Happy Birthday Natalie

I  can't believe Natalie is five! It's so crazy! We had a Giraffe Pool Party. I know...crazy combination but it worked! It had been really warm and the pool was really warm and then the whole week before her birthday it was really cold. The water got cold so none of the adults went swimming but the kids didn't care. They swam and played. It was really fun. 

 I found too many cute things on Pinterest! I saw a cake with a giraffe on it and figured I could do something close. :)

 These are Natalie's favorite...sugar cookies with lemon frosting

 These were found on Pinterest too....you can click the link if you want the recipe for Trix Krispies

 Gracie and I made Natalie a birthday sign.

 Instead of goodie bags for all the kids I bought beach balls and wrote their names on it so they could take it home when they were done playing. A brilliant idea from my mom!

 We had the whole party in my parents' screened in porch...perfect!

 She is getting so big!

 She can even jump in the deep end! 

 I love this picture...Heidi giving Daddy some love :)

 We had hot dogs with your choice of chili, hot cheese, sauteed onions mushrooms and jalapenos or all three. We had watermelon, pasta salad and chips too. 

 Then we did presents! Natalie's favorite part. :)

 DeDe got her "rock star" hair clips...this is her rock on look. :)

 Waiting with her eyes closed and hands out for her gift from Uncle Bubba

 A Hula Loop!! As Natalie calls it. :) 

 Singing for the birthday girl

 Blowing out her candles

 A three layered, tropical colored checkerboard cake

 Enjoying their cake 

 Trying out her hula hoop 

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! I love you so much...I can't believe you are five and growing so fast. You are such an awesome little girl and I am so proud of you!

Surprise! Not so much...

So this year we were going to surprise Natalie with a trampoline for her birthday. I got Luke and Matthew to come over after school to help Shane put it together. I closed all the blinds in the house so she couldn't see the backyard. (She didn't even notice that by the way) I took the girls to my parents to swim so they wouldn't notice the boys in the back yard. I played a game with them in the car where they kept their eyes closed on the car ride back home so they wouldn't see the huge net in the back yard. We ate dinner and got ready for bed...still didn't have a clue. I put her to bed and told her to not get out of bed. Sternly! I go to Heidi's room to check on her and Natalie comes running down the hall..."Mommy!! There is a trampoline in the backyard!!" She heard Shane mowing and thought it was our neighbor...she likes to wave to the neighbor when he mows their yard. Anyway...I said that she wasn't supposed to get out of bed, she said but there is a trampoline in the backyard, I said but you were supposed to obey Mommy and not get out bed and she said but there is a trampoline in the backyard. :) Then I told her that it was a surprise for her birthday tomorrow from Mommy and Daddy. Then she started crying hysterically. She was so upset that she had ruined the surprise and found out about her present before her birthday! It was so sad! So then I just brought her downstairs and said happy birthday Natalie! We let the girls play and jump and then we all jumped too. This is gonna be a really great birthday gift!

 Natalie loved jumping. She had so much fun...I'm sure you could hear their laughter all the way down the block!

 Love Heidi's hair on the top picture and her face on the bottom!

Preschool Graduation

Today surprised me in a lot of ways. There has been so much going on lately that I really haven't been thinking much about Natalie graduating from preschool. And...it's just preschool. It made me laugh that they were making such a big deal out of a 4 year old graduating from preschool. We had to buy cap and gowns and bring food for a special lunch. It was just crazy! But I have to admit that I have kind of been emotional all day! It's not that I'm sad that preschool is over. I'm actually a little happy about that. No more trips back and forth to school, no more having to be there by 1 everyday and getting Heidi fast food because there is no time to go home before picking up Natalie, no more schedule to keep and hopefully no more filling up my gas tank all the stinkin time! I guess I just realized today how lucky I am that we found such an amazing preschool, that these people really love my little girl and that my little girl is pretty darn awesome! More about all that in a bit...now for the actual graduation...

So the graduation started at 11 and I thought I'd get there 15 minutes early because I wanted a good seat. I really figured that would give me PLENTY of time for her little school. I pulled into the parking lot and the place was packed! I couldn't believe it!! The whole middle of the church was full so we sat in the front row on the very left, hoping that we'd be able to see Natalie a little bit. 

  First they brought in all the 3 year olds and 2 year olds and then the little 18 month olds I guess. 

 Then they actually played the graduation march music and the 4 year olds came walking down the center aisle in their cap and gown. 

 It turned out perfectly because she stood right in front of us...yay! Natalie went to stand where she was supposed to and she was so excited when she saw us! 

 The three year olds sang their two songs which were really cute! Yes...I have the entire ceremony on video. :)

 When they were finished they got to go sit with their parents so Nokie went searching for Dane

 Such a great picture!

 Then the 4 year olds sang their two songs. One of the songs was about growing up and how they used to be so small but now everyone keeps telling them how big they've gotten and where has the time gone...totally pulled at the heart strings! 

 They put a picture of each kid on the projector screen as they called them up for their "diploma."

