My Baby Girl is 3!!!!

I can not get over that Moira turned 3 on December 2nd. What is even more unreal is that I can't believe she wasn't 3 sooner. What I mean by that is that she has been so articulate, so opinionated, so independent for so long, I sometimes forget how little she really is. But now, she is 3! No more toddler. A full-fledged Pre-schooler (even though she has been going to school for nearly 3 months now, it hadn't fully sunk in).
We couldn't be more blessed to have Moira in our lives. She is so bright, so full of energy, so passionate and articulate. She knows what she wants and is uncompromising in her standards. She marches to her own beat and doesn't seek out the crowd. All qualities I desire for my daughter as a young woman, but prove to be challenging as I parent her while she is still a child. Moira, we love you so much. You make our family complete with such a sweetness about you. I thank God for the blessing of you!

Enjoy some photos from her birthday parties - one with her friends (Moira wanted a fairy birthday) and one later on with family.

 The Fairy Picnic

 Fairy Cupcakes

 I call this creation "Tinker Bell shoved in a cake" a la Aunt Marisa

 Instead of candy and piddly toys, I opted to make the girls tutus and wands for favors. They were a huge hit. The wings were a miracle find at the dollar section of Target.

 My little fairy princess would NOT let me take her picture. This I snapped because she was hiding from me and she thought I was behind her. 

 Notice her not looking at me, but Miss Desi's camera. 

 Almost all the fairy princesses. Aren't they darling????

 My sweet fairy hiding from her momma. Again. 

 Moira showing off her new room to someone. I love this expression. She has recently starting talking with her hands. She is officially One of Us now. ;-) 

 The Birthday Princess with her proud big brother

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We love you so!!!

Thanksgiving

This year, we were blessed to spend Thanksgiving with our dear friends, the Welchs and The Allens. Desi and her husband are from Louisiana, where traditionally, they serve a Turducken. This is a turkey that has been stuffed with a duck that has been stuffed with a chicken that as been stuffed with stuffing. In the words of Carter Stevenson, "Who would DO that to a duck?!?!". 

It was a feast for sure! There was lots of good food and plenty of leftovers and great memories made. The kids had fun playing with their friends and the men-folk enjoyed watching football. 

I hope your Thanksgiving was a blessed one as well!

 The Turducken

 Desi and Mariah

 Avah, Carter and Christian

Christian and Moira. He looks out for her when Carter is not around. Her surrogate Big Brother!

Blessings

I wanted to share these recent photos of Carter and Moira. Some may end up on our Christmas card (if I get to it), so forgive me if you seem them again. But they are just too precious not to share here. These two darlings are my dearest blessings - as well as my refiner's fire.
We are also blessed by one of our dearest friends here in Virginia. She is also a brilliant photographer! She has known Carter since he was 2 and a half and Moira since she was hours old so she knows them very well and they feel so relaxed around her. She is patient and gentle and seems to capture them as they really are... I could go on for hours.
The kids are so used to Desi taking their picture that they now refuse to pose for Jon and me. They now only sit for "professionals". How very modelesque of them! Very frustrating. Maybe that is why my Dad is considering commissioning Desi as the "Family Photographer" just so he can see pictures of his grand kids. I will let her work speak for itself. The photos of Carter and Moira are below. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge it. Here is the link to my friend's site: Desiree Angelle Photography

 My favorite!!!

Carter's First Field Trip

This Tuesday, Carter attended his first elementary school field trip to Cows-N-Corn. We were both very excited for me to go with him. I treasured his enthusiasm because I know the day is coming (faster than I would like) when he will not be so thrilled that I accompany him. Anywhere. (Not MY sweet bot, surely!?!)
After loading 30 Kindergartners onto the bus, I waited with bated breath for the ruckus to begin. But it never did. His class was SO good! And when the teacher gave them instructions, she ended with the question: "Understand?" and ALL the children responded, " YES MA'AM!". I was shocked! It was so old-school and I LOVED it! The students were very respectful and excellent listeners. It gave me so much peace about sending Carter out into the "great unknown".
After the bus ride, we got to the "stinky" farm and learned about dairy farming. I thought it was pretty interesting and these suburban kids LOVED running around in the great outdoors and climbing on hay bales. We even got to try fresh-made ice cream. Who wouldn't love that?!?
I could only snap a few pictures of Carter on my phone. He is getting so big!
Riding the tractor around learning about the farm

 Learning all about Jersey Cows...he is very interested!

 The bus ride home - they were worn out!

 How precious! It only lasted about 15 minutes - but still!

Trick-Or-Treat

Well, Halloween came and went here, and to be honest, I am glad we have a whole year before we do that again. My sweet angelic children have been BURSTING with excitement for C A N D Y!!!! And if any of you know me at all, candy is not something we regularly have around here. Graham Crackers are cookies to the Stevenson children. Fortunately, Carter was in school all day so I only had to suffer 2 hours of non-stop, "Is it time yet? Is it time yet?". However, Sweet Moira was home asking every few minutes if it was time to go Trick-Or-Treating.
Finally, the moment arrived. You never saw two children get dressed so fast! I swear! If only they would have that much gusto when putting on their jammies. We decided to attend our church's annual Trunk or Treat celebration. It is quite a to-do. There are bouncy castles, a petting zoo, crafts, a wagon ride, and (Jon's personal favorite) free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, not to mention dozens or decorated cars passing out candy. The kids love it!
Speaking of my sweet angels, I was hard pressed to get any pictures. Moira was singularly focused on getting to the business of filling her bucket with candy and had no interest in even pretending to pose for us. Sigh. Carter wanted to be a Ninja and Moira went as Lulu, the Ladybug Girl, from her favorite book (Ladybug Girl). Please pay close attention to that sassy homemade tutu. ;-)
Here is the best we got. Sorry.

 At the 11th hour, Moira decided she wanted to be a pirate. Go figure!

PUMPKINS!

Moira had her first field trip on Wednesday to Belvedere Farms. We rode a tractor out to the pumpkin patch and picked our pumpkins, then had a blast at the farm. There was tons of fun to be had: she bounced on a bouncy pillow, fed sheep, swung on a rope in a barn, and dug in the dirt. Not too bad for our little city slicker!
When we were done, Moira helped me pick out gourds to decorate our home and Thanksgiving table. Her favorite thing by far was feeding the sheep. She was so brave and giggled when the sheep licked her hand. Thank the Lord for hand sanitizer!
On the tractor

 Looking for the perfect pumpkin

 All she wanted to do was "milk the cow!"

 Barn Stormer!

Happy Fall!

WARRIOR DASH!!!!

This past weekend, Jon and a few friends participated in Warrior Dash. It is a 3.5 mile obstacle course, some of of which included running through tires, climbing over teetering towers of smashed cars, swimming across a river, climbing over logs, climbing up rope ladders, climbing down rope ladders, jumping over fire, and finally a low crawl under barbed wire through mud.
The wives and kids decided to come along to cheer them on and, let's be honest, enjoy the show. Carter and Moira enjoyed wrestling around with their friends and looking at all the crazy costumes. Carter was a little unsure of all the craziness, but felt a little safer after seeing a Ninja. Unfortunately, we could only watch the last three obstacles so we will have to take the men's word for it on the parts of the course that were in the woods.
The last three events were worth it though. Carter and Moira watched as their Daddy climbed a rope wall then flew down the other side. They gasped as he jumped over a fire pit, then cheered as he low-crawled through mud.
To say the guys were dirty afterwards is an understatement. They were COVERED in mud. They had a blast though. Jon had the biggest smile I've seen as he walked away from the course. He wanted to give us all big hugs but we told him to go jump in a lake. So he did.
Once he was "clean", Moira wanted to give him a congratulatory kiss. Just what every warrior deserves after victory: a kiss from a fair maiden.
Carter (right) and his friend Tyler getting their game faces on.

 The Warriors (before). Jon is third from the right.

 The Warriors: The Next Generation

 And they're off!

 Very Fierce beginning.

 The guys completing the 3rd to last obstacle. Jon is second from right.

 Jon leaping over fire. Sorry for my lame camera skills. I was running, holding Moira AND taking pictures. Take that Warrior Dash!

 Jon crawling through MUD. It smelled like manure but don't tell them that.

 Jon and Mike crawling the last few feet.

 Running for the finish line!

 Our Hero!!! He is smiling at Moira.

 Victorious!

 Jon's congratulatory kiss from his maiden fair.

We are all so proud of Jon! The kids really enjoyed seeing him get silly, get dirty, and most importantly, be silly!