Makers, Bathers, Besties, Growers - Our Story

Makers...

Bathers (Rose's first time with a party watie. She loved it!) ....

Besties...

Growers (We have actual vegetables, people!)...

Totally Worth It - Our Story

Ron loves gear lists. He works tirelessly on them. I had to take a picture of one of them. They are one many adorable things about my dear husband. This is his gear list for the three day bike trip he took last week. Seeing how excited he gets about planning for these kinds of outings makes the days of single parenting while he is gone totally worth it!

Who is this party animal toddler where my sweet baby girl used to be?

Next week this delightful little costume will be worn by our very own resident "ballet-er" in her long awaited "Big Performance." Sadly, she now prefers the term ballerina. Why is everyone growing up so fast around here?

We finally put our wonderful Christmas present of a zoo membership to use last week and the girls loved it so much I can tell we are going to be making up for lost time all summer long! Sissy was especially taken with the animals. She was glowing with love for them! She wanted to name each one. Her smile in the second picture melts my heart!

The kick me, steal my covers, toss and turn, drool on my pillow, breathe loud, sometimes even fall off of the bed and generally keep me awake all night long, but a day is coming when these chubby little cherubs will be young women and will no longer beg to sleep in Mommy's bed when Daddy is out of town, so until that day comes may no snuggles be left on the table and may I say yes every chance I get!

The Thunder are breaking my heart but I will stay up until midnight every time they play and I will cheer for them until the bitter end.

Piggies!!

There are no words...

Someday my coffee table won't be draped in a Disney Princess Snuggie everyday to be made into a "beautiful bed" for the likes of Tiny Sister, Buzz's head, Mulan, and Glow Baby but I hope that day is far, far away.

Our Story - 4.29.11

It is not often that the most exciting event of my week happens less than an hour into Monday morning but that is just the way it went this week. At 12:53 AM this Monday I had the honor and privilege of seeing this angelic little boy enter the world. Meet my newest little nephew:

I was smitten at first sight. I am pretty sure everyone else in the room felt the same. I know one little picture of this adorable child is not enough so you can find more here and then come back and hear about the rest of my week. Or don't. I assure you nothing else remotely that amazing happened. Let's see what did happen? Well...

Sissy continued to love Cattie with all her fiery little heart. Often a little too vigorously for Cattie's liking.
A castle or two was built then destroyed.

The yard was played in.

I arranged my iPhone apps.

We got new tires.

Sissy happened. She always does.

Ron enjoyed the Royal Wedding.

Our sweet baby Rose had her first real illness. Just a little bout with croup but still so sad for a Mommy.

Sweet tea was brewed. The least I can do for the man who does so much for me.

And the sand box was filled.

The week started out with a new life, the most wondrous everyday miracle of them all, and was filled with all the little sweet nothings that make life what it is. A precious, precious gift

Our Story - 4.20.11

Afton and I got to go on a little big girl trip this weekend to attend a bridal shower for Ashley, my new sister-in-law. She has been so excited about going to "Ashley's party" since I told her about it several weeks ago. Even though we had to leave at 4:3o AM she was bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for an adventure!

By the second flight all the excitement had taken its toll our our little traveler and she pooped out. When I woke her up to get off the plane she said "Why are we standing up?" I told that we where getting off the plane. She said "But we didn't even fly yet." I wish I could sleep that well on planes.

I didn't get any pictures at the actual event. I am notorious for only having pictures of the car ride when we go on trips and none of the actual trip. I guess I am just too busy having fun. If I had gotten pictures there you would have seen a radiant bride-to-be, a four year old in party dress more than excited to be at a fancy grown up lady party, and a whole bunch of yummy food and fun friends and family that I am looking forward to really partying with at the wedding this summer.

On the drive back to Skiatook I was reminded of my love of the Oklahoma country side. So stunning. So comforting to my soul in a way that only home can be.

One glass of wine on the back porch and I knew I couldn't leave my home state less than 24 hours after I arrived. I called Ron and asked if he minded if I switched to a later flight. Of course he didn't. He's such a sweetheart.

While we were outside taking in the beauty of God's country Afton was inside coloring. She wrote her name on this paper which was something I didn't even know she could do. So proud. It was also exciting because I could let her play inside while we were outside. I was able to give her so much freedom on this trip because she didn't have her little sisters in tow. It was a lot of fun giving her a little autonomy. She relished it.

