The Sarah Era

Recently a man spoke to Corbin's Bible Study about family.  Someone asked him what he did to raise such an incredible children.  The man said, "My wife and I prayed for our children, and we loved them, but what impacted them the most what not what we did, it's who we brought into our home.  Other people impacted them the most."  That statement truly captures how we feel about Sarah.  As our year with her draws to a close, we are confident our lives are forever better for having her join our family.    

 Her smile is contagious,

 

 her laughter is joyful,

and her love is real. 

Sarah Werner, we love you and we'll miss you from the tops of our heads to the tips of toes.  

Act Cool

Anna Corbin has been a yogurt and fruit kind of girl.  For almost a year most of her meals consisted of just that.  Clearly, she would eat goldfish, animal crackers, and the like....but as far as 'real' food, it was limited.  

On a whim this spring I planted some carrot seeds.  I pulled one out the other day to see how big they were and much to my surprise, Anna Corbin wanted a bite.  So, I just calmly handed her the carrot, like it was something we do everyday.  I've learned that if she senses my excitement she will immediately reject a food:o)  

I must have been acting very cool, because she ate the entire carrot!  People, this is HUGE. And if we're going to be honest, it the first vegetable she's eaten since she moved to table food.

WAHOOOOOO - I do not have to act cool on the blog do I?

Honey!

I spilled my stir fry all over my lap at dinner tonight.  It was just one of those evenings....with a big sigh I started to clean up the sticky rice.

Anna Corbin looked at me with a big smile and said, "Honey. You made a mess."

I guess she's heard that a time or two:o)

Soaring into 4

The elementary school teacher in me can rarely resist a play on words....I know it's cheesy, but I just can't help myself.  We celebrated Chesson's 4th birthday at the airport!

showing off his new plane

pretending to be planes

talking about planes

planes taking off 

getting ready to eat airplanes

Thanks friends, for celebrating with us!  We love you Chesson!

The Story of the Birthday Cupcakes

It's time to make cupcakes for Chesson's party!!  Who's excited? 

Everyone!!!  

He was so excited, he even offered to help clean (i.e. play in soapy bubbles).  

This is where the excitement took a bit of a turn.  As his final act as a 3 year old, Chesson took one bite out of every single cupcake.

Me: Oh, Chesson....won't it be a bummer tomorrow when we don't have cupcakes for your friends?
Chesson:  But Mama, I only took one bite out of each one.  Everyone can still have their cupcake.  (He was so sincere.  Clearly, he had thought this through!)

Bahahahaha!!!  C'mon, that's funny.

For those concerned, new uneaten cupcakes are in the oven.

Big Girl Bed

This bed has been in her room for about 4 months, and she has had no desire to sleep in it.  She is a girl who loves her crib.  She sleeps great in it, and I haven't pushed a change.  Then yesterday, she said she wanted to sleep in her big girl bed, just like Chesson.  (That's a running theme around here.)

So, we grabbed a bed rail and gave it a shot.  Check out her minnie shirt, stuffed animal, and pillow case.  She has a small minnie obsession:o) 

She stayed in bed, so we'll count night one as a success.  You might notice here that the pillow case changed.  Anna Corbin has been using it as a blanket in her crib, since she didn't have a pillow in there....so, she insisted that I take it off the pillow because she wanted to continue to use it as a blanket.

Ahhh - she's growing up.  I'm not sure which is harder, her moving to a big bed or Chesson turning 4 tomorrow.  That's right, 4!

Aunt Bec and Uncle Brn

We were lucky enough to spend nearly a week with Becca and Brian.  My kiddos call him Uncle Brn, and were very confused when I called him Brian this summer.  Chesson asked me, "Who is Brian?"  :)  

We aren't afraid to blur the lines of your typical gender roles....
princesses for Chesson and towers for Anna Corbin. 

baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, and medicine droppers.
thank you pinterest for 45 minutes of fun!

do you see the pattern here?  anna co is smitten with her uncle brn. 

What fun, what fun!!

Beach Bums

We spent a good chunk of June and July at the beach, and it was all wonderful. The sun, the sand, the salt air...there is something healing, and hopeful, and happy about being at the beach.  Everything just seems to be a bit easier.  Of course, my mom was there the majority of the time too....so, let's give credit where credit it due....she is the one who makes things easier!!! 

People who make things easier!!!  

Corbin came for the weekends! 

Sisters!

Ok, this captures AnnaCo completely.  She is happy to entertain herself, but first she needs all her accessories.  

Oddly,  I don't seem to have any pictures of us actually at the ocean....  I promise we went there almost every day!!