Trying new things!

I am trying my hand at some flash photography. I love to take pictures of babies and children but my house does not lend to good natural light. My husband ordered me some flashes and so I got my favorite 4 year old model all dressed up in her Christmas dress from last year and we played! These were my two favorite!




Hopefully I will get the chance to get some of Presleigh in the next couple of days!

Loss

We were blessed to find out we were expecting a baby. We were thrilled at the news and started making a plan of attack as to how to make room for the new baby given that we live in a smaller home.

We were getting bunkbeds ready and had talked the girls about getting a new baby brother or sister.

Unfortunately, this past week I started experiencing some complications and found out that the baby had not grown past 2 weeks gestation. We were devastated. The last couple of days have been an emotional rollercoaster. I have grieved the loss of my mom and I understood that kind of loss, but this is very different and I am not sure at this point if I can put it into words what I am feeling except I was in love with that little clump of cells that most likely never even developed a heartbeat. I was in love with the baby I imagined it to be. Though a clump of cells it was very much my baby and had life though for only a short amount of time.

How I imagine that baby now. She is with Jesus and my mom has that baby in her arms in her perfect little body.

Katelynn LeighAnn!

Katelynn is here! My 3rd and last niece. I feel a little sad about that but, I am so glad to have 3 healthy happy nieces and nephew. We were in Colorado Springs when she was born though we waited until the morning to see her. We spent the weekend in and out of the hospital and playing with my niece Elli and nephew Asher. We had so much fun.

My dad was able to be there and it was such a treat to spend some time with him and my kids. They adore him and could not get enough of him. There is nothing like hearing your children play with their Papa. Blaire was thrilled to pieces to see him and Presleigh warmed up to Papa right away.

It was such a wonderful time to share in the birth of one of my nieces, since the other two were born in Missoula, and I had to wait until I had a break to travel to see them. I feel so blessed and can't wait for my sister to come and join us when our baby 3rd baby is born!

Conferences!

Today, I sat on the other side of the table. I was the mom listening to the teacher tell me how they thought MY child was doing. While I knew generally that Blaire was doing just fine, I was a little nervous to hear someones evaluation of my child, my precious baby girl.

Please don't take me as a parent that feels that their child does no wrong. I know good and well that is not the case. But, I wasn't sure how I would feel if the teacher had an issue with her or had something to "discuss". Thankfully, today was not the day that happened. She had a great report. But, it helped me to understand a little how my parents feel when they come into my room.

What do I do?!

This past summer we went to Southeast Missouri to visit my grandparents. While we were there it was pretty evident that my grandfather was not doing as well as he had been doing. He would normally get on the floor with the kids(albeit sore the next morning) and play with them. This time there was none of that and while I can't even tell you what else was different, I could just tell.

Well, the past few weeks, my grandfather has been in an out of the hospital. They seemed to have stabilized him but he doesn't seem to be bouncing back like we had hoped. After a diagnosis of congestive heart failure and the evidence of prior and recurring strokes, it is hard to say what the timetable is. This I do know, our bodies are only temporary, and my grandfather knows he will be with Jesus and my mother in Heaven in a new body! Praise God!

I however, seem to be in a constant state of ponder, frustration and worry all in one. After my mom passed away, my grandparents made the decision to move back to Missouri. While they do have some family that is helping to care for them, I feel very discontented that I am not the one helping my grandma care for my grandpa. I know that the decisions that have been made were not ones I had any control over but this is not helping my present state of mind.

I feel on the very edge of loosing it. With everything else I am trying to balance, this feels a little like the straw that broke the camels back. I know that God will not give me more than I can handle. But for those of you who read this that pray, I could use some extra support in prayer right now. I am struggling.

My little pumpkins!

This past weekend we took a trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a long haul to get there but it is a great farm and great family place. Some friends of ours, the Linder-Maloney's went with us and Stuart's dad Kenny tagged along as well.

