Baby Week 17

I had a doctors appointment today and got to hear Baby Stancil's heartbeat again.  I love that sound. Baby's heartbeat was 162bpm today.  Everything else looked good...my sugar, blood pressure, and weight.  I did finally gain some weight this time, but you can tell that by looking at me.  This time I gained 3lbs...I am pretty sure it is from all the cake, cookies and candies I have completely eaten up at our house!!!  She told me that I would need to schedule another appointment for 4 weeks and then she came back and told me that I could have my ultrasound before that...so of course I scheduled the ultrasound for 3 weeks, so we go January 20th to see Baby Stancil and find out whether baby is a boy or a girl!  I can't wait to see our baby and I know Mark can't either. 

Christmas 2010

Wow we have had a wonderful Christmas this year.  The girls were so excited this year and I think they got everything they asked for.  Christmas Eve we spent with at Mema and Pop's.  We had lots of good food and of course the girls got lots of great presents.  After that we went home to get ready for Santa. The girls took a bath, made cookies for Santa, put the Santa Key the door, since we had a fire, and I read them "Twas the night before Christmas".  They were fast asleep by 8pm and Santa arrived about 9pm and finally finished up at 1am.  I was like a little kid again, I could not go to sleep anticipating their reaction when they got up.  I woke up at 5am and waited patiently until it was 7am to wake them up.  Mark and I got up, he got the video camera ready and I went to wake up the sleeping beauties.  Well they were not as excited about getting up on Christmas morning as I was.  Gracie cried and Hayden was trying to figure out what was going on.  You can tell on the video camera they weren't very excited, they were just trying to wake up. They did start getting exciting once they realized everything they had under the tree.  They were both definitely pleased with their doll houses and I am pretty sure their new tent was the next favorite thing.  Hayden loved her leapster, she now takes it everywhere she goes and the game she likes the best is learning to write her letters, can't go wrong with that! 

After they played for a little while we got ready to go to Grandmama's house for Christmas breakfast, which my husband makes the best omelets in the world!  Then we went to Mimi and Pop's house to open more presents.  Needless to say Hayden and Gracie had lots of presents and they were excited about all of them.  Mark and I also had a great Christmas...He got his knife and I got a new laptop and printer!   We also got some really great gifts from Mimi and Pop.  I got a new swing, and now I can't wait for it to be Spring where I can enjoy it!  Aunt Kim and Uncle Artie gave the girls some guitars and microphone and let me just say one day they may be famous with those beautiful voices they have!   We had a great Christmas and we love all of our family very much!!! 

Here are some pictures of what Santa left and Christmas and there are even a few from the snow on Christmas Day!



Christmas Traditions

Saturday night we took the girls to the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds to see the lights, we also invited Mimi and Pop so they could see how excited the girls would be.  I thought it was pretty neat how the music and lights went together, but Hayden wasn't as excited as I thought she would be.  Gracie was too busy sitting up front pushing all the buttons in the car, oh well there is always next year.  However, even though they weren't too excited about the lights they loved the Santa workshop at the end.  They had pony rides, slides and yes the jumping thing, which is officially called "the spider jump".   Gracie loved the pony ride so much that she screamed when she had to get off and all Hayden wanted to do was JUMP.

Check out that big smile: 

Sunday we had Christmas with my Daddy's side of the family.  It was nice to hang out and eat some yummy dressing.  My Aunt Pam makes the best dressing in the world!!!   Everything was fun except the fact that my daddy's wife didn't bring him, oh well guess I will keep my negative thoughts to myself.  The girls had fun and got presents, which they LOVE!  Then after that we had to go to my Pop's side of the family.  It was fun too, they always play the white elephant gift exchange which can get pretty interesting.  Everybody always tries to still Mema's gift and she gets so agitated.   The girls were completely worn out and fell asleep in the car on the way home, but when we got home they were ready to go again!  Good thing we didn't have to get up early Monday morning, well except Mark but he was a good sport. 

Monday we spent the day or I should say I spent the day cleaning the house and washing clothes.  The girls enjoyed a little down time and played and watched their shows on TV.  Nothing exciting but it is nice to have the house pretty much ready for Christmas.

