Thanksgiving Program 2011

Hello all!! The girls had their annual Thanksgiving Program at school last Thursday. I LOVE our preschool! They put on the best performances, and they know how to include the parents. After the performance, we stayed for a delicious Thanksgiving feast with other parents, students, and teachers. Here are the pictures:

Elizabeth proudly watched her big sisters on stage.

Christa was a pilgrim. Some other kids in her class were Indians and there was a turkey in the middle. The song went back and forth between the pilgrims and Indians, and it was really cute.

I can not remember what song Abby Kate's class performed to, but they were all Indians. Abby Kate "played" her recorder and marched in circles the whole song. She was the only one doing that, so I'm not sure if she was doing it the way they were taught or if she just really got into the performance, but she did great!

So proud of my girl for doing so well for her first time on stage!

My little pilgrim and my little Indian. Abby Kate has insisted on being a "Pirate Princess" lately, which mean wearing a silvery, shimmery dress of Christa's. She got very aggravated when I called her an Indian on this particular day, quickly letting me know that she was not an Indian, but in fact, a Pirate Princess.

Elizabeth is 8 Months

Hello all!! Elizabeth turned 8 months old on the 17th. She continues to be the easiest and most laid-back baby ever! She loves to be wherever she is - playing in her car seat, having tummy time on the floor, relaxing in her swing, or bouncing in her jumper. She is content 99% of the time, and the 1% she isn't content is because I took advantage of her good nature and waited just a tad bit too long to feed her, put her down for a nap, etc. She is not sitting up on her own yet, but we are working on that. I've been trying to put her in restaurant high chairs, her bath seat, etc. even though she slips down and has to be supported in an effort to give her little muscles some practice at supporting her upper body. It's not really working so far, but yesterday she got up on her hands and knees all by herself. I'm wondering if she'll skip the whole sitting up thing and go straight to crawling! At any rate, I am still not worried. She is the third child, and a very laid back one at that. She spends a lot of time in her car seat or bouncer and just doesn't have as many opportunities to practice these milestones. Here she is enjoying her jumper on her official 8 month birthday:

She loves this toy and can support her upper body quite well in it.

A picture with big sisters - dressed up for Thanksgiving on their last day of school before Thanksgiving break! Every one of these outfits is a hand-me-down from a different person. I love our sweet friends who have shared their adorable outfits with us :)

Elizabeth has recently discovered her toes, and loves to hold them and chew on them. We have mastered the art of eating baby food, but I have to carry our Bumbo seat to restaurants, because she just can't sit up in the restaurant high chairs yet. She seems to like all baby food so far and will eat like a champ when she's in the mood. When she's not in the mood, she'll simply keep her mouth closed and stare very seriously at me as I attempt to make her smile and open her mouth. She coos and babbles, saying "da-da-da-da" and "ya-ya-ya-ya." She loves her big sisters and is very friendly when strangers come up to her and smile. She is barely starting to "reach" for me when I'm around and shows just the slightest bit of hesitation when I drop her off at the church nurseries. She still goes to the childcare workers very easily, but I wonder if she's starting to be aware of the times I leave her.

Her hair is getting lighter. It's still very brown, but it's no longer the black that it started off as, and it has some blond streaks in it. Her eyes are still blue, but both Abby Kate and Christa kept their blue eyes until sometime after their 1st birthdays, and now they both have brown eyes.

Have a good night!

Happy Halloween 2011

Hello all! We had a fantastic Halloween this year! Christa really "got" the whole Trick-or-Treating concept, and Abby Kate followed suit with her usual enthusiasm. The girls looked adorable in their Wizard of Oz-themed Halloween costumes! Enjoy the pictures from our busy and fun day!

The girls are ready for the costume parade at their school!

The little Scarecrow and I have our front row seats for the parade! Ready to take pictures and video.

This was Abby Kate's first costume parade. She seemed to enjoy it!

Christa had fun showing off her costume, too!

Christa's class had a little party after the parade, so Daddy and I hung around for that. Elizabeth and Abby Kate got to sit in on story time.

Ready for Trick-or-Treating! We went to our across-the-street neighbor's houses, then drove to Mimi and Pa's house. The kids scored some yummy treats! Then we went down to the cul-de-sac for a pizza block party. I took Elizabeth home to hand out candy while Cline took the girls to a few more houses in the neighborhood. After they got home, Christa helped me hand out candy, and she was just as excited about that as she was about getting candy.

Trick-or-Treating at Mimi and Pa's house.

It was a great day!! The kids were so cute, and I think it will be even more fun next year as the kids continue to get another year older. Christa still talks about how we went Trick-or-Treating at the beach last year. (We were at the GA/FL game on Halloween last year).

