Barbie Party Weekend

This weekend was a semi-low key weeknd for us. Friday night, we went to dinner with some friends at Catfish Hole. It is one of the only places that all of the girls will actually eat dinner well (maybe it's so they can get a Tootsie Pop when we leave...)

Then, we went home and played outsdie until the mosquitos almost carried us off.

Saturday, Travis worked. The girls and I played around the house all day. I spent 3/4 of the day dressing barbies and babies. But, what else is a mom good for, right!?

Saturday night, I got all dressed up and went to Tara's Vintage Barbie Birthday party at Bordino's. This girl has a SERIOUS gift for party planning and decorating. Here are a couple of pictures from the party. I some how managed to stay out of most of the pictures. :)

After dinner, I went home and spent the rest of the night watching a movie with Travis. The girls were already in bed and I was so glad to have a few hours with the hubs and a good movie.

We spent a lazy Sunday at home. The girls favorite movie is Tangled. So, we made a pallet in the living room floor, snuggled up and watched Tangled.

Before bed last night, Catherine came walking into the kitchen and said "I ready go nigh-nigh". I looked up and saw this...

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Who's Your Daddy?

I am sure you have noticed that Catherine has a very "camera-ready" face. As soon as I put my camera up, she says "CHEEEEEESE" and smiles that big, crazy, tilt-my-head-back-so-far-you-can-see-up-my-nose smile.

I always wondered where in the WORLD she learned that. Why does my child go into "crazy smile" mode when she sees a camera (or iPhone)?

I thought it was from two years of me saying "Girls! Look at me! Now...Cheeeeeeessse!" 

(Ok...I really say "Girls! Look at me! Hannah put your hands down. Emma, no bunny ears or peace signs. Catherine put your shirt down. Hannah Brooke do NOT lift up your dress. Now...Cheeeeese!")

However, I am not to blame. This is OBVIOUSLY not a learned behavior. It's genetic.

Yes...that's Travis. Apparently, along with the melt-my-heart dimples came this weird unique smile. (Thank God for the dimples!)

Movin' On Up

Our house is three bedrooms. When we bought it, it was just us and Emma. We knew we would have another baby (and I thought we would only have ONE more baby!), so three bedrooms was plenty big for our first house!

Then, we decided we should add a third little monkey into the mix. When we did, Emma and Hannah moved in together. Catherine got her own room because she woke up at night, went to bed earlier, etc (I guess the squeaky wheel does get the oil).

At first, Emma and Hannah LOVED sharing a room. They would stay up at night giggling and talking (and end up in trouble for staying up too late). It was so sweet. It was EXACTLY how I imagined sisters would be.

Then, the new wore off and reality set in. Hannah was 3 and so destructive. Emma wanted her own space and got tired of having to help clean up the messy room that her little sister single handedly destroyed. Hannah was sick of her sister bossing her around ALL.THE.TIME. So, the fighting and arguing started. It was insane and was slowly making me insane!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago: Finally, Catherine was ready to get out of the crib. So, the great room shuffle of 2011 began. My parents brought Emma's bedroom suite up from their storage building (which has been there for two years now!). Since our house is on the market and I am probably going to want to re-do all the rooms when we finally move, we used the bedding she had when Hannah came. (Plus, I think it was only used for about a year!)

I worked SO hard before my parents got there moving clothes from closet to closet, sorting toys, and re-arranging furniture. I got Hannah and Catherine's room "live-in" ready (still a few things to hang, etc. I'll post pics when that's done.).

When my parents got here, my mom and I got Emma's room all decorated and organized. Once it was done, we called her in there to see her new room. I wish I would have taken a picture. She was SO excited and loves her little escape from her sisters.

Pre-K All the Way!

This week marked another big milestone in our house. Hannah's first day of Pre-K was on Monday.

She loves her teacher so far and loves her class.

It was bittersweet taking her picture on Monday. I felt like she should still be this little chubby baby, not 1 year from kindergarten!

(I will not get all "Cry Baby Jane" on you this time!)

In the back to school hustle and bustle, Catherine decided she needed a backpack. (Of course, being the 3rd child, she got a hand-me-down).

Happy Wednesday!

Breakfast in Bed for Bree's Birthday

Today, the girls and I went to Bree's Breakfast in Bed Birthday. Rachel threw the cutest 2nd birthday party! The girls had so much fun! They love always have so much fun playing with Claire and Bree (and Owen too!).

