Our Birthday Girl

I just love her sweet face....and yes, I know, I MUST be crazy for letting her have a cupcake for breakfast. But, after all, it was her birthday, and she didn't get to have one before she went to bed last night! Please don't call the nutrition police on me!
 

It's Official.....

I am now the mommy to a four year old big girl!! Today has been such a whirlwind of emotion for me. We went to school today, armed with special birthday cupcakes for everyone in our class (and Ms. Jamie & Ms. Willie, too). I had them in a rubbermaid container (for safe transport), and she was so sweet-- she ever so carefully carried the box to the car and very carefully carried them inside to her classroom! What a big girl she is!

When she woke up this morning, I asked her what today was. She had to think for a second, then she looked at me and exclaimed "It's my birfday" (aka birthday). So sweet!! She even told me that she was growing up and that I'm sad about it--which I have to admit I am. I asked her if she could stop growing up, to which she replied, "I don't know how."

We ran some errands (as usual), and I told her that if she could stay close and mind really well that she didn't have to ride in a buggy, that she could walk like the four year old big girl she is. And she did, and the whole time, I couldn't help but look over at her. She looked different to me. I know that's strange, but she did. She just looked so big to me. She even told me that she'd never leave me! I know that it's not true, but I sure did like the sound of it! :)

I cannot believe that four years have passed by already. I hope the next few will come a little slower. I just don't think my heart can handle her getting too big too soon!

I took a few pictures of her this morning while she was eating her breakfast, and I'll post it later! Warren's got supper ready, so I'm off to eat!

We are partying hard tomorrow to celebrate, and we will be picture taking happy so there will be lots to share!!!

Calling All Visitors....

Well, here I go again, stealing ideas from Jenny, but she just comes up with the GREATEST ideas. I like to think that if my brain were not 31 years old and if it hadn't stayed home with three very demanding little ones for the last 2 years or so that I might come up with some good ideas, too! :)

Anyway, Jenny put out a roll call on her blog to see who all was visiting her site and checking in on her family. This was just a wonderful thing to do, and I wanted to do the same. I think we all have a little 'blog stalker' in all of us, and I have to admit that I am pretty much addicted to them. I absolutely love visiting blogs of folks who are either expecting a baby, have welcomed a new baby, or in general are parents of little children. I love seeing and reading about the milestones and the hilarious stories (Conor's especially) of all the parents out there. I must admit that I visit a lot of blogs and do not comment--don't know why. Don't want people to think I'm crazy! :) And I have usually either found their blogs throught links on others or through the comments they leave. But, I promise that if you do visit our site and we end up seeing each others', that I will comment and say hello. Please do the same for us! It's a great escape for me and I enjoy 'meeting' new people!

Thanks so much and I am so excited about seeing who all's 'out there.'

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

Budding Artists?

I couldn't resist taking this picture of the twins 'coloring' in one of Reese's coloring books. They had just gotten out of the bathtub, and they loooked so sweet lying on the floor and coloring. I'm holding out hope that Maggie's going to be left-handed like her mommy. I am the only one in my immediate family that's left handed, and I would love for at least one of my children to be as well. When Maggie was coloring the other day, she would pick the marker up in her right hand, but it didn't stay there long before she moved it into her left! And...when I give them a fork with their lunch and supper, she usually holds it in her left hand, too! I don't think Anna is going to be a south-paw, though. She's pretty determined to be like her daddy and big sister! :)

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!!!

THEY DID IT!!!! THEY DID IT!!!!

The Indianapolis Colts are headed to the Super Bowl. Needless to say, there was a LOT of nail biting going on in this Manning household last night. Warren made it home from work just as the third quarter was starting. We were both not happy with our Colts at the time. They were down 21-6 at the beginning of the second half. We weren't too optimistic about their winning, especially when the Pats returned a kick-off 80 yards. It was such a back and forth game there for a while; it's a miracle that I didn't wake up Reese with all of my screaming! :) When those final seconds were ticking off the clock while the Patriots had the ball, I was saying a little prayer that things would go Indy and Peyton's way. (**I know that that is a very petty thing to pray over, but I couldn't help for asking for a little Divine intervention**) When the Colts intercepted Brady with just a few seconds left--what a HUGE amount of excitment (and relief) came over us!

