My Little Cheerleader

Caroline cheered for the first time today at an Upward basketball game. She's been so excited about "cheering for the boys," even though there were some girls on the team too. It broke my heart just a little that she didn't want to play basketball, but she promised me that she would try it next year!

After I watched her cheer today and saw how much she enjoyed it, I might just have to accept the fact that I really do have a little cheerleader on my hands and leave the basketball playing to John Michael...

My "First Child's" Birthday

Murphy was our firstborn...yes, I know he's a dog, but he means much more than that to me. He turned 10 years old on Sunday, and we had a big celebration for him. Well, it was a celebration until he unwrapped his gift and found the first ball. Then it was all about PLAY, PLAY, PLAY. Poor fellow never gets to play with any of these fun kids' toys that are strewn around the house!

He also received a Doggie Snuggie - yes, they make those for pets - another type of ball, a jar of special treats, and a special dinner of gourmet dog food filet. (His little sister, Mabel had her own bowl, of course.)

Happy Birthday to my Murph-Man! In honor of The Murph, I'll sing the little jingle that I made up just for him...

"He's the fastest in the East; he's a long and crazy beast; he's the Murph-Man.

He's the loudest in the South; he's got a long and furry snout; he's the Murph-Man.

He's the meanest in the west; he's got a big ol' furry chest; he's the MUUURRRPH-MAN...

Uh-huh, that's right."

Getting Ready For Christmas...

I don't think that I've ever decorated for Christmas before the first of December in my entire life...until now. We began our day with the supreme enjoyment of watching Mississippi State beat that school from up north in the annual Egg Bowl, and then we proceeded to venture out to find the perfect family Christmas tree and set up all of the decorations.

Usually, it's well into December before I get my tree into place, but since my surgery is scheduled for the third of the month, I thought I should get as much done as possible beforehand.

As we decorated the house, Caroline kept saying, "This is gonna be the BEST Christmas EVER!!"

Our next task on the to-do list is to write our letters to Santa...but Mommy's already informed him of most of the gifts, so hopefully, that's taken care of too. (Got to love that online shopping.)

P.S. Go Bulldogs! Hotty Toddy, WHO?!? ;o)

Caroline's Sixth Birthday Party

We celebrated Caroline's sixth birthday - and I can't believe my baby girl is already six years old - at Silver Lining Horse Stables, and everyone was treated to horseback riding, cake, presents, and a hayride at the end. We also had the opportunity to watch one of the riders jump one of the horses, which was really cool - the horse she rode is the one Caroline is riding in the picture below. (I think his name is Honey Bar?)

Caroline has been in love with horses for quite a while now, so as her birthday gift, Shawn and I are giving her a set of riding lessons. We'll keep you posted on how that goes, and if horses truly become a passion for her.

This was her second or third time around on a different horse. The first horse she chose to ride was solid white and named "Silver."

JM refused to wear his helmet, but seemed like a natural on horseback.

Lighting the candles...

Happy Birthday, my love! You're growing up WAY too fast!

Trick or Treat 2009

All of the kids, except for Molly, who refused to have her picture taken with the group.

We had our halloween tradition in the Oliphant household this year. My sister and her family came to our house for pizza and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. My mom and grandmother were even able to come this year and enjoy in our festivities for a little while, which was nice. All it took was one full walk around the entire circle of our neighborhood, and the kids were tired, cold, and ready to go home and sort through all of their candy. My sister and I had almost as much fun digging through their treats as they did! :)

Caroline - the Spider Princess and her cousin Grace - Pocahontas

JM as a lion

All the kids posing in front of some cool yard decor

Sorting through their loot!

John Michael's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my baby boy has turned two years old! We celebrated on the day of his actual birthday by serving him a homemade iced airplane cookie for breakfast, complete with the whole family serenading him with "Happy Birthday!" I sent airplane cookies with him to his mother's morning out class, and we gave him his gift that night - a Handy Manny singing tool set.

We had his party on the following Saturday, and thankfully it wasn't raining because we had the party outside at the Castlewoods park. However, there was a little October chill in the air. We celebrated with the theme of J.M. Airlines, so everything was done with planes in mind, including the obviously handmade posters, and once again, cookie party favors. John Michael had a blast in the bounce castle, and jumped himself slap out! We are so grateful for all of our friends and family that shared in this sweet moment with us.

Here are some pictures from the event...

Our cake was made by Melissa Wright - it tasted as wonderful as it looks!

The blustery day made my poster less than perfect, but I thought my "balloon clouds" were pretty cute.

Favorite Cousins :)

Still hasn't quite figured out what this fork thing is...

"How about I just take me a nap right here?"

Dad, Mom, and one tired Little Man

How We Celebrated...

I wrote him one of my "epic" letters, chronicling our last ten years, from the beginning of our relationship, and I repeated the vows I spoke to him all those years ago. I'd dug up some old mementos of our engagement and wedding, and we had fun looking through all of that. He took me to dinner to one of our favorite restaurants - and man, was it nice to have a fancy meal without kids screaming and throwing food everywhere!? When we got home, he'd written me a song, and to my surprise, he'd been learning to play the guitar for the last several months. So, he performed the sweet song to me, and I was just beside myself. I gave him that guitar many anniversaries ago, because one of my dreams was that he'd play the guitar for me and our kids one day, yet he'd never really pursued it. Well, he'd not only pursued the guitar, but he wrote me such a sweet song, and he sang it to me. (Shawn, don't kill me for publishing this for the world to see, but I think that was the most awesome gift EVER!) As usual, we were asleep by ten o'clock, but that's okay - we've just made it to this next chapter of our lives. :)