What are the girls up to?

Madelynn and Annabella are growing faster than I ever thought possible. There are nights where Jonathan and I sit and flip through our phones and Facebook pictures wondering where on earth the time went.  It's so cliche and I rolled my eyes at my parents every time they said it to me, but it's so true. Here is an update on what the girls are up to.

Madelynn, 3 years and 3 months

Madelynn is THE entertainer.  She sings, dances, pretends, impersonates, tells stories; you name it, she's doing it.  Her favorite singer is Taylor Swift and she has memorized at least six of her songs.  She still loves to sing and dance with Jonathan and Annabella to youtube videos.  She also has a Barbie microphone that connects to an iPod.  We gave her my old iPod shuffle and loaded it with Taylor Swift and Sugarland songs.  She'll spend an hour singing along with them, dancing, and putting on a show.  She's constantly making up new dance moves and showing them off every chance she gets.  Another new thing she's started doing is convincing me to allow her to do something because "daddy said yes".  Or if she doesn't want to do something it's because, "daddy said no".  Of course, it works the other way around.  She's still a great sister to "her baby" and is always sweet and teaching her new things (when she's not refusing to share).  She's often telling us how proud of us she is and how much she loves us.  She will not hesitate to correct us, either.  I've gotten elbowed and been told, "Mommy, don't be rude" on more than one occasion.  

Madelynn is also ecstatic about "the baby in mommy's tummy".  She talks about him/her frequently and convinces us all that it's a boy.  She can't wait to "teach it how to eat, how to sleep, how to walk, how to dance and to change it's diapers and help mommy".  I really hope she holds up her end of the bargain, ESPECIALLY the diaper part.  

Annabella, 16 months

Annabella has been talking up a storm!  She's also started putting short sentences together which is really surprising us.  So far, she can say:

• kit, kit, kit, kit... (kitty)
• pup, pup, pup, pup...
• down
• up
• tickle, tickle (while tickling herself or us)
• bye bye
• night night
• I go down
• she's working on "i love you"
• sissy
• mama
• da-da
• nose

Every now and then, she'll repeat exactly what we say, but she hasn't started saying those words on a regular basis.  I'm sure I'm missing some more words, but those are her most regularly spoken.  

She also loves to dance and sing, with or without Madelynn.  She's started singing the "ooooooh" part of 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift and asks for it on a regular basis.  When I put it on for her, she dances and squeals so hard!  She'll eat anything we put in front of her, sleeps like an angel, and is learning to walk in public without having her stroller.  She's listening pretty well and always eager to help.  Lately she's been trying to walk with my shoes on and she uses anything with a handle as a purse.  Her favorite toys are books, baby dolls, and doll houses.

Annabella is extremely affectionate and is always loving on all of us.  She'll walk right up to Madelynn and hug her.  Neither of them can go to sleep without "sissy hugs and kisses".  

We are extremely blessed with two amazingly well-behaved, smart, and loving little girls.  We definitely see our share of tantrums and selfishness, as is expected, but they usually dissipate quickly.  While I still can't believe they are already as big as they are, we are enjoying the stage they are in right now so much.  I absolutely cannot wait for our new baby to get here and add his/her flare to our family!

Our Love Story

Today is a special day.  August 22, 2000 is the date Jonathan and I started dating.  I was a mere 14 and he 15, but we fell for each other quickly.  We met the Friday of my first week of high school through mutual friends and it turned out we had drama together.  We were instantly drawn to each other and after flirting throughout the day, we ended up at a football game that night.  He was wearing a pair of cargo shorts that had these ridiculous zippers all over them and every single one of them was unzipped.  It drove me crazy!! I couldn't help but point it out to him (even going as far as zipping them myself) and he couldn't help but leave them unzipped just to get my attention.  I can't tell you who won the football game, but I can tell you that we sat and talked until my mom dragged me away.  When we hugged goodbye he asked me for my phone number, but neither of us had a pen.  He had no choice but to memorize my number (I thought the chances of him calling me were SLIM).  Turns out, he was smarter than I gave him credit for.  Not more than thirty minutes after I arrived home, he called.  We talked for a couple of hours or more; learning about each other's families, favorite foods and colors, etc.  When I hung up the phone, I was enamored.  I later found out that when he hung up the phone, he told his friend, Thomas that I was "the one".  And even though Thomas thought he was crazy, Jonathan was right.  The next 8 years were a whirlwind of new love, short term break ups, him moving to Valdosta for college, me moving to Athens, very hard times, and very happy times.  But we survived.  The break-ups never lasted long and the happy times always outweighed the bad.  

In 2008, we decided we needed to change our lives for the better.  We began going to church regularly and realized that our lives were empty, meaningless and we needed to improve our situation.  That July we purchased our first home together and in September we got engaged.  June 30, 2009 we were baptized together at the beach where we got married the next day.  May 1, 2009, I married my soul mate on the beautiful white sands of Panama City Beach.  We got married at the very end of the beach (where there were no more hotels) and we completed our photos right at sunset.  It was the perfect wedding for us.  We were blessed to have our Pastor travel to Florida to marry us and all of our closest friends and family celebrated with us.  

And here we are now, 13 years later.  I can still remember the very first time I saw him, our first kiss, when we said "I love you."  And while we were just kids when we met, we got to grow up together and experience the ups and downs of life together.  We were never together because we felt like we had to be, we tested our relationship and put it through the ringer.  In the end, we only came out stronger.  God has blessed us beyond anything I ever thought possible.  We owe who we are and where we are to Him.  I couldn't imagine it any other way.