The Holloway Family

Welcome to Holland

2012-01-12T17:38:00.005-06:00

For the past 8.5 months I've been on a little blogging break. I started this blog to keep a journal of our little family, but it just because too much to keep up with (not to mention Blogger made it a pain to even upload photos). I'm not sure if this post means I'm back for good, but for some reason I feel like I need to share our story. This post will be long, and probably boring. There are details that I haven't shared with anyone, but I just feel like it's something I should share...
When Brooklynn was born she was a very healthy baby girl--10 lbs 3 oz and 22 in. She was beautiful, perfect in every way. She reached all her milestones right on time, some even early (except for walking, she was 13.5 months old). When she was 18 months old I noticed she wasn't talking as much as she should be. At her well-visit I expressed my concerns with the doctor, but he also noticed she was crossing her eyes and said that a vision impairment could be the cause for her speech delay. We took her straight to the Ophthalmologist and found out that her vision was very bad. We did everything--glasses, bifocals, patches, and then surgery. We got her speech evaluated around 20 months, but she wasn't delayed enough to qualify, AND even the speech therapist thought her vision problems were the cause of the delay. I kept diligently working with her. I did my own version of speech therapy. We worked on flash cards, educational play, etc.

When she was 2, I decided to be more forceful and took matters into my own hands instead of relying on the doctor. I found an early intervention program and began making phone calls. We got her evaluated again, and this time she qualified. The sweet lady that did her eval. mentioned that she saw some signs of Sensory Integration Dysfunction in addition to her speech delay. Then the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. All these little things that we saw as her quirks--overall "floppiness", low oral muscle tone, "W" sitting, inability to sense the difference between wet/dry and hot/cold, extremely high pain tolerance, etc.--it all seemed to make sense. We were told that since we discovered this early on, she would likely be completely "normal" by kindergarten. We jumped right in and started therapy (it took awhile to get all the referrals and evaluations). By 2 and a half she was receiving speech, occupational, and physical therapy (2 or 3 sessions each/week) and at 3 she started a preschool for children with special needs. There she received her therapy, and was blessed with teachers who understood her special circumstance. After two years in this school, they told me she was ready for Pre-K in a normal classroom setting. Throughout all of this, I still believed she would be "fine" by kindergarten.

Her pre-k experience was great! She had an amazing teacher who loved her almost as much as I do. :) While she was still different from the other kids; although behind from where she needed to be for her age level, she worked very hard. I also worked hard to make sure she received all the therapy she needed, and developmental therapy was added as well. School parties were the most difficult. She would get over-stimulated, which usually resulted in crying just laying on the ground, and was ready to leave as soon as I arrived. After the first party, I realized she's better if I don't even come (which is so very hard for me), so from that point on I would wait until the end to arrive, but I could at least be there on her special day.

Near the end of the year it hit me like a ton of bricks, all those people that told me she would be "fine" by kindergarten were wrong. So we started working on her IEP for school, and even more evaluations started. During her IEP meeting with the school district things went terribly wrong. They brought up something I had been asking about for years. All the doctors said no, all the therapists said no, all the teachers said no, but now I'm hearing the word Autism. I cried like a baby in front of perfect strangers (looking back I'm sure they thought I was a complete nutcase). How could this be? Sensory processing disorder is something that a child can "outgrow", but Autism seemed to be a different story. I became very discouraged, but just as determined to do everything I could to help her. I started thinking about homeschooling, but realized for her particular situation public school would be best (although I decided to wait until Christmas and take her out if she wasn't happy). I cried every time I thought about having a child in special ed. My heart broke for my baby girl.

The first few weeks of school were rough, and I was scared. Brooklynn kept asking to go back to her Pre-K, but around the 3rd week things started to change. She began to grow up. Since then she's become so much more independent, and is even improving socially. She is very intelligent (her IQ tested normal, and the examiner wasn't able to finish the test because Brooklynn just quit. She said that Brooklynn would have been off the charts if she had finished the test), and she's one of the happiest children I've ever seen, with a wonderful imagination. Her teachers have told me how impressed they are with her progress.

We've been blessed with wonderful teachers throughout our entire journey. Her special education teacher emails me on a daily basis to tell me about her progress, and her regular teacher emails me each week. She started out by spending about 30% of her day in the regular classroom with an aide helping her along, and then the rest of the time in the resource room. Now she spends about 60% of her day in the regular room without an aide! She's really grown up so much. She has continued to surprise her teachers, and they said they didn't expect her to progress so quickly. She even recently received "Student of the Month".

So that is an update of what we've gone through over the last 6 years. Throughout this entire process I tended to alienate myself from people. Playdates and playgroups were almost impossible. Brooklynn would get overwhelmed, or I would feel like other mom's were judging my child's abilities and my abilities as a mom (because, lets face it, mom's compare kids). Even dinners with other families were hard when their much younger children were doing things that I could only dream of Brooklynn doing. Now that we have Trail I realize that I was wrong. Things simply come naturally to him, and Brooklynn just has to work harder. It has nothing to do with our parenting or her intelligence, it's just how she is. We're still waiting on an "official" diagnosis--we've been on a waiting list for a neuro-psycological examination for 7 months now. As she gets older, she shows more signs of Autism. I will honestly be more surprised if she's not autistic. But throughout this process I've grown up too. I can now type the "A word" without bawling my eyes out (okay, there are a few tears, but no more sobbing), and I've learned that she's not a victim. She's a special little girl that God blessed us with. She's beautiful, intelligent, sweet, loving, compassionate, and I could just keep going on and on. We love our little girl more than words can express, and I know if she didn't have these "issues" then she wouldn't be our Brooklynn! I think the poem "Welcome to Holland" is a wonderful description of what we've experienced, and I must say that I truly love Holland.

Easter, Floods, Etc.

2011-04-27T14:51:00.009-05:00

We had a very cool and rainy Easter this year. It was pouring outside, so we didn't get to have much of an egg hunt. We had one in the sanctuary before church.

Here are Izzy and Brooklynn hunting for eggs. Brooklynn wasn't too interested in finding any eggs. Instead she went to where Ms. Leah had left the candy; I caught her shoving it into her bucket (I also forgot their Easter baskets at home, so we just made do with what we could find)

Trail

(Isn't his "basket" lovely) :)

My pretty girl!

I worked hard to put her hair into a braided/bun up-do but forgot to get a good picture of it!

After church we headed over to my parents' house. My sister-in-law's parents made a quick trip from Colorado Springs, so they also came. My mom invited David's parents too, so there was a house- full!

The rainy weather is evident in my hair! I didn't realize our umbrella was broken until we were already at church. I got drenched!

We didn't get many pictures of the kids because someone didn't feel like cooperating. Can you tell which one?

I'm going to try to dress my kids up in their Easter clothes this weekend, and hopefully we can actually get a decent picture. (Dani Claire's sweet outfit is an adorable silk bubble suit that I found at a consignment sale, but you can't really see it in these pictures).

This is another find from the sale. It's Mud Pie (my absolute favorite brand). I found two Mud Pie outfits for a total of $17, and I would have paid around $70 if I had bought them new.

I'm trying to decide what to do with my hair. It is basically my natural color right now, but I'm starting to miss having blonde highlights. There are days that I like the dark color; however, I'm leaning toward getting some highlights for summer!

Dani Claire turned 4 months old on 4/16.

I snapped this picture of her on that day!

We had a slightly scary situation this week. The rain started Friday and by Monday it still hadn't stopped. I decided to lay down and take a quick nap while Trail and Dani were sleeping (we've had some long nights lately, but that's another story). The rain and thunder kept waking me up, and getting louder, and heaver. Around 1:30 I got a call from Brooklynn's classroom. Her teacher called to let me know that they were going to dismiss class early because of flooding, and she knew I had a long drive so she wanted me to know in advance. I knew it would take me awhile to get the other two loaded up because I would have to wake them up and feed Dani Claire. I immediately called David and asked if he could go pick her up instead. He left right when I called, but by the time he made it the town that's in between where we live and where she attends Pre-K they had basically shut down the entire town due to flooding. All the side streets were closed and there was no way around. I was panicking at the thought of her being stuck at school overnight. The school still hadn't officially dismissed, but when I called her teacher she told me they would just keep her there because they heard rumors that the buses weren't all going to be able to make it out. The school decided to put all the kids from the district in one large room (which terrified me to think about her being alone in a room with a bunch of highschool kids), but her teacher assured me that she would stay with Brooklynn.

David made several more attempts to get through, but by 5:30 he still hadn't made it and she was starting to get hungry. Her sweet teacher offered to take Brooklynn to get something to eat, and then took Brooklynn home with her to rest and watch tv. At almost 8PM my dad and David were finally able to get through to her! I've never been so happy to see my sweet girl in my entire life! I'm so grateful that she has such a sweet and thoughtful teacher who went out of her way to make sure that Brooklynn was taken care of! There aren't many people out there that would do something like that, so we're so thankful that Brooklynn has such an amazing teacher! It would have been a completely different situation if she HAD been stuck in a room full of much older students, and I would have literally been sick to my stomach!

Here is my sweet baby in bed after a very long day!

Trail keeps trying to wear Brooklynn's glasses around the house. He literally cries when I take them off of him. I found some glasses that used to be on a bear. He thinks he's big stuff in them!

He also likes to push Dani Claire around in the doll stroller. Brooklynn used to do this with him too. I love these babies!

Trail and Dani (2 years old and 4 months old) and Brooklynn and Trail (3.5 years and 4 months)

Brooklynn and Dani Claire both came down with an eye infection last week and I took them both to the doctor. We also found out that Dani Claire had an ear infection. After a week of antibiotics she was still crying in pain and pulling at her ear so I took her back this morning. Trail woke up with very red eyes and was also pulling at his ear. After a quick check up, we discovered that he also has his first ear infection, and Dani Claire's has worsened and turned into a double ear infection. I now know why my sweet, happy boy has been such a cranky mess! Poor things!

Trail is 2!

2011-04-06T09:30:00.011-05:00

My handsome little boy turned 2 on March 27th! I'm so proud of this sweet little guy!

Here are a few of his stats--

He's 22.5 lbs. I thought the doctor said it was the 5th percentile, but I re-read his printout and it's still below the chart.

I can't remember how tall he is, but it was in the 30%

He can say just about anything, and it's usually clear enough for even strangers to understand.

He talks in some short sentences (not usually more than 3 words, but sometimes 4)

He is a pretty good eater, and LOVES fruit

His favorite thing to drink is chocolate milk

He recognizes Sonic and yells "Sonic, drink, please, please!" any time we drive by one

He has one speed: FAST; and one volume: LOUD!

He absolutely loves being outside, and cries any time we come in

He's such a great sleeper! He will literally put himself to bed. If I can't find him during the day, I'll check his bed and he's sound asleep (he also sleeps in a big boy twin bed, and has been there for about 6 months)

His fine motor skills are excellent--he can unscrew anything (not always the best thing), and is great at puzzles

He can count to 12 and say most of his ABC's

Some of the cute things he says are:

"Brook-uh" for Brooklynn

"DANDY Claire" for Dani Claire

"Tom-fus" for Thomas the Train

"Luds You" for I love you

"Choco milk" for chocolate milk

"Buzz Witeyear" Buzz Lightyear

"Ite there" for right there

"Are'd you?" instead of where are you?

Trail got a special birthday treat. Nana took him out to breakfast, then shopping at Toys-R-Us to pick out his own present. The girls and I met them at the mall for more shopping and lunch after they were finished.

We did things a little differently this year for his birthday. We decided not to have any "big" parties for awhile. David was working the Saturday before his birthday, so we decided to have our parents and my brother's family over for dinner Monday night. It was very low-key, but perfect for this age!

Trail and Sadie Jo

So excited!

Blowing out the candle

Scout and Trail opening presents

(I love how he's lounging on his bean bag chair while he opens them)

He kept stopping to play with his new toys

They all helped

Grandpa Jerry joined in

Scout and Dani Claire

I love my handsome nephew!

The kids with both sets of grandparents

(We are so incredibly blessed to have our parents living nearby)

Here are some random pictures I never posted--

Our little rocker!

