Happy belated 6th birthday Emma! :)

Happy belated 6th birthday wishes to my dear sweet Emma girl! Her official birthday was on December 5th but the business of the holiday season and life with 4 children has delayed my post but better late than never. ;)

She had a fun filled birthday! My dad happened to be in Ohio (he lives in Arkansas) for the weekend and was here to help us celebrate (Emma was thrilled he was here).Papa Dodd played many games with her and her brothers during his weekend visit. (I would say he is where I get my love for playing board games. A regular fun activity in our home.) We all enjoyed a yummy birthday lunch on the 4th of Emma's favorite meal spaghetti. :)

Papa and Grandma Dodd gave Emma a very fun girly Fancy Nancy book and Emma greatly enjoyed her papa reading the book to her. :) I enjoyed watching them together (very sweet). :)

Emma LOVES horses and my best friend Summer has started baking cakes. She made Emma this incredible hand painted horse cake. Emma LOVED it!! The cake was even purple on the inside. Perfect for a little girl who's favorite colors are pink and purple. :)

Emma shares my love of owls and her brothers got her this cute owl purse. :)

For Emma's birthday breakfast she requested cinnamon raisin bread french toast and bacon. Yummy! :)

I made butterfly cupcakes for Emma's class on her birthday. To Wyatt's delight he took the cupcakes to her school with me. I really enjoyed spending time with her in her classroom and seeing her share with her class on her special student day. :)

A special surprise we planned for Emma's birthday was we added some fun decorations to her room. I found these very girls tulle puff balls online. She LOVES them!! She was very surprised to walk in and see her room newly decorated. :) David surprised her with the beautiful flowers! He is such a thoughtful daddy. :)

A cute picture of Emma and Abbie. She just loves being a big sister to Abbie. :) She is such a big help and loves playing or holding Abbie.

Emma did a quick outfit change before we went out for a birthday dinner at her choice of The Golden Corral (let me tell you how thrilled David and Dakota were for her choice).

6 things I love about Emma:
1. Your love to write and journal. You love to spell anything you can think of and sketching in your notebook. I love your drawings and stories.
2. Your desire to always help others anytime you can!
3. Your gorgeous big smile that brightens my day.
4. The adorable way you give me 2 hugs and 2 kisses each night to say goodnight to me.
5. Your love of dance and how you dance anytime anywhere (even in the grocery store). You love music and your favorite special at school is music.
6. I love that you are my girly girl that loves dresses and pink but you also love the outdoors and the farm. You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty by helping feed the horses or shoot a deer with Daddy's help (next year that shot will be a dead deer Emma... yes Emma shot a deer this year during youth gun season but the shot went right through the fat which wasn't a fatal shot).

I love you my princess Emma Julieann!!! Your 6th birthday was so much fun just like you!! :)

Shadow can you hear me?

Wyatt loves waiting on the front porch in the afternoon for the school bus. Today I peeked at him through the door to see what he was doing while he was waiting for the bus. Our old black lab Shadow (she's about 11) hangs out on the porch too (about all of the time these days). She is deaf now as a result of her old age. As I looked out on the porch I see Wyatt lifting up her ear to talk to her (wish I'd had my camera handy). The cutest thing. :) Later I asked him if this helped her hear him and he simply said "yup." He is such a thoughtful and sweet boy.

5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Wyatt chose one of his favorite books "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" for his bedtime story tonight. He loves this book because he can "read it" to me (he's got the whole book memorized about word for word). He gets the biggest smile on his face as we go through the book together. The last 2 pages he doesn't quite have all the words and so he says tonight "the monkeys fell fast asleep so mommy could have some quiet time." :) He made me laugh and yes I do enjoy my quiet time once all my little monkeys are in bed. :) Cute moments like that one I don't want to forget. :)

The tooth fairy got caught up in the storm again!! Oh my!

