And then there were two....

One week down! Kaitlyn has really enjoyed her first 5 days of Kindergarten. She is super tired at the end of the day though. And by tired I mean extremely hyper, loud and overly energetic. W.O.W. I guess she just has to be on her very best behavior all day at school, so when she comes home she feels safe enough to just let it all out. Maybe this will get better as the year goes on.

So, until 2012 - I now have 2 kids at home during the day! I thought I would write a little about what each of them are up to these days. We'll start with Cora...

The four words that she says the most right now are: draw, doll, video and bubbles. She LOVES scribbling with crayons on just about any surface. She is also usually carrying around or pushing her baby dolls in their stroller most of the day. She loves watching her videos. She says bubbles anytime she is about to take a bath. Bubbles is probably my favorite word that she says. It just sounds extra cute when she says it.

Oh- and she also says, "Don't like it" about pretty much anything that she eats. She still is a VERY picky eater, and really just doesn't eat a whole lot at all.

Which leads me to her bottle. She decided she wants to be in a contest with Suri Cruise to see who can require a bottle the longest. I'll let you know who wins.

She is also very into shoes, lotion, dancing and jumping.

She used to HATE having her picture taken, but lately she has been cheesing it up for the camera.

Now that Kaitlyn is gone, most of the day she walks around saying, "Sissy go? Sissy go?"

She can sing most of the words (or words that sound like the real ones) to "Jesus Loves Me" and "Twinkle Twinkle."

She has her Daddy's sweat glands. She will start sweating after just walking to the car from the house. Bless her...

She attracts mosquito bites like none other. Her poor little (fat) legs look horrible right now!

She is the most beautiful girl and we just love her!!!






And baby Claire......

We predict that she will be the tallest of the 3 girls. It's a little freaky how long she is. However, she is the skinniest of the 3.

She is up on all four's crawling around everywhere! Her little hands are evidence of how dirty my wood floors are. Yuk!

She grinds her teeth. Let me rephrase that. She grinds her 2 bottom teeth against her top gum. This has caused it to actually start bleeding on more than one occasion. I'm not quite sure what to do about this!!

She is already pulling up on the couch and has even pulled up on one of Cora's push toys. This girl is crazy!

She loves her "Johnny Jumper" thing. She can go crazy in there! Cora and Kaitlyn like to spin her around and swing her in it - so it does require pretty much constant attention.

She also loves Baby Einstein videos. And the TV period.

She doesn't really have much interest in baby food. I really hope she doesn't develop Cora's eating habits. Seriously, what's wrong with my kids? Eat already!

When she is drinking a bottle or if I am rocking her to sleep, she always reaches up to play with my hair. I LOVE this. Even when she pulls it.

She is still the most serious. She really doesn't smile or laugh all that much. She'll come around - you can't NOT laugh at our family sometimes.

She LOVES her sleep. She can still easily take 3 naps a day and sleep great all night. Just like her Daddy....

We love her so much. She has been the perfect addition to our family!

First day of Kindergarten...

August 25th came too fast!! Seriously. Where did the summer go?

Kaitlyn has had a "Count-down to Kindergarten" paper chain hanging up in her room for the past 15 days. Today, she was SO excited to throw the last link away. I didn't think I would be emotional at all, but I was wrong. Just the little things got me this morning.

She hasn't been that excited about the dress that I picked out for her to wear today. All week she has been complaining about it. When I bought it she said, "Mom, that is SO 70's." WHAT?! Don't even know where she heard that. Anyway, this morning I was making her lunch before she got out of bed. I look up and she is walking out of her room all squinty eyed trying to button the last button on her dress. She just said, "I changed my mind. I really like this dress."

When we got to the school, we had to park kind of far away - so we had a ways to walk. Kaitlyn NEVER wants to hold my hand. But she reached up to hold it the entire way to her classroom door.

Just watching her sweet eyes look around her classroom and take it all in. Who will she choose to sit next too? Who will she talk to first?

