It has begun...

Notice the "birthday girl" crown?

We wondered how long it would be before the girls were playing "dress up" with R. It seems it took almost exactly 15 weeks. R just kept smiling at them because they were laughing...poor thing doesn't realize they are laughing at him!!!

The picture...

I guess it helps to see how cute it is if I actually put the picture in????

R's Mickey Mouse outfit

While we were in Florida, Aunt Becky gave R this cute little Mickey Mouse outfit. It was so warm while we were there that he never got a chance to wear it. He finally wore it the other day, and it looked so cute that I had to show Aunt Becky! Thanks Aunt Becky!!!!!

Believe it or not...little R is 3 months old!!!!

Even though it seems like yesterday that R and I were meeting this tiny little guy in the NICU, our little R is 3 months old today!!! He is growing each day, and we are thoroughly enjoying the little man that he is becoming. He is still a pretty mellow baby, although he has finally found his voice and has learned how to use it when he is really upset! He still has plenty of smiles to go around, especially when his sisters are involved. His face lights up when he sees either of them! I am still the only one that has made him laugh though, and I hold that title close to my heart! : ) He weighs a little over 12 1/2 pounds now...as you can see from the pictures, he eats well!

R's First Haircut!!!!

AFTER

(Doesn't he look oh so handsome?)

BEFORE

(He looks a little depressed because he is having a bad hair day!)

We have been discussing it for a while now, and today we finally decided to do it...we took R in for his very first haircut!!! We took him to a special place that only does childrens' hair, and the lady was great with him. He was great through the whole thing...he sat on Daddy's lap and let the lady work her magic. He came away with a very handsome haircut. We think it is a big improvement...let us know what you think!!

Arabian Nights

T riding one of the horses at Arabian Nights...do you think she's happy or what?
T got to meet several of the horses
The show was really amazing...the horses were beautiful...
More of the show...it really was a great time!
For T's special activity on the Disney trip, we went to the Arabian Nights dinner show. T and PaPa had VIP passes, so they got to go early and see the horses, and T even got to ride one! PaPa somehow managed to get us seated on the front row...so T got to see the show up very close. It was a great show, and T thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

A at the beginning of her makeover with Fairy Godmother
A preparing for the "fairy dust"
The photo shoot...isn't she beautiful??
Our little princess with the castle in the background

We planned a special activity for each of the girls during our Disney trip. A's special day was a makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella's Castle. She got to pick out a princess dress, complete with crown, wand and shoes. Then she went in for a princess hairstyle, and got her makeup and nails done. She looked absolutely beautiful, and she felt like she truly was a princess!!!! Her makeover ended with a photo shoot...what a morning!!! I think it will be something she will remember for a lifetime!!

The Willis Family Does Disney!!!!!

A was thoroughly impressed with Cinderella's castle!!!
A and T with MiMi and PaPa at Animal Kingdom
A and T having a little "dance party" with C
Going into "It's a Bug's Life" 3-D show...only a really cool family can pull of this look!!! On another note, A's smile disappeared immediately after seeing the first big 3-D bug coming at her! She was not impressed with the show and spent most of it with her eyes closed and crying.

We met my parents in Florida and spent our Thanksgiving holiday at Disney World. We spent 4 days exploring the parks, and we had a blast! Our 5th day was spent at the ER with A...a case of strep throat stopped her fun, but overall the trip was great! We convinced our friends from Florida to come and spend a day at Magic Kingdom with us, so we got even more precious time with them and their little guy. My parents got some great bonding time with little R and the girls, and even though it didn't seem like Thanksgiving, it was great fun anyway!!

Our Florida Visit

R LOVES Aunt Becky already!!!! He saved some special smiles just for her!
A shared with C the "art of organization" (she firmly believes everything should be lined up in rows)
It seems to be a tradition that we must eat Mexican when we are together!!
Look at those happy faces!!!
On our way to Disney World, we stopped in to see our "Florida friends" for a very quick visit. We hadn't seen them and their little guy since February, and boy has he grown up!!! We were very excited to introduce our little guy to them, too. We had such a good time in the few hours we were there, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the little man that C is becoming. He is a special little guy, and so are his parents, and we miss them dearly!!!!!

Little R is 2 months old!!!

The big, handsome boy in the recliner. He spends a lot of time in it with big R.
Okay, he's done with this...he's ready for a bottle and bed! Isn't that face pitiful?

