better late than never...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!

we've had something going on everyday since caleb's birthday party and i'm just getting a chance to tell everyone about his big day. we had lots of family come in and help celebrate and it was really fun. the day began with all of us (both sets of grandparents, sis, mom, and dad) waking him up with balloons and the birthday song. He was sleepy, but loved all the attention!

i made him a firetruck cake (his request) and i think he liked it! that is all he wanted to eat all day.

the gift opening went in rounds because he just wanted to play with the things he got and would become uninterested in what else there was to open. He also had LOTS of help from his big sister (as you can see).

one of his big gifts was a new trike... this is a man trike... check out the size of those tires. his feet are just starting to reach the pedals. i think he'll be fast by this summer.

Christmas time at the siscos

christmas has been so much fun this year with allie. we've had some amazing conversations about what we are celebrating. i love hearing her remind caleb that christmas lights remind us of the light of the world, Jesus! and that Jesus was the BEST gift ever given! these are precious memories! here are just a few snaps of us enjoying our tree at home.

reason to celebrate!

we just had our two year check up with the pediatric cardiologist today. i was so proud of our little man. he laid still on the table and was all together just soo brave!! we were pleased for Dr. laird to report that everything looked great with caleb's heart. there was no sign of narrowing veins, the actual spot of the surgery still looked clean, and his lungs looked great too (which is another indication of heart problems). on the drive home i had a great time praising the Lord for his continued protection of our precious child. i definitely have not taken health for granted since December of 2006. i wanted to share our great news so that you could join us in praising our mighty God!

yeah for playdough

we have friends over today and they have really had fun building playdough bears! aren't they cute! if you don't have playdough accessories... these four kids recommend them HIGHLY!!! they have been busy doing this for almost 1/2 an hour!

photo shoot

we took allie to a cute childrens park for some three year old pictures. we took tons more than this. if you'd like to see the rest or order any - simply click one of the photos and it will take you to the motophoto site to view bigger, more, or purchace! hope you enjoy!

and her name will be jesus

allie informed us today that if mommy has a baby girl that we will name her jesus and if we have a baby boy his name will be smirkopf.... so there you have it!

allie turns three!!

we started the celebration with muffins and eggs for breakfast. she had a special crown and b-day balloon. you can tell that she felt soo important!!

i attempted to make her a princess cake for her big day. i think that she was pleased and that is what matters most! she wanted help blowing out the candles.

her cousins came to make the day complete... aren't they cute together!

one word for this: ridiculous!

this was the look on her face when she got her "big" gift from mom and dad...

and this is her testing out the gift... her very own big girl bike!

i can't believe our little girl is already three. she keeps telling everyone, "i'm three and i'll go to school soon." it's really cute how excited she is for an event she knows nothing about!

our little diva!

allie is getting so big. today she played in her room for 30 minutes and when she emerged... this is what she looked like! so cute!! thank you grammie and gigi for the assortment of cutie accessories! notice that she even has a ring and a necklace on!

coming soon: allie's b-day party!!!

sono excitement!!

thanks to all of you that prayed for us on friday. it was an emotional morning for lance and i. we prayed just before going in and had such a peace of the Lord's comfort upon us. isn't it amazing how you have NOTHING to fear when you are a child of the Lord because there is NOTHING that is out of His control.

the doctor looked at the baby's heart from a zillion angles and showed us things we'd never seen durning a sono. in the end, he said that we could definately deliver in tyler. he couldn't find any reason to even do further testing and said as far as he could tell at this point that this baby's heart looked great!

what a relief! Thank you Father!
here is a pic of the baby looking right at ya! maybe even waving too. sorry if it is hard to see. we don't have a scanner so this is a pic of a pic.

we keep saying "baby" because we decided not to find out the sex. if it is a girl, her name will be avery michelle and if the baby is a boy, his name will be riley luke!

dreams really do come true!

i get to be married to him....