I have to say that I get more and more impressed by Tony Dungy every time I hear him speak. I saw one press conference a couple of seasons ago, and he told the reporters that before he makes a decision on who will start each game, that he prays to the Lord for guidance. WOW!! And then, last night, he said that the Lord was testing them throughout the game and He let the game go their way! How refreshing it is for people in the public eye to express their faith and not be ashamed. And...Peyton said the same thing about how he was praying a little on the sidelines and that he knows that you're probably not supposed to pray for things like that! Can you tell I'm impressed by both of these guys?! :)

I cannot tell you how excited we are, and we don't even know these people. I mean, yes, we share a last name and my girls share a little bit of blood, but as far as ever meeting any of the "Mannings," that hasn't happened for me. Although, I did literally bump into Archie Manning on our way out of an Ole Miss game when Eli was playing! I have to admit, I was kinda star struck! (and yes, I know how absolutely geeky this all sounds, but being a "Manning" is as famous as I'm gonna get!) :)

Anway, we are so excited and can't wait for February 4th! I just hope that their Super Bowl play is a little cleaner than last night's game; I can't go through all that tension again! :)

Happy Monday!!!

They're At It Again

The twins are, that is. Here are some of their 'new feats':

ANNA BANANA:
She has discovered what it's like getting into the bath tub fully clothed, well, at least half clothed. A few nights ago, I was getting ready to bathe them. They come a-runnin' when they hear the bath water running! Anyway, as they were standing at the tub watching it fill, I realized that I needed their lotion. I walk across the hallway to their room--not a long way away--I get back into the bathroom only to discover that Anna has crawled in the tub while wearing her diaper and t-shirt! Ugh!!! **don't panic--there was not even an inch of water in the tub at this point** But, she was wet and managed to soak her shirt. Oh joy!!! Just got to be more organized, but if my brain worked all the time instead of just some of the time, our uh-ohs (Anna's new favorite word) would probably be fewer!

MAGGIE BETH:
This girl is totally gonna be the death of me and Warren--that is if Reese hasn't done us in first. As those of you who frequent our blog know, Maggie is a CLIMBER. She loves to climb on everything. Several months ago, she mastered the art of climbing into a dining chair and then onto the table. Therefore, our dining chairs no longer sit on the floor like normal people's; they're on top of the table as if we are a diner preparing to lock up for the night! Having the chairs on the table does solve this problem. I just was so scared of the thought of her falling that the best solution (aside from throwing the chairs out the window) was putting them on top of the table. Well, I thought the climbing had subsided, aside from the climbing on the couch. Not so fast--Maggie climbed onto our tall bar stools the other day. I mean, these things are pretty high--really high if you're only a couple feet high yourself. Talk about panic!!! I've popped her little leg 'til I just can't bring myself to do it anymore, and yup, you guessed it, she STILL is showing her fearlessness. I don't know what we're gonna do with this one! And.....as I was getting them dressed yesterday to go visit my mom and grandmom, she managed to climb in Anna's crib! I had left the rail down from getting them out earlier that morning, and as I was dressing Anna, she used her little toes as grippers and held onto the rail, hiked her leg over, and tumbled down onto the mattress!!! Lord, give me strength!!

GO COLTS!!!

It's probably no big surprise, but we will most assuredly be watching Peyton and the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game! We are so glad (and relieved) that the Colts have made it this far. I just hope that they'll be able to score some touchdowns in this game. I mean, winning is great and I'm so glad they have, but it makes me nervous when all the scoring is field goals. But with Adam Vinatieri doing the kicking, we just might be alright! :)

We are gonna be cheering hard for a win for ol' Peyton today. They're got home field advantage, and they're 9-0 at home this season. Tom Brady has fantastic post-season & playoff stats, but I'm just hoping the crowd noise will really get to him and the Patriots! We REALLY want to see him go to the Super Bowl.....and WIN!!!

GO COLTS!!!!!!

Early Birthday Wishes

Make an online slide show at onetruemedia.com

I know I'm jumping the gun a little here, but I had some time today to put this together--and who knows what next week will be like trying to get things ready for her party. So.....I put together this slideshow of some pictures of my big girl. I cannot believe that she will be four years old next Friday. Looking back at these pictures really made me sad that time has gone by so fast for us. It's hard for me sometimes when I sit and really think about how big she's getting. And now when she tells me that she's 'growing up,' well, that just about kills me. I don't want her growing up and leaving me, but I guess that's why God gives us children in the first place, right. To bring up to the best of our ability, love them with all our hearts, and try to lead them on the right paths in life. I had a hard time choosing the pictures I wanted to include; after four years of snapping pictures, I had a lot to pick from. But, all in all, I think I chose some really good ones. Turn up your speaker volume to hear the music. I hope you'll leave a comment after watching, and if you don't know how or don't want to, email me. I'd love to know what you think! And, thanks to MK--I got this great idea from her! HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY to my sweet big girl. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH REESE MANNING!!

