*Yikes*

(driving in the car running errands this morning...)

Mariana: Mommy, red means stop, and yellow means GOOOOOOO!

Allia: Well, yellow means stop if you want to....actually red means stop, green means go and yellow means....go too.

I think I may need to work on my driving...maybe I can correct things before they start driving!

**Edited: Today we were in the car again, and as I slowed for a yellow light, Allia shouted from the back seat, "Goooooooo!". I explained to her that if you are not already so close that you have to go, you should slow down for a yellow light and stop as it turns red. :-) Major progress here. ;-)

Bath buddies

Mariana and Gloria have become bath buddies lately. I usually take a bath with Gloria before I put her to bed (I don't like bath seats, and she is not stable enough yet for me to trust her sitting by herself in the tub!). Lately, Mariana has been wanting to bathe with us, and Gloria loves it! As soon as Mariana gets in the tub, Gloria grins from ear to ear, then laughs hysterically at anything Mariana does. Of course, Mariana then hams it up for her, and by the end of bath Gloria has a terrible case of hiccups from laughing so hard. The whole thing is so cute! I just love these girls! (no photos with this post for obvious reasons!)

Gloria's new trick

She loves fanning her lips like this now! It is so cute!

Why didn't I think of that?!

(Gloria screaming in her crib in the other room, fighting her last nap of the day)

Mommy: (to self but out loud) *SIGH* I know she is tired. I wish she would just give up and go to sleep. What am I going to do with her?

Alla: Mommy, you should say a prayer.

Mommy: You're right, Allia. Would you say one with me?

Allia: Sure!

(by the time we finished, she was quiet and asleep within 10 minutes!!! I only wish it were always so simple!)

This one's for you, Lita!

Party time again

We had lots of fun at Mariana's family party at the park!







Austin couldn't resist a repeat performance of the shark song. They seemed to enjoy it, and the few repeat guests we had from last week's party didn't seem to mind!




Happy Birthday, big girl!


For those readers with 3+ kids, we would love to know what your family policy is on birthdays...does everyone get a party every year, do they get one every x number of years or everyone on their 5th and 10th birthday, etc. We realize we probably won't be able to keep up with a party for everyone, every year. So we would love to know what others do!

"Bye-Bye"

Gloria said this yesterday! I think she has actually been saying it for a while, but I wasn't sure. But yesterday as we were leaving our playgroup, it was crystal clear. A sweet little baby "bye-bye." Then she said it again as we waved to her sisters leaving with Pawpaw and Manah for one of their favorite restaurants last night.

She has also been occasionally saying "up," or rather screaming it when she wants us to walk her around. What a little talker she is! She is now very stable walking while holding on with just one hand, so maybe she will be walking soon too! (Yikes!!!!)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Mariana!

And happy, um, well, 30th birthday to me!









We love you, Mariana, and are so happy to celebrate your beautiful life. You teach us all how to enjoy life more and to stop and "smell the flowers"! May God continue to bless you!

All I wanna do...

is have some fun...and be a big girl.



So proud of herself!

A hurricane and a tea party

What a day! We postponed Allia's Saturday morning party to the afternoon to avoid the hurricane, and we ended up with a full house. It was so fun and cute!

Marveling at the crazy weather


And now for the party...




My husband, the master entertainer!


An indoor piñata...yes, I was very nervous!


Happy Birthday to you....

Interpretation

Mariana: (talking to herself in the car)...and Jesus threw the mud at the blind man, and then he could see!

I am not sure which version of the Bible she has been reading. Hmmm...

Happy 5th Birthday, Allia!

What a blessing you have been and continue to be. You are a wonderful daughter, an awesome, caring big sister, an amazing reader, a kind friend. I love watching you grow up!








(ignore the watermark on this one!)






Happy 5 Years Old!

Hearing the call

Driving to the mall listening to Allia's VBS CD...

Mariana: ("reading" a book) ...and this one is toooooooo silly.

Allia: Heeeeeyyyyyy! Please be quiet. I am trying to listen to what God is asking me to be when I am a grown up!

Fine dining

Daddy was carving the rotisserie chicken...

Daddy: We aren't going to have any bones (drumsticks) tonight since you are already in your PJ's. It's too messy. I am just going to serve you meat.

Mariana: Oh, then can I have a hand?

"more"

Gloria's first word! (besides dada, mama, buhbuh, pahpah, etc).

She was eating cheerios during dinner, and screamed. So Austin and I prompted her with "more"...she returned with "mmmmmuuuuhhh" and a big smile! What a big girl!

Then when she was done she screached again, and we prompted her with "up, up"...she said "upahpah" and another big smile! What a talker!

8 months old today

What a sweetie! She is growing and changing so much!

Bouncing along

We made our first venture to The Bounce this morning with some friends and made out like bandits with a 50% off coupon covering all four kids! We are attempting to distract ourselves from Austin's absence...he will be gone for 2 days to Tia's funeral, and the 5 hour trip was just a little much for all of us to go on short notice. But I am such a baby (yes, I admit it!) when it comes to my hubby leaving town without me. The girls weren't thrilled either. So we will just do as much fun stuff as possible while he is gone!

So here they are on the giant slide...we had so much fun I almost forgot to take photos! It was tough to get them too...this slide is super fast!




When we arrived, our friends were already on this slide, so my girls climbed right up, but the view from the top is a little daunting. Allia went right down, but Mariana sat up there for 15 minutes! Finally I had to climb up, ahem in a skirt, and slide down with her. After that, she couldn't get enough!

Her first Poem

Part of Allia's homeschooling is for us to read and memorize poems. Here she is reciting her first one...

A farewell to Tia

Austin's great aunt, Maria Isabel Riddle, passed into eternal life today at age 101. She was such a treasure to the family and will be sincerely missed. May her soul rest in peace.

Cute moments

A gummy treat from the cruise...shark attack!

funnies

(Mariana running after Allia without a pull-up)

Allia: Ewwww! Mariana's naked hineee! Ewwwwww!

Mariana: (very offended, still running after Allia) But I have a nice hineee!