The Carpenters

Man, I like this one...

2012-01-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Insanely sweet all of the time - really, I'm not just saying that. This is one happy baby. So, lately Lily Kate has been helping me feed Hadley (I need all the help I can get) and this evening I was in the living room and noticed Kate in the computer room. I asked her if she was done already and she said casually, "no, I taught Hadley how to feed herself. She's really good at it" (hopping up and walking quickly to the kitchen) Hmm, not half bad. Probably need to stick to feeding her myself though. Maybe I can teach Kate to fold laundry... I'm serious.

Birthday ParTEA

2012-01-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Lily Kate and Charlotte both have January birthdays, 3 weeks apart. Traditionally we have taken the girls out to dinner on their individual birthdays and we do a combined party. This year we chose a girly tea party. The girls woke Parks and me at 7:00 (not too bad) all dressed in their party attire, raring to go! There was dancing and singing and what looked like an explosion of clothes. Clearly, they were excited!

Parks and I used our redirecting skills to get them excited about breakfast at Chick Fil A with Dad so I could put together the last minute stuff...and snap some pictures of the precious tea party details.

Tissue paper flowers

Fancy satin gloves

Detail person that I am, I took lots of close ups and forgot to get a picture of the whole room with crepe paper hung from the chandelier to the corners of the room. I put tissue paper flowers on the chandelier too. I had way too much fun decorating the tea room.

Parks and the girls came home and the girls got re-dressed.

This is where I need to pause and say a huge THANKS to Grace and Stephanie. They left their families of men and spent the whole morning with me, setting up, doing crafts with the girls, taking pictures, serving tea, even cleaning up. I didn't even get a picture of Grace, she was probably getting stuff together.

Outside to welcome friends

here come some...

Once everyone arrived we split the girls into two groups and one half made fancy tea party hats.

Does it get any cuter than this, June ready for a garden party

The second group made fans, adorned with jewels of course.

Then the groups switched. Once all the little ladies had hats and fans they were ready for tea time. Grace and Stephanie and I waitressed. The tea was punch, which the girls kept calling spicy. I forget that 5 year olds don't drink a lot of ginger ale.

They ate butterfly shaped PB&Js (with a flower shaped PB& nutella for Miss Kate who isn't a fan of jelly), clementines, pink dipped pretzels, and strawberry cupcakes. Not the best picture of me but I had to document my tea party get up.

Time to sing to the birthday girls

(the third candle is hiding, Charlotte turned 3 this month)

...and time to eat the cupcakes

A favor for the little ladies

It was so much fun. All in time to put Charlotte & Hadley down for a nap and do come much-needed laying around! I have a feeling this is only the first of many pink ruffly parties for this family.

Not cheap... Frugal

2012-01-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

In the car on the way to a birthday party....

LK: Mom, you know those purple leggings I used to have? I love them.
Me: Yep, they're Charlotte's now because you got too big for them.
LK: Will you buy me some new purple leggings?
Me: Sure, in fact, I want to buy you a couple new pairs of leggings. I just need to wait until I find some on sale and then I'll get you some.
......quiet for a few minutes......
LK: Mom, do some people buy things when they're not on sale?
Me: Umm, sure some people do.
LK: Why would they do that?
Me: I don't know babe, I don't know.

"I'm Free!"

2012-01-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Miss Charlotte! What a fun day, we have celebrated all day long. We planned to bring the girls breakfast in bed, but when they woke before us at 6:45 we settled for breakfast in the bedroom. All day long I would look at Charlotte and say, "wait a minute, something looks different about you.....is it..... hold on....you look bigger...are you older?" and she would say, with wide eyes, "I am older, I'm free!"

Then presents galore! Here she is showing off her VTech computer from Nona. I heard her tell Sissy that she got a "princess IPAD" and I really hope she tells her teacher that tomorrow at preschool!

Loving her Strawberry Shortcake dress from Nona

Hadley loved the jewelry box I got Charlotte. It really is a perfect baby toy, a mirror, music, and a tiny twirling girl. This kept her busy for a long time.

After church and a nap we ate pink birthday cake.

They were distracted by the Polly Pockets' storyline. The one you got her is in there, Becca!

We ended up at Mexican restaurant for dinner when the place we had planned on was closed. It turned out to be perfect. We have begun a mini tradition of going around and all telling the birthday girl some things we love about her, ways that God has made her very special. It was sweet to hear Lily Kate tell Charlotte that she loves her because she "always plays silly with her". Dinner ended with the entire waitstaff coming over to sing to Charlotte. If you know my children well you know that Lily Kate would have been singing along with them but this kind of stuff makes Charlotte freeze. She wore the sombrero but she was pretty stone faced the whole time.

Quick mood switch when the ice cream was served

We love you, Charlotte! You are a wonderful little girl, vibrant and full of life. You are a mix of goofy and cuddly sweet that still keeps us guessing. Happy birthday to our newest three year old!

Blue Eyes

2012-01-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

Just a side note, I think Hadley's eyes are officially blue. Charlotte and I have green eyes and Parks and LK have blue so Hadley was the tie breaker. A while back Charlotte coined us "the green team" and the girls have a running have had a running joke about which team Hadley would be on since before she was born. Looks like the blues have it in our family.

Starting Cereal

2012-01-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

We just started Hadley on rice cereal this week. I can't believe she is already 5 months old! Lily Kate really wanted to help (surprising, I know) and it was actually very helpful to me. My plan with Hadley was to start foods later and very slowly because my hands are full, but if Lily Kate is going to be doing the feeding this may be easier than I thought :)

Adventures in Texas

2012-01-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas my family went to Galveston for 3 nights. It was a great trip, less than an hour away, beautiful weather, and lots of fun activities that Mom and Dad planned for us.

Charlotte walking on the beach

Aunt Carrie & Lily Kate basking in the sun :)

Kate showing off her shell collection. (Thanks for the shell bags, Leslie, they were a hit!)

We went to the aquarium. I took lots of pictures but almost all of them were blue from the lighting in there. I got this one and one clear shot of all the penguins. I think Hadley's cuter than the penguins.

We went on an evening walk through the lights at Moody Gardens.

Kate, Scott, & Charlotte in Santa's sleigh

Kate & Daddy

Surprisingly, one of the most fun things we did was to ride the ferry off and back on the island. The view from the top deck was beautiful and the dolphins were jumping there and back.

Pop Pop & Charlotte

Jack & Lily Kate

Sweet Charlotte

No trip to TX is complete without a trip to my Dad's favorite restaurant (where he and my mom eat every Friday night), Goode Co. Taqueria.

We always have to throw coins in the fountain.

The last day we visited with my grandparents and had lunch at their hotel. I can't believe I didn't get a picture with them in it.

Here's Nona and Lily Kate

Nona & Hadley

All the cousins, Kate, Charlotte, Hadley, Jack, & Scott. (He bought those goggles in Galveston and wore them the rest of the trip!)

Ahh, it was a good time. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning(s!)

2012-01-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in TX this year with the Knight family. We flew out on Christmas eve so we had a "Christmas morning" here at our house on the 23rd. It was quaint, but special.

Charlotte & Hadley checking out Char's stocking

We had a 70 degree Christmas here in Wilmington, so instead of lighting the real fireplace had the TV going. Hadley was enamored.

Pancake snowmen for breakfast with bacon scarves. Charlotte ate the scarves off all of our men while we opened our presents.

