Wedding Bells

On Sunday night Aunt Kate called to ask me to be a flower girl in her wedding!!! She had just gotten engaged to Jeremy and I was the first person in our family that she called (because I'm so special!).

Aunt Kate met Jeremy while on a missions trip to Peru last summer. They had just returned for their second trip to Peru the day before he popped the question!!

We are all very excited for Kate and Jeremy and can't wait for her to move out of Nana and Poppy's house (praise the Lord!!). The good thing, though, is that we all really like Jeremy and think he will make a great addition to the family.

On Monday mommy asked me if I knew what a Flower girl was and I told her "yes." She asked me what it was and I told her, "I get to water her flowers." She thought that was so cute that she made me call Aunt Kate and tell her! Although I am not completely sure what I will be doing, at least I will be in a wedding!!!

Congrats Aunt Kate and Uncle Jeremy!!

A Tragic Loss

I write this with a heavy heart tonight. Yesterday afternoon Carl and I learned that a dear friend, Mason Smoak, was killed in a plane crash. This was Mason's personal plane and he was a very experienced pilot. Everyone is still waiting to hear the cause of the crash.

Nonetheless, we all lost a wonderful man. Mason and Carl grew up together and have grown even closer in the past couple of years. They were known to talk on the phone several times a day just to chat. So of course Carl is absolutely devastated and was out of town when he learned of Mason's death.

Mason was 33 and leaves behind his high school sweetheart, Tracee, and their 3 children (Gabe 8, Landon 5, and Ellie 16 months). Mason was a truly devoted father, loving husband and all around great guy. He was one of those friends who you could always count on to make you laugh or smile and he was always genuine. He was also giving of his time and things. He was always doing thoughtful things for others and in fact was flying someone doing bear research when he passed.

I have been so impressed in the past 24 hours with the outpouring of love and support that his family has received. Within 5 minutes of Carl calling me with the news, my phone started ringing off the hook with people calling to make sure I had heard. Not to mention the large group of people that gathered at the airport to be with Tracee and then moved to the house last night and today. When I visited Tracee and her family around noon today there were at least 30-40 people there with flowers and food galore. She told me tonight that a local furniture store even donated a refrigerator just to accommodate all the food they've received...amazing! It's truly comforting to see all of these people who have grown up together or have watched Mason grow up come out and support the family. And while there have been many tears shed, I have also witness a lot of smiles and laughs as people reminisce about Mason and all the pranks he was known to pull!

In closing, I ask that you pray for Tracee and her children after reading this. Tracee is a strong women of God and she amazes me with her strength. Yet, we all know the reality will set in soon enough and the heartbreak will begin. And while the boys are coping right now, my heart just goes out to little Ellie who will never truly know her father. Thankfully, though, she will have tons of people to tell her all about him!

We love you Mason.

Black Bears

The other night Pop Pop, Ren and I went down to the property and happened upon a momma bear and her two cubs. Since University of Kentucky is doing bear research just down the road from us, Daddy called them and they came down and set a trap (with doughnuts). The purpose in trapping the bears is so they can put an ear tag and chip as well as a GPS collar on the bears. The researchers want to track the activities of the bears to learn more about them. The cubs have been trapped several times, but the momma has still evaded us! Here are a few pics of the cubs (Daddy estimates they weigh about 75+ pounds).

Here I am in my second favorite Halloween outfit!

Checking out the little bear with Daddy

This is the second time they trapped the bear. Hanging out with my cousins.

They were checking the ear tag that they put in a couple of days ago.
Bears must really like doughnuts beause they keep on getting trapped!

Look at the size of his paws and he's only a cub!

I had no fear in holding his head. Mommy said I was so brave!

Mommy posing for the camera to prove she wasn't scared!

Kids Update

So I decided to do an update on each of the kids. I am doing this to mainly to have a record of what they were doing at this stage in their development...since my memory is getting so bad!!

