Girly Girl!

Over the past 21 months, we have certainly discovered how raising a little girl is different from raising our son. It is so exciting to see how Gracie Myers has fully embraced being a little girl, she loves all things frilly, but she can hang tough with her big brother when need be! Gracie Myers thinks that everything is the color pink whether it is or not, I guess she loves the same color her mama does!

Lately, Gracie Myers can be found in her room rummaging through her shoe basket until she finds a pair of shoes to put on all by herself. If we try to help her, she's quick to say, "I do it". She's a pretty independent little girl, that's for sure!

She loves these shoes, which are unfortunately, almost 2 sizes too small, but she still tries to cram her feet into them....too bad they were on the wrong feet!

She was super impressed with herself that she got her feet into these shoes. We are thankful for her determination, and hope that it continues to develop as she grows!

She's actually saying "teeth" which is what she likes to say when having a picture taken!

In addition to selecting and putting on her own shoes, Gracie Myers likes to put her own hair bows in by herself. This picture makes me laugh, because the bow wasn't put in securely enough and was basically just hanging on!

It is wonderful to have another child who has a love for books. She likes to sit in her "time-out" chair and read to herself.

We love you, our little girly girl!

Lake Norman 2009!

Our friends Eric and Lindsey have a wonderful boat and they were so gracious to take our family back out on it again this summer! The weather was a bit overcast and the water wasn't quite warm enough for the kids to go swimming, but they did enjoy splashing around in the small pool aboard the boat! We had a fun day catching-up with Eric, Lindsey and the newlywed's, Russ and Allyson! Thanks for the hospitality!

Pirate Paxson driving the boat!

Gracie Myers giggled so much when "Uncle" Russ gave her kisses!

Paxson and Gracie Myers had fun playing with Chase too.

Couldn't resist the ruffled bottom shot!

This is Gracie Myers funny face when having her picture taken. She likes to show off her teeth!

Splish Splash!

Lots of fun memories on the boat!

Paxson was content watching Daddy swim in the lake.

Paxson and Chase check out the view from the front.

NCSU buddies, Eric, Bill and Russ

Russ and Allyson have been married about 7 weeks! Congratulations!

We tried so hard to get a picture of the three kids together, but it was impossible to get them to look at the camera at the same time. Chase was intrigued with Gracie Myers glasses!

Thanks so much Eric, Lindsey and Chase for having us join you out on the lake!

Rock Star and a Bit of Mischief!

From a very early age, Paxson has shown a love for music, and particularly likes playing the guitar and drums. It amazes us to see how imaginative he is, and how many outfit changes he goes through each day! These were snapped as he was in the middle of playing worker man and rock star! He was using the attachments to the vacuum cleaner as drumsticks too!

He has the perfect strumming pose!

Later in the day, I heard lots of laughter coming from our bedroom. We are thankful that Paxson and Gracie Myers are such wonderful playmates, but recently they have begun to get into a little more mischief. On this occasion, they both hopped up into our bed, jumped and rolled in the covers, and finally found a One Step Ahead catalog and ripped out pages one by one!

The catalog was completely destroyed as was our bed!

Once all of the pages were ripped out, they both thought it would be an excellent idea to throw the pieces of paper onto the floor! Better check on them both a bit quicker next time I hear that laughter!

SPWS End of the Year Picnic 2009

Paxson has had another wonderful year at SPWS! His teachers, Mrs. Fisher and Mrs. Haenlein were marvelous, and he enjoyed being part of the younger 3's class. Paxson has really made the transition from being a toddler to being a little boy this year. He has enjoyed playing with his special friends and it is great that he can actually tell us what he did at school! Before the picnic, there was a singalong where the kids got to sing all of the songs they learned in Chapel this year. It was precious to hear each sweet little voice sing about the love of God!

Next year, Paxson is excited that he'll get to go upstairs to his classroom, and even more excited that Gracie Myers will be there too! We live very close to the church and we have to honk at it each time we leave our neighborhood. Paxson is quick to remind his little sister that she will get to go to "Paggy's school next year, but she'll have to stay downstairs!"

Another year under his belt!

Bop and Gracie Myers wave goodbye to us!

When I arrived at the school, I found Paxson and Mrs. Fisher completing an art project. This was priceless for me to capture on film because during the mid-year parent/teacher conference, Mrs. Fisher said that Paxson wasn't particularly interested in his art projects. She said that he would willingly complete each project, but that he'd much rather being playing with his classmates!

One final shot of the class before the summer break!

Paxson during the singalong! It was super cute because they were singing a song about praising and praying to Jesus, so Paxson kept his eyes closed like he was praying during the entire song!

Paxson and Mrs. Haenlein

The McIntosh kids and Paxson

Mrs. Fisher and Paxson

Paxson and Katelyn were in class together last year, and will head upstairs to the 4 year old class together next year too!

Gracie Myers Turns 21 Months Old!

We have a full-fledged toddler on our hands these days! Gracie Myers is coming into her own personality-wise! She is full of spunk and is quite girly! Her vocabulary amazes us both, as she can speak in sentences. Her favorite being "Ahh-nah _____ now pease". Which translates into, "I want a _____ now please". She also loves to say "thank-um" which is how she says "thank-you". Gracie Myers has also thinks it is quite funny to use a loud voice, she's a ham!

21 Months and counting!

Gracie Myers with her "Binky", she is pretty fond of her Binky's...so much that her Pops calls her "Binky" as a nickname! We love how she uses teething rings as bracelets!

Last Day of Swimming Lessons!

Today was Paxson's last day of swimming lessons! As parent's, it has been exciting to watch Paxson gain self-confidence as he swims! He was always ready and willing to get into the water, and couldn't wait to put his head under! There's something wrong with my "red-eye" function on my camera, so his eyes are pretty red, but they are still cute pictures of our very own fish!

Paxson attempting to swim to the wall by himself! Bill and I would laugh each time Paxson was in the water, because he'd have a permanent smile on his face!

He made it!

Ms. Helene helping Paxson swim!

Our own Michael "Phillips" as Paxson would say!

Happy Mother's Day 2009

What a blessing it is to be a mother/mommy/mama/mom to my two wonderful children! For as far back as I can remember, I've always dreamt of being a mom, but in my wildest dreams, I never imagined how amazing my two kiddos would be! They fill my days with unconditional love, lots of laughter, and even some craziness! I love you Paxson and Gracie Myers!

After church, we had lunch with my parents, but I forgot the camera. Later in the day, we met Bop, Pop Pop, Aunt Chris and Aunt Neen for dinner! We had a wonderful day!

Gracie Myers being a ham for the camera!

Bop and Mommy with P & GM!

I've never quite understood why Bill insists on throwing Paxson as high as he can into the air, and why he decided to do it in a parking lot???

Mommy and her firstborn!

Sweet Baby Sister!

Saturday Fun!

Our little fish just loves the water! He is normally a sleepyhead in the morning, but knowing that he has swimming lessons, he is up and at 'em! We are so thankful that our parents live close by, because it makes for "drop-in" visits that lead to fun memories!

Paxson is all smiles when he's in the water...hope he doesn't go under, he'll get a mouthful!

Still kicking!

Trying to float on his back!

Jumping In!

Gracie Myers loves to color...could she be a lefty like her mama?

Paxson had so much fun using the Color Wonder markers!

Gracie Myers showing off her pipe cleaner bracelets!

Pops and Meme came over late in the day. What a fun wagon ride!

Tight Squeeze!