Lainie's Pre-School Graduation

Our sweet Lainie recently graduated from preschool! I can't believe that she is registered and will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. I met with her teacher, Mrs. Katie, a few weeks before preschool was over, and she definitely thinks that Lainie is ready! Lainie still struggles with change and new situations, so we think that it will be a little hard with the transition at first, but academically, she is definitely ready to go! We are so proud of her!

Her teachers were absolutely amazing this year. I cannot say enough great things about them or her preschool. Lainie was given a huge binder at the end of the year with artwork, pictures, journals, etc. that she had worked on throughout the year. It is amazing, and definitely something I will treasure forever.

I will say that graduation brought about some tears, as well as some amazing experiences that we will always remember. The night before graduation, Lainie came down with the stomach virus. :( She actually wasn't able to walk with her class because of it. The night of the graduation, the two directors from her preschool showed up on our front porch with two huge bouquets of balloons to cheer her up. She was asleep when they came, but woke up the next morning to a great surprise. I couldn't get over their generosity. In addition to the balloons, they offered to let her walk with the M/W classes later that week.

She was so excited about her graduation! She had such a great year, and is looking very forward to her new big adventure that she will start in the fall! Now, I just need for some of that excitement to rub off on me. :)

Red Door

Ya'll, I promise I am still around! It has been a little busy around here lately. I recently started a part-time job out of my home that I absolutely LOVE. However, between that, the kids, my sweet hubs, my house, and all of the end of the year school activities, things are crazy! :) One fun thing that I wanted to share is our new red door. I have wanted to paint our front door red for a long time now, but for some reason, I just never got around to doing it. I guess when a person has a baby every two years, fun things get pushed to the back burner. Ha! I told Justin that we had a baby in 2006, 2008, and 2010, so technically...... Since we are starting new traditions this year, we decided to do some fun things around our house. Some I have already blogged about, but our new red door has not been mentioned. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!! Without further ado....

A Comparison

If we have heard it once, we have heard it 1000 times....."Ellie looks just like her Daddy!" After hearing this so many times, I decided that it would be fun to do a comparison post of their baby pictures. Here are a few pics of Justin when he was little, and some of Ellie to compare them to. :) What do you think?

Girls Day Out

Lainie and Emmie,

I will always remember this special day together....our first "Girls Day Out." You both needed haircuts, so I made you each an appointment to get your hair cut, and then decided to add a pedicure for each of you to the schedule. You both love having your toes painted, and are constantly noticing the color of my toes. I knew you would love it.

Because Ellie is still so little, she stayed home with Daddy. We made our way to the salon, got your hair cut, and then made our way over to the big, pink butterfly chairs. Emmie put her toes in the water first, and was so excited. Emmie, you chose blue and purple polish with glitter to go on top. You wanted a pattern, so I asked the girl who was giving your pedicure to paint blue/purple/blue. You loved it! Lainie, you chose pink polish with glitter on top because that is what I had on my toes. You wanted your toes to look like mine, which totally melted my heart. You both loved the warm water, and the light that made the water change color. However, you weren't too crazy about the scrub that she put on your feet and legs to make your skin soft. When we were finished, you both picked out a lollipop, and we headed to eat lunch.

I had so much fun sharing your first pedicure experience with you. You were so much fun to enjoy a "girl's day" with, and I look forward to many, many more in our future. I can't wait until Ellie is old enough to join us too. You girls are such a blessing to me.

I love you both SO much! Mommy

Reflections

Ellie - 18 months old

Ellie turned 18 months old yesterday! My baby is hardly a baby anymore! We spent her 18 month birthday in Birmingham visiting Justin's family for the day. Everyone was celebrating his aunt's birthday with a special tea party, so Ellie got to celebrate with a tea hat, gloves, and lots of family! Justin and I also took her around Birmingham and stopped by one of our favorite places, Star Lake. While we were there, Ellie rode around the lake in her very favorite pink car, and saw lots of precious baby ducks.


Ellie is just full of energy, expression, personality, and spunk. She is, by far, our most outgoing little girl. She loves being the center of attention, loves for others to laugh at her, and loves being on the go. She is strong-willed with a little sass on the side, opinionated, and loves to throw tantrums to show you how she really feels. She is a huge fan of being outside, taking walks, playing ball, riding in her car, playing at the park, swinging, and running wild. She is so much fun!






We love this girl so much!

Egg Hunt

I just found these pictures and realized I never posted them. We walked with the girls to the elementary school down the street for a big Easter Egg hunt that they were having the week of Easter. Lainie and Emmie loved looking for eggs this year, and Ellie enjoyed just running through the big grass field. :) We had to hurry home because there was a huge storm overhead as the egg hunt was going on. We made it back just in time!

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter! Today has been such a fun day with the girls. This year has really been the first year that Lainie anticipates a holiday, and knows when she wakes up that there is something to look forward to when she gets downstairs. It is so fun to see things through the eyes of our children.

This was the first year that Justin and I really tried to explain in very, very simple terms what Easter is all about. I know it is really hard for the girls to understand the concept, but we are trying to help them (Lainie especially) understand the true meaning behind Christmas and Easter.

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Easter baskets waiting on Easter morning

The girls were SO excited as they were coming down the stairs

Checking out their baskets

Ellie was digging into every basket. :)

Emmie looked outside for eggs, but realized the Easter Bunny had another big gift waiting for them in the backyard......

a sandbox!!!

Super happy that she has a new sandbox to play in.

The girls literally played in this all. day. long!!

All dressed up and ready to go to church.

Hope you and your family had a very Happy Easter! He is Risen!!