another fun night..

we had a much needed, fun and lazy night at home tonight! we had a yummy lasagna for supper, took a long hot bath and then we all played upstairs in miley's room. she has a bigger closet than both ella kate and josiah, so we store a lot of the baby's clothes that are out of season or wrong size, up there. i was going though the clothes and bill was entertaining the crazies:) ella kate found a hannah montana t-shirt and some shoes that were passed down from a friend and josiah found some big boy underwear and some more of the hand-me-down shoes and they put them all on:) while the 'big kids' were playing dress up, miley took it upon herself to take every one of her diapers from her basket and throw them all over the floor! fun times:)

taggie blanket

i felt like sewing tonight, but i didn't know what to create:) so i pulled out all of my sewing stuff and sat at the table ... racking my brain. i opened this huge tupperware container of random fabrics and such that my nonny had given me.. and then got the idea to make a taggie blanket. since miley has been sick this week, she has started loving on a little blanket that used to be ella kate's when she was a baby. (none of my babies have ever had a special blanket/stuffed animal.. no matter how much i have forced them to like one... they like it for a week or so and then move on to something else!!) so i am hoping that this little blanket will be something special for miley. it is already special to me.. almost like having a little piece of my sweet nonny:)

look at this face :o)

look at this sweet face! this was the first picture that i took of miley after my nonny passed away. i know that nonny would have loved it!! my aunt would have printed it out for her and nonny would have called me to tell me how sweet miley is and how she showed this picture to all of her friends at prayer meeting:) she loved her great grandbabies!! i have missed my nonny so much these past 2 weeks! i would give anything to call her and talk to her one last time! i have broken down and cried several times this week, because EVERYTHING reminds me of her. i went to go meet a friend of mine this week at starbucks one night after the babies were asleep and i sat there in my car, in the parking lot of the coffee shop and started sobbing. starbucks is like an escape to me. many of you may not know, but when i was pregnant with miley, i went through a severely deep, dark depression. it was so hard and so real, but it was bigger than me and i couldn't shake it!! i would call nonny and cry to her on the phone and she would pray for me and encourage me. she sent me books to try and lift my spirits, but one thing that would always brighten my day was a frappuccino from starbucks. when bill and i would get the babies in bed at night, i would leave and drive to our local starbucks, order me a drink, find a good parking spot and call nonny on my cell phone. i would sit there for almost an hour and talk to her about my day or week. things that i was struggling with, things that were too scary or too deep to talk to anyone else about. she would always listen and would always have something encouraging to say or scripture that i needed to hear. man, i miss her!! so this week as i was sitting in that same ol' parking spot at starbucks, waiting for my friend... it was all too real! she is really gone and no matter how much it hurts or how much i want to talk to her.... i can't. so yet again, i am here crying! words cannot express the pain that is felt when you lose someone who is so important to you... someone you love so much!! i cried again last night, when i looked at this picture of miley. i know that she would have loved it and i can hear her giggle as she talks about the sweetness of miley's face. so, i didn't mean to get into all of that... i just wanted to share with you, miley's new fishy face :o)

my tummy feels better, now!

earlier, i mentioned that ella kate and josiah are attending mother's day out and somehow brought home some germies to miley who has been sick off and on all week. this morning, ella kate woke up and told me that her belly was hurting. since she is potty trained now, her telling us that her belly is hurting, usually means that she needs to go potty. so she tried.. and nothing! she then brought her pillow from her bedroom into the living room floor and laid down. she never does that!! but in between of all of this, she was chasing josiah and singing and dancing and acting completely normal. so i didn't think anything else about it. ella kate and i made a gooey butter cake for a very special nana, and josiah decorated a card for nana too! we loaded all in the car, to drop off our goodies and when we pulled back into the driveway, ella kate threw up all in the van. it was EVERYWHERE!!! i looked at her and she was on the verge of tears. poor thing! she told me, "momma! i frowed up all in the ban (van)! but maybe we can get a new ban since this one is all yucky now!" oh, child... if it were only that simple. i would have loved to just trade this nasty van in for another one instead of having to clean it up! (i do not do bodily functions very well!!) it is times like these when i wish that bill were home:( but, hey.. i have 3 kids and i stay home with them and this is just part of my job as being their mom! so i got everyone in and cleaned off and put down for their naps. i had to bathe ella kate and when i was getting her dressed, she smiled at me and said "i fink my tummy feels all better now!" she gave me a big hug and for a second i forgot that her throw up was still in the hot, humid van.... waiting on me to clean it up! ((sigh))

her don't feel good..

