Swaddling Is For Babies

Rachel says that swaddling is for babies and she's a growing girl who needs room to stretch and roll. A minute after she is swaddled she has broken free like Houdini escaping from a straight jacket. She fights it more to get her thumb in her mouth than for anything else but she does seem to like sleeping all stretched out.



This is a cute little outfit she's in. Grandmama gave it to her for Christmas. It is simple with a sweet little collar but the cutest part is that it has a little button-up flap in the back for diaper changes. So cute! From the big toothless grin on her face, I'd say she likes it too.

Happy Little Guy!

Nicholas is such a happy little guy. He is always smiling and he has such an infectious smile! Stuart got these great pics of him recently. I just love them :)

Bath Time Isn't So Bad Anymore

Rachel has started really liking bath time. She giggles and smiles and likes to kick the water to watch it splash. Nicholas likes to help bathe her by rubbing her tummy and legs with the washcloth. Rachel just loves anything that big brother does so that just makes her smile even more.

Yay Body!

Today we got to see Slim Goodbody perform again. Last year, I let Nicholas miss a day of school so that we could go see Slim in Fort Worth. This year I found a show in Garland that wasn't on a school day. I haven't been to Garland much and I wasn't sure how Rachel would do in a one hour performance during her nap time. I was a little worried this morning about how the whole thing would work out. What a waste of time. It went beautifully. We got there in about 30 minutes by the tollway and had plenty of time to play around, feed Rachel, and get our seats. Rachel slept the whole time so it was a breeze.



The theater in Garland is small and they had already done several performances here with this show being the last one so the crowd was really light - maybe just a couple of hundred people. Last year in Fort Worth, there were 1700 people and it was kind of crazy! Next year, we will be seeking out the Garland performance for sure!

The show was fantastic as always. Slim wears a cool costume showing the inner workings of the body. He sings and dances and teaches kids about healthy habits, all of the systems in the body, dental hygiene, and not smoking. Nicholas really got into it.





After the show, I was able to talk to Slim. The original Slim Goodbody has been performing and teaching kids about the human body for some 30 years or so. I even remember watching him on TV when I was little (yes, he's THAT old!). This Slim was a different Slim. His real name is Butch and he said that he has been helping out with the show for a while. The original Slim was actually performing in another state. I was sad that we didn't get the original Slim but Butch had a great performance and he was fun to talk with. He is starting his own show too. It will also be a children's performance like Slim Goodbody but it will focus on the environment. It's called Kid Power.

After the show, it was lunch time so we tried a new place for lunch. It's called Planet Pizza. It was fun and the pizza was pretty good. They have a big indoor climbing structure - maybe the size of 3 or 4 of the McDonald's play areas all put together. They also have several amusement rids and games. Nicholas loved a pirate ride that swung a pirate boat high in the air. They even had to remove some of the ceiling tiles to make room for this thing's range of motion. He also loved the rockets and the bumper cars.





Tonight Nicholas and I performed a few of the songs we learned at Slim Goodbody today. We taught Daddy all about the digestive system and the circulatory system. Nicholas told Daddy that Rachel's heart beats faster than his and that his heart beats faster than Mommy's.

The Days We Are Given Are Gifts From Above

One of our pastors at Fellowship Church passed away this weekend. His name was Jimmy York and he died of a massive heart attack at the age of 33. He is with his Heavenly Father now but he has left behind a wife and two young children who will face a long hard road ahead of them. Please keep them in your prayers. Jimmy was an awesome guy. Stuart and I have had the pleasure of attending a class that he was leading at our church. He was a genuine person with a true calling and passion for teaching the love of Christ.

Times like this make those of us left behind think about where our life is and what we have made of it. I can't help but think about what my husband and children would remember most about me if I were gone tomorrow. Would it be that I had the house picked up or that I played at the park with my children? Would it be that I kept my blog up to date or that I snuggled on the couch with my husband? Are we spending our days on mundane things that don't make a difference when we are gone? Or are we treasuring each moment with our loved ones, making sure that they know how much we care about them and making a memorable difference in their lives?

I heard this song by Superchick on the radio earlier this week and it got me thinking about all of this. It's called We Live. Check out the lyrics and think about your own life...

There's a cross on the side of the road
Where a mother lost a son
How could she know that the morning he left
Would be the last time she'd trade with him for a little more time
So she could say she loved him one last time
And hold him tight
But with life we never know
When we're coming up to the end of the road
So what do we do then
With tragedy around the bend?

We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

There's a man who waits for the tests
To see if the cancer has spread yet
And now he asks, "So why did I wait to live till it was time to die?"
If I could have the time back how I'd live
Life is such a gift
So how does the story end?
Well this is your story and it all depends
So don't let it become true
Get out and do what we were meant to do

We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

Waking up to another dark morning
People are mourning
The weather in life outside is storming
But what would it take for the clouds to break
For us to realize each day is a gift somehow, someway?
So get our heads up out of the darkness
And spark this new mindset and start to live life cuz it ain't gone yet
And tragedy is a reminder to take off the blinders
And wake up and live the life we're supposed to take up
Moving forward with all our heads up cuz life is worth living

We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love