that's my girl

sooo...after much begging, i finally set emma up with her own blog. you'll be able to tell by the phonics that she's doing this all on her own (and that she's just a bit egotistical!). hopefully over time it will be a good way to see how much she's growing, learning and changing. enjoy ;)

emmasadventuresone.blogspot.com

family photo shoot

I thought of something that I forgot to add to my list of favorites....maria glassford photography (and maria, herself for that matter!). Today we had our second photo shoot with Maria....so much fun!! It is always hard to get everyone to do what they need to be doing at the same time, but Maria is always able to get some great shots in spite of us :) The girls were pretty good for the most part...we even got a few smiles out of Emma this time. Madeline, of course was hamming it up for the camera....posing a little TOO much. I think we spent half the time trying to get her to just smile normally and stay still. Claire was tired and miserable and pretty hard to manage, but surprisingly, some of my favorite pics are of her...even though she was a terror during the shoot! We jammed to "Party in the USA", explored downtown and got to spend the evening as a family....such a great night!

my faves

Since it's been so long since I've blogged, I wanted to do a post on my favorite things right now. Here they are in no particular order.....

1. Ryan. I know it sounds sooo cheesy and totally cliche, but I feel like I have been falling in love with him all over again. I LOVE being with him, and just can't get enough of him lately. I love that (except for the ocassional Eagles game!), he always puts our family first. I love eating three meals a day with him...and talking to him or texting him in between. I love that he is so quick to recognize my need for time away from the kids and is always willing to help out so I can get out. I love that he is totally capable of taking the three girls by himself anywhere and everywhere and that he is such a hands on dad. I love that he is a sports buff, a businessman, a handyman and a family man....at that he's good at all of those things. I love that he cares, thinks and prays deeply about what is best for our family and that I feel confident in following his lead.

2. My bible study on Ruth. I love that God is speaking so clearly to me through this study and that is pertains to exactly where I am in my life right now...and I'm just at the beginning.....I can't wait to see what else He has in store for me to learn.

3. Running...I love to run, especially running outside, whenever I get the chance. I also love that I can run a race with 500 women and beat almost all of them. It brings out the competitive side in me big time! I thrive on the nervous anxiety before a race :)

4. I love how the most exciting time of Claire's day is when she sees Ryan's car or hears his voice. She immediately gets a huge smile on her face and starts screaming, "Dada, Dada!" over and over again....and jumps out of my arms to crawl across the house to find him. Such a daddy's girl already!

5. I love that Madeline is a mini-me. Not only does she look the most like me of our kids, but she is sooo me as a little girl. She's a boy crazy, people pleasing, mommy's girl. Because of this, she is so easy to get along with and be around....she is so eager to please that most things I only have to ask of her once and her response is, "Ok, mom. I will do that." Gotta love it!

6. I love that Emma asks for a flashlight at bedtime so that she can read her bible in bed....even though at this point, that consists mostly of her underlining the word "God" and any sight words that she recognizes. Hopefully when she can really read, she will continue the habit that she is starting.

7. Target Cake. The "white" kind, made with almond extract and buttercream frosting. Mmmm....enough said!

8. Spray tanning. I am still addicted enough to believe that if it has been almost a week since my last tan, I am the ugliest person on this earth.

9. Christmastime!! Although it is hard to feel like it is really Christmas when it's 85 degrees outside, I am starting to get excited!! I love putting thought into gifts for the kids....and getting them things that they really want as well as some things that are super cute and sentimental.

10. crewcuts. I admit that I am addicted enough to go online every single morning when I wake up to see what their sale items of the day are. To my defense, the sales change daily, so how could I not check?! It's a good thing that shipping is free....I see the UPS man most days :) Unfortunately, I think that Ryan is on to me and this might be coming to and end soon :( (at least until next season!)

11. my girlfriends. I love that we can always make up an excuse to just get together and spend time with each other...even if it means going to target or costco for the tenth time that week :)

12. My iPhone. I don't know how I survived before it and I never want to live without it!!

13. The name Lola. When I was pregnant with Madeline, her name was supposed to be Lola. When she was born, I looked at her and thought she looked nothing like a Lola to me and backed out of the name....she is TOTALLY a Lola and it bugs me every day that I didn't name her it!!! I love the name enough to almost want another girl just so I get to use it....too bad Ryan would NEVER go for it. Another baby, that is. :)

girl talk

some of my favorite quotes of the day from the girls.....

This is the conversation I overheard with Emma and her friend Kyla in the car today:
Kyla: Why do you like being pretty?
Emma: Because I am. I am pretty. (duh!)
Kyla: Are you rich?
Emma: No, I'm not rich.
(At least she has SOME humility!)