Tuesday we met Grandmama and Linda at the Mall so they could watch the girls on the jumping thing.  Then we went to the Olive Garden for lunch, my favorite.  After that Hayden went to spend the night with Mimi and Pop.  She had lots of fun and went Christmas shopping and got us some gifts.  I can't wait to see what she picked out.   She had so much fun that she cried when she had to come home, which kind of hurt my feelings but I got over it.  She ended up crying all the way home and then pouting for about 30 minutes after we got home.  I guess I should say she pouted until she realized the new Rapunzel pajamas and bed room shoes on her bed. 

Tomorrow is grocery shopping and then Friday we will spend with my Mama's side of the family and get ready for SANTA!!!!!

Surprise!

This morning when I woke up, I wasn't sure if Hayden was going to be able to go to school.  I turned the TV on and GWA wasn't on the list of school closings, then I called Mark and he said the roads were fine, so then I called Mimi to make absolute sure that GWA wasn't closed or delayed before dragging myself out of the warm bed.  Mimi said "No" so I went ahead and dragged myself out of bed and got ready to go!  I didn't want her to miss school if she didn't have to, they are having so much fun this week with all the Christmas things!  She was also going to get a surprise at school today...Mimi was coming to her class to read A Christmas book to them!  When I picked Hayden up today...I asked her if she had a surprise today and she said that Mimi came to her class and read 3 Christmas books.  I asked her if she was sure that she read 3 books and she said "Yes, Mommy...She read one abut a bear that wouldn't go to sleep and she read my book (aka The Night Before Christmas) and she read something about a happy birthday."  She was excited that Mimi was able to read to her class.  Thanks Mimi for making her day! 

After we got home...Mommy had some surprises too.  Hayden has been a very busy little girl at school this week.  I have already gotten the best gift this year, Hayden made me a gorgeous candle holder completely decorated in glitter and it looks beautiful all lit up.  She had the biggest smile on her face when she gave it to me,  it was priceless!  She was so proud of herself! I sure do love her!!!  She also made Mommy and Daddy a Christmas card, that she decorated and inside there is a picture of her and it says that she will always be our little angel and that is the truth.  I put it right beside my new candle holder for everyone to see! 

Thank you Hayden for all of  your surprises.  You are the sweetest, caring little girl ever and we love you so much, Love Mommy and Daddy!

More Mail from Santa

Yesterday Hayden and Gracie got letters from Santa.  They were excited but they wanted to wait until Daddy got home to open them.  Hayden had to go first and she was excited to know that Santa knew she had played Soccer and performed well in her Thanksgiving Day Play!  Gracie didn't really understand but she sat in my lap and listened anyway.  I think they were more excited about the stickers that Santa sent to them!  Hayden wanted to wear hers to school today but I told her that it would be better to wear it on Friday when she has her Christmas Party.  Good news is that Hayden and Gracie both made the nice list again this year and Rudolph promised to guide the sleigh right to their house!  Thanks Santa for the letters!

Getting Well!

Hayden officially missed her first day of school on Friday.  She wasn't very happy about it, but she was running a fever and couldn't go!  She ended up on an antibiotic for an ear infection, which is only like the 3rd one she has ever had.  Thanks again Aunt Kim...for checking out our little angel and making her feel better!  She ran a fever until Saturday night and then I noticed that little Gracie had a fever too!  Guess what she caught all of her sister's germs, somehow I knew it would happen.  Gracie ran a fever all weekend and has been a little stinker about taking medicine for the fever and saying that she is a stinker is putting it nicely!!!  She absolutely goes crazy and holds it in her mouth and pretty much spits it back in your face, needless to say that at 2am this is not fun!  We had a very rough night last night with fever and crying so this morning I stopped by to see Aunt Kim again and guess what she had an ear infection too.   Aunt Kim we so appreciate all you do for us, especially when our babies don't feel good...I feel like we don't say thanks enough...So here is a big THANK YOU from all of us!!!  So now we have all been on antibiotics except Mark, and we are hoping that he won't need them!  

Sunday we finished up our Christmas shopping, the only thing we had left was Aunt Kim and I just couldn't figure out what to get her, but I ended up finding the perfect gift...or at least I hope so!  It feels good to be done and let me just say I know two little angels that are going to have a great Christmas this year!   I always get so excited about the gifts we buy for other people, I always try to get something very special for everyone.  Then after shopping we went to help decorate Mimi and Pop's Christmas tree, or I guess I should say we watched Aunt Kim and Hayden decorate Mimi's tree this year!  Hayden likes to hang everything on the limb and I sure hope Mimi didn't change it because she will notice...just kidding!  It was cute, I am pretty sure she had about seven ornaments in one spot.  Gracie didn't help decorate but she didn't feel that great either so maybe next year she will be ready to hang all of her ornaments in one spot too...hee hee!   Mimi also gave Mark his stocking early this year...I think it was probably the best stocking stuffer ever!!!

