Lately with the Family

And, now, what has been some of the everyday happenings around here...

Not enough pictures taken, for sure! But, here are some moments that did get captured!

One of our new neighbors dropped this pool off in our garage one day as a surprise!  What?!  Thank you!!  Anna-Kate was beyond excited when we showed it to her!  This is her and Benjamin eating a small snack before bed in the pool.  No, Ana-Kate, we are not filling it with water at 7pm...  

Step 2 wagon, at Aldi for only $30!!  That is one splurge purchase I do not feel bad about!  We have used it so much already.  Are you an Aldi shopper yet?  Let this wagon make a believer out of you!  (plus the quality inexpensive produce, chips, raisins, ....)  I get the wagon out for a spin down the road almost everyday!

Popsicles with the cousins on the porch, after a morning of water table and blue pool,

winning combination!

A happy girl with her daddy toward the end of a walk one evening through the neighborhood

Did I mention she was excited about her new pool?! 

Last week during Bible School, I put AK's hair in braids for the first time.  Love!  

Not to mention how the "after-braid" hair brings back so many memories for this child of the 80s/90s!  She thought it was so funny!  

Most of the little girls AK danced with this past year are not dancing again.  I decided to let her dance this summer to see if she liked dance or if she liked seeing her friends.  After her first class, with no one she knows in it, I asked her how she liked her class.  "Did you enjoy your class even though your friends Mary-Knowles and Elory and Raina weren't there?"  Uumm, Mom, my friends were there:  Annabell and Kaitlin and ..."  Haha!  love that she had friends immediately!

And, this is what Benjamin decided to do while Anna-Kate danced!

How cute are those little feet?!  No one is going to tell Benjamin he doesn't know how to relax!  How funny that he did that while eating his lunch by the pool!  It is really cute; most nights when I check on him before going to bed he has his bottom in the air and his ankles crossed.  Love it!

Oh my!  How excited are me and Will...I mean, e.x.c.i.t.e.d!

Coming soon to a blog near you...

...the big reveal...

kind neighbor + retired cabinet maker = major, big, exciting update!

Lately with Natalie

With all the moving, birthdays, recitals, etc going on, I have gotten behind on all the just everyday happenings.  Natalie is a large part of our everyday happenings!

I love this picture!!  Natalie loves our house and we love her!  (Rob and Meredith, isn't this the sweetest picture of her!!)

These 3 are a happy group!  Hard to get a smiling picture of all three, but they are happy!

Natalie likes me, but Natalie l.o.v.e.s Anna-Kate!  AK really enjoys having her around.  They play together  well sometimes and play near each other well sometimes.  (This was our rainy day car track one day, with the awesome Luvs ramp.)

One of our favorite activities: a walk and a wagon ride.  Natalie likes to say, "no wagon. no wagon.  Walk."  She loves to pick flowers.  She asks me to go "ou'si'e" several times daily!  

Natalie loves to keep up with Anna-Kate! even if that means running near AK riding on her scooter.  Her enthusiasm is so fun!

That's right guys,

Here I am!

(By the way, one of the reasons this last picture had to be included was because Anna-Kate was the one who took it! So cute, to both the photographer and her subject!)

Birthday Fun!

Anna-Kate's birthday was about 5 weeks after we moved.  I just couldn't see hosting a party.  So, I tried to think of an experience that would be a fun birthday treat.  Perfect idea:

Anna-Kate's First Sleep Over!

Brilliant idea!  I waited until about 2 days before to tell her what it was going to be.  I just kept telling her that she had a birthday surprise coming.  After announcing that she was going to have her first sleep over, she asked me about every 45 min for the next 2 days if it was time.  Love how excited she was!  Her cousins were coming to sleep over, yay!

After those first crazy 20 minutes where everyone was super excited and we shoo-ed Aunt Ashley away, it was time to party!  

First on the agenda, dinner for this party of 7!

AK showed off her favorite honey suckle spot in the yard.  Only a few were left, so Camden climbed to find those few!

Off for a walk!  Love these 5!  

Benjamin was the first to surrender to bed time.  These 4 were happy to indulge in the requested birthday treat:  ice cream with sprinkles, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce!

Then, Evelyn gave in to the call of bedtime!  

The big 3 were so excited that we told them it was time to catch fireflies!  Ooh, pause, first it is time to look at a wood-boring beetle!  Wanna touch him; he'll hiss... no thanks!

They got really good at catching the fireflies!  These two little cousin-bff's...so precious!

Fireflies...where are you?

Letting them go....a certain sweet little rascal attempted to hide one in his fist, "so that he can light up our room when we go to bed!"  Love his rascal-y-ness, but no grin is big enough for me to let flying creatures, big or small, loose in the house!

Good night guys!

This was one happy birthday girl!

And, let's admit, this was one t.i.r.e.d birthday girl!

Butterfly Garden

For Anna-Kate's birthday, her Uncle Walter and Aunt Heather gave her a butterfly garden.  It was such a neat gift!  Highly recommend if you have a kid in your life who is even a little interested in animals/nature/etc! The gift she opened had the habitat.  Then, you mail off for caterpillars.  They arrive at your house, like this.  Tiny little caterpillars, all the food they need is already in the bottom of the container.   

