the Bubble Went Over the Mountain

we all piled in the car yesterday and went to atlanta for the day.

every year around the end of june/beginning of july, we celebrate the june/july family birthdays (daddy, uncle jay, and aunt millie) with grandparents in addition to father's day and mother's day and grandpa's april birthday, which somehow got overlooked (celebrating) with 4 grandchildren's birthdays and the 5th's birth between march and may!!!

(that was a tremendously long run-on sentence! oh well!)

this year we all met in atlanta for a cookout.

it happened to coincide with potty training boot camp at the atlanta wamsted's home. it goes without saying that Addie and Kira are pretty fond of each other, but it always amazes me the (hopefully positive) influence that an older child/sibling/cousin can have on a younger one. Going potty was no exception here! And while I don't have any pictures of their bathroom adventures, it was pretty sweet to see Addie on the big girl potty and Kira on her little girl potty...actually going potty! And if my memory serves me correctly, I don't think there were ANY potty accidents during our visit! Whoohoo Kira! 

i can assure you that there were many more pictures from the day that included grandparents, but these were a few of my favorites of the cousins.

uncle jay is quite the musician and the big girls (and little girls now) always enjoy having a sing-a-long with him! yesterday was no exception.

there was twinkle twinkle little star, the abc song, and the itsy bitsy spider!

(i love how Addie's looking up at uncle jay here!)

but this year while (most) of the grownups were cooking and talking, the big girl and little girl cousins decided to have a sing-a-long of their own!

it involved twinkle twinkle little star sung by kira and addie overpowering her with the abc song all while the little girls played instruments.

 but my favorite was the BUBBLE Went Over the Mountain.

you know, the BEAR Went Over the Mountain? yeah. that one.
 
i think baby john was a little young to partake in the sing-a-long this year, but i bet next year there will be five cousins on the piano! it goes without saying though that he was still the cutest baby boy there! ;)

Funny Friday

i've been trying to get this laugh on video for months now!

anne perry's woody woodpecker laugh.

she has a wonderful belly laugh when she's really tickled, but this one is different.

she usually does it in response to someone else laughing.

and it always brings a smile to my face!

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”

Psalm 126:2

Wordless Wednesday of Sorts

my mom brought me this Baby Blues sometime back in February. it's hung on my refrigerator ever since.

i've been on a laundry strike of sorts. because if i don't do at least one, many times two to three, loads a day, i do laundry all day the next day. if i don't do laundry for several days, then i do laundry all day for several days.

several days of laundry apparently causes this at our house:

comic courtesy of Baby Blues

Anybody else have a laundry monster at their house? :)

Happy Wednesday!

Yummy Yogurt

last week, this became our {focus}

for some of us at least...

while others of us jumped right in!

there was a little experimenting

and excitement!

a few alternative methods tried

and a little showing off...

some strange looks

and some shy faces

there's always room for a little help...maybe

until it all finally made sense!

ya think it was yummy?

inevitably all fun, new, exciting things must come to an end. and so did this...

for some sooner than others!

but i think these pictures posted here were my favorites from the morning!

Today

Yes, Today! Actually today: Wednesday, July 15th.

Not yesterday. Not 3 days ago. Not 3 weeks ago!

It's been a long time since I've actually blogged about a day--the day of!

Today wasn't anything special. Nothing {too} monumental occurred.

I put my 50mm lens back on my camera. Not a first, but a {first} in a very long time when photographing our girls!

It started with breakfast, which involved a real {first}.

First time {successfully} eating with a spoon!

With a little help maybe.

Then off Addie and I went to her third day of swimming lessons.

Day 1: cried/screamed the whole 30 minutes but obeyed right away.

Day 2: cried/screamed the whole time and refused to do what she was asked, pitching a pretty big fit standing on the edge of the pool demanding to go to the bathroom to avoid jumping in!

