Ham

Lately, Mollie has started making this really cheesy grin everytime we get the camera or video camera out. It is so fake and so funny you just can't help but crack up. She opens her mouth and squints her eyes. I think that she even thinks it is funny. She has become our little "class clown" if you will. She tries to do things to make you laugh and if she sees that she has suceeded she will keep doing it. Mollie is such a little ham. I love it and it always makes my day bright.

On a side note while we are talking about class clowns...this is the conversation I had with Maddie the other day.

Maddie: Mom, sometimes I fall out of my chair at school.

Me: Oh no, are you okay?

Maddie: I am fine, I do it on purpose.

Me: Why do you do that, you might get hurt.

Maddie: Everyone thinks it is funny and they laugh.

Me: Oh

Maddie: Don't worry though Mom, I don't do it when my teacher is looking.

What a relief, right I have the little one doing the goofy stuff behind the teacher's back...we might be in for it.

15 Months

Mollie turned 15 months old last week but since we were in Maryland we didn't go to the doctor until today. She did really good and is hitting all of her milestones just like she should. I was thinking back to when Maddie was this age and it seemed like she talked so much more but I guess that is because she is the first born. Mollie has Maddie to talk for her. She is talking some but she just isn't that interested in learning new words. I can tell though that she understands what we say to her and she does mind fairely well for the most part. My two girls are just totally different from each other. Some of the things Mollie likes to do right now are:

feed herself
play in the bath
climb up chairs, on the bed, and on the couch
dance to music
play in the leaves outside
make people laugh
wave to everyone
scream
nod her head
throw a fit


words she says:
dada
book
look
cat
ball
bye
mama
that
na (no)

Her stats:

weight: 21 lbs 13 oz. she only gained 7 oz. from her 12 month visit
height: 31 inches she grew over an inch

The doctor was pleased with her progress and I was proud of her. She didn't cry too much during her shots and she even laughed and had fun with the doctor when he examined her.



I am thankful for a good doctor who takes his time to interact and really cares about the kids. He always asks about Maddie and he gives good suggestions and answers to all my questions.


Sweet little blue eyes.


Mollie and Aunt Annie at the Aquarium in Maryland. She loved the aquarium and enjoyed all the fish and the dolphin show.

Trick or Treat in Maryland

Last week we got to go up to Maryland to visit some of Trey's family. It was such a great trip and we really loved being up north. The leaves were beautiful. Even though it rained and was dreary a lot we had a great time together. We went to the aquarium, saw a dolphin show, got to go to Trey's cousins' football game, watched the Navy parachute team jump out of a plan and land on the field, hung out together, went trick or treating and so much more. It was a great time. The family we stayed with live in a great neighborhood and so many of the neighbors actually gave out full sized candy bars...it was crazy. I have never seen anything like it. Both the girls had a great time and they were fun to watch. Maddie went dressed up as Tinkerbell and Mollie was her pixie dust. The pictures are good but you can't see all the glitter that was on both of them so it doesn't do it justice

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Cruise

Trey bought me a cruise for my birthday back in July and the sailing date has finally arrived. We were so excited to get to take a break from all the busy-ness that we go through from week to week. We left on Friday and caught a plan to New Orleans where we spent the night and hung out the next morning with one of Trey's good friends. They showed us some neat sight seeing places and answered all our questions. We then headed to the port to catch our boat. The last cruise we had been on was 7 years ago for our honeymoon so we didn't know what to expect except that we were going to relax and have fun.

****You are going to see lots of pics of just the two of us so be prepared.****

Here we are getting ready to get on the boat...we took this same picture 7 years ago so we thought it would be appropriate to make it a cruise tradition.

Saturday was a sailing day where the entire day was at sea. We decided to spend it poolside. We lounged by the pool, read books, listened to music, napped, ate and were pretty much bumps on a log. We were thrilled about doing nothing and we did it very well.

The next day we were at port in Progreso, Mexico. This place is not that great of a place but I did get a good picture of the boat. We decided to go to the Mayan Ruins at Dzibilchaltun.




