This is the story of us...

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

Celebrating Kate!!

2010-03-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

As I go back and try to do some posts during all the time that I missed.....this day of course stands out.

KK turned 7!!!

My little November girl....November 6th to be exact.

This past year mom didn't win the "mom of the year" award. I just didn't have it all together to throw big birthday parties for either you or Grace, but of course we celebrated. When it came to your day, you decided you wanted to do the same thing that Grace did, so we took a couple of your friends out to dinner to celebrate YOU!!! With cake, games, dinner and presents, it turned out to be a great evening!!

When you turned 7, I told you that you could get your ears pierced. Grace had gotten hers done on her 7th Birthday. Your response to that was, that you were going to be 7 for awhile and you would decided when you wanted to get them done, but on your birthday was not what you wanted. Now skip ahead 3 1/2 months to Friday, February 20th. The whole week you told me you were ready and wanted to get your ears pierced, so Friday came and away we went. On the ride to getting them done, you told me you were nervous but you were trying "real" hard to forget about being nervous and I have to say, Kate, that I was sooooo PROUD OF YOU!! You did awesome!! You didn't cry or anything and when it was all over you were so excited and proud of yourself!!!!

Please note though, blankie did have to go with us for that extra comfort!!!

just kinda whatever....

2010-03-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

well I could start this off by giving some big reason why I haven't blogged in sooo long, but I think I will just say whatever and move forward......just look at one of my previous posts and I think I give a pretty good reason why I am not good at this blogging thing!

Anyway, here we are in March. Today was a celebration of Dr. Suess at school. You both decided to dress up and have fun with it.

Here is "Miss Gracie Lou WHO" and a very cute "Cat in the Hat".....

Kate, words from today "school was fun today, all day, not boring like always"!!!

and then I tried to take a few of this cute 18 month old....not very easy!!

well here is a new post....let's see how long it takes me to post another one????

Celebrating Grace!

2009-10-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

Happy 9th Birthday, Grace!!

Today was Grace's day!! Grace turned 9!! I have to say that it really seems only like yesterday.....it was a very dreary Friday afternoon and at 3:01 you came into our lives. Your Dad & I cried and cried. We couldn't believe that we had YOU, here with us.... and here we are nine years later and you are growing up so fast. We are so proud of you and who you are becoming. Last year was a pretty tough year for you and for us, but we made it thru it and you have come sooo far since those very rough days at the beginning of 2nd grade. We love you more than any words can say and nothing makes your Dad and I happier than getting to spend all of our days with you and your sisters!!

Today was filled with special fun at school, an afternoon with Caroline and dinner with Nana's, Grandad's, Aunt Nancy, your sister's, Caroline and us!

We love and adore you, Grace Elaine!!!

and we can't forget that there is also another special someone that shares this day with you....a little someone that lives in Dallas.....

Happy 5th Birthday, Ellie!!

It still makes me smile to know that your Aunt Jen and I were doing the same exact thing, on the same day.....just 4 years apart!!!

Life!

2009-10-19T09:57:00.001-07:00

Well here it is, Fall, and you can see that the last time I posted here on the blog was Spring and I guess I could sit here and try to come up with all these reasons why I haven't blogged, but truly the one big reason is.... is life!! Keeping up with you three girls takes just "a little bit" of my time and I guess the blog fell pretty low on the priority list. Anyway, I am going to "try", not "promise" to keep up with this again. So today, I will start with where we are and in the next few weeks, I think I will go back and recap the past few months.

Finally this past weekend here in Florida the temperature got a bit colder and started to feel like fall, so we headed up and went to Pumpkin Patch. You had been bugging me to go, but I refuse to go when it is 90' outside. That just is not my kinda fun...go figure???

I love this last one. I think it was Grace that was behind me and had Sophie laughing so hard. I love that you can see all the million teeth that you have!!!

Ok, I have to get back to my "life" as I hear Miss Sophie crying , not wanting to take her nap.

Tomorrow is a big day in our house.....someone is turning 9!!!!!

A day at Shamu's house...

2009-04-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

A great day was had by all when we headed down to Sea World to visit with Shamu and all his water friends....it was a day of great shows, exibits, very good friends to be with, the weather was ok and there were only a few arguements to be had with Kate in an amusement park setting!!!!

The start of the day....

"The Kids"....Grace, Peyton, Kate and Jakob...

Mommy and her girls...

Jules, Peyton and Jakob

feeding the dolphins....I think this was one of our favorites of the day....

petting sting rays....

Kate & Jakob "pretending" to go on the rollercoaster ride Kracken...only Peyton did ride it!!