Today the girls got mail, which always makes Hayden happy!   It was mail from Mimi, which is even more exciting.  The girls opened up their mail and it was Princess Christmas cards with an ornament.  Gracie put hers in the perfect spot on the tree...in the back.  I told her to put it on the front and she said "No Mommy I like this side"  so I told her okay then whatever makes you happy.  Hayden put hers on her pink tree in her room, which looks really cute!  Thanks Mimi, you made their day! 

Oh and they also got letters from Santa Claus, but we are going to wait for Daddy to get home to open those.  I will post about those tomorrow!

Tree

I didn't post about the girls helping pick out the tree and decorate it because we got our tree the Sunday before Thanksgiving and well I just simply forgot to write about it. Sorry!  We went to pick out our tree which only took about 10 minutes when you go that early, there are still lots of trees to pick from and all the pretty ones are still available!   While I picked out our tree...Hayden and Gracie walked around picking up rocks and throwing them, yeah I don't know, apparently it isn't exciting to a 4 year old and  2 year old to pick out a tree.  Once we got the tree home the girls, well especially Hayden was very excited.  I think Gracie was just amazed, she was only 1 last year and didn't really get to help.  Unfortunately the day we got the tree was also the day that Mommy's bad cold started and I just really didn't feel good and being nauseous from baby didn't help either.  So for once we didn't decorate the tree the same day, that should tell you how bad I felt!  I am going to tell a story that Mark and I haven't told anyone...Monday night Hayden and I started putting the lights on the tree before Mark got home and, even though I just knew he was going to fuss at me for having to stand on chairs to get them on the top, I did it anyway thinking that I would be helping him out since he gets home so late now.  Well Hayden and I plugged the last strand in to put on and the whole tree went OUT!  I completely panicked and finally figured out which strand it was that went out and took it off and started over.  Well as soon as I plugged in the last set again the whole tree went out and I couldn't figure out which strand it was because I had put them all over the place trying to be good and not stand in the chair unless I had to(which meant that I was basically throwing lights at the tree and hoping they fell in the right spot).  Well this time I panicked and got really upset between the not feeling well and being tired and baby sick, I just wanted to be done but I wanted my girls to enjoy decorating the tree with me.  When Mark walked in the door Hayden and Gracie were watching TV and I was sitting in the chair with tears just streaming down my face.  It was a real cry, the kind where you sobbing and face is all red and puffy, and even though I knew crying wasn't helping I just could not stop!  He asked what was wrong and Hayden told him that the tree went out and he looked at me and told me it was okay and immediately went over to the tree to fix it!  He got it all fixed but after all that we decided to wait another day to actually put the ornaments on it.  Tuesday when Mark got home we put all the ornaments on the tree and I always love our special ornaments that Mema gives the girls every year.  I love new ornaments, to me that is what makes the tree special.  Hayden loved looking at all of her ornaments this year, she never really knew she had them.  Gracie was hilarious she didn't hang her ornaments, she just laid them inside the tree.  Needless to say the bottom of the tree had more decorations than the top, but we all had a great time decorating, even Mark, who usually skips out on the decorating part(he really enjoyed himself this year).  It was fun to sit back and watch the girls do it by themselves.  We had a great time and the tree is absolutely beautiful!

I just love our tree!  At night I just sit and look at it instead of the TV!  I am so excited this year about the girls and all of their surprises.  Excited does not even begin to describe how they will be Christmas morning!!!

Santa pajamas! 

Santa!

Saturday Mark, Mimi and myself took the girls to have pictures taken with Santa at Spring Street Studios.  Last year he was the best Santa and the pictures were amazing.  As I have posted in previous post, Gracie isn't a big fan of Santa up close...but she did a little closer on Saturday.  There is not one picture of Gracie smiling she sucked her thumb the whole time and she even cried a few times.  She didn't want to sit in Santa's lap or stand in front of him.  We finally got Hayden to sit in Santa's chair with Gracie and Santa stood behind them.  It was cute even though we didn't get Gracie to smile.  I guess when she gets older I will just have to tell her how she acted every time she saw him!  Hayden on the other hand was excited, she sat in Santa's lap and took lots of beautiful pictures. 