Hope you all had a great day!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Hello all!! Christa's class took a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch last week. They were supposed to go the week we were in Miami, so I thought we would have to miss out, but the weather up here was too cold, so they had to reschedule. It worked out perfectly for us, because we got to participate!! I decided to leave Elizabeth at home with a babysitter so that I could have more fun with Christa. I thought Abby Kate would enjoy it, so we brought her along. It was a very fun day with perfect, Fall weather!

Christa and Abby Kate with Christa's good friend, Taylor. They have been in class together for two years, and Taylor's mom is Abby Kate's teacher this year. Abby Kate, in typical Abby-Kate-fashion, ran right along with the big kids the whole day!

They had a petting zoo and a fun hayride. After the hayride, the kids got to swing on this "horse" swing.

They also had a racetrack where the kids could "ride" stick horses. Christa decided she didn't want to do this part, but Abby Kate loved it!

The Lively Lion class!

After we finished our activities, the kids got to pick out a little pumpkin to take home.



Me and my girls!

Last Friday, I took the kids to a Halloween party. Christa wanted to be Dorothy this year, so I made the executive decision that Abby Kate would be the Cowardly Lion and Elizabeth would be the Scarecrow. I'm getting my themes in before the little people can speak their opinions too loudly :)

The lighting at the party was terrible, but I had to include this picture of Abby Kate doing the "cookie walk." (It's similar to a "cake walk"). She loved it, and did it over and over again right along with the big kids. I couldn't talk Christa into participating in this activity, but she enjoyed the coloring sheets and bean bag toss.

Miss Elizabeth wearing an adorable hand-me-down! She is still so laid back and is content to lay in place on her tummy wherever I put her. What a great 3rd child she is!

She can sort of sit up. She leans forward a lot, and falls over on her side after a few seconds, but we're getting there :)

Christa loves holding her baby sister!

Welcome to Miami!

Hello all! We spent the last week visiting my sister, Alicia, in Miami. She has lived there for 2 and a half years, and we had not found time in between being pregnant, having babies, and adjusting to multiple children to make the 12 hour trip down to see her place. I did not want to fly because we have too much stuff. (Oh yeah, and I'm terrified of flying and avoid it whenever possible.  The 3 kids and all of our cargo were a good enough excuse to convince my husband to drive :). At any rate, we were told that October is a beautiful time to visit Miami; it's not too hot, but you can still enjoy the ocean/water activities. It was beautiful weather and beautiful scenery, but we mostly enjoyed our beautiful company:

"Cool Aunt Alicia" soothed Elizabeth to sleep after a long drive. The drive down was way more eventful than we were anticipating. Our 2002 Honda Odyssey, despite being looked over by our trusty mechanic just before our departure, decided to have transmission failure about 45 minutes south of Gainsville, FL. I noticed a funny smell, and Cline noticed a change in how the car was running. Thankfully, we were able to get off at an exit, rather than be stranded on the turnpike. The exit didn't have much, but God knew exactly what we needed - 1 hotel, 1 restaurant, a couple of gas stations, and 1 car-fix-it place!! The hotel was really reasonably priced and nice and clean. Everyone we encountered there was super nice and helpful. We had AAA tow our car over a block to the mechanics, got a bite to eat at the BBQ restaurant, and slept in the comfy beds as well as you can sleep in one room with 3 children under the age of 5 who each wake up at least once during the night. The next day, we were given the price for the repair, and after brief consideration, decided the car had too many miles (180,000) and was not worth the hefty investment and cost of getting it back home. Fortunately, there was an Enterprise about 15 minutes down the road, so we were able to rent another minivan (sans DVD player) and continue on our journey to Miami.
It was a big headache to move all of our stuff into a rental, and it was stressful not knowing how we would get home, since Enterprise would not allow a one-way rental back to Georgia. But we've had some money set aside to buy a new(er) car with, knowing our two older cars aren't going to last forever. After arriving safely in Miami, we went to the Honda dealership the next day, hoping to find the perfect car at the perfect price. It rained on Wednesday, our first full day there, so we didn't have to miss out on any beach time! We found a lovely 2007 Honda Odyssey with low mileage and all of the features we wanted. After some haggling, we agreed on a price that was within our budget. It is a beautiful shade of navy blue, and I just love it! It is not like Cline and I to go and just buy a car. We both come from long lines of "deal-loving dads" who search newspapers for months until they spot the perfect bargain. And we honestly could have probably gotten a better deal if we had some time and the luxury of being at home. But after considering the expense and hassle of transporting our family of 5 home some other way as well as the time it would take us to test-drive and search for another car, we decided it was well-worth paying the small amount extra. After the whole car issue was settled, we were ready for some beach fun!