Speaking of rollercoasters...Grace, you went on your first semi-rollercoaster, The Atlantis...you did pretty good with only one big drop....here we are right after the drop....

and the "Shamu" show....you girls along with Peyton decided that you wanted to sit in the "soak zone"....Mommy, Aunt Jules and Jakob didn't need that excitement....

here you are before the show.....

and after...

and against my better judgement, I allowed this....

but oh how this made your day!!!

and of course .... with four kids....this needs to happen...(no it's not water)

and finally....at the end of the day..... a little more tired but still smiling!!!

Spring Break!!!

2009-03-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year....Spring Break....the past couple of years we have gone to the beach and stayed the week, but because of a little one named "Sophie", we decided to stay close to home this week.....so with the first couple of days behind us, I have to say it's been kinda nice to just be at home with not a ton to do!! Now with that said we are headed to Sea World tomorrow with Julie, Peyton, and Jakob, so you two older ones are very excited about that!!!

OK, one thing that I have to say about you two, Grace & Kate, is that "usually" you play very well together and you have the greatest of imaginations....I always love to hear what you "world" you are in and who is who and all the other things you come up with when you are playing together....so on Saturday you were in your playroom at it in your imaginary world and I went to see what was going one and this is what I found....

You were playing "Taxes"....now I wonder where that idea came from?????? I think if I remember right, Grace, you were the mother with the baby(Sophie) and Kate was the person doing your taxes. I think this was Kate's idea and seeing that she had just spent the morning at Dad's office, I guess this was fitting for the time of the year....Tax Season!! Here's the "baby" of the group ...and yes, this is a doll stroller, not one of Sophie's stroller!!

It's also...."Spring Soccer" and we've already had a few games and I have to say that I am sooo proud of you, Kate. There was a time, not so long ago, that there was ALOT of crying and pitching fits during the games and practices, but there is NONE of that now ...you have grown up so much and are really having a great time out there and trying your best. You did score your a goal in your second game and you were so proud of yourself!!

Kate, you also got to have your first friend sleep over last night. You were very excited for this to happen and I have to say it was great. You wanted to have your friend "Ellie" over and so we made it happen. You and Ellie went all thru preschool together and were always pretty good friends. She is the one that you are closet to on your soccer team and the two of you have always gotten along very well. Here are some pictures from the evening...

Well last but not least and just because we think she is so adorable....

and look what you are gettin good at.....rolling over....but once you get over...your not real happy!!!

New Fun Stuff!!

2009-03-27T08:35:00.001-07:00

Everybody, please say a prayer!!!!

Guess who's 6 months old?????

2009-03-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is hard to believe that you are 1/2 way thru your first year....here you are in Christening gown. Your baptism was right before Christmas, and now it is Spring and I am trying get some pictures of you in it...little behind here, but you seem to consume alot of my time and getting you "dressed" for pictures is not on the top of my priority list...go figure????

Well let's see at 6 months you are finally getting the hang of the whole"eating baby food"...we don't seem to be fighting about that one as much, as long as I feed you what you like....yes, you are picky about what you will eat and what you won't eat...I think that you would eat banana's and sweet potatoes everyday if I let you, but I try to sneak a few new flavors in now and then and if it's not something that you like, you just close those lips and they won't open!!! You still love to nurse...so no complaints on that front!!!

Here are some new things that you can do and things that make you happy.........

blowing "raspberries" are oh so very fun....well actually not real fun for mommy when you have a mouth full of sweet potatoes...I tend to laugh at myself when I get on to you about things....like you really get that mommy is mad at you!!

and you have finally found your feet...and they seem to taste pretty good to you. With the warmer weather that we are having, you are loving that you are barefoot so much more!!!

*you can roll over, you've done it a few times, but you haven't got it down pat. You are good at moving yourself backwards with your legs, which is very funny to watch!!

*you are almost sleeping thru the night, but I am having to give you some "tough love" and let you cry it out!!

*you've started to suck your thumb...both of your sisters sucked fingers, so all along we've been waiting to see if you were going to suck your fingers or what...but right now it's looking like it might be the thumb...but we'll see!!

*one of your favorite things to do is sit in your exersaucer and watch "Baby Mozart"....I always laugh because usually when you are doing this, I am around the house doing other things and then I start to her you whine and when I come to see what the problem is...your whining because the movie is over!!

*you have found your "loud & sometimes squeaky" voice, which is cute, but not at all times....like in the middle of church and then we have to leave!!

*you weigh 15 lbs and are a little over 26" tall.

*and these two still adore and love you and can't get enough of you sometimes and they will pretty much help me with you whenever I ask....but with that said if there is fun to be had outside or something good on tv, then they might choose to other and leave me to deal with you.....

the most adorable "two tooth" smile!!!

