HAPPY 4TH!!!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. Here are some shots Jason got of our town's fireworks extravaganza last night. Has anyone ever seen the smiley-face firework? That was a new one to me. :-)

DQ FIREWORKS SHOW

Boating Beauties

 

I wish I was out on a boat right now!

A Symphony in the Dark

 

This is my good friend from college, Becca Mutz- Rainey. We roomed together our senior year of college, and I have MANY fond memories with her. She has the most contagious laugh, funny impersonations, sweet spirit and heartfelt faith. I wanted to put a plug out there for her this week because the story of her little girl, Molly, is being aired on FamilyLife Today radio this week. HERE is a link that takes you to the website to where you can listen to all 5 broadcasts. The 3rd broadcast airs tonight, I'm not sure what time. But it is worth your time, whether you've experienced loss or not. I think anyone with kids or grandkids needs to hear it, just to put things into perspective. Their story is so riveting. As I was sitting there listening to Becca talk on the radio last night, it just hit me really hard at how personal their experience was/ is. I feel like I've gone through this with her to some degree, just because of how I know her and care about her, and the fact that I have 2 girls of my own, and I try imagine what it would've been like for me to be in her position. Anyway, please check it out because it will bless you.

HERE is a link to where you can buy her book, "A Symphony in the Dark."

Sisterly Love

Here are some sister pics. They are not the best quality b/c I am still a doofus at using my new flash, but they are cute nonetheless. I like the one of Olivia grabbing Oaklee's hair. They are really starting to interact more...Oaklee just started asking to hold her last week. Precious. :-)

 

 

 

 

Friends, family & rock stars

Here are some pics from last weekend when we were in Little Rock. The first is of Oaklee in the tub with her cousin Cole. They had quite a fun time together! The 2nd pic is of Olivia the Rock Star. Jason decided to put my brother's Rock Band wig on her to see what she would look like. It's kind of disturbing if you ask me, she makes me think of Miss Piggy or something. But it still makes me laugh. The 3rd of is my grandpa and us, and the last is of my dear friend Virginia and her boy Liam. It was great to see them!

 

 

 

 

Guess who???

Here are pics of Olivia and Oaklee at around the same age (3 months). Can you tell who is who??? Even though many people say they don't look that much alike, we think they do! They're not identical by any means, but I think they will favor each other as they grow up. Olivia definitely looks more like her daddy, though.

 

 

Oaklee update: this girl is learning words at the speed of light! Her favorites right now are "mowing" (every time she hears a mower or weed-eater outside), "bows" (referring to ALL of her hair bows, rubberbands and clips that she gets out of her drawer and spreads all over the house every day), "wee" (which is her word for "swing" b/c we have a swing for her on the front porch and we always say "weeeeee" as she swings), and my personal fave, "allergy medicine". (she gets the bottle out of her dresser drawer and brings it to me saying her version of "allergy medicine".It is so funny.) She is quite the daredevil, too! She is not afraid of anything, which makes me have to watch her like a hawk! She LOVES riding on her Pop's 4-wheeler, she loves being thrown in the air by her dad (mom doesn't have the muscle to do that!), and she loves climbing on every piece of furniture in the house. Her favorite place to sit is on the coffee table. She asks for "Einsteins" (the cartoon Little Einsteins) at least 10 x's a day, even while it's playing, she still asks for it! She's gotten good at the "pat pat pat...blastoff!" part, for those of you who know what I'm talking about. She even does it when she's in her crib by herself! This girl is a hoot. She definitely keeps us laughing.

Olivia update: other than LOTS of big smiles, she is now sleeping at least 5-6 hours straight every night! This is amazing considering just a few weeks ago, she was only sleeping like 2-3 hrs straight. I feel much more sane now, to say the least. She has been a great baby, and she is really starting to pay attention to her big sis and smile at her more. Olivia is happiest when someone is holding her and when she is outside. She is on the brink of rolling over and laughing, so we're looking forward to those milestones.

Never a dull moment at the Lofton casa! We are thoroughly enjoying this season of life.

the latest

I apologize again for the lack of posts! Blogging has taken a back seat for now as my "free time" is extremely limited these days. But here are some recent pics for your viewing pleasure of our lovely girls. Olivia is ALL smiles now unless she is gassy or hungry. She is so sweet. The middle pic is of one of our 14 puppies that are now 6 wks old and ready to find good homes! We're already down to 8, I think, but they are cuter than I thought they'd be! If you want one, by all means, let us know! And the last pic of Oaklee sums up her favorite activity at the present time: CLIMBING. This girl may be small, but she is nimble & strong when it comes to climbing on things! She takes after her cousin Cole who is now dubbed "Spiderman" in our family. (check out Sonya's blog for video proof of his climbing skillz). So that's a quick update for anyone who still checks our blog! Fun times!!!