Mad

So Cooper has discovered what it means to be mad. Whenever she gets upset, she will cross her arms, drop her head to her chest, and say "Mad" and then start to cry.

And in similar fashion, she has also discovered what 'no' means. When she does not want to do something, she just looks you square in the face and tells you "No."

And, she is pushing the envelope when it comes to being 'advanced for her age'. She has blessed us with "Why?" And yes, she does expect an answer. The 'why' thing isn't supposed to start until well into the "terrible two's" which are still 4 months away! Lord give me strength, I need it!!

photoshoot

So this is how we spent our time waiting for Courtney to finish her riding. The two girls were just cracking themselves up running around, and I was lucky to be able to capture some of their joy.

Surprise, surprise...we're riding

The weekend of Martin Luther King's birthday we had great weather so we headed out to the barn. Everyone was there, and we had spent a good 2 hours riding and hanging out in the gorgeous weather. Courtney went off to ride with some of the other barn girls, so we didn't get any pictures of her this time. Here's how the day started.

Again, these two could not be sweeter together. They shared and took turns riding, and were just fabulous to be around.

Cooper looks so at home in the saddle.

Cooper and Jilly sharing a ride, and Cooper loving on Friskey Whiskers.

Jilly helping lead Cooper around. It amazes me that somehow I was blessed with kids with kind, compassionate, big hearts.

Even Pop-pop got in on the action and led Jilly around for a while. The kids love spending time out at the barn, and love it even more when Gran-ma and Pop-pop are with them.

Team work

I love when Jilly takes Cooper under her wing when they play. Here is Jilly playing on her DS, leaning on the back of the couch, and before I knew it Cooper had hopped up there next to Jilly. They must have stayed there for a good half hour, just chilling, Cooper watching Jilly play the 'puppy game'. When I see them like this, it makes me think...sisters by chance, friends by choice, and I feel truly blessed.

Smiley Boy

'Nuff said!

welcome 2010

I often sit back and wonder how my kids are growing so fast. It's not until we get out to the barn that I notice just how big Courtney and Jilly have gotten. It seems to me that it was just yesterday that Courtney needed help getting Friskey's tack on because she wasn't tall enough. Then came Moose, and let's face it, poor kid did not stand a chance at getting his bridle on by herself. But these days, not only does Courtney get Moose ready to ride by herself, but she is a big help getting Friskey ready to be ridden by the littler girls. What a great way to start the year!

sorry

To all of you who look forward to reading about the girls, I have been crazy busy as of late. And I have decided that I will try to catch up on a few stories, but for the most part I think it's going to be easier (and honestly less stressful) to just start from now. I'm basically giving up on chronological order is what I'm trying to say. We were with out a washer/dryer for just over 4 months, and with 6 people, there is a ton of catching up I have to do there. So as I get time, I PROMISE I will get things moving again!

Love to all

Rock star in the making

While we were waiting to get things started for the Sunny's Corner Farm Christmas party, Christa and Jilly started to rock out to Karaoke Star on the Wii. It was hilarious, they kept everybody entertained.

The "big" girls were all just hanging out and having fun talking. And of course watching Jilly and Christa 'rock it out' as Jilly would say between songs.

Meet the Smedleys

Aunt Joanie, Uncle Dave, Rachel and David came down for a visit in late December. The kids all had a great time. Jilly loved having her 'play dates' with Aunt Joanie, singing and dancing for her. And then there was the wrestling on the floor with Uncle Dave. Cooper was in heaven as well, she was playing with everything under the sun and showing it off to everybody.

Wyatt loved having Uncle Dave to hang out with. Wyatt just kept staring up at Uncle Dave, and Dave was the only one who was able to get Wyatt to sleep for a bit.

We ended up having dinner at my parents house so everybody could visit. By the time we got there and finished eating it was already close to 9 o'clock (which is almost an hour after they are use to going to bed). So the girls were kinda sleepy, but they have a bad habit at Gran-ma's house. They tend to just grab any snacks they want...all well and good, except for when it's all cakes and cookies. Needless to say, the kids were on a sugar high, with a brand new audience to entertain. I think it was close to 10:30 when we packed up and came home! That's one thing I love about my kids...keep them fed (and overfed sometimes!!) and they are good as gold!

Test

This is a test of my new toy.