{bluebonnets}

One of the best times of the year in Texas is the early spring when the bluebonnets bloom.  They are only here for a few weeks, and everyone goes on the hunt for the best patches.  With the girls' baptism coming up, I knew I wanted to take their pictures in them for their own invitation, and if I was REALLY lucky, get a photo of all of my kids.  We aren't going to live in Texas forever, and it seemed fitting to capture them in the beautiful flowers that will always remind us of our time here.

Fortunately, the kids all cooperated, and I was able to get one of the six of them, with all of them smiling!! It was a bluebonnet miracle.  I *may* have done a little bribing and threatening, but I won't admit to that under oath.  I spent just a few minutes with all of them, then moved on to the girls.  We were really pressed for time--the wind was blowing, the sky was dark and cloudy, and rain was threatening.  It was supposed to rain the next day, and the next weekend the flowers may not have been around. I took as many as I could, and hoped for the best, and thankfully, I got some that are perfect for their invitation--and for our house.  

 

 

Happy Spring!

{one}

Happy Birthday, Caroline! You are ONE!!!!

 I'm just trying not to cry...

Honestly, this year has probably been the fastest of my life. I cannot believe that a whole year has gone by, and that she's no longer a baby. She's walking, running, talking, and running the whole household.

We LOVE this girl so much.  She is most definitely the queen bee, and she has seven people that pretty much will do anything for her.  So much so that she won't hold her own sippy cup, the little turkey! There is always someone there, seeing if she's thirsty, and holding it for her.

She started talking around 10/11 months, and now she runs.  She knows when she's doing something she shouldn't, and she'll start running, but look backward to see if you're coming after her.  Her first word was "go", which basically tells me I'm in trouble. ☺  She is busy, busy, busy, and loves to traipse around the house seeing what everyone is doing.

What a good eater she is! So good, in fact, that one of her nicknames is Henrietta.  Ha! She eats a lot, and drinks a ton of milk, and it was super easy to wean her from a bottle right at 12 months. She'll eat pretty much everything except oatmeal, but especially loves pasta, strawberries, deli meat, string cheese, waffles, and after my girls' trip....candy.  Rick decided it would be fun to feed her M&M's while I was gone, and now she stands below the cabinet and points.  She's smart, I'll give her that!

She especially loves her siblings. When the doorbell rings in the afternoon, she knows it's the girls coming home from school, and she heads to the door as fast as she can. I LOVE seeing her big grin, and Kate or Emma scooping her up for a hug.  Jack is her protector, and can take care of her really well, and she mostly just has to watch out for Henry.  ☺ He loves her a little *too* much, and we're working on being soft and gentle.

Needless to say, she's totally and completely adored by everyone in this family. None of us can even comprehend what life would be like without her, and we are all so grateful that this little miracle baby was sent to our family!!

I was out of town on her actual birthday, so we celebrated the following weekend. We headed to one of our favorite parks for a BBQ, birthday cake, and played for hours.  It was a great day, and perfect way to celebrate Miss Caroline.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!!! xoxo

{alligator park}

The Saturday of spring break we finally had Rick home, and we knew we wanted to go somewhere fun with the kids.  Most of the things we were thinking about we decided not to do, because we had been warned about how busy it was due to the break--and the fact that all of Houston has the same spring break.  So...we all voted to go back to one of our favorite state parks--Alligator Park!  

The bar had been set pretty high last time, with alligators everywhere--just laying in the path, a mere three feet away from us.  We kind of expected that this time, but because the weather was so much cooler, we knew it wouldn't be the same.  We did luck out and see a few in the water, their menacing heads (and teeth) poking out just to give us a little excitement.  It really was just a good excuse to get outside, have a picnic, enjoy the beautiful weather, and let the kids run around wild for the day.  No one wanted to leave---the sign of a successful day!

 

I love Henry's stance in this picture.  He must have heard Miss Erica's music.  ☺

{soccer & volleyball}

This spring has been incredibly busy. Well, a Texas spring that it.  :)  Spring starts the beginning of January, and that brings spring sports! 

In our family, when you turn four, that means SOCCER!  The boys couldn't wait, and I started searching for a place for them to play.  It's weird here--we don't live in a city, and The Woodlands isn't a city, so there isn't a Parks and Recreation Department like I'm used to.  There are a couple of options for soccer that are closer to our home, but I didn't like any of them, for different reasons.  I ended up signing them up with the YMCA, even though it was going to be a little bit of a drive.  I wondered what it would be like, but now that we're in the middle of the season, I'm so glad!!  It was a good choice, and we will definitely do it again. It's also CRAZY to have a soccer season starting February, but you have to--you can't play later in the spring/summer, because it's too hot.

Four year old soccer is my favorite.  Seriously.  It's pure entertainment watching all these little kids run around in a "hive", scoring in the wrong goal, and being so thrilled when they make one.  I love it!  Jack and Henry are very different on the field--Jack is more nervous, but when he's in, he's totally into it. Henry is not nervous one little bit, and when he's paying attention, he's pretty good! We do have to talk to him about picking up his teammates and carrying them around. I think maybe football (the other kind) is going to be his thing.

 

 

 

Kate was finally old enough to play volleyball--also through the YMCA.  They have a league that starts in 2nd grade, and she couldn't wait to give it a try. The pink kneepads and pink zebra volleyball didn't hurt, either.  ☺  She is totally loving it, and wants to practice with me all the time.  I'm so glad that she's found something she loves, and I'm looking forward to her continuing to do so as she learns and improves as she plays. 

 

 

Whew.  So fun, but I'm so tired.  ☺