Our Wednesday Night and Our Weekend

We spent tonight at our church, preparing for the upcoming Advent season. I am so glad that we have made this a tradition of ours- going as a family to the service, then making our Advent wreath and Christmas cards for the shut-ins. It is so important for Simms to know the real reason for the season, and we need to hear that message too! It was also special that she and Cope were able to be there tonight along with their grandparents and great-grandparents! Simms was surprisingly well behaved in the service, then worked very hard on making her wreath and rolling her candles. She had a lot of fun, and so did we!




Simms with one of her favorite friends {and one of my favorite too}-Keaton

Getting assistance from Daddy

Her finished Advent wreath


Making Christmas cards for our church's shut-ins

And here are some of the only pictures that I took from the Auburn/UGA game. WHAT A GAME by the way! I really don't think I can express my joy over beating Georgia! It was a GREAT weekend! War Eagle! Now we are looking forward to a weekend at home finally, before hitting the road again for Thanksgiving in Mississippi!



This sweet boy is battling his 3rd ear infection in 4 months {Simms has had ONE. At 13 months.} Well, he was a trooper anyway. Runny nose and all.

Then her nose got runny. So I decided to give her some of Cope's congestion medicine. Knocked.Her.Out. She was a zombie most of the day. It doesn't affect Cope like that-weird-but I guess it's true that everyone handles meds differently. Here she is barely with it after opening a birthday present from Adeline and Max. I had to force her to speak and say "thank you." After a nap she woke up fine!

Simms' Birthday Party

Simms had a great party in Auburn Saturday! The weather was pretty cold, but that makes for great football weather I think, and we had the bus to keep us nice and warm! She had friends and family come and celebrate with her and it was such a happy day for her!



Papa made sure Simms had an Aubie at her party:



Gigi had the cutest cake made for the party! It matched her invitation perfectly!


Simms loved it and couldn't wait to blow out her candles!



And she loved showing us how old she is now!


She had sweet friends at her party!

Merrill

Anne Morgan

Bennett {and his 9th donut}

Mae Mae {in Bennett's adorable hat}

Lilla

Sweet Brother
Sweet baby Charlee was there too, but I didn't get her picture!

Simms had yummy favors for her friends!



Little gnomes!


Our precious 3 year old!


Simms has had such a great week celebrating turning 3! She is a blessed little girl, and we love her so!

Now it's time to gear up for this weekend! War Eagle!

She Chose That???

Well, our 3 year, 2 day old is officially potty trained! {Well, maybe 90%}. I put her in big girl panties after school on her birthday and tested the waters that afternoon. She did surprisingly well {2 accidents} so I just kept at it! Another afternoon of it Tuesday {at this point still diapers at night and school} and then today she made two 45 minute car trips in panties with no accidents! We are going to do pull-ups at night for a while, but tomorrow she will not be going to school in a diaper! I put off potty-training until she turned 3 due to advice I'd heard from others who waited till this age and told me it just clicked and worked for their 3 year olds! So, knowing I was going to be changing Cope's diapers anyway, I just chose to keep Simms in diapers too until she was 3! I'm glad I did, because so far..so good! After her 3 year checkup today {perfectly healthy. Thank you, Lord} we headed for a prize for handling this potty thing so well. And I guess once you turn 3 your sense of style becomes just that..your sense of style. And you know what you like. And what you want. Because THIS is what our 3 year old wanted {and plans on wearing to school tomorrow}:

Yes..a sequined Cinderella shirt. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Cinderella, and can still recite most of the movie, as I watched it every other day as a child. But this is a little..um..flashy?? Oh well. I know you want a close-up:

We are very proud of Simms, and I think she will be adorable and easy to spot at school tomorrow!

2 new posts below..

Simms 3rd birthday post should have posted as the most recent but didn't..However, it's below Cope's 10 month post! Ugh Blogger!

A Letter to Cope {10 months}

Dear Cope,

You just turned 10 months old. And let me just point out what a BIG 10 month old you are! Weighing in at over 23 pounds at your 9 month checkup!

You are big and cuddly!

You are full of love and laughter!

You are full of teeth!
You are curly headed and standing unassisted for a few seconds!

You look JUST LIKE YOUR DADDY!
You have me so curious as to what you'll be like as a toddler and little boy. It's exciting to think about, but also sad! I can't believe in 2 months you'll no longer be a baby.

Oh precious boy. You will always be mommy's baby though. I can promise you that.

I love you,
Mommy

Happy 3rd Birthday Simms!

I can't believe the day has come that Simms has turned 3 YEARS OLD.
We've gone from this


to this..in the blink of an eye


November 1, 2007. 6:31 p.m. This image is probably what I remember most from that precious day. Seeing our beautiful little girl for the first time. I still remember the tears rolling down my face. She was here! She was healthy! She was perfect! It was such a wonderful day!


And just like the day she was born, today has been a wonderful day too! Simms woke up early to find a few presents waiting for her:


She wasted no time hopping onto the table to see what was in the bags:




After an early morning of presents, cards and singing Happy Birthday, we headed off to school {I was very reluctant about her going on her birthday. Wanted to be with her ALL day, but I knew she needed to go, and she WANTED that party at school..Ha!)

Daddy showed up for her party & that made her day..


We sang again and had cupcakes..and may I point out that as of yesterday, Simms loves cake. This is a BIG first for her. She's never been interested in it! Just in time I'd say..




We celebrated after preschool at Minnie's with more cupcakes..And for these 2 to be together. Her birthday wouldn't be complete without him..


And when we got home this afternoon there were lots of gifts waiting for Simms from all of the Florida family {Thank Yall}..This was one of the gifts and it has kept Simms occupied all afternoon..


It has been a BIG day for our 3 year old. And all of the fun started last night with Trick-or-Treating and a small family party {organized by Aunt Sissy} for Simms..

Our trick-or-treaters {it was so cute listening to them say "trick or treat," "thank you," and Bennett would throw in "Happy Halloween")..






Then it was back to the house for Simms' favorite..taco soup with tortilla chips, and of course birthday cake and presents..






It's been a great 3rd birthday for Simms. And she still has her party to look forward to in Auburn on Saturday.

We love this precious girl so much, and are so grateful and thankful for her little life! Thank you for all of you who love her with us! She is a lucky little girl!

**Cope's 10 month post below**