The best part was after the pictures were over Hayden told Santa that she was getting a new baby for Christmas, she is so sweet,  and then to my amazement Gracie actually walked over to Santa and told him that she wanted a doll house and babies for Christmas.  That was a huge accomplishment!  She also gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek right before we left, so even though the pictures didn't go as planned, it was worth it to see her actually talk to him!

13 Weeks!

I had a baby check up this morning and I could hardly wait to get there because I knew I would get to hear the heartbeat this time.  I haven't heard it since I was 6 weeks and as of today I am 13 weeks.  Baby Stancil has a strong heartbeat of 154 bpm and it sounded beautiful!  Everything else was good...blood pressure and sugar so basically I go back in 4 more weeks.  Oh and I have only gained 1 1/2 lbs so far, my doctor even asked me if I had been eating.  I told her yes but I have been sick a good bit too!  She told me as long as I am eating that I would be fine but to make sure I am eating.  I have no problem eating, just ask my husband!!!  Sometimes I catch him looking at all the food on my plate in shock and then when I ask him " What"  he says nothing and looks away!  I know what he is thinking but it is nice of him not to say it. Right?  I also crave sweets, anything and everything sweet, which I also craved with Hayden and Gracie too!  It was kind of funny because with both of my pregnancies with Hayden and Gracie I got in trouble a lot for gaining to much weight..hee hee!  On another note we should  get to see Baby Stancil on ultrasound the middle of January and find out whether baby is a girl or boy!?!

Email from SANTA!!!!

Santa is really up to date this year, not only does he make an appearance at every mall, he also sends emails to those little boys and girls that are really GOOD!  Hayden and Gracie got a very special email yesterday from Santa.  Gracie really likes Santa on TV, the computer and really far away...where she can just wave at him but you get her up close and she screams at the top of her lungs.  You should have seen them watching, especially Hayden...she was totally amazed.  Both of them kept waving and Hayden would even nod her head yes when Santa was talking directly to her.  Hayden has already told Santa twice now that she wants a doll house for Christmas so when it was in her message her face just lit up.  Watching their amazement with Santa was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.  Gracie kept waving and then at the end when he named what she wanted this year she got extremely excited!  Hayden only had one question and that was "Mommy...How does Santa know all of this"  my comment was because Santa can see everything you do and knows everything about you, which means you better be really good!  Hayden watched her message several times and we had to watch them one more time when Daddy got home so he could see Santa too! 

This year is going to be so much fun with the girls.  I am so excited and ready for Santa to bring all their goodies!!!!



http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/tq1-g28_QcjUgoFBiocIfg  Hayden's Message from Santa

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/Km1rSYj1W8NqF2Yxi3w0yg  Gracie's Message from Santa

No Cavities!

Hayden had a dentist appointment today at 11:30, which meant that I had to check her out of school early for the first time.  It actually felt weird checking her out, I felt like I was in school again.  Mrs. Tina called Mrs. Sherre over the intercom to tell her that I was coming to get her to go to the dentist.  When I got to her classroom all of her classmates told her bye and some of them even tried to follow us out of the room!  I guess they all love her as much as I do, especially Jay, which is her secret boyfriend...since her Daddy told her that she couldn't have a boyfriend, hee hee she is already hiding things from him.  When we got outside she said Mommy some lady told my whole class that I had to go to the dentist.  I couldn't help but laugh, she was talking about Mrs. Tina on the intercom. 

Our Dentist is great and extremely fast.  We got there at 11:15 and we were done and leaving at 11:40, now that is a fast appointment.  She did excellent as always, even with the X rays, which she does not like, can't say I blame her.  She had cherry flavored gloves this time, orange toothpaste and banana split vitamins.  Maybe if my dentist would use those things I would enjoy it more!   Dr. Proctor said that her teeth are beautiful and to keep brushing and taking care of them.  He actually did not say anything about her thumb sucking.  I know she has cut back a lot being in school but when she gets home it seems like she keeps that thumb in her mouth, however he is the dentist so I guess when I have something to worry about I will! Right?

I took Gracie with me today too simply because I didn't feel like taking her to Nana's house, I figured it would be good practice for her being that next September she has to start going to the dentist too!  Even though no one touched her, she cried and kept saying " Mommy I want to go home".   Dr. Proctor got a big kick out of it, she cried even if he looked at her!  I have a feeling next September will be lots of  fun, maybe I will let Daddy take her!  

