23 Months

Campbell continues to be independent, sweet, and stubborn, by turns.  She seems to be much harder to distract than the boys were at this age.  We could easily divert attention from whatever dangerous or naughty thing they were doing by showing the boys a shiny toy car.  Campbell, however, is not so easily tempted.  She wants to put. her. finger. in. THAT SOCKET!!! (or stand on that chair, or have that specific toy she stole from her brother, etc.)  She is quick to say "bless you mama" when I sneeze or comfort one of her brothers if they are hurt with a hug, though. Her first Disney movie infatuation is "Frozen."  She just LOVES Elsa and says her name every time she appears on the screen.  Heck, Frozen has been a big hit with everyone in our family, truth be told.  We've watched the movie several times and all three kids are riveted the entire time it plays.  Here is a picture of their first viewing on Easter.  We were surprised that Campbell actually sat and watched the whole thing---the first time she'd ever shown the least interest in watching tv.

Now that Fisher is 4, his room was upgraded to a "Big Boy" room.  He now has a pirate theme but the piece de resistance is his loft bed:

He was thrilled, to say the least:

Peek a boo:

Hayes continues to enjoy T-ball.  His catching is getting better and his throwing is pretty awesome.  When we practice throwing the ball in our yard, I have to tell him not to throw too hard at Mommy--- he throws HARD!

Sliding into first (completely unnecessary but something he learned from one of the other players):

Hayes is one of the fastest runners on his team.

Being goofy on the sidelines:

Sweet girl:

Could life get any better?

Hayes' reading continues to improve.  He is AWESOME!  He even reads to Fisher---so sweet:

The boys had their Mother's Day program at daycare.  They both sang their little hearts out.  I was so proud!

Pretty lady:

We just happen to have several destinations very close to our house that serve ice cream, which becomes the kids' afternoon snack in warmer weather:

Campbell is serious about her ice cream eating.  We used to be able to buy one for ourselves and then give her some bites of ours.  On this particular day, that practice stopped for good.  She commandeered Kyle's ice cream, leaning over it in a protective way, and saying, "NO, Daddy!" very emphatically every time he tried to get a bite.  And she made sure to get every last drop.

Hayes lost tooth #5!

Campbell and I made week-long  trip to SC to help out while my dear little sister underwent surgery for breast cancer.  What a shock her diagnosis came to all of us.  She has been very stoic and while admitting that "cancer sucks," she has been unbelievably brave.  She is healing well from her surgery and awaits the start of chemo in the coming weeks.  Here are Campbell and Dailyn watching some Frozen:

Aunt Stephanie telling Campbell goodnight the night before her surgery:

I have been truly in awe at the amount of support that Stephanie has had.  One small way that I hope our family has helped is by sending prayers, messages, quotes, and kind thoughts and incorporating them into this quilt that has been with her since she came out of surgery.

I mainly helped out by getting my nephew and niece to school and back and somewhat entertained during their off time.  Here is Lawson crushing some Superman ice cream:

I was lucky enough to spend a couple hours with my dear friend, Cassie, and her now 3 year old son, Salem.  It was Cassie's birthday!  Happy 29th, sweet friend!

Looking so sweet I could just eat her up!

Lawson taught Campbell how to drive the boat:

Just full of herself:

We visited the beach a couple times during our stay, even keeping Dailyn and Lawson out of school one day (shhh, don't tell the authorities...).  Campbell was not one bit afraid of the water and played in the sand.  Thankfully, she didn't try to eat it like her cousin Dailyn used to do when she was a baby!

This was the sweetest picture with Dailyn lending a hand to steady Campbell as she climbed up the rock:

Having a blast with her cousins:

Back home again, Kyle tilled the garden.  We can't wait for some homegrown tomatoes.  My absolute favorite time of year is late summer when it's warm (we've still had a few 55 degree days here and there----ugh, so ready for the summer to get here and stay!) and we can pull sun-warmed tomatoes right off the plants.  Yum!