somehow ella kate and josiah brought home the mother's day out germies to miley and she is one sick little baby. i was up with her several times during the night last night b/c she was so congested. she was wanting to suck her thumb, but couldn't breathe through her nose.. so she was waking up gasping for her breath! bless her heart.. this is what she has looked like all day:(

homework

today, ella kate came home from preschool with her very first homework assignment. i tried to explain to her what homework was, and she got really excited!

she was supposed to fill a paper sack with ...

1.) a picture of her family

2.) a magazine clipping/empty wrapper of her favorite food or snack

3.) her favorite toy

4.) her favorite book

5.) a picture or item representing what she wants to be when she grows up

so first, bill and i sat with her in her room and asked her these questions. her reply to her favorite food was, "french fries and chicken!" i said, "ella kate, are you sure? i thought you loved cheese, popcorn or maybe strawberries..." but no, she wanted french fries and chicken...

next was her favorite toy, "ella kate, so do you want to bring a baby as your favorite toy? or maybe a dancin' shoe, or your tea party (tea set), or a barbie, or your little people?" she stood up and tapped her chin like she was thinking really hard, then walked to her bed and picked this stuffed pink hippo that she has NEVER played with. she brought him to me and said, "i fink i wanna bring fumbelina to school and show all my friends!" "who is thumbelina, ella kate?" bill asked. she looked at him and said, "dis pink hippo is my favorite toy! her's fumbelina!" so, obviously there in no changing her mind... and apparently all of her favorite things are new to us!!

but the next question was her book and we had a hunch which one she would choose. bill and i thought that it would be one of her princess books or her story time bible that we read every night, or possibly a gorilla book that nonny had given her. (she has a bazillion books, but these are the ones that she asks us to read to her every night.) so bill asked her to go to her book basket and pick out her most FAVORITE book of all time. she scurries over there and runs back to us with a potty book, that we have had for over a year and only read maybe 5 times! "are you sure this is your favorite book, ella kate?" i ask, and she nods yes! so.. last question. i ask her what she wants to be when she grows up... "would you like to be a mommy, or a teacher, or a baker who makes yummy cupcakes, or what?" she smiles and says, "i fink i'm gonna be baker girl! no, wait! wait! i fink i'm gonna be a princess and 'siah is gonna be a mail man!" so.. fair enough! the girl dreams big... what can i say?? :)

this 'homework' assignment was fun!!

'siah trouble!

i have heard that this is a typical 2nd child... can anyone relate??

the other day, ella kate was a pest to poor josiah ALL day long. whatever toy he was playing with, she snatched or wherever he was going, she got their faster! it was ridiculous! we were outside and there were people around, so i told her to go sit on the bricks and take a time out. she pouted and walked over there with her arms crossed.... josiah followed. i told josiah to come back because ella kate was sitting there being punished. he looked at me and said, "siah trouble!" and walked over and sat down beside her. i told him that he wasn't in trouble and that he needed to go and play. then, the longest, saddest expression came over his face and his lip poked out... what was i supposed to do?? so i did what all good moms do! i said, "ok josiah! go sit on the bricks and take a time out too!" he smiled the biggest smile and ran to ella kate's side saying, "ok, momma!"

but the funny thing is.. is that he does this all the time. she will get in trouble.. whether it be a spanking, a time out or sent to her room and he always wants to go with her or make it better! sweet boy:) she can pester him and bully him, but when she gets disciplined, he gets sad!!

ella kate is 3!!!!

