just don't sleep well. At least Natalie will eventually stop crying and sleep! She takes about three 45 minute naps...maybe a little longer if I'm lucky. So I don't nap often! She is waking every 3-4 hours still at night, but more out of habit than hunger. So sleep training will be coming soon!

Over-all, she's pretty darn easy. It's neat how different both of the girls are, but they have a lot of similarities (including sleep habits)!!!

Cleveland, OH

 This past week we traveled to Cleveland to see another Sarcoma specialist for Chris's case. So we decided to make it a mini family vacation! We had not been ANYWHERE in a really long time, and we definitely deserved it :) After the appointment we headed to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo which was incredible. It was so clean and organized and the staff was more than willing to help us and accommodate Chris's wheelchair. We were quite the sight to see...lemme tell ya. I had Natalie in the backpack carrier and WC was sitting in Chris's lap while I pushed those two around. The hills made for a great workout :)

 Our favorite exhibit was the Elephants. Such awesome creatures and so beautiful!

So I guess I'll write a little about the doctor's visit :)
We had decided that Chris will not do anymore chemo at this point. His scans were clear for a few months so the only reason we'd be doing chemo now is just for precaution.  This was a big debate among doctors and friends, but Chris feels he is doing what is best for him! No one else can tell him otherwise. We've been SO blessed with different people's opinions and believe me, we considered EVERY

 point of view and we are thankful for everyone's input. The cancer is weird. There is no protocol because  .4% of every millions of Americans develop this kind of cancer.  We have been encouraged to just go with our gut instinct! Unfortunately, there is an 80% reoccurance rate with this, so we have to be prepared for it come come back! Neverless, we are SO ready to be "normal" again. You can't even imagine.......And don't! HA!

We also ate great food and enjoyed the hot tub and swimming pool at the hotel. Just a great get away...even though Natalie was sick the whole time! She tried to be happy at least :)

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

(Too bad neither of the kids would look at the same time at the camera just ONE time! ha!)

Easter

 This was WC's first time dyeing eggs!!! I bought "spill proof" cups and they worked well....but I still think there's nothing like using the Paas egg dying kit. Y'all know what one I talking about right? The old school ones :) But for her first time, this got the job done! She thought it was neat watching them change colors! Then we had a little egg hunt in our front yard for the whole 15 minutes of sunshine we've had the past 3 weeks. WC LOVES hunting eggs and I do believe this fun game will last another few weeks :)

 WC's first time doing an Easter basket. We didn't bother last year or the year before. No reason too!! But even this year she didn't know what was going on. I think the priceless look on her face says it all! ha! She did look at the Easter Bunny at the mall. I wasn't about to stand in that ridiculous long line and I'm such a great mom that I forgot about the free pics at base housing with the Big Scary White Bunny and the $3 pics at her gymnastics place. Oh well! At least The Bun Bun comes every year!

 This is what Natalie thought of the 2 little doo-dads that she got in her basket! WC was such a nice big sister (bossy is more like it) and opened everything for her. Natalie was just concerned about the taste of her new toys. Mmmm plush velvety goodness.

My princess puddin' pops!!! I was hoping for a nice family picture outside after church, but Ohio weather doesn't really permit that this time of year! Plus it was two little girls' nap times after the service!

It has been so great teaching our girls about Jesus. Natalie is obviously too little to understand, but we sing her the same songs we sing WC. WC really got in to, "Happy Easter! Jesus is Risen!". We were working on that for about a week leading up to Easter. We want to strongly implement the reason why we celebrate these holidays!!!!

^{Deuteronomy 6:6}
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Chris and I are really trying to live by this verse. Children are a gift from God and we want to honor Him by teaching our children His way!!!!

Natalie @ 6 months

So she's really 6 1/2 months, but who's getting technical?? Not me...

Here is my punkin pie :)

She is sitting up on her own, scooting backwards and pulling herself forwards. She is rocking on her hands and knees so I know it won't be long til she's trying to keep up with WC!

She takes 3 naps a day and I finally did cry it out for naptime last week. It's helped tremendously with her sleeping and so the next thing to tackle is her night time sleeping habits. She still wakes every 3 hours to eat so I'm going to start cutting some feedings soon. I don't feel any hurry...but the thought of having 6-7 hours of straight sleep just thrills me.

She was eating homemade baby food, but after she had a graham cracker and baby finger foods, she doesn't want to be fed from a spoon anymore. She watches WC eat and wants everything we have. So I'm sure she'll be on pure table food in a few weeks! Following the footsteps of WC...well, I hope not every footstep. HA!

