Friday, March 30, 2012

These. I Birthed Them All.





Just a Lazy Friday Afternoon...






We Have a Reader!

Primrose's Private Kindergarten program has been so, so good for Harris.  He has blossomed academically and has had a great time doing so!


At this point, I'm going to go ahead and consider him a full-fledged reader.  I mean, he's not picking up novels or anything, but he's got a pretty good grasp of the written language.  He's also got pretty long legs.


He completes his homework sheets (word problems and all!) without any assistance from us and I'm pretty sure our days of spelling out words over his head are long gone.


I'm so proud of him.

The Final Celebration.

We finished up the "month of Hadley" last weekend by celebrating her birthday with Mimi, Poppa, DoDo, Aunt Sally, and Lil' Ben.


Homegirl racked up on some of her favorite things:  "hard heel" shoes, "Hortie" earrings, new clothes, and some jewelry. 


She was also given a "sprinkle cake," and we all know that sprinkles are pretty much the best thing ever.

Besides babies, that is.


And being fed.  Being fed probably tops the list.  But only if you're having to be fed because you're holding a baby.


Happy Birthday for the last time this year, Babe!

Spring Sports.

Flag Football is quickly becoming one of my favorite kids' sports ever.  I'm pretty sure Harris would say the same thing. 


It could be because, although we do like sports in general, football is our family's favorite.  Or it could be because the weather has been pretty perfect lately:  not too cold and not too hot.  Or it could be because flag football really only requires Harris to run and pull flags, which is something at which he's actually got a little skill.


It also doesn't hurt that the field is two minutes from our house, that Hadley is old enough to entertain herself with the other younger sisters of the team, and that our after-game treat is now a trip to FroYoLo. 

And, of course, with fans like these, anything's awesome.


Brother.

He loves her like crazy.  He is sweet with his words, does whatever he can to make her smile, is the first to comfort her if she cries, and simply enjoys snuggles.  That is, of course, if he's not playing Wii.

Big Nut!


I swear she gains a pound from the time I drop her off until I the time I pick her up each day.  I'm loving this season of chunkiness!!!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Four-Year-Old Well-Check.

It's a doozie.


Even though my big girl hammed it up for the camera, she was beautifully behaved at her well-check on Monday.  She passed the hearing and vision test with flying colors, enjoyed watching the blood flow from her pricked finger, and did exactly as she was asked throughout the entire exam.

She weighed in at 32 pounds (24th percentile) and was 39.5 inches tall (45th percentile).  The nurse described her as long and lean, which pretty much sums it up.  In addition to these stats, we also received her BMI (14.41), her blood pressure (84/40), and her heart rate (108). 

She received a glowing bill of health...and four shots (two in each arm).  She was sooooo brave.  Ben stood with her and held her arms, and she hung in there until she felt that first poke, at which point she broke into tears.  We didn't have to fight her or anything; she just sat on the table and wailed. 

A princess sticker and Hello Kitty tattoo stopped a few of the tears, and by the time we'd picked Harris up at school, she was back to her normal self.

As a reward for her excellent behavior, Babe chose to have dinner at McDonald's (something that's become a rare treat around here!). 


Here's to no more vaccines for this girl for a long, long time.

It's Not Spring...

...until you break out the bonnets.



Harris' school held their annual Spring Bonnet Parade last Friday.  It was also the same day they celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a "visit" from a little green leprechaun.  Harris only knows about the little green guy from school (we don't make a big deal out of the holiday here at home), but evidently that's enough.  My little guy LEAPT out of bed on Friday morning and immediately (IMMEDIATELY!) put on the first green shirt he could find in an effort to keep from being pinched by the leprechaun.  He even wore green underwear because a classmate told him the leprechaun would "pinch his bootie" if he didn't.

I made sure he knew to tell me right away if any man pinched his bootie while at school.


He's so trusting.

It's been fun to hear about all the stories his classmates share.  I have a feeling teaching Kindergarten never gets old.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Three Stooges.

Day of Birth.

While Hadley's "party" day was Monday, we chose to celebrate her actual day of birth with our family on Tuesday, March 13.

Per tradition, Babe came downstairs to find her very special birthday balloons waiting for her at the table.


She also entered the kitchen to the sound of her very own "Princess mix" on the iPod, a gift from Ben and me.  Although, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm not sure if the downloads were more for us or for her...we've all gotten quite a kick out of some old school Disney songs around here.

Donuts were also on the breakfast menu for the big day, and Haddie A. chose to wear her brand new "Georgia" dress from her friend Makenzie.


After school and work and Ms. Ginnell's, we headed out to Chick-fil-A to finish the celebration we began earlier in the day.  Daddy made Babe her very own "Hortie" birthday cake...it was a huge hit!




Hadley enjoyed opening her gifts from our family, too!  Princesses continued to be the theme of the day, much to the delight of the birthday girl.


We shared cake with our family and all of our wonderful Chick-fil-A friends and even got to sample the new brownies that will be on the menu soon.



Once again, Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby H!

Catch Air!

We celebrated Babe's fourth birthday with some of her very best friends at Catch Air, a local indoor playground.


Even though the play area was pretty busy, we had a fantastic time!


A very special "dance party" was dedicated to Hadley, and she even got to meet something that slightly resembled Hello Kitty.


Thankfully, we're not die hard Hello Kitty fans. 

The kids played and played and played some more.  One of my most favorite things about Catch Air is that it's nearly impossible for the kiddos to get bored there...it's great!  It was also a pretty easy place to host a party...we literally had to show up with just a cake and everything else was handled.

Hadley chose a Tiana cake this year.  No surprises there...Tiana is, after all, Babe's "very best princess."


The best part of the cake, though, was that all that icing was made with cream cheese.

I've decided I like cream cheese.


Sweet Emmy had to settle for a bottle, which both Ben and I were surprised to see her hold on her own.  My little baby is getting so big...


There was so much playing to be done that we ended up taking the gifts home before opening them.  Babe's friends know her so well...favorite gifts this year included a toy horse, a microphone, a princess sticker book, a princess figurine tea party set, sunglasses, an elephant backpack, a baby doll, and a red and black dress.



I still can't believe she's four.




She makes my heart so happy.