A child's innocence...

This post will be short, but I don't want to forget this...

Tonight, Braelyn chose for me to read part of her Toddler's Bible (it's time to upgrade to a big girl Bible for her) before bed instead of one of her normal books.

She said it was because she wanted to know what Heaven is like and what her Grandma W is getting to experience.

Sweet girl.

Heartbreaking

We've been dealing with the loss of Grandma W (Don's mom) since August 9th.

While we know she's in a much better place, probably enjoying the view with Don's dad; we are missing her.

Donny is much too young to grasp what's happened.

Braelyn...well, she's just old enough to understand, but at the same time she has a lot of questions (and hopes!).

For example, a few days after Grandma W passed away, Braelyn asked when she'd be back.

Grandma W has been a major topic of discussion for Braelyn and me every day after school. Today, Braelyn asked what all Grandma has gotten since she's gone to Heaven. She also mentioned how cool it would be if people who die could come back to visit for every major holiday...(YES, THAT WOULD BE COOL!). Her last hope for today was that we had a "really, really, really, really tall ladder that reached all the way to Heaven." She wanted to go visit for just an hour today. Lord, wouldn't that make things easier!

Grandma W, we sure do miss you.

Things that make your heart melt...

Best part of my day -->




Me: "Donny, you're my favorite boy."

Donny: "And you're my favorite girl."



Awww...totally makes all those hard parenting moments worth it!

First Day of School

 August 27th was our first day of school - Braelyn started 1st grade! I cannot believe it. This year was tougher on me than Kindergarten. There's something about her being a first grader that made me realize, she's no longer a baby. :(

 Braelyn made us both pose with our new lunchboxes. Aren't they cute? (Thirty-One bags in case you're interested!)

 I love Donny's expression. It says,"I'm way too cool for this picture taking stuff."

Here's Braelyn with her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Kristi Williams. We're looking forward to a great year!

Pierced Ears

Braelyn got her ears pierced!!

I know a lot of moms usually take their baby girls to get their ears pierced when they're little, but I decided to wait until Braelyn asked for it. My own ears were pierced when I was little, and I rarely wear earrings. I wanted to make sure this was her choice.

 She was all smiles when they were putting the dots on her ears.

 Here she is waiting so patiently:

 Sweet & Sassy did a great jot piercing her ears. I absolutely loved the way they did it, too. First off, they did both ears at the same time. Second, they told her they'd count to 5 and then pierce. Well, it surprised us both when they pierced at 3 instead of 5. It's a good thing I already had the phone out and ready for pictures, or else I would have missed it! Believe it or not, there were no tears. She did a great job!

 Look how cute they are:



Braelyn's B-day Celebration

This year, I decided to skip hosting a birthday party and allowed Braelyn to choose 2 friends to go have a girls' day with. BEST IDEA EVER!

Braelyn chose a couple friends she doesn't get to see nearly often enough.

Kaitlyn is on the left, and Makayla is on the right. Makayla and Braelyn have been friends since birth - Makayla's mom and I grew up going to school together. Braelyn and Kaitlyn met in daycare when they were 2. It's so much fun watching these girls grow up together. Aren't they gorgeous?!

We started off the day by going to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. The girls had a LITTLE pizza and spent the rest of their time playing games. Afterwards, we went to Sweet & Sassy for a manicure. Braelyn even surprised us all and asked to get something done - more on that in another post. We ended our girls' day by getting some yogurt at Yogurt Cup. Yum!

We had a great day! I'm hoping Braelyn will go for this kind of birthday celebration for the rest of her birthdays. Fun AND easy!

Braelyn is 6!!!

Braelyn celebrated her 6th birthday on August 1st.

For some reason, this birthday has been the hardest of them all for me. There's something about my baby being older than 5. This was even harder than her first day of school.

Maybe it's because it makes me feel old???

We woke the kids up early again for some birthday donuts. I'm not sure 7 candles will fit on that donut next year. :(

 Braelyn got a necklace from her Grandma W. It's hard to see in the picture, but it's 3 heart charms on the chain.

 She also got some more craft stuff from her Grandma W, Grandma J, and Aunt Amy. Now, if I could just convince her that she still needs some adult help with these things!

Grandma W also sent a preserve making kit for Braelyn's birthday.

Don and I got Braelyn a new JB poster. This is her 3rd poster that's now hung in her room. I'll be honest, this one kinda freaks me out when I got in her room.  (No, this isn't all we got her. It was just one of the things we allowed her to open that morning. She also got a clock radio/iPod docking station for her bedroom.)

We can't forget Donny. Look how grown up he's looking, too!