Nana's Visit

We were so busy while Nana was in town visiting. Nana helped clean out all of our closets and go through all of our clothes. We have so much more room now. She also helped us get some things ready for our new baby. But we also did some fun things too! While Nana was here Callie got enrolled in Kindergarten, Gavin had baseball practice, Madison had a tick on her, and the air conditioning went out! We had Take Your Child to Work Day at school and the kids stayed home to help take care of Bodie, the little boy that I watch for half a day. Then it was off to run errands. We went to the mall and Nana and the kids got on the Carousel. The kids wanted to get in the seats that spin. I got sick just watching them. There was an Indy car at the mall and the girls got their pictures taken in front of it. Gavin thought he was too cool for this. We had so much fun with Nana and Ginger here. We are so thankful for all that she does for all of us and for all of her help. Derron, the kids, and Nana played kickball too. This was HILARIOUS!!!!!! I video taped this very funny event and promise to show it to all who are interested when we visit GA. Nana and Derron would fall quite often. I am sure the video is very shaky because I was laughing so hard the whole time. Anyway...in case you can't tell we love our Nana very much and are so glad that she got to come out for a visit.

NANA'S in town!!

Last Thursday we drove to St. Louis to pick up one of our favorite people...NANA!! The kids were so excited that she was coming to visit. She's going to be here until the 25th and I will try to take some pictures. Nana also brought a special visitor with her...GINGER. Ginger is Madison's dog that we had to send back to GA to live with Nana and Papa. So, she visits when Nana does.

Our Newest Addition

This is our newest addition. We still don't have a name, but we are very excited and we are going to love her so much. The print out that says Baby Girl was not very good, so I chose this one. She was looking straight at us. As of yesterday she weighed 11 oz. and was in the 55% for her growth. Which is the middle of the pack. We can't wait to meet her and hold her.

IT'S A ...

GIRL!!!! Yes, we are having a girl. Madison is beyond excited. Derron and I are excited too. Yes, we were hoping for a boy, but I have secretly been looking at girl stuff all along, because I just kind of had a feeling. Callie was a little mad at first, but she has finally come around to the idea that she is having a baby sister and not a baby brother. Gavin, well, he was very sad to find out that he is still the ONLY boy. But he is happy that the baby looks healthy and he even picked out her outfit to come home in. It's really cute and I will post pictures later. Now, we just have to come up with a name. We are open to suggestions. Keep in mind we really don't like old fashioned names or names that are too common. Right now we like the name Olivia Grace. I will post ultrasound pictures tomorrow. Love to all of you and thank you for your well wishes!!

BIG DAY!!!

Today is the BIG day! We are all so excited to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. The kids can't stop talking about it and were fighting over who would get to call whom last night. My appt. is at 4:30. I promise that we will make phone calls and I will post as soon as I get home. I have a meeting @ 6:30 and Young Women from 7-8:30, but I will post. Love to all of you!

Callie and Gavin

I was reading through my blog and it seems like it is all about Madison. This is not on purpose. She has just had a very busy month. Whereas the other two have had it fairly easy. But, they both deserve an update. Gavin is busy with baseball every Thursday and Saturday. He loves it! He also has boy scouts on Tuesdays. He started taking the MAP test this past Tuesday. That is Missouri's version of standardized testing. I am not sure what they take back home anymore. It was the ITBS when I was in school. He has 3 weeks of this. Tues.-Thurs. 9:30-1:00 He test very well and loves the fact that he doesn't have homework at all during this time. Today he went to Wal-Mart with me and he helped this really nice lady whose blackberries had opened and fell on the floor. He ran to get her another container since she was already in the checkout line. She happened to be a member of the City Council and she invited him and his scout troop to come and present the colors and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. He was very excited about this and I was very proud of him for being so willing to help someone.
Callie is doing well in Preschool. So well in fact that she is reading on a 2nd grade reading level and doing 1st grade math! She's a genius and she's beautiful! If you haven't heard about her recent trip to the Urologist it went quite well. Her kidney reflux has been downgraded to a 2. This is good news, because it means she will not have to have surgery to correct the problem. However, they did find several small cysts on her left kidney and now we will go see the nephrologist on May 6. We have been assured that she is fine, however, they do want to have it documented with the correct specialist. She is very excited about becoming a big sister and can not wait to find out what we are having. She said she wants to feed the baby and change the diapers. I am glad that she wants to help. I have been worried about how she would handle a new baby, but she says it doesn't bother her becasue she knows she will always be my baby too.
I promise to post as soon as possible on Tuesday after the ultrasound.

So, my friend Angie and I love to check out certain blogs for fun and cool stuff. I ran across this one today and you should check it out. I love aprons especially ones that are really cute! Check out Epicurean Style for fun and cute aprons. If you leave a comment you will be entered in for a chance to win one!!

I also love The Pioneer Woman and Bakerella. The Pioneer Woman has lots of great recipes and gardening tips along with much more. She explains her recipes step by step! How easy is that! Bakerella has the cutest ideas for baking and someday I hope to attempt some of them.

Madison's Field Trip

Madison's Field Trip

Sorry it has taken me a while to post this. We have had a very busy week. Madison had a field trip on Monday and they went to the School of Economics. This is a wonderful place where children go to learn the value of work, what it takes to open a business and run a business, how to take out a loan and what is required to pay off the loan. The kids get to go every year and each grade level does something different. The 2nd graders had to take out a loan, open a business, sell their products to the Kindergartners and other 2nd graders, pay off their loan, and make a profit. It's quite exciting and the kids look forward to it every year. Madison's job was a cashier/order taker at "McDonald's". Derron and I found this very funny, because a few weeks ago she said that she wanted to work there when she was 16 so she could get free french fries. Needless to say we persuaded her to think differently and assured her that a job in Derron's office would probably work out better for her. Anyway, here are some pictures of Miss Madison. They had little uniforms that they had to wear and well, she of course was the cutest by far.