Are they twins?

I can not tell you how many times in the last two weeks that I have been asked if Ella Beth and Landon are twins. In this picture, you can clearly see that Ella Beth is taller than Landon...but not by much any more. When our kids are in the stroller (as in today when I was asked 3 times while we were at the outlets) or last week when our kids were riding in the kart behind my bike, it is very hard to tell that they are not the same size.

Pretty soon, it's going to be impossible for us to convince people that they aren't twins because little Landon is catching up quickly to his "big" sister.

Love this picture in color, too. :)

Fun in the sun

Can I start off by saying that I really wish I was still on vacation?!?! Ella Beth does, too. When we were packing up to leave HHI yesterday, she started to cry and said, "I don't want to leave. I want to stay on vacation forever." Don't we all. ;)

We had an absolutely wonderful week. Scott's parents and my mom went with us...and let me just say that I don't foresee us doing any long vacationing without the grandparents in tow! It was a lot of work (back and forth to the beach...with all that STUFF), and it was an added blessing to have extra hands. Not to mention that Ella Beth and Landon love their Mimi, Nana, and Papa; they had lots of love showered on them non-stop for a full week.

Without any further ado, here are some (read: lots) of pictures. :)

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Our rides to the beach. Our condo was right off the beach, but with four little legs and tons of stuff to bring down, two bikes and two karts made our hike to the beach much easier.

 

Landon's favorite beach activity was playing with his bucket and shovel. He would carry them everywhere, dig, pour water, you name it!

 

The boy also loves bubbles!

 

Mama loves the boy's backside. (Yes, his shorts kept falling down...so we just rolled them, tag and all!)

 

Ella Beth and Landon playing together. Nicely. Made my day.

Love these shots

 

 

We found a few starfish; Ella Beth wasn't too sure about them, but Landon was fascinated.

 

Mommy got in a couple of photos.

 

 

Scott and Landon feeding the birds. Love how they are doing the same thing!

 

Ella Beth in her polka-dot bathing suit and ponytail.

 

 

Landon running to keep up. Don't forget your bucket!

 

We participated in a turtle race at the condo one afternoon. Both kiddos had a blast!

 

 

 

One (pretty) nice family shot.

 

And, my favorites from the week.

 

Now that may seem like too many a lot of pictures for one post, but I assure you that this is just a tiny sampling of the hundreds of photos that were taken. 

We are already talking about and looking forward to next year's vacation!

HHI bound

We are outta here! Hilton Head Island, SC - here we come!

 

This will be our home for the next 7 days. 3 swimming pools, the beach and ocean in our back yard, and all the fresh seafood we can eat.

See y'all when we get back!

Heaven help me!

I knew to expect sibling rivalry. I knew to expect it.

What I didn't know, was how annoying it was going to be. Geesh!

Yesterday, I was beyond exhausted; beyond feeling as if I had even a single moment of being a good mom. I can still hear myself chanting over, and over, and over...

"Don't push your brother."

"Don't pull her hair."

"No pinching."

"Don't yell at him."

"Don't hit your sister."

"No jumping off the bed."

"No pulling  your brother off the bed."

"Do not take things from him."

"Share."

OH MY WORD! I am sure the day started off with me using my manners and injecting a "please" in there. However, an hour into my day...and all manners were spent. Heaven help me if this is how my life is going to be. 

You see, I'm an only child. I understand nothing of sibling rivalry. I can specifically remember being at friends' houses and being completely shocked by how my friends fought with their brothers and sisters. Now, I am watching those horror scenes in my own house. AND MY KIDS ARE ONLY 3 AND 1.5!!!!!!!!

Seriously? Someone tell me there is a cure, and that you know what it is! Will this last forever?

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I know no post is complete without pictures. No, I don't have shots of my kids fighting; I am trying not to document this stage so that later I can pretend it never happened.

Believe me, BOTH of my kiddos are naughtier than they appear!

 Ella Beth swinging with Scott on my birthday swing.

 

Landon in his cute john johns by Lindsey with Sugar Britches Kids. (The same girl who made Ella Beth's b-day dress.)

 

Landon is getting to be such a big boy. (You know, big enough to fight with his sister.) I still want to snuggle with him like I did when he was 5 weeks old. He will always be my baby.

Urgent prayer requests

Hi, y'all. I have three prayer requests that I would like to share with you.

1) My sweet friend Ashly Tucker is scheduled for her induction on Wednesday. She goes to the doctor on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. for an amnio, and if everything looks good...she and her husband Denny will travel to the hospital that evening to start the induction. 

Please pray that the Lord will keep His hand on this precious baby (they don't know what they are having!). Please also pray for peace for Ashly and Denny as the time for Baby T's arrival is now only days away.

