A birthday, a trip to the farm, and a revival

Our weekend could not have been packed with three more diverse activities!

First was Elizabeth's birthday party. These two have been friends since they were born. I love that they are growing up together. Elizabeth's party was packed with all the things little girls love - princess costumes, tiaras, jewelry, glittery cookies, manicures, pink punch, and giggles.

Elizabeth was feeling particularly silly!

Saturday afternoon we headed out to the Halford's farm for a fall festival. I think everyone's favorite activity was riding the horses, even though for Caroline cooking her own hotdog over a campfire was probably a close second.

Caroline was in heaven! She listened intently to everything Dr. Halford said and did a great job! She was so proud of herself!

Helen loved it, too. She said, "I was so brave riding the horse!"

Dr. Halford is so great with all the kids.

Then Sunday afternoon, I joined my fellow church choir members at the Victorian Village Tent Revival. We sang a few pieces and then walked over to The James Lee House for a special reception and tour. My sweet friend and organ mentor Jennifer and her husband are in the middle of planning a huge renovation to the house. Hopefully, the B&B will be up and running by late next summer! It's going to be so beautiful and I can't wait to see it!

The original part of the house (now the back) was built in 1848. This front facade was added in 1878.

The girls are standing in front of one of the two magnificent marble fireplaces in the parlor.

It was a busy and fun weekend! Now I need a nap...

Tooth fairy and random candids

Caroline finally lost her first tooth a few weeks ago! It's been loose for a long time and after some encouragement from our dentist, the wiggling began in earnest. It came out and the tooth fairy left $1 that night. She lost another one about a week later. (Is anyone else really weirded-out by wiggly, loose teeth? Yikes. Can't believe we have 18 more of these to go...)

And here are just some various cute pictures of the kids.

Halloween

I have to admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. But watching the kids enjoy it makes it worth it.

I got to make some special jack-o-lantern cookies for Helen's class party. These are special cookies. My mom's babysitter used to make them for her and her siblings when she was a little girl. My mom in turn used to make them for us when we were little. Now I get to make them for my little ones.

We went to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins. Everyone was still for about 3 seconds.

The girls decided they wanted to be fairies - Caroline was a snow fairy and Helen was a Tinkerbell-ballerina-princess. I didn't really have anything planned for Peter, but remembered that I still had the duck costume both girls wore. The girls were not very happy in it, but Peter loved it. He started giggling and grinning the second we put it on him. He was happy, happy all night long. So cute.

Happy Halloween!

Fall break

The girls had fall break over this past weekend. We didn't go out of town, but stayed in and enjoyed some Memphis activities.

Peter had school on Thursday, so I took the girls to do something we wouldn't attempt with him in tow: painting pottery. They had so much fun. Caroline painted a cross treasure box and Helen picked a piggy bank. Helen was very worried about leaving Piggy behind to go in the fire, but I'm happy to report we picked him up and he was just fine. I treated them to lunch at Cheffie's afterward.

Friday, we got up and headed to the Licterman Nature Center. We had such a good time exploring and strolling around the lake there. It was a beautiful morning. Caroline participated in a 1st and 2nd grader group project at school several weeks ago. They designed and built a scarecrow. She was so proud to see their hard work on display.

 

Monday was the last day of fall break. I was grateful for an email from my friend Brittany inviting us to join her and her boys and some other friends at the zoo. My usual Monday morning activities are the grocery store and laundry. I'm so glad I neglected those tasks for a fun time with friends at the zoo!

It was a good fall break. I'm already looking forward to the next day off of school so we can have another Memphis adventure!

Summer outfits

I needed some fun sewing after spending so much time on the flower girl dress. I picked out a blue floral print that coordinated with a blue linen gingham. For Peter's, I used Creations by Michie's romper pattern, made in the linen. And the girls got Michie's suntop with shorts. I used the white yoke to display some embroidery. After using so many bullion flowers on the white dress, I decided to go ahead and use more bullions. I think it's safe to say that I am proficient at the bullion stitch. The girls got bullion violets and Peter got a bullion dragonfly. Peter's outfit is big for him, which makes me hopeful that it might still fit next spring and summer.

June 2012

I've let so much time elapse between posts that I honestly don't know if I need to go backward or move forward? I think this quote from an excellent recent read is somewhat applicable:

"Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." -Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Thanks, Laura! I've already started your next recommendation! :-)

Looking back at the month of June...

A certain little boy keeps growing.

Caroline had a Senior K class program and graduation, shared moments with sweet friends, and had an awesome 2 weeks of swimming lessons.

The girls had a blast at gymnastics camp (especially Helen).

That's a lot of fun to pack in to one month. And it doesn't even include our week at the beach. It's hard to believe summer is half over. I'm certainly going to do my best to ensure we enjoy every last, hot minute of it!

Treats

Daddy worked a week of nights recently. After his last night, he brought doughnuts home for breakfast. The girls were thrilled! (Alright - Mommy was excited, too.)

I don't winter well and the spring-like weather we had at the beginning of February was very welcome. This is how Daddy helps Mommy with dinner preparations when the weather is nice. Hurry up, spring!

Valentine's recap

We didn't really do anything extraordinary for Valentine's Day, but it was still special in a simple way.

Kevin was off of work, so he got to go to Caroline's class party. They had a great time.

Helen got still for 2 minutes and awkwardly fell asleep.

Dinner was my personal interpretation of surf and turf. I took my friend Laura's advice and made this awesome shrimp chowder recipe. It is ridiculously simple. I kept thinking, "This is too easy. Is this all I have to do?" And it was so delicious. Thanks, Laura!

The girls loved every bite.

And no day is complete without getting a few of these from my smallest valentine.

 

Hope your Valentine's Day was just as sweet!

Biggest sister

Caroline loves her little brother so much. I'm sure he loves her back. He just watches her, waiting for her to interact with him. She is so gentle with him - a little mama. I told Kevin recently that I'm really thankful she'll have such sweet memories of her little brother as a baby.

(I have no idea why Caroline has a "100" stamp on her forehead. It's a good picture nonetheless.)

Nothing much

There isn't anything too special or exciting to report about around here. 

Silly girl. Helen still sometimes needs an afternoon nap. I guess I thought she didn't need one this afternoon. I was wrong.

Smart girl. We picked up a 300-piece puzzle at the toy store over the weekend. I thought it would surely keep her busy for a few days. Kevin and I did help her a bit, but she had this thing put together in a few hours. She loves puzzles.

Sweet boy. I feel like Peter is finally setting in. His sleep patterns are getting more predictable and the rough nights are getting fewer. He's growing and changing every day. He's a mama's boy.