Family Portraits

This morning, we had our family portraits done. I was so excited because the last family picture we got was this one:

 

Obviously, that was a LONG time ago. I think Liam was about 7 months old at the time. We have had some pictures of the kids done here and there but I really wanted to get a nice portrait of each of them, of them together, and of all of us. Well, I'd say we were successful. I just LOVE the pictures we got--even the not-so-good ones :)

Welcome Fall!

On Wednesdays the girls get out of school an hour earlier, so we try to do something fun like go to the park or swim. Now that it is fall, it hasn't been quite SO hot (it's still very warm, but not scorching) so we haven't been swimming too much lately. I saw this cute idea to make knuckle-print pumpkins and I decided that would be a fun fall craft to do with the kids. We had a blast painting our hands and using them as stamps to make the pumpkin shapes. Then the girls added details to their paintings. Here they are--I think they came out so great!!

 Bailey's painting: "Pumpkins at Night"

Emily's painting: "Pumpkin Stacks"

 Lydia's painting: "Pumpkins by a Fence"

Isabella's painting: "Pumpkins with Scarecrow"

McDowell Kids' Quotable Quotes

Just a few random things I've been meaning to write:

Lately the kids have all taken turns saying cute and funny things. A few days ago, I was brushing Emily's hair, which had a HUGE knot in it. I sprayed her hair with detangler but it was still a really bad knot so we were having a hard time getting her hair untangled. She picks up the detangler and tearfully says, "Mommy, how come this says 'tear-free' on it but I am crying so much?"

At dinner Bailey said that she was learning about salami at school. So I was like,"Salami? Really?" And she goes, "Yeah. You know what salami is? It's the spit in your mouth!"

I was doing laundry yesterday and Liam came over to the laundry room. He sees me, waves, and says, "Hi. How YOU doin'?" LOL

Cruise!

From September 5-8, Will and I were able to go on a cruise thanks to Mom and Dad, who watched the kids for us. We sailed on the Carnival Sensation, which was actually the same boat we took our honeymoon cruise on! I don't think anything has changed in the past 12 years, LOL. We had a nice time because we were able to just relax and not have to worry about the kids, although by day two I was missing them A LOT.

 

 We booked a shore excursion in the Bahamas and spent the day at the beach. It was very beautiful and such a different experience than having to watch three kids in the ocean! We enjoyed relaxing in the water and on the lounge chairs.

At dinner, we met a couple who was very nice and they actually live sort of close by, which was cool. The food was just okay and the service was hit-and-miss, but it was a relaxing time and we are glad we were able to go. Thanks Mimi and Grandpa!

Mr. Sandwich

I have been trying to be more creative with Emily and Bailey's lunches this year. They do get peanut butter and jelly most days (they love it and often choose that even when we have cold cuts or other choices for lunch)  but I try to do different sandwich shapes to mix it up. We have a pampered chef cut-n-seal which makes round, crustless sandwiches, and I also do hearts, butterflies, penguins, puzzles, dolphins, and flowers. But one day I had the idea to create Mr. Sandwich.

I bought icing mustaches on a whim in Target. I made a round sandwich, added a marshmallow cut in half with a chocolate chip stuck to each side for the eyes, and the mustache. Then, in the girls' notes I put in their lunchboxes, I wrote, "Enjoy Mr. Sandwich!" Well, they LOVED it. They were so excited when they got off the bus. Now I surprise them with Mr. Sandwich or Mrs. Sandwich (no mustache, Twizzler pull-and-peel smile) sometimes. They were off from school today for Labor Day so here's what they got for lunch:

Aren't they cute? :)

Boosterthon Fun Run!

Emily and Bailey had a BLAST participating in the Boosterthon Fun Run to raise money for their school. The school raised over $28,000!!

Liam and I were able to go watch the girls run and I was so proud of them. It was SUPER hot outside but they both did a great job. Bailey ran 35 laps. Emily ran 27 laps. She was upset that her sister ran more than she did, but the teachers were making the second graders get water after every lap, which really cut into their running time. Here are some photos from their day!

 At the beginning of the race, the kids ran through this giant arch. I was lucky to get a shot of Bailey coming through!

Here's Bailey mid-race!

She was very fast! It was hard to get a good picture of her.

Liam lounging in the shade while we watched. It was SO hot and we weren't even running!

Bailey's shirt, post-race. They kept track of laps by marking off a box every time the kids ran past their teachers. She was so proud of herself for getting all 35 laps!

 

Here's Emily in her race!

 

There she goes!

 

Stopping to get a drink of water. Those kids were wilting out there!

Leave that Poop Alone, Please!

Lately whenever I change Liam's diaper (which is getting less and less frequent, thankfully), he always sticks his hands in there. So when it's poop, I say, "Leave the poop alone, please." This morning, he woke up with a poopy diaper. I took him to the changing table and got him situated. As soon as I unfastened the diaper, he said, "Leave that poop alone, please!" LOL--I have been laughing about that all day!

He also has been so funny lately--like this afternoon, when he told me he was going to nap. I put him in there with a bottle and about 15 minutes later,  he was at the door. I walked over to him and said, "Did you con me?" He goes, "Yeah." Stinker!!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school! Bailey was so excited. She got up early and got herself all dressed in her uniform. She decided to wear her hair in a ponytail (!!) for the first day and she was super cooperative with me about getting that done. Here they are having breakfast:

Emily wasn't AS excited as her sister. She's a little nervous about second grade--it's the first year they give actual letter grades as opposed to just S or N.

At the bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive. It was very hot and sunny!

Off to kindergarten! I can hardly believe it!!

 When the bus pulled away, Liam burst into tears! "Come back!" he cried. He was SO sad. Around lunchtime he got his shoes and said, "Come on, Mom. I go car. I go bus." He really missed his sisters!

End of Summer

Summer is officially at an end! School starts on Monday. The kids and I did a few extra special things this last week. Of course we spent some time in the pool:

 

 

We also decided to have a character day at Hollywood Studios. We tried to get there for opening (9:00) but we were a few minutes late. By the time we got over to Toy Story Mania, about 20 minutes after the park opened, the wait was already 75 minutes and Fastpasses were for 4:00pm! We were disappointed but we'll have to try that one another time. However, we did get to do the Backlot Tour, which the girls really like, play on the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground, have a Mickey pretzel, meet the monsters from Monsters University, and meet Ralph and Vanillope, Handy Manny, Jake, and Mr. Incredible and Frozone! That was a first for us. It was hot and crowded but we had a fun day.

 

 Waiting to meet Wreck-it Ralph--Liam is a huge fan!

Of course, he was TERRIFIED when we actually got to the front of the line, LOL. Luckily the cast member/handler was able to take a photo for us.

 I REALLY wish I had this part on video. The characters do not talk, so Frozone was trying to get the girls to pose. He pointed at Bailey, then showed her what pose to do. It was with one hand out in front and one bent behind. She did it. Then he pointed at Emily and showed HER a pose, which was to stand with her legs apart and her hands on her hips. Both girls did THAT pose. Then, he pointed at B again, showed her the pose she was supposed to do, and both girls switched to THAT pose! I finally had to intervene and here is the picture:

 They are waiting to meet Jake. There was only one other family in line. Liam was super excited (again)  but I knew he'd never go up there.

And of course he didn't, but another cast member helped us out.

 

Now it's off to bed because we have to start getting up early for school soon!