Dani Claire on her 3 months birthday

I'm pretty sure it's going to be impossible to get any good pictures for awhile. Dani Claire and I both just look annoyed! ;)

Sisters!

One of Brooklynn's favorite phrases (from "Lady and the Tramp") describes this picture perfectly.

"Look at that beautiful little lady!"

Dani Claire's Dedication

2011-04-05T09:33:00.008-05:00

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13,14

March 20th was a very special day for our family. It's the day that David and I made a vow to raise Dani Claire in a loving, Christian home. We promised to be examples of Christ in all that we do. I vowed to be a Godly example of how a woman (and mother) should behave. David pledged that he would be an illustration of the Christian husband and father. It was a wonderful day, and we were so grateful to have our family (and friends that are as close as family) there with us!

(I apologize that the pictures aren't the greatest quality. It was very dark in the sanctuary, and our "nice" camera is broken)

Dani Claire had to get dressed after we got to church because her dress was too long for the carseat.

This is how she rode in the car

Gregg (her god-father) took pictures for us.

I smiled when I saw this one of his shoes.

Sherri (Dani's god-mother), my parents, Miranda (Dani Claire is wearing the dress she wore when she was dedicated 18 years ago and Brooklynn also wore it), and David's dad

My brother and his family

Before Brooklynn and Trail's dedication I worried so much about them crying during the ceremony. With Dani Claire the thought never crossed my mind, so of course she started screaming as soon as Ched (our pastor) took her to pray over her.

(You can tell she is our 3rd child because David is smiling while she screams, I'm pretty sure I giggled. How things have changed since our first baby!)

Praying for our sweet baby girl

Our Pastor did an amazing job, and the entire sermon was about Dani Claire and her dedication. What a special occasion for all of us to be a part of!

4 Generations

We once again attempted a family picture...it didn't turn out too well, and the shadows make our hair look pretty crazy

We are so grateful that God decided to put Dani Claire in our life. I simply can't imagine what it would be like without her now. I know HE has big plans for our sweet baby girl!

Dani, this is my prayer for you--

May The Lord bless you and keep you. May HE make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May The Lord furn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

Thank you, God, for our special little blessing!

Comparison

2011-03-15T17:54:00.006-05:00

For some reason I never did this with Brooklynn and Trail, but I thought it would be fun to do some comparison shots. They're pretty close to the same age in these pictures.

(You might have to click on the collages to make them bigger)

From left to right: Brooklynn, Dani Claire, Trail

I can see some similarities. :)

Simply Dani Claire

2011-03-09T10:49:00.013-06:00

I haven't blogged much about Dani Claire lately (or about anything at all), so I thought I would do a post dedicated to her.

It's hard to believe that she is almost 3 months old, but in some ways it feels like she's been with us forever! I still remember practically every moment about the day she was born, and I hope I never forget. I will admit I was terrified the first few weeks of her life. She was extremely gassy and fussy, and I had no idea how I was going to do it. Luckily, she is a MUCH happier baby now, and life with 3 kids is going great. We all adore her so much! Before you have multiple children, you wonder how you can love each child equally. It's something that just comes naturally, and God has completely blessed us!

When Dani Claire was just 5 days old, my close friend Jessica came over to take some newborn pictures of her. She was still pretty jaundiced at the time, but Jess was able to get some sweet shots of her!

5 weeks old, wearing the outfit Brooklynn wore home from the hospital

Happy Girl (6 weeks old)

Her first time to go anywhere without me

(she went to church with Nana while we took Brooklynn and Trail out to eat)

Checking out the flowers David got me for Valentine's Day

Little Razorback Fan

Trail wanted to be in the picture too!

Ready to go shopping with Mommy and Nana

Today she had her 2 month check up, but she's actually closer to 3 months. She is 10 lbs 14 oz (25%) and 23 inches (50%). Her head is 15 in (25%). She weighs more than Brooklynn did at this age, and Brooklynn started out at 10 lbs 3 oz! :)

Here are a few things I want to remember about my sweet baby girl:

*Is constantly smiling and cooing

*Loves to "talk" to Brooklynn and Trail (she seriously thinks they're the greatest--especially Brooklynn)

*Rolled from stomach to back one time (6 weeks old)

*Is very good at rolling onto her side, and typically sleeps on her side

*Starting to try to reach for things

*If she's crying and I put her in her vibrating chair, she immediately stops when I start playing the music

*Loves ceiling fans

*Exclusively breastfed (I occasionally pump bottles), and eats every 2-3 hrs during the day

*Has turned into a good sleeper, and usually sleeps 7 hours straight, eats, then sleeps another 3 hours.

*Is slightly spoiled, and spends most of her time being carried around (she loves to face outward with my arm across her stomach)

I have a hard time saying who she looks like. Early on, I thought she looked exactly like Brooklynn. Now, I think she's a good mixture of Brooklynn and Trail. When she's "talking" and wide-eyed, I see Brooklynn. When she's smiling, I see Trail. Personally, I think she looks more like my baby pictures than David's (he agrees). Maybe I'll finally have a child that looks like me. Haha!

I took a few pictures of her today when we got home from the doctor's office.

I love her cute little Spring outfit, even though today's weather is far from Spring-like.

Trying to Get Caught Up

2011-02-28T09:52:00.011-06:00

Once again I'm WAY behind on blogging. The last couple of months have been pretty busy. David typically leaves at 7:30AM and doesn't get home until after 7:30PM. That leaves little time for me to blog. Here is my attempt at catching up.

These are a little out of order and there are probably lots of typo's, but I tried!

We've had LOTS of snow this year. On the most recent storm, we measured 18in. in the middle of our yard.

Trail was a little overwhelmed with all the snow

Brooklynn decided she wanted to swing

(and removed her hat and scarf on her way down there)

These are actually from the first snow when my brother and his family came sledding

Brooklynn and their puppy Coco

Scout pulling Trail

(they're SO cute together--Trail thinks he's grown up and copies everything Scout does)

Our family of 5

This is why poor Dani Claire rarely gets tummy time!

He makes me a little nervous. ;)

Ready for lunch with Daddy!

Sweet baby girl

Trail LOVED the snow once it warmed up outside. Any time we went anywhere, he would run to the end of the driveway to play in the snow. He missed it once it was all melted!

Valentine's Day 2011

"Hunk of Burnin' Love"

She had a shirt that matched Dani Claire's outfit on, but removed it at school

Mammaw and JoJo (my gradmother and Aunt) hadn't really gotten to see Dani Claire since she was in the hospital (other than a quick visit at Christmas when she stayed in her carseat), so they came to see us last Friday night. Dani loved them, and was full of smiles and coo's.

We purchased an adorable "Preschool Rocks" shirt at a local consignment sale. Brooklynn's teachers liked it so much that they had "Pre-K Rocks" shirts made just like it. They told me they were going to wear them on Tuesdays, so I sent a camera in Brooklynn's backpack to get a picture of her with the Pre-K staff.

I was very nervous when Brooklynn started school in the fall. She is the sweetest girl, with a fun personality, but not everyone "gets" her (she's definitely one of a kind). We were incredibly blessed with an amazing teacher and aides in her classroom. They adore Brooklynn, and tell me humorous stories of the things she does at school.

One of my favorites (that I need to write down so I remember) happened a couple of months ago. Brooklynn is very into changing clothes right now. She literally has about 10 wardrobe changes a day. I keep 2 outfit changes in her backpack (just in case), and the backpacks hang in the hallway at the elementary school. One day, another teacher came into Brooklynn's classroom and said "did you know there is a naked little girl in the hallway?". You guessed it--it was Brooklynn. She had decided to change her outfit mid-day, so she just went out in the hall to her backpack and started changing. We've had several lessons in modesty since that incident. ;)

Here she is with Ms. Donna (aide), Ms. Beth (her teacher), and Ms. Tria (aide)

I think this shows how much she loves them!

Last Sunday David went to church alone and my mom took Dani Claire so I could have some special time with the big kids. We went to the playground before going over to my parents' for lunch.

Trail decided to swing, and asked me to take his picture

"Cheese!"

We're incredibly blessed with an amazing church family. Our pastor and his wife are some of the sweetest people I've ever met, and we're so grateful that we found them! (If you live in NWA and are looking for a church, we attend Reunion. It's in between Farmington and Prairie Grove)

We had bible study at our house last night and had birthday cake for David, Ched, and Ronnie.

Brooklynn sort of ignored Dani Claire when she was a newborn, but now that she's gotten bigger and more animated Brooklynn adores her. They're so cute together. I think her favorite phrase right now is "Awe, Dani Claire is SO cute", or maybe "Awe, look at Dani Claire! She's so sweet!". I just love my babies!

(and I somehow deleted the picture of the girls together--OOPS!)

Who could resist this face?

I know I can't, that's why she is already so spoiled!

Trail also loves her, and is such a big helper! He tries to change her diaper, feed her, and dress her. In fact, she is wearing a hairbow with her pj's because he decided she needed one (he doesn't think she can go without one).

Evidently she needed a drink too!

I'm going to try to stay on top of blogging. I love being able to look back at special moments, and to see how much the kids are growing!

Christmas, the New Year, Etc.

2011-01-10T19:45:00.009-06:00

Christmas day was pretty laid back for us this year. We usually try to squeeze in 3 different family get together's, but decided that wouldn't be a good idea with a new baby. So we ended up staying home most of the day, and then drove the 1/2 mile to my parents' house to see them (David's family was going to come see us, but his dad got sick so they came later).

Christmas Eve

(Brooklynn colored a picture for Rudolph)

Cookies and Coke for Santa

Sprinkling Reindeer food on the front lawn

Santa came after the kids were in bed!

Christmas morning

Dani Claire in her Christmas Pj's

I forgot to take my camera when we went to my parents' house. Oops!

Here are some pictures with the Holloway side...

Reading the Christmas story

My sweet girl!

Who's at the door?

It's SANTA!

(They were a little scared at first, but both of them thought it was pretty neat)

Santa had to see Dani Claire too!

Brooklynn LOVED the pig she got from Granny and Grandpa!

Covering up Wilbur with the pig blanket Granny made her

Our Little Santa (he refused to wear his hat)

We had plans to spend New Year's Eve with family visiting from out of town (his cousin came all the way from CA), but I got very sick! I came down with either a stomach bug or food poisoning so it was a pretty miserable time! By New Year's morning I was feeling much better, so they were able to come visit us (of course I didn't take pictures b/c my mind was elsewhere).

Dani Claire's first New Year's!

Kisses from big brother!

Kisses from Big Sister!

Where'd my bow go?

Here are some pictures of life in general...

Trail is such a big helper.

Dani Claire's socks fell off so he decided to put them back on.

How sweet is this? :)

She didn't feel like posing for pictures

Dani's cord fell off when she was 2 weeks old

(the earliest out of all 3 of them)

Here is her first "real" bath

Sweet Sisters chatting

Cuddling with Daddy

(she looks so tiny)

She holds her head up VERY well!

Cheese!!!

David has been off work for almost a week now. He only got to take off a couple of days when Dani Claire was born, but it's been so nice having him home with us. He goes back to work tomorrow and I'm going to miss him like crazy. He's such a good dad and husband, and I'm incredibly blessed to have him!

Dani Claire

2011-01-06T11:00:00.014-06:00

I feel really bad that I am just now blogging about Dani Claire's birth day, but life with 3 kids has been pretty hectic! I need to write down as much as I can remember, so that we'll have a record of what happened.

We got to the hospital at 7:00AM on December 16th to be prepped for surgery at 8:30AM. We ended up waiting several hours, and I was finally wheeled back around 10AM.

Here I am waiting for them to start

(I'm pretty sure I was praying)

There she is!

This picture is a little graphic, but also pretty amazing! I heard the doctor say "Hey David, you need to get a picture of this!". Her cord had a "true knot" in it.

Meeting for the first time!

She definitely looks like a "Morrison" here

Her fan club!

They told me that Trail was so excited that he was literally knocking on the nursery door trying to get in to see her. He's definitely a hands on big brother! :)

Meeting brother and sister for the first time

My doctor was anxious to see how much she weighed (we all had bets going), so he had a nurse call up to the nursery while I was still in surgery.

