Ahhh Vacation!!!

Here's a sneak peek at some pics from our vacation. I'm WAY behind on posts, but these were too good not to share!! Our sweet friend, Kathy, did an AMAZING job taking pics of the families. Don't you think she should go pro!?! We all told her so too ;o).

And here is a collage she made of some of her favorites of the trip. Awesome, I tell you.

***Just realized this is going to make my pics of the trip a major let down...oh well, you're still gonna get 'em ;o).

Puzzle Time

Emerson is working on uppercase/lowercase puzzles...

Hayden is working on (chewing) her farm puzzle...

And here's a little teamwork!!

(My sweet Type-A cutie couldn't bear to let her little sissy do the puzzle "all wrong" :o)).

We definitely need a brother...

...because BOYS are so much fun!!

We got to have Tristan over the other day while his mommy was busy and we all had a ball! Of course, Tristan is only two weeks older than me, so we have a lot in common. And won't his baby-blues just kill you!?! I definitely had fun with my friend!! Come over again soon, buddy!

Mommy is SO embarrassing...she loves to take pics of our teeny-tiny hineys :o).

Daddy's Halfy Birthday!!

This is a big birthday year for our daddy...he's turning the big 3-0 in December!! But since it's so close to Christmas (Dec. 22nd) he never really gets to party with his friends. So we decided to throw him a SURPRISE 29 1/2 birthday party...because we're all about the "halfy birthday" around here :o).

We were SUPER sneaky and he didn't have a clue what was in the works. He did begin to get a tiny bit suspicious on Friday and Saturday (he told mommy she was acting weird and questioned why Em kept telling him about some crazy party for him?) but we just played it off and he suspected a Father's Day surprise. So funny!

And it was a HUGE success. Thankfully, we had TONS of help from family and friends to pull it all off and he was super surprised and thankful for everything. It was just plain fun!!

Happy 29 1/2 Daddy!!! We love you!

Everyone agreed this was the best part...when he walked into the room and everyone yelled "surprise!" he said, "well thanks, but...what are we celebrating?" SO cute!

We set up four tables that included things from the four stages in his life...Kiddy Scott, Teen Scott, College Scott and Grown-Up Scott. It was so fun to work with his parents on gathering up items and pictures from his early years and digging through stuff from our college/newlywed years! And thanks to Courtney for helping me get it all party ready!

Kiddy Scott

Lots of cute pictures, an Astros-Buddies backpack, his favorite childhood doll "D", the birthday hat from his first birthday party and some yummy "kid-food"...nuggets and snack mix.

Teen Scott

More cute pictures (nice hair!), golf clubs, Sr. yearbook, graduation cap and some "teen food"...pizza and chips.

College Scott

Fun memory pictures, BU, fraternity jersey and paddle, signed baseballs from lots of crazy boy roadtrips and "college food"...wings and chips.

Grown-Up Scott

I'm totally biased, but this is my favorite stage! Pictures from our newlywed days, pictures of our family, Scott's scrub shirts with footprints from each girl's birth, a Dwight bobblehead, an Auburn hat (where we earned his Masters Degree) and his favorite lemon cake cupcakes and Courtney's DELICIOUS brownies :o).

And the favors were one of his childhood favorites...Big League Chew!

Party people...I really tried but didn't get them all :(. Thanks for coming everyone!!!

Thanks to Justin and Sharee for making the party happen! They helped a TON by getting us access to their church's student ministry "sweet". It was the perfect place for the party!

Of course our parents and siblings were life savers too! They did too much to list but it definitely wouldn't have happened without all of them.

I don't think Hayden got near enough attention...do you!?!

And this is what our oldest daughter did ALL. NIGHT. LONG. She constantly had orange fingers and a cheeto in her mouth :o).

***Mommy is SO excited we did the party, but even more excited it's over...she says it's exhausting having to fib so much and keep her best bud in the dark for over a month. It's much more fun to tell him everything!!!

Help a girl out!!!

"What mommy? Why are you laughing at me?"

"Is there something on my face?"

"Did I get it?"

"Oh whatever, I'm cute even with a big 'ole puff on my face!!!"

