Tippy turns 18!

 Your little Tobin turned 18 today!! We really wanted you here but still tried to have a fun birthday for Tobin! Mommy, Mattie, and Tobin made delicious pork chops, sautéed veggies, and potatoes au gratin. Everything was wonderful! For dessert they set up an ice cream sundae bar, I can envision you saying, "Sunday, Funday!!!!!" When Tobin sliced the banana for the sundae bar, Colin saw the peel and said, "When my grandpa comes back alive he will throw it at me!" I never thought i'd get used to it...and don't get me wrong it still hurts my heart, but it doesn't make me cry like it used to. Just a moment of take-your-breathe-away then I am ok. She had already opened her gifts by the time we got there and was very spoiled by all of us! Mattie got her some stylish Tobin clothes...including a jean skirt that (sorry I have to rat on her) I don't know you would approve of! It's kind of short and when I told her she could wear leggings under it she said, "or not". Yikes! You aren't even gone 2 months and she is getting "rebellious." haha I gave her a hard time (being silly) and I know she won't dress immodestly now that you're gone. Mommy got her a comforter for her bed that is PERFECT and then the two of us split a beautiful Persona bracelet from Zales. We picked beads that were so Tippy and as she gets older we are going to add on to it. We wanted to do something special for her 18th birthday because we knew you would have if you were here. That is one thing you excelled in...gift giving...except for the random things you picked up at CVS. Like the shark fin ice mold? And the raspberry ice cube tray? And the potato mit? I have to admit...I have never figured out why you thought they were good gift items...but luckily for you now that you are gone I cherish them anyways! And I will use the shark fin mold for Colin's 4th birthday coming up in honor of you! Oh man, I just realized my baby is almost 4! How did that happen?!
  August and September are proving to be crazy months! Between birthdays, bridal showers, homeschooling, cubbies, the possibility of me teaching 2's and 3's again, and teaching ballet I am pretty much up to my ears in activities. I am like you though, I like to be active and do things with the kiddos! Colin is very excited about cubbies and got a kick out of the picture I showed him of his daddy in cubbies. He still finds it crazy that his daddy and mommy were once little kids. I remember having the same epiphany when I was little! You guys had names other than "mom" and "dad" and you had parents and you were babies at one time, and you had siblings, and *gasp* you didn't always obey your parents! Although, you guys always SAID you always obeyed, your parents did rat you both out and tell us all the things you did when you were little that weren't obedient! I am looking forward to all the teaching stuff as it is one of my gifts. I like administrating and I like helping others to learn and grow.
  The kids have been a bit of a challenge the last few days but God has given extra grace to handle them. To start it off, despite them getting up at a normal hour (8am) they are not napping and they are staying up until almost midnight and one night it was 1:15am before we could get the last two down! I don't know where the energy is coming from but my best guess is they are sucking it out of me because I have NONE! I got some pictures of them staying up late and I know you'll get a kick out of them! Cecily has started really finding her own "fashion" sense and oh boy is it ever out there! Most days she wants to wear sunglasses, brown boots, a shirt that has some sort of cupcake, ice cream cone, or animal on it, and I am allowed to pick her pants still. It is cracking me up to see her little style and likes coming out. Her favorite things to wear are a cupcake shirt or cupcake PJ's because whenever she puts them on daddy and Colin "eat" her which she finds HILARIOUS! She will walk up to Bryan and stand there grinning at him until he realizes that she has a "cupcake" and then he scoops her up and gnaws on the cupcakes and she laughs til she cries! It melts my heart! She already has such a special relationship with her daddy like we all had with you. He is her prince charming and she is his princess!
   Well dinner needs to get started....I love you and I miss you OH so much!! I have been thinking about you and my baby boy up there all day and it makes me smile to think that while grammie gets to spoil her grandkids down here...you get to spoil the one that beat you up there!
  Your Favorite Second Born,
  Carley
The first pictures are of the kids up waaaaay past bedtime! The second ones are of Cecily's "style" and the third set is of Tobin's birthday celebration. We put a picture of you at the table with us so you could "be there".