After we arrived and filled our tummies with yummy brats and cookies, we headed out to experience the patch. They have numerous activities for the kids and parents. Including a petting zoo, a place to make a life-sized scarecrow shop and a firetruck that fires pumpkins.

We spent the entire afternoon at the patch and the weather could not be more perfect. We all had a great time.

Family Pictures!

At the end of August we celebrated 4 years for Blaire and 18 months for Presleigh. We were also due for some family pictures and a friend helped us out! I think they turned out great!

Family pictures by John Clodfelter/ Kids pictures by Erin Wagner Photography

Hello Preschool!!!!

Today was the big day! Blaire started preschool! She was so excited and I was too...really! Last night, I picked out her outfit and was so glad the temperature and dropped enough for her to wear some of her new clothes. I got all of her forms taken care of and filled out(you would not believe how many forms I filled out!). And got her backpack ready to go!



Blaire woke up this morning and got ready. I could tell she was a little nervous but she did great. Blaire went to school with me, and while a co-worker watched my class I took Blaire to school. Stuart met us there and we took her in. After we took all of our pictures and found her locker we stepped into the classroom and then she was off....Yeah that was it, see ya mom, I'm here and I am ready!!!

Preschool!

On Tuesday we took Blaire to meet her teacher and get "orientated". I was really excited all day long and was looking forward to Blaire meeting her teacher. But, as we parked the car and got Blaire out and started walking into the school I got cold feet. Not Blaire, ME. I wanted to put her back in the car, take her home and refuse to let her grow up.

I was a little surprised at my reaction. I did not figure I would be fighting back tears BEFORE preschool even started, but yes I was that mom. Baire has been going to day-care her whole life but something about the word school makes it seem so real that my "baby" is growing up and is quickly approaching kindergarten.

All that said, I am thrilled for her, and look forward to all the experiences this year will bring. She was thrilled to meet her teacher and gave her a hug when we left. I am sure she will do great and I will soon get more comfortable with the idea of "school".

It's been awhile!

I'm so sorry to those of my readers that have been neglected. I will try to do better! I would riddle you with excuses but you probably already know that my life is crazy! Going from full time mom to full time mom and teacher is always a big adjustment in August. This year seems especially so, not sure why.

Anyway, this past summer brought many adventures and treasured memories. Although, I have neglected my blog, I haven't neglected my digital scrapbooks that are already "filled" with pictures of our summer doings!

Knowing that my time is limited I guess I will highlight our big trip this summer to Branson, MO! We went with some friends of ours from Garden City. Rob and Mandee have two children, Zarin and Mayzee. Mayzee is about the same age as Blaire and inseparable. And Presleigh love Bubbie aka Zarin. So it was a great pairing of families for such a trek.

We kicked the trip off with a short stay with Stuart's cousin Scott and his wife Kim. We had a great time hanging out and catching up. We missed seeing their kids, but our kids sure enjoyed them!

The next day we made the final leg or our journey to Southwest, MO. We arrived on "the strip" and settled into our hotel. Let me tell you, Branson is like crack cocaine for your eyes, with more to look at than one can possibly take in.

With only 3 days to spend in Branson we headed our right away to find something to do. That evening we took a ride on the DUKWs(Ducks). They are WWII amphibious vehicles that we were able to see the sights of Branson and Table Rock Lake. Blaire and Mayzee even got to drive while on the lake!



The next day we spent in Silver Dollar City. It was soooo hot, but we had such a good time. The kids were so good and were able to ride most of the rides. Blaire went on the log ride with her dad and the Walcks. She wasn't too sure about the end result, but she didn't shy away from riding the other rides. Presleigh was a trooper, she wasn't able to ride as many rides but she smiled and even took a nap in the afternoon.



The following day we spent seeing more of Branson and of course eating! We went to a great Italian restaurant that I am still dreaming about. After that we headed to the Sight and Sound Theater where we saw an outstanding production of Noah the Musical. The acting/singing was amazing and the production was top notch. It even included live animals that boarded the ark(the small ones of course!).




