My Girly-Girl!

I already knew this about her. Gabriella loves pretty. Pretty clothes, pretty hair, pretty coloring pages, and pretty parties. What I got to witness today was a glimpse into the depth of her love for all things pretty.

As we were leaving a play date at the mall today, we passed by the store Claire's. As we ventured inside to take a peek at a cute Hello Kitty purse I saw in there (thinking possible birthday gift idea), Gabriella was transformed. She had never been in this store before. Another first for my girl - her first venture into accessory shopping. And I believe we are in trouble.

She became a wide-eyed, mesmerized, robotic version of her little cute self. It was if she was propelled by some external force from display to display, hands in front of her, just absorbing all of the "prettiness" oozing out of that store. I truly think she was in her own personal heaven. She didn't even have time to beg for one thing too much because she was always drawn away to something equally as pretty. Lip gloss, nail polish, headbands, tiaras, necklaces, princess wands, feather boas, purses, notepads, hair clips = PRETTY!

She showed great self-control by not ripping everything off of the shelf and by putting things back when I asked her to. The sales lady only too happily offered her a little basket to carry around which she gladly accepted. I wasn't planning on making a purchase and could see that this was getting to be a less realistic goal by the second. I decided it was time to cut and run and told Gabriella as I pushed the stroller out of the store to return the basket to the sales lady and come with me to the car we were headed home for sister's nap time.

She was obediently handing the basket to the sales lady as I looked back over my shoulder on my way out of the store, and when she turned around from putting the basket on the counter, my heart just broke.

Toward me walked my completely broken-hearted girl. Golf ball sized tears dropped from her eyes, her lips turned down and her mouth open as she emitted her heart-wrenching sobs. Now I have witnessed many a meltdown by this dramatic girl. But this one was different. This was not an I-did-not-get-my-way sadness, or an I'm-so-tired-I-feel-like-whining-about-everything bawling, and not even an I'm-three-and-will-be-defiant cry. This was true, from the depth of her being sadness. Existing in a place that was the outward example of her inner-prettiness was no more. She was given a small taste of heaven and couldn't believe that it was over - and that she didn't get to take a piece of it with her.

So a purchase was made. But to try and redeem some small shred of good parenting skills, I did make her stop crying and explain her feelings with real words. Small shred. I was still in charge here, right? :)

Here are the words I got: "But I want to get something fun. Something new to take home!" I thought this was a pretty good representation of the inner-shopper that lives in most of us.

Then the search for the right purchase (that was mommy approved after looking at the price tags) ensued. And what we walked away with was nothing I suggested at all, but fit the price tag requirement so I just said yes. Funny girl. See the picture below for the item in the store that satisfied her inner-pretty.

Don't you know that every girl needs some clip-on rainbow colored hair!?!?

Oliver's First Day of Kindergarten

Thanks to everyone who said prayers for Oliver and was thinking of us on his first day of Kindergarten! It went well as far as I could tell. We were all able to take him in the morning and it was a fine transition for all of us. I did my crying on Sunday so by Monday I was just excited. It took a couple of hours to draw anything out of him once he got home (which I knew it would) so we just had to be patient.

Some things we were able to get out of him:

• It was a long day for him: "I was there in the morning AND the afternoon. It was a long time!"
• He doesn't know anyone's name yet.
• He had a fun day.
• He saw a neighbor in the cafeteria at lunch but had to sit with his class which he was fine with.
• He sat next to a boy and a girl at lunch.
• He went to music and P.E. and played an instrument in Music which we couldn't quite understand but he was adamant that it had something to do with a Hamster wheel?
• He did not go outside for recess but had recess inside in another classroom (we think this had to do with the construction - the school is being renovated).
• He was HUNGRY after school. They do get a snack in the morning, have lunch around 12:30, and I brought him a little bagel and some nuts when I picked him up at 2:30. But that was not enough. He wanted FOOD! He eventually ate through that snack, some yogurt, a pudding cup and a piece of pizza before he was finally satiated.
• He did not cry or miss Mommy :)
• He played at the "McDonald's" center during center time (there really is such a thing).
  
• He apparently really liked the rest time in the afternoon as that is one of the things he talked about the most. I think he was pretty tired at that point and probably really needed it! The teachers asked each kid to bring a towel to lay on for 15 minutes in the afternoon for the first few months of school while the kids get adjusted to the long days.
• A lot of kids did not have a towel, but he did.
• He came home without his lunchbox. I asked where it was and he confidently told me it was at school. I asked why he didn't bring it home and he told me that his teacher had told him it needed to stay in his locker... probably meaning during the day and not when it was time to go home :) My little rule follower.
  

I thought about him all day long and the girls and I were very excited to see him come pick-up time. We are excited for this year - I think it is going to be a good one!

Visit to the Northwest!

We had an awesome trip to the Northwest to see our friends Dewy and Jenni Webb who live just outside of Seattle. The weather was awesome, the kids had a blast playing with their kids, and we loved spending time with our awesome friends. We first met them when we both lived in Phoenix before we even had kids. Now we have three kids and they are about to have their fourth! Even though we haven't lived in the same city since our first babies were born, we've remained friends. Don't you love relationships like that!

Traveling to visit a family that knows how to do life with little kids was such a blessing. They borrowed car seats from friends, picked us up at the airport, had beds/cribs all set up for us, snacks galore, and of course the most important things - built-in playmates for our kids!! It was such a fun and relaxing trip! They have a five year old, three year old and one year old just like us!

