Alyssa is our first born. She kept me waiting 10 days past my due date, but I fell in love the minute I saw her precious face. She is probably your typical first born child in many ways. But since I only have one how do I know. She is sensitive, sweet, caring. Likes to have a playmate. Bright. Obedient. Honest. Loving. I love that she has made friends around her. I love that she loves her middle sister enough to play games on her level. I love that she needs to give hugs and kiss multiple times before bed. I love that she remembers things from years ago. I love that she loves to read ( a trait from her father). I love that she has parts of him and parts of me in her character. I love her sweet laugh. I love that she still needs my approval and help. I love that she is part of my life right now and that I have been given the task to teach her, love her and guide her in the ways of God. I can’t believe how fast 7 years has gone and I do not want to blink and miss the next 7.

Her aunt and uncle were in town this week which made this birthday even more fun. She chose M&M, chocolate chip and sprinkle pancakes for breakfast and finished up the day with CFA. The big celebration was at the skating rink the next day with some of her friends. I … I mean … she had a blast. See all the photos.

Two weeks ago Audrey was dedicated at Harpeth Community Church. The other little baby on stage with us, well, his name was Noah. I like this photo with all the hands stretched out toward us, committing their support to help us raise her to follow God. (Think out of your comfort zone for you CofC’ers) The girls all did good on stage, but I think Megan stole the show swinging her beads in circles. This may be the only photo where she looked serious and was not scowling at the audience. And though Mommy did not take a single photo of Audrey that morning, trust me, she did look cute.

Around the House:

While most families are play Wii, we are playing the real old-school games on N64. Alyssa has become really good. She races, plays a Ms PacMan game and Super Mario 64. And for now, Megan loves to just watch her. And when I play, she usually beats me. When I question it, Ethan responds, “Let’s be honest here, games were never really your forte.”

Well, I will tell you what is my forte, and that is baking stuff that is bad for me then running it off. We fried up some donuts for Valentines breakfast and much to my surprise, they were tasty. I may never need a donut shop again. And to offset my horrible eating habits, I have been running. I am in a group with some MOPS girls and we try to run few times a week and get in a long run together on Saturday. But with the weather lately, it is hard. We are up to 6 miles and have a 10K in two weeks. It has been very enjoyable for me. Lacing up the shoes, layering up the body for 28 degree weather, strapping on my new GPS watch and hitting the pavement – usually at 6am. The goal is the Nashville Half-Marathon in April.

And last up was Ethan’s birthday. We have been on a serious Dave Ramsey inspired budget this year, so just going out to eat was a treat for us all (or maybe just me!). We followed it up with my annual Carrot Cake and some good friends for company. Happy 33 to Ethan. Can you believe he is so OLD?

And here is my other project. I am attempting a Photo a Day for 2010 and this is the kit I bought. Here are a few of the pages, click on the photos if you want to see details.

Growing up in Houston, I have never had this much fun in the snow. Ok, I think I went skiing as a kid once, and remember a photo of me riding in a gondola, and it snowed once in 1987 and I ate snow off our pool lounger — but beyond that don’t remember anything like this.

Friday was a snow day, and I heard it was the most snow we have had since 2003. It snowed most of Friday, froze that night and Saturday everything was coated in white with a top layer of ice. We tried to get out for church today, but it didn’t look good. Later today the sun came out and we wanted to play. Ethan found a piece of old wood and made a sled out of it and it worked for a bit. Then we borrowed a friend’s discs and headed to the elementary school where we heard there was some good sledding. Audrey pretended to take a nap at our neighbors and we had a blast. Alyssa was hesitant at first, but after the first time she was fine. Megan I think will be the adventurous one. First time down, all by herself, she had a look of panic and shear fun in one. I’ll admit, I kept riding with her just so I could play too. Now, school is canceled for Monday too. I sure wish we had some ski gear for these kids so we could play without getting wet…and next time we would be ready for some real skiing. It was a great day!

