My Birthday

Well, on to the next birthday girl! I turned 32 today. Sometimes it just hits me that I'm 32 and I'm responsible for 3 human beings, I have a house and 2 cars, and lots of adult stuff. When did this all happen??? It's crazy how life just sneaks up on you. And honestly, I wouldn't change thing so far. I've had a very blessed 32 years. And hope and pray that the next 32 will be just as fabulous.

My favorite birthday gift this year was Andy's client filing and him getting home around 3:30 on my birthday. Wahoo! Another fabulous gift was Ian consistently sleeping through the night. In the past week he's slept through the night 5 times. I'll take it! 

Today was a pretty low-key day. Audrey went to Joy School, I ran errands with Ian, and then we all got to take naps. We went out to Mexican food for dinner - yum, yum! And then came home for dessert. But it was really just to be able to blow out candles and let the girls eat their frosting off of their cupcake. We were pretty full from dinner. I was spoiled by my family with a few tangible gifts - new summer pajamas, exercise shoes, and a hairbrush. I was also spoiled by others who sent gifts, cards, and money. I definitely felt loved!

Rachel's Birthday

Rachel turned 6 today! And she was so excited for her birthday this year. I've decided it's fun having my birthday the day after hers because then I'm able to relive some of the childish excitement that is long gone. :) Rachel was very specific on what she wanted for her birthday this year - she wanted a locket that opened and a microphone. And of course the lucky girl got both... Here are some pictures of her day:

Rachel was up bright and early today. I was in feeding Ian around 5:15 AM. And I have a habit of checking on the girls while I'm up. So I peeked in on them and Rachel was laying in bed with her eyes wide open. I gave her a kiss and told her to go back to sleep. I don't think that happened... Audrey and her bounded into our room around 6:30... So, we started the day.

Rachel's first present was from Audrey and it was a big box of Lucky Charms (a cereal we don't normally buy):

Audrey, Ian, and I also had lunch with Rachel at school. (I forgot the camera in the car.) Rachel requested a grilled cheese sandwich from Sonic, so that's what she got. I did take a picture of her after school in her crown and with her stickers. She was so excited to know that her birthday would be announced on the announcements and she would get to go down to the front office for her sticker.

For Rachel's birthday dinner we went to Olive Garden for macaroni and cheese. It's her favorite! :) We met Andy there. Rachel was so anxious to open her presents that I let her bring her present from us to Olive Garden. She was very excited to open it and get her locket that could open.

We then went home to open presents and enjoy cupcakes and ice cream. Natalie, Chase, and Landon were able to come over and help celebrate. Here's a few pictures of Rachel opening her presents:

Definitely excited about the microphone:

Butterflies - Rachel's favorite:

I love this picture of Chase willing to get in with the girls and start styling some hair:

Making a a birthday wish:

I think Rachel enjoyed her 6th birthday. We are so blessed to have this girl in our family. She brings so much joy to us. She's such a pleaser - sometimes it worries me. I don't want her to feel too much pressure or feel like she has to please everyone - that's impossible. She loves her younger siblings and protects them. Rachel accidentally startled Ian about a month ago and she was in tears as soon as he was. She felt horrible. She has very tender heart. Rachel loves to play with Audrey, which I'm so grateful for. It's going to be sad day when she grows up and doesn't want to play so much make believe with Audrey.

Rachel loves anything girly. She loves painting her toenails and then she lets me paint her fingernails. She is already asking to go with me sometime to get a pedicure... :) She loves playing dress-up and putting make-up on. And even though she can acts like such a big girl; she still loves to snuggle, get sung to at night, and freely gives kisses. She loves playing board games and playing on the computer as well. Rachel absolutely adores her daddy. She talks his ear off when he walks her to school.

Rachel loves school. She's liked by so many and has so many friends. She loves her teacher and loves learning. She's really gotten so she enjoys math (which makes me happy since that was always my favorite subject). It's been fun to watch her progress as a reader this past year. She had several birthday cards to open this year and she was able to read most everything without any help.  

Thank you to all those who spoiled Rachel with gifts, phone calls, emails, and cards. She definitely felt loved on her special day.

First Swim

Today we enjoyed our first venture to the swimming pool. Unfortunately Andy had to work, so he wasn't able to join us. I was a bit nervous about taking the 3 kids to the pool by myself, but I have to get used to doing so if we are going to survive the summer. So, after Ian's morning nap, we headed to our favorite pool. A new pool in our community had it's grand opening today and we decided to avoid it since it would probably be busy. Hopefully one Saturday when Daddy doesn't have to work we'll try out the new pool.

Anyhow, here's Ian in his baby float, which he enjoyed for about 30 minutes. After that he wanted to be held and then he fell asleep. Luckily it was cool enough that I didn't feel too bad having him take a nap in the stroller while the girls continued to have fun in the pool.

The slides weren't working, but since it had been so long since we had been to the pool, the girls were happy to just play. We also ran into some friends, which is always a plus. Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying the water:

We are looking forward to spending more time this summer at the pool. We usually go at least 3 times a week. We'll see how it works out with having a baby. I've never had to juggle a baby at the pool before, but we'll figure it out...

