Funny face

Grayson has started making a ridiculous face every time I get the camera out. It's quite annoying when I'm trying to take a picture, whether candid or posed, but last night Ben and I were going through recent pictures and couldn't help but crack up at Grayson's silly face. What a goofball!! :)

I'm laughing just looking at these pictures right now....this boy certainly keeps us on our toes!!!! 

Please pray...

One of my favorite bloggers has a precious baby boy who is in desperate need of prayers right now. Some of you might read MckMama's blog so you already know about Stellan's story, but if not I encourage you to read about this sweet miracle baby. Stellan is currently in the hospital with some very serious heart issues and needs another miracle to survive. Please lift baby Stellan, his parents, and the doctors and nurses who are caring for him up in your prayers. You can read more about Stellan if you click on the "praying for Stellan" picture above. Thank you!

Allergies...

Poor Grayson had an allergy attack this afternoon while we were at the playground, and his eyes swelled almost completely shut. :( I rushed him home and threw him in the tub so we could get all of the pollen off, and these pictures were taken right after his bath. I hate that he has to go through this, as I have terrible seasonal allergies as well so I know how miserable they can make you feel. After a trip to see the doctor (which drew quite a bit of attention since he looked like this), he's now taking daily Allegra and we'll be spending a little less time outdoors until we get it under control. Okay, now I just have to hope he doesn't hate me one day for posting these pictures on my blog! :)

Road trip!

This is the result of trying to get a picture of all four children together... 

Grayson and Henry talking on Skype to Henry and Ruby's daddy, Ben. What a great way to stay in touch when he's on the other side of the world! 

Emma Claire has suddenly gone from being terrified of dogs to absolutely LOVING them, and sweet Little Bear was kind enough to put up with EC following her around and saying, "hey dawg! HUG dawg!!" constantly. :)

best buds :)

I love this one...Henry didn't feel well and was not happy about me taking his picture! 

Grayson and Ruby played together a good bit since Henry wasn't feeling great

Call me crazy, but I was desperate to visit my friend Gretchen who lives up in Maryland so the children and I decided to take a road trip to see her and her kiddos for the weekend. A 10 hour drive while 6 months pregnant and two toddler tag-alongs actually wasn't that bad--we stopped several times for potty breaks, time to run around and use some energy, and to eat a few snacks, and besides a few little meltdowns here and there (them, not me!), the drive there honestly was pretty easy. We arrived late Thursday afternoon and spent Friday and Saturday playing and catching up with Gretchen, Henry, and Ruby (Ben is currently deployed overseas with the Navy). Unfortunately, fate had some unexpected plans for us---Henry woke up Friday morning sick with a double ear infection and strep throat, and Emma Claire woke up in the middle of the night Friday night sick as well. We decided to leave a day early (Sunday instead of Monday) just in case she had strep, because I didn't want to catch it and then not be able to drive home on Monday. The drive home was a little tougher because Emma Claire felt terrible and pretty much cried the entire way home (with a handful of less than 5 minute naps....just wonderful), but we made it home in one piece and it turns out she just had a virus and not strep. Anyway, even though it was a short trip, it was so great (as always) to see our wonderful friends and spend some quality time together. Thanks for having us, Hogans, and we can't wait to see you again soon! :)

Little goofball

I think Grayson gets his goofiness from his daddy....can't wait to hear what my friends have to say about that! :)

On a side note, I think it's crazy that Grayson is in the 85th percentile for height and Emma Claire is in the 30th. They're less than 2 years apart in age so I always pictured them being closer in size than they are. I can't wait to see what new baby brother is like! 

Girls' trip and piggies!!

Last weekend, Emma Claire and I went on a little girls' trip to visit my friend Laura and her family a couple of hours away. Emma Claire had a great time playing with Delainey and practicing being a big sister with baby Jacqueline (she needs more practice!). I also discovered that EC's hair is long enough for PIGTAILS!!! I can't get enough of those little piggy tails, but Miss Priss doesn't always like to keep her hair up. :) 

Hippity hop!

Guess who...

is now sleeping in her big girl bed!!!! I took this picture in the dark and was just hoping I had the camera aimed in the right direction, so it's not the best but I promised my friend Gretchen that I'd get a picture of her. :) We moved Emma Claire to her big girl bed a few days ago and she's doing great. She's our climber/jumper so we expected to be dealing with her getting in and out of the bed, but so far she just stays in the bed when it's time to go to sleep (both for naps and at night time). Our baby girl will be TWO in a little over three months....sniff, sniff! 

Taylor Swift's biggest fan

If you're happy and you know it!

In keeping with the tantrum theme from earlier in the week, I managed to capture the best picture ever of Miss Emma Claire. :) Gotta love her!!! 

Daffodil farm