We FINALLY Saw Them....

Crew & Carrington Holloway, that is! Jenny and the babies are in town for a few days, and I just could NOT pass up the opportunity to run by her mom's house and see them all! Reese had school yesterday, and when I picked her up, I asked her if she wanted to go see C&C. Of course, she said YES! My Aunt Toots (C&C's great-grandmother) and my Aunt Frances were there, along with Jenny's mom, Donna. This is the second time I have gone by unannounced and with all my brood. I'm so glad they let us in!

Those babies are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! And that Crew--he is a big boy and so adorable. My twins 'rocked' him in his bouncy seat for a while; a few times they got a little too vigorous with their rocking, but he didn't seem to mind. And Carrington--she is a petite lil' ol' thing and an absolute doll. She was so content while Aunt Toots was holding her. I had my camera in my purse in the car (as I usually do--I'm one of those moms that takes the camera with her), but I didn't bring it in to take any pictures. Maybe next time! :) Reese wanted to hold Carrington, but I told her maybe next time. I had no problem with her holding Anna & Maggie when they were babies (supervised holding, of course), but I get a little nervous thinking about her holding other people's babies.

I did get to hold each of them for just a minute before we left, and I got that feeling again of wanting another one. **Don't tell Warren** But once we got home and the girls started their yelling and running--the feeling went away! Anyway, I thought that Anna & Maggie would be little upset at my holding another baby, but they weren't worried about it one bit. I even asked Maggie while I was holding Carrington if she thought we needed one (referring to a baby), and Maggie nodded her head "YES"! I have a feeling she would change her mind if we did have a baby that we didn't hand back to someone else!

Thanks for the visit and thanks for being patient with my girls as they tried to destroy your house and as they rearranged all the lotions and hand gels on your pack-n-play!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT...

To the girls' Uncle Boo--aka Warren's younger brother, Bryant. He is celebrating a birthday today!! I have no idea how old he is, though; guess that makes me a horrible sister in law. I have a hard enough time remembering how old my brother and sister are! I just know that Bryant is WAY younger than me! As mentioned on a previous post, he was in San Antonio, TX with the National Guard. Well, he's not anymore; he's home! We still haven't seen him since he got back in December, but we hope to see him soon.

Anyway....just wanted to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope we see you soon!!!

We Love You!!!!

I'm Lovin' It....

....my new cell phone, that is. It was Warren's birthday present to me, and I have to say, it's probably the neatest one I've ever had. I had gotten a new one this summer, and I thought it was going to be great, but it WASN'T. In fact, I absolutely hated it. People that I would call would tell me that they had the hardest time understanding what I was saying; they told me I sounded like the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons. The darn phone would even drop calls--something that NEVER happens! And since I spend a good deal of time running errands in town, most of the time with all the girls, the decision was made to get something more reliable. Warren has had an LG flip phone for almost a year, and he's had no problems with his and he really likes it. So we decided to get me an LG. We decided on this one, the LG CU500, and as I said before, I'm lovin' it!!! It has a camera, a speakerphone, music and video capabilities and tons more. I haven't figured it all out yet there's so much 'neat-o' stuff with it! We paid a bit more than we usually do when we get a new cell phone, but there was a mail in rebate, so we will be geting some of our purchase price back! That's always a good thing!! I've only had my phone for a week, but I haven't had any of the problems that I had with my other one. I was going to get a pink RAZR, but I'm glad Warren talked me into this one!

We Love our Aunt Kay! Thanks for our Gifts!

Here are pictures of the girls opening their Christmas gifts from their Aunt Kay--Warren's mom's younger sister. She lives out in California, so we obviously don't get to see her very much. She was able to come to Mississippi for a visit a couple of summers ago, and my twin baby shower was held during the time she was here, so she got to come. We love her and miss her!

One day I walked outside to the mailbox, and under our carport was this big tube-like package. I had no idea when it was delivered or what it could be. We weren't expecting anything. Then I looked at the return address, and it was from Aunt Kay! We waited to open it until Warren got home from work, and the girls had a blast opening their goodies. Warren would reach in and pull out something, then he'd reach back in and pull out more and more. So fun watching my girls!