I know there was a time back when I found out that I was pregnant with you, realizing that you were not "planned" and that you were the biggest "suprise" of my life, I wasn't sure about this whole baby thing again, but I can honestly say you bring so much joy to this family and I guess we were not complete until you came along and joined us. Yes, there are days that I get frustrated with being back in "baby land"...naps, nursing, up at night, carring that baby carrier around, diapers, not be able to just "go", etc, etc...but as I said before you and your sisters bring the greatest love and joy to mine and your dad's lives...we are so lucky to get to spend our days being your Mommy and Daddy!!! We love you more than any words or pictures will ever say and our hope is, that you will always know that throughout your entire lives!!!

whats been going on...

2009-03-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

Here it is on Friday and I want to do just a quick update on the three of you...

Miss Fancy Pants (as Grace calls her sometimes) has found the TV to be very entertaining. Here she is sitting in our bed watching something while her older sisters get ready for school. I got very thankful today for an oldie but a goodie...the "Baby Mozart" video. Sophie was having a rough morning, crying for what seemed like forever and not wanting to take a nap, so I pulled the video out and there she sat in her chair..nice and quiet and watched her show. I guess she needed some alone time, huh????...now if she had just told me that from the beginning and not cried for an hour, I would have given her that alot sooner!!!!

Well guess what time it is???.....Spring Soccer for Kate!! Yesterday was your first get together with your team. You all met at the pottery store and painted the "MVP Trophy" for the team. We took the fall season off, due to a minor new detail that was coming into our family in September(Sophie)...so you are beyond excited to start playing again. Your first game is tomorrow!!! Watch out everyone...here's comes Kate!!!

And here is Miss Grace and Miss Caroline. They had to have some playtime together, so here they are after school on Wednesday. Grace, this year has been a little bit of a struggle for you when it has come to school and yesterday I was very proud of you. Every couple of weeks, graded papers get sent home and yesterday some came home and I have to say that they were all great grades!! Before I started to look at them, you stopped me and told me that you had tried your best!! That almost brought tears to my eyes, because that is all that your dad and I want you to do!! I love you babe!!!

Here's to a good weekend girls!!!

Can I hold her???

2009-03-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

This is usually the first sentence that I hear when one of you know that Sophie is awake in the morning...sometimes I wonder if you will eventually get tired of her, but that's not the case so far...in the mornings and when you get home from school, it is always what I hear....can I hold her???

I will say, like I have said before, Grace you are such a big help. You will get her dressed, change her diaper, entertain her and now you are trying to master the art of feeding her, with a little help from me. This is from this morning.....

And needless to say when Sophie sees one of you...a very big smile comes to her face and she just laughs and laughs.....

Now about my little "Food Battle" with this cute one. Here is a picture from this morning....

I would say that Mommy is winning!!!!!

a Battle....

2009-02-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

Can someone send this little girl a memo and let her know that her mommy is going to end up winning this "eating baby food" battle? Please let her know that she is almost 6 months old and that she needs to be eating some of this "food" here and there....yes, nursing is her favorite pastime, just let her know that I am not going to take that away... but that her and I need to have a meeting of the minds and she needs to realize that this "food" thing is a "good thing", not some crazy thing that her mama is just trying for fun!!! Now yesterday, I believe the battle ended up in a "tie"....Mommy got one meal of Oatmeal and Banana's eaten, but that was it!!! Sophie would have nothing to do with the idea of Sweet Potato's & Applesauce for later in the day....also, take note of the new chair. I actually thought that if I got a better chair, that might do something. Ha! Ha!! You would think after three children, I would know better...oh, well...check back in a couple of weeks and we'll see who the winner is?!?!?!?

A day at the Zoo, with a friend...

2009-02-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, it was what has seemed like the annual Field Trip to the Zoo...(I actually heard that they stop going to the zoo in 3rd grade, yipee!!). This time it was Grace's turn with her 2nd grade class. It turned out to be a very nice day...there was a little nip in the air... which is better than a hot day at the zoo...and the kids that were in our group were great!! As usual, Grace & Caroline had to be together...I'm not sure what you two would do if you weren't in class together. You have been together since "The 3 Year Old Turtle Class", so this makes the 5th year that the two of you are in the same class. I have to say and I think Sara would agree, that it is such a comfort to you both to have the other near by. You really do have a neat little friendship. Your Dad is still very good friends with two or three of his friends that he has known since preschool and elementary school and when I look at the two of you I wonder if this could be the same.... only time will tell!! Here is a picture that I found when the two of you were in Pre-K and we took you to the Nutcracker Ballet. You both look so little ....truth be told...you still are little...right???? Stop Growing!!!!!

ok, so it's been awhile....

2009-02-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

Well I am finding that keeping up with this blog thing and keeping up with everything else can be difficult, so bare with me on always updating this(also my computer has been acting up, so that hasn't helped)...

let's see what's been going on.... well there was some "love" in the air...otherwise known as "Valentine's Day" and there were some class parties, making cards, getting valentines from friends and a few fun pictures to be taken...

About a week or so ago I had to introduce something called "Baby Food" to little Miss Sophie...well you can see by her reaction how she really felt about this...