Day 3: cried for the first half. refused to jump off the side (after she'd just jumped off a half dozen times to the main instructor) and demanded to go the bathroom. we'd just been, so I would not take her and informed her that she would need to straighten up...or else. stopped the crying. figured out she couldn't manipulate the situation. and check this out...

another {first}!

then it was off to lunch with friends.

back home for early naps/rest time. Addie's reward for straightening up and obeying right away at swimming lessons: rest time on the sofa with a dvd instead of nap in the bed. We'll see if she can earn some Nancy's tomorrow with no crying!

dishes. done. laundry load #2 and #3. diapers outside to dry. finished smocking a bubble.

everyone up way sooner than i'd prefer.

but worth it to see them play and smile!

great day.

great {average} day to remember and give thanks for!

And yeah...there were some pretty monumental things about it too!

Psalm 118: 1, 24

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; 

His love endures forever. 

...the LORD has done it this very day;

 let us rejoice today and be glad.

Laughter...the absolute best medicine!

I'm doing this post from my iPhone. So we'll see how it turns out!

I was quietly sitting outside the twin's room yesterday going through boxes of clothes. Putting up. Sorting. Deciding what to consign.

I don't normally do anything near their door during naptime. But yesterday, it was the best place to pile the boxes.

It was getting towards the end of naptime. I'd heard some stirring. Addie was up.

And then I heard cackling coming from the babies' room. Addie was with me. There were no toys in the beds.

I ran to grab the video monitor to try to see what was going on. Of course they were out of the camera's view, but it didn't stop me from hearing them!

What was so awesome to me about all of this was that Anne Perry & Audrey Kate were making each other laugh. They were interacting without any assistance from others! And they were cracking each other up!

I can assure you that none of the following involves any tears, although at times it might sound like they're crying. You can hear Addie in the background & me not allowing her to interrupt their laughter by going in their room.

It was a precious, priceless first...& probably one of the strangest videos you'll ever watch...because you won't see much of them at all!

But it's not about what you can see...it's about what you can hear!

Enjoy!

Dirt = Cake = Singing = Pictures = Memories

I think one of the toughest things about having three little ones age 3 and under is just that...

there are 3 of them!

Ok. and two of them are a year old and have to be carried everywhere!

Don't get me wrong for one second here. I know how tremendously blessed I am. I would not trade this season of my life for anything. But i'd be lying if I didn't say that it's utterly and completely exhausting at times.

Addie was an only child for 2 years. (I know. Many oldest children are. I'm just pointing it out).

She not only had my undivided attention, she had her Daddy's and RieRie's and Papa Ray's and Gramma's and Grandpa's and Nana's and really any other adult she was around.

Spoiled? Maybe a little, but it was just part of being the first child and the first grandchild on one side of the family for a year and on the other side for two years!

I wish that I could say that I spend quality one on one time with Addie for an extended period each morning while the twins nap. But the reality of that is that it's impossible. Impossible because I need to eat breakfast before 11am and maybe dress and shower? I need to at least start the laundry and load the dishwasher if for any reason so we can have clean things. I might need to pick up around here every once in a while too. But on a good day, I have enough energy (and motivation) to get it all (or some of it at least) done super fast and spend some of that one on one quality time with my big girl. On other days, I just ditch it all and go play with her! 

Last week, we headed outside in the cool of the morning to play. We played hopscotch and I pushed her in the swing. We laughed and of course...it all ended in the dirt! I think it's her favorite place to play.

In addition to loving the dirt, she loves making cakes or cupcakes or tea or ice cream cones (with sand/dirt/sticks) and singing Happy Birthday!

Finn even jumped into help protect her!

She had worked super hard to make these sticks stand up in the dirt on her cake! And it was time for ME to sing happy birthday to her. I asked her if I could take pictures while I sang (I can't multi-task like I used to; but the lighting was gorgeous, and I was determine to do this!). I was practically laying on the ground and got my camera settings straight BEFORE I started singing. ISO. Aperture. Exposure. Done. 

Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Birthday dear Addie.

Happy Birthday to you!

I am beyond thankful for this time I have with our girls. God continues to teach me daily (hourly? minutely (is that a word?)!) about patience and gratefulness and the importance of raising our girls to be Godly women.

And none of that can be done without spending quality time with Him and with each of them! The laundry and dishes can and will wait. It's no longer about me feeling like I've accomplished something on the daily checklist. It's about investing in these precious lives God has blessed us with!