You spend the next week or so watching them grow into large caterpillars (oops, no picture).  Then they attach themselves to the top of the cup to form their chrysalids.  

Remove the chrysalids...

...and attach that paper to the habitat.

Watch and wait for butterflies!  Will and I were so excited that we got to watch two of them hatch from their cocoons.  Let's admit it; we adults loved this present too!!

When Anna-Kate came down from bed and saw that she had 4 butterflies already, she was sooo excited!  

She was actually so excited that she sat down "to read to the butterflies.  They'll love this book!"

The instructions say to keep them for 3-5 days before releasing them.  For those days, put sugar water on flower petals or give them pieces of watermelon.

The timing was perfect that Uncle Walter and Aunt Heather were already planning to come over and it was time to release the butterflies.  

Hhhhmmmm, how should we do this in a way that lets AK hold one of them?

Can you believe they are letting me be this close?!

 Benjamin further away and the garden more on AK's height, much better arrangement!

Can we get one?

Yes!  AK was so excited to hold as many as would let her!

Pink Lady Butterfly

One happy 4 year old!

Thank you Aunt Heather and Uncle Walter for such a neat experience!

Strawberry Picking

Aunt Heather and Uncle Walter took us on our first every strawberry picking trip!  (Back in May, just a little catch up here)  Walter and Heather were the experts!

Anna-Kate and Will made a good team filling our box!

And, Benjamin did this

Anna-Kate loved it!!  She has asked us several times to go again! 

The scenery there was beautiful!

A morning well spent, tiring this little man out!

Let the Monitors Cry Out

April thru June is always a time of remembering for me, special people in my life and God's Goodness.  This season has been no different.  Anna-Kate singing the Johnny Appleseed prayer ("The Lord's been good to me and so I thank the Lord...") as well as this song have been so precious!  I love these simple reminders of God and His involvement in our lives.  [This particular day Anna-Kate caught us off guard.  We did not realize she knew this song!  Thank you Blast!]

Hope this encourages you!

Look Who's Walking!

Benjamin took his first step at 14 months.  For a couple weeks, all he would do is take one step.

At 15 months, he would occasionally take 2-3 steps. 

Now, at 16 months, he has decided he is ready to walk!  We are so excited to watch him figure it ou!

Enjoy our sweet boy (the happy sounds of laughter an added bonus)!!

Anna-Kate is 4!

Happy Birthday to Anna-Kate!  

We love you so much our girl!

There are so many things that I want to remember about my girl as she turns 4.  You are real girl's girl!  One of your favorite things to do at the mall is go looking for jewelry with me, trying on as much as you can reach!  Barbies have definitely entered our life!  You still love playing with anything small, like Squinkies.  

You do love checking yourself out in the mirror, most of the time after raiding mommy's jewelry box or wearing something for the first time.  Jersey or dress, your mood decides what you feel pretty in.  I hope that philosophy remains!  (admittedly skirts and dresses win most often)

I do love that you, the girly girl, still loves being outside and trying new things!  You were so excited about the scooter Grandma and Gramps gave you for your birthday!  You were so excited about the scooter and the safety gear that came with it, that you wore it out to brunch the next day!  Lots of grins from nearby brunchers!  In the last couple of weeks, you have absolutely gotten the hang of it!  

You have loved exploring our new yard.  Learning how to eat honeysuckle was a fun treat over the last few weeks.

We love making you smile!  This was the first birthday that you had a well-defined list of what you wanted.  (Lots of conversations about you may not get everything you asked for and you may get some surprises had to take place!)  A Barbie and a watch were the most consistent requests.

"Daddy can fix it," is a favorite phrase.  He loves helping you learn how to do new things, even stroll your new Barbie with puppies.  When we go on walks, you talk to your daddy about the flowers and bugs that you find.  You still want your mommy to comfort you when you are upset, but you pick daddy to teach you new things!  

You are trying out your sense of humor.  You love to make up silly songs.  You love playing with friends!  You have absolutely adored preschool.  You love art most at preschool.  But, you have shown so much more independence this year.  You are about to dance at your first recital; it's been so fun watching you try something new!  

As the doctor puts it, you "eat to live," instead of "live to eat."  You have become pickier.  Certain foods you used to devour, you now don't like their texture.  (ahem, my once great bean eater and now no thanks, plus some fruits)  You have a sweet tooth!  You say that pizza and mac'n cheese are your favorites. 

You tend to sleep a perfect 12 hours at night.  But, you nap only once every 6 weeks or so.  You enjoy your quiet time to recharge, but only want to have about an hour to yourself.  

You have a sweet, nurturing personality when it comes to Benjamin and Natalie.  Of course, that translates to bossy some times, but overall nurturing!  You have a real thirst for learning new things.  Animals and books remain at the top of your favorites list. You have grown up so much this last year, and we couldn't be more proud!

Stats at 4:

Height - 40.5 in - 65 %ile

Weight - 33.5lbs - 25 %ile