Happy Birthday Blaise!

I can't believe my oldest is 8 today. I can remember like it was yesterday cradling him in my arms at the hospital in MS. I was such a nervous Mom, so scared I was going to do something wrong or that his cries meant more than just a cry. He is so special to me; he has a tender heart and is full of life. With each passing year I realize that my babies are not babies anymore, but growing children. I still cherish every moment and realize that I am so very lucky to have 3 wonderful children and a husband that I adore.Blaise always takes time with his siblings; he is explaining to Addi that the pond has Coy swimming in it.
Can you tell he is just oozing with enthusiasm to have his picture taken.

Addi 3 year pictures

I finally got around to taking Addi's 3 year pictures. I have a few more locations and outfits to try out so I will post them soon. I have to do a better job of blogging my family events/happenings. I just downloaded pictures of my parents visit from Memorial Day. I will post those pictures next. I'm such a slacker at times ;).I love Addi's eyes, she has learned how to do great things with them. She can flutter them, she can roll them, she can wink, squint, smile, and spy with them.
She just had to have pictures with her new umbrella. Now when she gets new clothing or accessories, she thinks she has to have pictures with them.
This is John's favorite picture. She is such a Daddy's girl, really, it is beyond words.

Hair Affair

Loretta came by last weekend to do that magic that she does to my hair and Addi and Blaise took advantage of having a stylist in the house. Addi got curls and Blaise got a much needed cut. They are both like me; getting anything done to my hair relaxes me. Addi was in a trance and Blaise was almost asleep. Good to know that some of my genes were passed down!

Outside Fun

Since the weather has decided to warm up a bit here in the NW, we have had so much fun outside. This particular day we set up the kiddy pool and added a little finger paint.Blaise had a friend over and they decided to have a fingerpaint war.
Addi and Ethan wanted to join in the fun.

Sweet Little Addi!

Birthday Girl Turns 3

Oh My, I can't believe that Addi is 3. She missed being born on my birthday by 3 days, it was a tight race. Every year we take our children somewhere special to eat for their birthday. They always choose Rainforest Cafe, which is real treat for us all. Addi was so excited to watch all the animals, fish, and butterflies. John was explaining the statue of Atlantis to Blaise, he was full of questions.

I was just thankful to grab a picture of Ethan while he was remotely still.

Below was Addi's favorite animal to watch; she loved the way he beat his chest and made funny sounds.

My Special Cake

My birthday was last week and my dear husband was out of town playing golf in the vineyards in San Francisco. OK, well maybe his out of town trip was work related and he just happened to have a free morning the day of my special day in which he took that opportunity to play golf. Now I feel better; I've shared, you've listened and now I can move on. In all seriousness, sometimes the timing of events is not always favorable but we manage and move on. I wanted to do something special for my birthday so we went and the kiddos picked out this cake for me. Even though it was leaning and on the verge of toppling over, it was sweet that they thought the fairy cake was appropriate for Mom. So, the kiddos and I sat on the floor and gobbled up this cute and yummy cake as they sang Happy Birthday. What a sweet memory. Thanks for the precious cake/cupcake plate Alisha & Jen, I love it!

Soccer Time

Addi had her first soccer practice this past weekend. It went, umm, OK. There was a fair amount of players on her team and only a fraction of that amount in Soccer Balls. Needless to say, everytime she went to kick, grab, or run after a ball, she was not fast enough. That started the slight frown, and after the fourth or fifth failed attempt to grab a ball, the hands went on her hips. She was frustrated by then and all she wanted to do cling to me; which is very rare for Addi. I'm hoping for a slight adjustment to the whole process this coming weekend when she has her second practice.Oh and Stephanie, before you say anything, I know she is not wearing soccer shoes; she wanted to wear her chucks ;)

She will be bossing everyone on the court before long, just wait!

Lisa's Shower

I'm a bit behind on my personal blog, I need to make it a priority to update on a regular basis. With that being said, here are a few pictures of a recent shower we had for Lisa. By the way, Lisa is the one at the bottom of the stairs, isn't she cute pregnant! I love my playgroup, it is so nice to have such a great support group for being a Mommy. I had a friend from the South that wanted to know what exactly is a playgroup. We get together every Wednesday at alternating houses and let our kiddos play. As stay at home Moms, it is an outlet for us, and a time for our children to play and engage socially. We have been meeting for about 2 years and I have greatly benefited from the friendships and support.

I made cupcakes for the shower, here is one that survived the carrier crash. Way to go Adrienne :)

We had the shower at the Rock, hence the sign below. The had great pizza and the vegetarian calzone was very tasty. I love it when restaurants offer a variety of vegetarian dishes.

Family Pictures III

I am finished editing all of our family photos so here are the last two in the folder. I love the picture below of my crew; it was the end of a long morning for them. Typical Ethan was making sure he had me in sight, he's got it bad for Mom! I would not have it any other way.....OK, maybe I would like to run upstairs or to the mailbox without him crying due to my absence.

