Elizabeth is One!!

Hello all! Elizabeth had a great first birthday. I stayed up until 3am the night before (as I had many times the weeks leading up to it) editing her video of her first year, so Cline let me sleep in a little and got up with the kids. When Christa got up, she had some sweet things to say to Elizabeth:

"Hello Miss Priss, Miss one-year-old-today!"

"When Elizabeth is really one year old, she can walk... well, maybe when she's one and a half." (That's about right!  Our pediatrician told us today that we need to get her a walker, because she is showing no effort whatsoever to take steps)!

I did my best to resist the urge to prepare for her party all day long, and made some time to just play with my sweet baby. Thankfully, my sweet mom, sister, and close friend, Jamie, offered to come over early to help set up, or I might not have gotten everything done! Elizabeth and I read some board books, sadly, I think, for the first time ever. I've been so busy feeding, changing, clothing, and transporting everyone for the last year, that it hasn't occurred to me to sit and read specifically to Elizabeth! She listens when I'm reading to the other kids, but it's not quite the same. At any rate, we had a great party for Elizabeth on Saturday, complete with every green, shamrock-themed item I could find! We had lots of family - all of the grandparents, Uncle Cleve, Aunt Alicia, the local great-grandparents, some great aunts and uncles, and Jamie - who introduced Cline and I  and is like a surrogate grandmother to my kids! It was a great day! Here are some pictures:

Elizabeth is all ready for her birthday! (I cheated and took this picture a few days before).

The girls had matching outfits for the big day. They looked adorable! Thank you T.J. Maxx!

We had pink cupcakes with candy shamrocks and sprinkles. Christa had fun helping to decorate them.

We had eclairs in honor of Uncle Chris (who, sadly, wasn't at the party.) Chris calls Elizabeth "Eclair" because technically, her name could be E. Claire - get it?? Pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I had high aspirations of adding green shamrocks to them, but after barely squeaking a slightly clover-ish-resembling object on her cake, I gave up that pipe dream!

Elizabeth's cake!

Me and my big girl! I love this age!

Family picture on the special day.

Ready for my cupcake!!

I think I like it!

Yep, that was pretty good!

Christa is a little gift-giver. We decided that Elizabeth had plenty of great clothes and toys, so we opted to donate to a local charity in lieu of giving her presents. The day of the party, Christa asked what she was giving to Elizabeth for her party. (She'd been so excited all week that Elizabeth's birthday was coming up.) I tried to rack my brain to figure how to get her to Wal-mart so that she could pick something out, on top of all of the other last minute preparations that had to be made. Christa came up with the most thoughtful idea on her own.  She decided she would color a picture for Elizabeth to give to her for her birthday! We wrapped it in a special bag, and it is one of my favorite presents ever!

Good times were had by all! After a dinner of hot dogs, Asian cole slaw, crash potatoes, cheese and corn dip appetizers, cake, and "present" opening, the big one year old slept hard.

Almost Spring

Hello all! We've been up to a few fun things lately. We've been crazy busy, but that seems to be our "normal." I wouldn't have it any other way, although I am hoping for a little bit of a break for some rest and relaxation over our upcoming Spring Break! Here are a few pictures from our recent happenings:

Christa is quite the artist. One of her favorite things to do is color - on anything, with anything. She found a dry-erase crayon board in the basement, and drew this amazing family portrait!

Elizabeth is getting to be so cute! She's always been cute, but her hair is starting to curl. I'm having fun dressing her up in some great hand-me-downs we've been given, and I'm starting to remember to stick a bow or clip in her hair. I'm a little out of practice with that, since Abby Kate has never had enough hair to hold even a small bow. And let's face it - with 3 kids, I'm just happy when everyone has clothes on as we're walking out the door!

The weather has been beautiful lately! It never really felt like winter around here, which I am OK with! It's been in the 70s and 80s for the last week, and I'm hopeful this weather is here to stay. We went on the swing set the other night, and I happened to catch some great sunset light. I'm no professional photographer, but I like the lighting in these pictures a lot!

Christa is great at pumping once she gets started.

The girls having fun together. Abby Kate was asleep during this time, or I would have gotten some of her, too.

So happy and proud of herself!

Have a great night!

Happy 1st Birthday, Elizabeth!!