Me and my baby girl

 Heidi and Winnie...best of friends :)

Natalie with one of her teachers, Mrs. TK

So after the adorable ceremony we all got to eat lunch together and then we came home. They sent home a HUGE packet of stuff for the kids. These teachers are really amazing. They put together all the projects that they had worked on all year, gifts from the teachers, books, pictures. They put together this book where they had the kids answer questions about themselves all year long. So cool! They even did a slideshow of pictures from the whole year that was about 30 minutes long. Everything was just so thoughtful and special. Needless to say I've been doing a lot of huggin and squeezin on my girls. They are growing up too fast. I want to treasure the moments where I can pull them up on my lap...Natalie's legs are almost getting too long for that! I just feel like this is going to be a really great summer and I need to remind myself that I need to make the most of every single second!

Last Game of the Year

The girls had their last game of the year yesterday. I really am so proud of them. Natalie was an all star this year. This was her last season with the 3-4 year olds so she had more a little more experience than the other kids on the team. She is not at all aggressive though so she wouldn't take the ball from anyone. But once she got it she would bring it down the field! She is really focused and all in when she is on the field. She hated having to sit on the sidelines! It will be really fun to see her next year  when she plays with the bigger kids. 

Heidi came a long way this season! There were a lot of moments where she would be playing in the dirt, staring at the clouds or spinning in circles. Sometimes...all at once! :) But the last two games she actually got in there and tried to play. She actually got a hold of the ball and ran it all the way down the field. It missed the goal by inches! 

The whole team came really far this season. Shane is a great coach! It takes a certain kinda person to get 8 3 and 4 year olds to pay attention and follow the ball. They all listened to him well, played well together and had a fun season. 

 Seriously...my favorite picture ever!

 Heidi got the ball and she was taking it down field

 It looks like it actually went in here but it just rolled by :(

 Natalie chased this little boy to get the ball

 Then brought it back towards her goal

 Shane made her take a water break and she was dripping sweat!

 She is getting TOO big!

 Nokie got a hold of the ball too!

 Team huddle after the last game

Group shot...not so great :)

Crazy Weekend!

I feel like I go in spurts with my blogging. I really do try to keep up with everything that we do but sometimes I a.) don't feel like typing or b.) forget to take pictures in the first place! Oh and then there are the times when I do actually have a ton of stuff going on and don't have the time to go through my pictures, edit them and then get them on here. :) 

So anyway...back to this weekend. Shane left for the weekend to go "fishin' with the boys" in California. He left Thursday morning I while he was out relaxing and laughing and fishing and eating and laughing and drinking and laughing...I was actually super busy! Thursday Natalie celebrated her birthday at school since her preschool will be out before her actual birthday. So I made cupcakes and brought them to her school. (She asked for chocolate chocolate chip! That's my girl!!) Then I came home and made dinner for two mom's from my homegroup that just had babies. I took the first one dinner Thursday and the second one dinner on Saturday. Also Thursday night the girls were sad because their daddy was gone so we had a girl movie night and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked. Kinda cute. Friday morning the weather was really nice so I tried to get Natalie to let me take her 5 year old pictures with her new birthday dress. I got a few cute pictures but she really wasn't in the mood. I might end up taking a few more but these are kinda cute. 

  The fence pose is my favorite

This pose was Natalie's idea :)

Then that night they had their soccer game. One of the other moms coached while Shane was gone. Here are a few pictures...

 Natalie is so fun to watch! She is so focused!

 Grandma came to watch the game. I love this picture!

Heidi even got a hold of the ball! 

Saturday I took the girls to Arts in the Park. It was really cool. There were a ton of booths that had stuff for the girls to do. We didn't do everything because the costs kept adding up! They got to paint bookmarks and get their face painted. They got princess crowns and they were sprinkled with pixie dust. Which...I have to add....didn't come out for days! 

 And in between all this fun we were pretty much at my parents house swimming non stop. Natalie has turned into a fish.  Before Shane left he started to show her how to breathe while swimming so she didn't have to stand up to get a breath. While he was gone she learned a few tricks. She pretty much taught herself too because the water is still way too cold for me to get in! It seamed like everyday we were at the pool she would surprise me with something new! So when Shane got back Natalie was really excited to show him everything she learned! So she started with doing somersaults in the shallow end. Then she swam all the way into the deep end. Then she did a cannon ball and then she jumped off the diving board. So proud of my little girl who used to be petrified of going underwater!!

 Trying to "dive" like daddy

 Swimming like a pro in the deep end

 Jumping off the diving board

 Shane throwing her into the pool

 Heidi needed some love too....but she did NOT want to go underwater!

 When Julie and Ricky were here they bought these cute little lounge chairs for the girls. They love sitting in them when they're not swimming. 

So tonight was the girls last soccer game...I'll post those pictures soon. This is Natalie's last week of preschool and after this weekend's birthday party...I'm hoping that this will slow down just a bit. But we will see how it goes! :)