First Day of School

I am now the mother of a kindergartener, a first grader and a fourth grader. There was a time, just a few years ago, when I could not wait for this day to get here. Having all of my kids in school seemed so appealing back when I was in the throws of toddler mania......but oh- how I wish I could go back in time and hold and cuddle those babies. I remember taking Alli to church for the first time after she was born. Pete and I came home talking about all the random people who told us to, "enjoy this time because they grow up so fast". Back when my days consisted of nursing, changing diapers, chasing toddlers, cleaning up spills, toys, crayoned walls and the like, I never felt like it was flying by.......but here I am- a mother of three elementary children. All those random people who kept telling me that time flies after you have babies were right! It has flown by!

The first day of school was a success! All the girls did great at drop off (including myself!). I am excited about their teachers....and so are they.

My Baby Girl

My baby girl turned 5 in July!! Why does time go by so fast!?! Katie is our little comedian. She loves to make us laugh. We usually can not get through a dinner without cracking up at whatever silliness she is doing. She is also quite the athlete. Katie is like a little ball of muscle. She has been in gymnastics for a couple of years. This year we are trying soccer and we are so excited to see her play.

My Little Broadway Baby

Tori had her first big recital! She did a tap dance to the song Broadway Baby. It was so cute! And she did fantastic! She is a fabulous dancer!

I took a few pictures of her after her rehearsal.

She took dance with one of her best buds Jillian.

I loved getting her all ready for her recital! It brought me back to my dance team days. It was a lot of fun for the both of us!

Ready For Summer!

Only 3 and a half days left of school! Can't wait to have my girlies home and the freedom of later bed times and sleeping-in! Lazy days of summer hanging by our pool.....here we come!

Playing Catch Up - Katie

In December, Katie learned to do the monkey bars. This girl has no fear!

In March, Katie and I met a lot of her preschool friends at the zoo. I tried to take advantage of our time together before she is in school full time.....I honestly can not believe she will be in kindergarten next year!

In May, Katie had her preschool graduation......I didn't even cry as much as I thought I would! But I am sure that I am going to be a mess on her first day of kinder!

Katie spent her first day of summer catching caterpillars. She loves all kinds of insects, bugs and animals.

Playing Catch Up - Tori

In January, Tori had her very first sleepover with her favorite friend Jordan.

In February, for career day, Tori chose to dress up as a ballerina. It is a very fitting career for her. She is a fabulous dancer!

In April, Tori received The Principal's Award. This is a big deal! And we were so proud of her!

In May, one of Tori's pictures that she made in art class was chosen by her teacher to be in an art show that was held at a local business. Her art picture is the one on the bottom.

Playing Catch Up - Alli

Here are a few Alli updates-

In February, after only 7 months of braces, she got her braces off! Beautiful straight teeth now!

In March, she joined a volleyball team. The season was pretty short, but she improved a lot during her time on the team.

In April, she turned NINE YEARS OLD! And after five years of asking for a guinea pig, she got one! Meet Bubbles, AKA Piggie. I cried when she saw that we had got her a guinea pig. I was so happy to see her excitement. She has done a pretty good (read OK, not that great, have to remind her a lot, makes a huge mess when cleaning the cage) taking care of her.

Alli also took the TAKS test in April....that wonderful test for all public school students. She struggled with the math part and was tutored once a week for a few months before the test. She was so nervous when she took the test. But I bet she did great. We haven't received her scores yet. And, honestly, I don't care if she passed or not because I know she gave it her best effort. Her teacher sent me an email after the tests were complete to let me know that she had never seen a student work as hard as Alli did while she was taking her test. I am so proud of her for trying so hard! And that is all that matters to me!

Playing Catch Up!!

Wow- it has been quite some time since I have posted anything on this blog! So many excuses....but I wont get into that! Let's go straight to the pictures and updates!

Starting the first week of 2011, after NINE YEARS of being a SAHM, I became an employee of First Friends Preschool! It was a tough transition. I only worked two days a week, but sometimes it felt like five! This was Katie's last year of preschool so I was glad to be at her school.

Katie and I at school on Camo Camping Day

Next year, I will be teaching four year olds- 3 days a week. I am super excited about it....a little nervous, but mostly excited! I can hardly believe that I am at the stage in my life when all of my girls will be in full day school! They really do grow up too fast!

Tori is 6

Tori is 6 years old! 

We celebrated Tori's birthday with a party at home with some of her friends.  We decorated gingerbread houses and played a tasting game.

The girls had a lot of fun decorating their houses and guessing which flavor of candy cane they got. 

Tori asked for an iPod for her birthday.  She has had a lot of fun with that and all the other toys she got.....and then a week and a half later, more toys from Christmas!  Needless to say, she is over-loaded with things right now! 

And the best part about turning six in our house is - you can get your ears pierced!  For a long time, Tori was saying she was going to wait until she was seven to get her ears pierced.  Which was completely fine with me....six is just the earliest that I want them to do it.  But then just a few months before her birthday, she changed her mind.  So after school on December 14th, we went to go get her ears pierced!

Her eyes are a little teary....she cried when they did the first one, but was fine after the second one went in.

Hard to believe she is six years old!  She is a great kid!  So sweet and loving!  And she has been doing an awesome job taking care of her newly pierced ears.  She is so responsible!  (It must be a middle-child thing!)