We opened more presents on the 25th at Mom & Dad's. My brother and his family were there with my parents and my aunt. It was rowdy and fun. I was too busy for many pictures, but these were too good to miss. My aunt, Kathy, gave the girls these dress up wigs. Hilarious.

Lily Kate as a mermaid

Charlotte as some kind of Egyptian princess. (Wow, please stop me if I ever want to give Charlotte little 1inch bangs)

And, just to freak you out, here's Hadley as the mermaid too. Yikes, baby pageant queen!

My Monkeys at Monkey Joe's

2011-12-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Preschool has been out for the week. With the 70 degree weather and no school, it has felt a bit like summer around here. We have had playdates galore, including a trip to Monkey Joe's. My parents have taken the kids there a couple times (somehow Charlotte was convinced they were going to be there??) but I have never been there myself. Well, I was missing out because apparently adults can ride some of the slides if the kids "need help". Those things are intense. I needed some help getting up after being flat on my back at the bottom time after time. And yes, I did ride them time after time. We had FUN!

June, Kate, & Charlotte bumming a ride in the backseat of another little girl's mechanical fire truck ride.

Samuel (can you find him?) & Charlotte

Hadley, getting some bounce time

Lily Kate

Charlotte

And, in other news, Hadley is now officially a thumb sucker. She prefers the fingers up over the nose method to the typical fist method. Also, I heard her crying in her crib this afternoon when I put her down for a nap (which is unusual for her) so I went to check on her and found her on her tummy. Which means that she has rolled over for the first time! Take it slow, Hadley. Take it slow.

Christmas Program

2011-12-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

Last Night our church had the children's play. It was precious, as always. The painted backdrop threatened to fall and lots of kids waved at parents, but no one did anything crazy this year, which is saying a lot for a group of 35 kids on a stage.

Precious angels, Sarah & Lily Kate

This picture of Charlotte, our little sheep, shows how she spent most of the play. She turned around and watched it, back to the audience. It was a great, you can't really blame her, it was much more interesting than staring at us the whole time.

Here's our little sheep. So cute.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

2011-12-11T19:48:00.001-08:00

We just finished a great weekend packed with fun activities. Friday evening we went to a drive through live nativity at a church here in town. There were live donkeys and llamas, which was exciting for the kids. It was set up so that we drove through each scene, tuned our radio to have audio, and never left our car the entire time. I was most excited for us all to get a visual of that night in Bethlehem with Christ was born. Since it was going to be a warm evening in the car the girls got to dress themselves in whatever cozy clothes they wanted. Complete with coordinating headbands, nice.

Saturday morning we went to a friend's birthday party at our preschool playground (which is in their neighborhood) There was a bouncy house, which made for and lot of toddler dog piles and laughter.

Then Saturday evening we went to our friends', the Powells', annual gingerbread house decorating party. Here is Parks working hard on our Pink Palace.

Did I mention that our lovely hostess had a baby on Wednesday?! This is an annual, much-loved, party, so there was no skipping it. She made all of the gingerbread houses and the soup we had for dinner in advance. It was impressive!

The Lanier's Ski Cottage

The Thomas' School Bus

This is the inside of the Phelps' winning house. Can you believe this thing? Yes, that's his Iphone set up as a moving fire place, a Christmas tree complete with wrapped presents, stockings hung, and food on the table. The Phelps are always so creative.

Here's our finished palace.

Before the voting we each got to go around and tell the story that goes with our house. Here is Caroline singing "the Wheels on the Bus" which added a huge cute factor and almost secured them the win.

Here is the brand new little man himself, Charlie Powell, just 3 days old. Precious.

Ben and Charlotte sneaking candy at the end of the night. Charlotte and Lily Kate kept asking me when we got to eat the houses. It seems like total nonsense to a little kid that we would decorate a cookie house with candy and frosting and not eat it at the end.

And to close up the weekend I made these this afternoon for Charlotte's class snack tomorrow.

Here's my helper. Merry Christmas, hope you're getting into the spirit at your home!

Comparisons

2011-12-09T11:51:00.001-08:00

Here are some shots of all three girls at the same age, 4 1/2 months. To me it is very obvious who is who but, if you aren't sure, Lily Kate, then Charlotte, and then Hadley (pic from today). Hadley definitely looks different than the other two, in my opinion. Her forehead is different and her hair is much lighter. Kate is clearly the chunkiest :) They do all three have the same little chin! To me, Kate looks most like me, Hadley looks most like Parks and Charlotte is the hybrid.

What we've been up to...

2011-12-09T11:27:00.001-08:00

Lily Kate's class went on a field trip to the bowling alley. It was really cute to watch the kids interact. I love seeing her with her friends. She loves them. There is lots of giggling, hugging, song-singing, and running from the boys. So funny! Based on her skill level, I'm not likely to recommend bowling as a hobby just yet, but maybe in a few years.

Lily Kate also went to Maddie's birthday party. Maddie had a daytime slumber party, it was a great idea! They ate breakfast (complete with a cake made of stacked pink donuts!), read books, got pedicures, and watched a movie. I love the idea & the girls had a great time!

Not to be left out, Charlotte & Hadley are having fun too :)

Attempts

2011-11-28T13:36:00.001-08:00

Every once in a while I will line the girls up and try to entertain them in some way while I attempt to get a good picture of the three of them. I'm telling you it is an impossible feat. It always makes me laugh to go back through them

Silly face... eyes closed...

crying...

checking out belly button?? "I'm over this" smile..... and lost one all together..

Family

2011-11-28T13:30:00.001-08:00

"The big girls"

Henry, Connor, & Will

Parks & Hadley

Me & Kate

New Cousins

2011-11-28T13:17:00.001-08:00

The newest cousins, Hadley and Connor. Connor is just adorable. I'm surprised he isn't smiling in these shots because he is giggling most of the time. Lily Kate calls him "Big Buddy". He's a sweet chunk of love!

Chattanooga Children's Museum

2011-11-28T13:07:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful time in Chattanooga with Parks' family this past week. It was really a treasure for us all to be together. We went to the Chatt Children's museum, which the kiddos loved.

Lily Kate and Lillian are inseparable, they are two peas in a pod, so similar in so many ways. They really love each other. We have started letting them video chat some on the IPADs and they will spend half an hour talking about their toys and what they did that day, it's really cute. Lillian will be 4 in two weeks so she is just 1 year younger than Lily Kate.

Charlotte doing what she does best, dancing.

Hadley with Granmar (Parks' grandmother) & her Soni (Parks' mom)

Introducing Eva

2011-11-28T13:00:00.001-08:00

This is Eva Gerstmyer. Isn't she precious!? I have been dying to meet her. On our way to TN we drove through Winston Salem to visit with my long-time friend, Lauren & her husband, Brad. Their daughter, Eva Elizabeth, was only 2 weeks old. When you have a 2 week old the thing you want most is the Carpenters with their rowdy kiddos to come stay with you, right? They were very gracious to let us come visit. We love them very much.

Thanksgiving Preschool Program

2011-11-28T12:56:00.001-08:00

I can't sing the praises of Lily Kate and Charlotte's preschool enough! I love it. They have great teachers and they love going. Last Friday Lily Kate's class had a Thanksgiving program. There she is in the center, all smiles.

Here we are visiting Charlotte in her class.

Lily Kate and Nadia, one of her buddies, at the "Pie Party" - now that's my kind of party.