Danial Claire

born at 10:11 AM

7 lbs 9.6 oz oz, 19.5 in

This is a very "real" picture. This was after the c-section, my tubal, and a rough recovery. I have no makeup on, but am crying tears of joy! Love at first sight!

Our family of 5 (can you tell Trail adores her?)

Dani Claire!

So sweet!

David's Grandma was able to come in from Colorado to visit! I was so glad she got to spend time with all our babies!

Mammaw (my grandmother) and Dani Claire

Day #2 after I had showered and changed out of the hospital gown

Proud Daddy

Going home!

Her little face looks so chubby--it doesn't even look like her!

Bundled up!

In the car

It has definitely been an adjustment going from 2 to 3 kids! We had a very easy transition with Trail, but this one has been more difficult (mainly because Christmas is David's busiest time of the year, so he was only able to take off work a couple of days). We've been so blessed to have help from our families. I don't know what I would have done without my mom--she's been amazing! Now we're back into the normal routine and things are going pretty smoothly so far. Here are some pictures of the 3 kids together (I'll be posting holiday pics later).

Cuddling with Daddy!

He just loves her!

Awe!

Sweet Brooklynn!

Reading a book to Dani Claire

My big girl

Fall So Far

2010-11-03T16:39:00.006-05:00

I've gotten really bad about posting blogs, and I'm going to try to do better. I enjoy being able to document what is going on in our life, and I'm going to start blogging more and using Facebook less. It just seems so impersonal!

These are a little out of order because I'm getting pictures off two different computers. Last weekend Brandy took our family pictures for us. It had been a year since we've had any pictures made of the kids, so it was long overdue!

Our family of 4 (almost 5)

(It took me a minute to figure out why I don't look like myself in this picture. I didn't wear my glasses, and my face is slightly swollen! Everyone else looks great though!)

My Princess

Trail has suddenly gotten VERY busy. This little boy is non stop and he's wearing me out! Brandy was still able to get some cute shots of him.

Dani Claire and big sister Brooklynn

One weekend when David was working, we went with my parents,

my brother, and his family to the Corn Maze.

Brooklynn got SO excited when she saw the pigs.

Trail is now obsessed with pigs too!

Nana and Papa with Sadie, Brooklynn, Trail, and Scout

Last week both of the kids had theme days at school. Wednesday was "Sports Day" for both of them. Poor Trail had literally been awake for 5 minutes when I took this!

After finding a mouse in our house (EEK!) we decided it was time to get another cat (our last one ran off). Trail is in love with him! I need to take a video of them together b/c he laughs and squeals the entire time we're outside. He usually cries when it's time to come in.

Brooklynn originally named him "Tad", but has suddenly

decided she likes "Seraphina" better. I'm trying to convince her to go with Tad since he's a boy!

On Halloween we went to "Trunk-

or-Treat" at my parents' church. Brooklynn REALLY wanted to be Woody from Toy Story, but she finally settled on being a fairy. Her costume was one we already had--she was using it to play dress up. I worked hard on her hair and never got a good picture of it! :)

Several months ago I was thinking about what Trail should be for Halloween, and I got a great idea. Since he looks so much like David, why not dress him like his daddy?

Big David

(this is how he looks at work every day)

Little David

David used one of his old aprons and cut it down to size, and even made Trail his own nametag (which is missing in this picture because it got stuck to the burn bin beside him). He's also covered in sticky, red sucker!

The baby is doing great. I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and she's measuring right on. We also scheduled my c-section for December 16th. 6 weeks from tomorrow we will have another precious little girl! I'm physically ready for her to be here (I'm honestly very sore and completely exhausted), but we've still got a lot of preparing to do! We're having a baby shower on Sunday and I can't wait! This is by far our most expensive baby (we don't have a maternity policy on our health insurance so we're paying cash--Praise the Lord that we had the money saved up to be able to do it, but it's using up all our savings), so I'm grateful to our sweet friend Michelle for offering to host a baby shower! I'm excited to celebrate the beautiful life growing inside of me!

18 Months

2010-10-04T20:25:00.008-05:00

Trail turned 18 months on the 27th of last month. I cannot believe how quickly he's growing up. He is definitely not a baby anymore, but he's still a tiny little guy. He had his 18 month check up today and here are his stats....

Weight: 20 lbs (not even in the first percentile)

Height: 33 in (30th percentile)

Developmentally he is right on track. After everything we went through with Brooklynn, I will admit I've been pretty paranoid with him. I check for milestones constantly. Luckily his speech took off early. He's be no means "ahead" for his age (that I know of), but he's definitely a little talker. He adds new words to his vocabulary daily, and repeats what we say. He's starting to put too words together and say things like "more cracker" or "I eat". I honestly haven't worked with him as much as I did with Brooklynn, and I feel guilty for that. Speech has just come naturally for him, so aside from talking to him and reading nothing else was needed! For my memory, here is a list of some of the words he says on a regular basis:

Hi/Hello

Bye

No (I don't really know if he says "Yes" but he nods his head and smiles)

Mommy

Daddy

Nana

Papa

Grandpa (we're still working on "Granny")

Brooklynn/Sissy (Brooklynn sounds more like "Brook")

Scout

Sadie

Trail

Dog and Puppy

Cat

Pig

Duck

Wilbur

Eat

Drink

Cracker (My favorite--I need to get a video of him saying it)

Cup

Please

Thank you

Cheese

Apple ("Bapple")

Thomas ("Tom-Tom")

Wilbur

Buzz

Woody

Nemo

Dory

Mickey (he says "MiMi" for Mickey and Minnie)

Cinderella ("Rella", you can tell he has a big sister)

Dora

Boots

Baby

Car

Choo Choo

Ball

Block

Outside

Flower

Shoes

Socks

Hat

Bath

All Done

Bed

He loves to point to and say his body parts (Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head, hands, belly, pee-pee *his favorite to point out*, knees, and toes).

He knows his animal sounds.

He's still a great sleeper and a really good natured little boy. He loves going to Mom's Day Out to play with the other kids. He literally gets excited when he sees me pull out his lunchbox because he knows where he's going!

He adores his big sister, and copies what she does. On a side note, Brooklynn still refers to him as "Baby Trail" so it's become a habit for all of us!

His hair is thick and grows extremely fast. I think he's had well over 40 haircuts now! David gets the clippers out once a month and shaves it, then he gets a weekly trim.

He loves to play with blocks and build towers. He LOVES little Lego's, but I'm too nervous to let him play with them b/c you have to watch him closely. He usually plays with Mega or Wooden Blocks.

He's really good at doing puzzles and shape sorters.

He enjoys all things boy--trains, cars, superheroes--and already knows the appropriate noises that go with these.

He's FAST! I swear his little legs look like a blur when he runs, and I'm sure that's how he's so skinny! Maybe I need to try to run everywhere... :)

Much to David's dismay, he likes to play with dolls. My mom saved one of my old (and very ugly) dolls, and Trail adores her. As soon as we get to their house he runs over and grabs the doll and a blanket. He has to cover her up and feed her. It's very sweet!

I'm sure that's not everything that I want to remember, but it's all I can think of right now. We're so blessed to have Trail in our life, and I honestly can't remember what it was like without him. I love my little boy so much!

D.C.H.

2010-09-14T15:33:00.007-05:00

I thought it was time for a little pregnancy update. I'm now 26 weeks pregnant, and it's hard to believe that we will have a beautiful baby GIRL in 13 weeks or less. This pregnancy has gone pretty smoothly so far. It took me longer to start showing this time, but I'm definitely really showing now. I don't remember being this big at 26 weeks with the other two, so maybe she's going to be an even bigger baby--that's scary to think about!

One thing that David and I have put a lot of thought into is her name. We wanted it to be something special with a lot of meaning, and we wanted to name her after someone in our family. Originally her name was going to be Claire, but David was never very fond of just "Claire" so we had a little compromise. Now for the back story...

When I was 10 years old David and his brother started attending our church on Wednesday nights for Royal Rangers (sort of a more "manly", Christian version of Boy Scouts). Their dad was on staff at another church, but they had met my dad and were impressed with the program he had going at our church and wanted to be a part of it. To this day David still calls my dad "Commander Danny".

Here's a picture of them on a camp-out.

My dad is on the far left, and David is the 3rd from the left)

Because of his influence in both of our lives (and because he ultimately brought us together), we couldn't think of anyone more perfect to name our 3rd child after. Her first name will be Danial after my dad. We decided to keep Claire as the middle name and we will call her "Dani Claire".

So here is the first official picture of our little Dani Claire.

We're all very excited to meet her!

The Fair and Brooklynn's Birthday

2010-09-10T16:12:00.010-05:00

We took a trip to the county fair with our parents. It's so great to have both sides living nearby, so our kids get to spend time with both sets of grandparents at once.

Papa (my dad) carrying Brooklynn

Trail and Grandpa (David's dad)

Brooklynn was in heaven! To say this girl loves pigs is an understatement. She adores them! I think she would have spent all day walking around the pig barn. They had cute baby pigs in the petting zoo, but she liked the big pigs much better (the piglets weren't pink like "Wilbur").

(I love her bottom in those jeans--they're 7's that my mom found at a garage sale)

I had to keep pulling her hands away. She wasn't afraid of them at all and kept trying to pet their noses.

Sheep

Looking at the piglets

"Wilbur's not here!"

Trail has suddenly decided he's grown up. He seriously thinks he's 6 and wants to do everything on his own. This boy doesn't need strollers, or someone to carry him. :)

One of my favorite words he says is "Wilbur" (and he says it VERY clearly). His sister has taught him well. Haha!

Milking the cow

He's even wearing a John Deere shirt.

Brooklynn with two of her favorite people

(Granny-David's mom, and Nana-my mom)

We had a small family party on Labor Day to celebrate Brooklynn's Birthday. I cannot believe my baby girl is 5 years old! She kept saying "I don't want to be 5!". She's such a mess!

Brooklynn, Scout, and Trail playing

Opening presents.

She's very good about letting Trail and her cousins help!

Calling the Hogs!

Pig cupcakes!

All the kids

David's parents brought kites over for the kids to fly them. It was such a good idea because the weather was perfect for kite flying!

Trail loves playing in the sand.

Putting Wilbur in his crate. :)

The cutest bottom I've ever seen...

A few things I want to remember about Brooklynn at 5 years old:

She's around 30 lbs and 42 inches tall.

She loves pigs, trains, and fish.

She talks constantly, and I can understand just about everything she says (although other people still have a hard time). If she thinks I'm not paying attention, she'll come up and grab my face to force me to look at her. She keeps doing this until I repeat whatever it is she's saying.

She loves her baby brother and he adores her.

Has the most active imagination I've ever seen.

She's a good eater, but a bad sleeper.

She receives speech, occupational, developmental, and physical therapy.

Her favorite places are Nana's house, Granny's house, and home (in that order).

She loves to tell stories--her favorite goes like this (in her words), "Once upon a time, there was a pretty little girl named Brooklynn. One day, Papa came to pick her up in his white truck. He took her to the farm and told her to pick out any baby pig she wants. She picked out a cute little pink pig and named him "Wilbur". Brooklynn and Papa took Wilbur to Nana's house [which is Papa's house too, but not to her]. Every day Brooklynn went to see Wilbur and gave him food. He got bigger and bigger until on day Papa said it was time to take him to the fair. They gave him a bath and put him in his green crate. Brooklynn walked Wilbur around in front of the judges and she won a prize for having the best pig at the fair."

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but this is getting way too long.

"School"

2010-08-25T16:28:00.004-05:00

Last week Brooklynn started Pre-K. I will admit I was terrified, but I think we're all starting to get the hang of things. Her school is about 20 minutes from our house, and unfortunately they only provide Speech and Developmental Therapy right now (we're hoping they can find a Physical and Occupational therapist very soon), so two days a week she leaves early for her other therapies. She's got a very busy schedule and I'm so blessed to be at home--I have no idea how we would be able to do this if I was working (although we need to extra income just to pay for all the gas we're using. Haha!)

Walking to the Jeep

Sweet girl

David and Brooklynn

So excited!

When I picked her up they brought her out to the car with no glasses. Her teacher had no idea where they were. Poor Brooklynn wasn't herself that night because she couldn't see (and of course I couldn't find her back up pair)! Luckily they found them the next day!