3 years ago today, i was in the hospital delivering our first baby! she was a beautiful, healthy 8lb 5oz baby girl that we named ella kate:) she was 2 weeks early... and i was SO ready for her to be here! she has been an absolute JOY and we can't imagine our life without her! i remember right after i had her and she was cleaned up, the nurse handed her to me and i said, "oh my! she looks chinese!" and then my sweet, caring, and blatantly honest husband told me, " katie, (my name is kristen, but katie is a nickname) ..".. it's ok, katie! you kinda look chinese too!" i couldn't believe it! we had been together for years and he had never told me that before! but decided that now was a good time:) obviously, we don't have asian in either of our families, but for the longest time, people would ask us if she was adopted!! but, nope.. she is ours and she is beautiful:)
ella kate has kept us laughing since day 1:) she has her daddy's quick wit, my drama queen ability and her own little spunk... which makes for a fun combination!! when she was born, she stole the hearts of both of my parents, my sisters, my brother in law, and my sweet nonny! they were all smitten with her and were fighting over time with her! they would all call begging to babysit and would show up at our house because they 'were in the neighborhood!' man.. i miss those days:) haha!
ella kate is an amazing big sister.. quite the mother hen to both josiah and miley:) she loves to help in the kitchen and is daddy's little baker. the things that she does and almost everything that she says, just crack us up! she is such a hoot! she loves baby dolls and all the accessories that come along with them, stuffed animals, barbies, books, popcorn, cheese, pink coke (raspberry gingerale), dancing shoes (plastic high heels for dress-up), make up, jewelry, dresses, hair clippies, shopping at the star (macy's), anything princess or dora, lazy town, going on dates with her daddy, spending time with mimi (my mom). she is such a fun little girl and can always make me smile! with her sweet grin and crazy hair you can't help but fall in love with her! we are so thankful for her and know that the lord has a special plan for her life!

sir, yes sir!

ella kate has been getting slack on her manners. she sometimes is amazing with them, but then there are times where i feel like she gets in a rut. our kids being polite, especially to adults, is extremely important to me and bill. so around the dinner table, bill had asked ella kate to do something and she replied with, "what?"
bill corrected her and said that she needed to say, "sir... not what to daddy."
she smiled and said, "ok!"
what seemed like 5 seconds later, he had told her something else. which she still replied with, "what?"
this time he said, "ella kate! you really need to work on your manners, ok? daddy doesn't like it when you say what to grown ups. let's try and work on saying sir and ma'am.... ok?"
"yes, sir." she said and the rest of the night sounded like this.......
"daddy, sir, can i have sumpin to bessert, please, sir?" "sir, are we takin' a baff now?" "i'm not ready to go night-night, sir!" "sir, can i have a cookie, sir?"
it was hilarious! she went from one extreme to the other!

thanks..

i have had so much encouraging feedback from my previous post, and i am so thankful! i had no idea that so many people followed my blog... so thanks:) it will definitely be different and sometimes hard, but i am going to do my best to keep this blog going.... i know that nonny would want me to! she also would get a kick out of her spunky great- granddaughter! i asked ella kate to go and get dressed so we could run to the store. she comes out of her room looking like this...

a tank top, a tutu and cowboy boots! she was so proud... and i am learning to choose my battles:)

also.. on a funnier note.. we pulled up to the drive thru at chick fil a and josiah in the backseat starts saying, " 'siah get bur-fly, 'siah get bur-fly!!" then smarty pants ella kate corrects him, "no, 'siah! you don't get butterflies here!! they give us french fries!!" but apparently that is what he calls them:)

on that same trip in the car, i hear ella kate in her car seat saying, "wicky, wicky!" and moving her little hands around. this is so funny to me, because bill likes to beat box and act like he is a skipping records like a dj (disk jockey for those of you who are completely lost!)... and she has totally caught on to it and is now copying him when he isn't around:)

when i was laying josiah down for his nap today, he looked at me and said, "'siah night night, no?" it was sweet...as if he was asking.. i'm not going night night am i??

my nonny

ok.. i need to be honest with you people! i am really struggling with the fact of keeping up with the blog or letting it go! my heart is broken and i am at a complete loss right now. i lost my sweet grandma, nonny, this weekend, and well.. the blog just isn't going to be the same for me, knowing that she wont be reading it! one of my main reasons to blog was for her. my aunt would print it out at work and bring it home to her and she LOVED it! she would call me and tell me how much she enjoyed reading about the crazy mishaps at the davis house and although she lived far away, this blog made her feel like she was here with us. my nonny would go and sit with an elderly lady in a nursing home for hours and would read my blog to her. i remember one time she called me and said, "kristen, i was reading your blog to Alga and she squeezed my hand at the funny parts, and i know she heard me! i think it brightened her day!" or she would take it to prayer meeting at church and share some of the stories with her friends and they would all cackle in hysteria! she was so proud of us and she loved my babies!

