Dear Evelyn...

My sweet little girl,

         You are such a complete and utter joy to your Daddy and me. You are full of fun and laughter. You are silly and sarcastic, and you have an incredible sense of humor. Baby girl, you are so charming, and boy, do you know it! When you want something, or just want to be extra sweet, you tilt your head to the side and smile up at us with your big, brown eyes. Sometimes, just to make sure you're getting your point across, you lay your hand on my cheek. I'm pretty sure Daddy melts every time.

         You love dress up and being fancy. You love princesses and baby dolls and playing Mommy. You're always walking around the house carrying Sarah Jane or Ariel (your names for your baby dolls). Sometimes, you try to feed them "like Mommy feeds Henry". You sing to them, rock them, take them to the grocery store with you, and even spank them. (We're working on that one, though.) And speaking of Henry, man, do you love your little brother! You want to touch him and snuggle with him constantly! We're a little worried you may squish him on accident. When you're tired, you just want to lay down next to him, suck your thumb, and use him as your human lovey.

       Evelyn, you love your Bella, too! You want to be just like her, and you spend most of your day following her around. Bella likes her alone time, so you can drive her crazy after a little while, but it all comes from this place of crazy love (and a little bit of mischief) deep in your heart. You copy Bella, give in to Bella, whine to Bella, demand that she listen to you, laugh at Bella's jokes - your day is so wrapped up in your big sister!

      My favorite thing about you right now, is how much joy you take in little moments. You are so easily thrilled, so easily happy. And you are so sweet in the way that you show us; your eyes will get big, you'll suck in this big, dramatic gasp, and you'll say, "Thank you, Mommy for _______!" It's so wonderful to be on the receiving end of that "thank you" and hug! You are the best hugger! One day, when you're older, we'll tell you all about "Anaconda.....eh-Squeeeeeeeze". You'll love the story!

I love you so much, middle child!

Love,

Your Mommy

       

Everybody Wants A Piece

Feeding Henry has been a new adventure! Thankfully, he's still at the age where nursing is his main source of food, because I've forgotten to give him sold food as many times as I've remembered! Just about everyone has gotten in on the fun, and here are some pictures...

 

 

We started basic and just grabbed some bananas. I love those pouches! For both of the girls, I made my own and froze it, and I'll probably do that again once Henry starts eating all of the time, but it's been really nice to start out with some convenient choices.

 

Birthday-palooza!

This past weekend, we fit all of Bella's birthday celebrations into a crazy weekend of fun! Grandma and Grandpa were here, too, so the excitement level was on overload!

 

The fun started on Thursday night...Steve and I wanted to have a "family" celebration before Bella's big party on Saturday, so that we could all enjoy giving her our own presents.

 

 

Setting her table with lots of pink!

 



 

Her birthday dinner request was waffles and ice cream cones for dessert.

  

 

 

One of Grandma and Grandpa's presents was a new, unicorn shirt. She was just a little thrilled!

 

 

Mimi and Papa sent felt boards from Florida. Evelyn got a beach scene and Bella's is a safari - they love them! And I love that they're felt instead of stickers! They get to watch Mimi work on her felt boards for Sunday School when they visit, so they love having their own sets now.

 

 

Next up was taking blueberry popsicles to Bella's class on Friday morning for her special birthday snack. This is Bella with her "best friend" Kate!

 

From Steve and I, Bella asked for some "real jewelry", so we got her some bracelets and necklaces. Her favorite (and mine!) was a little, silver, horse necklace. I took a picture frame and screwed in a few hooks, so she could hang all of her new jewelry up. AND! She was allowed to wear some jewelry to school, so that was big deal!

 

After popsicles, each of Bella's classmates shared something that they liked about Bella. It was really sweet!

 

Friday was Bella's actual birthday, so as soon as Steve got home from work, we piled in the car and headed to the mall for Bella and Evelyn's BIG present from Grandma and Grandpa - a trip to Build-A-Bear to "make" their own stuffed animals! It was amazing! Bella picked a white unicorn from My Little Pony (shocking!) and Evelyn chose a white kitty she named Rainbow Scarlet.