Last night Dakota came out of the bathroom announcing he pulled out another tooth. (I didn't even know that he had a loose one.) We were excited for him and now he's missing the same tooth on both sides of his mouth. He was very excited for the tooth fairy to make her visit last night. David put the tooth in a plastic baggie and under the pillow the tooth went waiting to be exchanged for some money.
Dakota told me tonight after returning home from his sister's dance class that the tooth fairy forgot his tooth (again). Well we got a very bad storm last night and wouldn't you know that little lady the tooth fairy got caught up in it. Dakota thought maybe one of the tornadoes got her and I agreed to that idea 100%. I reassured him that I would be contacting the tooth fairy tonight and she WOULDN'T forget about his tooth this time. She may even leave him a little something extra for forgetting again about the tooth!! ;)

1st Tooth

Abbie officially has her 1st tooth. The painful little tooth finally appeared on November 2nd. She's been a trooper with the teething and now already has a 2nd tooth that is causing her a lot of pain and sweeling. Yes she is only 4 1/2 months old (my babies have always gotten there teeth early).

I've been using Hylands teething tablets, teething toys, and a bit of Tylenol when she's crying out in pain. I really want to get an amber and hazelwood teething necklace for her. I've heard really great things about them. I think Santa is going to bring her a Sophie. :) She loves to chew on mommy's fingers and big sis Emma's too. :)

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY WYATT!!! :)

He started off his day with his request of chocolate chip pancakes and sausage (his favorite). :) We also started a new tradition this year that we will give them there birthday card and 1 gift at breakfast. :)

I love that Wyatt picked out all character balloons. :) Spiderman was his favorite.

My little boy is silly and always full of giggles and plenty of smiles. :)

He is soooo sweet too. He loves to give hugs and kisses. Today we had the special treat of going into town just the 2 of us. :) I loved every moment and really let him take his time looking at toys and anything he wanted to just look at in the aisles. We had a lot of fun. :)

My best friend Summer made him these awesome Spiderman and Batman cake pops. He loved them! They were even green on the inside (his request). :)

Auntie Summer couldn't let him not have a cake to put candles in so she made him this Spiderman cake as a surprise. :) Very yummy and it looked great too. :)

4 things I love about you Wyatt:
1. your never ending smiles
2. your silliness and your ability to keep us all laughing
3. your love of books and enjoying us reading to you
4. your love of the outdoors

I love you pieces my sweet Wyatt! I can't believe you are 4 years old. You are such a joy to our family! Happy happy birthday my little buddy! :) xoxoxoxo

Abbie Grace Lorice Elizabeth :)

We welcomed our beautiful baby girl on June 17th at 6:06 a.m. She weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches. She stole our hearts right away and she's been such a joyous addition to our family!



We went to the zoo right after my final doctor appointment. I was in very early labor at 39 weeks. This is my final belly shot. :) After the zoo labor didn't stop me from getting one last hair cut and it helped take my mind off of the contractions. (I didn't know if it was really labor and the contractions were manageable.)


My husband was the greatest birth coach! He held my hand, rubbed my back, walked with me, endured his own knee pain, and continually spoke encouraging words to me to help me achieve the desire for an all natural birth. I couldn't have made it through the birth without him. This picture speaks for itself and I love it. I'm so thankful I had the support of my husband!


I had an incredible nurse too. She fully supported my desire to not have an epidural and she never forced one on me. She supported me and I thank God for giving me my wonderful labor nurse. :)

2 of my close friends Christy and Summer shared the birth of Abbie with David and I. Christy photographed the birth for us (she did an amazing job) and walked the halls with me many many times! She was a great encouragement and brought lots of laughter to my labor. Summer took a few pictures too but she was a big support person for my epidural free birth. She rubbed my back during the painful back labor and spoke many encouraging words to me. I was so blessed to share this all nighter birth with my wonderful friends. :)




Dakota, Emma, and Wyatt were so thrilled to welcome there little sister into our family. They've been so good with her and such great helpers too! They love having a little sister! :)


Love my little sweetie to pieces! :)


My Abbie girl is almost 3 months old. So I'm way behind in my blogging but that's okay and I just never got around to posting her birth. The first 6 weeks of her life were challenging but now she is such a joy (we had her tongue clipped from being tongue tied and that's helped a lot). She brings smiles and laughter into our home everyday! Hopefully I'll share more of her life with you more often. :) I can't thank God enough for the blessing of Abbie Grace into our family!!! :)

Where has the time gone? Mom of 4 jitters!