Birthday Parties

2011-11-19T19:01:00.001-08:00

So, I get a failing grade on picture taking for the last few weeks. I cart my camera around to the places I go but I also cart around 3 kiddos and usually it never leaves the diaper bag. I have good intentions. Last week we celebrated Ben Phelp's birthday. I have no pictures of Ben at all, of course. This top picture of Charlotte and Samuel, two peas in a pod, is adorable. Grace took it :) The only 2 pictures I took were of the cute frog cupcakes that Sherry made and of Charlotte showing us hers.

This afternoon we went to Maggie Dorosko's birthday party at the gymnastics gym. Again, no pictures of Maggie, no pictures of her awesome cake (which Wrenn made to look like Rapunzel's tower!), about 11 completely blurry pictures of Charlotte jumping into the pit of foam blocks, and these three, which aren't too bad.

Hannah & Lily Kate cheesing for us, LK on this really awesome swing (that parents aren't allowed to ride), and Hadley and her giant cheeks!
Happy Birthday, friends!

Sweet Snuggles

2011-11-18T11:27:00.001-08:00

Sweet Babbles

2011-11-12T17:54:00.001-08:00

Here is our sweet Hadley doing what she does best. Were you able to overlook the facts that our house sounds like a pool hall (block towers falling down on hardwood floors) and that apparently we leave our fridge wide open for periods of time? Ooops.

Quality Time

2011-11-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

Every afternoon Charlotte takes a 2-3 hr nap. This leaves a big chunk of time for Lily Kate and Hadley to hang out every day. They really love each other.

Preschool Day at the Fair

2011-11-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Our local fair had "preschool day" last week. It really is a brilliant concept: a cheaper fee to enter, they don't even open the rides that the kids can't go on, nor do they open the booths that sell $7 funnel cake or give you a chance to spend $20 to win a goldfish. Thank you, fair, for not making me think of creative ways to say "no" all day long. We had a great time as a family, laughing a LOT and bumping into friends all day. Here's an example of how a picture turns out when you make a 2 year old take a picture she doesn't want to take. :)

You think that bow is big enough?

Charlotte's favorite ride was the "merical round". We rode it 4 times throughout the morning and she was just as excited every time. No one tell her we have of these in our mall, just down the street from our house.

Our fist attempt of millions at a "girl shot". Charlotte is rubbing her eye and I'm pretty sure Lily Kate is twisting Hadley's wrist. Give us a couple years, we'll get a good shot.

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight we Trick or Treated with our friends, the Powells & the Phelpses. The weather was cold and as the buckets got heavier the kids slowed down a bit but they were SO excited. When we got in the car to go home Charlotte said, "I had so much fun to go trick or treating, Mom". Nona gave the girls glow stick wands and they were a big hit.

Charlotte let Hadley borrow her wand. She just laid in the stroller, holding the wand, wide-eyed during the entire hour walk.

Sweet little happy girl

3 Months old!

2011-10-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

On November 1st Hadley will be 3 months old. I'm so in love with this kiddo!

Bonding

2011-10-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

I spied this sweet moment while I was off doing laundry. Lily Kate is reading Hadley the book she made at preschool.

Look at those little faces staring up at the pages. Precious.

CCC Fall Festival

2011-10-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

My cowgirl & my Indian princess. Mom, the red boots you got Kate inspired the outfit!

And my little cow.

June & Caroline, the cutest little ducks

Sam, a sweet little horse.

Samuel, the little pirate. He had a blast, by the way. I appreciated his enthusiasm all evening!

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the Laniers. Oliver was a Monkey and they were the Zookeepers, it was great! Here is Shaunna, the pumpkin (due in early Dec) and Cassidy. Our church has a trunk or treat in the parking lot at the end of the festival every year where the kids stock up on candy (that Parks and I end up eating most of!)

Not sure what was going on with the lighting here, but it was worth posting. Here is Lily Kate with two of her favorite girls, Maddie, the ballerina, and Maggie, the mermaid. So much fun!

Ode to Pinterest

2011-10-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Are you on Pinterest.com? It is my new favorite thing! The concept is basically virtual pin boards where you can pin all of your ideas (recipes, sewing ideas, decorating inspiration, etc) on different boards. It is genius. I and so many of my friends have done this for years, tearing pages out of magazines and tucking them in folders. Now it's all at my finger tips. Playing on Pinterest has inspired a new craftiness in me. I saw some of these hair flowers on there and started making them...

....which led me to search for a way to store all my flowers and bows where I can see them all. Which led me to make this easy guy. Bought a super inexpensive framed piece of art ($6) and wrapped fabric and ribbons around the picture.

Also stumbled upon these gold pumpkins and had to make them. Spray paint and tape - super easy.

I haven't become more creative. Now I just have access to everyone else's good ideas!

Another Room Redo

2011-10-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

This one is not as much of a "redo"as it is a "facelift". Same face, just perked up a little :) I have to preface this by saying that I'm not sure there is anyone out there interested in this but me. I love me some decorating and rearranging. I outfit almost all of my rooms in phases as I learn what I love and as I make "finds" here and there. So, here is my "computer room/ second living space" before. Desk on the left, sitting space on the right (and, not pictured, but usually kids art supplies all over the floor)

Here is the subtle After. I am learning that I love kelly green. The skinny dresser in the back right was moved to the left of the desk and painted. New desk chair and more green.

The chairs were repositioned to create more of a cozy spot. Dad brought me these paintings that flank the window when he came this summer. And Parks (my hero!) built the kiddos an art table. No kids chairs yet but he has a lot on his to do list, so maybe in November.

*Melissa, do you recognize your old breakfast table? We used it as our breakfast table, then repurposed for the porch, now painted and cut down for the art table. The thing has 9 lives!

The curtains wouldn't photograph well with the sun coming through. I have been wanting to add some gray to the room.

Here's Parks' hard work. He cut the legs shorter, took the apron off, cut down the top and put the apron back on. Good as new. Now I want to find a fun way to display the kids' art.

YaYa

2011-10-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

My friend, Stephanie, is the girls' YaYa. When Kate was little we feared that Stephanie was too tricky for her to learn to say so we subbed it out for YaYa. Wouldn't you agree it has a catchy ring to it? The girls love their YaYa, they play Barbies and dress up with her and she often has fun treats for them. Hadley has recently discovered YaYa and she is enamored. She locks eyes and smiles and coos whenever Steph holds her. Precious!

What we've been up to...

2011-10-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Friday Lily Kate's class had their first field trip. They went to Old McFaye's farm. I went on the trip with them with Hadley in tow. I was equipped with my camera that informed me that the battery was out and the power was shutting down after 2 pictures. I kept trying the last ditch effort of holding the camera up with the power off, waiting for a good shot, & quickly turning it on hoping for enough juice to catch another photo. But, with Hadley on one hip and 4 yr olds running around chasing chickens I have to say these were the only two I got. We had a blast. I LOVE Kate's teachers, they are fantastic.

And here is one of Hadley these days. Usually smiling and often trying to suck on her entire fist. We keep trying to pry open her tiny hand and show her her thumb, but so far she prefers the whole fist.

11 weeks

2011-10-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to do a comparison post and I'll try to do them periodically because I'm interested in whether or not our girls look as much alike as people say they do. Here they all are at 11 weeks.

Lily Kate had the most and the darkest hair and, obviously, the biggest blue eyes. Man, she was a cutie. She was very social, very early and loved to smile and coo at strangers and anyone whose eye she could catch. She has never been a cuddler, more of a mover.

Here is Charlotte. I think that they look pretty similar. Their noses are different. Poor Charlotte's hair took forever to fill in on top. We always said that Lily Kate had a toupee and Charlotte had a mullet. Her eyes are pretty huge though and were still blue at this point (they are green now). The big ole cheeks and tiny chin seem to be consistent :) Charlotte liked to cuddle and suck her thumb. She was more sensitive. She didn't give her smiles away to everyone, but she was very loyal to her favorites. (Emily & Brittany!)

And here's Hadley! She is the biggest of the three at this age. Check out that belly. I really don't think she looks "just" like them. I think she looks more like Parks, especially in that lower picture. The shape of her face is more like Kate's. So far, she is the most content baby that we've had. Smiles easily, cries very little. She likes to watch the movement around the house. I am predicting a less opinionated child. Hopefully I won't be eating my words. So, what do y'all think?

Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Church

2011-10-08T10:23:00.001-07:00

Every year we go over the "pumpkin church", snap a few hundred pictures, and buy a few pumpkins. I think this just may be our first family-of-five picture.

Look at all these teeny pumpkins!

aww, and look at this teeny pumpkin

Lily Kate and our long-time friend, Ella Barclay.

Precious Caroline, somehow I didn't get one shot of her sister, June, that wasn't blurry. A girl on the go!

Lily Kate and her sweet Hadley. Truly a wonderful big sister!

2011-10-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Charlotte, Lily Kate, and Samuel laying in the sun

Samuel and Charlotte were hilarious. He would run and pounce on her back and she would just giggle. He would roll in the hay and laugh like a true boy. They had a blast.

We always try to get a picture of all the kids. We take around 20 and then I weed through them, hunting for the "best". This time I just looked for the worst. This is only 4 out of the 8 kids because they kept running away/ falling over. I think Lily Kate and Ella look bored out of their minds, Samuel looks goofy, and, Charlotte looks plain crazy! Perfect!

And I thought this was only fitting for the end of my super long post. We all sort of felt this way when we left. Happy fall :)

Serene

2011-10-07T14:07:00.001-07:00

Hanging out at home

2011-10-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Charlotte isn't alone with Hadley very much but they are starting to bond more and Charlotte is embracing her big sissy role. Yesterday she asked if she could read Hadley the Little Mermaid. Dressing alike never gets old around here.
Look at this sweet little face and this big chunky belly. I can't get enough. Hadley is so sweet. I know we say it all the time, but she is really calm and happy most of the time. Lily Kate has perfected the art of "giving Hadley some space" and now that she isn't 2 inches from her face Kate can make her smile and coo by talking to her. It is precious. Charlotte hasn't perfected the art just yet :)

Tis the season for...

2011-10-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

hugging some big ole pumpkins
and walking around the garden store

The weather is nicer and we are loving being outside

Besties

2011-09-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is Hadley with her friend Olivia. Olivia is 6 days younger than Hadley. Aren't they cute in their matching outfits? Olivia's mom, Annie, and I meet up with some friends at the Children's Museum weekly to let all the kids play. This weekly playdate has become some of my favorite time in my week to just be with other moms and talk. We don't have a lot of friends with daughters so my girls have lots of little boy friends that we love. I am SO thrilled for Hadley to have a girl friend her age to grow up with. Kate and Charlotte can keep up with the boys but since I'm planning on Hadley being our sweet, calm child :) she'll definitely need a dainty little girl friend to play calmly with. Ha!

Contagious Smile

2011-09-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

7 Weeks Old

2011-09-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Man, I could sit and hold this sweet girl all day long. So far her temperament is still really calm. Parks and I can get smiles from her when the sisters aren't around. She seems to like her sisters but is still a bit overwhelmed by all the noise and movement that comes with them - truthfully, so am I :) I want to get more pictures of the smiles. You need to have 2 people around though, one to talk to Hadley and one to hold the camera inconspicuously because she tends to get distracted by it. But, things seem to get a little chaotic when Parks and I leave the big girls alone to go sit with Hadley. Anyway, I love this picture below. The picture is of her reflection, she discovered it while I was giving her a bath and she was very interested. She is chunking up, as you can tell. We're trying to soak up this short phase, we couldn't be happier.

2011-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Will's 5th birthday party on the farm and it was a blast. Who doesn't want to go to the farm on our first brisk fall-like Saturday! Lily Kate has been obsessed with pinatas ever since our friend Anthony (our age!) had one at his birthday party a couple years ago. It may have been new to Charlotte, she kept saying "Candy just came OUT of that horsey!"

Charlotte was a little timid about the tractor ride.... and the horses ...and the giant pig... and the goats. For some reason Charlotte was a little timid at the farm.

Here's Lily Kate in mid (unprompted) "Ye Haw"

And here's our littlest farm girl who basically slept most of the time, but I think she had a blast too.

Living it up in Pinehurst!

2011-09-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

Parks was given a Blue Cross trip to Pinehurst this week. Check out the Edward Scissor Hands style PINEHURST cut into the hedge. From the moment we pulled in it was extravagance! Isn't this place beautiful? Look at Hadley all sprawled out on the bed. She was also enjoying the extravagance. I love how this shot looks like she just fell back onto the bed in delight.

I had such a fun time. I was given a manicure and a pedicure at the spa on property. I spent one morning by the pool while Hadley slept. Parks had lots of meetings, but he found some time to relax also.

One of the fun extras we enjoyed was "cooking demonstration" from some of the chefs on property. It was like being at an intimate cooking show. They taught us how to make the dishes, they paired them with wine, and then (the best part) we ate them all. Here's the dessert.

And truly, my very favorite part was getting to spend so much time alone with Hadley. I am thrilled about how much Kate and Charlotte love Hadley, but Parks and I loved not having to share her with anyone! While we were there she started smiling at us. Parks and I were like first time parents, oohing and ahhing and taking tons of pictures. Like a proud mama, I couldn't pick just one picture.

First Day of Pre-School

2011-09-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

All ready for the first day. Charlotte was a little tentative, as you can tell from the thumb in the mouth. She was quiet on the drive there, but once we got to her classroom she made a beeline for the dollhouse. Nothing like a dollhouse to make a girl forget her worries. Lily Kate was right at home. She had old friends in her class and lots of new friends too. Apparently there are a lot of privileges that come with being in the 4yr old class: field trips, computers, family art projects, show and tell, and taking the class pet (stuffed animal) on weekend adventures. Even I'm excited!

Waiting...

2011-09-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Everyday after lunch Charlotte takes a nap. Often she plays a long while before ever falling asleep so sometimes she will sleep late into the afternoon (and then take forEVER to fall asleep at night) unless we wake her up. Kate knows that at 4pm everyday she is allowed to gently wake up Charlotte to play with her. This is how I found Kate today.

Just watching the clock, waiting to play with her sister. Sweet.

Happy Birthday, Parks!

2011-09-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last night our little family went out to dinner for Parks' birthday. I attempted to take a picture of my man with all his girls. Well, they're all in the picture. Parks is a wonderful husband and it's really hard to give him a birthday that tops what he does for me year after year. We tried to let him rest some. Charlotte helped me make breakfast (yikes!) and then we went to the beach. Parks took a midday nap with Hadley and then we all went out to eat. Before we put the girls down we turned on some music and all danced on the rug, the girls had a blast.

