Summer Clothes

What a blessing! Last week I made my way through 3 totes of clothes that were given to Michael Dean back when he was one. When I first went through all of those clothes, I found sizes from 6m to 5T. I remember thinking that it was going to take years for him to get into the bigger sizes. Nope. Not quite. He has sailed through most of those clothes and is now comfortably in the 4Ts!

After sifting through what he'll be able to wear (and what he's already outgrown) I now have 2 totes slammed-full of summer clothes for MD. I'll say it again. What a blessing! There were 5 families that contributed to our lot of clothes and I am so wonderfully grateful for it all.

Seriously, I've not had to buy any clothes for my kid - well, except for those cute holiday t-shirts for $5 at Old Navy and Target. Oh, and shoes. I've had to buy a few of those. Other than that, we've been set.

So...to Susan, Merissa, Tiffani, Tina and Lisa - THANKS!! It's nice to think that every day I put on MD's shirt and pants, I didn't have to pay for them.

Special Treat

Any of you parents out there have, I'm sure, learned about the power of bribery. That's such a negative word, isn't it? But, if a small bag of M&M's can get us through a grueling Wal-Mart trip or a tiny, orange gumball can ward off those ravenous hunger attacks before dinner - then I'm in!

Michael Dean's Papa (Donnie's dad) gave him this cool little gumball machine (like the one in the picture) the last time he stayed with them and it's provided many "special treats" since then. The coolest thing to me, though, is seeing my sweet little 2 1/2 year old boy chew gum like a big boy. Maybe it's because I was raised on sweets and trips to the candy aisle in Sam's, but it makes my heart smile to see my son enjoy such a small, sweet treat. And, sorry to MD's future dentist. We just can't help it.

(Oh, and is anyone else's nose and eyes about to itch off their face? Ugh! Allergies, gotta love 'em...)

Saturday Mornings & Heart Day

It's no secret I had 2 Valentines this year - my big guy and my little guy. I chose, though, to make them both a little special treat. OK, so it catered more to MD but it was just so darn cute, I had to make 2 of them. One was scarfed down almost immediately and the other sat for a few days before the pink marshmallows turned into pink rocks. Can you guess which of my 2 guys ate theirs the fastest?!


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Then, our Saturday mornings have taken on a little ritual here lately. It involves Michael Dean, pancakes and a TV tray (which MD thinks, now, is the coolest thing since Thomas the Train!) The boy loves him some pancakes and I just like to see him eat something else besides chicken nuggets and Pop Tarts, so I've jumped all over this. I gladly fix him pancakes. In fact, he's gotten pretty good at helping me get them ready. It really is cute to see him all cuddled on the couch with a big short stack and his Lightning McQueen fork and spoon...



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And, last. MD has really grown a lot lately - both in size and mind. He knows so much and can say/sing/repeat/chant so many things. He sings songs I had no idea he knew! I even got him singing "All the Single Ladies" today. I know, I still love that song. Anyway, I just couldn't resist this sweet picture last Sunday morning before church. I was laid up with good 'old strep throat but I got MD ready to head to church with daddy. And, of course, while waiting on daddy to pick him up he played with his "choo-choo trains." Man, he really loves those things. In fact, did you know that 2 Thomases = 1 Mighty Mac? I didn't, until he showed me :)

The Past Few Weeks

Most of you live in NC, so you know about ALL the snow we've been getting. The crazy blizzards that have been taking over the city for days and days. Um, OK! You know, there actually are still mounds of black snow piled up on the side of parking lots around here. Weird.

Anyway, a few weekends ago when it actually did snow pretty good, we tried to have some fun with it. We, of course, tried to get MD to play in it with us. Didn't work. He was done after about 3 minutes and one foot-sink into the snow-covered grass.

We then decided to brave the snow and ice and head to the circus. It was worth it! We took a few of the Icenhour cousins, some grandparents and MD with us. We were a little disappointed with the lack of animals (really, there were only a few elephants, zebras, horses, tigers and dogs) and the abundance of trapeze artists. Don't get me wrong, that stuff is cool - but when you're looking through the eyes of a 2 1/2 year old you want to see animals, and lots of them. Either way, we brought home a pretty cool light-up wand, thanks to Papa Ivey. Good times.

A happy moment in the snow...

...quickly turned into a not-so-happy moment in the snow!

Ah, much better

Cousins at (or after) the circus

Prayers Needed

So, today my sister-in-law (Tonia) has her 2nd chemo treatment. She's headed to the hospital as I type. I spoke briefly with her and she sounds great. She's got a great attitude about today, even though it's going to be a long day.

Her 1st treatment (3 weeks ago) consisted of 2 long days of separate treatments. With this treatment, her doctors decided to combine the 2 and get it all done in one day. She mentioned still having to get a shot tomorrow, but all the chemo will be given today.

Please pray that today goes well for her and they can continue to combine her treatments into 1 day. And just pray for her spirits. She's one of the most positive people I know, and I'm praying she stays that way.