On the way to my friend Jay's house for lunch, Madeline asked me if Miss Jay lives "in that big pile of our house" and I said, "you mean our neighborhood?"...."yes, our neighborhood...the big pile of houses next to ours". Yup, in fact, Miss Jay does live in that big pile:)

finally, a post!!

Wow, I can't believe that it has been three months since my last post. I feel like for me, facebook has been the new blog, but it just doens't capture as much as what is going on in our lives, so hopefully I can keep this up!

Emma 5 1/2
I can't believe that soon, Emma's Kindergarten year will be halfway over. Like most things in her life, she has a love/hate relationship with school. She loves her teacher, loves learning new things, loves homework, loves "guidance" (her favorite special), loves earning "gator bites" and buying things at the school store, loves seeing Miss Diana at school throughout the day and giving her hugs. She hates PE (way too much physical activity for this girl!), she dislikes most of the boys in her class (sadly, it won't stay this way forever!), and she hates that Madeline and Claire are at home all day with Mommy and she is not.
The hardest part of the schoolyear so far has been her giving up her naps. She is EXHAUSTED when she gets home and she looks forward all week to her naps on the weekend. One day, she told me that I ruined her life for making her "be in this grade where she goes to school all day and doesn't get to nap". Most of the time that she is not in school, she just wants to be at home. If we try to go out in the afternoons or on weekends, she usually begs to just stay home and have some "peace and quiet". I think that for this quiet, reserved little girl, a nonstop week at school is about all she can handle.
I am amazed at how quickly she has learned to read! She wants to practice her "sight words" all day long, and she tries to teach her little sisters and gets frustrated when they don't want to learn. She's at the point now, where she can pick up a little book or random things aroung the house and read to me whaever it says...CRAZY!!! I am so proud of her :)


Madeline/Maddy/Mad/lulu/baby Kate 3
Oh, Madeline! Where do I start? Mad continues to be our source of entertainment around here. She just cracks us up all day long...mostly because of her "accent" and the hilarious way she pronounces words. She is our entertainer that will dance or put on a show for anyone at anytime.
For about a month now, Mad has decided that she is "baby kate". For the most part, she is never out of character...NEVER. When she remembers to, she crawls instead of walking (even at 3am if she wakes up and wanders into our room), she asks before she eats anything if baby kate can eat that or will she choke?, when she goes to the bathroom, she tells me that she's "potty training", when she puts her undies on, she reminds me that they are not undies, they're diapers, she can be screaming and throwing a fit about something and I'll say, "Madeline" and she'll calmly stop, look at me and say "I'm not Madeline, I'm baby Kate" and then proceed with her fit. I can use this obsession to get her to do almost anything....the other day we were at the mall and she wanted pizza for lunch, but Maria and I wanted to go to Panera....so, as Mad starts crying and begging for pizza, I tell her that Panera has soup and baby kate loves soup and immediately, she stops crying and smiles and says, "Ok, let's go!". The worst thing that someone can do is tell her that she is not really baby kate and she's just pretending (and by someone, I mean Emma!) and she can't handle it...she gets sooo upset until we agree that yes, she is in fact baby kate. She's such the middle child having an identity crisis!! I would be concerned, but when I was her age, I was "baby India", so who am I to speak?!


Claire 17 months
.....and still crawling! She has been creeping around the furniture a lot more lately, and is starting to try to stand on her own, so maybe there is hope for her future :) She has been talking a lot lately...I LOVE that stage...there is always something so precious about when babies start to speak and interact with you in that way. The other night at the dinner table, she imitated her sisters and said, "big fat booty"...nice. What baby can say big fat booty before she can walk?!?! She is hooked on her pacifier that she calls "nuny". She loves to yell at me to stop or go whenever I am changing her diaper, dressing her, or doing something she doesn't want me to do. I think she's gonna be my feisty one....when she gets mad, she gets mad....and bites, pushes or grabs to get her way...nice. And all this time, I've been deceived by her sweetness! But when she's sweet, man is she sweet. She loves to cuddle and snuggle and I can't get enough of it :)


We have settled into a new routine with this schoolyear and it couldn't be better. Emma's school doesn't start until 9:15 and the girls wake up at the crack of dawn, so it gives us hours and hours in the morning to be lazy around the house, play a little, clean a little, enjoy some coffee...it's been great not having to rush out the door!! She gets out at 3:30, so I put the little girls down for their naps right after lunch and they sleep right up until we need to leave to get Em....giving me a few hours of peace and quiet in the afternoons. By the time we are home from school and get Emma's homework finished, it's almost time for daddy to come home (the best part of my day!). I feel so blessed with the family that God has given me...my life is often tiring, often frustrating, and ALWAYS messy!!! But I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

summertime

Wow! This has been one crazy summer. I feel like we have not slowed down for the past three months...big vacations, little getaways, friends and family in town visiting....all very fun and very exhausting at the same time.