Switching to the later flight meant we got to stop by and say hello to Nana and Papa. Papa and Afton really hit it off this time.
Afton was also able to do a little shopping for the people back home. This is what she picked out for Daddy because "he really like Jesus". Still cracking me up.
She also got to have a little spa time with Yaya before the big flight back!

We were only gone for a day and a half but the little girls grew up on us while we were away. Look at Rose chilling in the back seat of the van, facing forward like she is too cool for school.

Our little princesses got to hang out with the their favorite princes this week.
Hopefully the princess-ness does not rub off too much, though I commend Jack for his thoughtful use of the Piperlime Accessory Wall.
Don't worry, he's still a man's man.
A little pre-lunch Veggie Tales? Don't mind if they do.
A girl's night in Mommy's room while Daddy's in Virginia? Don't mind if we do.

Our Story - 4.15.11

One of the two main reasons I keep this blog and allow myself to spend time on it is because I want my children to have something to look back on when they are grown and to remember these sweet days we had together. I want to be able to look back and remember too. So, this week I came up with an idea I am pretty excited about.

A little over a year ago Ron bought me a real fancy phone and since then it has been not only my phone but my go to camera. Any given day there are anywhere from 10 to 150 pictures on it. It is handy because my phone is usually with me and my actual camera usually is not. Anytime something precious or unbelievable happens I can quickly grab my phone and immortalize the moment. I have noticed that the pictures on my phone tend be a pretty good portrayal of exactly what is going on around here at a given moment. Those pictures tell our story quite well.

I have decided to take a little time and the end of every week or so and let the pictures on my phone do just that. Tell our story. The parts of story that I know I will forget unless I find a way to make sure I remember.

So here we go:

I have been pretty concerned about whether or not Rose is growing enough. She is such a scrawny little thing and anyone who knows our other girls knows we don't make scrawny babies. At her one year check up the doctor said she is doing fine. She is just 25 percentile weight and 75 percentile height. So no worries as long as she is eating and growing which she is. He said "You can always fatten em up later, but once the fat is there it is had to get rid of it." Don't I know it.

Speaking of Rose there's a new kid in town. Look who is too big for her britches standing up and snacking like her sisters!

She is still our little Baby Rose though too.

The Babingtons upgraded to the seven quart crock pot this week. We have five real eaters now!

My nine months pregnant sister in law graciously did a photo shoot of my girls last weekend. The pictures are glorious! I am going to cheat and post one here so you get the idea. This picture is obviously not from my phone but is just to prove the point. She is really quite talented.

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What is even more remarkable than how adorable Afton looks in those flowers is the lengths Judy Kay was willing to go to get shots like that from her three...shall we say... spirited models. Yes, at one point you see her pregnant belly (housing a full grown baby who could live outside the womb) practically resting on the sidewalk. And it wasn't all that cool outside that day, people. We often get strange looks when we say that we moved here for no good reason other than to be near Ron's sister and her family. Maybe if the people who think that is odd could see the pictures below the would begin to understand.

My mom stitched this picture when I was about 12 years old. She recently asked me if I wanted one of her old cross stitching pieces. Of course I did! I have such fond memories of watching my mom work through many such pictures. I finally got it hung in my bedroom and it warms my heart every time I see it.

Things have been moving at a pretty break neck pace for us since late February with no sign of stopping until the end of summer. I get overwhelmed easily. I am not an especially neat person but chaos really gets to me. Ron recently took all three girls to Afton's ballet class (no small feat) and then kept them out on errands for an additional two hours so I could catch up around here. I would thoroughly clean one room and then sit down and read a chapter of my book and repeat. It was so relaxing and rejuvenating. Not sure what this says about me but I enjoyed it about as much as I would have enjoyed a day at the spa. And I missed my girls. There is something good for your soul about having the opportunity to miss your children. By end of the evening I remember thinking someday (someday too soon) my house will be this clean all the time and then, oh, I will long for the days with my sweet baby girls.

My sweet baby girls (well, the two biggest ones) played an actual board game by themselves for the first time this week. They had a lot of fun and actually followed the rules of them game instead of just messing with the pieces. May seem like a small thing to you but it's quite huge really.

Oh and this little big girl had her first raisins this week. She was fan!