Lake Seed

a few months ago, Millie (Paul's brother's wife/my sister-in-law/the girls aunt) and i were talking about how we'd love to get our two families together for a few days. we are so blessed to have had some fun trips with lots of family and have some planned for the future, but we also want to foster these first cousin relationships! they adore each other, and we certainly love spending time with Jay and Millie and their kiddos.

so we started exploring options. and oh my! between moms/grandmas and aunts with mountain homes, a dad/grandpa that lives at the beach, and a dad/grandpa who's siblings/kids/25+ people get together at the beach once a year...we are s.p.o.i.l.e.d! ...and oh so blessed! ...and cheap!

so millie offered for us to come to her parent's lake house in the mountains for, get this, f.r.e.e! we split food, had an extra long table big enough for 10, enough bedrooms for parents and kids, a field for the kids and dogs to run in, a boat ride, and space to relax and play. that's all we needed!

perfection!

we spent as much time outside as the kids would allow! they played with sticks and picked up pine cones.
played together...

and just kicking around the ball by themselves. and were just plain cute. seriously! how adorable is my only niece! love her sweet four year old self! we brought kira uno moo for her birthday. and while john had the most fun dumping out the pieces and carefully placing them back in the barn, the girls had a pretty good time with my attempt at teaching them how they could play. 

we spent some time on the deck. a lot of time on the deck, because the view was breathtaking! and then uncle jay got the boat started and took us all on a boat ride!

even the dogs got to join us! and i'd certainly say they enjoyed it!

although uncle jay was in charge of driving, we had a few alternate drivers! this is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend! i think it's beautiful of millie, and simon is too cute for words!

anne perry got to drive...
and audrey kate took driving to a whole new level. this girl was swerving all over the place! we're going to have to watch her when she turns driving age! kira was super cute driving, and i'm thinking she's an old pro! but the picture of addie's hair completely blocking uncle jays line of view takes the cake! i mean really! she's so tall and that wild hair! love her wrinkle nose scrunched up shoulders smile! (thank you uncle jay for letting all of the big/ger kids drive. clearly they loved it!)

anne perry and kira started hugging at one point, and i was almost fearful they'd go over because they were on their knees being so silly. thankful everyone stayed in (and that they love each other so much!) uncle jay promised them we'd go fast, and we did! i'd have to say they enjoyed it! you think?
{sigh} when did they get so big and growny?

of course the best place to eat a popsicle is riding on a boat! as we were pulling in (ok...as uncle jay and daddy were attempting to paddle us closer to the boathouse, grab the pier beams, pull the entire boat into the right position (going into the boathouse forward and not sideways) all while receiving numerous questions and encouragement from the peanut gallery), i slipped back to where john, simon and millie were sitting. and once again, i love this picture of simon. he's so beautiful. so full of smiles. and adores his mama so much! {heart}

but what you can't see in the picture above and that happened after the picture of simon and millie driving is that strange mustard colored, um, well, poop that literally exploded out of the little guy in all directions possible!!! not one single tear. not one moment of fussing. and not one complaint from his smiling mama who was holding him. seriously. i've been pooped on, but that wins the prize! i dont think the outfit even made it into the wash! it happened minutes after we started, and millie was so laid back about it. we continued our ride, everyone drove, we went fast and weaved in and out of tree branches and boats...all while millie patiently held this much content, very wet poopy baby! pretty amazing mama i might add!

at night, everyone piled on the sofa to be read to.

and before naps one day, simon got to join them! i love this picture of him with is hand on his face. it's like, oh my, these big kids are so exhausting (are they ever!)....or maybe it was the toy?. but i also love how he's looking up at addie in the other picture! sweetness!

there were plenty of questions and comments, rearranging and situating, taking turns and my turns. and for the record, their ages: addie-5, kira-4, anne perry-almost 3, audrey kate-almost 3, john-almost 2 and simon-almost 5 months. by christmas, they will be 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1 and a newborn. oh.my.word! that will be seven cousins 5 and under! absolutely amazing and unbelievably blessed! 

and eventually the little girls hopped up and each wanted to hold baby simon. there are no words!

except that we truly had a wonderful 3 days with uncle jay, aunt millie, kira, john, and simon. on the whole, the kids got along beautifully! of course they all had their moments; but from what i can recall, there was lots of sharing, compromising, playing and just plain 'ole enjoying each other!

thank you millie for letting us come to your parents lake house! thank you jay and millie for planning and bringing all the food. our drive might have been longer, but y'all did some serious work calculating ounces of milk needed per child, eggs, snacks, lunches, juice, fruit, dinner and everything in between.

addie did, however, top off the trip with throwing up about an hour and half away from home and threw up the rest of the night. while that was completely less than desirable on all levels, we still have some wonderful memories of our trip to Lake Seed!