A sweet little girl came in a few minutes after us, wearing the exact same dress as Kaitlyn. She thought that was the greatest thing ever.

A few more pictures with her sweet teacher, Mrs. W and Kaitlyn was ready for us to go.

Dear God,

Thank you SO much for entrusting me with Kaitlyn. I pray that you give me peace as I now put my trust in someone else to take care of her and teach her during the day. Thank you for Kaitlyn's outgoing personality and sweet spirit that made leaving her today a little bit easier. Please keep her safe. Please guard her heart today, and everyday that she is at school, for kids can sometimes be cruel and hurt feelings. I pray that she will reach out and make friends and be the sweet girl that you created her to be. Thank you for all three of my precious girls....

See you at 3:00 baby girl!!!!

Summer days.....

Our summer was busiest at the beginning. Now, we have just been hanging out - enjoying the last few weeks before school starts. We have gone to the pool (more than a few times), gone on early morning walks, enjoyed Tuesdays night kids night at Chick Fil A, visited the Jump Around a few times, played games, watched Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus 3D concert about 37 times, ran through the sprinkler, washed the cars outside... just a whole lotta nothin' really! We did travel to Dallas this past weekend to see James's family. I took Kaitlyn to see Kit Kitterege (sp?). It was really cute, but I wasn't prepared to answer a lot of the questions she asked when the movie was over. It was all about the Depression... But we both enjoyed it! We also spent time in the pool, at a water park in Allen, playing fun games at Nana's, and walking around Stonebriar Mall.

We haven't had a camera for awhile (thank you Cora), but we were finally able to get one last week. So now, for your viewing enjoyment, our update in pictures....

I wasn't aware that I had a 13 year old, but I guess I was wrong...

Ms. Cora LOVES to talk on the phone. She just jabbers away. Anytime she sees me on the phone she says, "Hewwo? Hewwo? Hewwo?" Over, and over, and over again until I give in and hand her the phone.

Claire's new trick! She still doesn't last long sitting up, but we're getting there. She just loves to be on her tummy. Anytime she is on the floor, that's how she wants to be. She is VERY close to crawling. I'm not quite ready for that yet.

I just love her blue eyes. Mr. Mayo must be all worn out...

Sweet girl. Her hair is still looking a little red!

Just in case you were wondering what the longest tongue ever looks like..

This doesn't even look like Claire to me, but I thought it was the cutest smile!

I'm beginning to think they will look a lot alike when they get a little bit older..

Kaitlyn had to ride the carousel at the mall. The last picture I took of her on this was when she was about 2....

Kaitlyn found one of James's books from when he was little. It was actually called "Jamie's Quiet Book." Awww....

Cora and Nana (or Nannie as she calls her) stringing some blocks...




We had fun at Grandpa and Grandmere's pool! Kaitlyn loves for James to throw her up in the air so she can do flips!

Funny hair! I used to love doing my hair like this in the pool when I was little. Or every time I get in the pool actually...


Kaitlyn perfecting her dive...

Cora loves the water!

Cora also loves bath time. Pretty much anything with water makes her happy.

Baby Claire. Already 7 months old!!!
Peek-A-Boo!

Claire's new favorite thing. She especially loves it when her sisters either spin her around in it, or push it like a swing. Parent supervision ALWAYS required....

Cora's new favorite thing. She is still my girly girl. She loves pushing her babies around in the stroller. And she still always has to have some sort of a necklace on.

That's all for now! I'll write later about what each girl is into these days........

Wedding Weekend!

