new shoes.

Every girl should have a pair of pink sparkly shoes... 

daddy love.

Somebody doesn't like it when Daddy goes back to work after lunch... 

We've had tears every day this week.

haircut.

Marley had a pretty big day earlier this week, too... 

Oh, how I wish she could always smell so good...

I'm not a dog person. At all. 

The "pet the dog" rule on our family rules canvas?? That was for me. 

But she is a good dog. A really, really good dog. 

I like her.

And I love how much the rest of my family loves her. 

new smile.

Our Spring Break has been pretty low-key. We don't have any big plans. Lots of painting, crafting, little fun stuff. But today was a pretty big day... 

We realized a few years ago that this little girl got her momma's teeth. Bummer for her. (Still have my fingers crossed for the other two.) I started going to the orthodontist regularly when I was in 1st grade. I still remember all the comments about my tiny mouth. Guess what Sophie kept hearing today? 

Staci had a little trouble finding a mouth spreader thingy that was small enough for her. She said Sophie is the youngest kiddo she's ever put braces on. (We love Staci. And Anna. Everyone at Dr. Brett's really. So, so happy with them and how well they work on our kids!)

Sophie said the worst part of the whole thing was the yucky tasting glue. Lawson thought it sounded pretty disgusting to have someone put glue in your mouth.

I can't even begin to count how many hours I spent sitting in the orthodontist's chair when I was growing up. Oh, how I would have loved to have a tv hanging right above my head...

Staci even let Sophie pick as many colors as she wanted for her bands. (They usually get 3 or 4 different colors each time, I think.) She picked an entire rainbow!

1 1/2 hours in... Sophie was getting pretty tired of it all at this point, but she did great!! I was so proud of her!

Can you see the rainbow?!

She's doing so great today and is loving them! She had a grape CreamSlush from Sonic for lunch, yogurt, applesauce, ramen noodles, pudding and a root beer float. (Which may be part of the reason she's loving them so much!) She can't wait to show them to people and is excited because no matter what she wears to school, her braces will match!

A little girl's self esteem is fragile enough... I don't think you can put a price on a beautiful smile! It will be worth every penny, I believe.

Thanks Mom and Dad, for all the money you spent on my smile!

indoor soccer.

We've been spending our last few Saturdays here... 

The "soccer field" is huge... three basketball courts long and wide. They do LOTS of running.

I'm loving the faster pace of indoor soccer, though. The ball never goes out of bounds, so they are constantly moving.

This little miss does pretty well, considering the games all fall right in the middle of nap time.

Sophie only knew one of the girls on her team when they started, but she was still really excited about playing. (That itself is a big step for this girl!) Last week her friend from school, Aketzali, joined their team...

They only have 7 players on their team so these girls really get worn out...

Sophie is a little bit timid still, but I am so proud of the way she is getting right out there. On her own.

The kids are having so much fun playing and I'm loving being a soccer mom again.  

Poor sleepy Gretchie doesn't love it quite as much, though. 

new nephew.

This chubby bundle joined our family this morning.
9# 2 oz. of pure cuteness...

My sister has her hands full... 

I'm wishing Houston was a whole lot closer...

teacher gift.

Another easy teacher gift... 

Lousy picture... it's really full of fun, colorful peanut butter M&M's! 

Made even easier since I'm an official coffee drinker now!
Yep. I'm such a big girl. (According to the little 20-something coffee drinker that teaches next door to me.)
Although Corey saw how much creamer I put in one morning and may have been a tiny bit appalled.
Baby steps.