Again Today

It's true. I lost it again today. Talking with a very special friend, mentor, encourager, I cried, just a bit, again today. What can I say.... I miss her. My sunglasses are becoming a staple accessory these days. I miss her smile, I miss her teasing, I miss her sweetness, I miss her singing. But I REALLY miss knowing what is going on all day with her, what makes her laugh, what makes her sad, what new thing she has discovered, what new challenge she has conquered. Thank goodness we serve a God who is always out in front of us. A God that amazingly loves her more than we do, a God that is able to protect her better than we can, a God that knows all. I am thankful to be partnering on this parenting journey with such a God!

"Aminal"

Just had to write it down so that I would forever remember.... our girls are very clear talkers, Josiah a bit more than Adalie, but we happen to think their speech is very easy to understand. So what is my favorite word that they both mispronounce?? "AMINAL" How cute is that?? And no, we have not corrected them because it is so darn cute!

Daddy-Daughter Day

What do you get when Mommy and Josiah have the "Kindergarten Flu" and can't go to church on Sunday?? That's right..... Daddy-Daughter Day!! It's a favorite around here with all of Daddy's girls!! Our little family of 4 (plus the dog makes 5) is structured such that we do nearly everything together! And we love it that way. We don't want to miss a minute of these girls, they are way too much fun! Which makes Daddy-Daughter day even that more special. Our Daddy happens to be the fun maker, laugh producer, game maker, giggles inducer, crazy maker, excitement creator, around here! So a day with Daddy no doubt includes Skittles or milkshakes, and lots of fun. Today Adalie got to go with Daddy in the Jeep. Look closely, this girl is ready... hat, glasses, purse and all dolled up in a cute dress.... ready for her date with Daddy! Have fun you 2!

Mermaid Adalie IS 3!

This is a Birthday Girl who was absolutely ecstatic about all aspects of her birthday, from making the cake to singing the Birthday song. A girl after my own heart really... I love birthdays... who cares if you're 30??, you get to celebrate with a Birthday!! As a matter of fact, she sort of celebrated her Birthday all month long. She was often heard saying this month, "no whining, it's my Birthday month" or "we should eat pizza, it's my Birthday month!" And if we had a tie vote for the family, she was the tie breaker... "because it's my Birthday month!" So here she and Sister are making the cakes. Can you just see the excitement!!

While Sister was at school on Friday, we mixed the frosting. We did not decorate of course without her...

Yes, pink frosting for this mermaid cake. Everything is pink in our little pinkalicious world here at the Waltner household.

Mommy loves making fun birthday cakes. It's part of the whole celebration! And I have 2 of the best assistant cooks/decorators around. The tradition all started for me after seeing the fabulous creations that my Mother-in-Law made for her kiddos. She still knocks my socks off with her fun cakes!

AND.... drum roll please.... the finished product.... Adalie's 3rd Birthday Mermaid Cake!! It is no optical illusion or trick of the camera, yes her cake is nearly as big as she is!!

And, although not pictured above, Josiah was instrumental and irreplaceable as my right hand cake decorator!

Now, let the celebrating begin....

Josiah successfully blowing up her first balloon (a pink one of course)!

Sweet Sisters

We had invited all the family and Adalie's favorite friend Kaiya to join us in a celebration swim at Bass Lake and burger at Miller's Landing. 2 of Adalie's favorite things...


Bladen, Kaiya's little brother, and often my girls' entertainment. We love Babies!

Sweet Kaiya and her Mommy Tenaya

Adalie driving GiPa's partybarge over to Miller's for dinner. Watch out here comes the Birthday Girl!

Made it to Miller's and these girls were ready for a celebration.

Of course, we had to get a picture of AdieBear with her bear friend. Cousin Ashlyn, Cousin Piper, Josiah, Kaiya, AdieBear and the bear.

Happy Birthday to you...

She made a wish alright, but you will have to ask her yourself what she wished for.

Smile girls... Kaiya, Cousin Ashlyn, Adalie, Josiah and Cousin Piper


As someone I love once pointed out to me, I am not very good at getting pictures of the whole picture. So true to form, I got a bit distracted by how doggone cute the girls are and didn't take too many pictures of all the family that were there to celebrate with us. So I have made a promise to be more comprehensive with my photo shoots and have pulled from my archives to include those we love.
A very special Thank You goes to GiPa for making his secret recipe homemade icecream. It was delicious as always.

And although Grandpa was otherwise engaged, Amma was there with bells and whistles to celebrate.

Not only did Poppa and Grammy get to come and celebrate Adalie's birthday, but were very special visitors at Josiah's school.

