Counting down the days

Since we returned from our Christmas trip to Missouri, Lainey has been crossing off the days on her calendar in anticipation of February 6th and the daddy/daughter dance at our church. This is SUCH a big deal for her.  She loves every minute of it.  

We have a new music minister at our church and his wife and I have become fast friends.  We love them and their family so much.  They have a daughter Lainey's age so we took them shopping together to pick out dresses.  

Love these two girls.  They are just so much fun.  

They tried on all different styles of dresses for fun and decided these should be called the chicken dresses 😊 We laughed so hard while they danced around like chickens.  

We found the perfect dress for this little beauty.  She would not let her daddy see it or know anything about it before the night of the dance. (I'm telling ya, this is a big deal!) 

 Goodness, she's so grown up.  I really enjoy every minute of this though. It's so fun to hear her thoughts on things and watch her grow and mature.  

Lainey has discovered Pinterest on my phone and mostly looks at American Girl doll things.  She decided to search fancy hair styles and loved one similar to this.  I was a little nervous but thanks to my double pack of Bobby pins, we pulled it off!  Her hair is insanely thick so it literally took a million Bobby pins 😊

I had my own date night with this cutie.  We saw Kung Foo Panda 3.  Coop's been showing me his best ninja warrior moves every since.  What a fun night!

Life lately

2016 is off to a great start!  We loved Upward basketball this year and just finished our season.  This was Coop's first year and it was comical.  He had a few moments of brilliance while playing but he mostly just hopped around the court having fun with his friends 😊 He did score the prettiest layup in last game.  Made his daddy proud.

Lainey had a great season this year.  She really enjoys the sport and wants to continue playing as she gets older.  Things got more complicated this year as they learned new plays, different types of defense and basically just went a level up from what they did last season and Lainey did awesome!  Jamie coached both of their teams.  He has such a good balance in his relationship with Lainey.  He can yell something to her as her coach and she runs to do it.  It's only helped their daddy/daughter bond.  I love watching it.

Cooper was hanging out with Jamie at his office before church on a Wednesday night while I was at ballet with Lainey.  Our children's pastor walked by and saw this and snapped a picture for me when neither of them knew it.  Such a sweet moment.  Gosh, he's a good daddy.

One of Lainey's friends hosted a valentine tea party with their favorite doll. Lainey and Samantha coordinated their outfits and had a great time.  

My handsome Target date during Mommy/Coop time on Tuesdays

Lainey started a crochet/knitting class that meets once a month.  She's focused on learning to crochet as the knitting is a little more complicated.  She's such a crafty girl.  I'm trying to find ways to keep up with her creativity.  I got a sewing machine for Christmas a few years ago and she's begging me to get it out and teach her how to use it.  I guess I better learn how to use it myself!!!

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas we've had!  We began Christmas morning at home in Georgia and we fell asleep on Christmas night in Missouri.  It's been a busy Christmas break but so much fun to connect and catch up with family and friends.  Santa left Lainey some new canvases and paints.  I can't wait to see what she creates.

Cooper loves his zoomer Dino

And I pretty much can't get enough of my body pillow.  

And my new rain boots that I die over every time I see them 😊 Thanks Jamie!

We had our Happy Birthday Jesus party and just enjoyed our time as a family of four.  Around 2:00 we loaded up and began our drive to Missouri.  It was a long day but we made it to West Plains late that night and spent the night in a hotel.  We slept in a little and then headed to Stockton, Missouri for some time with my extended family.

Lainey and Cooper with their Great Grandparents.

Then we hopped back in the van and drove the final 3 hours to my parents house.  Ugh. So. Much. Driving.  But we made it and settled in for a few days.  Such a relaxing and wonderful time.

My dad reading the Christmas story from Luke 2

Uncle Seth got Cooper these awesome glasses that double as a straw 😊

Of course he had to try it out immediately.

My niece, Mayzee, is about the sweetest thing on the planet.  I can't get enough of her.

When we began talking about this trip we all said that we really wanted to see some snow.  Well, God answered our prayer and we had a blast playing in it.

The next morning we woke up to an inch or two but it was plenty to get out the four wheeler and pull the sled.  So much fun!

Next, we headed to the O'Dells for our Christmas celebration with Jamie's family.

We made angels

We opened gifts

We played with cousins and had so much fun with Papa and Nana.

Each of the grand kids got a framed picture with their name and a description of their personalities.  Such a thoughtful gift.

Lainey loves her Barbie camper

Coop loves his giant ninja turtle play set

Nana with her gift that Cooper made for her.

We all loved the new Chipmunk movie

Nana and Cooper tried out his new coloring book.

We had a fun afternoon with Aunt Denice who is a talented artist.  She came over and did a step by step painting with the kids.  They loved every minute.

What a trip!  It's been wonderful celebrating but I'm ready for a fresh, new beginning.  Bring on 2016!