Natalie is such a happy girl. She smiles and thinks everything is awesome. I love having her around and it's been neat to watch her and WC bond. I wish I had a sister bond too!!!

I know I'm slacking a little....

I just figured I'd let all my hundreds of blog followers know I'm still alive. I haven't been much for internet time lately. WC isn't napping and is climbing in to bed with us a few nights a week and then Natalie is napping well and is waking a lot in the night, so I haven't had the opportunity to nap. This means that by the time the kids are in bed, the last thing I want to do is formulate a though!

I'll get back in to it soon......

But we're doing just dandy :)

We rejoice in our sufferings...

Romans 5:3-5 is a verse that has stuck out to me this evening as I struggle to explain about the events of this past week....

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

So there's my post.....ha...just kidding. I'll actually give you an update :)

We arrive Sunday evening in Cinci at my aunt and uncles house. They live 10 minutes from Mercy Anderson (the hospital where Chris had surgery) so this worked out PERFECTLY. Another little miracle we prayed for.... We had to be at the hospital bright and early Monday morning, so this was nice :)

Still dark cold out, we arrived at Mercy Anderson ready for the biggest change in our live so far. I had so many thoughts walking in to the hospital....I had all the, "This is the last time that....". I couldn't help myself. Just knowing that the next time we left that place, it was going to be totally different. A good different I might add! So doctors are always on time with surgeries, right? Wrong....9:15 came and went...so did 10:15....close to 11:15 the anesthesiologist came in to go over what drugs they were using. After all this waiting, I only have 30 seconds with my husband before he was wheeled away for surgery. I felt I had just been jipped  with precious alone time. So I gave Chris a quick kiss and told him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him. And he's the one whispering in my ear to BE STRONG. He's amazing...

But I didn't mention something.....we had some amazing people come to show their support. Two of Chris's closest friends were able to pray with Chris before surgery. Something Chris didn't know about. He was so surprised. One of his buddies came from a town in Ohio FOUR HOURS away!!!!! And he has two small boys at home plus a newborn!

I walk in to the surgery waiting room, see all my friends, and just loose it. Tears are freely flowing and I know I am in good company to do this. I don't even know why I'm crying....I don't know whether or not I'm more sad about my husband losing a leg, or him being cancer free.

The wait is unbearable....I get the word that he's out of surgery then I get to talk with the doc. This was assuring. Everything went great and it was just nice to ask questions and have some immediate answers!! Something we were not accustomed to having over the past year and a half. Then I was told I couldn't see Chris for 2 hours....which turned into almost three. With the help of my mother in law and two great friends, that time went by so fast.

We all rush to his room to be there waiting for him. My friends and Deb are waiting in the Atrium of the hospital and it's just Natalie and me waiting in room 167 for our hero. I'm standing at the back of the room just waiting, then I see the nurses aid wheel him by. I just lose it. I see his face, the tubes, the IV pole, the indention of where his left leg used to be. The next 2 minutes was all a blur. The guy peeks his head in to the room, asks if I'm ok, then gives me THE BEST pep talk I've ever had. He reminded me what I have to be thankful for...my two girls....a strong husband...and he also said that out of this whole battle, NOW is the time to be strong. I needed to put a loving, brave smile on my face for my husband. He handed me a few tissues, told me to take the next 30 seconds crying, the I needed to dry it up. So while the tech is switching out the beds, I look at Natalie and tell her this is it!! I get to see her daddy CANCER FREE!

What a freeing moment this was. Sweet Chris...he was so drugged up. He looked so happy and freed. To not be hurting because of cancer, but because of healing. I had my moments with him then went on the hunt for Deb so she could see her son!!!  I could barely get out the door without bawling my eyes out again. I took about 5 minutes of crying outside his door with Natalie so I could compose myself before seeing Deb and my friends. The sweet nurses brought me tissues and just gave me my space then gave me a hug to tell me that everything is ok. What amazing people they are....

The next few days are filled with physical therapy sessions and doctors visits. Chris was able to walk to the door and back of his hotel room...I mean hospital room just the next day. Later that afternoon he wheeled his happy self out to the atrium while Deb, Chris, and I listening to piano and violin playing for over an hour. During this serenade, Chris's boss, and Chris's bosses boss (confused yet?) and the first shirt came to visit. I saw the ABU's come walking through the revolving door of the hospital and get once again teary eyed. Just the support these people have shone us during this journey...I don't even have the words to describe it.  The afternoon was followed by more visitors and the highlight of the day was when Chris said, "I don't even care I don't have a leg. I'm just happy." PRICELESS!!

