Getting our Hopes up

Bailey has been taking classes at My Gym for a couple months now. I'd planned to pull her out before the summer, because honestly, it's kind of pricey, but she has shown so much growth in the past few months that I thought it would be good for her to continue. I was able to take advantage of a special that allowed Emily to participate over the summer as well. As we were heading to My Gym this morning, I told Emily not to get her hopes up too high about starting class today, because I was pretty sure she wasn't scheduled to start until next week. When we pulled into the parking lot, she said, "Mommy, I am trying to keep my hopes low, but they keep on getting higher and higher!"

Bailey's FLAMINGO party

Bailey had a fantastic flamingo party. She loved playing in the pool with her cousins and friends and she got lots of great flamingo presents. She got a flamingo outfit, a flamingo cup, a flamingo purse with a stuffed flamingo inside, two flamingo towels, a flamingo postcard, a decorative flamingo tile, a flamingo figurine, and more!! She also got some cute outfits and some special toys.

The flamingo cupcakes were a huge hit with all of the kids! I learned how to make them here.

Party pictures coming soon!!

Presents

Bailey is SUPER excited about her upcoming birthday party. She has decided on a "flamingo pool party," which has already been a lot of fun to plan and prepare for! We found some great flamingo accessories, a flamingo ring toss game, flamingo straws and lollipops, and even a flamingo pitcher (plastic!!) and glasses to use at the party! Today she called Grandpa to make sure he got her invitation. Bailey: "Grandpa, I sended you a invitation to my 'amingo pool party!" Grandpa: "I got it! I will be there!" Bailey: "We are going to swim in the POOL! And I am going to splash! So make sure to bring your bathing suit!" Grandpa: "Okay, I will bring my bathing suit." Bailey: "Yay! And Grandpa, don't forget to bring presents for me!" Grandpa, laughing: "I will bring you a present." Bailey: "Yay! Thank you, Grandpa!" That conversation was priceless!!

College

At the bus stop this morning, Emily was explaining to Bailey that she would always be older than Bailey. Bailey said, "Well I am going to go to VPK." Emily replied, "When you go to VPK, I will be in first grade. When you go to kindergarten, I will be in second grade. When you go to first grade, I will be in third grade. When you go to second grade, I will be in fourth grade. When you go to third grade, I will be in fifth grade. And when you go to fourth grade, I will go to college. I will always be bigger than you!" And Mommy said, "College? Oh, boy. That is going on the blog!!" LOL

Easter 2012

We had a very nice Easter this year. Emily was so excited that the Easter bunny was coming that she woke us up at 1 am to tell us that there were "eggs all over the house! And wait until you see what is in my Easter basket--something I wanted for a LONG time!!" We sent her back to bed, saying it was the middle of the night and she needed to wait until morning. She was back at 5, LOL. And then she woke her sister up at 6:30 because she just couldn't wait any more. The kids had a great time hunting for eggs. We had 76 of them, and they found them all in less than 5 minutes! Even Liam got in on the fun!

We had brunch at our house after the egg hunt and the kids got to swim--even though it really wasn't hot enough outside! They enjoyed the pool and spending time with their cousins. In the afternoon, Mommy took the kids to the merry-go-round park and they played for a while. It was a beautiful day filled with fun and family!

No Parking

On the way to the bus stop this morning, Bailey noticed a "No Parking" sign. "Mommy!" she said. "Look! That sign says 'No Ps allowed!'" LOL!

Spicy!

Will has been growing a beard for the past week or so. At first it was a full beard, but then he shaved off the sides and made it into a goatee/mustache. I am not sure if I like it or not, and neither is he, but our little Bailey (of course) has a strong opinion: she was snuggling with him and went to give him a kiss, and then she said, "Daddy! Your face is all SPICY!" LOL :)

Love and Rockets

I decided to make Emily a special lunch today. I forgot to take a picture of hers but I did the same thing for Bailey, so I do have a shot of what it looked like. My idea was to make a sandwich that said, "I love you," so I cut out the letter I, a heart, and the letter U from two slices of bread. Then I made those into mini peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I was careful to pack them in the right order so she'd have a yummy note when she got to lunch today. Well, when she got home, I said, "Hey, Emmy, did you have a special lunch today?"

"I sure did!"

"What was it?"

