Party of Four

With 2 full time jobs, football, a little girl in school and a tiny girl at home... our M-F is pretty much a game of survival. By the time Saturday comes around, our whole house is pretty lazy. We spend a lot of time close to home, and love our time with our little family. I am LOVING where we chose to live in Austin. It is so beautiful out here, and there is so much to do for all of us. Here are a few pics of the last few weekends...

Burger and sand play at P. Terry's

Sweet sisters

Yes, that is just the patty... this girl is a carnivore!

Teaching Olivia how to hold her ball. Charlotte is such a sweet big sister!

Sunday's best

First week of school and first week of football are pretty tiring.

31st birthday celebration with my sweet girls!

Saturday morning park trip, I am in love with this girl's smile :)

Charlotte is getting so big, she likes to do the "big kid" tricks now!

I know two little ladies who are pretty lucky to have such a great daddy. He loves spending time with them.

Church goers, I love dressing up my baby dolls every Sunday!

Saturday morning veg

School Days

Charlotte Grace is going to school!! We decided last spring that Charlotte was about ready to go off to preschool. She and Martha had a wonderful first two years together, and I am so thankful that she got to spend that time at home. She loved her music and gym classes, playing with Brooke and just being at home playing in her play room and outside everyday. But toward the end of the spring, she was starting to rule the roost a little more than her mom and dad liked. It was clear that she loved being around other children, loved art and music and was just a little sponge to everything that she was taught. So, we embarked upon the picking out a preschool journey. Naturally the first one we went to was the cream of the crop. Sam and I were just blown away with how calm the classroom was, how happy the children were and how much they were learning. Sam especially loved the "no junkfood" policy and the fact that each classroom had their own garden. I loved all of the educational "toys" instead of all of the loud, plastic things we saw at most preschools. They teach Spanish and music everyday, do lots of art and spend LOTS of time on the playground. It seemed like a perfect fit for us. We briefly looked at some other local preschools, quickly turned up our noses and decided to go for it. (And cut the budget elsewhere, ha!) I was very hesitant about the required 5 days/week schedule. I thought Charlotte was too little to go everyday but decided to give it a try. And what a great decision that we made.

Charlotte LOVES school!! She ran right in the first day, gave her daddy a kiss and didn't shed a tear. Her mommy, however, cried all the way to work. I don't like my babies growing up so fast. I called around 10 and the report I got was, "Charlotte is doing great. She is talking a lot and very busy." I knew this meant that she was comfortable because she won't talk in an unfamiliar environment. Miss Kimberly told me at the end of the first week that it was the easiest toddler transition she had ever seen. She said that Charlotte's vocabulary was excellent, that she shares well(surprise!) and that she is good with her please's and thank you's. All of these things made her mama beam. At the end of the second week, she had lots of tears. Just as I started to get upset, we discovered that she had an ear infection. As soon as we cleared it up, she was back to her happy self. Daddy and I are so proud of our sweet Charlotte. She continues to be such a joy to so many people. I pray that she loves school as much as her mommy did!!

First day!

I love this pic! I love that her backpack is as big as her (and all it has in it is some spare panties!), and I love that her dress is caught so you can see her monogrammed bootie. Thank you Nana for the backpack and JaJa for the dress and bloomers!!

Some pics that her teacher has sent me - what fun!

Picnic dinner

Charlotte Grace loves a picnic. Livi Mae loves a blanket outside. This sure made for a happy dinner for everybody! We were so lucky to have some beautiful, breezy evenings this summer. We spent LOTS of time outdoors!

Pizza for these guys!

Hotdog and fruit for Livi and I... still rockin' the dairy free diet for my girl!

The many happy faces of Livi Lou - love this girl!

Pool days

Two Months

A few random summer pics...

This summer was a little crazy!! This mama is not used to being home everyday. What a job! I have to say, my "real" job is much easier than being a mom 24/7! All four of us had a lot of learning to do this summer, and I know that a lot of the days were tough. The beautiful thing about memories is that the hard things are soon forgotten. When I think back on this summer, I remember spending most of it laughing at my crazy Charlotte and snuggling my precious, new Olivia. I wouldn't trade a minute of it. And now that I am back at work, I spend lots of time wishing I was having a tough day at home. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Once this girl started smiling, she never stopped!

Reading to her baby

Covering up her real baby!

Silly girl

Love.

Liv spent a lot of time poolside this summer!

Charlotte says a lot of "It's okay, Liv. There's no need to fuss. Your sissy is right here." So, so sweet.

Not many rainy days this summer!

Favorite summer treat :)