Jenna's 1st ballet recital

Jenna and her Mimi

Posing with the girls in her class

Letting me take her picture before the recital started

Jenna had her first ballet recital last month - oh, was it sweet! She did a wonderful job, and wasn't nervous at all. She tends to be shy, so we weren't sure how she'd do, but she seemed to enjoy the audience. She's like her dad, I guess!:-) Dave was traveling, so he missed the recital, but my mom and sister joined me while my dad watched the boys at their baseball games. It was so fun to watch her, and of course, I thought she was the most beautiful girl there! How neat to see her dance when just a few short years ago she was going to Occupational Therapy 3x a week because of a developmental delay. What a sweet blessing it is when I see how well her body works now!

More pictures

Some pictures because I promised!

I've been so bad about keeping up with our blog. I think about it occasionally, and have every intention of at least putting some new pictures on here, but I just don't seem to get around to it. I have been asked by some friends and family about it lately, and I promised a special aunt (that's you, Bunny!!) that I would at least get some photos on here, so here they are. I will even promise to post more in the next few weeks!

A momentous day

Today was a day of many firsts. Brinley scratched at the back door to go out because she needed to go potty. I registered Jenna for preschool for next year. Liam lost his first tooth. I spent 7 hours in the Emergency Room with Erica, only to find out that she broke her elbow. Her first broken bone - and the first of our children to break a bone. I'll have to thank Grady tomorrow for not adding to the excitement! Praying for a quieter tomorrow...

Brinley

The kids finally wore us down ... we have a puppy! Here are some pictures of the new addition to our family - Brinley. The kids were really missing Kadie and BJ, and are thrilled to have Brinley around! Dave and I think she's pretty great, too.:-) She is a chocolate lab with a white spot on her chest, just like BJ - and her birthday is the day before Kadie's ... we think she was made just for us. So far she is a great dog - she does well in her crate, does well going to the bathroom outside, and loves playing with the kids. We think she sure is cute!!

A thing of the past?

Do you remember this picture of Grady from last spring? Unfortunately, this is what he has looked like every spring since he was a toddler. After many years of trying different medications that didn't work, we FINALLY got a referral to see an allergist. The news isn't good - it seems he's allergic to Virginia! Every tree, grass, and weed that live here caused a reaction in him. He didn't really do any better in N.C., FL, or CA, so it's not really fair to blame VA! There is some hope for him ... he'll be starting allergy shots next month, and we're hoping that it may even help this spring. We are praying that this is the last picture we ever take of him looking like this!

Grady

I'm way behind in my blogging, as I'm just now posting about G-man's birthday! On January 3rd, Grady turned 9. He started celebrating on the 2nd, and the festivities weren't over until the 10th! His first "party" was a trip to Joe's Crab Shack with Mimi, Papa, and Chi-Chi. He had decided back in September that he wanted to go there and eat crabs for his birthday; he really enjoyed it! The next day we went to Pop and Nana's to celebrate Christmas with Dave's family - and we celebrated Grady's birthday, too. While we were there, he learned how to use his birthday gift from us - a Ripstick. It was pretty hard at first, but after some practice with Dave, he figured it out. He ended his birthday season with a "guys night" - he invited 2 friends to go to the movies with him, Liam, and Dave. They came home and had pizza, cake, and a sleepover. He was kind enough to let us girls join him for the cake! I still can't believe he's 9 ... where have the years gone??