So, Aunt Kay, here is an album dedicated to the girls and their gifts from you. Thank you so much for them. You are too sweet to have thought about our girls. We Love You!!!!

Aunt Kay's gifts

A Fantastic Weekend!

I hope that everybody had a good, relaxing weekend. Ours was GREAT!!
Here's a recap: (I know you're all sitting on pins & needles) :)

--Reese and I had a 'Mommy/Big Girl' morning of shopping and lunch. We emptied out her piggy banks the other day and took all the coins to a Coinstar machine to have them counted and turned into 'money.' (She doesn't quite get the fact that the coins are money, too--but I kinda like the 'real money', too!) She ended up having $25! I was in shock; I guess it is smart to save your pennies. We went to the mall and she picked out a couple of books at Books-A-Million. She got a Charlotte's Web paint book and a My Little Pony aqua-doodle pad. She's had a ball with those already. Then we went to Claire's so that she could pick out some new jewelry. She was so excited about that store; I thought we were going to have to buy one of everything. She settled on a new necklace, a set of rings that were just her size, some lip gloss and a coin purse! Talk about a haul!

--We then went next door to Hibbett's so that I could get me some new tennis shoes! My dad and step-mother gave me some money for my birthdday, and my tennis shoes are so old. I have worn them so much that they have no tread left on the bottom! I love the New Balance 680's. They have a rollbar in them that supports my crazy feet very well. They are my FAVORITE tennis shoe!

--Lunch time--we went to Reese's favorite--PEPPER'S! Santa Claus gave her a gift card for Christmas, and she uses that to get a piece of Oreo pie for dessert. She ordered her usual--ham, chips and pickle. I had the soup/salad combo--garden salad and loaded potato soup! YUMMY!!!! I decided to eat as light a lunch as I could because Warren was taking us all out to dinner for my birthday!!

--Dinner time--we went to The Golden Horn and it was really nice. I hadn't been there since my senior prom, and I have to say that I don't remember much about my prom dinner (guess this means that I'm really getting old!) The girls all behaved very well, which made the evening ten times nicer. We weren't constantly having to get on to someone. That always makes for a nice time. Anna & Maggie even did a good bit of eating with a fork, and Maggie really had a good time doing so. They were so cute and sweet, all of them, all night! Warren and I both had a steak and the twice baked potato--DELICIOUS. And for dessert (my light lunch paid off in that I had room for dessert), Warren had a slice of lemon pie (which was excellent; he gave me a little bite) and I had a slice of pecan pie. Talk about good!!! I probably shouldn't have had the pie since I still look like I'm about 3 months pregnant, but I figured that it was my birthday meal and I was going to enjoy the heck out of it! :) And I did!!!!!!

--We had lunch yesterday with my mom and grandmom. My mom had a 'happy cake' for me and a couple of presents. My grandmom gave me a great new pair of pants, a nice long sleeved t-shirt and a great hoodie sweater. And.....my mom and step-dad gave me a box of contacts! I know you're thinking, "Big Woo. Contacts." I'm excited about them and here's why. They are the colored contacts and they're BLUE! See, I have these big, brown eyes and I have always wanted my little brother's blue eyes. He's the only one in our family that has them. And, Warren has pretty blue eyes, and all of you know, from seeing pictures of my girls, that all three of them have the most beautiful blue eyes. So, now I can have blue eyes, too!! The contacts haven't come in, but I'll be sure to get some pictures on here. I never thought that they would change my eye color because my eyes are so dark, but I tried a sample, non-prescription pair on this summer, and they worked! Oh the little things, right!

So, needless to say I had a great birthday and a great weekend. Thank you to my wonderful family!!!! Love you all!!!!!

Sweet from My Sweets

Warren & the girls (particularly Reese) 'surprised' me with this cookie 'cake' for my birthday yesterday! How sweet! I haven't had a cake for my birthday in the longest time. Warren was really sweet to have thought of that, and he is sweet to feel bad about not having done enough for me yesterday. He took Reese to school, which she loves having him do when he's not working on her school days, and he got me this cake and he wanted to take all of his girls out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. But the girls didn't wake up from their naps until after 5, and we just decided that we'd celebrate this weekend. He asked me today what he needed to get me, and I told him nothing since he told me to order me a new cell phone the other day. We usually get online and see what free phones they're offering, but the one we both decided would be good wasn't free. So, I told him that this could be my present--no problem. Then he asked what the girls needed to get me, and I told him that whatever they picked would be fine but no none needed to stress about it. I love my birthday, don't get me wrong, but the older I get, it just kinda feels like just another day. I get more excited about my girls' birthdays now anyway. Gotta run--screaming babies are calling! :) Will share more later!  