Wednesday Chris walked the furthest ever. Down the hall!!! He then wheeled himself to the PT room to practice walking up a step. THIS IS NOT EVEN 48 HOURS AFTER SURGERY!! All of the hospital staff was amazed at his determination!! And then even better news later that afternoon: we could go home!!

So here we are...as happy as can be. Living life WITHOUT cancer. Don't get me wrong...it's going to be a long journey, be we are prepared and well equipped!!

Once again:

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

St. Paddy's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

New house

So here is a picture of our new house!! I'm not finished decorating on the inside yet, so you have to wait :) A plus for all my Dayton friends....if you've been to the William's house before they moved, then you already know what it looks like! ha!

We've been here 10 days and L-O-V-E it. We don't miss 610 Halleck Court AT ALL. Now don't get me wrong...we miss our friends and the military community a whole lot. But that house was horrible for our allergies and we obviously can't live there with the stairs and Chris's upcoming surgery.

We are renting from friends who PCS'd a couple of months ago. This house AND the location is just a testimony to our faith that God ALWAYS provides for you. It may not be in your timing, but He DOES provide. We are so thankful for this house and for the family who lived here.

It's 3 bedroom, 2 bath, spacious living room, open kitchen, deck, SWING SET, and a huge side yard. It doesn't have a fenced in yard for Rosie, but she is doing great hanging out on a leash in the backyard! It's just that much more motivation to go for a run with her :)

More pictures will come soon :)

No more "Hah-see"

That is what WC calls her paci.... "Hah-see". It's been 10 days without it! I am so glad we made the decision to "leave the paci's at the old house for the next baby." She doesn't ask for them anymore and doesn't try to steal Natalie's :)

The first night was rough. She cried for an hour and 45 minutes so Chris and I just hung out in our bedroom listening to music so we couldn't hear her scream. Are we mean? Nooooo...I felt like it, but we just didn't want to hear it anymore! ha!

Nap time the next day was a little rough. WC cried for about 45 minutes then only slept an hour. That made for a really long afternoon. Then day by day the crying got shorter and shorter. She still cries when it's time to sleep because she doesn't want to miss any of the fun, but at least she's not screaming for her "hah-see" anymore!

She's a big girl...doesn't need it. The anxiety that the paci's caused for me was ridiculous. She had to have 3 at all times when she slept. One in each hand and one in her mouth. Then she would try and sneak one from her crib and bring it in to the living room. Which was not allowed. At night time she would totally play me....she would throw her paci's over her crib, cry for them, which would lead me to going in there and getting them for her. ENOUGH! Enough I say.....so buh-bye paci's. You will not be missed!

Moving on up

Moving, moving, moving is what we've been doing for almost a week now and we just got internet and cable today! So I will be posting about the new house, how WC is weaned from paci, Natalie's horrific sickness, Chris's surgery, and WC potty training herself. Yes, a lot has happened in a week!!

Peace y'all

A few pictures from WC's birthday weekend.........

 WC sporting my dad's super cool Russian hat.

My pretty mom with the goofiest smile holding the sweetest baby!

 Chris and his mom. WC has named her "Meena".

My dad who has been named Pop Pop

 The silliest man....Chris's dad, Grumpa

I love this man!!!

Little sister enjoying the entertainment for WC's prized possession, "Choo Choo Rains"

Birthday Time

My little baby turned two last weekend....I can't believe how big she is. And she is as solid as a rock and nothing but muscle! Or "musk-uhls" as Whitley calls them :)  I am amazed every day at things she can do. She definitely a little Chris. Just watching the way her mind works in amazing. She is so particular about things (which is a curse from her mother) but so stubborn and strong willed (I assume from her daddy...because I was a perfect child. Tee-hee.)

We had such a fun little birthday party. Chris's parents were able to join us after all and that was such a nice surprise! My parents also made the trip and they stayed almost a whole week. It was so nice having them around. Just someone else to entertain WC because right now we are teaching her to play by herself. And she hasn't quite got that yet!


I didn't make a big deal out of her bday like I did last year. We had cake, a few decorations, lunch, a couple of close friends, and a few presents. Well, it sounds like a lot, but I was WAYYY more relaxed than last year. WC had fun and that's what matters.

I wish that everyone could get to know our WC. She is something else. She is determined, sassy, intelligent, HILARIOUS, and always full of energy. She loves her sister and enjoys telling her not to cry and to be happy!

Happy 2nd Bday to my sweet love Whitley Claire!