Christmas Photos

I didn't post about our professional Christmas pictures because the whole experience turned out to be a nightmare.  Gracie wouldn't do anything but cry and refuse to stand or sit beside Hayden to take a picture.  Hayden as always was very photogenic.  Mimi went with us and got to witness Mommy have a breakdown over this!  For some reason I can be very mean when I am pregnant!  I knew Gracie wasn't going to be completely cooperative but I had no idea that it would be that bad.   Oh well, we saved lots of money anyway...we only bought one pose of Hayden and come out of there spending less than $20. 

We ended up getting several really cute pictures of them in their Snowman dresses on Thanksgiving that I could use for our Christmas card, but since we didn't have anything to do this afternoon...I decided to dress them all up in their fancy Christmas attire and try it myself at home in front of our gorgeous tree.  It ended up going a lot better than our photo shoot last year, for those of you that remember that was when Hayden was rolling around in the grass in her beautiful Christmas dress!   Gracie was very photogenic today as well and I think I got some cute stuff considering I was all by myself. 

Cheese:

I love this one!!!!

I love this one too!!!

Here I am!

I sure am tired!  Stop already Mommy!

Yes they are hiding from me, but I personally think this might be the cutest Christmas card!

Thanksgiving 2010

We had an extremely busy Thanksgiving. Our first stop was at Grandmama's for a huge lunch. Hayden and Gracie were dressed to impress and looking absolutely gorgeous for all of our family. They had lots of fun at Grandmama's house. Hayden had the most fun playing with her cousins Mitchell and Katelyn. Gracie really enjoyed playing with Katelyn and exploring around the house. All of the food was delicious but after we ate, we had to go to Mema and Pop's house for Thanksgiving too! Needless to say we were STUFFED but I had to eat a little bit of my Mema's dressing, it is my favorite! The girls played in the yard with Nana and Steve and came in briefly to eat a piece of strawberry cake! Then it was back to Mimi and Pop's house for Thanksgiving with Aunt Jane and Aunt Julie. Yes that is correct we had 3 meals on Thanksgiving...It was all yummy especially to a pregnant woman and the dessert of course was the best! The girls had lots of fun everywhere we went but were very tired by the end of the day!

Mema, Pop, Me and the girls:

Cutie Pies on Thanksgiving morning:

Daddy was being so silly:

Having fun at Nana and Steve's house on Wednesday afternoon!

Friday we went shopping with Mimi. It was very busy and we didn't buy much but Hayden got to do the jumping thing at the mall. For those of you that don't know it is a trampoline with a harness with lines or whatever you call them to hold on to and when you jump you go really high, sorry that is really not a great explanation but she loves it. It is always the highlight of her day and she isn't scared at all. It really does look fun but they wouldn't let me play since I am pregnant! Pop also came to watch Hayden on the jumping thing and then we went to Steak and Shake for banana milkshakes! The girls and Pop love them, personally I am not a fan I prefer chocolate! It was a fun day!

Saturday we once again took Hayden to the jumping thing so that Aunt Kim could see her do it! She was so excited she didn't eat any of her lunch. However this time my little Gracie decided she wanted to do it too! I figured she would get scared and start crying, but she LOVED it, she had a huge smile on her face the whole time and she didn't care how high she went either. Then we come home to enjoy some Georgia football and it was a great game!

I think this concludes our busy holiday weekend. Too bad we all have to get back on schedule tomorrow, but we only have three weeks and it will be Christmas break!!! I am so ready for Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving ABC's

Today was Hayden's first real play at school with an actual part all by herself. I wasn't sure if she would actually go through with it when she walked up to the microphone and saw all the people staring at her, but she did absolutely GREAT! All the kids had a letter and some of them even had two, well Hayden had two she had the letters E and Y. E is for Explorer and Y is for Yelled. We have really worked on these lines for the last month and I must say it amazes me how fast a 4 year old can memorize something. She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear and she remembered all of her lines. In between all of their parts, they sang lots of Thanksgiving songs and I could even hear Hayden's voice over some of the other kids, you could tell that she was proud of her voice and that she knew all the words to the songs. Of course she sounded wonderful! I didn't get any good pictures because I had to video it for Mark because he couldn't be there today. I figured the video is way better than pictures anyway.