This was Elizabeth's first trip to the beach. She liked it, just fine - not any more or less than laying on the carpet at home!

Mimi and Pa (my parents) came down, too, so my whole side of the family was able to spend some time together for a few days.

Fun in the sun! The water was beautiful - clear and green, much like Grand Cayman or Hawaii! It was way too cold for me to get in, but Cline and Abby Kate had a great time playing in it. Abby Kate's lips were blue, and she was chattering away, but she wanted to continue playing. Christa stuck her feet in, and that was enough for her.

Christa and Aunt Alicia were buddies this trip. Christa wanted to sit beside Alicia every time we went somewhere, and wanted Alicia to take her to the bathroom when she needed to go. They were a cute little pair!

Our hotel was great and had a kids area where they built up sand mounds and had beach toys. Christa and Abby Kate had a great time climbing the mounds.

Elizabeth was very comfortable playing on the beach chair.

On Friday we went to Alicia and Brandon's condo and swam in their pool. This is the view from their clubhouse - isn't it gorgeous?? They technically live in Aventura, and it was huge! We didn't even actually see Miami, and we didn't scratch the surface of Aventura. It was beautiful, though.

A sisterly photo-op. I do miss my cooler, younger sister being around where I can see her anytime I want, but I sooooo appreciate the times I do get to see her.

The family enjoying a final dinner outdoors.

Elizabeth chilling in her stroller during dinner.

Cline dancing with the girls to some live music after dinner.

It was a great trip, and I hope we get to go back. Actually, I hope Alicia and Brandon move closer to home in the not-too-distant future, but if they stay in Miami for a while, there are much worse places to have to visit! Hopefully, we won't have to buy a new car every time we do!

Elizabeth is 7 Months!

Hello all!! Elizabeth turned seven months old on the 17th. I can not believe how fast she is growing! When Christa was a baby, it seemed like her first year lasted about as long as a year should last - not too fast and not too slow. Abby Kate's first year flew by, and Elizabeth's first year might be going even faster. She is growing and learning new things every day, although sitting up doesn't seem to be too high up on her list of priorities. She's still not doing it for more than a second. I'm not worried or anything. Both Christa and Abby Kate were sitting by themselves at this point, but Elizabeth is so laid back and content to sit in her bouncer, swing, etc, that I think she just hasn't had as much opportunity to practice. Someday, when I have "free" time again, maybe I'll help her along :). Enjoy the pictures!

Happy girl in her Bumbo seat!

She loves tummy time!

She has recently discovered her toes. She can also say "da-da" as of 10/13/11.

Have a great night!

Fall Fun 2011

Hello all! I've got a few weeks worth of stuff to catch up on. Sadly, I have not been taking many pictures lately, so I don't have too many of those. We have started our Fall off low key so far. Last year, I packed the month of October with all kinds of Fall activities. This year, we're taking it easy and just enjoying whatever we get to do. I don't know if we'll make it to a farm/corn maze this year or not. We're going to see my sister in Miami before the month is over, so that is taking up a lot of the time I would have gone to craft shows, farms, etc. We are so looking forward to this trip, though, so it's a good trade this year :) Enjoy the pictures from the last few weeks!

Showing our team spirit!  We're loyal, even if the Dawgs got off to a rocky start this year!

I hope they always love each other this much. This morning, during a moment of frustration, Christa told Abby Kate she didn't want to play with her anymore. Abby Kate pretty much repeats everything Christa says, so Abby Kate simply replied she didn't want to play with her anymore (either). Christa was brokenhearted at this idea, and came crying to me that Abby Kate didn't want to play with her. Luckily this was a misunderstanding that was easily fixed with a hug and an instruction to play together.

Cline and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of Anna Safigan a couple of weeks ago. I met Anna when she was two years old, and babysat her two siblings and her for years. (Molly, her sister, is with us in this picture). Her mom actually introduced Cline and I, and we remain very close. Nothing like going to the wedding of a kid you used to babysit for to make you feel old!

Princess Elizabeth - courtesy of Christa :)

We painted pumpkins this week. This was an event that I did not bring my camera to, but Christa wanted to take a picture of her pink and purple pumpkin when we got home. I was really impressed that she carefully painted each hump in the alternating colors all by herself!

Miss Elizabeth is loving some baby food. So far she likes anything I give her - except maybe squash - the jury's still out on that one.

We went to the pumpkin patch today to take some pictures and let the kids run around. It was a beautiful morning, and the girls loved it!

Best attempt at a family picture :)


Have a great weekend!