Today Trail started Mom's Day Out at a church right down the road from our house. Our budget only allows for him to go once a week, but I can already tell it's going to be good for both of us. I was able to get quite a bit done around the house, and I know he had lots of fun playing with the other kids. His teacher gave me a wonderful report when I picked him up. He laughed and played the whole time, got along great with the other kids, and ate his lunch! Unfortunately he didn't fall asleep during naptime, but he did lay there quietly. He's always such a good sleeper, I know he must have been too excited to sleep!

My big boy all ready for "School"

(He picked out his own lunchbox)

So excited

In his classroom

I snapped this picture before I left. He was one of the first ones there. :)

Please say a prayer for Brooklynn. She has NEVER slept well. Things that work well for "normal" children just don't work for her (trust me, we've done nothing different with Trail and he sleeps 13 hours straight and takes 3 hour naps). I can count on my hands the number of times she's slept through the night, and in the last 6 months it's gotten worse. We had tried a small dose of Melatonin, but that gave her nightmares. After getting 2 hours of sleep several nights last week, I decided we just couldn't do it anymore. She's not herself because she's worn out, and her sensory issues become magnified. I spent an entire day doing research on sleep issues and Sensory Processing Disorder, and we've finally figured out things that will work for her. She's still waking up at night, but it's starting to get better. We ALL need sleep, and I have a feeling her days at school will be much better once she finally sleeps through the night (my pregnant body will appreciate it too). :)

Minneapolis

2010-08-10T09:58:00.011-05:00

We took a little mini vacation to Minneapolis over the weekend to attend David's cousin's wedding. We left very early friday morning in order to make it to the rehearsal that night. I was honestly scared about how Trail would handle the trip b/c he does not like to ride in the car (Brooklynn does great), but he was so good! He did get a little fussy toward the very end, but I was too! We got stuck in construction traffic for 1.5 hours just outside of Minneapolis, so our 12 hour trip was 13.5 hours straight!

David was a groomsman, and the rest of the family had various roles in the wedding so I spent most of my time in the church nursery with the kids. They had tons of pent-up energy from the drive over, and I didn't want to have to force them to be still and quiet during the wedding festivities. Chasing after them was a full time job, so I got very few pictures of our trip!

The were so happy to be out of the car!

This is the only family picture we got, and it's not flattering of any of us!
(My belly completely "popped out" right before we left. I went from not looking pregnant, and wearing regular clothes, to full on maternity mode)

Sharon and Kyle were a huge help with the kids!

I got my camera out a little late, but here's David walking down the aisle

I took the kids out of the ceremony as soon as Rachel walked down the aisle. I knew I would be a nervous wreck trying to keep them quiet, so I decided it would be more enjoyable for all of us to play in the nursery again.
Poor Brooklynn was completely overwhelmed at the wedding reception. All those people and the loud music definitely created a sensory overload! She stayed out in the hallway the entire time!

Playing with Grandpa at the reception

It was our first and last vacation as a family of 4, so instead of driving back with David's parents, we stopped outside of Kansas City. We got a great deal on a hotel in Overland Park, KS and had a nice relaxing evening after 8 hours in the car. We took the kids swimming in the hotel pool, and it was so peaceful! We had been there about an hour when 2 other families showed up with their kids. Their children were older than ours and wearing floaties AND lifejackets while they clung to their parents in the water, so I think they were a little surprised to see David tossing our little ones around the pool. David reassured them by letting them know we have a pool and our kids swim pretty much every day. After the pool we headed to dinner at A&W, and then went to bed early.

The next day we went to the Kansas City Zoo before we headed home. We didn't realize they were under a heat advisory and the temps felt like 109! We didn't stay long, but we still had fun.

Trail and David watching the Polar Bear

They're so sweet together (most of the time)!

Watching the birds

Kangaroos!
(for some reason Brooklynn thought they were Reindeer and kept singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" the entire time--Maybe she needs new glasses)

Our little monkey watching the monkeys

He's definitely the adventurous one

Sweet girl!

We went back to the polar bears so David could get some videos

Playing inside

I was so impressed with how well the kids handled our whirlwind trip! We went to 5 states and spent 26 hours in the car over the course of 4 days. I honestly hadn't considered my pregnancy when we prepared for the trip b/c I was too worried about the kids, but I'm sore and worn out! My body is definitely not what it used to be, but they're totally worth it!

Way Behind

2010-07-24T21:30:00.006-05:00

It's been way too long since I posted. Although we have been busy, my lack of blogging is due to a missing memory card! We have at last 4, but they were all missing for the past month. All our pictures were taken with phones and they're not the greatest quality! I finally located a card last week, so I'll try to catch up.

My hard working husband has literally been putting in about 16 hours a day for the past couple weeks because they're remodeling Swift's. We're both exhausted (probably him more than me). Our Jeep is also having some issues, so the kids and I have spent most of our time at home because we had no transportation. Luckily we have several things to keep us busy! :)

The basement play area

It's nowhere near finished so I'm almost embarrassed to post the pics, but it will give you an idea of where we're going. We had to remove the carpet and wood paneling b/c there was water/mold damage in the basement. We put in a drainage system that has eliminated any future damage. The plan is to paint the walls and either stain or paint the concrete (after the carpet glue is removed--we could use some tips on how to do this). Although it looks a little ghetto, the kids love the atmosphere change and I love that it's 68 degrees year round! :)

I'm also getting more comfortable taking them both out to the pool by myself. Brooklynn is a pretty good swimmer, so she's pretty low maintenance, but Trail has just now gotten to where he loves the water. Tonight we went out and he literally swam the entire pool length without any assistance. I thought that was a pretty great accomplishment at 16 months!

We celebrated my birthday this week.
David was working late so my parents had me and the kids over for dinner.

Sweet Cousins!
(did you notice her hair is 8+ in. shorter?)

Brooklynn has turned into such a sweet girl. I can honestly admit that I've been overly emotional this pregnancy. I don't usually care much about birthdays, but when we were all going to bed and david still wasn't home I got a little upset. I might have even cried a little (or a lot). Sweet Brooklynn climbed into bed with me and wrapped her tiny arms around my neck. She started saying "It's ok Mommy, Brooklynn's here! I've got you, don't cry Mommy...don't be sad!". Then I might have bawled like a baby from those sweet words.

She's also very sweet to her little brother most of the time.

They're good buddies!

Now the pregnancy update. I'm now approaching 19 weeks. It's hard to believe I'm almost 1/2 way through! Physically, this has been my easiest pregnancy. I've had very little weight gain and don't really look pregnant yet. Emotionally, it's been the most difficult. I have about 2 meltdowns a day. I cry over everything, and my feelings are hurt over the smallest things. Poor David!

Here I am at 18 weeks w/ baby #3
(and Brooklynn is partially clothed beside me)

Our ultrasound is August 2nd. We're still debating on determining the gender. Originally I wanted to wait, but I want to be as prepared for this baby as I was his/her siblings. We've also had a hard time deciding on names, so maybe knowing the sex will help. David doesn't want to know, so it's a constant debate. :) I'm leaning toward boy, but Brooklynn thinks she's getting a sister (and she was right with Trail)...

Changes

2010-06-08T10:30:00.002-05:00

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I'm not good with change. I love routines, plans, and schedules. I've always had the philosophy that change is inevitable, but that doesn't make it any easier. Lately we've had a lot of changes happening in our household, and they've made me realize what a great thing change can be!

The first change we made was switching churches. David and I have always gone to church with our parents. Since we've been married, we've switched between his parents' church and mine (depending on which one we were living closer to). Some things happened to make us realize that we weren't where God wanted us to be. We found a wonderful church with extremely friendly people. We already feel more involved than we have in years. It's amazing how things fall into place when God is in control!

Change #2 is that Brooklynn graduated from preschool. She's been in a "special needs" setting for the past 2 years. She's improved so much during that time. In the past year she's accomplished so many things and I couldn't be more proud! Several months ago her teachers suggested that we start looking into pre-k's for her. I was terrified and worried that she wasn't ready, but I trusted their opinion. We found a wonderful program a few towns over (20 minute drive) and I know she's going to love it! After spending a day with her in the classroom I have full confidence in her abilities. Her teachers told me that she is their role model in class. She was also the only student to graduate that isn't going straight to kindergarten, so that's a big accomplishment.

Her last day of school
(look at those skinny legs)

Holding "Baby Trail" at graduation

Getting her diploma

My little graduate

Ready for graduation dinner at Chick-Fil-A

The 3rd change is the biggest, and most surprising of all. Once we found out Trail was a boy we decided we were done having kids. I was even ready to get my tubes tied when I had my c-section, but at the last minute "something" changed my mind. Several months after he was born I once again decided we were done, so I got rid of my maternity clothes. We started looking into adoption because we hoped to adopt in a few years. We were even making plans to get things "permanently taken care of" in May. In April we got the surprise of a lifetime. We're having baby #3!!! God certainly has a sense of humor. :) Of course I was initially shocked, but once that feeling wore off the excitement set in. It wasn't what we planned, but God had other plans, and He knows what's best for us.

I am now almost 12 weeks, and the baby is due right before Christmas (David's busiest time of the year). Trail and the baby will be just under 21 months apart. We're praying for a healthy and "easy" pregnancy, and a smooth transition into a family of 5!!! We do plan on doing things a little differently this time, and we are going to try to wait until the baby is born to find out the sex. I'm pretty hesitant about this because I'm such a planner (and bargain shopper), but David is determined. I have a feeling we're having another girl with red hair ;), but we'll see if I'm right in 6 months!

**A little update...we heard the baby's heartbeat this morning and it was a healthy 160. The doctor says everything looks/sounds great!

Finally

2010-05-27T09:16:00.006-05:00

It took me a long time to get around to posting a blog, but I'm finally doing it! We've been busy so instead of updating on everything we've done in the past few months, I'm just going to start from now and go forward. :)

Trail is now 14 months old. It just doesn't seem possible. He loves to be outside and adores his big sister. He thinks he's very grown up! Sadly, he's turned into a Daddy's boy. :(

For some reason this picture doesn't even look like him to me, but his facial expression is funny!

Brooklynn will finish up her time at her current preschool next week. In the fall she'll be moved to a regular classroom setting at a local Pre-K. I was a little worried she wasn't ready, but this week Trail and I went to school with her for the day. It was amazing watching her go through the daily routine, and I know now that she is most definitely ready to be more challenged than she is at her current school. I can't wait to see her grow and thrive in a more traditional setting! I know she's going to love it!

She still loves pigs and princesses. Last night she slept in her (very battered) Cinderella dress and even convinced David she needed to wear it to school today. She knows that if I say "No!" she can usually talk Daddy into whatever she wants. Haha!

Here she is last night in the floor of our livingroom. She made a bed for Wilbur.

David had to work late last night so we went over to see my parents. Brooklynn helped out in the garden.

and fed the chickens

This is our first summer to have our pool the entire season. We've swam in it every day this week and it is so nice to have. I'm a little paranoid to take both kids into the "big pool" by myself, so they play in a baby pool and then Brooklynn and I sometimes swim while Trail naps. I'm very excited to spend the entire summer with both my babies at home with me!

I'll leave you with a video of Trail doing his animal sounds. They're pretty funny. (In case you're wondering, he "pants" for the dog noise).

Going Private (Again)

2010-05-15T15:27:00.003-05:00

I started blogging just to document what happens with our little family (especially for our family living out of town). Lately I've been really concerned with privacy, so I decided to make our blog private again. I'm very specific about who can see my info on facebook, so there is no reason why I shouldn't be just as careful with our blog. Last time I got really tired of it because it never showed up on Google Reader when I made updates. Now that I have very few readers and very few that comment, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't go private. This is mainly for us to look back at as our children get older, and I'm not trying to impress anyone. :)

I still have my list set up from the last time I went private, so I will be making the change in a few days. If you're still reading, please check back periodically even if you don't see updates on Google. I'm going to try to find more free time to blog in the near future!

Easter

2010-04-04T21:04:00.008-05:00

Easter 2009

Easter 2010

My Dad and the boys 2009

2010

What a difference a year makes! It makes me a little sad to see how much Trail has changed, but very happy to see how much I've changed. I know Trail was only a couple of weeks old, but I sure am glad I've lost those 30 (or more) pounds since last year!