I was a very proud Mommy this morning as I watched Hayden with all of that self confidence just beaming out of her. She looked beautiful, sounded beautiful and well she was just simply beautiful all the way around.

Hayden,

Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we are so proud of you! You are an amazing little girl!!!

First Trophy

Monday night was Hayden's last soccer game for the season...And last night was her Soccer party. The coaches had it at a pizza place, can't go wrong with pizza and kids! Hayden has really enjoyed Soccer and I personally think it has built her confidence a lot. She even scored 5 goals at one game and yes I am bragging...I have that right she is my amazing girl! She also started taking the ball away from the other team and that is a huge accomplishment for her...she was always shy and didn't want to be the center of attention, but I know one thing she enjoyed being the center of attention at Soccer, she always made sure that I was looking when she took the ball away or scored. When we would get in the car after games she would talk about it all the way home. I am so proud of her, words can't really describe how wonderful it feels watching your baby, (I know she really isn't a baby anymore...but she will always be my little punkin), make all these accomplishments.

She enjoyed her party last night, there was pizza, cupcakes and trophies! Our coaches were wonderful and I believe that they played a huge part in Hayden enjoying it as much as she did. They were incredible with the girls and made it fun...and they always made sure that everyone on the team got a goal, which is very important at their age! When they handed out the trophies they made sure to say something wonderful about each player, I thought it was really nice, they really cared about their team! When they got to Hayden...It went like this...Hayden is the one that changed the most this season, when she figured out what Soccer was about she really figured it out and went with it, she turned into a fast runner and great player for the team. Yes I teared up, I couldn't help she really did come out of her shell and make a great Soccer player! She officially has her first trophy now and she is very proud of it.

Halloween

Hayden and Gracie had lots of fun Halloween night. They got lots of candy, in fact they got so much candy that I have put some of it up for later. Gracie has a very big sweet tooth, and that is all she wants to eat is CANDY! Hayden will eat it if it is sitting around, so I decided just to put a little out at a time. Hayden was a cowgirl and I must say she was the most beautiful cowgirl I have ever seen. Gracie was Minnie Mouse and yes she was the prettiest Minnie ever too! What can I say, I have two beautiful girls!!! They are such good little girls, even after all of that candy, they went straight to bed when we got home without any complaining. We had lots of fun last night and thanks to everyone for the candy and gifts!

Hayden and Gracie...Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we enjoyed our adventure last night trick or treating. You are both amazing little girls!

My Little Cowgirl and Minnie Mouse:

I love this picture:

This is the really cute dress that Mimi bought for Gracie:

Magic Show

Last night we went to see a magic show at the country club with Aunt Kim, Uncle Artie and Mimi. Hayden really enjoyed it! She sat in the floor with all the other kids and was fascinated the whole time. Gracie enjoyed the first 30 minutes of it, that is about as long of a time span we get with her. She kept saying "I want to see" and once she got tired she just ate all the candy on the table and sat in my lap. Hayden talked about the show all the way home, well that is until she fell asleep. The food was very good especially to a pregnant woman that has been wanting some good home cooking! Now if I could just get someone to make me some homemade chicken and dumplings, I would be set! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures and the ones I took before we left the house are not clear, so hopefully Aunt Kim got a few with her camera last night! Thanks Uncle Artie and Aunt Kim, we had a great time!!!

Carving The Punkin

Last night as promised Mark carved the big punkin with the girls. They were very excited, and couldn't wait to help. Gracie just talked the whole time and Hayden wanted to help with everything. Mark told Hayden to draw a scary face on the punkin and he would carve it out....and well this is what she come up with....




Isn't that the cutest punkin you have ever seen? Did you notice that all of the faces were different? At first Mark and I were joking about how long it was going to take him to carve this punkin! Finally after she said her hand was tired, we convinced her to let Daddy draw on the other side and carve it, that way all of her faces would be there too! This was our finished product....