Well, my brother got hitched. We all headed to Dallas - right in the heart of downtown Dallas - for all of the festivities. Thursday night, I enjoyed hanging out with Brittany (my new SIL) and the rest of the bridesmaids. We had fun out on the town in Addison. Friday, we just hung around the hotel and let the girls swim for awhile. We didn't have too much planned until the rehearsal, so Kaitlyn and I headed up to Plano to visit my sweet friend Meredith who is spending her days (and nights) in the hospital until her sweet babies arrive. It was so fun to see her and visit for awhile. Friday night, we did the rehearsal thing. Neil and Brittany got married outside at the Avanti Fountain Place. It was SO pretty. The rehearsal dinner was at Eddie Deens - also downtown. It was VERY good food. It's one of George Bush's fav's actually. They just catered Jenna Bush's wedding - in case you were wondering. The wedding day was fairly relaxed also. The girls swam some more, and took some naps to gear up for the long night ahead. The wedding was beautiful. It wasn't too hot outside. Kaitlyn and Cora looked so sweet in their flower girl dresses. Cora ended up NOT wanting to walk down the aisle, but Kaitlyn did a good job. The reception was a blast and everyone hit the dance floor! Kaitlyn has got some moves that she DEFINITELY did NOT get from her mother.

I'm so happy for Neil and Brittany. I'm so excited that she is a part of our family now!

Me and my dad. He performed the ceremony and did an awesome job.

Sweet Claire. She was passed around to SO many people throughout the weekend. She's a trooper!
Gettin' their groove on...

The happy couple!

Mom and Dad, Neil, and our little fam...

It was fun to get all dressed up!

I just have to brag...

I have the greatest husband ever. He went above and beyond this year... and although I have no pictures - here is what I got to do on Monday - my 29th birthday.

8:45AM - I left the house for a hair appointment that he made for me. Yay!

10:15 - My friend Holly shows up at the hair salon. I just thought it was a coincidence that I saw here there. Nope! She shows up with a card from James saying to have fun shopping with Holly -but to be warned! At 11:45 my phone would ring and I just needed to do what they said and not ask questions (unless I needed directions).

10:15-11:45 - Had a blast shopping at Kohls and Target - two of my favorite places. I was SO EXCITED to find a pair of black satin shoes for the wedding this weekend on sale for $4.49!!!

11:45 - My phone rings and my great friend Ann calls to say that James has set up lunch plans with her and two other girlfriends that I usually have lunch with on Mondays. Fun! So, we go have lunch at one of our favorite's - Little Panda. There, I receive another card from James saying my next appointment is at 2:00.. then gives me an address. So, I had time to enjoy a leisurely lunch with 3 of my favorite girls.

2:00 - I show up at some lady named Shirley's house - no clue who she was or what I was doing there. Turns out James had set up an HOUR AND A HALF massage with her. This lady was very highly recommended to me a long time ago and I had told James about her. I guess he just filed that away in that smart brain of his. So, I enjoyed the best massage I have ever had, BY FAR. I seriously don't think it was safe for me to be driving after that.

3:30 - I was told to just go home and relax for awhile. James had taken the girls over to a friends house to play so that I could just enjoy a bath and a book for an hour or so. This was awesome!

5:00 - The girls came home and I felt so rejuvenated - I enjoyed playing with them for a little while before James said it was time to go to dinner!

6:30 - Arrive at my favorite place - Olive Garden. We were being led to what I thought was our table when I hear a very loud "Surprise!" There were about 20 of my friends already there! James had set this up - so he and the girls left to go to Gatti's and I enjoyed a night of fun and laughter with pretty much all of my favorite people.

8:30ish - I got to enjoy the remainder of the night at Lindsay's house watching the Bachelorette finale (Jesse, WHAT?).

It was one of my favorite birthday's ever - and one I won't ever forget. He put so much thought into it and planned it so far in advance!

Thanks, James for such a wonderful day!

BTW...my little brother is getting married this weekend!! YIKES!!!!!!

Birthday post!

We had fun celebrating Kaitlyn's birthday party at the "water park" in Eastland with a few families from church. She has been talking for a long time about having her party here. I hated asking friends to drive an hour (especially with gas being ridiculously high) - but we ended up having a great turn out and I think everyone had a fun time!

Enjoying some birthday pancakes when she woke up...

At swimming lessons her sweet teachers led the class in "Happy Birthday"... under water!

Kaitlyn,

It is so hard to put into words how special you are. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was rocking you to sleep to Nora Jones. All those old ladies are right...time does go way too fast. You bring such an enormous amount of joy into our lives, and to the lives of so many others. You are so smart and beautiful and funny and just a BLAST to be around. You make me smile on the hardest of days. The love you show to your sisters is a beautiful thing to watch. They already look up to you. It's so fun to see Cora try to do the things you do. Watching the two of you sing and have dance parties, enjoy tea parties in your room, play under the covers on your bed, chase each other around the house... you are such a great big sister. You love to be a little momma to sweet Claire. She laughs and smiles at you every time she sees you. You love to cuddle with her and hold her and keep her safe.

We pray for you every day. We pray that you will always be just you. We pray God's protection over you as you start Kindergarten in the fall. We pray that you stay healthy and grow strong both physically, and in your love for the Lord. We pray that He is always a part (the biggest part) of your life.

We are so humbled and proud to be your Momma and Daddy.

Happy Birthday sweet Kaitlyn

I can't believe you're five.

More to come on yesterday's celebrations!

Sea World!

We got back Sunday afternoon from a fun, family weekend trip to Sea World in San Antonio. We left baby Claire with my parents and just took Kaitlyn and Cora. We had a blast! This was our first time to go and the kids loved it. We were there during two very hot days, but the girls did great. I'll just let the pictures tell the story. By the way, I'm pretty sure this is the most pictures I've ever posted in a blog.

James and Kaitlyn checking in. They upgraded us to season passes! James was super excited. Next time we have $700 in gas money though, we'll let ya know.

Happy Birthday!

Cora loved the huge foam pit she had all to herself. She visited this spot on more than one occasion.

Ready to start a fun day!


The first show we went to was the water ski show. Kaitlyn really liked this girl the best. She was so excited to have her picture made with her at the end. She also made it very clear that she wanted NO boy skiers in the picture. Check, and check.

One of the first rides.


The Beluga whale show...




Feeding the dolphins. This was probably her favorite thing while we were there.

My favorite thing was watching their faces as they watched the shows.




Oops.. this one got out of order. More dolphins...

This was called the Atlantis. She couldn't wait to ride it, and ended it up riding it 4 times. She would ride anything that she was tall enough too. The girl still has no fear. She and James were riding it here... (at the very top about to go down)


Big Splash!

All Smiles...


Getting a hair wrap thing. They just took a few strands of hair and wrapped colorful yarn around it. She's very proud of it and can't wait to have it in Neil and Brittany's wedding. We made it VERY clear that would not be happening.


Shamu show! Confession: I totally cried my eyes out watching this. Anything put to music gets me every time. It really was cool, but again - the coolest thing is watching Kaitlyn's face see something like this for the first time.


Friday night we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. Nothing like eating fish after looking at them all day!

Kaitlyn tried crab for the first time and seemed to like it.


Cora wasn't too sure about the crab, but REALLY liked the margaritas.



They also had very different views of the Sea Lion show.





But, both enjoyed the water park!

Fun in the hotel room!

Cora loves her Shamu - or "moo" as she calls it.


Feeding the Sea Lions was also fun! Cora wasn't too sure of the loud noises they make though.

Saturday night we went to the Riverwalk for dinner. We were going to eat at The Rainforest Cafe, but there was a 3 hour wait. No thank you.

But, we did walk around to watch other people eat and we just took pictures!

3 of my favorites..


Kaitlyn getting a quick history lesson at the Alamo...

Happy Fathers Day James! Thank you continental breakfast for making breakfast in bed for James really easy!

The sleeping (or not so much sleeping) quarters for the girls. We did not get much rest while we were there. But Kaitlyn had a blast making her couch down into a bed each night!

Yes, Cora still drinks milk from a bottle. I'm still not ready to fight that battle.

Worn out from a fun weekend!



We sure were excited to see this precious face on Sunday! Thanks Mamaw and Pappy for taking such great care of her!