HAPPY 30 YEARS LANCE!

thanks for letting me be a part of it!

how do you title this?

so we were at the plant nursery on Thursday afternoon. caleb was crawling around in one of the wagons, allie was running up and down the aisles, and lance and i were trying to decide between purple or orange pansies. please visualize with us that we were in a huge tented area (possibly the size of a football field) and all the flowers are on the ground, making it possible to see from one end to the other easily.

we finally settled on the orange for a fall color and lance began collecting 15 to fill a flat. i had walked to the door of the tent to watch caleb when i suddenly heard, "Allie, honey!" upon turning around my husband was holding a large flat of pansies and completely exposed from the waist down. seriously... no pants, no underwear, and no hands to help!!!!!!

i'm tearing up just writing it... hands down... the funniest moment of my life. after i recovered, lance explained that when he began to walk toward the door allie thought he was leaving her. she started running, tripped, and in desperation grabbed his pants - pulling them all the way to his ankles.

i hope this brings a boost to anyone needing a good laugh today!

update on baby #3

everything has gone well with this pregnancy. i was sick in the first trimester for the first time ever, but it was a small price for the reward in the end. all my tummy checks with the doctor have been positive and we've heard the heart beat several times. i'm writing to ask for a little prayer a week from tomorrow. lance and i will be going in on Oct. 31st to see a specialist. my doctor referred us as a precautions with the history of caleb's heart. the largest purpose of the appointment is to determine the condition of this baby's heart before labor. if something were to look unusual, my doctor would have me deliver this baby in dallas where they have the facilities to handle those issues. my doctor, lance, and myself do not anticipate finding anything other than the ordinary, but as the day approaches my mind has wondered to the what ifs. as our friends and family, we are asking that you keep the health of this baby and the this doctor (kevin mcgee) in your prayers.

thanks so much friends!!

playin' with pumpkins

first off... how about it?? five posts in one week... pretty amazing!


second... i've been feeling like a slacker of a mom lately and decided it was time to get creative and educational with my children (after all, i am a teacher)! this week we studied the letter P and had all sorts of fun with pumpkins. hopefully, at some point, our kids will do the P rap for you! It was pretty cute. HA!

These are the paper pumpkins that we made. the kids had fun tearing paper and using a glue stick. allie decided to hang these in the window for our dog, cooper, to enjoy!

We also bought a bag of mini pumpkins and had an afternoon of painting. this really was a fun time. painting outside is the best... mommy, doesn't seem to stress as much.

this is when caleb first started... it is a long story, but make sure and notice allie in time out behind caleb on the porch... the facial expression is GREAT!

check out that color blending...

allie was soo proud of her creations. she has been moving them all over the place. it makes me smile to walk around the corner and find pumpkins in a new spot.

great time for fishin'!

our friends, kevin and stephanie, invited us to their pond for some afternoon fishing! the kids were really excited. we have taken them before, but they have never caught anything.

this is caleb "helping" daddy get the gear ready...

allie is casting with her barbie doll fishing rod....

she couldn't believe it! a fish... and a pretty big one!

posing with her first catch!

sadly... caleb didn't catch anything this time, but i'm sure he will soon!

dragon flies

i don't know what was happening on Tuesday afternoon, but our neighborhood was taken over by dragonflies! it was the craziest thing i have ever seen... the kids were literally running through them like they were bubbles! i was beginning to think that i was participating in a modern day plague. here are some pics, but they don't do the scene justice because my camera was not picking them up! however.... how about that grin???

pappy's pumpkin farm

this is my FAVORITE time of year!!! and this year we tried out a new pumpkin patch and it was incredible. we weren't able to get a good shots of the kids together, but we had fun watching them get excited about everything that there was to do...

hayrides....

feeding catfish....

funny faces...

tractors, wagons, and pumpkins everywhere...

see-saw, merry-go-rounds, slides, playhouse....

and their absolute favorite was the barrel cars (they rode this four times)...

Seattle

lance and i were able to get away for some much needed R and R. the destination was Seattle, Washington. we've never been there and it is, hands down, the most beautiful place in the US that i've been to yet. there are plants, flowers, and trees EVERYWHERE you look. the brief rundown of our time is as follows:

underground historical tour... very cool!

baseball game... poor mariners

open market

site seeing

hiking

seafood tasting

it was the perfect opportunity to reconnect and remember how to slow down and enjoy being together!