Winnie. Is. So. Close!

Before we know it, this little baby will be walking.  She is definitely mobile these days, it is only a matter of time when she figures this crawling thing out. Winnie is already trying to pull herself up on things too, and the other day she totally rolled!

The kitchen floor is pretty much the "it" place to be in the house, she loves banging on the fridge with magnets while I'm hustling around getting food for everyone. She loves it until Piper comes and tries to pick her up, or forces toys out or into her hand. *Sigh*....flash forward to a time when that memory makes me laugh. But for now, it's a little annoying when Piper does that. 

Trying so hard to gently drill into Piper's head what it means for a baby to be content, and when that said baby is content, we leave them alone. LOL

Come and "Like" my photography page

Hello all, I have been working really hard the past few weeks trying to revamp my blogs and I finally have a FB fan page for my photography. Come and "like" it to enter for a free mini session.

Click here!

Going through old photos, and picking new ones to go on my FB fan page has made me realize I sure did leave out a lot on the family blog through my pregnant haze....Like the time we surprised Rochelle at school on her birthday. 

Her whole ROTC class was rallied into class and they thought they were in trouble. I actually feel kind of bad for Rochelle, look at her face, the poor girl didn't know what to think. I could not believe how well she kept her composure!

After a few minutes, I think she realized the whole being in trouble was just a ploy to get them all into the class for the surprise.

I promise Rochelle, your 18th birthday won't be anything like this! Seriously can not believe my baby sister will be 18 in less than two months.

Once Upon a Time....

There was this lucky mom who had three little girls and a wonderfully charming man. For her birthday, which was almost a month ago(July 31), they made her a most unusual cake. Because this family has nothing to do with the ordinary, the four of them made a cake mix into pancakes and topped  them with a strange looking frosting.  Introducing the Pan Cake!

Don't judge this weird looking cake by it's looks my friends, it was delicious, and very rich!

Piper, Charly and Nate were pretty proud of their creation. I had my doubts when I saw this little "masterpiece" but I could definitely taste the love that was poured into it and that was what made it so darn good!

Happy 29th birthday to me!

Look What I Found!

The past few days I have been a mad woman trying to get my blogs in order and my photography FB page up and running...you know, so I could actually get some paying clients? LOL

Anyway I came across these pictures of Piper and Winnie taken shortly after W was born. I don't remember ever seeing these. Perhaps in my mommy fog I passed them over. 

I'm not sure if it's Piper's awkward pose or Winnie's tiny body snuggled in a knitted cocoon that makes me cherish this photo, but regardless, I thought I'd share the cuteness with everyone.

I think if I counted the pictures I have of Piper kissing Winnie, there would be well over 100!

Guess Who Is Trying to Crawl?

Winnie of course! Not only is she working on her second tooth but she has bypassed rolling and moved on to attempted crawling. I guess she decided rolling over is overrated, and for babies. She has higher aspirations! Whew, I know I sure will be busy when she figures out how to move her little legs out from under her. 

She is ready to go!

Makeover Time!

Currently working on making some fantastic changes to our family blog!  I would love input from my readers, let me know what is working and what is not.  What are some things you think I should add? Anyone want to write the "about me" section for me, that is always so strange writing solely about one's self. 

Thanks so much for patiently waiting...all six of you. OK, OK, perhaps we are up to 10 by now.

Our One and Only....PIPER!

Who was so excited Sunday night she couldn't sleep? This girl was! Piper could not get her excitement out of her about the fact that she was officially a Campbell School Preschooler as of Monday. To me, all this means is a bit more time working with her number and letter recognition, but to her it means that she is now recognized as a big girl in the whole family dynamic! After all, she did grow a whopping two inches the past two months!

Doing school with Piper is basically taking all the opportunities I can to play and do fun things with her. She usually allows for about 20 minutes of one on one play with puzzles and then is off to do her own thing.  We made sure and got a lot more learning puzzles and games for her this year that were just for her. Last year she so badly wanted to do "school" but I wasn't sure how to get her involved  while I was trying to help Charly with her school. So glad we are prepared this year. I know it hasn't yet been a week but already I can tell she is having fun with her just-for-me activities. 

Schooling at home is definitely a learning opportunity for all of us, one year something works and the next, not so much. 

Piper has such a fun spirit, and while at times it is challenging, it is also so fun to have such a vibrant personality adding so much life within our home's walls.