We hung around for a while after the party because we had a house showing! While we were at Bree's party, our realtor called and we had another showing this afternoon. Hopefully we hear some good news back on one of the showings!

Is that...JUSTIN BIEBER!?

Hannah has the uncanny ability to learn words to songs after hearing them once or twice. (If she doesn't she makes up her own).

Right now, her favorite song to walk around and sing is Justin Bieber's "Baby Baby". There is a part where they rap in the middle of a verse. She can't keep up with those words, so she just improvises with some "b-b-b-b-b-bam"s here and there.

Here is a sampling of her musical talents:

Look out world, Hannah's gonna rock you out!

Cry Baby Jane

I don't consider myself one of those "emotional" mommies. By emotional, I mean, I'm not a "Cry Baby Jane". I didn't cry when my girls were born (Travis did enough of that for both of us!). I don't cry when they get hurt. I don't cry when they are spending time with grandparents and I miss them.

Today was Emma's first day of 2nd grade. Today was the third "first day of school" that she has had. Today was the third time I've walked her into Walker Elementary School and taken her to her new class. Today was the third time I teared up walking out of her building.

In Kindergarten, I cried for her. She was scared and unsure. I was worried she would go through her whole day with the same fears she had when I walked out of the classroom. I put my sunglasses on before I even left the building to try to disguise the huge tears pouring from my eyes.

In First Grade, I cried for her. She was excited, but a little nervous about the thought of "real" work and no naps. She was sure she could handle it, but the nerves were getting the best of her. I made it out of the building, but lost it in the car. Her nerves were my nerves.

Today, Emma wasn't nervous. She was confident and ready. Emma was excited. Today, I walked her to her class and told her bye. Emma hugged me half-heartedly and walked off with her friends. As I was walking out, my eyes filled with tears. This time, I cried, not for her, but for me.

I walked past the First Grade hall and saw the semi-confident children hugging their mommies and daddies tightly. I couldn't believe that had been us an entire year ago.

I walked past the Kindergarten hall and saw the wide-eyed boys and girls holding hands with their mommies and looking up at them. Those eyes pleading with them not to leave just yet. Two years has past since I had to leave Emma sitting at her desk, tears flowing from her eyes staining the paper she was writing her name on.

So, as I walked out of school today. I cried for "yesterday", the day I took Emma to Kindergarten. But, I also cried for "tomorrow", because "tomorrow" I will take Hannah, then Catherine. Time is passing so quickly and I just want to stop it. I want the girls to stay just how they are right now.

Emma had a great first day of school, as I knew she would. So...here we go...2nd grade has officially begun!

Firsts

Yesterday, I took the day off to do some last minute things to get ready for school to start on Wednesday. (Yes. I waited until the LAST minute to go buy school supplies and just found the last package of Elmer's glue sticks in NWA at lunch!)

I took all of the girls to get haircuts. Emma is growing her hair out for Beautiful Lengths (click here to find out more about that program). I am so proud of her for doing this as it was all her idea. So, we just trimmed a few of the dead ends off to keep it healthy and growing.

Hannah was in DESPERATE need of a hair cut. Her hair is still pretty thin and looked so messy. So, she got a couple of inches cut off hers. It looks so pretty!

Catherine had the baby mullet going on. It was in serious need of some TLC. This was her first hair cut, but she LOVED IT! She still needs her front to catch up with the back, but it looks lots better.

Later that afternoon, the girls had a dentist appointment. Emma and Hannah are pros at the whole teeth cleaning thing. But, this was Catherine's first trip.

Emma and Hannah did great with their cleaning and x-rays. I am proud to report that there were NO cavities in their pearly whites. (Emma will be seeing an orthodontist after she looses two more teeth. Those puppies are BIG!)

Catherine was a little hesitant of opening her mouth. However, the hygenist and I coaxed her into getting her teeth brushed. But, as soon as that was done, Catherine snapped her mouth shut and wouldn't let them rinse or floss her teeth. When the denstist came over, she let him see the fronts of her teeth, but REFUSED to open. Finally, he pryed her mouth open long enough to make sure her teeth were in good shape. Everything looked great! (However, we need to work on our dental etiquete.)

The girls and I did a little shopping before heading home. I had such a fun day with them. And...keeping it real...there were moments when I realized I do not have the patience to be a SAHM.

(Sorry for the picture quality. I took all of these with my phone. I PROMISE I'm going to start carrying my camera again!)