Friends

We have had a lot going on lately it seems. Nursery school started, birthday parties, doctor visits, etc. Last Saturday I took Emma and Colton to a birthday party. They had a great time playing. There was a jumpy thing, which Emma would not get in, a ball pit...they also colored pictures and made a fruit loop necklace!


Colton and Sienna



Emma and Sienna goofing off in the ball pit!



Emma taking her time with her yummy cake!


We have also had some time to just hang out. I have some cute pictures of Ella and Brody! They are so cute together!!! I can't wait for them to get just a little bit bigger and really start playing together!

Awesome weather!!!!

Last weekend we had fantastic weather! Such a rare thing in mid-August in the south! The high temperature on Sunday was 82....so we took advantage of that and headed to the Zoo! Nate hates going to the zoo but I convinced him how much the kids love it so he joined us. I love when the whole family does stuff like the zoo because I can enjoy it so much more. When it's just me and the kids I get nervous someone will wander off, etc.

We arrived at the zoo at about 10:45, a little later than I wanted, so we missed the sea lion show. Our first stop was the reptiles. I usually skip this exhibit, due to the fact I HATE spiders and snakes, but Colton specifically asked to go in there. Emma was so funny. She would not even get close to the cases where the snakes and lizards were. Then we walked into a bigger room and she freaked out so much Nate had to pick her up! She did however, like the turtles.

Outside of the reptile exhibit we saw some of the biggest turtles I have ever seen. They were walking around and everything....

Next we passed by the sea lions on our way to the kangaroos and alligators. Then we took a quick ride on the train, which everyone loved...including Ella Margaret. We continued our tour to see the rhino's, lions, tigers, zebras, giraffes and monkey's. All of the animals were out and about! We even heard one of the lions roar!!!

We rounded out the trip with lunch. Instead of our usual Mexican lunch, we branched out to some Italian food. Not our best decision but it wasn't too bad. It was a great family day!!!!

new post in the morning....

I have my pictures ready i am just too tired tonight! I will post in the morning and promise to get back to regular posting!!!

My big girl!!!

My sweet baby girl has hit another milestone! :( This weekend she started pulling up! Nate and I were in the kitchen and the big 2 were eating their lunch in the den. Ella Margaret was playing in her playpen. I heard the playpen "moving". I know this sound because Colton climbs in it all the time! I called from the kitchen and asked who was messing with the baby...that's when Colton ran into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, the baby is standing up in her playpen!" Nate and I ran in there and sure enough, she was standing! We all clapped, cheered and were sooo happy. She's now pulling up on the coffee table, her crib, the couch, etc...nothing is safe!

At the same time we are all happy, I am so sad. This is my last baby. Another last first. It seems like yesterday she was a newborn. Time is just flying by! I love watching them grow, but it just seems to be happening so quickly :(. Here are some pics of her pulling up in her playpen...

First Day of School!

It's that time again! Nursery school has already started!! Colton started Thursday and Em started Friday. I didn't think I was going to be ready but I think I was. I know Colton was very excited, he really likes school. He is so excited to be in "4K". He just thinks it's so important. He told me the other day, "there's not a lot of time to play in 4K, we learn a lot". I am just glad he has some of his buddies from last year in his class! Here is Colton ready to go to 4K!

Em seemed to do really well Friday. She didn't cry when I left and seemed like she had a good day when I picked her up. She also has some familiar faces in her class as well! The picture below was when we were on our way....baby in hand and wanting NO pictures. At this point, I was not sure how it was going to go....thank goodness she didn't cry!

Now, I just have to get back into the swing of things....I am having trouble getting up and going so early!!! I added some pics of their lunch boxes and backpacks (which they both LOVE!!!)

The lunch boxes!!

Emma's adorable backpack!!

Colton's big boy backpack!

Background

Ok, I've had this same background for awhile now. However, when I first got started I had put a basic pink background. If you are still seeing only the pink background, which would make it almost impossible to read the posts, please let me know!! Thanks!!!