That’s right. We are all superheros. I had planned out a great idea for costumes. The two little ones were going to be home-made hand-me-down costumes that I was very proud of. So I just had to think of something for Alyssa. Well, as it turns out, she can think on her own now. Dang! And she picked Super Girl. Well, then of course, Megan doesn’t want to be a puppy, she wants a superhero too. Then Bat Girl is born. Now there can’t be any fun unless Audrey too is one and Dad comes up with The Flash. Then he stops by Hobby Lobby on the way to work one day (how cute is that) and we all now are superheros. It was a lot of fun putting them together. All pics

Here are some others of my almost ONE year old.

And since I am a words of affirmation type person, here is my Halloween dessert. After the photo, Ethan decided the pumpkin patch needed a gum drop fence. I love him like that.

Megan, is well… Megan. There are no words to describe her other than herself. She is three. Loud. Moody. But immaginative. Hysterical. Unlike her sister in many ways, but just like her in others. God is so creative. She doesn’t want to go to school in the morning, but jumps right out of the car and comes back happy. Who knows what really goes on in there. She likes to play anything from pretend animals to Wall-E and Even. Mostly follows her big sisters directions, and in turn gives them to her little sister.

Audrey is almost one. She is everywhere and into everything, but not walking. She eats like no other I have raised. I had to give her some chocolate cake one night after dinner because she did such a good job with her green beans and I thought she needed a treat. She loves to play whatever her sisters are playing, which drives one of them crazy. She gets parented by 4 people in the house. She cannot sleep without her “nuffle bunny”. She does the roar of the tiger, says DaDa, BaBa, waves and the occasional MaMa. But she is darn cute.

And that leaves Alyssa. She is 6, in 1st grade. She loves school. She excels. She can totally entertain herself with a book, like most of the Whaleys. She has lost three teeth. She plays, but doesn’t love, soccer. She thinks maybe “it isn’t the sport for me.” Too bad, mom and dad say it is right now. She is affectionate, nurturing, and kind. She can still throw a fit like a 3 yr old, and get her feelings hurt very easily. She has several buddies in the neighborhood that she wants to play with daily. She obeys and is the one I can control when chaos comes knocking at my door. She is the one who will cuddle, give one more hug, and generally be anything you need her to be. Am I blessed with these girls or what?

(Yes we have a bird sanctuary in the backyard)

After many attempts using different strategies, Alyssa finally got the hang of riding a “two wheeler” as she calls it. She has been balancing on the bike by just coasting with no feet on the pedals for a few weeks. But once Oma got her in the street today, a little push, and she took off. I think she rode for about 40 minutes non-stop. She is so proud of herself. Her friend down the street was watching and cheering her on too.  Kudos to Oma for getting her going.

Proud bike rider and her toothless smile.

Nana was here earlier in the week too. We have been spoiled for a solid week with cooking, cleaning, dish washing, and babysitting. It rained for mom’s whole trip, but I have a feeling she enjoyed it just as much.

The first of many hot days for the little sisters.

And she’s off. I successfully took her to the 1st grade hall and we found her room. SO much different than Kindergarten where she had already met her teacher and had a few half days of practice. She was a bit hestitant before entering the room, but did just fine. We sorted her supplies, found her desk and she was good. Bitter sweet memories ran through my mind as I walked out the door. Checked on some of her friends in other classes. Took a deep breath and kept going. I guess no matter their age. No matter how crazy they drive you. They are still your babies. Still your responsibility. And I will always feel a little strange leaving her behind.

The week has been busy already. We played with the cousins this weekend and the girls are in swim lessons 4x a week. Alyssa did great, and Megan…well, she acted just like Alyssa did at her age. Sometimes she needs a little convincing to try something and her teacher decided she didn’t want to “break her trust” with Megan. So we sat on the edge screaming. Today was much better, in fact completely opposite. She walked right over to her teacher, hopped in and then screamed when it was time to get out. I cannot win with this child.

We have swam everyday so far, went to see UP with Daddy tonight and attempted to get Alyssa’s ear’s pierced. She wants to do it so bad, but just can’t sit still and let the girls do it. I can’t say I am too disappointed. I am the one who keeps asking her, but then secretly inside, I really don’t want her to do it.

Then Audrey. She seems to be growing before my eyes. She is happy, talking and rolling her way from the rocking chair into the coffee table and more. She cannot sit up yet, but appears to be trying to crawl. What? Can you physically crawl before sitting up?