The Easter Bunny came
(she was disappointed that he didn't bring her a real puppy, but still excited about her pig)

Saturday we got together with my mom's side for an egg hunt. I decided to straighten Brooklynn's hair. She was not happy with me, but I think it looked cute!

They were in matching outfits, but I somehow didn't get any pictures of them together! I also forgot to take pictures when we got together with the Holloway side this afternoon. Maybe David needs to be our family photographer. Haha!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Birthday Trail!

2010-04-03T15:13:00.009-05:00

Last weekend we celebrated Trail's 1st Birthday. It doesn't seem possible that he's a year old, but it feels like he's been part of our family forever. He is such a sweet and good-natured little boy and I am incredibly blessed to be his Mom!

We had a farm themed party because Trail is obsessed with cows (he looks out the window at the cows across the street and moos all day). I had big plans on how I wanted to decorate, but I had the hardest time finding farm/animal stuff, and I ran out of time to make it myself! We decided to have a small party with family and close friends because he's too young to really remember anyway.

The goody bags

My little farmer

Abby
(she's 3 days older than Trail)

Brooklynn and Sam playing

Brayden

Checking eachother out

Opening presents

Trail got tired so Brooklynn took over

My sweet friend Jessica (Abby's mom) made Trail's bib

Trail is waking everywhere, and is saying quite a few words. He's also started trying to repeat words (when he feels like it). My favorite is when you ask him what a cow says, and he responds with "Boo". He's also doing motions with songs ("Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Pat-A-Cake", etc). We go to the doctor on Tuesday for his 1 year check up, so I'm anxious to see his statistics (I'm guessing he's short and skinny--Haha).

My Brother

2010-03-24T20:41:00.003-05:00

About a month ago my brother went to the doctor because he had a sore throat that wouldn't go away. He thought it was strep, but the doctor immediately sent him for an ultrasound because his thyroid was very enlarged. The ultrasound showed that there were several nodules, so they scheduled a biopsy. The largest nodule was benign, but some of the others were questionable so the doctor decided to operate. He planned on just removing the lumps and testing them while Jarod was still on the table, but there was very little "good" thyroid left because it was so covered. He got the entire thyroid removed, but was still hopeful that it wasn't cancer. He got the results back today, and 5 spots were cancerous. He goes to see an oncologist to find out where to go from here. He might not have any treatments, or he might have to go through radiation. Please be in prayer for Jarod.

My mom also had thyroid cancer. When she was a teenager she got a really bad sunburn and passed out. They took her to the doctor to get checked out and he happened to notice a knot on her thyroid. Her story was very similar, but she only had one spot that was cancerous. She's perfectly fine today (aside from having to take pills daily), so I know my brother will be ok. I also know it's still a scary situation and all prayers are appreciated! :)

I've been horrible about keeping up with my blog. Trail is running (not walking) everywhere now and it keeps me much busier! He turns one this weekend, so I will definitely be posting an update!

What We've Been Up To...

2010-02-19T11:25:00.005-06:00

I just haven't felt like putting forth the effort of blogging lately! I originally started this blog to update our friends and family (especially those living out of town) on what goes on in our lives, but now that Facebook is so popular it's gotten easier to post things on there! Haha!

I cannot believe how quickly the past year has flown by. Trail will be 1 in just over a month, and Brooklynn is almost 4.5! It just doesn't seem possible! He's still not officially walking, but he takes steps all the time. He's up to 4 or 5 at a time. He pulled up early, so I just "knew" he would walk early. Just goes to show that you shouldn't say your child will be walking by a certain age, or they'll prove you wrong. ;) Brooklynn is still doing great with school and therapy. We see little improvements daily, and she's such a blessing to us!

This has definitely been a busy year, and I don't think things will slow down any time soon. Here's some of the things we've been up to over the past month...

Our church had a Valentine's Banquet and David hosted "The Newlywed Game". He definitely dressed the part by wearing the suit my dad wore on his wedding day.

Sadie Jo
(I can tell she's going to be my buddy when she gets older)

Brooklynn is really sweet with Trail (as long as he's not getting into her stuff). She loves to help with him and tell me what's wrong when he's crying. Here she is feeding him some baby puffs that she found in the kitchen (a little blurry b/c the batteries were dead).

Brooklynn got another haircut! Her hair was SOOOOO long. It went all the way to the top of her panties and it was so hard to comb. The curl was even going away because it was so heavy. Our sweet friend Jennifer cut it for us last night.

Before

After

I just love her so much! This sweet picture brings tears to my eyes!

I was a little sad about cutting her hair until I combed it this morning. For the first time in months, there was no crying when I fixed her hair! Haha!

**On a side note, David turns the big 3-0 next week. When did HE get so old? :)

Preview

2010-02-15T22:12:00.003-06:00

Friday night was our first official Holloway Designs photo shoot. It was a busy night, but a lot of fun. The pictures are amazing, but the photographer had some beautiful girls (and gorgeous jewelry) to work with!

I will post more later...

New Glasses and Weight Gain

2010-02-05T15:21:00.007-06:00

When Brooklynn was 18 months old and had to start wearing glasses, I quit wearing my contacts. I thought it might help her if she was wearing glasses like Mommy. A couple of weeks ago my glasses broke so I used my trusty friend Google to help me find some cheap eyeglasses. I found a great website (Zenni Optical) that offers frame/lens sets starting at $8. I ended up getting 2 new frames, and one pair of Rx sunglasses for $38 (including shipping). My old glasses are also still under warranty, so I'm all set!

(I'm horrible at taking pics of myself)

Red Metal Frames

I've always wanted to branch out and get some funky frames, but I couldn't stand to spend the $$ on them. For $8, who can resist?

Zebra Frames

On to a completely different matter. Trail has gained weight very slowly. Poor guy started out at 8.5 lbs, and was 14.9 lbs at his nine month check up. The doctor started worrying because he's fallen way off the chart, and isn't even on his own curve--it was basically a straight line. He eats constantly, and will eat anything I put in front of him. So, she suggested that we start putting powdered formula in his baby food and butter and brown sugar on all his cooked veggies. After a little over a month, he gained 1 full pound! This week we went ahead and made the switch to formula. I had planned on nursing until his 1st birthday, but he started fighting while nursing and basically weaned himself. Of course I was a little sad at first, but we were able to make it over 10 months so I can't be too hard on myself!

Sharon's Wedding

2010-01-29T21:36:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures from my beautiful sister-in-law Sharon's wedding to Kyle on 12/20. I was honored to be a bridesmaid, Brooklynn was the flower girl, David was an usher, and Trail was the most handsome little man there (in my opinion only of course). :)

I uploaded some of these from Walgreens, so they might not be the greatest quality!

The happy couple

Brooklynn and I

The immediate Holloway Family

Extended Family
(I don't even think this is everyone that was there)

My favorite!
Make sure you click on this one and make it bigger--it's the only way to get the full effect.

Congratulations Sharon and Kyle!!! We love you guys!

"Brooklynn-isms"

2010-01-27T14:57:00.003-06:00

My little girl says some of the funniest things, and I lovingly refer to them as "Brooklynn-isms"! I wanted to start writing them down in a book, but I keep forgetting to buy one. I thought that putting them on our blog would be the next best thing. She literally has no mental filter, and just says whatever she thinks or feels...

A favorite of mine is when someone says hi to her, she responds with "I don't want to say hi!" (which is much more difficult than simply responding with "hello").

When we're in Wal-Mart and someone walks past our cart, she gets worked up and says "I don't want to talk to her/him". (Luckily she's still a little difficult to understand so the person, with no intention of talking to us, usually doesn't know what she's saying).

After one of her little outbursts to a stranger, I will remind her to be nice. She automatically says "Be nice!" and waves her arms in the air.

Any time we're trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do, she tells herself "Good job Brooklynn!" in a very strained and tearful voice.

Last Sunday I had just gotten dressed (in a new outfit that I was proud of) and Brooklynn walked in and immediately said, "You don't look so pretty Mommy".

When the radio is on in the car she'll tell me "They don't want to sing".

Last night we went to work out with my mom, and Brooklynn didn't want me to impose on her time with Nana. When my mom told her that she "loves Brittney", Brooklynn said, "You don't love Britt-ey, not anymore".

She also says some really sweet things, but they're not nearly as funny! :)

Haircut #18

2010-01-20T16:33:00.006-06:00

Trail's first haircut was the memorable mo-hawk when he was 8 weeks old...

Since then, he's had 16 trims (that I've done myself). I finally built up enough courage to let David loose with the clippers again. I left the room because I was too nervous to watch...

Before:

(The picture really doesn't give you a great idea of how long it was, but it came well past his ears and over his shirt collar)

After: David shaved/thinned it all over. This little guy has some coarse and thick hair!

You can probably tell from the after photo that Trail isn't feeling too great. He woke up during the night on Sunday with a horrible cough and high fever. I took him to the doctor first thing Monday morning and found out he has croup. This week has been pretty miserable for all of us! I think he's finally on the mend, and I'm hoping he'll be 100% by the weekend. We're incredibly blessed because this is the first time he's been sick, and the first time he's had a fever!!

Just because, here are some pics of Brooklynn :)
(I'm pretty sure she's got a snotty nose, but the picture was funny)

She's very into "The Princess and the Frog"
She's been such a great helper this week! I put Trail in his crib so I could call the doctor Monday morning (because he wouldn't stop crying and I couldn't hear). She grabbed my hand and pulled me into his room and started crying and begging me to pick him up. She was so worried. It was the sweetest thing ever!

Tuesday=No Nap

2010-01-12T16:09:00.005-06:00

I don't talk about Brooklynn's "issues" that much, so I thought I would give an update. (In case you don't know she has sensory integration dysfunction, with delays in her speech and motor skills). At the end of the school year last June we had an "exit meeting" with her teachers. They recommended that she start physical therapy in the fall because up to that point her occupational therapist had been working with her on fine AND gross motor skills. It took awhile to get everything lined up, but she finally started before Christmas. It's very hard as a mom to read the evaluations that they send home, because they give you their developmental age, and hers was very low! We're still praying and believing that by the time she enters kindergarten she will be in a normal classroom setting with little or no therapy.

So far Brooklynn loves going to physical therapy and she calls it her "other school". She goes two times a week (and also has speech and occupational therapy twice a week, but it's provided in her preschool). Unfortunately on Tuesdays it's right during nap time, so by the end of the day we're ALL exhausted. :) I am so grateful that I am able to stay at home full time, and I'm praying that I will continue to be able to do so. I don't think it would be possible for me to work out of the house and also make sure that she gets the therapy she needs, and she is WAY more important than having an extra income! (Although I would love to find something I could do from home again, but so far I haven't had any luck).

Here she is waiting on me before her "other school"
She's playing with Bob and Larry off Veggie Tales--notice the lovely tub under our entry table. It's full of random Christmas stuff that I keep finding throughout our house.

Relaxing in the car

Trail and I met up with my sweet friend Nicole for a little bit of shopping while Brooklynn was in P.T. Neither one of us bought a thing, but it was fun to see her!

My happy boy!

I think my eyes are closed, but I love how he's smiling at me.

Here are some random pictures from last week...

It was SOOO cold that I had to bundle Trail up like crazy any time we went out. He got to wear (clean) PJ's all day. :)

Brooklynn removing her layers of clothes

She was out of school for a couple of days so I had to get creative finding indoor activities. We made a ball pit out of her Thomas tent. She was so excited, but you can't tell by these pictures. She immediately has a solemn expression every time I get out the camera!

The Proposal

2010-01-11T08:54:00.004-06:00

8 years ago today David picked me up from my dorm room VERY early to watch the sunrise. Then we drove to Devil's Den, and he got down on one knee and made an offer I couldn't refuse. ;) Then we drove to Mt. Nebo to check out a possible honeymoon spot, and went to his parents house for dinner. It was one of the best days of my life!

(Please ignore the picture quality--they're pictures of pictures and the camera refused to focus)

The best part was that David had taken a week of vacation to make my ring. I knew how busy he was with the holidays so I hadn't expected him to propose. I was in shock!

