Cheers to the Weekend, Friday the 13th Edition

Friday, we meet again. 

It's so nice to see you after a busy week (I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately #brokenrecord). This week, on top of our usual four hours of therapies, we also had an(other) audiology exam, a new referral, a trip to the dentist for the big three, two parent-teacher conferences, a preschool field trip, and now this morning, a trip back to the orthotist to pick up some new gear for our littlest girl. Yee.Haw.

Anyway! We are thrilled to see another weekend and have some fun plans that include my hub heading to the lake with some guys for the night while the kiddos and I cheer on our Tigers from the couch :), something super fun tomorrow night we planned over a month ago, and then family pictures on Sunday since the weather wasn't the best last weekend. Other than that, football will be playing in the background of our home, and we'll be trying to pretend it's Fall in the 80-degree temps. #makeitstop

For now, some things we've been saying CHEERS to this week: 

Babyland General. Y'all. Babyland General is AMAZING. A little strange. But also amazing! My mom and sisters and I headed there last Saturday to celebrate my beautiful niece's sixth birthday (fist bump to you, sweet Cameron). Raleigh and I drove the 3.5 hours there, leaving at 6:30 am so we could make it in time. When we arrived to Cleveland, Georgia (aka the middle of nowhere!), we saw this beautiful, gigantic Southern plantation home-looking building. 

  

 

Inside was a massive room that included a huge cabbage patch and tree, where the cabbage patch kids are born. Lest we not believe this was their birth place, we were informed we would be witnessing a live "birth" of a new Cabbage Patch Kid. Yep. And we did. And honestly? The whole thing was adorable! We let the girls run wild and soak it all in. They selected their new children and then took oaths promising to be the best mommas they could be. So.Freaking.Cute. 

 

 The cabbage patch and tree

 Making their wishes

Watching the "birth" 

 

Taking their oaths :) 

Then, we all headed out to the most delicious lunch, watched Cameron blow out her SIX candles, and enjoyed some yummy cookie cake before Rals and I headed back home. It was seriously the most fun day, and I don't think the girls stopped smiling and giggling for a single second the entire time.

The BEAUTIFUL birthday girl!

 The whole crew!

My best friends: My Momma and my sisters

Ragnar Racing. My hub and his seven teammates did a great job, and had a great time, running in the Ragnar race last Friday afternoon/Friday night/Saturday morning. Each man ran around 16 miles total, running in shifts all throughout the day and night. Way to go, guys!

Chick-Fil-A. For the last two months, we have been trying to encourage Bella to eat cold foods. Initially, she refused anything cold, as all of her food and drinks were served room temperature or warmer in China. For a couple weeks after we arrived back to the States, we heated her milk but then slowly started cooling it down. Now, she can drink her (almond) milk straight out of the fridge! But she had not taken to ice cream, nor any cold foods, no matter how hard we tried (because every kiddo deserves cold treats, especially when you live in the hotter-than-Hades South). Until, that is, Chick-Fil-A milkshakes happened earlier this week. B-I-N-G-O. Homegirl could not get enough. CFA does it again! (P.S. She has also decided she likes lollipops now. Hooray!)

Field trips. All three of my Bigs have field trips this/next week, and first up was Harrison! Because Bella and I had an appointment to attend, his daddy took him on the field trip (and actually, he took him on the same field trip last year!). They went to the pumpkin patch, and even though the humidity was around, oh I don't know, 8,000% that day, Harrison had a BLAST, especially since one of his favorite friends was there, too! 

School-loving kiddos. On Wednesday, I got Banks and Raleigh out of school early and, along with Harrison, took them to the dentist for their cleanings. When we were done, there was still about 90 minutes left in the school day. As we got in the car, I told them we were heading home and they begged, I mean BEGGED, to return to school. Ummm....okay. ;) If you insist.

And that's it for now!

I'll be back next week with a fun, light-hearted post to balance the heavier one I shared earlier this week. In response to that, let me take a minute to say THANK YOU. THANK YOU to those who have reached out and checked in - your love and support and encouragement and prayers have lifted us up this week, and I appreciate them more than you know. <3 THANK YOU to our friends and family who ask about our daughter. We feel so blessed that she is so well-loved by people we love. THANK YOU for reading the words I write in this little space here. THANK YOU for your prayers in the weeks to come - we covet them deeply. In short, THANK YOU. 

Until next time! Have a great weekend! And GO TIGERS!!