Here's what the girls have been up to:

Claire just turned 14 months and she finally is CRAWLING...lazy baby! She is also pulling herself up on the furniture and really trying to stand on her own, so I know that it won't be much longer before she starts braving her first steps. I am enjoying the ease of her inmobility while it lasts!! She is really developing a personality and coming out of her shell....she's reminding me a lot of Madeline in that way. She loves to get her picture taken and will pose and say "cheese" endlessly. Her favorite trick to do is "soo big" with her hands up high in the air and the girls ask her to do it about fifty times a day :) She loves to perform but then gets very bashful and tries to hide...so cute. She's snuggly and lovey and loves to laugh hysterically. Her favorite words are mama, dada, uh oh, hi, here go, this, that and the ocassional thank you. She loves to "talk" on the phone...wonder where she gets that?? Emma carries her all around the house and places her on all of the furniture (little scary to walk in my bedroom and see Claire sitting in the middle of my bed alone)...we are working on this!

Madeline is as hysterical as usual. She spends literally every second of the day singing at the top of her lungs....and most of the time it's something from High School Musical. She is on a huge "Troy Bolton" kick (and a huge boyfriend/kissing kick for that matter). Ugh! She always confuses the difference between before/after and little/big and everyday has a story about what she's gonna do "When I am a baby" aka: when she gets bigger. She is getting ready to start playing soccer and is so excited that she's been wearing her shinguards as part of her everyday attire :) She taught herself to swim this summer and is doing awesome! She loves to explore underwater and makes me nervous because she barely comes up for air.

Emma is getting ready to start school in ten days and she can't wait!! She is so excited to be big. Her summer has revolved around obsessing over getting a pet (yeah right!) and working on her entrepeneurial skills. She literally begs all day long to either go to the pet store or to have a lemonade stand/sell homemade soaps door to door/host a jewelry party....you name it. She is so eager! Claire and Emma have gotten really close and it is so cute to watch the two of them together. When Claire first wakes up, or if she is tired or upset, she loves to curl up in Emma's lap and Emma couldn't be happier. It is so precious. The other day, Ryan took the girls on a date to the pet store and the movies and Emma got to pack and carry her own diaper bag to help daddy take care of Claire. I think it was the best day of her life! She felt so grown up and so special being daddy's helper. She is also going to play soccer this fall (crossing my finger on this one) and she's really excited about it so far. She loves practicing with daddy in the backyard.

While it may be hard for me to send my baby off to Kindergarten, this summer has been so chaotic that the routine of the school year will be a big relief. The trips and spontaneity of summer have been so much fun, but I miss the humdrum of everyday life. We have one last trip to Disney this weekend and then a week at home to recover before school starts.

I have just signed up as a rep for Stella & Dot Jewelry and I am excited to get started! I wasn't looking to add anything to my plate, but I stumbled upon the line and loved it and thought that it would be an easy sell. My first trunk show is in a few weeks, so we'll see how it goes. So far, I have loved the much needed creative outlet that it has given me. Since I've had kids, I've found myself looking for excuses to throw parties so that I could have something fun to plan and put my creative efforts into...now I can put that energy into picking out the jewelry, merchandising it and throwing trunk shows...yay! I've been obsessing over the paper goods and displays for my first show for two weeks now. LOL!

That's enough for tonight :)

4th of july

We had the best 4th of July weekend....I'm sad that it's coming to an end. On Friday night, we had a tailgating party at church to watch the fireworks and it was so much fun to spend that time with so many friends! On the fourth, we had our "first annual" 4th of July barbeque at our house. We had so much fun..the kids swam all night, the parents just chilled, the kids had a blast with the sparklers and the fireworks that Ryan and Kurt set off were awesome! Poor Emma had a pretty tough weekend...her feet got attacked by fire ants at the fireworks...then when her friends came over for the party she went to show them her hermit crab and found him dead....then she stepped on a hot sparkler and burnt the bottom of her food badly, leaving her hopping on one foot the rest of the weekend. Poor girl :( She survived it all, though and I think she still managed to have a great time. I'm not ready for Ryan to go back to work tomorrow and the partying to end...