At the end of pictures, they found the sweetest dog that held their attention longer than I would have anticipated. Where was the dog when I was trying to get decent shots? Seeing this dog makes me miss having a dog; I love dogs. I love the way they love you no matter what, and they are always glad to see you. They love to cuddle and follow you around, but most of all they make you feel needed. I think we all need that feeling every once in a while. Maybe my husband will get the hint and start scouting out dogs for Christmas. He should have plenty of time if he starts now :)

family Pictures II

I have needed a profile picture for my website for some time now, so I gave John my camera while we were taking pictures of everyone and told him to take several shots. I think he did a great job, minus the gas pole that was growing out of the top of my head. Good thing I know how to use the clone tool in Photoshop. Thanks John

Here are some other pictures from Thursday, I just love Downtown Sumner.

Pictures

We tried to taking pictures of all three of our children yesterday, but Ethan was a handful. I am working on a picture of all three, so hopefully I can get that one posted this evening or tomorrow. Here is one of Addi and Blaise that seemed so sweet to me. Addi is always by Blaise's side, and adores him beyond words!

Growing Up

I'm looking at this picture and can't believe how Blaise is growing up so fast. I can remember like yesterday chasing him around in his diapers and getting up with him through the night; he never slept through the night until he was 2. He still keeps me up at night talking in his sleep, I wonder who he gets that from?

I was in the back yard playing around with my camera and he wanted to, "strike a pose." He is always having fun and making everyone smile, he is a sunshine!

Indoor Play Park

In attempt to deal with Mother Nature lately, we have found various activities to attend during the week. Of course we have been battling various illnesses, so these pictures are of my healthy Addi & Ethan 2 weeks ago. They open up this gym two days a week and let the children go wild. They fill the gym with slides, balls, wagons, cars/trucks, and all sorts of other items. It really is a haven for small children.

Not really sure what Addi was doing in the picture below, but Ethan was running around behind her.

Addi decides her way of sharing the black truck was to push Ethan around until he decided he'd had enough.

Every time we go to this gym, Addi finds some poor soul to boss around. She had this little guy following her around in his car for about 10 minutes. All I heard her say is, " Speed up, Come on now." Poor guy.

Here she was telling him how to use the controls on the steering wheel.

For some reason I could not get Ethan to sit straight in this car. He wanted to display the, "lean." My fellow Southerners can appreciate this.

Here was Addi showing Ethan how to mow the floor of the gym.

Another shot of Ethan still trying to figure out the horn.

Baby Shower

We had a surprise baby shower for my friend Molly last weekend. She was surprised, (I think), to find us all waiting for her inside the restaurant. The food was great, the company, even better, and Molly went home with a vehicle full of gifts...Yeah, Molly!

Earrings by Wendy

My good friend Wendy who lives in Memphis makes her own jewelry and just finished her website. She is super excited, as she should be! She paid our family a visit not long ago and I was able to view her earrings first hand! They are super cute and very reasonably priced. She made me several pair while she was here and I've worn them everywhere I go. The best part about the whole deal; she offers free shipping and handling. Seriously, check out her site here and see for yourself. While you are there, let her know that I sent ya!

For those of you that can't see the highlighted link, her website is:
www.jewelrybywendyonline.com

Our Youngest

I was sitting in the floor yesterday playing around with my camera while Ethan and Addi played together upstairs. It is so hard for me to take snapshots of Ethan lately; he is just so busy. I figured I would take pictures of him in action and actually was able to snap a few of him sitting down. He is growing so fast, but is still the one that likes to snuggle and be held. He is such the baby around the house.

Saturday Night..

We had a great time on Saturday night...what a great party just for girls. Below is a picture of my friends Catey & Erin. I first met Erin when we first moved to the Northwest. We were at a MOMS Club activity at the Bonney Lake library. We discovered that both of our husbands were about the same height; 6 foot 6 inches. We talked non-stop for an hour about how difficult it was to shop for clothes for our husbands, the inability to own certain types of vehicles, and the indentions in furniture (couches in particular) that our husbands leave due to their size. We still want steel framed couches to handle the size of our husbands!

I met Catey through Erin, close to 2 years ago. Erin had a birthday party for one of her children and Catey was in attendance. I was then invited to join them for, "Hair Day." I must have charmed Catey with my Southern accent! We get together every 6-8 weeks to have our hair transformed by an awesome stylist, Loretta. We have so much fun and it is good to get together and catch up on the latest in life. Catey makes an awesome Corn Chowder, the best buttercream icing I have ever tasted, and she has great hair...I want to be Catey..LOL! Speaking of hair, I think it is about that time again.

Flag Football, Preschool, & Cruisin'

The picture below is Blaise right before the rain/snow/sleet started falling. I thought maybe the flag football game would be cancelled, but I remembered the weather does not play an element in any event here in the Northwest. For instance, it was snowing so hard this morning, with inches of snow on the ground, and the buses were moving right along taking kiddos to school.

I realized yesterday that my Little ones are growing so fast. Blaise is old enough to play flag football, I had a conversation with Addi's preschool teacher, and Ethan is cruising around the house at Mach5 speed. Where does all the time go!