Addie's 5th Birthday Party

i love doing birthday parties for our girls. i especially have loved doing them as they've gotten older to reflect the various stages of their life. this year, well, the creative wasn't happening. i'd been sick for weeks, and it wasn't letting up.

so we planned a little more low key gathering of friends not at our home.
except we don't do low key very well. i'd say addie is a pretty blessed with some sweet friends, some of which we met and kept up with from the time she was little until now!

so while it probably didn't appear to be low key to anyone but us, it was! and my #1 goal was a success: for addie (and her friends) to have fun! she loved every minute of it right up until the happy birthday song started. then not so much, but we'll get to that later.

they divided the kids into 3 groups. one group went to the obstacle course.

another group went to the foam block pit and got to jump in!

i think that might have been this BIG girl's favorite!

and the littles loved it too!

i think they loved being with the big kids most of all!

sweet laura (on the left) is a little younger than our little girls and the younger sister of one of addie's sweet classmates. she was itching to come play with the big kids, so i took her out for a few minutes before the end. she smiled the whole time!

i think everyone enjoyed the blocks!

...especially some of the more daring boys! 

another group headed to the trampoline...

serious big girls cuteness!

and much to the instructors surprise, i put all the little boys in the same group. they rocked, so there were no problems to be had!

addie loved the trampoline!

and of course audrey kate and anne perry did too!

after a group picture, they did a relay race with everyone. there was lots of giggling and laughing!

   

and it was time for a snack and cupcakes! 

so as not to appear too random, addie wanted a rainbow art party originally. mama couldn't pull that one off, so it became a rainbow gymnastics party, complete with rainbow cupcakes and rainbow cupcake wrappers and lots of color! except this little girl apparently doesn't enjoy being the center of attention and having happy birthday sung just.to.her! so that bottom right picture became the best birthday party picture ever...of sorts. when all else fails, hide your face while everyone sings!

 

but she got over it quickly and enjoyed the rest of her party!

these two little girls have been friends since they were barely a year old. their mama's have become fast friends as well. their daddy's were already friends from college! but i love these two pictures of them. the hugs and smiles and giggles celebrating together! we can't wait to celebrate with cady in june! this was addie's four year old teacher for most of the year. her husband got transferred, and so she was moving sometime in march. she wasn't even working at the gym anymore, but agreed to come back and do addies party. thank you mrs. allie for being so sweet to our girl! as we were letting the kids eat their cupcakes, the main instructor shared with me that they've never had a group of kids this large not have at least a couple of trouble makers. but she said this group of kiddos was one of the most well behaved party they'd seen. i might have beamed with pride; not because my child or i had a thing to do with it, but because we are so incredibly blessed with like-minded friends!!!

addieboo, you glowed all day with excitement and joy! we love you're wild spirit and sweet heart, and we could not be more blessed to have you as our precious first born and now big girl five year old soon to be kindergartner! happy birthday sweet addie!

He Has A Name!

I've been meaning to have the girls share our baby boy's name for a few weeks now. But then everyone got sick, we travelled & came home sick. As you can see though, everyone is quite well, excited about their baby brother & eager to share his name with you!

Take 1: oh so typical!


The Name


*disclaimer: we did not actually plan to use another "a" name, but this was one of two favorites of mine & Paul's. when i shared the two first name options with Addie, her whole face lit up when I said this name! ...& that confirmed it! His name was set!

Happy Friday! Have a safe, well & wonderful weekend!