i miss her so much, and it hurts so bad. i have never lost someone in my life that i loved as much as nonny. she was more than a grandma to me. she was one of my best friends, she was my prayer warrior, my rock, my encourager, my breath of fresh air, the person who always loved me, even when i was so unlovable. she was one of the greatest women who ever lived and i am so proud that i was able to call her my grandma. when i look back on her life, i cannot help but to think that she was as christ-like as they come. nonny was so selfless, so kind, so loving, so generous, so encouraging.... to me, she was perfect! i remember countless times of me telling her that i wanted to be just like her one day. and she would always respond, "oh, you don't want to be like your old nonny! just be like jesus!"

i tried to stay as close to her as i could, making sure that we talked on the phone every week and sometimes several times a week. we could talk about anything or we could talk about nothing, she was always ready to listen:) but i felt like i could never emphasise enough how much i loved her. i was extremely close to my nonny! in fact, i was closer to her, than i am a lot of my family. she and i were a team:) although she never showed partiality or favoritism towards any of her grand kids, she loved us all the same!
i never remember a time where we saw her and she didn't give us a prize! she was like our santa claus all throughout the year... giving us presents galore!! she loved sales and didn't pass up any good bargain:) it didn't matter if it was something that anyone needed or not, if it was on clearance.. she bought it:) my babies have definitely benefited from her bargain hunting! 90% of their toys all came from nonny, and we are grateful! i remember when bill and i were getting married, i told her i wanted her to be one of my bridesmaids. she laughed and said, "now, do you think i could get my big self in one of those slinky dresses?!!? being your grandma is the greatest honor, so just let me be that!!" of course i told her that she could do whatever she wanted:)

nonny has only been in heaven for 4 days now, and i have already tried to call her on the phone... forgetting that she wouldn't answer. i know that she is in a much better place with my grand daddy and she finally has gotten to see the face of god, and for that i am happy... but it doesn't take away the hurt and the loneliness of her absence. even now, as tears streaming down my cheeks, i am asking the lord for comfort and peace during this difficult time. my selfish heart wants her here and thinks she was taken too soon, but the lord's plan is perfect and i can trust in his word. i know that she will never be replaced and never be forgotten. my memories of her are so real and fresh!! i will always have little reminders of my nonny... birds (she loved the birds and had a bazillion bird feeders and bird houses), clean laundry (her laundry room smelled DIVINE! we used to try and bottle it up and take that clean air home with us! to this day, i have never smelled a laundry room like hers), pecans or any other kind of nut, jockey lots and flea markets, hamricks, richard simmons (as a kid my grandma and i would do 'sweating to the oldies' with my aunt, only nonny and i would do it while eating a big bowl of ice cream!), sprinkles, cheese, frosted shredded mini wheats, ruby red grapefruit juice, sharks teeth, the beach, gingerbread men, cheesecake (one year at christmas, she made us a cheesecake and forgot to add the sugar!!!) roosters, bojangles biscuits, ryans restaurant, juicefuls candies, werther's originals, citrus, calculator/adding machines, rain, v neck shirts (she HATED anything to touch her around her neck! she said she couldn't breathe!), butt shorts (it's a long story, but she loved practical jokes and pranks!), dancing with the stars (she loved mario lopez when he was on! she would always gush and tell me how cute his dimples were!), bosom pins, angels, kool-aid with pineapple juice, sewing (it was a hobby that both she and i shared! she would mail me cute fabric and buttons!), flower gardens, ice cream sandwiches, ambrosia, sweet tea in milk jugs, long walks in the cool air of fall, big piles of leaves, the smell of coffee... i could go on and on for days! i am sure in the days and weeks to come, she will be everywhere i look. something i see will be another reminder of my sweet grandma, and i will suck back the tears and thank god for giving her to us for as long as he did!

nonny, i love you bushels and bushels, and i can't wait to see you again!