2011-09-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

This morning Parks took Hadley (& Lily Kate who is always a couple inches away) out of our room and let me take a long nap. Then after breakfast he left Hadley and I alone and took the older girls to Home Depot to do the kids' Saturday building project. I looked it up on their website while they were gone and saw that it was an ESPN game day board :) Our girls painted theirs pink and purple and made dry erase drawing boards. Cute. Then they went to Chick Fil A for lunch. Here is the text I got from Parks while they were there, "Never a dull moment, Charlotte just peed in the play area and now they are shutting it down. Probably time for us to go" I thoroughly enjoyed my time folding laundry and sweeping the floor in peace. What a great husband.

1 Month

2011-09-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

Sept 1st (my mom's birthday) Hadley turned 1 month old. The days (and nights) are long but the weeks are short. If you're a parent you've heard the phrase. It couldn't be more true. This month has flown by and I can't remember half of it. Truth time - I felt a lot of anxiety about having 3 kids. Could I handle it without losing my patience/temper daily?? It has been hard, a juggling act with no breaks is what I would liken it to. I am always needed at all times. Really though, when I am alone with Hadley all the stress falls away. It is so therapeutic to hold a newborn. So innocent, so small, so helpless. I have been reminding myself that God likes us in the "I can't do this!" position. It reminds us that life is not about our ability, but about our relationship with Him. And now there are no days that go by where I forget that I need Him.

So, that's how I am. Hadley is tracking along nicely. Parks was calling her "fat & happy" for a while (she's up to 10lbs!) but recently switched to calling her "fat & gassy" - neither name will be allowed past 6months, she's a little lady for goodness sakes. Can't you just imagine her sisters trying revive those nicknames in middle school?! Her tummy has been giving her some trouble though and she spends a lot of time held close with us rubbing patting her stomach. Parks is predicting she will be our calm one. I won't predict, I'll just wait and see. Happy 1 month birthday, Hadley Marie, you sure are sweet and we sure do love you.

2011-08-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Lily Kate really looks at Hadley like a proud momma, she is as enamored by her today as she was 4wks ago when she was born. We gave Hadley her first bottle tonight (well, LK gave it to her) and she took it like a champ. I was thrilled. Charlotte would not touch a bottle (or a paci) of any kind and that made life tricky for the 8 months that she nursed. So, Kate and I were both beaming as Hadley drank :)

look at those little doll baby lips. PS that "beauty mark" on her cheek is a tiny scab from someone's fingernail. Oops.

Don't tell her, but she's still my baby

2011-08-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

The O-Team

2011-08-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

So many of you know or have heard us talk about our dear friends, the Laniers. Their son, Oliver, has Tuberous Sclerosis and has suffered from seizures for over a year now. The seizures have taken a toll on him mentally and physically and have downright reordered their lives for the last year. It has been a journey of tears and trials and triumphs and trusting God's sovereignty through it all. The Laniers are in Boston this week (and the next 2 weeks) for a brain surgery to remove the parts of Oliver's brain that are the seizure culprits in hopes of giving him a seizure free life. Please check out their blog at www.lanierlanding.blogspot.com and join us in praying for their family and for Oliver's complete and total recovery.

This is most of our bible study wearing our "O Team" tshirts.

Here's a pic of sweet Oliver last spring

And one more pic of Charlotte and Oliver when they were about a month old. They are less than 2 weeks apart.

One more decorating post

2011-08-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

I envisioned this little upgrade, but I had almost nothing to do with making it happen since Hadley was born in the middle of it. I wish I had a before picture. There isn't much to show, the breakfast room has been super plain since we moved in. Cream colored walls, brown table, that was about it. I have had a crush on chevron fabric for a while now and wanted to use it somewhere. So, we added these valances, Parks made this fun mirror, and he and my dad hung this grasscloth and put up the chair rail. The next layer may be a big white drum shade on a pendant light. And somewhere in the not near future I want Parks to build me a big pedestal table. This one holds four and we now have 5 people in our family. I think we have some time before Hadley joins us for cereal at the table so we'll give Parks a break for now :)

Our Porch Makeover

2011-08-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good room makeover. I forgot to take some before pics but I had these from last summer. Here is the porch looking out from the back door.

Once you step out on the porch, this is the view to the left.

Here's the after. This is the same view as the first picture. Notice Parks moved the door so the path through the porch doesn't cut through the living space. Larger table on the right (thank you, World Mkt end of season clearance) and a new, larger rug free of mildew that the last one had.

...and the real reason for the whole makeover. The porch bed! This thing is really great, I forsee some naps out here once the weather cools down.

So, there it is. Next step will be me making some more throw pillows on the porch bed (with a fabric that ties that blue in with the yellow) and some Craigs List chairs to replace the benches at the table. Hoping to find them mismatched & cheap and paint them all the same color. Can I paint chairs that marigold color from the pillow? Too loud?

Snuggle Time

2011-08-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Here's our sweet Charlotte getting some snuggle time with Hadley. So precious.

Sisters

2011-08-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Matching

2011-08-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Nona got the girls these coordinating outfits and for some reason Kate wouldn't wear hers while they were here. Charlotte, on the other hand, wouldn't stop wearing hers. Today Kate put hers on and declared that she was wrong, she does, in fact, love her new dress. So, THANKS Nona. It had to be her idea, right Mom? Know any other kids who were like that???

The Proud Parents

2011-08-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Almost 2 weeks old

2011-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here is Hadley a little more alert for you. And below, some picture of the sisters that seem to always be together. The lack of pictures of Charlotte is A) making me feel awful and B) reminding me of how much easier it is to photograph a 4 yr old little ham & a newborn who can't move than it is to photograph a 2 yr old with other plans. I promise she still lives here and I promise we still love her!

And then there were five...

2011-08-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

We had such a great visit with my parents. They were extremely helpful, taking the girls to Monkey Joes, the park, Chick Fil A, and the movie theatre. The kids had a blast and I'm sure my parents are exhausted. It was really nice to have some breaks to nap and even just take a minute to clean up. So, now it's just the five of us. It feels strange. My friend Sherry reminded me today, we're going to survive, we may even come out smiling!

Finally, here is Charlotte, sitting still long enough to get a picture of the new sisters.
And here is a shot of Hadley with her eyes open. It seems we turned a small corner today because she has been awake a lot more, fun times coming.

Little Baby - Big Paci

2011-08-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

A Short Movie About Hadley

2011-08-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

Our friend Andrew made this great video of Hadley's Birthday. What a great gift from a dear friend. We love you, Laniers!

Lounging

2011-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

I'm telling you, Lily Kate is with Hadley every chance she can get. Here they are snuggling on the couch. Hadley was awake for a short time, which is about all we get these days. Also, in case you're wondering (b/c I would be) that mark on LK's nose is a scab. While she and Charlotte were living it up in the beach with their babysitter while we were at the hospital Kate was dancing on the sand and she fell and sort of nose-dove into the sand. She has been calling herself Rudolph.

Still getting to know this, seemingly calm little girl. Maybe I just can't remember clearly the other girls' first weeks (not surprising considering the average hours of nightly sleep can be counted on one hand) but Hadley seems SO much calmer than her sisters. She didn't cry at all during her first bath, she loves to be held, she soothes very quickly, goes right to sleep after eating at night. I realize I'm being naive... give her time, right? Well, every momma can hope for a calm one.

Airlie Gardens

2011-08-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the morning at Airlie Garden. My parents are with us but they generally stay out of camera range. Here's our attempt at a family picture. Yea, we'll keep trying.

