I'm Singing...

...in the RAIN!!  Just singing in the RAIN!!  It is rainy season again.  And our girls love to play in the rain.  Now I just need to get Oliviaa new rain coat so she doesn't have to wear her dads.

Unfortunately I am not such a big fan of the rain!

Aubrey's Birthday Party

We had two little parties for Aubrey this year.  We had a little party on her birthday where we let her open a few presents and sang happy birthday to her.  Here are a few pictures from her first family party.

The next weekend Kevin, Anna, Riley and Liam came over to watch part of Olivia's game and to celebrate Aubrey's birthday with us.  We took them and met up with our friends at Chuck E. Cheese.  We don't go there often so it is a fun little place to have little kids birthday parties.  We had pizza, played games, and visited.

Then we came back to our place for some cake, ice cream and gifts.  I decided Aubrey needed to have a little Minnie Mouse party.  She loves Minnie Mouse and I hadn't done one yet so I thought it would be a fun change of pace.  I bought little Mickey and Minnie rings off Amazon and then did a cupcake cake.  It was my first one and I loved it.  I think I may have to make another some time ;-)  So easy to serve up to every one too!

She was so shy being sung to.  Such a cutie!!

Best friends, Claire and Kelsey

Aubrey loved opening her gifts and got so excited about each one.  She would run to Hans and say, "Look dad!!"  She was really good at saying thank you for all her gifts too!

A couple videos of her opening her gifts.

Two great little parties!  So fun to celebrate our little girl with family and friends!

Kittens and Aubrey

 We have had our kittens for just over two weeks.  They are super cute, but we got off to a rocky start with Panda or Patches (I'm not sure of her name).  You see the day we went to adopt them from the humane society they opened late because some kittens had come in with the cat form of Parvo that dogs get.  They were sanitizing the whole place and did not allow any kittens to be adopted that day.  But we heard that there were six up at PetSmart (from the Humane Society) and so we headed there and got our kittens.  They smelled really bad so we gave them a bath.  A few days later I noticed that they again smelled very bad and that one of them was having diarrhea.  I thought it was just the change of food and location and switched her back to her food that they had given us.  Panda (now Patches) was the one who was sick.  She was really stinky and really clingy especially to me and Hans.  She was fairly lethargic and didn't want to play just sit on Hans or I's lap.  Finally on Friday (one week after we got them) I made them a check up appointment at the vet.  She couldn't get me in till Tuesday.  Monday was the worst.  Poor Panda was so sick that she had 4 accidents on my carpet.  I was ready to strangle her myself. They stayed in the bathroom most of the day because I couldn't handle the accidents, stench, and clingyness of Panda.  I took them to the vet Tuesday morning and by this time Panda was skin and bones!!  Sure enough she tested positive for the cat form of Parvo.  This disease is usually deadly in cats that contract the disease, but a few do make it.  Both cats had two of the three series shot for this disease.  The vet told me I could either take the cat back to the humane society where she would be put down or try to nurse her back to help.  After the day before I was less than thrilled about the prospect of nursing a kitten that may or may not make it back to health.

After doing a bit of reading on the internet about it, I decided that Panda had a good chance of making it since she had already made it 7 days.  It was a good thing the humane society was closed on Tuesday otherwise I might have just taken her in and surrendered her.  But she seemed to be doing a bit better on Wednesday and the humane society was very helpful and gave us some medicine and food to try to help her along.  Sure enough she is getting better.  She is putting on weight, no longer clingy or stinky. I was very thankful she made it through!!

Claire got scratched the first day so she doesn't really like the kittens still and is still asking for a dog (pretty much daily) poor girl!!  Aubrey on the other hand loves the kitties!  She loves to carry them around although they are getting faster at getting away from her.

These pictures are of poor Panda when she was sick and couldn't get away from Aubrey very easily.

 Yeah she got a little scratched up!

The girls all love playing with the kittens but Aubrey especially does.  Here is a cute video of her playing with the kittens and her giggling is just so super cute!!

Olivia Joy ~7 years

Olivia Joy has been seven for a couple months now but summer is always so busy I usually just wait to do her yearly pictures till September and closer to Aubrey's birthday.  Our seven year old is really stepping up and being a great big sister, a great helper, and taking on more responsibilities.  Of course there are still times she doesn't want to do these things but for the most part she is an excellent helper and we count on her a lot in our family.

