maternity pictures

A couple weeks ago, we were able to take maternity pictures. Thanks again to our fabulous photographer, Kaity Fisher, for working with us and doing an awesome job. We love them!

This girl is so excited to be a big sister again! She loves babies and is a great helper! I can't wait to see her with this new little one.

Addie is my snuggle bug! As excited as I am for this baby to come, it also breaks my heart a little bit knowing she won't be the baby anymore. 

^my favorite!

this guy's about to be the daddy to THREE girls!!

our princess is 5!

Two weeks ago, our Emily turned FIVE and I still can't believe it.  For some reason five has always been the daunting number for me. Those with older kids might think it sounds silly, but for me five was the age where they stopped being little and turned into a big kid. Now that I have a five year old I know that she still is little comparatively, and she hasn't even started elementary school yet, but I still can't believe how fast time is going and I wish it would SLOW DOWN!!

This year Emily requested a princess party. I was a little surprised because she never wants to watch any of the princess movies (except Mulan sometimes), but she does like playing with her disney princess barbie dolls and doing dress up, so maybe that's where it came from. At the last minute (two days before her party), we threw together this adorable princess photoshoot. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Shianne, for doing the girls' hair, and to our fabulous photographer Kaity, who is always so willing to help us and turn out a magical shoot, even last minute!! I am SO glad we did this and I think the girls will love having these cute pictures as they grow up!

Our Emily is a girly girl to the core. She will still tell you that her favorite colors are "pink, purple, and sparkle," and she LOVES dancing and singing! Her new thing is gymnastics, which she loves, but she still wants to try "all the sports" someday, so we'll see what's in store next. She also loves dress up, makeup, painting nails, craft projects, and is currently obsessed with all things My Little Pony. We can't wait to see the movie this weekend!!

Emily is very friendly and very bright. She still surprises me with her courage because I was so shy at her age and she has no problem doing many things that would've given me anxiety! She is pretty fearless when it comes to trying new things (unless it's food related). If you ask her what she's scared of, she will say that she's "brave of everything." She learns things pretty easily and sometimes surprises me with her quick math skills. Our main focus with her in PreK is getting her to pay attention!! She's lucky that she's so smart. I will be watching her and it doesn't seem like she's focusing, but then when I ask her about it later, she almost always knows the answer! 

Emily is a loving daughter and sister. She's always willing to give snuggles when asked and says the sweetest things. She is such a good sister to Addie and loves teaching her new things (though they still have their fair share of fighting). She LOVES babies so I can't wait to see how she interacts with our new little one. She's become very helpful lately. She likes to get herself dressed and sometimes will get Addie dressed as well. This usually means that Addie ends up in Emily's clothes because she can't reach the things in Addie's closet, but it's the thought that counts, right? She can also buckle and unbuckle herself from her car seat now and will sometimes unbuckle Addie to be helpful. I'm so grateful for her and her sweet spirit!

She is still itty bitty! At her 5 year checkup, she was in the 5th percentile for height and 3rd for weight!! The doctor said she's still following her curve, though, so she's not worried. I don't think it will be too long before Addie catches up to her. Emily keeps telling Addie "I will always be bigger than you," and we have to remind her of the difference between older and bigger. But for as small as she is, she has a BIG personality and doesn't let her petite stature hold her back from anything!

Addie refused to take pictures at first, but finally decided she wanted to at the end. How can you pass up a princess photoshoot?!

Happy Birthday to our princess! We love her so much! And have I mentioned how much I LOVE being a girl mom ;)

August

August was another fun, but busy, month for our family!

We started with a short trip to Oklahoma for a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. Grant wasn't able to make it, so the girls and I rode up with my parents. We had a great time with family!

we got packed up the night before and Addie refused to accept the fact that we weren't leaving until the next morning

my beautiful travel buddy

Papa Joe has a fun hill in his backyard!

Emily loves to ride on Papa Joe's scooter!

go karts at incredible pizza!

Emily made best friends with her 2nd cousin, Brittany, while we were there :)

have to swim at the hotel pool ;)

Addie was a bed hog at the hotel

When we got back home it was Grant's birthday. He turned the big 3-0 this year, so we had to do something to make it a little more special than any ordinary birthday. We set up 30 gifts around the house that he had to search for. I think the girls enjoyed it even more than he did ;)

Addie was potty trained in August and she did awesome! She got a family ice cream date for filling out her potty chart and she's now been upgraded to a "big girl" (toddler) bed. It's been so nice for me to have a break from diapers before the new baby comes! Emily didn't potty train until after Addie was born so we had 2 in diapers for a while.

I've already mentioned about Grant's birthday, but my brother, Danny, also turned 30 at the beginning of September. We decided to have a joint little party for the 2 of them midway through the month. It was complete with all of their favorite snacks and treats from growing up.

an ice cream cake for Grant and a cookie cake for Danny

we got that game where you have to wear the mouth piece and say phrases... we were crying from laughter!

Emily started PreK this year (I'm teaching again). It's going really well so far. We have all girls again and they get along really well. It's killing me that this is Emily's last year before kindergarten!!

The month ended with hurricane harvey hitting. Thankfully we all stayed safe and dry. We did stay at my parents' house for several days just because we wanted to make sure we didn't get stuck with no power if we were to lose it. My siblings all stayed there too so we had everyone under one roof for awhile. It was a nice way to ride out the storm.

A few more pictures from August:

she still loves her "snuggle things"

Emily made a hat out of clips!

a new ninja warrior place for kids opened up right by our house. Emily was in heaven!

little miss flexibility!

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog, including Emily's birthday, so stay tuned for more to come!