june already?

Wow, May was a busy month for us...Ryan was away on business trips for a lot of it and the girls and I had a ton to do to keep us busy in his absence. I took Madeline and Claire to Orlando for a few days to visit with my family for a pre-mother's day celebration. We went to Epcot and stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel for the first time....Madeline LOVED it. We had breakfast with Spongebob and Dora and spent a lot of time at the hotel's waterpark. Definitely can't wait to go back with the whole family!! Emma wasn't able to miss any school, so she stayed home with Ryan. I thought that she would be devastated to know that we were seeing grammy and pop pop and her cousins, going to Disney and staying at the Nick Hotel without her, but no.....she loved every second of having both the house and daddy to herself for a few days. They went kayaking, out to dinner and ice cream, out to breakfast, on a field trip to the zoo and to a birthday party....they crammed almost as much fun into the two days as mommy and the little girls did! As soon as we got back from that trip, we went to the beach spent an awesome mother's day weekend at The Pink Shell with Ryan's parents. Two days of beach, sun and sand was bliss!!!! Needless to say, I'm dying to go back. I think I could adjust very easily to just living in hotels all weekend long :)

Emma was a rockstar with her teeth today. She does not look nearly as different as I expected her to...I am used to it already. When she smiles, you can't even see her missing teeth (all on the bottom) and I LOVE her new little lisp from having all that air in her mouth!! She was very sleepy for most of the day, but not in pain at all. The dentist gave her a little treasure box to keep her teeth in and she carried it around all day and placed it very gently under her pillow before bed tonight. She was lying in bed trying to force herself to fall asleep and telling me how long she's been waiting for the tooth fairy to come and how she's so glad the moment is finally here. So adorable! Madeline was amazed at Emma's blood and gauze in her mouth and that she got to eat ice cream all day and kept saying that she couldn't wait until one day when she is six and has her teeth come out and has bleed and eats ice cream! When it was time to go to bed, though, she was terrified of having the tooth fairy come into their room and I had to convince her (while winking at Emma) that I would leave a note for the tooth fairy to leave the money on the kitchen counter and not to come into their room. Ok, so I'm a liar, but sometimes you just need the kid to go to bed!!!!

One week from today, Claire will be two. What the heck?!?! This is by far, the longest I have gone without being pregnant in almost seven years. By this time, I am almost ready to pop and here I am with an empty womb! Honestly, I feel that our family is perfectly complete and three is the perfect amount of kids for us...not too few, where I feel unsatisfied, and not too many...we can still really invest in each of them. BUT....it is hitting me more and more every day that my baby making days are behind me and my babies are growing up. Sometime in the next year, my household will be diaperless...FOREVER. To some that may seem like a relief, but to me, it's just one more thing that shows how fast time flies and how they only stay little for such a short time. To think that just a few years ago, I was seeing fertility doctors and fearing that I would never know the joy of being a mom.....and suddenly here I am with three amazing little girls that are growing up so fast. Ok, back to Claire Bear....her personality is really starting to come out....she's hilarious! She has the ability to make anyone who meets her fall instantly in love with her. Her facial expressions are out of control and she's always wanting to put on a show. From the time Ryan comes home at night until she goes to bed, she is constantly performing for him. She talks nonstop...the same way Emma was as a toddler and I LOVE that. I love that this little, tiny pipsqueak can say anything and everything :) She is in love with her sisters....and they fawn all over her. Madeline walks around all day tending to her every need....which equals SPOILED! For as cute as Claire is, she is also a monster....terribly two in every way! I can't dress her, brush her teeth, help her get in or out of her carseat, everything is "I DO IT!!!" and all out tantrums rolling around on the floor screaming her head off. Many times I just leave her there because there is no way I am giving in to her complete brattiness...eventually she gets over it :) I am starting to win a few battles with her (big milestone!) and it's so nice to finally see some progress with her behavior. I can't believe that my baby is gonna be two....didn't she just learn how to walk?! (oh wait, she did ;))

Madeline is all about journaling lately :) She will not go anywhere without a notebook and a pen (I have to pry them away from her at naptime). Considering the fact that she has never been to school yet, she's amazing with her writing. She knows a few key words and names and writes and doodles in her journal and asks me every now and then when she needs to know how to spell something. It doesn't hurt that she has a big sister that she looks up to and sits with everyday when she does her homework! She is a great swimmer...a little fish in the water....she could stay in all day. She, thankfully, has given up her love of "down arms" and now wants to dress in cozy clothes every day...it works out great for me that crewcuts just so happens to make extremely comfortable clothing ;)

Emma has two weeks of kindergarten left (SNIFF SNIFF!!). Her grades are great and her reading is incredible. She read a fifty page book to Ryan last night...it's amazing what one year can do. She has finally hit her stride in school....just in time for it to end. Boo :( Her and her teacher are best buds...Mrs. Johnson has been the best blessing to us this year for Em. Such a fabulous teacher and full of wisdom and she's really helped Emma to come out of her shell. I stopped by the classroom the other day, unexpectedly, to drop something off and Emma was lit up like I've never seen her before. Mrs. Johson walked Emma to the car after school one day last week and said, "Oh, if I could keep her forever!" and Emma was beaming. As a parent, not only is that the nicest thing to hear someone say about your child, but I can't explain how great it felt to see Emma know how much she's loved. While I am looking forward to this summer and to having Emmy around all day, I am not ready for this school year to end :(

Ok, so probably the longest post ever...the end :)

p.s. just noticed that the last picture on the bottom of my blog is of me holding madeline at her 1st birthday party.....was that really three years ago??? can't believe that little peanut is gonna be four next week. either i need to update my pictures or my kids just need to stop growing up!