Charly, Second Grade, a Peek

Yesterday after dinner we embraced the heat and walked across the street to our lovely neighbors house to get some official second grade photos on her great yellow swing. I guess Charly was feeling a fall vibe because she was very adamant about wearing a sweat shirt and having it placed, just so, over her hair. 

Finding time to edit is scarce lately so I thought a little peek was in order. Winnie is teething and I will post more as I get to them. 

Piper's pictures are adorable! I found out the secret to getting them both to focus while taking pictures of them is to take them one at a time. Genius!

Stand by.

It's a Potato Thing, You Wouldn't Understand

How's that for potty duty!

 

In a house full of potty trained big people, the girls find it fascinating when Winnie goes pee or poop on the toilet. It is pretty comical when a baby as small as her hops up on there are pees...OK, so she has some help from us to get on there but regardless, it's funny.  Funny because it's insane how capable and smart babies are!

Charly and Piper jump at any opportunity to help her on the pot. It's a family affair this whole elimination communication thing. Just one more thing to bring us together, who would have thought that Winnie dropping her loads off would give us so much excitement! LOL (Gosh, I sure hope people can read the sarcasm coming through my type...otherwise, well, it just sounds strange.)

As if  that weren't enough for your viewing pleasure.....

How cute are these two? 

 And just in case you wanted something more for your viewing pleasure...

Oh yeah, we are walking Napoleon Dynamite impersonators, all of us!

Humble Pie Anyone?

It's easy to dwell on the moments you have as a parent when you reach a point of embarrassment you never thought existed.  Just when you think you're doing a great job with parenting, one of your kids {*cough*, Charly} will put you in your place and serve you a pie of humble pie right in the middle of a Sunday Sacrament meeting.....in front of all your peers and those you look up to and want to think your life is just fine and dandy and your kids never have tantrums! 

Nope, that never happens.

I could go on about this situation or I could focus on the positive, which is where I like to be, thank you.

With that being said, I have been looking over all the pictures that have yet to be loaded onto the blog and I'm thinking about all the small daily things that took place over the summer.  Our three daughters sure have fun together. 

I love the feelings I get when I look at pictures that hold so much simplicity.  It really makes my heart smile to be a part of this family and see the joy in our kid's hearts.

To the untrained eye, when they see the picture of Winnie with her sisters, it may look as though she isn't enjoying herself but I know better than that. I know her heart, and as she grows older, she will see past her scrunchy, cute little face and see the undeniable love Charly and Piper have for her, their baby sister. 

Sums up Our Summer.....

Risked the life of my camera to take this photo, but I would say it was well worth it!

Freckles!

The past few mornings have been so lovely outside. So much so that I can enjoy laying on the hammock with Winnie in tow while Piper and Charly blissfully play. I am beginning to remember what fall looks like and that summer will not be around forever. With temperatures above 100 for over a month now it almost seems like the fall will never come, then I start to see hints that it is on the horizon. It makes me happy. 

Freckles also make me happy. A while back I noticed some appearing on Piper's little cheeks and around her nose. (You can barely make one out on her right cheek in the picture. ) 

She reminds me a lot of the little girl I think I probably was. She is so spirited and fun. With that being said, our little Piper is blossoming and learning new things, although in a completely different way than Charly learns. It's an adjustment and a challenge to figure out how to channel her energy...she has lots of it!

Seven for Sunday

Remember when we first moved here? It's been almost three years, still can't believe it myself. I stumbled across this picture of the girls that was taken shortly after moving into our house. Look how little they look!

Piper adores Charly, and I hope to foster that relationship for as long as possible.  I love to listen to them playing, usually it's nice and occasionally they will fight, but that's normal right?

August is the time of year where I take back my Texan pride we pretty much stay indoors and focus on other things that don't involve melting like....

Cooking delicious meals

Reading great books on bunk beds you thought you wanted,only to take them down two days later because you miss cuddling with your sister. Eh, I guess we have bunks for guest beds now.

Taking baths with floaties on because ya know, you never can tell when one might need them in a bath.

 

Also, with all this indoor time we are getting, it's a great opportunity for mom to get photos of the girls in their natural state....only kidding, Piper is just trying on this face. Charly on the other hand, that was pretty natural. She more than makes up for it with her smirks we get off camera when she announces to us she wants to learn the Napoleon Dynamite dance. 

 

Yeah folks, our daughters are pretty great!

PS Grandma Orr, Charly wears the birthday dress you guys got her just about every week for church, she loves that dress!