Here's a picture that shows a little bit of the design/fabrication

The sad news is that this is the first time in 8 years that I haven't had my ring on! I tried to put it on too soon after having Trail and it got VERY stuck! David had to rush me up to his work at 10PM one night and cut it off my finger. He's currently in the process of making another ring for me, but it won't look anything like the original because he never makes the same thing twice. He promised I'll have it by our next anniversary, and I can't wait! I hope the new ring stays on my finger for at least 80 years!

9 Months

2009-12-28T17:29:00.002-06:00

Trail turned 9 months old yesterday! I haven't done a monthly update since he was 6 months old, so I thought this was overdue. Here is a list of what he's been up to...

Crawling--he's all over the place now. He started crawling a couple of months ago, but he isn't your traditional crawler. His crawl is a combination of an inch worm/army crawl. It's funny to watch. He can crawl normally (and does so on occasion), but he prefers his own style. I think it might be easier on his knees with our hard floors. Haha!

Climbing--he tries to climb onto and into everything. He's mastered our fireplace ledge, and is getting better at scaling our entertainment center. I also frequently find him head-first in our storage ottoman with his little feet up in the air.

Eating--he eats everything he can put in his mouth. His favorites are woodchips (that fall off the wood we bring in for the fireplace), little pieces of paper, and random food that he finds on the ground before I get a chance to sweep it up. He's also started eating table food, and still eats babyfood and nurses.

Standing--he started pulling up around 6 months and standing is his favorite position. He pulls up on anything he can find. He also tries to stand when he's up on his knees (without holding onto anything), but he hasn't figured that one out yet! He can balance himself enough to stand alone, and he does this for longer amounts of time every day.

Walking--one day last week he took two steps toward me. I think it might have been a fluke, but it was so sweet to see my tiny little guy walk (even if it only lasted a split second).

Sleeping--he's an amazing sleeper. I just lay him down in his crib and he instantly falls asleep (which is amazing to me because my first child STILL sleeps bad, but she's totally worth it). We usually put him down to bed around 8-8:30 and he sleeps through the night until around 8AM. He also takes 2 naps a day.

We go for his 9 month check up in a week, and I can't wait to see how much he weighs. We went for a flu shot when he was 8.5 months and he was a "hefty" 14.5 lbs. I wish I had his metabolism! :)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T21:48:00.012-06:00

I've been an awful blogger lately! Christmas is David's busiest season at work; we have several family get-togethers for Christmas; and this year a wedding was thrown into the mix! So, here are some pictures from the past month...

Trail trying on his outfit for Aunt Sharon's wedding
(the wedding was on the 20th, but I don't have pictures from it yet)

Brooklynn and Sadie Jo in their matching Christmas dresses

Trail and Sadie

Santa came to our church!

"I want Rudolph and candy for Christmas"
(her exact words)
Santa gave her half of her wish right then!

Making Christmas cookies

Trail sampled some :)

Our tradition is to by a 6 pack of bottled Cokes for Christmas. One goes to Santa, we drink 4, and the last one is saved and labeled with the year. It will be neat to see how many we've saved up by the time Brooklynn and Trail are adults.

Carrying Santa's Coke to the fireplace

All ready for Santa!

Reading her personalized "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" Christmas book

We were getting everything ready on Christmas Eve, and David accidentally set off our basement alarm when he went outside to get wood for the fire. I heard Brooklynn yelling for me, and when I went into her room she was sitting straight up in her bed. She told me that she "heard Rudolph". We literally couldn't get her back to sleep until 3:00AM because she was so excited.

Christmas morning Brooklynn really hadn't paid much attention to the gifts yet, so David and I decided to clean up a little before we started opening presents. I was making the beds, and he was vacuuming up the mess we made wrapping presents. He heard Brooklynn say "It's Rudolph! Thank you Santa!". She had somehow found the package containing Rudolph (it wasn't on top, and it was in wrapped in a shoe box), and tore into it! David pulled out the camera just in time! She LOVES her Rudolph!

Opening presents (they had on matching PJ's, but Trail must have been a little too hydrated before bedtime)

We also had a white Christmas! I think David and I were more excited than the kids. We got a little over 2 inches at our house (not quite the 3-6 we were promised).

We decided to try out Brooklynn's new sled, but didn't last too long beause the wind was COLD!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

See Any Resemblance?

2009-12-14T10:43:00.002-06:00

Lights of the Ozarks

2009-11-21T22:52:00.006-06:00

Tonight we went to the the lighting of the Fayetteville Square. We took Brooklynn last year and had a lot of fun, so we decided to invite our families to come along. I can honestly say that it was NOT fun this year. It was so crowded, and it didn't help that Trail cried the whole time (which isn't like him, so I think the crowds bothered him too). Brooklynn really seemed to enjoy herself though, so it was worth it! I'm very excited about the Christmas season this year, because I know it's going to be even MORE fun with two kids to share it with!

My boys!

Scout, Granny (David's mom), and Brooklynn

Papa (my dad) bought them these light up swords

With my little man

Our horrible attempt at a family picture

After we got home I realized that I didn't get any pictures of the kids in their Christmas shirts. So, I attempted to get a good shot of them together...

Trail decided that he wanted to pull Brooklynn's hair
(I tell her that he thinks it's so pretty that he has to touch it--I try to keep her from getting too mad at him)

Then Brooklynn decided to yell

Finally...

Brooklynn is out of school next week and I'm looking forward to our time together! We have a lot planned--a dentist and eye doctor appointment Monday, cookie making, Christmas decorating, and tons of playing. It should be a great week!

Dear Jesus...

2009-11-13T21:29:00.004-06:00

Brooklynn's prayer was so cute tonight that I decided to write it down here so we can remember it.

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for Mommy and Daddy.
Thank you for Baby Trail.
Thank you for Nana's house.
Thank you that I can go back to Nana's house tomorrow.
Thank you for Nana and Papa.
Thank you for Scout and Becky and Baby Sadie.
Thank you for Larry Boy. Thank you that he's our hero.

Then she randomly burst into the Larry Boy theme song (from Veggietales) and I knew her attention was gone...

I love her so much!

Halloween

2009-11-02T08:26:00.007-06:00

We had a pretty busy Halloween this year! It started with Brooklynn's school party on Thursday. Trail went to work with Nana while I went to Brooklynn's party. It was nice to be able to focus 100% of my attention on her.

Posing before she changed into her costume

Brooklynn wanted to be Wilbur for Halloween, but at her school party she refused to wear her tail and nose. She was basically a ballerina with pig ears. :)

The funniest part about her costume was that she wore the exact same thing 2 years ago when she was a fairy, we just used different shoes and accessories. I was amazed that the leotard still fit!

Friday we met up with the Martins to Trick-or-Treat on the square. It was fun, and I know David liked having us stop by his work!

Brooklynn and Sam

Trail was going to be a farmer to go along with Brooklynn's pig costume, but the weather cooled off quite a bit and I hated the idea of bundling him up so much that you couldn't see his costume. I went by Old Navy Friday morning and their costumes were $2, so I picked up a lion outfit for him (it was the only one in his size).

Trail, Brooklynn, Sam, and Abby

Trail and Abby are 3 days apart, and they were enthralled with one another! I can tell we're going to have to really watch them when they get older.

Last Halloween Jessica and I were pregnant and we had just found out that Trail was a boy. It's amazing how much changes in one year!

Saturday night was Trunk-or-Treat at our church
Scout and Brooklynn (it's really blurry, but the only pic we got w/her pig nose on)

When I was getting dressed Saturday night, Brooklynn told me she wanted to put her make up on. She sat still while I applied lots of glitter, eyeshadow, lipstick, and even mascara! I had no idea how long her lashes are b/c they're so light, but with the mascara on it looked like she had lash extensions.

She was exhausted when we finally made it home (Trail too). Here are some pictures of her all ready for bed...

I'm glad Halloween only comes once a year. This weekend wore me out! :)

The Winner Is...

2009-10-28T23:42:00.002-05:00

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2009-10-29 04:43:01 UTC

Congratulations Suzette! I will email you to get your shipping info and find out which frame set you want.

Pulling Up

2009-10-27T09:46:00.005-05:00

He managed to pull himself before the video even started! His little foot got stuck under the ottoman, so I had to move him out from under it while I filmed. He's such a funny little guy!

My First Giveaway!

2009-10-22T11:39:00.009-05:00

I was given the opportunity to host a giveaway for CSN Baby. They have a large selection of nursery decor and other baby essentials.

If you leave a comment on this post between now and October 29th, you'll be entered into a drawing for a set of adorable picture frames (you can choose between pink/brown or black/white). You can also post a blog linking to the giveaway for a 2nd chance to win, but be sure to add a 2nd comment so you can be entered two times.

Good luck, and be sure to leave your email address if it's not on your blogger profile!

Home Improvements

2009-10-15T22:56:00.011-05:00

I'm sure most of you know that we bought a foreclosed home--built in 1968--with the hopes of fixing it up (as we live in it). The progress has been much slower than we expected. The ice storm put us REALLY far behind, and the drop down to one income hasn't allowed us to do as much as we would like. There are many more things we hope to do in the next year (new wall mounted flat screen tv so we can get rid of our entertainment center, redo the kitchen counter tops, update our dining room table, more decorating, etc), but we're taking things one project at a time. Here are some pictures of what we've done so far in the main living areas. Check here to see what we started with.

The living area
(David rearranged some furniture and I'm still not completely sold on the arrangement)

Other seating area (front door on the left, dining room to the right)

Kitchen (with some pretty dated counters)
(through the doorway there is a pantry, then the bathroom and laundry room)

Dining room

*David read my post this morning and informed me that I made our house look really small in these pictures. :) So, please keep in mind that the areas pictures are actually one large and open room.

Our next BIG project is our basement! I cannot wait to get it finished, but I know it's going to take awhile.

Here are some pictures of the kids from this week...

Brooklynn ready for church

Bath time!

They love eachother!

His PJ's crack me up. They say "Hit The Trail"
I just hope Brooklynn doesn't take that literally.

All ready for bed!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-11T21:38:00.005-05:00

I've never been to a pumpkin patch, and I've been trying to convince David we need to go. Saturday we made a last minute trip to a nearby Farm. I love google because I easily found the one that was closest to us. Unfortunately I forgot to put a memory card in my camera, so I didn't take many pictures because I didn't think I could retrieve them from the internal memory (I need to have more faith in myself). We ended up with 5 pumpkins of different colors and sizes.

David and Brooklynn looking for a pumpkin
(We tried to put Trail in the wagon, but it was SO bumpy that was practically thrown out)

It was a BEAUTIFUL evening

Trail loved it!

I think this is my favorite picture we've taken of them together!

Last Friday I decided to dress us in our Halloween shirts. I had a hard time getting a good picture of the 3 of us, and my camera was on a weird setting so they look odd....

Trail's shirt says "Mommy's Little Monster".
This will probably be one of the only times he'll wear orange
(it looks a little crazy with his hair). :)

I just love how he looks at his big sister so adoringly. He really does love her, and she definitely keeps us all entertained (not always in a good way--haha!).

This is Brooklynn's new idea of posing. She bends over with her hands on her knees and yells "Cheese!". (That's why I look like I have a death grip on her in the above picture--I had a hard time getting her to stand up straight).

6 Months

2009-10-04T20:34:00.008-05:00

It's so hard to believe that my baby turned 6 months old a week ago. He is such a fun (and funny) little man! Here are some cute things that I want to remember...

He says "Mama"

He gets really excited when he eats babyfood or cereal and says "Mmmmm" between every bite and waves his arms around

He scrunches up his nose and snorts

He laughs constantly and is very ticklish

He will be smiling and randomly puckers up for no reason
He cut his first tooth TODAY (bottom right)
He's started "dancing". He just starts rocking himself back and forth--it's pretty funny!

Friday I took both kids to the doctor for their well visits. Trail is 14 lbs 2 oz and almost 27 inches. He is in the 3rd percentile for his weight, and 50th for height. The doctor told me not to be concerned about the percentile because he's healthy, happy, and eating well. I checked Brooklynn's baby weight, and I thought it was funny because she was the exact same weight and height at 6 months! He also had me take Trail off his Prevacid. So far so good, he's spitting up a little bit more, but it doesn't seem to be hurting him.