Painting Punkins

Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart to buy some punkins, yes Wal-Mart...I have decided that the Pumpkin Patch is a complete waste of money! The punkins at Wal-Mart were actually bigger than the ones at Washington Farms and I haven't heard any really good things about Corn Dawgs this year either, in fact the only thing I have heard is that it is not worth $12 a person!!! Anyways back to my point, the girls wanted to carve a punkin and last year I let Hayden paint one too...Gracie was too little last year, so we decided to let them paint one a piece this year. It was a big hit with Gracie, she had so much fun and thank goodness for washable paint because they had it everywhere and I do mean everywhere...even places I'm not to sure about! They painted their punkins for about 45 minutes in all different colors. They really did enjoy it, Hayden was trying to make her punkin perfect and Gracie was just throwing paint everywhere on hers. The deal was that Daddy was going hunting with Sue and Rowdy and while he was gone they could paint their punkins and when he got back home, we would carve the big one. Well, Daddy had a few issues hunting and ended up getting home a little later than expected, so we are going to carve the big punkin tonight instead. I think it worked out good, now they have something exciting to do tonight too!

Big Sisters!!!!

Gracie painting her punkin...

Hayden making her punkin perfect and beautiful...

Two finished punkins...

1st Field Trip

Today was Hayden's first field trip with school. I am so lucky that I got to go too and so did Gracie Leigh. The field trip was to Washington Farms Pumpkin Patch. Hayden got to ride the bus, which I think was her favorite part. Gracie and I met them at the pumpkin patch. I was so excited that I got there before the bus did. I couldn't wait to see her reaction when she got off the bus. When the bus pulled into the parking lot all you could hear was a whole bunch of screaming, talk about some excited 4 and 5 year olds. Hayden looked like such a big girl getting off that bus and of course I was taking pictures and thinking to myself that just yesterday she was almost 2 and going to the pumpkin patch for the first time, my how time does fly.

The first thing we did was the hay ride, which Hayden and Kierstin loved, Gracie wasn't too sure about it at first but ended up liking it. After the hay ride we got to pet some cows and goats, which the cows were absolutely by far Gracie's favorite part. Then they hit the slides and that is pretty much where they stayed from then on. After lots of playing it was time for their story time about how pumpkins grow and they paid really close attention but could hardly wait it to be over so they could play on the slides again. Then we had a picnic lunch and another hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick out their own little pumpkin. Hayden picked out the most beautiful pumpkin. The girls all had lots of fun and so did I! It was a great first field trip!

Here she comes:

Lots of screaming kids:

And there she is, my big girl:

Hayden and Kierstin:

Hay Ride:

How cute:

Petting the goats:

Gracie Sliding:

Picking out the best pumpkin:

Gorgeous:

Chatter Box

Gracie is somewhat of a chatter box these days. She is almost talking in complete sentences all the time now. It is funny because she really likes to talk in the car, and after everything she says she will say Right Mommy? and she will continue to ask me until I answer her. I can't help but laugh it is so cute. This morning she was talking and making all kinds of loud noises. Hayden and I were quiet and just listening to her and finally after about 5 minutes, Hayden said "Gracie PLEASE be quiet". She has also started watching TV in the mornings, no not anything bad...it is all educational and I really do believe that because Hayden has learned a lot from the shows on PBS. She loves Calliou, which is still one of Hayden's favorite shows and she likes the Cat in the Hat. When we get back home in the mornings from taking Hayden to school, I turn on Gracie's shows and she plays and watches a little TV in the living room, which gives me time to do my cleaning and washing clothes, which I am not go to lie hasn't been on my list of priorities lately. I constantly feel like I am going to be sick and seems to be worse after I actually eat. I love watching her play by herself and pretend, some of the things she does just tickles me!

Lines for the Play

Today Hayden got her lines for the Thanksgiving Play. It says on the form that the children were asked if they wanted a part or not and if they indicated "yes" then they got one! I can't imagine my shy little girl standing in front of everyone and saying two lines, yes that is right she got two different lines instead of just one like the other children. Mommy officially has HOMEWORK now, we are going to really have to go over and over these lines. She has one line that is a little longer, so we will be practicing it a good bit, the other one isn't too bad. We started practicing tonight and I couldn't help but laugh because she can't even pronounce some of the words clearly yet! I know she will get them down though, she is good at everything! I am so proud of her and I can't wait to see the Play! I just hope that we practice enough that she doesn't get scared and forget her lines when the time comes...that is what I would do anyway. I know she will do great and it helps that all of her friends have lines too. I can't wait to see it, I will be the Mommy in the audience trying to get all over the place to record it, after all this is her first Play!!!