first day of school

ok, so today was the first day of school for josiah and ella kate. they are attending mother's day out at the church where my dad is pastoring:) ella kate was super excited and couldn't wait to show off her princess 'pack pack' and lunch box... courtesy of yaya:) josiah didn't have a clue what was going on or where he was going.. he did however, love to wear his 'pack pack' too! i was so excited for them to go and play with their friends and even more excited to ONLY have miley:) what did i complain about when i only had one child?!?! so for me, today was wonderful!! i took the the 'big kids' to school, ran to kroger to get some milk, came home and put miley down for a nap, straightened up the house a bit and then had a sweet friend and her baby over for lunch! my house was so quiet and tidy... i was loving it!! after lunch i went to go pick up ek and jos and found out that ella kate LOVED school! (i knew she would!) she played with all of her friends, ate turkey for lunch , played with pink play dough and was the line leader!! that was about all that she would tell me! josiah on the other hand... had a rough day! my mom is his teacher and he apparently cried ALL day long!! (deep down, i kinda knew that he would!) now, granted it was his first day... and he is not used to being away from me, nor is he used to being around a bunch of other kids. although, i really think that this would be great for him... we just need to stick it out! so.. if you think about it, say a little prayer for josiah! i obviously wont keep sending him if he is going to cry and scream the whole time, but i really want him to love it!! i NEED him to love it:) but here are the kiddos on their way out the door for school this morning..

on a funnier note... yesterday in the car, ella kate out of nowhere asks bill, "hey daddy, what's your deal?" as if he had done something wrong...

josiah tonight while eating dinner with my family hollers out.. "uh oh!! dropped a geen geen!! (green bean)

miley was fussing in her carseat and josiah tells her," SO K (it's ok) baby! momma here!!

ella kate's conversation with bill... "daddy! i am still hungry! maybe we can go to mcdonalds!" "no baby, we dont have money to go there tonight!" "oh well! i guess i'll go in momma and daddy's closet and find me some money!"

oh yeah!! i totally forgot!! josiah can recognize his letters and numbers!! i HAVE to get a video clip of it and show you! he is a smart little booger!! tonight yaya and sissy were holding up these foamy letter puzzle pieces and he would say, "G! Y! O! W!" i have no idea where he learned this!!

family pics

when i was looking through old pics of josiah for his birthday post, i came across some sweet family pics of us through the years and i thought i could share:)when i found out we were pregnant with ella kate, jan 2006
our christmas card picture, dec 2006

2 weeks until josiah was born, august 2007

why is this so small? josiah is here!! aug 2007

october 2007

christmas card pic, dec 2007

easter 2008, pregnant with miley

miley and bills birthday october 2008

october 2008thanksgiving 2008

christmas 2008

babyfeet photograohy:) january 2009

march 2009

father's day june 2009

ashleigh dees photography, july 2009

happy birthday josiah!

today is our little man's 2nd birthday! i cannot believe it! he was born on sunday august 12, 2007 weighing 7lb 3oz and 20 in long:) our little peanut... he had the biggest blue eyes and the biggest smile EVER! josiah william was an amazing baby who rarely cried, and smiled at anyone who would look his way. ella kate was only 11 months old when he was born, but she was crazy about him. she is the one who named him, 'bubba 'siah' which is now shortened to just, 'siah:) he was the boy that bill had always wanted, and he took every opportunity to go and show him off:) josiah is our cuddle bug! our sweet, shy, sensitive, strong, GORGEOUS little boy who tends to blend into the background. he isn't loud and proud like big sister ella kate, nor is he the baby anymore. he was 13 months old when baby miley was born and he is an amazing big brother! he loves that baby and kisses her all day... everyday:) so to keep him from being 'stuck' in the middle of his sisters, we try and do some special things just for him! he and bill are quite the team, and yaya (my sister lauren) is wrapped around his chubby little finger and makes sure that he gets extra special loving:)
josiah is crazy about dora, farm animals, matchbox cars, balls, side walk chalk or any other type of coloring and has also turned into quite the little song bird. he is picking up on some songs and will sing them in his high pitch little voice:) he also can hear an airplane or train before anyone else even notices it, and is now interested in motorcycles which he calls mo-sicle (like a popsicle) precious boy! we are so thankful for josiah and know that the lord has a special plan for his life! happy birthday buddy!