We had a gift certificate to get his pictures made, so I decided to use it for his 6 month photos...

He's wearing my brother's overalls!

The Big 5-0

2009-09-29T10:06:00.008-05:00

Over the weekend we celebrated my mom's 50th birthday. My mom looks AMAZING, and I just pray that I can look that good when I'm 40, let alone 50! Sunday afternoon David kept both kids for me so mom and I could go shopping. We met my mom's best friend Sherri and her daughter Miranda (I forgot my camera).

Last night we met my mom's sisters and my grandma at Marketplace. What mom didn't know is that they had invited several of her friends along. They were all waiting for us when we walked in--wearing black veils and sobbing VERY loudly. I think I was more embarrassed than my mom!

Mammaw, Aunt Barbara, Aunt JoJo, and Mom
(yes, she's in a wheelchair)

JoJo wrote mom a poem and read it to her

Michelle, Mom, Mammaw, Debbie, and Katy

Mammaw, Mom, Me, Jenni, Aunt Barb, and Aunt JoJo

Here are a few pictures of my babies...

Brooklynn all dressed for school this morning

My dad thinks Trail has the most pitiful "pucker face", and has been asking me to take a picture of it. We finally caught him in action at The Gap last Friday.

Awwww!!

Go Hogs!

2009-09-20T17:01:00.009-05:00

I'm one lucky girl to have a husband who makes jewelry. He finished this pendant earlier in the week and I called him at work to find out if I could borrow it for the weekend. How could he say no to me? :)

It is definitely the perfect colors to honor our Razorbacks!! When David got off work we headed over to Jeff and Shawna's to watch the game.

Brooklynn and Trail all ready to go!

I made Brooklynn, Trail and I matching Hog shirts
(and I got my hair done last week--I was tempted to try to grow out all my color and be completely natural, but I was afraid of how awful I'd look while it grows out. I just went darker and added more red along w/ a little blond)

Our little family

He sits up better every day, and it makes me sad how grown up he looks!

Brayden and Brooklynn are so cute together!

They ate all night long! Although it didn't affect Brooklynn. I had to change her out of her jeans b/c they literally fell off all night. I wish I had that problem!

I just love them!

I thought it was cute how they were both looking at me like I'm a little crazy!

I drove my own car and left with the kids before the game was over. We were still winning when I left, so in my mind we won the game! Haha!

Here are some random pictures from the week...

Watching football and eating popcorn with Daddy

His hat cracks me up!

This picture of Brooklynn is from last year, and was on her cubby at school. They sent it home when they put up her new pic, and it's one of Trail's favorite toys! He loves to talk to her, laugh, and give her kisses!

5 Months and 4 Years

2009-09-08T14:40:00.014-05:00

*Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last post. Brooklynn is doing wonderful in school, and her teachers were very impressed with the progress she made over the summer!

I never got around to blogging about Trail when he turned 5 months, so this is a little late! Last month he was a very fussy little guy, but recently he's gotten VERY happy. He's such a sweet boy, and is definitely still a momma's boy (and now leans and holds his arms out when he wants me)! At 5 months he's a little less than 14 lbs and around 26 in long. He's still in a size 1 diaper, wears mostly 3 month and 3-6 month clothes, and is already up to a size 2 shoe. I just love my little man!

Here are a few of the things he's up to...

He's attempting to stand on his own
(he fell over as I was taking this pic, but this was a couple of weeks ago, so I think he's doing better at it now)

Can he look any more like his daddy? ;)

He's trying to feed himself

(I think he might end up being left handed...Brooklynn is too so far)

He's sitting up
(for about 10 seconds before he falls over--HA!)

and he's a handsome little man
(am I allowed to say that since I'm his mom?)

Brooklynn turned 4 yesterday (on labor day). We had her birthday party a week early because we wanted to swim and we were afraid if we waited it would be too cold! (Although we DID end up swimming for a little bit yesterday, the weather was much nicer on the day of her party). We had a small party with our family because our pool area isn't really kid friendly yet, and I was so worried about children getting hurt (David says I'm paranoid).

The Willys Jeep in the background looks very redneck--don't worry, it belongs to my brother

The birthday girl!

Trail and Sadie with Sherri

Granny and Trail

JoJo and Mammaw with Trail and Sadie

She got a dress and HAD to try it on
(she stripped out of her swimsuit as soon as she opened it!)

Opening presents

Granny, Grandpa, and her great-grandparents on David's side bought her a swingset!!!

She was sick last week and stayed home from school.

We made a b-day cake out of playdoh

She helped me cook dinner

She took cupcakes and cookies to school today for her birthday. Trail and I actually got there a little early to pick her up. So we watched her during circle time.

I attempted to get a good picture of her shirt.
It says "Happy Birthday" and has a picture of a girl holding a cake.

She's holding her best friend "Wilbur".
He now tries to go everywhere w/ her!Silly girl!

I think Brooklynn had a great birthday! She did tell me that she did "not want to be 4", and that she's "just 3". She cracks me up! She's 31 lbs and around 39 inches tall. She's wears size 4 tops but still needs 3T pants, and a size 9 shoe.

Friday night we were invited to a friend's 30th birthday party, along with Jarod and Becky. We planned on David's parents watching the kids, but his mom had to fly out of town because one of her uncles passed away. My parents offered to watch them (along with Scout and Sadie), as long as I didn't stay too long--they had never kept all 4 before.

This is what I found when I got there...

Sadie Jo was happy in her frilly PJ's mom and I bought her at a consignment sale

Sadie & Trail

All of them watching "Charlotte's Web" on Nana&Papa's bed.
Saturday we went to the fair with my family. It was Brooklynn's 2nd time to go because Granny & Grandpa (David's parents) had already taken her two days earlier. We all had a lot of fun. Brooklynn loved it because it was like "Charlotte's Web" and Trail loved it because he got to be outside and people watch!

Brooklynn milked a goat. Thelady helping her was impressed by the amount of milk she was able to get by herself--she's a natural little farm girl (definitely doesn't get that from me)

Trail wore his John Deere overalls

She got to see lots of "Wilburs" and now thinks she is going to get a real pig to show at the fair. I'm trying to convince Papa to get a piglet for her in the spring because we don't really have a place for it!

Petting a rabbit

She was cracking me up because she would take a few steps, and then bend over to look under the bunny cages. Sometimes I wonder what goes through her head...

I'm never in any pictures because I'm always taking them, so I had David take the camera for a second so I could pose with Trail.

Whew! That was a long post! I definitely need to start doing this more often so my posts can be shorter. Haha!

So Much Has Changed

2009-08-26T14:55:00.010-05:00

I can honestly tell you that for awhile I had a very hard time reading other mom's blogs and facebook status updates. It is difficult seeing how far behind your own child is. I finally realized that Brooklynn is a "special needs" child. There is no way I can deny that she is different. It's so hard in the mommy world because I know that other mom's judge (trust me, I've been guilty of doing it). I just don't want anyone to think that I'm not working with her, or that I'm not trying. If anything, I push her too hard in some areas! I also know that she is an intelligent, creative, beautiful little girl with the most advanced imagination I've ever seen! She has improved so much in the past year, and I trust that by this time next year she will be able to go to a regular preschool. I am so grateful for her teachers, and speech and occupational therapists. They have been so good for her! I'm praying that by kindergarten she can join her classmates in a normal setting, with little to no physical, occupational, or speech therapy!

Today was her first day of school. When I look back at pictures from last year, it makes me pretty sad!

Her first day September 2008

Her first day August 2009

If you compare her height against David you can really see how much she's grown. :(

Here is my handsome boy, ready to pick up his big sister!

This picture was taken from VERY far away, but I left my camera in the car and was too embarassed to go back and get it!

Tired after her first day

She requested McDonalds, and she got it!

She still has chocolate pudding on her face from snack time

I've been a very bad blogger lately. Now that I don't sit at the computer all day for work, it's hard to sit down and blog. It also seems like Blogger has gotten slower, and it's harder to upload photos! We all got VERY sick last week. My brother came down with a stomach bug, then passed it to my dad, Sadie, and Scout. Trail was next, then Brooklynn and I got it at the EXACT same time. David was last. It was awful feeling so weak and helpless, but David was able to take off work and help me out (then he had to take off again because he was sick)!

Here are some more pictures from this month....

She LOVES to read books

Sadie Jo came over

Sadie and Trail (you can tell Trail wasn't feeling well)

She didn't like the big bow I put on her!

Sydney came to visit while her parents took Clayton to his Kindergarten Open House

Holding hands :)

This is what our pool looked like last year.....

And here it is now!!!!!

We still have to put in privacy fencing and do a LOT of landscaping. It will probably be a few more years before we're done, but I think it already looks much better! The dark color has really helped it heat up quickly during the day. We've been able to swim every afternoon!

My baby boy will be 5 months old tomorrow, and my little girl turns 4 next week. Where has the time gone?

Acid Reflux

2009-08-11T21:57:00.002-05:00

For the last week Trail has been VERY fussy. I noticed he was spitting up a lot more too, and then today it turned into throw up (he even looked thinner). So, I decided to take him to the doctor. After asking a few questions, he determined that Trail has Acid Reflux. He lost down to 13 lbs in the last 2.5 weeks, and that brought him down to the 10th percentile. I am still nursing so he told me to watch my dairy, but he went ahead and put Trail on medicine to try to get a little bit of weight back on him. The doctor told me that a lot of adults with reflux think they're having a heart attack--no wonder he's been so fussy!!! His medicine will take 4-5 days to kick in, so we'll just have to deal with a cranky little boy until then. His sweetness completely makes up for it!

We're praying the medicine takes care of things. He did tell me that if Trail doesn't improve over the next 2 weeks, I need to bring him back in and we'll look into other options. Poor baby!

Aquarium

2009-08-09T16:54:00.005-05:00

We recently went to the Oklahoma Aquarium with my mom, Becky, Scout, and Sadie. It was fun, but VERY crowded.

Becky and I were hoping that Brooklynn and Scout would nap on the way there, but they were both way too excited! By the time we got there they were both exhausted. Poor Brooklynn was a little freaked out by the fish tanks. She has little to no depth perception, so I guess the fish swimming toward her face scared her just a little. I told her the fish were like mermaids. From that point on she yelled "It's like a MERMAID!" any time she looked at a new fish. After she got the hang of things she enjoyed herself!

Sadie Jo

Trail

Both babies were SOOO good! They enjoyed people watching. I think the only time they cried is when they were hungry--thank goodness, b/c it was so loud in there we couldn't have heard them!

Feeding the turtles

Trail again

Touching a starfish

Brooklynn really enjoyed getting to feel the stingrays, Scout wasn't a big fan!

My mom is in all the pictures because Becky and I were taking care of babies and pushing strollers!

Finally!

2009-08-08T00:31:00.005-05:00

So, I finally got around to going private. I had to go through my email, blog comments, facebook page, and facebook emails. I'm a little slow at doing things on the computer now that I'm not sitting here working on it all day long!

I had a lot of people ask why I decided to make our blog private. I just started thinking about how selective I am with who I add as a friend on facebook, and I don't think our blog should be any different. I'm pretty protective of our babies, and I don't want just anyone seeing pictures of us, or reading about our daily activities. I also want to start writing down more stories about Brooklynn and the funny things she says, but I don't feel comfortable putting all of it out there on the web (there may be some pervert that somehow gets to our page from google). I also hope to start posting more often now that I will be a little more personal!

I will leave you with a funny Brooklynn moment...

She has this weird thing about people talking to us in public places. She usually says "Don't talk" if someone tries to say anything to us. I have to constantly remind her to "be nice", although I honestly don't think she's trying to be mean. She's started chanting "be nice" to herself any time we're in a store. For some reason being nice to her means that she has to rub something (usually my chest) while she says this.

Yesterday in Wal-Mart a lady was walking past us (she didn't even look at us so I don't think she was going to talk at all). Brooklynn started to tell the poor lady not to talk to us, but I gave her "the look". Instead she said, "BE NICE, BE NICE!" and started trying to rub this lady on the backside! I quickly pulled the cart as far away from the woman as possible, and reminded Brooklynn that we have to be nice but we can't touch strangers!

