My Beautiful Birthday Girl

Is it possible that my baby girl is already 2?  How have 2 years flown by so quickly.  

2 years ago we welcomed this crying little baby into our lives.  Oh the blessing of a good hearty cry.  I cried too, and then asked repeatedly if she really was a girl. 

 Marley was and is beautiful.  She gets comments wherever we go about how pretty she is.  It's not just her outside appearance,  her inside is just as beautiful and she has a personality that attracts people to her. 

She's a rough girl.  Her brothers have helped her in that area.  She can carry and purse and a baby and in the next moment be tackling her brothers on the floor.

Her brothers love her so much.  They look after her and protect her.  And she loves them.  As we dropped Shepherd off at school Marley yells "I wuv you Sheppy! Bye!!"

We're starting to get a taste of the girl drama.  Marley can pucker her bottom lip with the best of them.  She is sensitive to correction.  Quick to forgiveness.  And loves to snuggle.

For her birthday we got her a bike so she could keep up with the boys.  She does a pretty good job!

At 2 years old:

• you speak in complete sentences all the time.  I can actually carry on a conversation with you and I love that.  You pronounce most things very accurately.  We love to ask you to say "water bottle" "just joking" "it's raining". 
• you love sweets, especially gum (which you always swallow), icing, coke, etc.  We've probably given you too many sweets, but you are the third!  
• You love baby dolls the most.  You are a good momma, feeding, swaddling and rocking your baby Diane.  
• At night you lay in bed and say good night to everything and everyone.  "Good night Rusty" "Good night eyeshadow" "Good night Aunt Jess" etc. etc.  This lasts for at least 10 minutes.
• You are everyone's friend.  I'm amazed at how many people know you that I don't even know!  This is especially true at church.  People remember you.  You call most people by name and yell hi across the street to the neighbors.  You're very friendly.
• You love animals, especially dogs.  Jackson, the mean dog next door, is nice to you and only you.
• You're smart.  You notice things that I don't notice.  You love to draw.  You'll actually sit and listen to a whole book.  You're very different from your brothers in the area of sitting still.  
• You are 34" tall and weigh 27 pounds.  In the 50 percentile for both height and weight.  You were so excited about the 4 "pretty bandaids" that the nurse brought in before your shots.  You quickly figured out that those bandaids came at a high price. 

Marley,
I'm so blessed to be your mom.  You are the perfect addition to our family.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made and God is going to use you big.  He's gifted you in so many ways and I'm excited to see you grow.  You are beautiful inside and out.  I'm so proud of you.  I love you forever.  Mom

Mini update

So....I guess summer's over?!? But it's still 105 degrees outside!! With the start of school comes the hope of cooler weather. So what have we been up to? a little of everything.

Lots of sitting on the potty for Marley, but no successes, but also very few accidents. She can hold it like a champ.

Shepherd can't keep his pants on to save his life. His pants can be really tights around his waist and yet still manage to slip down and show his crack. Maybe plumbing is in his future? He also has started playing the wii, which he loves. We definitely have to monitor this boys tv time---he is very drawn to that sort of thing.

Owen loves playing trains and playing with his sister. He's so kind and helpful with her. Definitely the protective older brother.

Marley is just growing up so quickly. This is a first to have an almost 2 year old and not be pregnant. I feel like I'm able to watch her life quickly pass because I'm not as busy with a newborn or tired with a pregnant belly.

Shepherd loves taking pictures. I periodically let him use the camera...here's the world through Shepherd's eyes:

July in a nutshell

Oh, blogger, why do you always do my pictures in reverse order? Here's July...in reverse!

Owen had a face injury with the concrete. He fell off his scooter, face first. Ouch! He's tough though.

Lots of popsicles and ice cream for these kids. It's been a hot summer. We're on our 40 straight day of temperatures over the 100s.

Shepherd has taken up Photography. He loves being behind the camera. It's so cute. He's been that way for a while and I'm letting it bloom. Here's a picture he took one day. I love seeing things from his perspective.

Owen had his well check and got 4 shots. He was so brave, but still cried. He weighs 43 pounds. Solid kid.

Marley got hand/foot/mouth disease, which is actually a virus. It was bad for a few days...and she had her first fall asleep on the couch in the middle of the day. Overall, it was a fairly mild case. The boys didn't get it, which is kind-of amazing.

We went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History with our friends. I think that's where Marley got her sickness as I found a random piece of gum in her mouth. Yuck!!!

Owen Conley turned 4!!! How is that even possible. What a sweetie he is! I definitely have a post coming about my new 4 year old and how special he is.

We scored a Groupon for over half off at a swim school, so that's where we had his party. It was so much fun, and fairly easy on me. Except making the cupcakes...that my friends, was not easy! But I took great joy in seeing Owen's face and watching him show them off to his friends.

Shark cupcakes, life rafts and fish!

We had company come visit!! Nate's brother, his wife and their 2 girls came to visit from Arkansas. We had fun watching the kids play, going to Ikea, eating, and catching up. Here's Shepherd and Bella.

I had some major CURB scoring this month including this trunk. I've been working on her and will post after pictures when I'm done.

FREE Chick-fil-A...oh yes we did!!! And yes, we ran into one of Nate's patients. That was real cool!! Who doesn't love a doctor that is thrifty and humble enough to dress like a cow??

Shepherd's not in the picture because he was embarassed to dress up. really? at age 5?? Is he really my son? I told him it would make his meal free... and he asked "what's free mean?" Oh yeah, I forgot ALL of his meals are free to him!

4 of July Party and Fireworks...we had a bunch of people over for pizza and then headed to Lake Grapevine to watch the show! It was awesome and so much fun. Fireworks have not phased Marley at all.

Me and my new friend Julie

Lots of crashing after long days!!

And last but not least we started July out by celebrating my most favorite person. Nate's birthday is July 1st!! So glad that miracle baby Nate came into this world 32 years ago. I'm so proud to be his wife and friend. July also marks Nate's 1 year anniversary for being a practicing OB/GYN. I'm so proud of his hard work, determination, friendliness, intentionality, and care for his family and patients. This has been a changing year for Nate and he's taken it head on and made it one of our best yet.

It's wedding time!

Love is in the air. Nate's brother, Brooks, tied the knot this last Saturday with Stephanie. We are so excited to welcome her into the family. They're a beautiful couple and their wedding was so much fun. Congratulations love birds!

Shepherd loves taking pictures. I thought this was so cute. It might even be their first candid as Mr. and Mrs. Livers!

The boys rang bells announcing "the bride is coming" right before Steph walked down the aisle. Brooks had a dollar for each of the to bribe them. It was really cute.

Beautiful Bride and her beautiful flower girl.

Aunt Joy and Marley.

These pictures are from the rehearsal dinner.

All the Livers girls!!