It REALLY Is A Boy!

we've had a pretty good idea our baby #4 was a boy from a 13 week ultrasound. but 13 weeks...? what if...? it didn't stop me from finding some super adorable baby boy clothes and planning in blues and grays and greens; but in the back of my mind, i kept thinking...what if?

then anne perry got sick (virus/bronchitus) and paul got sick (fever/worn down) and audrey kate started having these awful headache episodes...all yesterday. thankfully i was feeling a million times better (which is a whole lot), and we just kept going. my aunt and mom were thankfully able to help (so thankful!), and hopefully everyone is on the mend now!

today was our 20 week ultrasound. we'd planned to take addie anyway, but she ended up being the only one who could come with me! paul had to stay home in the bed, and my aunt stayed here and held both little girls the entire time! :( we did get a dvd of the ultrasound, which i think addie has shown paul no less than 4 times! so he did get to see his baby boy in motion! :)

so back to this precious little miracle. i think the ultrasound tech must have thought i was a little nutty. well. i am. pregnant nutty, but i kept ooooohing and ahhhhhhing over the whole 10 minute ultrasound. it felt like twice that, watching him move and wiggle. counting fingers and bones and watching his tiny little heart beat in perfect rhythm. perfect. absolutely perfect baby boy.

because he is a complete miracle from God.

his sweet profile with a tiny nose and precious baby lips.
little alien face looking at us

 (the nose is the brighter white in the center of the face with eyes on either side and his mouth below the nose)

and long legs with huge little feet that i already feel kicking me!

but the hand making the "L" shape is what got me. that little thumb and all of those tiny fingers i cant wait to kiss! so there's our baby boy. perfectly perfect in every way, something we don't take for granted for one second.

and to clarify...it's our ONE baby boy! ;-)

every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father from the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Build-A-Bear Cat

a few weeks ago, we decided it was long overdue for the little girl's pacies to be gone. long gone! but we knew the bunkbed transition was coming soon, and so we waited.

this weekend, we took all three girls to Build-a-Bear. we'd never been and unless we win/find/grow some more of this $$$, it might be our last; we are three stuffed animals richer and a bit poorer! but it was a wonderful experience for all three of them!

the little girls brought two pacies each. they (finally) chose an animal: each a cat. and before the stuffing was added, they stuffed in their pacies along with a tiny heart. no tears. no problems. no questions. done.
they fluffed them (several times) and we found some clothes. and then we created their birth certificates on the computer. except i had a pregnancy moment and said the little girl's birthday was may 5th (?).
meet Ellie (brown/black/white) and Olivia (white).
we decided it would be fun for Addie to make a bear animal too; and since we've been talking a lot about giving to others/being selfless/unselfish/gratefulness, i asked her if she'd like to make one for her baby brother. she was excited thrilled beyond herself ecstatic! she chose the cutest puppy dog and carefully added a gingham heart (because according to her, it looked like a boy heart!) and watched it be sealed up. daddy pointed out the cutest overalls and in him he (the dog!) went.

meet Finn. (it was a compromise. she wanted to name him Paul because that will be baby boy's middle name!)
and they packaged them up and off we went.
i cant say that nap/bedtimes have been smooth sailing. yesterday audrey kate woke up midnap whimper crying and anne perry cried for a good 30 minutes after naps because they just wanted their paci! there were no naps today. bedtime was, well, a two+ hour ordeal; but they did finally fall asleep with some extra back rubbing. tonight was easier for one and harder for the other.

it will get easier with time. it always does. and i am one happy mama not having to search for a paci...for at least another 5 months or so!

Birthdays. Rapunzel. & Fairytales.

i get to share my birthday week with the best birthday present i've ever received! and this year, it was also fairytale day at school! addie had been talking about it for at least two weeks, so i knew it was something that meant a lot to her! when she asked to be rapunzel, i went on a mad amazon search for a dress and hair. i wasn't too broken up about getting the dress because winston that cat had just ruined one of the few dress up outfits that fit her!

 she donned her purple dress, and we braided her hair; and hardly anyone recognized her!

she was beside herself thrilled that fairytale day coincided with her birthday chapel at school! if you haven't seen chapel at the girl's school, you're missing out: 200+ three, four, and five year olds praising our amazing God! dancing. clapping. singing. and maybe a little shouting!

anne perry seemed a little overwhelmed, but Audry Kate stood in a chair and sang i have a little heart right along with the big kids! i can't wait to see them on the front rows next year as big girl 3 year olds! and then the birthday (real and half) kiddos climbed up on stage and got to introduce themselves, tell how old they were and who was there to see them and then say something! she was absolutely precious swinging around in her dress! (forgive the crazy shaky crookedness you're about to see. i was taking pictures with my right hand and videoing/balancing my big camera with my left hand.) and just like that...she was somehow more grown up that when she walked up on that stage!

once chapel was over, her little sisters and i met her in her classroom with balloons and cupcakes.

she decided to stay instead of check out, which made this mama even happier because i knew it meant she loves being where she is!

happy birthday day at school sweet addie!