As our time in Branson came to an end we made one final stop to Ripley's Believe It or Not museum, which I found highly entertaining! It was a great summation of a wonderful trip that none of us will soon forget.

Bye Bye Baby!

Our life has hit hyper drive with the addition of a second child on her feet. Wow, has that change things. All of a sudden I have a toddler and have to officially accept that my baby is not going to be a baby forever. I can still pretend though. At night when she lets me sing her a song and snuggles me with her paci in her mouth. I will take what I can get.

Anyway, Presleigh is walking and oh so proud of herself. She is keeping up with her sister more and pestering her more too. Blaire has taken to tattling on her sister and making sure that I know that Presleigh is doing something wrong. This is a challenge that I am not all to sure how to approach with Blaire, as explaining to her that I am the mom is not sinking in.

Anyway, life is on the move here! School is out and after I get my pedicure tomorrow afternoon I will be ready to dive into summer too!

Recital!

It has been a wild day! Blaire's recital was this afternoon and I would say all in all it was a success. Not only did she let me curl her hair, which was adorable but she also danced!

Now, when I say dance, don't forget that she is three. After they found their spot on the stage which was marked by a color, the girls made sure to all look back to the stage curtain to look for their teacher who reminded them what their moves were. This got quite comical as the moms all got in on the act trying to get their daughters to perform. We were jumping around too. Too funny!

I am so proud of my little ballerina. It takes a lot of courage for a little girl to dance in front of that many people. But, I think it was such a great experience for her. I hope that dance is teaching her self confidence and determination. She can do anything she wants if she has both!

Presleigh Walking 001.MOV

Monday, Presleigh took off. She finally found her confidence. I am afraid that we are in for it. Our wild child is on the move!

Presleigh Walking 001.MOV

Monday, Presleigh took off. She finally found her confidence. I am afraid that we are in for it. Our wild child is on the move!

AWANAS

Blaire has been attending AWANAS for the past year and tonight was the final night. It was the awards night and store night! Blaire was so excited to take her daddy and me to "AWANA Cubbies" with her.

Blaire has worked very hard to complete her book and earn all her patches. She was very excited when she earned an "Almost Perfect Attendance Award". She went every week except for one when she was sick!

We are so proud of her!!!!

Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone and praise be to God that He is Risen! What a blessed holiday celebration Easter is! This year Easter weekend also coincided with Stuart's Grandfather's 80th birthday. On Friday we headed to the town of Elkhart, KS where Stuart's grandparents live. Most of Stuart's cousins were planning on being there, though we missed Elaine and Lee(if you are reading this, we really did miss you guys and your families).

Saturday brought birthday festivities and even more of Stuart's family. I thought my family was big! It was really a lot of fun getting to know all of the cousins and their children.

After the party us moms decided that we needed to have an Easter Egg hunt. So we went to store and got some eggs and jelly beans to hide in them. We got the kids together and hid all the eggs. We thought 62 eggs would be enough. As it turns out the older kids had done this before.

They had so much fun. The big kids were off and Blaire kept running after them just to find nothing. We had to have a lesson in egg hunting, i.e., egg hunting is not a team sport! It was so fun to watch her "find" the egg and squeal with delight(that sounds very Laura Ingalls) as she ran to put the egg in her basket! The kids all located the eggs within minutes.

So came round two. Stuart and Uncle Ryan hid the eggs this time. I will let the pictures tell the rest....




After a fun filled weekend in Elkhart we headed home on Sunday morning. I was a bit disappointed that we hadn't made it to church and the girls hadn't had a chance to wear their Easter dresses. So we called up Grandma and Grandpa Wagner and they came over. The girls put on their dresses and got their Easter Baskets. Then, we celebrated with pizza!

I hated it that we didn't make it to church as I know that Easter is not about bunnies and eggs(though they make for fun traditions). We did have lots of opportunity to talk with Blaire over the weekend about why we celebrate Easter!

It really was a great weekend, though exhausting. I am so glad that today Monday is a day off for me and the girls to relax.

First Haircut!