"It was a heart and two rockets!" LOL :)

Here they are:

Liam brushes his teeth

Liam is definitely in the "imitation" phase--he does everything he sees one of us do. His latest achievement is brushing his own teeth, complete with a very emphatic spit at the end. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/jqxoG0ZgovU

Dusting

Bailey said she wanted to help me clean today. So I told her I was going to start dusting once I’d finished cleaning her bathroom. She ran off into the playroom and was busy cooking something in her kitchen, so I kind of forgot that I said that. Well, about fifteen minutes later I go in there to check on her and everything, and I mean EVERYTHING—the kitchen, the table, the puzzles, the shelves, everything—is COVERED in baby powder! So I’m like, “Bailey!! What are you DOING?” And she goes, “I am dusting!” Sheesh!! What a disaster that was! I can only be glad that it was just a travel sized bottle of powder and not a big one, or I would have been in serious trouble!

Mommy's Helpers

This morning, Bailey and Liam were excited to help me do the laundry.  I was excited about that, too!
http://youtu.be/KJ5soX4LvpA

Aren't they the cutest helpers ever??

A Trip to Sea World!

Sea World has a great deal right now for parents of preschoolers: a preschool pass that gets kids 5 and under in for free! We decided to get tickets since they also have their pay for a day, play all year promotion going on as well. I thought it would be a fun thing to do with the kids. We had a great time seeing the animals and riding the rides--they have an extensive kiddie ride area now as well as a huge net climb! It was a fun day!

Liam is one!

Well I can hardly believe that my baby boy is one!  We had a super fun party here at the house. We rented a bounce house, which was really fun for all of us. Liam got some cute presents, including a race track from Mommy and Daddy that he just LOVED:

http://youtu.be/TloyLpI6i9c

He also loved his egg-free, dairy-free cake! (I tried it, too, and it was good--a little denser than regular cake but still yummy.)

Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us and to family from afar who sent gifts!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Santa was very good to us, as always.  He brought the girls a princess castle!  Liam got a slide (sports-themed, of course), Bailey got a Dora dollhouse, and Emily got a telescope, which we have all enjoyed using. We saw Jupiter and four of its moons one night! Of course there were many other presents as well, and we enjoyed seeing our family on Christmas eve and on Christmas day, too!

My favorite part of the day was when Emily woke up on Christmas morning (at 6:45, LOL).  She RAN across the house and checked out the tree.  I heard a gasp and then she said, "BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!" and ran to wake up her sister. Just hearing that joyful shout made my day. :)

Coconuts

Sometimes I forget that my children are Florida natives. It makes me laugh when Emily asks for a jacket because it's seventy degrees outside. Or when she declared the pool "frozen" because the water was 72 degrees (she wanted to swim last week when it got up to 88 outside but after putting her toes in the pool, she quickly changed her mind!). But the best example of their "Florida-ness" happened this week.

Liam is very interested in the Christmas tree, as I imagine most babies and small children are. Well, he loves to toddle over there, grab two (plastic) ornaments, and run off with them, gleefully banging them together. Yesterday, Bailey saw him grab the ornaments and she yelled, "MOM! Liam's taking the coconuts!"

Me, totally baffled: "What coconuts?"

Bailey: "The coconuts from the Christmas tree!"

And THAT is how you know your kid is a Florida native. :)

A Visit with Santa

Last night we took the kids to the mall to have dinner (which was a fundraiser for Emmy's school) and to visit Santa. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I had high hopes that everyone would do well. Emily and Bailey were very excited to see Santa, and they both asked him to bring them something. Liam wasn't too sure, but when I put him on Santa's lap, he seemed okay, so I walked over to where the photographer was standing. Well, when he saw me walk away, he got VERY upset! It was pitiful!! But I actually like the "crying" picture because it is a memory of how he acted when he saw Santa for the first time. We also got a cute shot of just the girls, too.

Liam is walking!

And here he is!

Emily is SIX!!

It's hard for us to believe that our little girl is SIX YEARS OLD!  Emily came running out of her room at 6:45 this morning.  She knew there were a couple gifts waiting for her. :)  Mommy and Daddy sang "Happy Birthday" and then Emily opened a couple presents.

One was from Aunt Joann and Uncle Dave.  It had two princess nightgowns inside.  She loves them--she has worn one every night since getting them.  As soon as one comes out of the wash, she wears it again.

Then Mommy, Daddy, Bailey, and Liam gave her a ballet book and puzzle, which goes with her party theme, and a solitare game called Clever Castle.

Emily was also super excited about school.  We made chocolate cupcakes to bring to her class today, and Mommy got to eat lunch with Emily at school!  Her teacher gave her a special ribbon to wear, too. 

We went to Chili's for dinner and Emily got a yummy dessert--AND they sang to her!  It was a great day.

"Mommy, I Know You're So Old..."

I was enjoying a snuggle on the couch with Emily yesterday when she looks at me and says, "Mommy, I know you're so old, but why are you so little?"  Thanks, kid.

Family Pictures

Last weekend we had our family pictures done at Gemini Springs. It was a lovely day and I am really pleased with some of the shots!  Here are my favorites: