The Girls Singing

Natalie and Heidi singing their ABCs. 

The girls singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

This morning was so nice! I went into Natalie's room this morning to turn off her alarm but it hadn't woken her up. She opened her eyes when I walked in and then rolled over and went back to sleep. Not normal for Natalie!! Anyway, I just curled up behind her and we cuddled for about 10 min before she actually woke up. There is nothing better than that!

Then I was all ready to go to the Y but  changed plas so my parents could bring over Dane's old couch. We are useing it in the playroom so I'll have a place to sit while the girls are playing. As soon as everyone left we took all the cushions off the couch and my girls had a blast jumping on all the pillows. :) They were so happy! They built castles, jumped on them and off of them and then just rested. I got some really funny pictures of them. You got to love the cookie monster socks!

Weekend with Hollyann

What a crazy weekend!! I am still in recovery mode but I wouldn't trade it for anything! So my best friend since I was 11 came out to visit for the weekend. She flew out late Thursday night and then went home early Monday morning. We hung out, went shopping, ate dinner with my family and stayed up talking way too late! It was great! On Saturday we drove 4 1/2 hours to Wilmington, NC to go to her friends wedding. My mom let us take her convertible bug and we had a blast driving, we got to take our time and get ready without any kids around and then spent the evening at a beautiful wedding. 

 

Getting ready to go to the wedding

This is the view from our hotel room

 

Hollyann caught the bouquet and wasn't very happy about it       Drinking champagne...yummmm

It was such a fun weekend! Not long enough by any means but we crammed fun into every second! It was the first time I had ever left the girls over night. We both got to get away and just have fun together. It was definitely something that I needed! It also made me realize how much I love my life. There is no way that I could handle crazy weekends like that all the time. I love my early bedtimes, crazy kids and trips to Home Depot with my husband. That is the everyday life that I live and love. But I sure wouldn't mind having these fun girl weekends every now and then! :)

 

Best Friends

 

Long lost daughter...you'd think she was part of the family!

  

My beautiful friend

We didn't take any pictures of us together at the wedding so when we got back we had a mini photo fest.

My little girl is soo big! We have been doing a star chart for Natalie these last few weeks. She get's a star for staying in her bed in the morning and for taking naps all by herself. When she got 5 stars we took her out for ice cream. It works most of the time. 

 For Natalie's birthday my mom gave her a backpack with her name on it filled with pjs and a stuffed puppy. When she got 15 stars..this afternoon...she got to use her new stuff and spend the night with Mammy. She was so excited!!

I had to put up these pictures too. There is nothing better than left over birthday cake! My girls were so happy to have cake last night after dinner. You would have thought it was her actual birthday again!!

Happy Birthday Natalie!

 

Natalie's birthday turned out so perfect! It was a really great day! In the morning when she woke up we told her it was her birthday and she got so excited. Shane took them out so I could get everything ready. They went shopping first, then to my parents to go swimming and finally to McDonalds to play. We were hoping to wear them out so they would take a good nap. Didn't work. :) Shane had to lay with Nat to get her to sleep but at least she slept! When she woke up we put her in her princess dress that my Dad bought for her when I was still pregnant with her. I tried to get a few pictures of the girls before everyone came over. 

Everyone came over and I had the kids decorate paper crowns. The kids had fun doing that and playing outside on the swingset. We had a really yummy dinner. Natalie wanted hot dogs so Shane grilled those and I made a potato casserole to go with it. Plus Nan's famous salad and some fresh fruit. 

Natalie was very excited to blow out the candles on her cake. It took her a couple of tries but finally got them all. I think her favorite part was when we all clapped for her!

 

 

It was so great having everyone over for Natalie's birthday. She calls everyone her friends. She was so happy to have her friends come over. And then she'll name everyone. Very cute! Here are some random pictures from her party. Natalie and my Dad, Jacob wearing the crown he made, Natalie put her crown on Humphry and Natalie with a game from Aunt Colie.

 

If you want to see all the pictures from Natalie's birthday you can watch the slideshow here.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Mother's Day

It was such a great Mother's Day! In the morning we went to Shane's mom's house. We hung out with his parents, Sabrina and her boys. Shane made us pancakes for breakfast. I had to share mine with Heidi. :) The kids played and we all got to chat and hang out. It was really nice. Then we came home, put the girls down for a nap and Shane got some studying in. He has a really big test today and tomorrow that he has been keeping him very busy! 

When the girls woke up we headed to my parents house. I forgot my camera both times...I hate that!! Honestly I didn't even think to bring it but when the girls were swimming I really wanted to get pictures of them so I borrowed Dana's. That is why I have all these great pictures from my parent's house and none from Shane's parent's house. Anyway...we had a lot of fun at my parents. The pool was way too cold for me but I'd rather take pictures anyway. The girls really love the pool. Natalie more so at the moment but I think that is just because it is still pretty cold. Natalie has this really cool bathing suit that she can swim in without help from anyone else. My friend Hollyann gave it to me but I can't find them anywhere to get more. The one I bought for Heidi at Target just didn't cut it. 

  

We bought my mom a pair of shoes for Mother's Day. She bought Natalie those green sandals with the big flowers on them and I actually found the same shoes for adults. Too funny! Natalie was so excited to have the same shoes as Mammy!

  

The food was so amazing! My parents always go all out with food. It might be because the only shows they watch on tv are on the Food Network! :) We had meatballs with cheese, guacamole and pico de gallo in a chip that was grilled for an appetizer. How crazy is that? Dad made fru fru drinks...translation...fruity drinks that should have a mini umbrella in them. We had chimichangas and taquitos for dinner. Seriously...the...best...food...ever!! Overall a wonderful day. Shane said I get my mother's day next sunday. :)

 

This morning we were getting ready to walk out the door for Bible Study and Natalie was supposed to be putting on her shoes so we could go. She comes back looking like this! She has a penguin visor on, penguin slippers and she is singing into her microphone.  Not any particular song...just singin' at the top of her lungs. 

I can't believe how big she is getting. She seems to be growing like a weed. Every time I look at her she has gotten taller or she has added new sentences to her vocabulary. I can't believe she will be three next week!