They also had great ideas of fun things to do in the area with kids in tow. The first day we were there we went to a harbor area to watch fish swim up a fish ladder and see boats go through a lock to get to a lower water area where the sea water met the fresh water of a lake. Fun to see! There was a nice grassy area with hills to roll down and was perfect for the picnic lunch that Jenni packed for us. We got to see trains, birds, and splash in the muddy bank near the water. A great morning!

Rolling down the hill

Me and my three year old!

Best buddies Oliver and Jackson watching the boats go through the lock

The Webbs live on a great cul-de-sac with lots of fun neighbors to play with. We spent every afternoon riding bikes, playing kick ball, and playing "ninjas" - a game the boys made up. The weather was perfect and they had a great time just being kids!! We were happy just to have a time with nothing else we needed to do except play with our kiddos!

Oliver's first game of kick ball!

Gabriella even got in on the action

Cutest spectator ever.

Our little walker!


Sidewalk chalk with a one-year old... usually ends up in their mouth!

We were able to join them for their weekly family movie night which the kids loved. We do a family movie night at our house too so the kids knew just what to expect!

Jammies + popcorn (and a few M&Ms thrown in) + friends + movie = FUN!

The next day we headed to a rocky beach with a great playground for some cold water wading and playtime! Once again great weather, beautiful scenery and great company!

COLD!


The Mamas and the Papas

Dewy and his little girl Shelby

We got to visit their church, introduce them to one of our favorite TV shows Psych, play lots of Settlers of Catan, and just talk and catch up! I also got to help Jenni get ready for her new baby by doing a little organizing (my favorite), going shopping for some baby items and making a few freezer meals that they could enjoy once the baby is here.

The big boys really hit it off and Jackson is convinced that Oliver is his cousin. They were both sad to leave each other and Oliver convinced Jackson to ask if he could come to our house on "Thursday"! Precious.

We love you guys and hope to see you again soon! Thanks for being such great hosts and friends!


Click here to see more pictures from our trip!

Cruise 2011

We were blessed to get to go on a week-long cruise with my family in June. It was a full week and we made lots of fun memories. The best part, of course, was getting so much quality time with my family.

Our cruise left from Galveston on Melia's 1st birthday... which is quite handy because the cruise port is only about an hour and a half from my parent's house. So we all trekked down there in 3 cars (there were 9 adults and 4 kids in our party) and boarded the Carnival Conquest bound for the Bahamas and Key West.


We settled all 5 of us into our room which had two bunk beds, a double bed and a pack and play. We were packed in :) Lots of family togetherness! The kids loved sleeping on the bunks and Oliver (in true Oliver fashion) quickly learned the layout of the boat and was our elevator button pusher and navigator the rest of the trip. Wonder where he gets that from? Oh, right. The lady who didn't feel like she was truly settled until she got her hands on a boat map and studied it for 5 minutes. That lady.

On the glass elevator

Our room

We enjoyed lots of yummy dinners which lasted about 2 hours each time. My kids got pretty used to sitting that long but there were a lot of ups and downs from the table. We had so many in our party that we had two tables and we rotated who sat where. Oliver enjoyed sitting at the opposite table from us as much as he could. While I could start freaking out that he's already embarrassed to be seen with his parents, I truly attribute it to loving his family and wanting to spend as much time with them as possible (especially you Bossy!)

Natty + Gabby = Best Friends


You can see Melia's little Bahama braid if you look closely

The Hulse Family on one of the two "dress up" nights

The Steve & Carol Beck Family!

On Board

We enjoyed attending shows, playing games, ping pong, mini-golf, movies, exploring, game shows, trivia shows, and much more during our time on board. We were even able to put the kids to bed at night and use baby monitors to monitor them from my sister's room next door. We took turns "monitoring" while the rest of us explored the boat, attended shows etc. It was nice to have them sleeping and get some time to do things without kids.

Sisters

The service you receive on board is not matched anywhere else I have ever been. Free room service, a room steward who cleans your room and makes your beds every day, not to mention NEVER having to cook. It was truly a vacation in that sense!

Oliver with one of the towel animals the room steward would leave for us each night.

At the Beach

We had a beach day at both of our Bahamas stops. We were also able to do a lot of shopping which made all of the women happy. Getting off of the boat was fun and eye-opening, but also exhausting. All of the girls (including Melia) got their hair braided on the beach in Nassau. We also rode jet skis that day and some of our group road a banana boat the next day.

Bossy made these girls into mermaids! Gabby was in heaven!

Bossy and Emily and our boat

Melia and Daddy checking out the view of Key West

Camp Carnival

One of the highlights of the week for our kids was Camp Carnival. It was a kids club filled with toys, songs, crafts, games, music, etc. They LOVED it there and enjoyed the few hours they got to spend their each day. Mommy and Daddy took that opportunity to rest with Melia which was so nice. The got to have their faces painted multiple times and participate in a talent show on our last day on the boat!



There were many opportunities for professional photographs while we were on board and we definitely took advantage. We got some great family pictures!

Old-timey Sistahs!

We were happy to be home when all was said and done, but enjoyed the time we were able to dedicate to connecting with our whole family that week. Thank you Mom & Dad for your generosity and for your dedication to our family! We love you all!