Lilly
1. She talking like a little "chatty Kathy". And her conversations are getting more and more mature! The other day I was putting lotion on her and she didn't want it on and she told me, "I've told you several times that I don't like it." "Several times", where did she get that?!?! It was so cute!

2. Since Gage's arrival, she has really enjoyed playing with ALL of her dolls and teddy bears. I will often hear her talking to them and acting like a little mommy. The only problem is that she like to use Gage's swing, car-seat and bouncy chair. So, whenever I need to use them, I have to first have to unbuckle a doll or teddy...a little frustrating if I have a fussy baby in my arms!

3. She is also getting fixated on things such as her Halloween outfit. I think the outfit has debuted on the blog several times because she wears it whenever it's clean...which means I'm washing it almost every other day...otherwise she'll wear it dirty! She's also obsessed with particular books which means reading them several times a day (oh yea for me!!).

4. Thankfully Lilly is still taking a daily nap and sleeps at least 2 hours. Can I just say "hallelujah!"

5. Lilly also prefers to take a big shower rather than a bath these days! She goes into our shower and even likes to use bar of soap and bath herself. I have really enjoyed this because it takes makes bathing easier on me!!

6. And although her hair looks so nice after I dry it, she hates the process. She's always ask me if we have to wash and dry her hair. It's quite funny! Thankfully she stands still and lets me dry her hair when needed!


Gage
He is such a sweet baby and we are all enjoying him! It's hard to believe that Gage is already 6 weeks old. Where has the time gone?

1. He is neck/head is getting stronger and stronger every day. He holds his head up really well while on my shoulder and even picks it up well while laying on his belly!

2. Gage also smiles a lot. He especially likes to smile when you're talking to him. He has the biggest, sweetest smile! I am sure he's going to be a real charmer!

3. He definitely recognizes his sister. Just last night she was talking to him while he was laying in his boppy and he was smiling and cooing at her. It was so cute!

4. I have also learned that he likes to sleep on his tummy which means that naps are much easier these days. If I get him down in time, he usually goes to sleep with no problems!

5. He is a big fan of the Zolo sling. I usually put him in it when we are out and about or when I go on a walk. He's all snuggled in it and loves it! I had him in it during Lilly's recital and he got a lot of attention. Everyone wanted to see the little bundle!!

6. He's not a fan of movies...yet! We took Lilly to see Kung Fu Panda yesterday and unfortunately, Gage just didn't like the loud noise. So Gage and I spent the time waiting on Lilly and daddy...lucky me!!

7. He's not a big fan of his baths. Sometimes he won't fuss, but other times he gets really upset. I haven't figured out what upsets him, but all I know is that I have to bath him quickly!!

8. Finally, the bumps on his head have really gone down. They are hardly even noticeable anymore. So thankfully he will have a normal head!!!

Attitudes Dance Recital

Last night I was in my very first recital. I have really enjoyed my dance and gymnastics classes and had a lot of fun last night! Thank you to everyone that came to see me!!

I had to wear make-up so mommy did a practice round. I decided to wipe my eye!

All decked out in my Little Mermaid outfit!

"Am I cute or what?"

"Is this almost over?"

With some of my friends...we were ready to go
home after a 4 hour practice

Our last dance was to the song "Baby Face"

Photo Shoot Gone Wrong!

On Sunday mommy was trying to takes pics of Gage & I for announcements and while I was good and cooperated, Gage wasn't so good! He was hungry and wanted no part of it!

I wanted individual shots!

Gage: "Mom, is this really necessary?"

And mommy's favorite! She loves how I'm so happy and Gage
is so red hot mad!

Weekly Update

My friend Jacob came over for a playdate!

I was talking to Gage while he was swinging.

Gage really likes his swing!

Here I am in my favorite outfit...my Halloween pants & shirt!

We met Nana & Poppy for dinner in Okeechobee over the weekend

My silly pose with Poppy