Olivia loves soccer, loves dancing and is really pretty good at both.  This year our school has been going pretty well.  We still have lots of distractions but she is picking up reading really well, doing great in math and not fighting me as much in either subject.  I often find her doing "school" type things all on her own without me asking.  I love that she loves learning!!

She is sweet, shy, caring, loving, kind, a good friend, an awesome sister and daughter, and all around fun to be around.  Of course she has her moments like any kid does but she is such a blessing to our family.

My favorite!!

Isn't she looking so grown up?  And getting so pretty?

Here is a little interview I did with her to give you a glimpse into our Big Sister!!  We love you Olivia Joy!  Thank you for being you and being such a big helper in our home!

How old are you? 7
What is your favorite outfit? skirts and shirts

What is your favorite color(s)? purple

What is your favorite book? Nancy Clancy

What are you excited about? trunk or treat

What is your favorite drink? lemonade

What is your favorite subject? reading

What is your favorite dinner? spaghetti

What is your favorite dessert?  ice cream

What is your favorite kind of ice cream? mint chocolate chip

What is your favorite snack?  fruit snacks

What is your favorite vegetable? tomatoes

What is your favorite fruit? watermelon

What is your favorite toy? Rapunzel

Sing your favorite song? I like to move it, move it, move it!!

Who is your favorite pet? Pumpkin

What is your favorite thing to do outside?  ride bikes

What is your favorite letter? O

What is your favorite thing to bake or make with Mommy? Cookies

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Play fight

What is your favorite shape? Circle

What is your favorite thing to draw? houses

Who is your favorite Princess? Merida

What are your teachers name at school?  Mrs. Knowlton

What is your favorite game to play? Rummy

What is your favorite animal? zebra

What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet

What is your favorite show? Doc McStuffin

What is your favorite movie? The Princess and the Pauper

What is your favorite virtue? Kindness-I treat others the way I like to be treated.

What it is your favorite activity? dancing and reading

Who is your best friend? Jada

What is your favorite chore? feed the cats

Claire Bear ~4 and 1/2 years

Claire is our little diva.  She is full of spunk and attitude.  She loves to sing.  She is great at playing alone.  Is very persistent as she has daily been asking to get her hair cut (really short) and really wants a dog!!  She is silly.  Loves to dance.  Does not like soccer (yet). Loves to play with dolls, little toys, and anything her sisters are doing. She is stubborn at times.  Has a temper every now and then.  Is a sweet and fun little 4 year old.  

Just tonight I was looking at her pictures when she was 2 1/2 and 3 and it just seems so long ago yet just yesterday.  She is getting to be such a big girl and it is hard to remember her little two and three year old self.

Here are some of my favorites from our fall photo shoot.

Isn't she so stinking cute??

And a little interview to get a glimpse into our little 4 year old.  We love you sweetie pie!!

How old are you? 4 and 1/2

What is your favorite outfit? pink dress with brown plaid bottom

What is your favorite color(s)? pink

What is your favorite book? Dora

What are you excited about? getting a dog

What is your favorite drink? water

What is your favorite subject? learn letters

What is your favorite dinner? (she didn't know and really I don't know either she is so hit and miss on food, one day she likes it the next day she doesn't.)``

What is your favorite dessert?  ice cream

What is your favorite kind of ice cream? vanilla

What is your favorite snack?  strawberries

What is your favorite vegetable? corn

What is your favorite fruit?  apple

What is your favorite toy? figaro the cat

Sing your favorite song? Old McDonald had a farm...E, I, E, I, O

Who is your favorite pet? the kitten...panda

What is your favorite thing to do outside?  swing

What is your favorite letter? C

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? Play dora

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Play fight

What is your favorite shape? heart

Who is your favorite person to draw? mom, dad, me, and my sisters (and Dora)

Who is your favorite Princess? Snow White

What is your teachers name at school?  Miss Isabel

What is your favorite game to play? Go Fish

What is your favorite animal? monkey

What do you want to be when you grow up? A princess

What is your favorite show? Dora

What is your favorite movie? Dora

What is your favorite virtue? Kindness-I treat others the way I like to be treated.

What it is your favorite activity? dancing

Who is your best friend? Kelsey

What is your favorite chore? set the table