I've not been very good at blogging lately. Life just seems to be flying by lately! I'm down to the final stretch of my pregnancy at 32 weeks. 47 days or less and Miss Abbie will be here. Ahhhh!! I'm feeling very overwhelmed and the nesting feelings are creeping in. We have our house for sale right now and with that there is a certain amount of extra stress. Keeping a house "show ready" is a challenge but I'll admit I LOVE my house being so clean! We don't have a nursery set up and that's driving me crazy but that comes with the territory of selling the house. I want to start washing her clothes and washing the cloth diapers. I really want to make her a quilt too.

There are many things that just make my head spin... 2 dentist appts. in the next week that are over an hour long each (I have to get 5 crowns.... ugh) (pregnancy is NOT nice to my teeth thanks to the horrible acid in my salavia and all that heartburn causing acid reflux), midwife appts. every 2 weeks, Dakota is starting t-ball (thankfully David can help with this one), Emma is in the home stretch of ballet with her recital at the end of May, I want to volunteer 1 last time for Dakota's class (his last day is the 27th), the horrible heart burn I feel everyday just stinks, and the dentist appts. are causing me a lot of anxiety (I had a HORRIBLE dentist once and this is a new dentist... I'm worried the cavity fillings and crowns are going to hurt). I have all of the essentials for Abbie but I'm still just overwhelmed that I won't be ready when she is born.

I have all kinds of mixed emotions over being a mother of 4. I've always wanted to have 4 children and now my desire will be true so very soon! I'm excited but nervous too. I havne't had a newborn in 3 1/2 years and going back to newborn mode will be an adjustment. Going back to diapers and breastfeeding. I want it all but I'm anxious over it all too. The kids adjusting to a new little baby. The hormones and the fear of postpartum depression (I suffered severe PPD after Emma was born and I don't want to go back into that dreaded black hole again) linger on my mind too. Of course there is just labor itself. I know I just need to take things 1 day at a time but it's hard to just relax and not let all that I want to get done make my mind go a million miles a second. God gives me peace when I just rely on Him but that is hard for me sometimes. David has been supportive as my emotions have brought on the tears many times. My kids have been wonderful too. Now I just have to relax and know that everything will come together in time. Blogging my fears, worries, and thoughts helps a lot to ease my mind. I know the thoughts are all over the place. A look inside the racing that's going on in my mind right now. LOL

We went for a last minute family vacation to Folly Beach, SC last week. We had a wonderful week!! Here's a family picture of us enjoying the beautiful pier! A very relaxing and fun week! Just what we all needed before Abbie joins our family taking us from a family of 5 to a family of 6! :)

My Belly Bump :)

I haven't posted any belly bump photos lately so here's 4. :)

18 wks 2 dys


20 wks 5 dys


21 wks 3 dys

22 wks 2 dys


I am carrying her very high! I can feel it. My clothes fit so differently this time too. Hard to believe I am already 23 weeks today! :) She's become very active especially at night around 9-10 p.m. I hope she doesn't keep up that activity when she's born. All of the kids have felt her kicks now. :)

Emma loves to talk to Abbie in my belly and sing to her too. :) Dakota is a little more timid but he still enjoys feeling her kicks. Wyatt likes to kiss my belly. They all like to know how big she is each week. I love sharing this pregnancy with my children.

