1st days

The first day of school, always looking good.

J started 2nd grade, with hopes of a good year and excited to finally have a sister at the same school as she.  L joined the masses at "big school".  She had the same sweet teacher that J had which is making the transition easier. She carried a class picture from Ms. Tonjas class in her backpack. And A started pre school with Ms. Tonja.  

Lilly was so brave, gave us big hugs and walked to her table.  She came walking out at the end of the day holding hands with her new found BFF. Lol! 

Jules had this thing down,  walking right in and taking her spot...all along the way filling Lilly in on the dos and donts of big school. 

Amelia was a little slower,  hiding behind daddy at first.

I stayed to sing songs with her, and before long she was giving me kisses and telling me "alright" meaning I was all clear to go. 

Sweet baby girls are growing up!

Now...what's a momma to do with all this free time....

Water cools fire

We made it to one of the many water falls on the list for this summer.  This is the fall at Lake Catherine State Park and it was COLD.  I'm always at my most calm when there is water. 

Jules and her friend went all the way. I was so proud o her for braving the water.  

My little attachment is always close by.

It really is a nice place to hike.  

Sully enjoyed the water too.

This is Amelia asleep. How on earth can she be comfortable? 

This is typically how A makes a trip.  

Now lets see if we can make it to anymore before school starts. 

Too short for catch up

"You've been too gone for too long..."

Oh,  no that's the lyrics to a bad country song.  But I can not believe I let this blog go for so long!  Now that I have finally joined the world of mobile blogging hopefully I can keep this baby going.  It is, by the way, the only baby book my kids seem to have going.  Hopefully it will get "prettier" with use. 

Lets just start buy trying a fast catch up seeing as how I haven't posted since Easter 2012!! (Head held in shame)

We got to spend a lot of time with my cousin MiKayla.  We have two new family members!  My brother and his wife had a baby boy.  Finally another boy in the family to play with!  And Paul's sister and her hubby and a little girl. We have spent a lot of this summer swimming at the g-parents.  Now it's time to get ready for school!  Nooooo

J will be a big 2nd grader.

L is going to start the big K5.  And

A will start preschool.

Easter 2012

Finally a Friday night where Paul and I are able to sit in the bed and watch a "grown up show" while the girls are in the living room watching a kid movie.  It feels strange not having 3 squealing girls running and pouncing on us, but this is ok right?  Jules decided to come lay on the bed with us and play on the ipad.  Secretly I was a little worried, but kept convincing my self that it was ok to have some quiet time. 

And then this appeared...

Lilly cut my hair! 

And Lilly quickly yelled that she did not cut her hair, that Amelia cut her own hair.  If you can tell, it is cut all the way from the bangs, to the center of the back. I was pretty sure that she could not have done that all by herself.

Upon further investigation, Lilly had indeed been the actual stylest, and Amelia likes her new hair. 

I on the other hand was a little upset that these soft baby locks got cut. 

Shopping with the girls

Every mom with kids knows that it takes a little training and alot of patience to shop with your little ones.  Now that the girls are a little older they usually insist on walking at the grocery store instead of ridding in the cart, which adds a bit of time onto our trip. 
They want to grab all of the yummy kid appealing foods and throw them into the basket.  I do try to let them be included in the decision making, usually by walking through the produce department and trying to find one new item, and letting them get at least one of what ever they want.  We have ended up with some interesting things before, some even needing the assistance of google to figure out how to eat it.  Lilly spotted a beautiful piece of fruit a few weeks back called a Cannery Melon, which has become a common request. 
Amelia always wants hot dogs.  She is the queen of all things junk, and hot dogs and candy are her true loves. 
While walking in store this past week, we came upon the hot dogs...she starts chiming "me pick, me pick it momma!"  I tell her yes we will get hot dogs, but I get to choose which ones, so please hold on for just a second while I read the packages.  (I do try to always get the ones without any nitrates, sulfates etc.) 
Unbenownced to me, while I am reading the packages, she has pick up one package, pulled her shirt all the way up and is putting the dogs on her belly..."It's cooollld"   At this point Lilly and Juliana are laughing hysterically.  I simply said, "yes Amelia, the hot dogs are cold" and placed them back on the shelf.
Surly no one will mind a little baby belly on their dog package, especially since the contain butts.

Lilly turned 4, a month ago

The balloons hanging in the hall way were an idea from pintress.  She Loved.  She came around the corner, after waking up, and said " OH, How CUTE!"  and squealed.  Lilly you are so precious.  You make us smile and laugh all day long.  You are fantastic at sharing, you will give your sisters your favorite stuffed animals if they are sad or sick.  You will eat just about anything your daddy eats, but macaroni is still your favorite.  You love to give "baby kisses" at bed time, or when someone is leaving.  You are very tender, don't like to be laughed at unless you started the laughing, and take things quiet seriously. 
We love you so much! 

It's V Day!  The girls got to choose what kind of valentines they wanted to make for their friends.  Jules picked butterfly lollipops.  Lilly chose heart cookies, with a little coercion from me.  I can't help it, I love to make cookies!

 These were the ones we made for us...it's the crazy haired momma and her 3 little goofy kids.

We got to go to 2 parties,  Lilly's in the morning, and Juliana's ice cream party that afternoon. 

The girls were a little sugared up!

 Jules with her friends Priscella

And Nathallia.

I think Jules got the idea of "love day"

Christmas Catch Up

Well, now that all the hustle and bustle has slowed, I finaly got Christmas pics uploaded. Now for a quick recap.

 Lilly had fun at her class party.

Paw Paws B day is December 19th, so we usually go out to eat and the make a trip to the capital.

Heart stopping moment when the 2 year old want to climb on marble with slippery fur boots.

 "Sit right here Lilly"

 " Let's strik a pose"

 All the pretty girls.

Ho Ho never fails to impress.  I didn't get many pictures of his adventures this year, but they included the usuall hidding in random placed.  This year he got a little frisky and threw marshmellows every where, climbed some ropes, and took the Barbie jeep for a spin.  He also left the girls some great notes.  We love Ho Ho, and look forward to seeing him next season. 

Amelia found Jesus' birthday cake.

 And enjoyed a little icing before dinner.

 " Please eat something other than ketchup.."

 Ni enjoys reading the story of Jeasus birth each year.  Carter did a great job reading for the first time this year.

 Amelia and Aunt Julie hit if off.

 Christmas with Pauls parents always ends pretty late on Christmas Eve, so we all wear our pj's.

 Papaw seems pretty excited.

 Christmas morning at our house.  The place was a wreck, but who cares, I'm not cleaning.

 The girls all got music insturments, so there was a big concert.

 Followed by a dance party!

Lilly's gettin down!

We had a great Christmas.  It was nice having Paul home so much.  He and the girls really became close.  Amelia is even letting him put her to bed now!