4 Months

2009-07-28T01:11:00.007-05:00

I'm finding it hard to believe that our little boy is 4 months old! It's amazing how much he learns every day. He's been rolling over for some time now, but it seems like he does it with more of a purpose all of the sudden. He rolls from one side of the room to another, and he's always rolling after his toys. He has the sweetest little laugh and I could just sit around and talk to him all day long! He is getting so good at grabbing for toys and other objects (especially poor Brooklynn's hair). We've even started putting him in his exersaucer and I'm amazed at how well he holds himself up. Unfortunately, we have a thumb sucker on our hands. We've tried to replace it with a pacifier (because you can take a paci away when they get older, but not a thumb), but he just pulls it out and sticks his thumb back in! Hopefully we can break him of that habit soon.

We started him on rice cereal, and he eats like a champ. He LOVES it! Our little guys is quite the eater (he wears me out because he wants to eat every 2 hours). He had his 4 month check up today and he's now 13 lbs 5 oz, and 25.5 in. According to the doctor his weight is in the 25th percentile, height 75th, and head circumference 20th.

Trail was recently dedicated at our church. It was a very special time for our family. The best part about it is that my dad was able to do the dedication (one of the perks of having a minister for a father). I love my dad so much and am so proud to be his daughter!

Trail was stylin in the suit that Nana bought him before he was born!

The only close up I got of him in the full suit, and it's blurry! :(

Trail with his Grandpas--he's so blessed to have two sets of Christian grandparents!

Just for fun, here is a picture of mom and I at Brooklynn's dedication. She was 4 weeks old and I was already WAY thinner than I am now. I'm not complaining though--Trail is TOTALLY worth it!

I have delayed going private with my blog simply because I haven't had time to compile a list of authorized readers! Knowing me, it will be another month before it gets done. Haha!

Going Private

2009-07-16T19:52:00.002-05:00

I've decided to go private with my blog. Please leave a comment with your email address if you'd like to be able to keep viewing it, or you can email me brittkayh at yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Brooklynn and Trail

2009-07-13T15:40:00.016-05:00

Several people have said that Brooklynn and Trail look alike. Of course they both have red hair so I thought that was the only reason. Last week I framed some newborn pictures of both of them and I saw a strong resemblance.

Here are a few comparison shots...

Meeting for the first time

Brooklynn

10 lbs. 3 oz, 22 in .

Trail 8 lbs 10 oz, 20 3/4 in

I forgot how swollen poor Brooklynn was! Now you can see why Trail seemed so tiny to us.

They're at different ages in these pictures (Brooklynn was older), but I thought it was funny how her hair was very mohawk-like! :)

Playdates and VBS

2009-07-03T00:33:00.009-05:00

I am really starting to get the hang of being a mom of two. I can honestly say that I LOVE it! There are definitely not enough hours in the day to get everything done, but we're having fun and enjoying every moment--that's all that matters!

Trail is now 3 months old, but I'll be blogging about that later. I will say that he is absolutely perfect, and I'm so grateful to have him in my life!

Here is what we've been up to. Somehow my pictures got out of order and I have already spent WAY too much time trying to fix it, so I give up! :)

This week our church had Vacation Bible School. Brooklynn is still in the nursery (it goes up to 4 yrs), and I wasn't sure how she would do in a new setting. I offered to help in her class--although I think I spent the majority of my time just watching her. The first day didn't go so well, but the rest of the week she did much better than I anticipated. She loved it! Tonight when we drove by the church she asked if she could go to church, when I told her no she asked if she could go tomorrow! :)

Playing with Sadie Jo

(the theme was "Rome" and our class wore brown sashes)

Trail had fun at VBS too!

Brooklynn with her favorite person--Ms. Krissi

David (on the right) was in a few skits

Snack time!

Scout came over to play

He took this "lovely" picture of me with Trail

(I cropped his little fingers out of the picture)

After Nana got off work they swam in her hot-cold tub

(Brooklynn is wearing one of my old swimsuits and Scout was in my brother's)
We went to a Holloway family reunion

(It was VERY hot so we took Brooklynn swimming after it was over, and Trail stayed w/ David's parents) More VBS pictures

They're modeling the wreaths they made.

Patiently waiting to watch a filmstrip

(It's one that I grew up watching on an ancient projector, but the kids LOVED it--I had all the lines memorized b/c I watched it so much!)

They were all so good while it was on

Singing songs--she was a little behind on the motions, but at least she was trying!

Eating a snowcone with Scout after VBS

Our dishwasher has been broken for over 4 months. Brooklynn helped David take it out after we got home so we could get it fixed.

Then she got a ride on the dolly.

We finally moved her out of her toddler bed, and she loves her princess bed. We're still working on arranging her room.

We had a tea party on her bed this morning while Trail was still sleeping.

We had a playdate with my friend Jessica and her two kids--Sam and Abby. Sam is 4 months older than Brooklynn, and Abby is 3 days older than Trail. We're already arranging marriages between the 4 of them!

Sam and Brooklynn

Jessica and Trail

Me with Abby

Trail and Abby

(she was born MUCH smaller than him, but has already almost caught up--she's still shorter, even though you can't tell in the pictures)

Sammy

My little model!

All 6 of us!

What a Day!

2009-06-18T18:19:00.004-05:00

This morning I was trying to get us all ready for a trip to the eye doctor (Brooklynn's new glasses were in). I was changing Trail and I realize Brooklynn was being a little too quiet. As I walked into the livingroom she jumped off the couch with a very guilty look on her face. I ran over to see what she was doing and she had a plate full of pills! I freaked out and started prying her mouth open to dig them out. I had no idea what they were, but I was slightly relieved because they looked like Vitamin C pills. I finally found the bottle and realize she had gotten into iron supplements! I didn't even know we had them, and I definitely didn't know they were down low enough for her to get them. She somehow managed to get open the "child proof" container, and eat some of the pills. I counted the remainder and there were 87 (plus 2 I got out of her mouth) out of 100. I'm guessing a few had been taken by me when I was anemic after having her, so the most she could have gotten was 6.

David called Poison Control for me b/c I was freaking out too much. They told us to just watch for certain signs over the next 5 hours--8 hours later and she is fine!! She did this last year with her gummy vitamins and the first question P.C. asked was if they contained iron because it can be fatal (of course that was the first thing I remembered today). I'm so grateful that she is ok!! Later on I tried to ask her how many she ate and she just told me that the "candy is all gone"!

I tried to take a picture of us together

My sweet little girl
She doesn't like the new glasses. She kept them on for a total of 5 seconds while I took the picture.

Trail tried to escape from the Boppy while I took her picture.

Precisely why it says "Do not leave children unattended".

Our little man is doing great. At his 2 month check up he was 11.5 lbs and almost 24 inches. He's in the 35th percentile for weight, 75th for height, and 10th for his head circumfrence. His weight to height ratio was less than the 5th percentile. He's going to be tall and thin like his sister! He's also managed to roll himself over 2 times in the last week--only because he got mad and kicked so hard that he rolled over!

Our happy boy!

Look at those big feet (and big eyes)!

I thought this was funny. I couldn't find her glasses earlier this week. She had hidden them in her butterfly net (along with a bunch of random toys).

Officially Summer

2009-06-03T19:24:00.011-05:00

This picture is completely unrelated to the rest of the post. Here is Brooklynn with her cousin Sadie at church on Sunday. Nana bought them matching dresses.

(I promise her shoes are on the right feet. I have no idea why her feet look so weird.)

I say summer has officially begun because of two reasons. Reason #1 is that Brooklynn is out of school until August.

With Daddy on her last day

Watching Daddy fix his hair
Patiently waiting by the door
Trail ready to pick her up on her last day
We went to visit Nana
He got hungry
(I think it had been an hour and a half since he had eaten)

Brooklynn's preschool had a mini graduation ceremony. All the kids that are going into kindergarten or going into a regular preschool received diplomas. The rest of the children (Brooklynn included) got participation certificates.

Can you find Brooklynn?

There she is

Her teacher called her name and she got to slide down the ramp on her belly

With her certificate

After the ceremony, they had a water day outside

She had SO much fun

After we left she cried so hard because she didn't actually go to school that day. I love that she missed going into the classroom to learn. I know she's going to miss it this summer. I cannot even begin to list all the improvements she's made. By this time next year I hope Brooklynn is graduating into a regular preschool! Go here to see how much she's grown since her first day--I think her hair grew 6 inches!

Playing at Nana's

She loves to dress up

Now for reason #2. Today was my last day of work. For the first time since I was 16, I am unemployed. It's such a weird feeling, and I still don't really know what to think. I met with my boss and he basically told me I could either start working from the office, or have my position terminated. It was a no-brainer for me. David and I had already discussed what we were going to do if this situation arose. I even had my work computer (that I used at home) in my car because I knew what was coming. It was still hard, but I truly believe that God's hand was in it. I've always had an extremely strong desire to be a full time stay at home mom. In fact, I cried every day when I worked full timein the office. I was completely blessed to be able to work from home as long as I did (starting when Brooklynn was 14 months old), but once my work schedule changed it was simply too hard for me to work non-flexible hours with two kids at home. They're much more important to me than all the money in the world!

So, now I have an entire summer to spend with the two most amazing kids! I've got find lots of free activities (because we're now broke--haha!) for us to do. I'm so excited about having the summer off with my babies! Now if we could only get our pool fixed!

2 Months!

2009-05-27T21:26:00.006-05:00

Trail is 2 months old today, and I cannot believe how fast it's gone! He's such a fun little man. He smiles all the time now, and he seems to be a morning person because that's when he's the happiest. He also loves his changing table (Brooklynn did too) and could lay there and talk to me for hours. I am very blessed because he's a pretty good sleeper (will sleep 5 hours, then 3 more after he eats, and usually another 3 hours after that), and he just started sleeping in his crib. He's also a very good eater, and you can tell because he's really filling out. He's around 25 inches and 12 lbs. (or more). He recently started grabbing for toys.

He was getting his clothes changed, but wanted to talk instead (pre haircut)

He thinks I'm funny

(I think his smile will be the only thing that resembles me--aside from his "Morrison nose", and that's only because he squints his eyes)
On his 2 month birthday

I can't post a blog without talking about The Princess. I am so proud of her. She really is a good big sister. She loves to help me with Trail. She has a step stool beside his changing table and she always runs in there to help me change him. She is so proud of him and comes running over yelling "it's Baby Trail" every day when we pick her up from school. She is also pretty protective, and doesn't like for us to go anywhere without him. If I try to load her in the car first (and then run back inside to get him), she gets too upset and I have to juggle them both at once. Monday is her last day of school and I know she's going to miss it this summer!

After she got home from school today she was watching tv and I had to change Trail. I left for about 3 minutes and this is what I found when I came back. Poor thing--you can tell she missed her nap yesterday because she ALWAYS fights sleep!

I moved her to our bed and she didn't even notice (and slept for 3.5 hours)

Please be in prayer for us. I went back to work Tuesday (in the office) and after a meeting with my boss things don't seem very promising. It seems that they want to change my position up which means I won't be able to work from home, or they can possibly let me stay at home if my workload is significantly increased. Brooklynn's school--which is only 4 half days a week--has been so good for her and I'm not taking her out. I also can't bear to leave my baby boy. The flexibility I originally had with my hours has been gone for months, and it's very hard to sit at a computer for 6 hours straight with two little ones. I currently carry our benefits, and the entire reason I work is because David cannot get them through his employer. I'm meeting with my boss again soon and praying it works out for the best.

Sad Day

2009-05-25T19:32:00.004-05:00

Before Trail was born, I promised David I wouldn't be one of those mom's that refused to cut her little boy's hair. I said he would never have the "mullet curls" and that if he came out with as much hair as Brooklynn we could cut it right away. Well, he came out with more hair than Brooklynn, and I kept putting it off. The day finally arrived. I told David he could cut it. Unfortunately he messed up a little, and the trim turned into a full-on mohawk and we have a ziplock bag full of baby hair. I was upset (that's actually an understatement). I probably cried for 3 hours. Now that I've seen the before and after pictures I'm feeling better, but I'm still too upset to post pictures on my blog. Check out David's blog for pictures.