And Thank you to Uncle Jon and Aunt Jen who are always there for the special celebrations, keeping us up until midnight with their late night antics and excitement for Birthdays too (maybe its genetic?)

Kamala, who risked all with this manuever. She's a sweet one!

Thank you Gigi and Gipa for having a super cool dock for us to swim at! That dock, dear to our hearts, now hold so many memories!




August 23, 2008. Partygoers are gone and just our family spends the day celebrating our Adalie. There are so many things we love about Adalie. But one of our very favorites is her facial expressions. She's got quite the repertoire and they are priceless.

We are blessed to live in the place where we love to play.

Love these girls!

We look forward to what this 3rd year has in store for us. With Adalie, it's sure to be an adventure!

Happy 3rd Birthday Baby Girl!!

Mermaid Adalie

Since her very first few days, Adalie has loved the water! She was out at the lake at just a few days old, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the lake life. As an infant, whenever she fussed, all you had to do to calm her was turn on the tap. Now, at almost 3 years old, she is a full fledged Mermaid. She loves to swim! Loves to jump in! Anytime you ask Adalie what do you want to do?? The answer is always "go to the lake and swim!" So to celebrate our Adie Bear's 3rd Birthday, we will once again be found at the lake ....... swimming!



Adalie @ 10 months old just floatin'! Still today, she will be the first one in and long after everyone else is cold, lips are blue and teeth are chattering, she will be the last one out!

Adalie 15 months, our little "I do it" Baby, floating with her water wings all by herself! And loving doing it all my herself!




Now a BIG girl, running and jumping off the docks with Sister. They have quite the repertoire of jumps, including but not limited to; the lollipop, the chicken, the half flying squirrel, the pencil dive, the spinner and the jump rope. Oh my how the list goes on.....

First Day of Kindergarten

After much discussion, research, and prayer we decided to send our little Princess Josiah mainstream to North Fork Elementary School. And today was the big day; the first day of Kindergarten. She was ready, excited and of course looked absolutely adorable. Mommy on the other hand was a bit of a train wreck. I've decided through all this that their are 2 types of Moms, those that look forward to the next step and those that want to slow it all down. I am in the latter group. I know emphatically that the little old Grandmas in the grocery store are so very right when they tell you to "enjoy every minute, because it will go fast." But I digress..... We just wanted to say thank you for the prayers and support over the last few weeks! We made it through the day. I definitely had my lip biting moments but held it together pretty good UNTIL Adalie lost it...... you see Seth was taking our "first day of school" pictures and of course we wanted one with Adalie too, when poor baby curled her little hands under her chin, feelings hurt and started to frown. When I asked her why she wouldn't smile for Josiah's picture.... she burst out that she didn't want sister to leave her!! Now that'll make anybody cry ... am I right?? So slight loss of tears there, but it was time to go. I kept my sunglasses on and air conditioner up HIGH! Josiah walked right into her class, showed Seth around, put her lunch and bag away and sat down at the table ready to go!! So a few pictures later, I make my exit, yes still biting my lip and maybe sniffing a bit through my sunglasses of course! By the end of the day Josiah had found a sweet little friend and was happy as a lark and looking forward to tomorrow. Yes, I still have an enormous lump in my throat but most Moms say that dissipates in a few weeks :)

First Day cont....

Sweet AdieBear with her sad sad frown, liable to break her our hearts, unsure of what life will be like without our beloved playmate!

Josiah putting her bag in her little cubbie.

Her classroom is decorated in Nursery Rhymes.

and more...

All the kiddos had to find their name

and sign in.

True to form I took lots of pictures. But who

can blame me, she is so darn cute!
Josiah and her gymnastics friend Kaia.
See ya later Mom and Dad, I'm ready to learn.
So we take our exit with Adalie in tow, frown and all.

Adalie and Mommy's first day

Obviously, Adalie and I needed a distraction and quick! So what could be better than going to pick out Birthday cake! Yes, that is right... amidst all this, our Baby, our Adie Bear is turning 3!! Lord have mercy on me....

This is the one! Although she initially gravitated toward the chocolate (she is her Amma's granddaughter) the rainbow sprinkle won out.
And of course, what makes any girl feel better?? A cookie! Funny, the cookie lady even gave Mommy one - must have still been red-faced!
And a promise to go back to see Sister at lunch time helped a bit too! This is Josiah with her awesome Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. G.
Last but not least, a snooze, a cuddle with our girl. Both worn out to the core. The sweetest girls around. We are so very lucky!