This was not something that she thought very highly of and as of today, she still doesn't really like it!! If she is put in that chair, she would rather be doing this..

playing with the bunny that hangs in her face!!! Not this whole food thing!!!!

Now girls, there is one thing that you either will know or already do know about your mom and that is that I keep my camera around and handy at all times. I think catching those everday moments are what is important and it is the little things that I want to make sure to capture and remember. It is not always about the "events" that happen in our lives, but more about the little parts in our everyday living that can help tell the story... and yes, when I walk down the hall and see this...I run and get my camera to catch it.....

Grace, you were sitting in Sophie's room and showing her the little photo album of her birth and you were just telling her all about it and it was like she was listening to your every word and looking at those pictures like she knew what they were...this is an everyday moment I want to remember...

or being there to catch the two of you putting on some crazy outfits or dressing up in something wild, just to go outside to play....

Kate, I'm not quite sure what look you were going for... a little bit of winter mixed with a little bit of summer?????

These are just some of those "everyday moments" that I don't want to forget and that I want capture for you to be able to one day see.

But with that said.....I will end this post with some pictures from a recent "event"...Nana's Birthday. We celebrated one afternoon after church with shopping and dinner with Nana, Grandad, Aunt Nancy and us ....

....and yes, there was some "face painting" involved in the afternoon...no, I don't let you out of the house with red hearts and stars all over your face!!!!

A day about teeth...

2009-02-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a big day for some of us here in our household...

Before.....

and after.....

No more braces!! Just a retainer at night. She did so great with her braces and her teeth look beautiful!! I am very proud of you!!

Then, this little cutie.....

got her "FIRST TOOTH" on Tuesday!! At 4 1/2 months!! It is her bottom left side that has poked thru!! Yeh, Sophie!!!

Here are a couple more pics that I took today...this is from the breakfast table this morning...

It might not be the best picture, but it really caught a neat moment...y'all were having breakfast...Kate was reading her number book to Grace and Sophie was just sitting there hanging out listening to your every word!! Sweet!!

OK, one more....this is something that you don't see too much at our house...toy trucks!!

Giddee got this for you and you think this "Monster Truck" is kinda fun!! GO figure?!?!?

Kate turns 100....

2009-02-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

Today was the 100th day of school for the girls. The kindergarteners could dress up as a "100 year old"....so here is what Miss Kate looks like if she were 100. I have to admit, Kate, you are probably the cutest 100 year old I have ever met. I was worried that you wouldn't go along with the dressing up part, but you were all game for it and you loved it. Nana came over to help get your hair up in what we wanted to call "an older lady's bun" and we tried to turn your hair gray with powder. I think your favorite part was the "knee highs". That was your first time using those fun things. Grace even liked those and wore her pair that day, too!!

Now here is a little update on Sophie....at 4 months she is starting to really be so much fun, especially for the older girls!! She talks quite a bit and her big smile is something that you can get so easy from her. She really is a happy baby!! Although if she could improve her sleeping habits, that would make her mommy very happy!!! But I won't push it just yet, give me a month or two!!! She has started to use her "bumbo" a little more, but I have to keep an eye on her or she ends up very slumped over and in very weird positions with very loudy scary cries!

Grace, you are such a big help when it comes to Sophie. I have to confess, I love it when you are home. You are sometimes my own little personal babysitter. You are very patient with Sophie and you really do love to take care of her. One of my favorite things with having the three of you is to see Sophie just watching the two of you play!! She will sit in her swing while you and Kate play in your make believe world and carry on!!! I am so proud of the little, actually the big girl

that you are becoming!

The reason that I will do this...

2009-02-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

The reason for wanting to
create and do this blog is simple....
Grace, Kate and Sophie....

I hope to record the memories of their day to day lives and all the crazy and fun stuff that goes on with raising these girls. Words will never be able to express what these "little women" mean to me, but I hope that throughout this blog they will somewhat be able to get an idea. I still sometimes cannot believe that I am so blessed and lucky to be their "mommy" and that I get to spend all my days with them....now with that sweet stuff said, there are plenty of days that I want to pull out all my hair, scream at them, have a strong alcoholic beverage and think about walking out the door....but so far I haven't left and I am sure that I never will!!! So tonight I will just leave with a couple pictures from the end of our day.... I had left Sophie with Kate for a minute while I was getting all of them ready for bed and this is what I came back in thier room to.....

Kate seemed to think that this would be a great place for Sophie to sleep for the night....NOT!!
and here is a picture of Miss Grace wearing her Mama's favorite sweatshirt to bed...Go Noles!!

Well here's to my first real post!!....... Let's hope there's lots more!!!

seeing if this really works...

2009-02-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

Starting a blog is something that I have wanted to do for sooo long. Don't ask me why I haven't done it, I just have never gotten around to it??? So bare with me and see how this goes....