Many of you have been asking, "Where's Charlotte?" Here's our new middle sister. Charlotte has definitely been affected by Hadley's arrival. She plays, as usual, at home and stops periodically to check in with Hadley, tells her how much she loves her, how precious she is, pokes at her some, and runs along. She has been more defiant though, having a much lower tolerance for things that would usually not bother her. She has been crying more this week. She's going to need some special love and attention to help her feel secure right now. I love this sweet girl. Go on, click the picture and blow it up, look at that sweet girl's precious little face....

4 Days Old

2011-08-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

I'm in love...

Couple More...

2011-08-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more shots from yesterday (Tuesday). She has spent most of today and yesterday sleeping. Ahh, the Lord knows what He's doing, causing newborns to sleep most of their first few days. I do believe He overlooked the bit about the toddler siblings not being any more tired than usual. Below is Lily Kate meeting Hadley for the first time. To say she is obsessed would be a giant understatement. She won't leave her side at all without much persuasion and is usually holding her.

Above, I like this shot because Parks and Hadley are sleeping Lily Kate is just watching Hadley, stroking her hair. And below, the proud grandparents meeting Hadley for the first time. She is the youngest of 5 grandchildren on my side of our family.

She is Here!!!

2011-08-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hadley Marie Carpenter is Here

She is 7lbs 13 oz. and 19.5 inches

More pictures to come

On the brink...

2011-07-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

What I fun feeling to know that we'll be headed to the hospital to start the delivery of our newest little girl in just a few hours (I'll be calling in at 5am). I am reminded of being younger and lying in bed awake the night before the first day of school attempting to sleep or lying on a pallet with my cousins on Christmas Eve with excitement pumping through me. Tonight we are experiencing "Baby Eve" and it's exciting! I do imagine I'll be a little more apt to sleep this time when my head is on the pillow because I know that there will not be an abundance of that in the near future. It was a really sweet time putting Lily Kate to sleep tonight. From the perspective of a four year old we have been waiting and praying for this baby forEVER so she is absolutely thrilled about her arrival. We have asked God for His blessing over this day, over our baby's health and safety, over this adjustment for our girls. He will provide His best for our family and we are trusting Him. Baby day here we come!!

2011-07-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

It's only a matter of time until I bombard you with tons of pics of our baby girl lying around looking cute .... While we wait for her to be born, how about a video of Charlotte entertaining us in the Gap.... who dances like this??

Gimmie a Break

2011-07-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

Litterally....a break... so, yesterday I stepped (yes, just stepped) out my front door, lost my footing, and fell. All I can remember is thinking, "DON'T FALL ON YOUR STOMACH!" so I fell on my side and broke my fifth metatarsal in my left foot. Some of you with keen memories may be thinking, "I feel like she has done this before" and yes, you are right. About 2 years ago I fell on some steps, holding Charlotte, walking back from the mailbox. I concluded that this timing is actually somewhat practical. It's all in your perspective, right? We have family in town (and will have help here until Aug 10th). I'm not able to exercise, which would normally be very disappointing, but, let's be honest, this pregnant momma hasn't been doing anything active in over a month. And, I have a nice little hospital visit coming up where people will bring my meals right to my bed... we could almost call this convenient, right?!

Induction Date

2011-07-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

I went to the dr this morning for my 38 week check up. If there are any men that read this and are weirded out by labor talk then skip this post :) I am only 1cm dialated, but am 70% effaced and she is at a neg 1 station - so pretty low. Te doctors were a little concerned at the speed of my last delivery coupled with the fact that I have Group B Strep and need 6hrs of penicillin before she is born. So, we opted for an Aug 1st induction date. I still hope that she comes on her own (& I will just get my bottom to the hospital this time, apparently I'm not allowed to finish watching Top Chef like last time). They offered July 28th or 29th but Parks and I liked the sound of another Saturday between now and the birth, so we picked the next Monday. We were laughing at the nature of having our 3rd and wanting just 2 more days to rest and prepare before we meet her. So, now we have a plan that is just that - our plan. We'll see what God's plan is and when He wants us to meet our littlest girl. Between now and then we have a visit with Parks' mom and brother, we're trying to replace our car that got totalled earlier this month, I'd love to sew some outdoor pillows.... you know, the usual :)

Murder Mystery Dinner Birthday Party!

2011-07-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

Friday night Parks and I went to our dear friend, Andrew's murder mystery dinner birthday party. It was a really fun time. His wife, Stephanie, threw a great party! My character, Tammy, was an "over the top" 1920's hair dresser. Parks was Mac, the champion boxer - with a random giant mustache.

Here is the lovely hostess herself, isn't that wig awesome?! Steph & Julie.

Annie & me. Annie is due with her daughter 3 weeks after me, but has been having some contractions and I bet she beats me to the hospital. I am so excited for our daughter to have a girl friend!

2011-07-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

Sherry & Josiah. Sherry looked fantastic, she was a singer at the speakeasy and was totally decked out.

Anthony was Roy the bartender.

Noah & Carrie. Carrie was a cardshark and I can't remember exactly what Noah was but he was hilarious! He carried a huge knife and something about a stolen pumkin....

Couple of action shots to leave you with. Tim getting boxed and DJ breakin it down.

Lily Kate's Ballet Recital

2011-07-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, at the end of the week of ballet camp Lily Kate had a recital. It was short, a little chaotic, and really precious - as all 4yr olds ballet recitals should be :) Here is Lily Kate with her great friends, Maddie & Sarah.

Some of the actual dancing, you can see Kate is a little distracted by the idea of herself being filmed, in true fashion.

And here she is with her teacher, Ms Morgan. Morgan is an actual ballerina, we saw her in the Nutcracker 2 years ago and thus began Kate's fascination with ballet. She is really wonderful to watch. Kate had a great week. As we were leaving we were laughing with Morgan at the idea that it is realistic that we could still be doing this ballet camp in 7 summers from now with our brood of girls. I better hang on to those leotards.

Our Almost-Pet

2011-06-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Meet Annie! No, not our next daughter, our pet... sort of. For a couple weeks we had spotted a tiny turtle in the water that runs in front of our house. I mentioned to the girls who live with us that I grew up having turtles for pets and loved them. When we got back from Tate the girls had caught her and she was living in a pie dish in my kitchen. Lily Kate and Charlotte loved her right away. They named her Annie and called her Annie Banany. (Well, Charlotte called her Annie Ba-danny). I tried to feed her everything: lettuce, berries, peaches, raw meat, lunch meat, flies, even Triscuits. The only thing she would eat was flies. Hmmm. I considered the likihood of me catching flies for this turtle on a daily basis. It wasn't going to happen. So, after only a week I had to break the news to Kate and Charlotte that Annie Banany was moving back to the front yard to be reunited with her mom. It was short lived and, knowing Parks, maybe the closest thing we'll ever get to having a pet. Thanks for the memories, Annie!

Ballet Camp

2011-06-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick shot of Lily Kate before her first day of ballet camp. She is loving it! There is dancing, crafts, little girls playing games - what's not to love.

And here is Charlotte who is not yet going to ballet camp (b/c the youngest group is 3yrs). She insisted (and I really mean insisted) on wearing this yesterday. So, she ran errands with me in her ballet outfit. It was a bit heartbreaking to drop off Lily Kate and have Charlotte ask me (for the 10th time) if she could stay. I had told her she would be able to stay next year when she is older, so when we got to church she said, "Wait, Mom, I got older, I can stay, I can stay" So sweet. Next year, Charlotte!