Ashly's story can be found here: http://www.onceuponatucker.blogspot.com/

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2) A co-worker, Bryan Apinis, and his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on August 2. Samuel was diagnosed with a severe heart defect at their 20-week ultra sound.

Samuel has already had 2 surgeries...and he's just 13 days old.

You can keep up with them here: http://apinisfamily.blogspot.com/

They are posting regularly about what's going on, what the doctors are saying, and asking for specific prayer requests. I know most of you probably don't know Bryan, but I hope that won't keep you from praying for him, his wife Katheryn, their two older sons Joel and Caleb, and for their precious Samuel.

Their blog is new, so I encourage you to start from the "oldest post" to get updated with the situation. And, you'll see lots of pictures if you start from there anyway!!!

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3) My friend Christina is pregnant with her 3rd sweet boy, Luke. During an ultra sound around 26 weeks, the doctors found that baby Luke was not growing properly. She has been in for appointments, check-ups, and ultra sounds each week to monitor Luke's progress.

Unexplainable to medical science, Luke has been progressing much better than they ever hoped! I have no doubt that it is from the many prayers being lifted up for Christina and sweet Luke.

The doctors are still talking about Luke being born prematurely, but I ask you to pray that Luke will stay in his mommy's tummy as long as he needs to thrive.

You can follow Christina's story here: http://www.mycanvas.typepad.com/

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On a side note...A - for Ashly, B - for Bryan, C - for Christina. Maybe that will stick in your minds so that you won't forget to pray! A-B-C! :)

Turning Three - Fancy Style!

Ella Beth's 3rd birthday party was a blast! A lot of planning went into her party (from the decorations, the set up, the tea party, to Ella Beth's dress).

I will mostly let the pictures speak for themselves...and there are a lot of them!

Here's the kids' tables set up. It's the best birthday idea I've ever had! We will ALWAYS use these tables.

 

 

Sibling love...

 

Sharing the love with Mimi...

 

Miss Ava was one of the "fanciest" girls at the party. Check out her ring! L-O-V-E it!

 

Ella Beth and her "fancy" self.

 

Sweet Isabelle and Brenna...looking beautiful as always.

 

Fun cousins, Kaitlin and Kylie...they were the "big girls" at the party!

 

The best family shots we could get. Why is it so hard to get a smile (a real one) out of a 3 yr old and a 1 1/2 yr old)? ;)

 

 

Here is just a small sampling of Ella Beth's reaction to EVERY. SINGLE. PRESENT she received. Her excitement was absolutely precious!

 

 

 

 

And her BIGGEST excitement...the HOT PINK MUSTANG!!!!!!

 

Landon couldn't wait for his ride either! (I put a little "vintage wash" on this pic...just enough to where he won't be totally embarrassed to look back at this picture in 9 years!)

And they're off! Can't you just see her excitement? I can't get enough of this girl!

 

Proud Mommy moment: Ella Beth shared her car with all of her friends without any hesitation. Here she is "ooooh-ing" while two of her friends take a cruz.

 

Needless to say, we had way too much fun celebrating Miss Thing. But, I can assure you...we all loved every second of it!!!

Ella Beth

Miss Thing,

You are three today, and I can hardly believe that so long has passed since I first held you in my arms. You are growing up too fast for me...in every way. You started school this week, the youngest in your class. Your favorite color is purple. You love being outside playing with our neighbors. You are always the center of attention, and that's just the way you like it; well, except for when you want to be shy. You love to read. We have been going to the library often lately, and picking out new books to enjoy is one of your favorite things to do. I am amazed that once Mommy or Daddy read a book once, you take it and read it back to us - not forgetting a single detail. Your memory amazes me daily. I hope that you won't remember everything, especially my lack of patience.

You've entered a new stage lately. I call it the "Terriblly Scary Threes." You've gotten quite sassy, opinionated, and independent just in the last month. I can see this year being one in which we butt heads a LOT. See what I mean in that I hope you won't remember everything? I hope I won't either!

I am in awe of your self-confidence, persistence, and "go get-em" attitude. Landon, however, is sometimes a little frightened since it's him that you're often out to get.

I see you taking after me more and more. Which is where us butting heads comes into play. You, also, have a big heart, a fun spirit, and very little patience. Hopefully, we'll both grow in our weakness this year.

Despite how hard some days are between us, I love you "mostest in the whole world." You will always be my baby girl - despite telling me you're not a baby...you're a BIG girl. To me, you're that 6 pound miracle that captured my heart three years ago today.

Happy Birthday, Ella Beth!

I love you,

Mommy