I Thessalonians 5:16-22

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

3 Little Girls & a Boy

we have a lot of little girls around here.

but it doesn't mean it's all tea parties and doll houses.

because this little girl loves her some dirt!

making cupcakes in the dirt of course, but lots of dirt and sticks!

and these little girls can't get enough of the swings and would be crawling around in the dirt if they just wouldn't eat it!

and then there's the boy (did i have you wondering?)

yes. he's four-legged.

and his favorite activity?

chewing.

chewing crocs.

chewing plastic.

chewing shoelaces.

chewing on us.

i guess we really have three teethers around here now don't we?

but i adore

every.single.one!

I'm off to shoot another wedding with Allison today! You can see last weekend's wedding on her site! She is oh so talented!

Hope you're family has a fabulous weekend!

Hop Scotch + Scotch Hopping

I recently drew Addie a simplified hop scotch course.

Course? Court? Game? Drawing?

History lesson anyone?

I know. It's SUMMER for crying out loud!

But the teacher in me had to look it up...

This school yard game has apparently been around since the early Roman Empire and wasn't originally played at all! It was a military exercise thought to improve footwork, performed in full gear on courses over 100 feet long! Young children created {much} shorter versions in imitation of the soldiers. And it spread from there.

Who knew?

Australia actually holds a National Hopscotch Tournament in which the winners move to a Hopscotching World Cup played in England every 4 years.

I'm pretty sure we won't be joining any tournaments or World Cups, but I was pretty amazed at how quickly Addie picked up on the game (if you can call it that!).

We didn't skip any squares or throw any stones, but she did manage to put only one foot in each square/circle, which at times, required her to jump/stand on one foot!

I thought the pictures turned out pretty cute (although very hard to take while she was jumping in and out of various sunlight), and she was thrilled to let me take them (yes, you did read that correctly!).

No tournaments played. No world cups won.

But some sweet summer memories made!

Staying Cool

It has been brutally hot here over the past few weeks. We were stuck inside for 8 days with everyone being sick, so I don't think I realized the intensity of the heat and humidity until this past week.

We started the week with popsicles outside!

And then brought out the baby pools. To the front yard...

With heat in the south comes mosquitoes. Even with my hate for all things toxic chemicals, I hate my girls being covered in mosquito bites even more. And then there were the {verified} reports of west nile virus found in our area a few years ago. Toxic chemicals it is.

But they aren't working! So we've {temporarily} moved to the front yard!

Baby pool from last year for Addie. Splash pool for the babies. And Abbey's old dog pool for Finn.

You know you're a red neck if you have 3 baby pools in your front yard! Right? Don't worry. We move them before we go in. ;)

Apparently Finn had other ideas for staying cool. He chewed off his leash (within minutes). As I was taking pictures of Addie in the sprinkler, this ran into the frame!

So while Finn was banned to the backyard, we spent time attempting to stay cool in the front!

I was so thankful my mom was willing to brave the heat with me! There's no way I would have been able to get a single picture (or keep my sanity...or cool) without her!

Anne Perry thought she had it made (and I was clearly preventing her from continuing her fun here!)! Just wait until I catch on camera the look she gave me today...

She loved the water.
 
Loved the splashing.

Loved being able to go wherever and do virtually whatever she wanted!

All of a sudden I turned around and she was splashing in Finn's pool!

...continuing to enjoy herself!

Of course Addie enjoyed herself (in her swimsuit that is already too small)!

She also enjoyed helping Anne Perry enjoy herself too! Never underestimate the strength of a 3 year old!

She even ASKED (yes, you read that correctly) for me to take this picture!

But the funniest thing was when she looked up at the clouds and busted out with, "Oh look! It's an alligator!" Love her imagination!

This is pretty much what Audrey Kate did the majority of our time outside:

That is, when she wasn't doing this! (yes, it broke my heart!)

Oh how I love her sweet baby cheeks!

She was not a fan of the cold pool, wet grass or water spraying in her face! Thankfully she decided to get down and crawl around...

...and figured out she actually enjoyed it!

And she was super happy when Daddy came home!

We all were!

Have I mentioned how much I love those sweet baby cheeks? :)

Hope everyone is staying cool too!