 

 

I had just as much as the girls, getting to watch them choose their toy, "whisper a secret" into its heart, and watch it take shape!

 

After Build-A-Bear, we grabbed dinner and rode the carousel!

 

 

The whole afternoon was such a fun outing!

 

The final birthday event of the weekend was a birthday party on Saturday afternoon with Bella's school and church friends. (I told you it was a crazy weekend!)

 

Bella had requested a "rainbow unicorn" party, and boy, did she get it!

 

 

 

 

 

The highlight of all of the decorations were these unicorn cookies that Aunt Julie and Bella's cousin, Maddie, made! Aren't they beautiful? Julie and Maddie have a cooking and baking blog, and when they heard that Bella was having a unicorn party, they offered to make these...I love them so much! We used them as party favors to give Bella's guests as they left - so perfect!

 

 

Bella's birthday party can only be described as 'barely-contained chaos'! She had a great time, but I think all of the adults were just slightly shell-shocked afterwards - so much squealing and running by so many little girls!

 

 

The girls made bead jewelry, ate cake, and opened presents. (Oh, and ran and around, non-stop!)

 

 

 

Bella was so loved on by these little girls; it was a very sweet thing for my heart to see.

 

And, that's it! We survived the weekend of perpetual fun, and I'm so looking forward to getting back to our normal schedule and eating normal food (no more cake!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Bella Cole

Bells,

You are six years old today! I'm so sorry that I say this every year (and probably will until you're 40), but how did you get so big! You are such an amazing kid, and it has been so much fun to see you become a "big" kid this past year!

You started school this year! I was so nervous for you, but you have rocked it! You're still a little crazy in class sometimes, and I know your teacher really hopes the "I'm impersonating a horse/unicorn/pony" stage will pass soon, but watching you learn new things and grasp hard ideas has been the highlight of this school year for me. Your ability to read has exploded - and it's awakened a love of learning inside your little head. You love to read and sound out new words. You even like to read over my shoulder when I'm texting someone. I was curious about how you'd do with Math, because Mommy's terrible at it and Daddy's awesome...you've worked really hard to understand addition and subtraction this year! Money is still really hard for you, but I think you've got some time still to master that.

Baby Girl, you are our "black and white" child, all the way. You see the world a very specific way, and it's at times hilarious, endearing, and exasperating to see the way your brain works. You won't be pushed into anything. Even your knowledge of Jesus has been all on your own timing. Last week, you asked me a question about how to get into Heaven, and in the middle of my answer, you blurted out how you thought Jesus' crown would be purple  in Heaven. It reminds me to let you discover Jesus and accept Him in your own time. But I have no doubt that, once you decide to ask Him into your heart, you'll never turn back.

Your Daddy and I love you so much! You are loud, passionate, and could run all day. You love in a big way, feel hurt in a big way, and are deeply loyal! I'm so proud to have you as mine! 

Happy Birthday, kid!

Love,

Mommy

Easter Weekend 2015

We had such a wonderful time at Easter!

 

Our friends, Andi and Scott invited us over to share Easter dinner with them, and an egg hunt, too!

 

The only two pictures from our church's Easterfest on Saturday morning. The girls loved the inflatables, and didn't stand still for very long...

 

 

 

Cinnamon rolls and Easter baskets on Sunday morning...let's face it, Henry's basket was really just for show. (And so Mommy could eat his chocolate bunny.)

 

 

 

 

 

Our "fancy" pictures before church...(Henry was still sleeping)

 

 

 

 

Little Man, showing off his dapper duds! I so get my "Honorary Southerner" card for dressing my child in seersucker!

 

 

The whole family at Andi and Scott's house!

 

 

 

Scott's first "selfie" ever...we forced him to do this - it's a rite of passage.

 

A quick, Easter egg hunt...

 

 

 And the best picture ever...

 

 

There was sunshine, a wonderful service, delicious food, and a great time with friends!