I am standing at the opening of one of the ruins that is pivitol in their ancient calendar. This building was built so that on the two solistice days of the year the sun shines perfectly through the opening I am standing in. It was very cool to climb on the stuff and hear all the information. I would recommend it to anyone that has the chance. The Dzibilchaltun ruins are the only Mayan ruins that you can actually climb on and explore other ruins you just have to look at from a distance. We had fun exploring and taking pictures as well as climbing to the top to see the views.

Here we are at the top of one of their stadium seating areas. This was believed to be the center of town because the temple was across the meadow so that the mayans could sit and watch. Also you can see a church like looking building that was built later after chrisitians came and tried to convert the Mayans.

That night was formal night at dinner. You can tell we really went all out on our formal wear...hahaha. We did dress up some but we weren't in it for fancy.

Another couple picture we took when we went to the art auction on board. Neither of us had done that before so we thought, "what the heck." It was interesting and we did like looking at the art but the one piece we thought was cool they wanted over $500 for and that was out of our budget.

The next day we went to Cozumel, Mexico where we went on a rock climbing, rappeling, ziplinging and snorkeling adventure. It was all right on the beach and we had a great time. You can see Trey climbing one of the towers with ease. He is so good at that stuff. I managed to do okay and enjoyed the zip lining a lot. At the top of the ropes towers there was a breathtaking view of the ocean.

Fun times doing new things together. After snorkeling we took a cab to downtown to do so shopping. We wanted to get the girls a few things. We shopped and walked forever and stumbled onto a hole in the wall spa. They offered a massage for 30 min for only $20. We decided to live on the edge and got a couples massage. It ended up being great and just what we needed. We didn't even get mugged or molested.

This was the view of our ship at port in Cozumel.

The last day of the cruise was at sea all day and we enjoyed more pool side laziness. We did experience so sea sickness due to high waves but we saw dolphins out in the middle of the ocean just having a great time. We went to lots of shows, played bingo, ate food, played trivia games and took more naps. All in all it was a great time and I am so glad we got the chance to take a break. I have almost 200 pictures and I am hoping to put together a scrapebook at sometime.

Thanks to Trey for a great idea and a wonderful birthday present.

We tried.....

Maddie is tinkerbell this year so we tried to carve a tinkerbell pumpkin. It was SUPER hard. If you look close enough maybe you can see her.


We tamed it down and went for something easier with this one.

Pumpkin Patch Tradition

It has been a busy month and the time to blog has been non-existent. We have been doing so much stuff. Trey and I just returned from a cruise the other day which I will post about later and then we went to the Pumpkin Patch today. Ever since we moved here we have made a tradition to go to the pumpkin patch. This was the third time for Maddie and Mollie's second time. We rode on the hayride out to the pumpkin field and then picked out three pumpkins. It was the perfect day and we all enjoyed being outside. I will try to get caught back up on blogging soon.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

Why are people so mean sometimes? This question has been on my mind lately because I have had several encounters with strangers lately and they have been extrememly mean to me for no reason at all. I know it is hard to believe but I didn't do anything and these people were just blatanly rude. It has made me realize one thing for sure...when I am rude to someone it can stick with them and really hurt them, and probably more than I realize. Even strangers have feelings too. Please don't misunderstand I know this and this is not like a first time revolution but my encounters last week have just made me ponder this more than before. Sometimes I catch myself making a wierd face at a homeless person, or steering clear of someone that seems dirty and gross but the truth is that God made that person too and he loves them just like he loves me. He doesn't love me more because I showered today or put on clean clothes. His love is equal for everyone. Admittingly some people don't choose God but it doesn't change the fact that he still loves them. I am not saying that we should all go out and hug strangers and make best friends with the destitute but there is a way to act and treat people of all types to mirror God's love. Our actions stick with others longer than we may realize. What mirror image are you leaving with others?

"I like your Christ but I don't like your christians." -Mahatma Gandhi

Heard this the other day and it really hit home. I am trying to change my mirror image to be more like Christ which is a lot harder said than done. Nonetheless, I want Jesus to be proud of who I am and what I do. I want my children to see Christ in me through my actions and my heart. I am working to try to be a better reflection of Christ.