Spring Break - Part 1

It's Spring Break in Arkansas this week!  We have some pretty big plans for the end of the week/weekend, but we started off our Spring Break just staying home and relaxing.

We went on a double date with Rich and Hilary to the gun range on Friday.  We had so much fun!

Whitt is super obsessed with the toilet and toilet paper.  We caught him "washing" the toilet with a rag he'd found one morning.  Water was everywhere!

Annabel and I got to have our date.  She said, "I want to go where you and Adeline goed."  So mani/pedis it was!

She wanted a hot chocolate before we went.  This picture just cracks me up.  What a threenager!  She kept calling it her "coffee."

Whitt took his first ride in the bike trailer, wearing his sister's Ariel helmet.

She said, "I found an F stick!"

We went to the park two days in a row and Whitt is no longer content in the swing.  He wanted down to explore!

They were practicing their "French" smiles.  I have no idea where they got that, but they insist it's a real thing.  A smile without showing teeth is now called a "French smile" in the Richey house.  I love it!

Swinging in the rain, because it's the only place he wasn't screaming at me.  Teething is no fun!

Today we start the busy, traveling, part of our Spring Break.  Yay!

March Madness

**Disclaimer: this post has nothing to do with college basketball.**

What have we been up to this month?  We've had some really beautiful, warm days.  We try to take advantage of those as much as possible.

My mom and mother in-law came up for most of one week and we had such a great time.  Mostly, they watched my kids while I got a lot of stuff done, so I didn't get many pictures.  One of those days, we had my niece, Murry, and my mother in-law and I took her and Annabel to the park.

After Whitt woke up from his nap and Adeline got home from school, we walked to another playground.  It was one of those days where we just couldn't waste any daylight hours indoors.

That evening, Shane, Juliet, and Murry ate dinner with us.  I tried to let Whitt try some icing from my cupcake, but he stole the whole thing.  His first birthday is going to be a little anti-climactic.  Hah!

Adeline's sweet teacher sent me this picture of her and her friend, Annalyse.  Love those two girls!

Jon and I, along with some friends from our small group, took a dancing class one night.  Adeline thought it was hilarious when I told her what we were going to do and she said, "What in the world?!? You don't even have any dancing clothes!  You need to at least wear a dress!"

Jon was dreading it, but he ended up really having fun and really learning a lot.  My face hurt from smiling by the time it was over.  This man right here loves me!

We took the kids for some Easter pictures one Saturday.  I still haven't gotten the real ones off the CD I got, yet, but here are some I snapped with my phone.

We got a sitter for Whitt one night and took the girls out to see Cinderella.  I loved it, but it was a little slow for Annabel.  She paced a lot toward the end.

Whitt is happiest at mealtimes when he can feed himself, so that's what we try to do, even though he usually makes a huge mess.

This month, it was Jon's turn to take Adeline on a date.  They went to lunch and then bought her a new big girl bike and went for a ride.  I'm loving this new thing we're doing!

Adeline got her eyes all checked out for Kindergarten.  She's a bit far-sighted, but that's totally normal for this age, and not bad enough to need glasses.

On St. Patrick's Day I had to break out Whitt's green Chuck Taylor's.

We dyed eggs with the Davis kids.  So much craziness, but so fun!

I experienced a first the other day.  I was shopping in Target and I went through the food aisles to find Easter candy for the kids' baskets.  When Whitt noticed we were among food, he spit out his paci, started screaming, and signing "more."  I had to open up some granola bars and feed him right then and there.

We met some friends at Little Giggles one Friday morning.  Annabel and Reagan really enjoyed playing together.  They both miss their older siblings when they're at school.

We celebrated Mrs. Ruble's birthday with her class that afternoon.  I love how excited kids get about birthdays, even when it's not their own.

Whitt - 10 Months

Whitt is now ten months old!  I can't believe he'll be a year old in less than 2 months!

He wears 12-18 month clothes & size 4 diapers.

He weighs around 19-20 pounds and is 31 inches long.

He likes to give hugs and kisses.  He might possibly be my most cuddly baby.

He's still not walking, but he has taken a few steps.  He will stand up and let go and I've even seen him stand up without pulling up once or twice.

He's starting to climb on things.  He climbed up in this chair to reach a pacifier that was on his dresser.

He can say:

• Momma
• Da-da
• Adda (Adeline)
• Up
• More

When you say, "I love you" to him, he'll say "I" then wiggle his tongue back and forth in his mouth to make a la-la-la sound.  It's the cutest!

He's nursing 3-4 times a day and eating everything, and I mean everything, we feed him.  

We gave him pasta for the first time the other night and let him feed himself.  He was ecstatic and I think he ate more than me.

He now has four teeth.  You can see the top ones in this picture, but they're not through enough to really see them all the time.

He is a big time Momma's boy and that's perfectly fine by me.  If he can't find me, he crawls first back to my bathroom looking for me.  He wants to be held a lot still.  Most of the time, the only way I can cook dinner is for Adeline to drive him around the house on their little ride-on toys.  Otherwise, he's hanging on my legs.  He does get super excited when Jon gets home from work, though.  

He loves being outside and he loves his sisters.  I think that after Jon and myself, those are his two favorite things.  Oh, and food.  Food might beat us all.

We love you, sweet boy.

Ready for Spring

It's March, and in Texas that means spring is here, but in Northwest Arkansas, it's pretty much just another winter month.  It doesn't mean this transplanted Texan isn't ready for spring, though!  I love that we have seasons here, but winter is loooong, especially when you have small kids.

This little girly girl made a necklace at church.

We celebrated Hollyn's 5th birthday with her.

One morning at 6:15 I heard Adeline say over the monitor, "Hey, Annabel!  Come get in bed with me!"

We walked to piano in the snow.  Can you tell I needed some fresh air?

Adeline shared her ice cream with Whitt at CFA one day.  I'd be lying if I said it was his first.

We had two snow days in a row.  My kitchen table served its purpose.

Nothing melts my heart more than a sleeping baby.

I walked in the play room one day to find Whitt in this bucket.  Adeline said, "I put him in there so he could watch my puppet show."

We own every teether they make, but he prefers my kitchen hardware.

We got Whitt this ride-on toy for his birthday.  I know it's early, but I couldn't wait two more months.

I caught him doing this one day.  It was a snow day.  We all needed a few minutes of peace.

And we finally got out of the house last Friday for the first time in several days.  Adeline went to school and the rest of us went to a moms group at church.

But then I got a call that Adeline was complaining of a headache.  Jon picked her up early and she took a nap when she got home.  When she woke up, she spiked a fever and that's when I started to worry.  The only thing she was complaining of was a headache, so you know me.  My first thought was meningitis.  I know, I know.  Anyway, I took her to urgent care, they ran all kinds of tests, but determined it was just some virus.  She ran a fever all weekend, but was back to her normal self by Monday.

Whitt had his first trash-truck-watching experience on Saturday.  He as a fan.

And I've started giving him a little cow's milk every day.  He loves it.

Daylight Savings Time was my friend for two mornings.  The kids slept until 8 or later, but then today, they were back awake at their usual 7:00. Oh well, this face is worth it.

Yay for March.  Just one month closer to spring!