Budding Artists

Erin is an art loving girl, and I think she's having an influence on her younger sister. Whenever Erin is doing art, Anna wants to join in. Yesterday, I was having Erin paint a canvas for our bathroom, something she is going to do every year, and of course Anna had to join in. I wish I'd had a baby canvas for Anna, because I'd love to hang hers as well. I still may frame it and hang it somewhere. You can't beat reasonably priced treasures like these!

Erin's masterpiece - a sunset

Anna's masterpiece - a garden of colors

Erin's first day of Kindergarten

Our Little Kindergartener!

One cute little Erin with a Princess backpack!

A teary goodbye.

A future Seahawk!

Celebrating a great first day with our free birthday meals at Silver Diner!

Our baby started K-5 yesterday and I just can't believe it. She was very excited about it before we arrived at school, but quickly became anxious when we got there. Daddy was persistent that we not hang around, but make a quick exit to make it easier on her. I know he was right, but it sure was hard to leave her in tears. Mrs. Mulford said she did great and only had a few tears throughout the day. What a big transistion for a little girl, but I know she is going to love school. They go to art today and I think that will seal the deal. There was no shortage of details about her day yesterday, from who lost a bear to what they sang in chapel, we got a full recap. I'm so thankful that she is in a warm and caring place that I'm very familiar with. It is very surreal to be taking my own child to the school I went to and taught at, but very exciting for sure!

4 NO MORE!!!

Erin is officially a 5 year old now!!!! We partied with the family in Duck since we were on vacation. If you remember a former post, Erin had asked for a Madagascar party which is very hard to find. Thanks to a friend having saved tableclothes from her sons bday party, a cake store having a edible sticker and getting left over plates from Jumpin Monkey - the party all came together. It was nothing short of the Lord's hand helping me get all those things. She had a great time having pizza and cake with her family!

We splurged and gave her a Chuck E Cheese party this year and it was worth every penny. She smiled from ear to ear all night. She lived it up, ate it up, played it up and was surrounded by her friends. It was a great night for her with lots of special Chuck E Cheese time.

I can't believe my little girl is 5. She is so beautiful inside and out. She has a personal relationship with the Lord and believes He can do anything. We can't wait to watch her grow this year as she begins Kindergarten!

Beach Vacation 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thinkin' Pink

Well it's official - Baby #3 is Girl #3! We had an inconclusive ultrasound on the 4th, but after a rescan on the 5th she was able to make herself known. Yesterday was a day of adjustment for me. My motherly instinct, along with all of my friends, told me this was for sure a boy. Some instinct huh! At first I really didn't care what the baby was I was just happy to be pregnant, but as the pregnancy went on I started to lean towards wanting a boy. I wanted the chance to do something different, buy little polo shirts and have that mother/son bond. I know I love little girls and will adore this little girl as well. So after a day of major rethinking I can see the joy in having 3 little princesses around the house. Such sweet giggles and joyful music already fill our house, I'm sure this one will join right in. I certainly don't want to think about the teenage years, but they are a long way off. For now, I'm going to focus on the blessing of a healthy little girl who is well on her way to having a very special name picked just for her.

I told Erin I was sorry that we couldn't give her a brother and she said, "That's okay mommy, God knows what's best for us." What an awesome role model she already is for her little sisters. So princess #3 will arrive in December, a true Christmas present. Until then we'll have fun preparing for her by moving her big sisters into the same room and probably transforming the playroom into a princess castle! We are definitely Thinkin' Pink around here!

Happy 2nd Birthday Anna

I can't believe our baby is 2! She is such a joy and adds so much life and love to our family. Anna has a very sweet personality mixed with a little spunk. She is very determined to do anything she sets her mind to, which is usually something big sister is doing. I love watching her walk around the house and silently get into everything.
The first 2 years of her life haven't been easy. Somedays I feel like she should already be 6 years old with all she's had to go through. But she teaches us something new everyday. She's taught me to be thankful for everything she can do, not regretful about the things she can't. We try to find joy in every little milestone she makes even if it is just a small step. She is so quick to catch onto sign language and right now that's her primary method of communication. She is making advances in her speech and I know with time and practice, it will come.
If I could remember one thing about Anna right now it would be how much she loves and shows loves. Since she can't verbally tell us she loves us, she shows us. Anna is our snuggle bug. She loves to be held and cuddled. She gives hugs and kisses all the time. Her sweet smile lets us know that she understands how much we love her. So here's to a year of tremendous growth in so many ways for our Anna Banana as she becomes a big sister and an even more beautiful little girl.

Our sweet little angel!

A Preacher, a Bobble and an Elmo Cake Maker.

There he is ELMO!

Singing to Anna!

Couldn't wait to dig in.

Oh yeah, this is good.

Anna's 1st real baby doll - it goes potty!

A purse just for Anna.

Anna's own princess dress.

A new dollhouse.

An upgraded kitchen.

Peach Pickin' and Ferry Ridin'

Cody and Erin - fruity friends

Picking the just right ones

Ahhh....got my hands on one

We tried to teach Anna how to pick

We decided to try something we've never done before, but always wanted to this last Saturday. We took the drive down to Knott's Island to go Peach Picking. It's only about 45 minutes away and it was a very peaceful drive. Peach picking was great and very easy. The only thing was that we filled our bag so fast because the peaches are so big. Erin really enjoys picking any kind of fruit and I enjoy cobbler, so it works out! Anna had a fun time, but she desperately wanted to sink her teeth into a peach. The Jackson's came along for the excursion since Cody and Erin are fruit pickin' friends. After we were done we headed over to the ferry and took the ferry ride over to Currituck. Anna loved being on the boat, and of course Erin and Cody had fun having a picnic on the boat. It was a nice, relaxing morning and it felt like we had been on a mini-vacation!