Bright eyes

Since becoming a little older, 6 weeks now, one of the greatest things is that Nikki is not quite as sleepy as she was when she first came home. She is more active, kicking and moving her legs and arms. But what has become the most apparent are her big, beautiful, bright eyes. It is not uncommon to see her just checking everything out. You have to wonder what she is thinking as she looks around and follows things with her eyes. Daddy will say, “I see those eyes” and Pierce will follow his lead and chime in after him. We call her “bright eyes” because even when she is not smiling, there is such brightness in her eyes. And with those eyes she gives so many different facial expressions. It is always a wonder to see her change from a look of seriousness, to a happy look, to a lazy sleepy look. Nikki is so much more interactive than before. And we know that she will become even more so in the next few weeks/months to come. That will be fun.

Funny pictures of the kids

This is the look Nikki gives to get her way

This is the look Nikki gives after she has gotten it.

This is Pierce posing for the Mr. Olympia 2008. Whew—look at those abs. Arnold would be proud.

This is Pierce showing his muscles to whoever thinks they are going to take Nikki out on a date. If they get past Pierce, they then have to make it past Daddy.

Growing family

We have talked about how wonderful the birth of Nikki has been and how much it has changed our lives. It has affected us all in different ways. Pierce has grown up so much and has become more independent, more assured of his role in the family and as a big brother and has really amazed us all at how well he has transitioned from being an only child to sharing the spotlight. For mommy, it seems as though the addition of our baby girl has made her a little extra emotional but all in all, very aware of God’s “incredibleness” in His provision of such a wonderful husband, son and daughter. Her role has changed as she is no longer working full-time out of the home. And she is even more focused on the development of her family, home and self. But the one person who is undeniably no longer his former self is daddy. His little girl has forever stolen his heart and changed him. Daddy has always loved, protected, provided and has been kind so it is not different for him to be that way now. But what has changed is the perspective that he has on life, on family and on time that we spend together. Even though he wishes to spend all of his time with us and not miss anything that happens, he does what he has to do and provides so lovingly for his family.
We are blessed to see Nikki grow in just the 6 weeks that she has been with us…but it is even more interesting to see the personal growth in all of our lives as we are solidified as a family that loves the Lord who has given us all we have and that loves each other.

Picture day

When Pierce was one month old, we had some pictures taken of him for a special frame that has his picture and his footprint on display. And since Nikki is one month old, we decided to get some pictures taken of the both her and Pierce. It was quite an experience. Pierce did very well and the photographer captured him laughing and smiling without him “cheese”ing it up. He even helped the photographer get some good smiles out of his cousin, Cate, who came along for her 5 year old pictures. Pierce is always so helpful, full of life and is just such handsome little man. Nikki looking all gorgeous in her pink linen outfit (thank you Joe, Mandi and Brown!) but was a bit sleepy. When she was awake she let it be known that she was a little bit annoyed that we wouldn’t leave her alone and just let her get her beauty rest. Despite either sleeping or being fussy, we managed to get some good shots. The pictures of both of our babies together are priceless. They are so beautiful…but then again we are a bit biased.
Hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Going to church

So, with trying to get into a routine we finally were able to get feeding times worked out so we could all go to church. This past Sunday, we all got ready and Nikki ate at 9am. When she was done, we got her all dressed up for her first Sunday at church. She wore an adorable pink dress. When her daddy saw her, he lit up and told her how beautiful she was. I think he will have a hard time with prom. Pierce helped oohh and aahh over her and after a couple photo ops we headed for worship as a family. Nikki did good through the service and although sitting still during the sermon made it tough for a sleepy mom and dad to not take a little nap, we managed through and were encouraged that worship is truth and honesty before the Lord. And we are so grateful that whether we are at a church facility, at home, in a rocker, or in our car, we can have a heart of worship to a God that has been so good to us.

First week of July

Today Nikki is 4 weeks old. She is really filling out and becoming more and more active with each day. She is starting to kick more and even move her arms more than just the normal startle reflex. Pierce continues to be the “BEST” big brother. His favorite thing to do as of late is to lay on the ground and let her lay on his belly…she will either lay her head down and try to sleep or pick her head up and check him out. Either way, he loves it. Pierce has been enjoying the summer. We still are working on our letters and numbers but we are not as strict with our "lessons" as we were during the school year. This week Pierce drew a picture of baby Nikki and she is holding her butterfly toy and her blocks. Whether we are playing outside on the swings or playing "school" inside, Pierce is always so much fun. Even bath time is a fun deep sea diving adventure.

For the fourth of July, we went to Whiteville to visit with the Hinson family. Nikki did great on the 3 hour drive and we had a great weekend showing her off to our wonderful family. She especially enjoyed her afternoon nap in Great Grandma
Hinson’s arms and of course, being loved on by Papa Jack and Nannie.

As far as family news, we are still living in High Point and wanting desperately to either sell or rent our house. The market is just not very good right now. We are really praying for a miracle though. This week Shane has had to meet with clients in Greensboro so he was able to do that and a couple of days he actually got home by 5:30pm. It has been WONDERFUL to have that precious extra time as a family. Even though Shane has always done a great job at getting home, getting his stuff done and spent time with each of us… the extra time together has really spoiled us. . It allowed him to get more one on one time with Nikki and with Pierce and of course for us to be all together as a family without feeling rushed. So, if you think of us, say a prayer that our house sells/rents soon so we can get our family moved to Huntersville. It will be a blessing to finally get settled and get all the changes behind us.