Monkeyin' Around

Katie's birthday party with her friends was last night at the Rec Center gym.  Her theme was monkeyin' around at the gym.  She requested ice cream sundaes stating that she 'doesn't like cake that much'. After having sundaes and opening presents, we went to the gym for some fun and games.  Katie said that she had a lot of fun but that it went by too fast and only seemed to take 'like a minute'.

 

Sweet boy

When the girls were 2, I took them for a black and white picture in white dresses.  It's not what I would choose to have done anymore but wanted to do it for Will so that they could all hang together.  This morning I tried to recreate the little studio set up.  He's not really interested in smiling for my camera so I was just glad that he sat still with his Lightning McQueen car in his left hand.  Here is what I came up with...maybe now I can actually hang them all up,  ha. 

And, here are a couple more that totally portray him at this age...always a car in his hand.  Even in his sleep, he has a car in his hand and wakes up if it drops out of his hand.

Katie is 7!!!

Seven!  Seven?  Seriously?  How is this possible?  In the past we have always traveled from St. Louis to Indiana on Katie's birthday.  This year we gave her the option to not have to spend 6+ hours in the car on her birthday.  She chose to travel because she likes to have one birthday party in the morning with Grandma and Grandpa H and one at night with Grandma and Grandpa B. 

I think this is her 3rd year of making her special lunch request from Grandpa and Grandma H.  She loves Beef Stroganoff and the infamous (and named by Emmie) 'Dreamy Bread'.  (It really is dreamy).  Then she enjoys an Oreo Sundae Pie cake and opens gifts.  We then drive to Indiana and she chooses dinner along the way which was Wendy's this year.  Then, we have a cake and presents when we get to Indiana.  Katie will have her birthday party with friends in 2 weeks.  We like to save it for January when there isn't much going on.

Happy Birthday Katie!  We love you!

 

I just had to include this one.  Grandma H said "Happy Birthday Sweetheart!" to Katie and Will immediately repeated in the cutest little 2-year-old voice "Happy Bir-day Sweet Haaart!" and got this adorable sweet smile on this face.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa H and B for helping to make Katie's birthday so special!!!

Christmas Joy

Last Sunday we went out to lunch and then headed downtown to Union Station.  There was a very large exhibit of model trains that was amazing.  We also went on the Holiday Express train there which was all decorated for Christmas and visited with Santa again.  It was a lot of fun.  Will was in heaven and the girls loved it also.  More pictures coming soon (I hope).

Before & After

I just made an entry into a little contest of before/after images for this year.  The point was to show growth and also to explain what has helped you learn along the way.  I thought I'd post my 2 images here as well for me to remember.  The first is from March and the second is from November.  I have many other recent favorites but I wanted to pick 2 similar pics.  I hope to do this again next year and show more improvement because there is so much more to learn.

Thanks to all of my friends and family who helped me this year...many of you listened to me, gave advice and opinions, spread the word, etc etc.  Thanks so much!

Someday...

I am going to catch up on this blog.  I am going to blog about our trip to Germantown this summer, Emily's volleyball team, Emily's soccer team, Katie's soccer team, Halloween, etc etc...someday.  I will catch up but for tonight... 



Normal Days

Saw this tonight and wanted to share...

Normal day,
let me be aware of the treasure you are.
Let me learn from you,
love you,
bless you before you depart.
Let me not pass you by
in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may,
for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,
or bury my face in the pillow,
or stretch myself taut,
or raise my hands to the sky and want,
more than all the world, your return.


~Mary Jean Iron

I love normal days.  I didn't really know this until about 7 years ago when I had about 2 months of 'very not normal' days.  I've known it and appreciated it ever since then.  That's not to say I don't get grumpy because I do, I get really grumpy but on the inside I'm appreciating the reasons I'm grumpy.  :)  Lately, a lot of people have been telling me they 'don't know how I do it'.... meaning 4 kids, Rich traveling a lot, a photography business, etc etc.  My new answer is.... 'I don't do it'. 

Here is what 'normal days' look like around here:

• dirty dishes in the sink
• a dishwasher that needs unloaded
• a pile (very large) of laundry that needs folded
• unorganized bedrooms with unmade beds
• mass chaos in the mornings
• couch cushions turned into houses on the floor

...and that's ok.  We had our showers, we gave our hugs, we said our 'I love you(s)'...

and because a post needs a picture...here's one I took tonight...

and clearly I need to go to bed now.  :)