School's Out for Summer

Ready or not, my first summer with three kids is officially here.  All of the parents and siblings gathered at the bus stop to greet the students with cheers and silly string.

Maysie and her "older" friends

When the bus finally arrived, the kids were piling off to head to the culdesac to meet the ice cream truck!

And then, after they had enjoyed their treat, Colette and Railey decided to take some down time with baby Ansley.

And to top it all off, a swimming party with all of our friends.

Second grade…here we come!

Maysie's 4th Birthday Pony Party

I had all intentions of throwing Maysie a pony birthday party that would live up to Railey's 4th birthday, but the rain came in which left me scrambling to move the party from the culdesac inside. Even though it wasn't the party I had planned on, it turned out perfect and Maysie had an absolute blast!  I didn't have time to pull out my camera to take one picture but luckily Stacey was there and my mom managed to snap a few as well in between feeding the baby.

The rain stopped just long enough for the ponies to come.  It was sprinkling but the kids didn't mind one bit!  Maysie stayed on the ponies the entire hour…she was so happy.

  After the ponies, the kids came in to grab snacks, decorate frames with jewels and horse stickers, hit a piñata, get their faces painted compliments of Railey and Colette and of course, eat cake.

Maysie's favorite part of the day was getting her birthday gift created by Jolie that we HAD to display at the party.  When Maysie opened it, she was excited to say the least.  But then said, "I don't remember this."

I did it for Railey so why not for little Miss Maysie too???

Happy 4th birthday to my sweet Maysie whose current obsessions are everything that has to do with dolphins, make up and maxi dresses.  We love you to the moon and back!

Ansley: Four Months Old

Well sweet Ansley, I am a little late on this update….partially because things have been busy with the end of the school year but also because your four month check up was scheduled a little late so we could go and see our favorite pediatrician, Dr. Barr.

You are now able to turn from back to front and front to back without a problem.  You don't do it often, because most of the time you are perfectly content laying on your back and smiling at anyone that will talk to you.  You have also started laughing occasionally.  Maysie's favorite song to sing to you is Hush Little Baby, and since mama had to improvise when teaching her the words, it goes something like this…

Hush little baby don't say a word, mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.  And if that mockingbird don't sing, mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.  And if that diamond ring don't shine, mama's going to buy you a bottle of wine.

Not one of my proudest parenting moments.

You are sleeping through the night with no problem and we have recently moved you to the 4 hour EASY schedule.

7:00 wake and feed
9:00 nap
11:00 wake and feed
1:00 nap
3:00 wake and feed
5:00 nap
6:00 wake up
7:00 feed and bath
7:30 bedtime
9:00 dreamfeed

You are growing so fast that Dr. Barr has allowed us to move you to regular formula. She also suggested that we start feeding you rice cereal.  Regular formula…check.  Rice cereal can wait a few more weeks.

Here are your four month stats:

weight: 14 pounds 9 ounces - 59th percentile
height: 25 1/2 inches - 90th percentile
head circumference - 16 1/4 inches - 70th percentile

Bathtime!

Mother's Day 2014

It was a great Mother's Day, even more relaxing because Paul was home to help out with the girls.  The day started bright and early with gifts that the girls made at school.  Railey wrote a book, and besides the page that referred to me as "epic," this was my favorite.  You know it's true love when someone loves you more than their phone.

Mommy thank you for all the things you do for all the wonderful things you do for me.  You're the best mom in the world.  I love you more than my phone.

 And Maysie's teachers asked her some questions about me.  Not quite sure if I agree that my favorite drink is water and that my favorite thing to do is clean but she is probably spot on that the best thing I cook is a PB&J.

And she also made me these gorgeous earrings that she wanted to model for me.  They go great with the makeup she now insists on wearing whenever we have company.

After all of my gifts, which also included a new purse, we loaded up the big girls and headed to The Ted for an afternoon Braves game.  I am still trying to figure out why I chose Mother's Day as the day we would go to a game, but it was a nice break to get away from the house and to get a break from the baby.  She is an angel but man oh man, it is nice to get away for an afternoon.

Our seats were amazing but Miss Maysie was unimpressed.  After asking 97 times if we could move to a shady spot, and 4 trips inside the suite to get ice cream, frozen minute maid, coke, etc, she opted to take a nap.

Go Braves!

First Grade Ice Cream Social

Another year has come and gone, and I am coming to terms with the idea of having a second grader.  To celebrate the last full day of school, all of the first grade classrooms at Sope Creek have an ice cream social.  So some of the moms pulled together to help Ms. King celebrate the hard work of her fantastic fish.

Ok ok, this is a picture from Malick and Railey the week prior that I had snapped on my Iphone, but I didn't get any pictures of him on party day so just had to include this cute one!

A little break after ice cream to do the Happy dance.

After ice cream, all of the kids patiently waited to get their awards.

Railey accepting the Spree award for always finishing work in a timely fashion and keeping others on track.  At least I think that is what it was for.  The certificate has already been hidden from her sister in the world's messiest desk.

The kids were BEYOND excited to give Ms. King her present.  Since they are called the Fantastic Fish, we got her One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss and each of them wrote a personal message.  Some of my favorites were:

"You fill my bucket"

"You are the best teacher" (there were a bunch of these)

"Roses are red, violets are blue" (yep, that was it…nothing else)

Saying these kids were amped is an understatement.  In addition to the ice cream social, they had TWO birthdays to celebrate.  They were on a sugar high…I almost felt guilty to leave.

One last picture with Railey and her teachers, Ms. Debbie and Ms. King!

Mount Bethel Field Day

It is impossible to believe that the end of the year is here.  To add to the end of the year excitement, Maysie had her school Field Day, complete with relay races, bubbles and bounces houses!  Miss Sharon and Miss Deanna had everyone in a line and under control….

I think that some of the kids thought I was crazy when I insisted on a group shot before they could start bouncing.  I am officially the mean mom:)

The kids were all smiles the entire time.

No surprise that Maysie decided to try to go down head first.

Miss Sharon had to coach the kids through the relay races but they all loved it!

And after all of the running and jumping, it was popsicle time.

One more week until Summer Break.  Say a prayer for my sanity.