Well the time finally came. Presleigh "needed" a haircut. By saying that she "needed" a hair cut I mean she needed a couple of snips to the back and the front. She doesn't have much hair but it was beginning to look a little muletty! So since Dad and Blaire needed haircuts we decided to make it her official first haircut and took her to see JoJo!

We sat her in the chair and JoJo(Linda Jo) and I strategized our plan of attack with Presleigh's growing do! There are lots of questions to be addressed; bangs, or no bangs, layers or no layers. You see what I mean. This isn't just as easy as snip, snip and see you in six weeks!

We ultimately decided that given Presleigh's facial structure we would grow out her bangs and short in the back. You see, as much as I love hair bows and tutus, I do NOT have time to mess with hair in the morning. When the girls get old enough to manage it on their own....then we'll talk!

So with a strategy in place, JoJo went to work. Two minutes later she had a brand new do!

Date Night!

As any mom or dad knows time alone is priceless and sometimes hard to come by. We have been fortunate to have two girls that like to sleep at night, so we usually have an hour or two in the evening together, but even so an actual date happens rarely. Partly because I want to be with my girls, but also logistically it is difficult to get away.

After a particularly stressful week at work, I really wanted to go on a date with my man! As it turned out poor Grandma Wagner was feeling under the weather and our back up list is small because usually Grandma and Grandpa are available! But we were determined to have a date.

We both got dressed up and then we put the girls to bed at their normal time. Stuart headed for Applebees for Curbside To-Go! I set the table and even got down our glasses that we toasted with at our wedding. Then, I sat and anxiously anticipated the arrival of my date! I seriously had butterflies in my stomach!



When Stuart arrived he informed me he had also stopped off for some desert. And so our date began. We had an enjoyable kid free evening with great conversation. And, I am reminded of what a wonderful husband that God gave me!

Princesses and Duggars!

I am exhausted! The kind of exhausted that is so satisfying. We just got home from a wonderful weekend with my sister and her family in Colorado Springs! The trip was spawned after we found out that Disney Princesses on Ice was going to be at the World Arena in Colorado Springs.


My sister, Jenna and I took the older two girls, Elli and Blaire to the event. We started out with dinner and then took off for the World Arena. With Jenna living so far away from us up until recently, this was the first opportunity for us to do "girl time" with our daughters! What a good time we had!


As we settled into our seats with Tinker Bell mugs stuffed with shaved ice the anticipation was nearly uncontainable for ALL of us! The lights went down and out came Tinker Bell flying across the ice! The girls, dropped jawed watched as the Disney Princesses glided and jumped across the ice and were whisked around by their Prince. They would only momentarily take their eyes away from the ice to get a mouthful of shaved ice. It was awesome!




After the girls experienced Disney Princesses on Ice they were dying to go ice skating. So we made that happen. The next day we headed to a local ice skating rink. The kids did great and by the end of the session all three kids were getting the hang of it. Presleigh, however, was none too happy about watching from the sidelines. The only disappointment for Blaire, aside from having to quit, was that they didn't have any pink ice skates for her to wear.



The following day we headed to Pueblo to have breakfast with my Grandma, Uncle Dave, Alana and Matt. We had a great time visiting and talking over one another(we are all Davis' as you know!) It was great to find everyone well and have some time to catch up.

After breakfast we headed back into Colorado Springs and over to Focus on the Family. I am a big fan of the show 19 Kids and Counting which features a family by the name of Duggar. I am not one to get wrapped up in that sort of thing, but I really find the show inspiring and a blessing. The family was doing a book signing and Jenna and I jumped at the chance to meet them. We got there and stood in line for about an hour for the book signing. They were wonderful. They shook our hands and introduced themselves and were sweet to our children. I definitely respect them and the way they raise their children and they are debt free which is also very remarkable and something Stuart and I are aiming for!






As we rounded out the weekend with a trip to Chuckee Cheese, I felt so blessed. It is so amazing to be able to watch my children experience new things and enjoy life with you. I am so thankful for my children and Stuart and can't imagine my life without them.