Dear Elizabeth,

One year ago today, I was going to the hospital to have you! I was sooooo glad you were a Saint Patrick's Day baby, for many reasons. I had visions of Irish-themed parties, clothes, announcements, invitations - all of it from the day I realized our Dr. was on call on March 17!! It sounded like so much fun to have a baby on a holiday that isn't otherwise very busy (like the 4th of July or Christmas)! And it has been a blast! I have the cutest outfit for you to wear at your party, and matching ones for your sisters. I've been collecting Saint Patrick's Day decorations for a month, and was thrilled to find great selections at the Dollar Tree. I'm about to go frost your cake - yellow cake with chocolate frosting trimmed with green - (I'm sure a shamrock or two will show up) and finish your cupcakes - pink with pink frosting and professional candy shamrocks! I can't wait for your party - to live out my dream of a themed birthday, but much more importantly, to celebrate what a joy you have been to us the past year! (Just so you know, when you're a teenager and convinced that I've never done anything for you, I want you to know that I am operating right now on very little sleep. I've been up until the wee hours of the morning every night for the past week, and then up some more with you or your sister. I'm fully prepared to stay awake until 3 am tonight, making last minute preparations for your party. You're welcome)!
Anyway, I'm sure you've heard me say this many times, but you were my easiest pregnancy and my easiest baby. I had so much energy when I was pregnant; it was sort of like being on a year-long high, because it lasted until you were about 6 months old. I got the whole house organized before you came along, and you turned out to be a super relaxed, laid-back baby who was content to lay in your bassinet or bouncer while I did whatever needed to be done. You are still very relaxed; let's face it - you border on lazy, and I say that with all of the love and affection that I can communicate to you :). (An example of this point is your adamant refusal to hold your own bottle until about a month ago. And I have witnesses who have tried to give you a bottle, and as soon as you are able, you lay back with your arms open wide, making no effort to hold it yourself if you can avoid it. It's adorable)!
Baby girl, you are so loved. Your big sisters love you. Christa often tries to hug you or hold you, and it thrills her when you reach for her and smile. Of course, Mommy and Daddy love you more than I could ever describe. I love your wavy hair and wonder if you will be my curly headed little girl. I love your chubby, pinchable cheeks - so much that I often call you, "cheeks." (Christa coined that nickname for you shortly after we brought you home from the hospital. I love your sweet smile, which I see often, because you are a very happy baby. I love the way you only try to pull up if you want someone to pick you up. I love the way you will sit in my lap or let me hold you as much as I want, rarely squirming to get down. I love the way you will play on your own when I need to care for your sisters or take care of housework. I love the way you are relaxed, and yes, lazy, in some ways. You go with the flow so well, and I think God knew I would need that with 3 babies in less than 4 years.
I could think of so much more to write, but I'm already planning for minimal sleep as it is! I'm off to get some things done so that, hopefully, I can relax and enjoy the day with you tomorrow. I thank God every day for entrusting you to our care, and I pray every night that you will always know how much He loves you and how much we love you!

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!
Love,
Mommy

An Early Spring

Hello all! We have had some crazy weather around here lately! It feels like Spring is here, already. The thing is, it never really felt like Winter. We had a cold day here and there, but it's been a mild season. I've loved it!! I can tolerate the constant January and February rain much better in 60 degree weather than I can in 40 degree weather! About a week ago, we had some big storms and tornadoes come through the area. I don't actually know if a "real" tornado hit this time, but we took cover nonetheless. For some reason, these storm systems like to hit us on the nights that Cline is working, so the excitement of dragging the kids out of bed, taking them all down to the basement for an hour, and then trying to get them back to bed at some point usually falls on me. Good times.

I'd told the girls we could have a slumber party in the basement. They were sooooo excited and had a blast playing with a collection of McDonald's toys they found. Our neighbors came over and entertained us for a little while, so that was pretty fun. We'd planned to fall asleep watching The Little Mermaid so that I didn't have to stay awake all night wondering if we needed to go downstairs or not.

Elizabeth sensed the excitement of the evening and played happily with the big girls. She went back to sleep pretty easily in the pack-and-play, and I thought the whole party idea was going to be a success. But around midnight, the older girls were still awake with no signs of sleeping in sight. Elizabeth woke up, and wouldn't go back to sleep. By that point, I'd decided that the worst of the storms had passed through, so we all moved back to our normal sleeping arrangements, and got a pretty decent night's sleep after that!

The 80s are back! I went to a fundraiser for the school we plan to send the girls to eventually, and it was 80s night. I had a blast putting this outfit together, and Christa had a blast "helping" me make the shirt!

The weather has been gorgeous outside, so Elizabeth and I have been taking long walks. She loves it!

Have a great night!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

Hello all!! Apparently the birthday of the good Dr. Seuss is all the rage among the school-aged children these days! It is a BIG deal around here, for sure. The kids in Christa's class were given the option to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character last week, while sampling some good old-fashioned green eggs and ham. After consulting with 20 of my closest Facebook friends, (since I had no clue how to begin dressing her up as a Dr. Seuss character), we settled on Cindy Lou-Who. Christa didn't really know who that is, although we have read The Grinch a few times before, but here's how it turned out:

Thank you, internet. I didn't have to purchase a single thing for this "costume." I thought she looked pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

View from the back.

Christa happened to be snack leader that week, so we decided to get creative and have Dr. Seuss themed snacks. We sent colored goldfish and apples from the books, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Ten Apples Up on Top the first day. The second day, we sent in blue goo (vanilla pudding with blue food coloring) from the book, Fox in Socks. The third day, we made these really cute Dr. Seuss hats out of Oreo cookies, Lifesaver gummies, and white frosting. Christa had a blast helping to make them, and they turned out really cute! The fourth day, we sent in Fruit Roll-Ups, because I was exhausted from my week of trying to be one of those over-achieving room mothers who just make you feel inadequate all the time :). We had fun with it, nonetheless, but, as always, I stole every single idea from the internet!

I don't know if I'll have the energy to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday every year, especially as I have more kids needing to dress up. It might be worth my while to invest in some neat, pre-made costumes for the years ahead of us that we have to look forward to this annual festivity!

Daddy-Daughter Uncle-Niece Dance

Hello all!! I finally got the pictures to upload from the Daddy-Daughter dance a couple of weeks ago. The girls had a blast with two of their favorite Uncles! Enjoy the pictures.

Ready to go party with the princesses. Christa and Abby Kate each picked out their own dresses and were so excited to wear them!

Apparently, Uncle Chris was Abby Kate's date.

Which left Uncle Cleve for Christa!

The happy couples :)

Partying with Sleeping Beauty and the Fairy Godmother.

There's just no dance partner like your sister. I would have loved to have seen them on the dance floor together!

I say it all the time, but I sure hope they always love each other this much!