Kaylen, Joshua, Andrew, and the Gang
We had Joshua’s third birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s. All of the family came to celebrate with Chuck E. and win some awesome arcade prizes! Joshua had a great time with his cousins, as evidenced by his nap that began 2 minutes after we pulled out of the parking lot!
For the Fourth of July, we had our first ever “all family” sleepover at Netta and Papaw’s farm. Pam and Ralph Seely were kind enough to lend their house to Kathleen, Joshua, Andrew, and I (as well as Traci and Chad), while Kaylen and Bailey spent the night with Netta and Papaw in the camper. We had fun in the pool, in the swings, and at Aiden’s birthday party!
We spent Father’s Day this year at Brad’s parents’ place in Scurry, also known as “Netta and Papaw’s Farm” (thanks Joshua!). Highlights included the swingset, the pool, the slip-n-slide, an ice cream tasting contest, and of course the Grandpas!
Taken at Cracker Barrel, at our Father's Day celebration with Christine and Vince.
Bath pictures are always great, mostly because they usually turn up during wedding slideshows! Enjoy these pictures of Andrew getting cleaned up.
We spent Memorial Day at home by filling up the pool and letting the kids slide into it. Delaney and Jackson came over to have some fun too!
After 9 months of eager, slow anticipation, Andrew has finally arrived! He was unwittingly pulled from Kathleen at 9:25 AM on April 15, checking in at 8 lbs, 8 oz, and 20 1/4 inches long.
We can never say enough thanks to each of you that offered your time, prayers, meals, babysitting, well-wishes, and everything else that I can’t think of right now!
During our Easter celebration at “Netta and Papaw’s Farm,” Brad’s dad broke out the riding lawn mower (”tractor”). Needless to say, Kaylen and Joshua were busy for the next half-hour.
Due to popular demand, here is are two pictures of Kathleen’s Pregnant Belly. The first is from December and the second is from March 1. We can’t wait to meet Baby Pritchard #3!
On Sunday night, we finally decided to take the plunge and let Joshua try out his Big Boy Bed. We were quite worried! Would he cry all night? Would he be scared to be out of his crib for the first time? Would we hear him jumping on his bed all night? Would we see him emerge from his room after discovering he was finally free to roam?
Thanks to some good luck wishes from Kaylen and some pretty desperate prayers, we were delighted to hear the sound of silence about 20 minutes after bedtime. Success!
These pictures were mostly taken during the bedtime process. The last two were taken after we snuck into his room to check on him. What a good sleeper!
Since I only have a few precious hours with the kids each day, bedtime/bathtime is my domain. It’s a good chance for me to connect with the kids and give Kathleen a much-deserved break.
Being the softie that I am, I made the mistake of letting Kaylen slowly extend her bedtime routine to the point of insanity - it has since been a struggle to bring it back down to a 20-30 minute endeavor.
When you combine my imperfect parenting with a nightly dose of teeth brushing, stuffed animal gathering, book reading, one more prayer saying, one more drink taking, one more potty tripping, and one more playroom ceiling star-gazing, I can tend to get a little edgy. Those are my “worst of times.”
But after I pick Kaylen up in my arms for one more peek at the stars, she always buries her head in my neck and nuzzles up close. And my heart always melts more than it did the night before. The rest of the day is forgotten - I am loved by my daughter, and in that moment nothing else matters. No question, those are my “best of times.”