ANNA & MAGGIE: Christmas Morning at Our House

Maggie: "Is there some reason why I'm awake so early? I am NOT too sure about all this stuff."

Anna just loves her Ariel doll from Santa!

Here's Anna checking out the Backyardigans boat that Santa brought. They LOVE 'sailing' this in the bathtub!

"What do we open now"? 

REESE: Christmas Morning at Our House

"Let me at those presents."

You should have seen how she JUMPED down from Warren's arms so that she could run to her loot from Santa; I LOVED it. She was too cute, even though she was still half asleep. I wish I had had the video camera going, but we were kinda tired. It was 6:30 in the morning; the only reason we were awake that early is because Warren had to work Christmas Day, and we were NOT going to let him miss seeeing his girls with their Santa stuff!



"FIREWORKS!!! Yippppeeeee! Thanks, Santa."

It was always a Christmas/Santa tradition in our house to get fireworks under our tree. Well, they weren't always under the tree; sometimes they were lying out on our big ottoman or in front of our big TV. It was also big tradition for us to get a box of fruits and different kinds of nuts. I think Santa just primarily did this for my granddaddy. There'd be apples and oranges and walnuts and pecans; I miss that (and of course, my gran, too.)






Can you tell that she LOVES her Dora cash register? This was the only thing she kept asking for over and over. Whenever anyone would ask what Santa was bringing her, she'd say, "A Dora cash register." And, Santa didn't disappoint!

Warren and I gave her this Disney princess dome tent. She loves this, too--can you tell? :)
The twins really like it, too. It's so funny to see them all playing in it.

I have no idea where she got the present hugging from. I have a few more pictures of her opening other presents, and she gets so excited about them, she just hugs them. What a sweetie!!!

I will post some Anna/Maggie Christmas morning pics later! Have to have equal blog time, right?

Off to a Busy New Year...

Well, it's 2007, and each new year in our house starts off with a bang!!

Of course, there's New Year's Day that officially ushers in a brand new year.

Then, my birthday rolls around on the 10th--this year, I'll be turning 31. Hard for me to believe that I'm 'that old.' It seems like just yesterday that Warren and I were planning our wedding and getting married. Where have those almost 8 years gone?

After that, Warren's brother, Bryant celebrates his birthday on the 18th.

Reese will turn FOUR on the 26th and we'll have a party at Jump'N G's on the 27th. I absolutely cannot believe that she's four already. I was looking at some pictures the other day from the day that she was born. She was so tiny and she just completely stole my heart. I love her so!!! We're inviting her class from school, and I just can't wait to get all of that planning going and get everything ready. We booked the place yesterday, and I'm so glad we didn't wait any longer because they had four or five parties booked that day. They did find a two hour window for us, so that's a huge relief. Now Reese just has to decide exactly what kind of party she wants. We seem to be going back and forth a lot between Ariel/Disney princess and Scooby Doo. I keep telling her that once I get things ordered/bought, she's stuck with it! :)

And, one of my bestest friends, Shelby, celebrates a birthday on the 27th. She and I had a couple of parties together when we were 'little.' The one that I loved was our party in second grade at Skate Odyssey. Her mom (Ms. Tammy of Jubilations Cheesecakes) made our birthday cake, and my parents gave me some blue pom-poms with jingle bells for my white roller skakes! Man, I really am old! :) It was such a fun party; I'm sad that Skate Odyssey isn't around anymore. That was "the place" for a party in my day, or as some of the kids I used to teach would say, "Back in the old days." :)

So, January is filled with lots of birthdays and plans, and I'm looking forward to it all!

As Promised.....

Here is the picture of the girls (L to R: Anna, Reese & Maggie) in their Christmas jammies on Christmas morning. It's getting harder and harder to get the three of them to sit still for photo ops!

I have lots more pictures to share, but I'm trying to get the house cleaned up a little today. We finally took our tree out yesterday, and I need to get the last of the outdoor decorations down, too.

So, be on the look out for more pictures and stories of all of our Christmas celebrations--we had four! :) I'll just need lots more time than I have right now and for some reason, Picasa isn't cooperating with me!