Little Facelift

2011-06-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here's just one more reason I love Parks. We saw this ottoman at IKEA last month and I said that I really liked it but I wasn't a fan of the legs, too chaeapy plastic looking. Of course he says, "oh, I can make new legs for it"....

..and he did! I think it looks great! Looks like it goes with the rest of our furniture, but not too matchy-matchy. And who doesn't love an IKEA price tag. I'm a happy customer.

Oh Charlotte...

2011-06-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Wanted to take a minute and document some of the conversations I've had with Charlotte lately.

The other night when we were putting her to bed she told us, "I'm going to growed up now cause I'm getting a baby stister" Well, obviously there's lot's on her mind.

Couple nights later Parks was trying to get her to sleep at the mtn house and she was crying. I heard Parks tell her to suck her thumb, that it would make her feel better. She said, "no, I can't suck my thumb, I'm getting so bigger and I not suck my thumb anymore cause I'm bigger" then she just laid there for about 8 seconds crying and then she put her thumb in. Then Parks said, "it's ok Charlotte, you don't have to grow up just yet" So sweet.

At Tate I was pushing her on the big girl swing and telling her that I was impressed at what a big girl she was. She suddenly looked surprised and thrilled. She threw her hands up and said, "I'm so big! I growed up, I growed up!" All I could say was, "don't forget to hold on to the swing!"

Her little 2yr old mind is just racing. She is incredibly interested in babies. She gets about 2 inches from their faces and says, "we don't touch, we only look with our eyes" and then she usually touches anyway. Her motives are sweet but her methods aren't always so gentle. So, we're working on that..... 7 weeks to go!

Family Trip to Tate

2011-06-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our annual family trip to Parks' family's lake house. The house is a large, old stone house. The house is in the mtns so we are always spoiled by cool, dry, sunny days. Our days are very relaxing, we swim, fish, lay on the dock, eat, and read. Not too flashy but very refreshing.

Lily Kate and Lillian (3 1/2yrs) are like 2 peas in a pod, very similar little girls and they get along really well. You can't tell very clearly, but the girls are sand mermaids

This is the newest addition to our family, Patrick & Becca's son, Connor. Isn't he ADORABLE?!

2011-06-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

We did a lot of this...

..and this...

This is the tower at the dock. Everyone climbs the ladder and jumps off the top tower. That is, everyone but me! Judging from Lily Kate's reaction I'm thinking she may be in my camp. Charlotte, on the other hand, is talking a lot about growing bigger and braver and jumping herself.

Here's our little daredevil 2 yr old.

Here we are going down to the bridge for an evening swim.

2011-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

I had to post this series. Completely unprompted, Charlotte asked Becca and me to take some pictures of her. Then she went to town with her poses. It was hilarious. This is "hands-on-the-hips serious"

This is "hands-on-the-hips smiling"

I'm not sure about this lean forward

This is the face she makes a lot when she's being a princess or a ballerina - I guess it's her version of a dramatic smile??

2011-06-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Little bottoms...he he

THIS is the glorious log cabin where Parks lived when I met him and while we dated. This has something to do with all of his guy friends worrying that he would be "tamed" when he moved to Wilmington. It really is a cool place with an amazing view from the deck. Probably not my ideal home, but certainly a lot of sentimental charm :)

And these are just for your enjoyment. The first one may be the first frame-able picture I've gotten of the two girls together. (how will we ever get all three to smile in one picture??). The third one is funny though because of Charlotte's mischievous smile as she is falling on Kate.

NC Mtns with Wonderful Friends!

2011-06-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Get ready for a picture overload! Last weekend we went to the mountains with some great friends - 8 adults and 8 kids, to be exact. We had so much fun, it was so good to stay up late playing games and laughing. I'm already ready to go back.
On our first day we went to Sliding rock. Parks took most of the kids down the rock into the icy water and most of them actually liked it. We concluded that the water didn't feel so bad once your feet got numb, I didn't get any further in than that.

June was happy

Ryan, Parks, & DJ climbed up the rock and into a crazy deep hole. The nervous wives were asking them to come down but they claimed not to hear us over the waterfall...hmmm

Grace (our fabulous hostess!) and her Samuel. I wish I got a picture of him and Charlotte together, they are partners in crime. Almost like siblings, loving to be together and loving to bop each other on the head at every opportunity.

One evening Lily Kate coerced Jacob into doing a show for us. As you can imagine, the "show" didn't have a storyline or make much sense at all, but it was filled with Lily Kate making large, sweeping gestures and curtseying and Jacob turning backward, trying to blend into the fireplace. I love this shot because Jacob's face just says, "get me out of here" and Lily Kate couldn't be happier to have an audience :)

2011-06-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

It is hard to say, but I think the highlight of the trip was our pontoon boat ride. We had beautiful weather, time to swim and play on a little island, and some pretty waterfall views. Here's Kate & me,

My silly girls

Shelley & June

Sherry & Jacob

The guys :)

2011-06-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

I love this picture because I can still hear little Charlotte's voice saying, "Mommy, I can't reach my fumb" If you know Charlotte, you know she likes to cozy up and suck that thumb and she was giving it a real effort here.

We had a morning at a local park enjoying the weather. Here's Caroline and Lily Kate, one of her biggest fans. And this is our attempt at a group shot of the kids (except for Matthew).

On our last night we stopped off at Bridal Veil Falls. A combination of a light rain and the wind blowing the waterfall got us wet. As you can see, no one minded. Here's Anthony and June (who's quite the dare-devil, by the way) and Parks and Charlotte.

Family Picnic at Pre-School

2011-05-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a fun little photo series. Lily Kate's last day of her first year of pre-school is Wednesday. This school year has flown by. It has been the greatest experience for our family. She LOVES her teachers and her friends. I love how much she's learning! Charlotte will be joining her there in September and she is already talking about it all the time. She'll say, "after the summer I'm going to growed up and go to school with stister (we love how she says "stister") and pee pee in the potty and (big smile) get a BABY stister!" She's very excited. It sounds like she understands what's coming....we'll see. We're off to our first swim school lesson this afternoon. Everyone's growing up, I can hardly handle it!

Random....

2011-05-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

Two random things I had to share....
- Parks and I have an HSA account for our health insurance and the years we have babies have become the best medical years for us. We have a big ole $5500 deductible and on the years we have babies we save up b/c we know we are going to have to fork over the total once the baby is born. Along with our giant deductible is the benefit that everything else we do after that is covered at 100%. So, the conclusion for us has been that in these baby years we can count on the fact that we are spending the entire $5500 (but not more than that) and do any medical thing that we want that year! We get massages (billed through a chiropractor), moles removed, etc. All this yada, yada, yada brings me to my current condition of raging third tri-mester heartburn. Today I called my Dr and asked if she could call me in something for the burn. She said it would be very expensive and I quickly assured her that I was up for it. So, this afternoon Parks picked up my pills and they cost a whopping $535!. Wow, this is the only instance in which I would pay that much for medecine that was for anything less than keeping me alive. Gotta love the perks of an HSA. I have high expectations that these pills will work.

- On a completely unrelated note. Tonight at dinner Lily Kate (age 4) says, "Hey Dad, when I get just a little bit bigger I'm going to get a phone and it's going to be purple and I'm going to send messages to my friends on it all day" You could see the fear on Parks' face as he saw the future of being a daddy of girls! He just kept saying, "a LOT bigger, a LOT bigger".