Disney on Ice

Yesterday Mimi, Hayden, Gracie, Aunt Vickie, Aunt Linda, Grandmama, Katelyn and myself all went to see Disney on Ice after we had a yummy lunch at the Varsity. It was all about Toy Story 3, and it was exactly like the movie! Hayden really enjoyed it and so did Gracie. Gracie was amazed, this is the first year that she really knew what was going on. I loved watching both of their faces as the scenes would change. Katelyn was so sweet, she was as amazed as Gracie. She sat in her Mimi's lap and watched the whole show. Oh and the girls got snow cones in Jesse cups, cotton candy with an alien hat, and Hayden got a Jesse cowgirl hat...it is so cute, it even has a ponytail on it! It was lots of fun and even more fun for me to see how much the girls enjoyed it. We are also glad that Grandmama got to go with all of the little great grand babies! Thanks Mimi for another wonderful year of Disney on Ice...We had so much fun and We Love You!!!

Today Mark and I took the girls to the Disney Store because Hayden decided after Disney on Ice yesterday that she wants to be Jesse for Halloween. I think it is adorable but apparently everyone else in the world does too...all the costumes were gone BUT we did get a pair of RED Cowgirl Boots just like Jesse's, so I think I can make up a even cuter costume...I am thinking her new Levi blue jeans that just happen to be boot cut and a white button down shirt, maybe a belt and those really cute RED BOOTS!!! I personally think she would be adorable! I'm still not to sure about Gracie because she can wear Hayden's old boots this year and she absolutely loves them, so she might end up being some type of little cowgirl too...I wish I had her a little cowgirl hat, wouldn't that be so sweet?

Snow cones!!!!

Gracie loved hers!!!

Katelyn was amazed...

TOYS!!!

Hayden's favorite part...JESSE!

Where to Begin?

I haven't updated the blog as much lately, I apologize to those of you that check it everyday to see what my little angels have been up to. We have had a lot going on for the past couple of weeks so I am going to try to fit it all in one blog entry.

First - The girls are now sleeping together in Hayden's bed and have been for two weeks today. There haven't been any problems and Hayden absolutely loves that she is such a big girl. Gracie is sleeping much better and not getting up two or three times a night since she is out of the baby bed, which means Mommy sleeps all night too. We now have a definite schedule...we go to bed at exactly 8pm and read two night night stories(one for each little angel)...then we turn off the lights and I lay with Gracie until she falls asleep...then Hayden finishes watching whatever movie is on and goes to sleep too, without Mommy or Daddy. Hayden is usually asleep within 15 minutes after I get up. They actually get excited about night night time now! This just goes to prove my little girls are sweet and perfect!

Second - Hayden got her ears pierced last Sunday. She had been talking about it for awhile and finally Mark and I decided that if she really wanted to that we would let her. She picked out diamond studs and they are beautiful. She didn't even flinch when they did it, she is such a big girl and she is very proud of her new earrings.

Third - Hayden is still loving school. She had special snack day this week and she wanted to take cheese nips and juice boxes. I was a little surprised at her choice but it was her special snack day. She said she told her class that she really loves cheese crackers. She said that her classmates told her that her snacks were yummy!

She also had her first Homecoming Pep Rally yesterday. They decorated a banner to carry around the football field. She was so cute and looked like such a big girl!!! She really enjoyed the pep rally, it was very loud and she kept looking around to see what was going on!

Last - I updated a week ago that I was pregnant with Baby Stancil #3 and that I would update after my doctors appointment. I went back for an ultrasound yesterday and Baby Stancil has a strong heartbeat of 142bpm. Mark wasn't able to go yesterday, they have been very busy at work and I was so nervous about going by myself. As soon as the ultrasound tech started she said "there is your little baby" and I immediately got excited and then she turned the switch where we could hear and I heard the most amazing, beautiful sound in the world...my little baby's heartbeat. The first thing she said was "wow that is a strong heartbeat" that made me feel great. There is no way to describe to anyone how much you worry when you are pregnant, you just can't help it! I have been sick and very tired, but my Dr. gave me some medicine to take. I was also sick with Hayden and Gracie so I kind of knew what to expect. Needless to say Mark and I are very excited about our baby and so are the girls!

Well I think this pretty much wraps up all the things I didn't blog about. Tomorrow we are going to see Disney on Ice with Mimi, Aunt Vickie and Katelyn. It's going to be lots of fun and I will try to take some pictures, last year I didn't any. Gracie should be very amazed by it this year, hopefully she will not be scared, you never know with her!!!!