the "Crisis"

so Paul and I went to a dinner the other night and left the girls with my mom. about halfway through dinner, Paul texted her to see how things were going. this is what he got back...

{7pm Thursday night}
Crisis! Addie saw lizard on lamp in bedroom. I couldn't catch so we are snuggled in chair in living room. told her she didn't have to go back in room until you caught lizard. tiny and green.

our entire table got a good laugh.

and while clearly this was indeed not a crisis; in three-year-old-world, it was!

by the time we got home, Addie was sound asleep in her bed.

crisis averted?

{7am Friday morning}
mommy/daddy, there was a lizard on my lamp in my room. 

yes, i'm sure he's gone back outside to live with his family...

{fast forward about 36 hours}
i go to grab a bow for addie's hair as we're leaving the house...

...and there he is! perched on the warm lamp again. 

and the following ensues:
i try to grab him, and he jumps to the wall and crawls up to the crown molding.

paul stands on the stool and tries to grab it, and it jumps to the roman shade.

i see it and try to grab it, but it jumps from the shade to the blinds to the dresser to the floor and quickly runs...

...behind her bed!

(now try picturing that!)

assuring addie that he is headed back to his family, we leave.

{Later that night}
Addie's all ready for bed; and as i go to help her in bed, i think to myself:

am i really going to put her in a bed that we are almost certain a lizard is hiding behind? 

and i move her giraffe and pillow and there he is!

asleep, as still as he can be, under her pillow!   

i tell addie to get daddy quickly. huh she says? go get daddy fast! hurry!

no time

i cup my hands over it and it slides out. i cover it again with one hand and scoop it up, tail sticking out as he wriggles in my hand.

my thought: do lizards bite? if so, do they hurt?

we run out the front door with Addie in tow, and i gently lay my hand down and let him jump out.

finally...crisis over!

lizard returned to his family...outside!

let's just hope he doesnt decide to come back in to bask on Addie's lamp!

i'm not sure i can catch another one anytime soon! 

my only regret? i didn't get a picture of it ;-)

Little Turkeys

i was just certain i could get the perfect picture of the girls if only i sat them on the front steps again.

my friend kelly made these darling t-shirts, and i wanted a picture of them!

i'll never admit to the silliness it took for me to get these laughs.

then again, maybe i was just mimicking them!

and while none of the pictures turned out exactly as i planned, i've learned that sometimes those are the best...at least showing the girls {real} personalities! 

happy {early} turkey day!

Punkin' Patch with Grandpa

we were SO excited that Grandpa and Ms. Gail could come visit a few weeks after Addie took her field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. she was beside herself excited to take them to the pumpkin patch and show them everything she loved...especially the animals!

I was so proud of Addie for feeding the goats all by herself!

the little girls were a little more hesitant about all the animals, but that baby goat was the cutest thing!

it was all ok when grandpa was right there holding a hand though!

there was a silly singing farmer that didnt keep our attention for long...but gave me an opportunity for a picture with all 3 girls! Can we say a little confused with the singing farmer?

all the girls had fun in the corn box!

of course, what's the pumkin patch without a hayride?

apparently waiting for the hayride to start is rather exhausting!

And it's a miracle everyone was facing the same direction...at the same time!

Love watching these little girls experience & discover new things!

i love how the little girls are "loving" (or licking) on their pumpkins.

But I really love Addie's smile in this one!

Grandpa and Ms. Gail, thank you so much for coming to the Pumpkin Patch with us!

Punkin' Patch

Addie had her very first field trip a few weeks ago. It included the entire preschool k-3, k-4 and k-5. we were the only school at the Dreamfield Farm Pumpkin Patch and brought the farm to near full capacity. I guess that says a lot about the size of Addie's preschool!

We had SO much fun with her little class and friends. There are some sweet kiddos with some sweet mamas! Everyone got to play for a little while before we started our morning. (not a clue what addie was doing in that 2nd picture, but it made me laugh!)

and ducky races!

Of course Addie immediately gravitated to the animals, and she got to feed one of the baby goats a bottle of water...with a little help (which made it almost impossible to photograph!):

she and her sweet friend loved looking at the various birds: chickens, turkey, ducks, etc.

everyone crowded around to watch the pig races. those pigs were not pleased about being picked up, but they sure did love racing to their food!

we then headed to the pumpkin patch on a hayride pulled by a tractor

addie picked the tiniest perfect pumpkin that's still decorating the table in our foyer.

after the pumpkin patch, we headed to the corn boxes.

where Addie got to throw corn just once for me to get a picture (because no one else was in there with her yet)!

and some of you might remember this picture from facebook...riding the cow train (and attempting to hold on!) and having a blast! I can still hear her laughing and screaming with delight!

and last but not least, we headed to the blow up slides and mazes

Addie and I decided on the way home that we had to bring her baby sisters back in the next weekend or so...and we did with Grandpa and Ms. Gail! Post to come!

Lathered Up

Addie loves doing "projects." Many {most} of them center around letters and sounds and now words. We've just started tapping into adding to and taking away because it finally makes sense to her...at least if we dont add more than 5 to more than 5 because she's all about counting on her fingers!

I remember letting my students who needed an alternative way to practice letters or spelling do it in shaving cream. anything tactile. anything besides writing on paper!

so we pulled out daddy's shaving cream the other day.

believe it or not, she was a little hesitant at first.

but it took no time at all for her to really get into it!

and after making a few O's and circles, we got to actually writing something...

her name of course!

and i'm pretty sure she enjoyed it!

a little added bonus: Days-of-the-Week. Paul reminded me that as ingrained as this tune is in us, she's never heard this tune before. but it sure made us smile!

how is that these little girls...

...have turned into this...

...a mere 18 months later.

Anne Perry and Audrey Kathryn, you have made the last 18 months richer by the day. We love you little girls and are so thankful that God has given you to us!

(thank you for these beautiful memories Allison!)