Couple more shots from the wedding weekend

2011-05-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

Aunt Sarah was also with us for part of the weekend and this was probably the highlight for the girls. They LOVE being with her. So do I though :)

Here's Lily Kate with Andrew

Happy Mothers' Day to Me :)

2011-05-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Waxhaw, NC for the wedding of one of Parks great friends from high school in Papua New Guinea. It was a great time to him to visit with old friends. One of our friend's sons and Lily Kate were fast friends from the first time they met so they were together the whole time. I spent most of my weekend with Charlotte and it was such a sweet bonding time for us. Happy Mother's Day to me!

Pinkalicious the Musical

2011-05-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Lily Kate and I went to see Pinkalicious the musical with my friend, Wrenn, and her daughter, Maggie. Kate was enamored. She chose her pink tutu skirt to wear and (I wish her hair wasn't covering these in the pic) her dangly clip on purple jeweled earrings. We have been to a couple outdoor, really casual plays but this was her first real play and the theatre graduate in me was really excited that she loved it. They sold cupcakes after the show and she got to hug the little girl who played Pinkalicious, it was priceless.

When Lily Kate & Maggie realized that they were going to get to have a pink cupcake after the show they were holding hands, jumping up and down, and squealing that they were going to turn pink. A special night for sure.

Pickin Berries

2011-05-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

My other babies

2011-04-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

These are my snap peas that have just started popping up the last few days. It is so hard to keep the kids from eating them every day so we can let it produce enough to gather for dinner.

This is my little vegetable garden this year: snap peas along the back wall, regular peas on the left, cucumbers on the far right, and the middle is jam packed with tomato plants (possibly too many for them to thrive - we'll see how that goes..) We finally got a hose hooked up to the rain barrel so I can water the garden for free. There's just something about growing plants from seeds that gives you a sort of proud and protective feeling...

More Easter shots from Church

2011-04-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

We had a great morning! A wonderful sermon at church, a potluck afterward, and then a third egg hunt for our kiddos. Don't worry it's not getting old.

Oh, why won't they look up, this one could be so cute...

Precious, truly precious

Samuel was quite the comedian, he did this for laughs and it worked on me :)

Sweet Kate

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

Kate showing off her ballet barbie from the "the rabbit", which is what she has been calling the Easter Bunny.

And Charlotte showing off her favorite things from her basket, cotton candy, pink necklace, and pretty headband

Egg Hunt at the Children's Museum

2011-04-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

We went to the Childrens' Museum yesterday and met up with the Laniers and Powells for the toddler egg hunt. Charlotte was very excited to wear the bunny ears, that is until we got there. Kate dyed eggs and got her face painted and all the little kids just ran around :)

Here is Oliver, in true boy fashion, maybe more interested in the mulch than in the egg hunt

Here is Lily Kate enthralled by the yoyo she found in an egg. The things I would never think to buy that capture their attention!

Here is Samuel "cheeseing" for the camera. He was delighted to have his picture taken while we were begging the others to be still for a moment. Maybe there's a modeling future??

We had a great time. We also have an egg hunt at church tomorrow and Parks and I are going to do one at home in the afternoon, so this is the first of three. This has been a great Easter season, we bought a couple great childrens' books for the girls that talk about Jesus' death and resurrection. Between those, the Veggie Tales Easter movie, and our sweet toddler conversations I feel like we have really been present in the meaning of Easter this year.

Visit from the Coleys

2011-04-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

We had such a great visit with Becca and Brent this past weekend. Becca and I have been very close friends for 17yrs and it feels so comfortable to be together. It was really great to be with her but also with Brent and sweet Emory and get to know each of them better too. Miss em already. We hit up all that Wilmington has to offer in the spring: walk on the beach, dinner downtown, Airlie Gardens, some park time, seafood by the water, all the good stuff.

Proud parent moments....

2011-04-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm always so emotionally exhausted by Lily Kate's 4yr old amount of self control and trying to encourage her to fight against this selfishness that she was born with.... tonight we had a sweet moment that I was so encouraged by..... I was putting Lily Kate to sleep, we read our devotion book and then I asked her if there was anything that I could pray for her about her day tomorrow at school. She said, "well, tomorrow is our Easter egg hunt and we should pray that when we hunt for the eggs it doesn't make everyone fight and say THAT'S MINE (said in sincere dramatic LK style). " Then she cut herself off and said, "I'll just pray for that, I'll go first". First she prayed to avoid any "THAT'S MINE" incidents and then she thanked God for all of us in the family (including Margaret Lee, who lives with us & LK thinks is in our family). Then she asked God to make her be a helper for Mommy and not to be mean to Charlotte anymore and for God to make her good. How precious, God is molding her and changing her. I was so proud of her and when I told her she was just beaming. As I left she asked (with hopefulness) if I was going to tell Daddy that she did a good job........how precious! Thank you, Lord for that encouragement!

Master Bedroom Makeover

2011-04-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Really, this is a post to show off more of my hubbys handiwork, I am constantly amazed and what he can do in that garage of his. Here is our bedroom before, sorry about the blaring windows, I forgot to take "before" pictures and I was actually thankful to find that I had this one from a year or so ago. This is the bed that he made us for a wedding present. We weren't using the space well, lots' of it was empty and wasted.

...and AFTER. It's hard to tell but the room is shifted, the headboard of the new bed is on the left wall (from the above picture). The bookshelf in this picture is on the wall where the old headboard used to be. Make sense??

This is my favorite space in the room, we found this little down filled loveseat (with slipcovers - the only way to do white) at World Market on sale. I wasn't sure I would use a sitting area in my bedroom but I do ALL the time. It's such a peaceful, secluded reading spot (2 words that are almost foreign to this mom of little ones)

Nice little low-profile bookshelf that Parks made. I loved the end tables with turned bases that I found for bedside tables, but they left us in need of some practical storage space.

I really wish I had a "before" picture of the dresser. Parks stripped and stained it to match the headboard, bookshelf, etc. It used to be a honey color. It looks brand new, you would never know I bought it used when I got out of college. I love giving furniture a new life.

Well done, Parks, well done!

Simple Treasures

2011-04-11T12:04:00.001-07:00

Came across this picture when I was cleaning out the nursery, I think it was on the bulletin board in there when we used the nursery for Lily Kate. Its about 4yrs old, a precious memory to us now. Winship & Lily Kate on the lawn by the lake at Tate

It's A...

2011-04-03T10:08:00.001-07:00

We had some trouble posting this video, but 2 weeks ago we got to have an extensive ultrasound with a specialist and learned that our baby is very healthy. For weeks Lily Kate was convinced that we were having a girl, we would say, "Friday is the day we get to find out if the baby is a girl or a boy." and she would say, "no, Friday is the day that you will see that you're having a girl!" She was convinced and there was no changing her mind. Here's a clip of us just after we picked Lily Kate up from preschool that day, telling her what we're having...

Charlotte's Prayer

2011-03-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

I heard Charlotte pray for the first time last night. Parks has heard her once before because he puts her to bed but it was my first taste of that sweetness. We were about to eat and instead of asking Kate to pray, Parks asked Charlotte and she said,

"Sure, Thank you God for my mommy and my daddy....and my mommy and my daddy.... and the turtle and Sissy"

So, she's done and I said, "Good job, Charlotte umm....the turtle?" And she said in her sweet little high voice, "Oh yea, hi tiny little turtle." I followed her gaze down to her plate to one tiny piece of broccoli slaw that she had separated from the rest and put on the edge of her place and was gently touching and calling "turtle". Wow, she's special!