Ear Tubes

Rachel had some minor surgery done today and everything went well. The past couple of months Rachel started asking "what?" quite frequently and oftentimes wouldn't even respond when being called or talked to. She wasn't being difficult; she just couldn't hear. In the middle of April I took her into the doctor to see what was going on. Her pediatrician noticed some fluid in her ears, but wasn't all that concerned. They went ahead and did a hearing test, which Rachel failed. So, we then proceeded to the ENT doctor. They did very thorough tests on her and luckily it was discovered that she had temporary hearing loss, nothing permanent. So, we tried some meds for about 2 weeks, which didn't solve anything. She was still failing her hearing tests and her ears were still full of fluids. So, we decided the best route would be having the fluid drained and ear tubes put in. Kind of unexpected, since to our knowledge, Rachel has never had an ear infection. The fluid build-up was most likely due to a rough couple months of colds and horrible allergies.

So, Andy and Rachel were off to the surgical hospital this morning. It was strange not being the one taking her, but Ian's schedule is unpredictable. By all the reports I received, she did great. The doctor said there was a lot of fluid to drain, so it's no wonder she couldn't hear. I guess for Rachel though, it's something that has happened gradually so she hasn't necessarily noticed the change. The doctor did say she will be sensitive to sound for a few days since she hasn't been able to hear.  And other than needing a good nap today, she should recover just fine.

Anyhow, here are a few pictures of our brave girl before her surgery:

 And then recovering with a popsicle:

We are definitely grateful that this is something we could fix and are grateful for modern medicine. She heads back to the doctor in 2 weeks and I have a feeling she is going to ace her hearing tests! :)

Crazy Girls

So this past Sunday the girls were happily playing together. I love it when they do that! And they asked if they could put some make-up on. I said sure, got the make-up out that I let them play with, and let them be. Well, a few minutes later I was actually quite surprised at their make-up. They usually stick with the pinks, but this time they did mostly black. I hope they weren't trying to look like me... I wonder if this has anything to do with us not going to the Children's Museum for quite awhile. They usually would do face painting there and this looks more like face painting. Andy and I have decided that they could pass for Beetlejuice's children.... :)

New Favorite

Ian loves playing with his feet! Pretty much any time he's playing on the floor, you will find him playing with his feet. And the picture is blurry, because he never holds still. I think it's pretty funny when I go to pick him up and he still holds on to his feet for a few more seconds until he decides it's not very comfortable being held and holding his feet at the same time.... We sure are enjoying watching this little guy discover his world. :)

We finally did it...

Audrey has been asking for awhile to get her haircut, so since we got a coupon in the mail the other day we decided to go... There are a few curls left at the bottom. We'll see if the rest curls up or if we are slowly saying good-bye to the curls. She was so excited to get her haircut though. Her favorite part was the glitter spray at the end, which you can't see in the picture...

Easter Sunday

The girls were very excited about Easter. When I peeked out at 6:45 am, their light was already on, so they had probably been awake for at least 15 minutes. Crazy girls! And Ian wasn't too far behind on waking up - I guess he didn't want to miss out on any of the festivities. Due to the children waking up early, we decided to take care of the Easter bunny stuff before church.

Ian in his Easter PJs:

Surprises from the Easter bunny:Checking everything out:

Rachel was very excited about her fruit by the foot (something I don't normally buy):

Ian modeling his swimwear for this summer:The girls modeled their swimwear while they hunted for Easter eggs. Only in Texas will you find two cute girls in their backyard looking for eggs in their swimsuits and boots!

Ian enjoyed observing the Easter egg hunt. It's crazy to think that most likely next year he'll be running around looking for eggs with his sisters...After church we took some pictures of everyone in their Easter best. We took pictures in shifts due to Ian deciding to take a 3-hour nap in his car seat. By the time Ian was up and ready to pose for pictures everyone else had changed into comfy clothes. So, here we all are:

Easter Fun

Our Easter fun started the week before Easter at our annual church egg hunt. We invited Chase to join us. All three kids found lots of eggs and enjoyed themselves.

The Thursday before Easter I hosted Joy School at my house. One of the moms donated confetti eggs for the kids to enjoy. So, we went out back and they had a blast. It was Audrey's first time doing confetti eggs and she loved it...
The Saturday before Easter we headed over to the Mackay's to dye Easter eggs. The kids had fun as they decided what colors to do and what designs to draw or have drawn on their eggs. And then after the eggs were somewhat dry, they decorated them with stickers. The girls were definitely excited to take their eggs home and let the Easter bunny hide them...

Showing off their colorful eggs:

3 months

Ian is 3 months old today! He is doing so well. He's been busy the past couple of weeks. He's discovered his feet, is trying to figure out if he wants to suck his thumb, and has figured out how to roll from his back to his tummy. Ian is such a smiley baby and it's so much fun to have him awake more. Today I almost got him laughing - he's so close... The girls are so anxious to have him master laughing! :)

Playing on his play mat while keeping an eye on one of his sisters - he wasn't willing to look at the camera:

One morning he fell asleep in his bouncy chair while Audrey was singing to him. When this boy wants to sleep, he'll sleep wherever - the bouncy chair, car seat, crib, swing, baby carrier, etc... It's nice he's so flexible.

Trying to figure out his thumb... This is the reason he's figured out how to roll as well. He'll work at his fist or his thumb and then eventually he just rolls over.

One of my most favorite things about Ian is that he wakes up happy!!! I just have to walk into the room and he looks at me and gives me the biggest smile. I love it! Here's Ian right after waking up from one of his naps today:

We love our little boy and the excitement and joy he brings to our home.