One last new symptom... heartburn! I've had it with all my babies and she is no different. The only difference in this pregnancy is the nausea that I'm still having in the 2nd trimester. Zofran works wonders for the yucky feeling though. I'm very thankful for the medicine. :)

Mismatch Day at School :)

Dakota has a mismatch day at school this week. The students could play $.25 to come to school in mismatch clothing (a fundraiser). We got our best outfit together for him. He also wore 2 different sneakers. He originally wanted to wear a sneaker and a snow boot but I told him that would be a bit hard to walk and play in all day. He had fun! I loved mismatch or clash day when I was in school. :) I would always go all out too. :)

Her name will be....

ABBIE GRACE. :)







We FINALLY decided on her name a few weeks ago (right before my 21 week ultrasound) but I haven't taken the time to post the beautiful name on here yet until tonight. I personally looked through hundreds and hundreds of names plus MANY websites with lists of names. David and I continued to narrow down our list and narrow down the list until we both decided we loved Abbie. :) I originally wanted to do an Irish name because of David's heritage but the names I liked were all a bit to different so we stuck with a more traditional name.

Abbie will have a second middle name that will be a family name but we are still deciding on that name. All of our children have family middle names... Dakota Kent (David's middle name), Emma Julieann (my name and my great-grandmother), Wyatt George (my beloved grandpa) David (David's, his dad's, and his grandpas).




Her first full name we'll be deciding at birth. We aren't going with Abigail. We each have a favorite so once we see her beautiful face I think we'll just know or if it's like with Wyatt's birth than David will know right away and it will take me oh 24 hours or so to decide. ;) The name I like is not a typical name used for Abbie but I like that about the name.

We are spelling the name with the "ie" to be like my name with the "ie." I've always liked Abbie but once we changed the spelling of it I liked it even more. I LOVE the name Grace and would have gladly used that for her first name but it wasn't David's favorite so to the middle it went. :) I've noticed that Grace seems to be a favorite among celebrities too but we didn't choose it for that reason. Grace has a special place in my heart and a great personal meaning for me. I'm so happy that I can give my little girl this beautiful middle name. :)



Her 21 weeks ultrasound went great and she was very active just kicking and moving all over the place. She is healthy and growing right on track. We really enjoyed her ultrasound and we could see her moving her arms and she even sucked her thumb. I can't wait to meet you Abbie Grace! :) I love you so much my sweet baby girl! :)

IT'S A....

GIRL!!!!!

Here's her cute little face! :)


I'm so very excited to announce that God has blessed our family with expecting another girl! :) I am over the moon with excitement and joy because I REALLY wanted another girl!! :) Everyday when I would pray it would go something like this... "Dear God, please change David's heart to want another child and please let it be a girl!" :) God is so faithful! :)



David and I along with our children and his parents went for a 3D/4D ultrasound. I've always wanted to have one and David agreed as an early birthday present! I loved sharing the experience with my children and my in-laws. It can be hard to find special moments since this is baby #4 but this was one of them. I loved finding out the gender with my kids and family by my side. :) We even got her little heart beat recorded and placed in an adorable pink bunny. :)

I love how her leg is stretched out in this picture. :)


So excited for our new baby girl!! :)


No more pictures mommy!! She's already a little camera shy and covering her face with her hands. :)


Now to just decide on a name... we have a few we kinda like but none that we LOVE yet. We still have plenty of time for a name. We may just have to wait like we did with Wyatt and go into the delivery with a few names. Once we see her beautiful face I think we will just know... well David will but I'll need a little more time. :)

David was so kind and wonderful after the ultrasound and he let me know go on a little mini shopping spree at Carter's (I was so surprised he let me get EVERYTHING I picked out). :) (I was thrilled when I got 50% off of there already low clearance prices. I love a good bargain.) Emma and I had so much fun picking out all sorts of cute outfits for the baby. We even found Emma and the new baby matching dresses. Emma is very excited to dress just like here little sister and to share her collection of hair bows too. :) When I first walked in the store I just had a HUGE smile on my face the whole time. I couldn't believe I was shopping on the girl's side of the store... the big side!! :) I loved every moment of it! :) The boys didn't quite have so much fun but Dakota did pick out 3 pairs of shoes for his little sister. I love that her shoe collection is already getting started and that big brother Dakota started it for her! :)