Our little R was 2 months old on November 8th. He has gotten so much bigger, and we are totally enjoying the little man he is turning into. He smiles all the time now, all it takes is a little eye contact with him, and the grins are there!! He coos occasionally, but he is still just not a very vocal baby. Even his cries are still pretty quiet and mellow. He has just discovered that his hands belong to him, and he can now get them to his mouth to suck on them. He laughed for me for the very first time today, and it was too cute! I haven't been able to get him to do it again for R and the girls, but we are working on it!! His hair has not fallen out at all...it just keeps getting longer. Of course, big R wants to take him to the barber, but I have convinced him not to. His hair is a show-stopper everywhere we go...people just have to come and get a closer look at the baby with all the hair!! He continues to be a happy boy most of the time, and we feel so blessed to have him as part of our family.

Smiles

First, they were only in his sleep...
Then came the awake smiles!!!!
And they keep on coming!!!
He's a happy boy!!!

R has just started sharing smiles with us in the last couple of weeks. He has even learned how to use them...when we are getting frustrated because he won't eat or go to sleep, he will turn on a big 'ol grin, and all we can do is smile right back...frustration gone!!

Halloween

Okay, all the good Moms already have their Halloween pictures on here, so it was making me look like a slacker, so I HAD to get mine on here!!! For some reason, my computer time has been severely limited lately...I won't mention that I am holding a baby in one hand and typing with the other right now...

As with every past Halloween, A was a princess this year! You can't see it in the pictures, but when it got dark we turned her dress on, and it glowed...changing into 7 different colors...very princessy!! The Hannah Montana craze has hit our home too, so there was no doubt who T wanted to be this year...Hannah Montana it was!! And little R was the cutest little Jack-O-Lantern I have ever seen, even if he wasn't too thrilled by the costume! He kept this serious look on his face the whole time, like he couldn't believe we had dressed him up in that costume.

The Pumpkin Patch

Looking for the perfect one...
"We found our favorites!"
The final product...all the Willis kids with Johnny the Scarecrow

Each year, we go to the pumpkin patch and the girls pick out pumpkins. We take them home to "Johnny", our scarecrow, and I get a picture of the kids with the pumpkins and "Johnny"! This year we had a new addition to the picture, so that was exciting!

Our Trip to Arkansas

R meets Great-Grandma W

R meets Great-Grandma E

R meets Great-Grandpa B

R meets PaPa for the first time...he's a big hit!!! (A keeps telling PaPa that R looks like him!)

The girls had Fall Break at school, so the kids and I took a quick trip to Arkansas. R went on his first airplane ride at 5 weeks old, and he did great! T and A got to introduce him to a lot of his extended family...he met his two great-grandmothers, great-grandfather, his MiMi & PaPa, Uncle Kenny, Grandma & Grandpa C, and even more aunts, uncles and cousins! It was especially important to us that he got to meet the great-grandparents, so we were thrilled we were able to see them, and all at their own homes and not hospitals! Everyone agreed that he is a keeper!!!

Big Sisters...

The girls are absolutely loving being big sisters!!! Just wanted to share a few pics of how great they are with R, aka Buddy, Bubba, Little Man...the list goes on and on!!! : )

Limo Ridin'

Can you see the exitement in her face???

Looking cool in the limo...
Looking way cool in the limo...
The LIMO!!!!!

The girls got to go on their limo ride the other day. They sold enough items in their fundraiser to earn the limo ride (thanks so much to everyone who helped!!) and they were SO excited!!! They have now done one more thing that I have never had the pleasure of doing...

R is 1 Month Old....

T's special sign...
A's special sign...


R was 1 month old on Oct. 8th!!!!! I can't believe it has been a month already since we heard the wonderful news that he was here!! T and A each made a "1 month" sign to have in a pic with him...they both got very creative. They are still loving him to pieces, and have become very big helpers, especially on "binky patrol"!! : )

Princesses on Ice

Jasmine was one of A's favorites
Cinderella was a big hit also!
A got to touch several of the princesses' hands, and the fairy godmother...very exciting!!

A has been working very hard at going to school without crying in the mornings, so as a special treat we had a Mommy/A night and went to the Princesses on Ice show. Needless to say, A had a blast, and she ended the night by getting to touch the hands of several of the princesses. We were in the VIP (very important princess) section, so she was in the front row where she could see ALL of the action!!! The show was great, and if they come to your town I highly recommend going. I was never a princessy type, but I really enjoyed the show!!!