Happy Birthday Brianne!

Hope you have a wonderful 1st Birthday! Can't wait to celebrate with you on Saturday!

First Attempt at Easter Pictures

For years I have admired the beautiful tulips that pop up at the beginning of spring at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church in Columbia. Last Friday, little Dallas and I headed to Columbia to pick up our dogs from my Mom's house and I packed him a special outfit hoping we could get by the church for some Easter pictures. It was a little chilly but the tulips did not disappoint and neither did my favorite model. Here are a few of the pictures from that day. The one where he has his legs open and his head back was his idea. It was his attempt to do exactly the opposite of what I had been asking! I didn't mind though, I just wanted to keep the model happy. Random moments of defiance during pictures are acceptable with a 3 year old!

While we were in Orlando, we learned the news that Dallas' Grandmother Reeves had passed away. We headed from Orlando to Americus, GA to remember and celebrate her life. MawMaw loved God and she loved her family. She was so proud of all of them and loved to brag about having 21 great grandchildren to the other residents at her assisted living facility. I certainly wish I had known her better but will always cherish the times we spent together. As I sat on the pew in the church she had attended for so long I cried and laughed with everyone else as family members got up to speak about her life. Bebe did an amazing job with her eulogy and it was so clear what a tremendous impact MawMaw had on everyone's life. As sad as we are that she is gone, we are so happy that she is right where she wanted to be--reunited with her Lord and with friends and family.

Disney World

Bebe, Little Dallas, and I left last Wednesday for Disney World. Little Dallas did great on the plane and enjoyed playing with the games Noah gave him and watching Scooby-doo. The flight was only an hour so it went by pretty quick anyway. Big Dallas was already there for the World of Asphalt Trade Show. We spent Thursday at the pool while Dallas finished working and he was able to take little Dallas to the convention center to climb on all of the equipment. Friday morning as we were eating breakfast we learned the news that Dallas' Grandmother Reeves had passed away. We decided to head to the Magic Kingdom for the day as planned as that is what she would have wanted us to do anyway. Little Dallas had a great time. It took him awhile to "warm up" to the rides but soon he was asking to ride everything. Pirates of the Caribbean was his favorite and we did that one twice. He still LOVES pirates and wears his Halloween costume alot at home. We met Mickey and Minnie Mouse as well as Peter Pan and Pluto. The lines were not too bad and we were able to use the Fast Pass feature for the more popular ones. As we sat down to lunch right in the middle of the park behind the Castle, little Dallas stood up on this ledge he was sitting on that surrounded a flower garden and announced that he needed to use the bathroom. I started looking for the closest one and before I know it he has pulled his pants down and was about to go right there! I heard a woman shriek, "Oh my God" in her northern accent and I jumped up to block everyone's view knowing I may be about to get wet. I grabbed his pants and pulled them up and Dallas scooped him off to the bathroom. Bebe and I sat there laughing the whole time they were gone. I am sure if you are reading this and have boys you can relate to this story! We are so happy that Bebe was able to join us and share in little Dallas' first Disney trip. I know it won't be the last!

Sweet and Funny Dallas

Dallas has said some really sweet things lately that I thought I would share. Also, today he did something that I thought was really funny and I wanted to share.

Today, he kept asking me for juice and I told him no and that he could have water or chocolate milk. He kept asking over and over and I finally I just ignored his constant asking. I ran upstairs to get something and I heard a chair being moved across the kitchen floor. I thought he was going to get himself juice but once I got to the kitchen he told me I was in time out for not getting him juice and he had moved the chair up against the wall and told me to sit down. He said I had 3 minutes. This is exactly what we do when he has a time out. At first I thought I would tell him he couldn't put me in time out but I wanted to vaildate his feelings as I had ignored his plea's for several minutes. I went along with it and told him I was sorry for not answering him. He still didn't get any juice but I am glad he understands there are consequences for bad behavior and they don't just apply to him!

Also today: We were laying in his bed before his nap and he asked me where God lives. I told him God is everywhere and that he lives in Heaven. He said he wanted to go there and I told him he would get to go there someday. He then asked how we get there (as in physically, not spiritually) and I told him I didn't know. He said, "maybe and airplane, let's go after my nap!"
I smiled to myself at the wonder of a child's mind and remembered when I was young and asked my Mom if we could get to Heaven in a hot air balloon!

The other day Dallas and big Dallas were playing on our bed while I was getting ready in the bathroom. Little Dallas got sad and said that he didn't have anybody to play with. We told him that we love to play with him and that we do play with him all the time. In the sweetest, whiniest voice with tears in his eyes he said, "Maybe God can put a boy baby in Mommy's tummy and then I can have someone to play with." With tears in my eyes, I said, "That's a good idea Dallas, maybe he will."