HOT HOT HOT!!!!

Well, today we went for round two of the park. We went to my favorite park, Overton Park. I -just love it, there are tons of trees, a little trail to ride bikes, see-saws, swings, lots of grass...and the best part is it's fenced in! We went to the park with Jill and Sophie and met my friend Ashley and her son Jack. Ashley is a friend from NOLA who lives here! Her little boy is just adorable and they all seemed to play well together! It was extremely hot today so poor Ella Margaret was half naked before we left. Colton rode his bike, only one lap, then ran a lap! He did stroll Ella around in the shade when she was getting antsy. He loves when I give him jobs to do and it really helps with his behavior!

As you can see they LOVE the see -saw!

This was the only pic I got of all 5 of them, including the naked baby!!!

Oh, and let me just say, I pretty much stayed in the shade the whole time!!! Hehe, poor Jill pushed Em on the swings!

Rub a dub dub...3 babies in the tub!

After the park today, they were all smelly! So, I decided to put everyone in the tub! Ella has graduated from her baby tub to the big tub! I let the big 2 get in the tub with her and they loved that! I think she was a bit confused but didn't seem to mind! She's so funny in the big tub...always looking around and trying to grab everything. Everyone was very well behaved, even while I got Ella out and dressed her. She just played in her crib while I bathed the big 2. She is such a good baby!!!! I did manage to get a picture of them all in the tub!! One to save for their wedding days!!!

Run, Jump, Play!

We have kind of been hibernating lately it seems. We've done a few errands here and there but nothing really fun! So today we headed to the park after Ella Margaret's nap. For those of you who know me, you know I hate to be HOT! But today really was not too bad! We actually stayed for about an hour. My good friend Aryn met us with her son Reid!

The kids had a great time running, sliding and just being outside. I was really surprised at how nice it felt. There was a nice breeze and everything. Not a typical August day! Ella Margaret was so good in her stroller, she only fussed right when we were getting ready to leave. We rounded out the outing with a trip to McDonalds...bad Mommy! They are just loving those beanie babies!

I was hoping for long naps but did NOT get that from Miss Ella Margaret. She slept maybe an hour...not so much fun for Mommy! Tomorrow Jill and I are meeting another friend at Overton Park so I am excited about that! Colton can ride his bike there and the kids love the park...there is also lots of shade which is good for Ella Margaret!

Knock, Knock...Who's there?

The other day Colton told his first joke! It was the cutest thing....He came in the kitchen while I was feeding Ella Margaret her breakfast and said, "Mommy, I have to tell you something..." I could see the excitement in his little face! He said, "What to you call a box full of ducks?" I told him I didn't know....then he gave the punch line..."a quacka box". Then he let out the biggest belly laugh!

I almost teared up. My sweet baby told his first joke! I don't know what got me more...the fact that he was able to hear the joke once and repeat it OR the fact that he knew it was a joke and knew how to tell it! He waited for me to try to guess before giving the punch line and everthing! He is just so smart and is growing so fast! I did ask him where he learned it and he said from Wubbzy.....guess we might be watching a little too much TV lately....hoping to curb that once summer is over!

Stain Glass Butterflies!

The weather was super yucky this week so we stayed in a lot. I had to get creative to keep this bunch busy! We did a neat craft together and made stain glass butterflies. I shaved crayons onto a paper plate. Then we traced a butterfly onto the wax paper and the kids put the color shavings on the butterfly. I ironed it, cut it out and we hung it up by the window. It turned out really neat!

Self Portrait

Today I was uploading pictures to my computer when I noticed some pictures I had not taken. At first I thought Nate had taken them....but I soon realized that was not the case. Colton had taken my camera the other day and decided to take some photos himself. He took some of the kitchen....he opened the craft cabinet and took some of it....he also too some pictures of himself. Those were the funniest! I asked him if he had been using my camera and he casually said, "yes. He wanted to take some pictures and see what they looked like." He then showed me how he used the camera...it was priceless. Here are a few of the pictures he took....