Going shoppin'

We LOVE grocery shopping when daddy comes along. That means that mommy pushes Hayden and I get to push my very own "Emmy-sized" basket!!! They say I'm a little too wild to do it all by myself, so mommy needs daddy there to supervise my trip down the isles...of course, I don't really think I need help at all :o). And I REALLY crack Hayden up when I whiz by!!

Nas-Tastics, no Da-nac-sticks, no...

"...how you say it, mommy?"

"Ohh...ja-nas-tics!! I have fun at ja-nas-tics!!"

So our sweet friends, Meredith and Reid, told us about their awesome gymnastics class and invited us to come along last week. So we tried it out and I was so impressed with this place! The instructor was awesome and Em seriously learned so much in just one class. I was so excited for her! At the end of class, the instructor mentioned that we might try the 3-year-old class next time to see if it might work since she (and Kennedy) were several months older that the other kiddos in the group. Cool for Em, but even more cool for mommy. See, the 2-year-old class involves mommy participation and as much as I enjoyed helping her, you can imagine that it's a tad difficult to help your kiddo when you also have a 7-month old in tow. But the 3-year-old class is independent so the mommies just sit in the stands and watch. I was SO hopeful that she would do well. And she really did...given it was her first time alone. Her "Coach Chris" did have to redirect her several times, but I think she'll get the hang of it in a few weeks. He said she did great for her first time :o). I was just so proud and excited for her...she followed (most of the) directions, worked really hard, hung in there with the big 3-year-olds (though she looked tiny) and just acted so big (*sniff sniff*). Oh, and I totally can't wait to get her some cute little leotards :o).

Sitting and listening...good job!

Level on the balance beam.

Hands up, hands down, tuck your head, down down down!

Now down the slide.

Jumping over the rope.

Favorite part...foam pit!!

What a cute cheering section :o)

Moo, Quack, Baa

That's what we heard this morning at the Petting Zoo at church! We got there a little late, but it turned out well because the crowd had died down a bit and Emmy got to spend a lot of time with the animals. She brushed them, fed them food and did tons of petting. She was definitely more into it than last year and was much more brave. I didn't really let Miss Hayden get too close, but she did get to spend a few seconds looking at the bunnines...which she was a little freaked out about!! Thanks, Mrs. Pennie...the Petting Zoo was a success and we appreciate all you do for us :o).

Aunt Sarah's Birthday!!!

Our sweet Aunt Sarah just celebrated her 25th birthday so of course we had to be there! We traveled down to the houseboat for a quick visit, but were so glad we got to help her celebrate. We love you, Aunt Sarah!!

Of course while we were there, we definitely got in some swim time, played with Sarah's puppy, got loved on by Karo and KBob, and Miss Hayden even got to man the ship :o). So fun!

Double Play Date

It's SO much fun to have good girlfriends...especially when we find two that are close to our ages! London and Lily (and their mommy) let us come play last week and it was just perfect.

Emerson and London played SO well together and they had a great time. Em was in heaven getting to play with big girl (London is about 1 year older) and thought she was SO big :o). Oh, and she hasn't stopped talking about how fun it was to playl with London's makeup :o)! And then there were the little girls...Hayden and Lily really had fun too. They stuck closer to the mommies and just played with all of Lily's awesome toys. And looked at each other's bows :o). And even better, they let us stay for lunch and it was so yummy! Thanks girls...really SO much fun!! (Check out their pictures here).

Beach babies

We had the first of our PlayDaze at church last week...Beach party!! And despite the fact that we forgot a swim diaper for Em and she spent her time with a HUGE water-filled regular diaper, she still had fun. She was busy the whole time, usually emptying the kiddie pool one scoopful of water at a time :o). Little Miss had to stick with mama in the shade, but she had a good enough time just watching. Thanks Mrs. Pennie...fun time!!

Oh, and one fun little fact...this very time last year, we were just about to find out we were having another sweet GIRL!!! We went to Beach Party in the morning and then headed to our appointment to get the sonogram. We didn't actually find out until that night and it was such a sweet time. But I cannot believe it's already been a year!!! Slow down, girlies!!!

Wake up!

Hayden usually helps me go get Emerson after naps...and they ALWAYS have fun seeing each other after a few hours apart. Sometimes I think Hayden really believes she is as big as her big sister :o). Watching them together makes me so excited for them to be able to grow up together. Sweet sisters.