Let's run, flip and play for Maddie's Birthday!

Not only was this Easter weekend, it was also Madison's birthday party. Can we say busy?!

She had a gymnastics party since she's back in the sport.

 

Aunt Lyndsie made her an awesome birthday cake, too, complete with a gymnast on it!

 

In addition to chocolate or strawberry cake, each of Madison's guests was treated to a cookie medal.  They loved them.

 

 

By 2:15, these three were ready to party down.

 

Baby Cami was awake when we got there, but didn't last long.  A girl's gotta get her beauty rest.

After playing for a few minutes, Coach Marina rounded up all the kids.

First, they played musical mats.  Somehow the last two players were Maddie and Jackson.  I was so relieved when J didn't try to take out Madison in order to win.  They might both be a little competitive.  The birthday girl was the winner, though!  Thank goodness!  They played another group game and then it was time for the big swing.

 

I caught Lila doing a back flip...

and Madison had fun flying high, too.

She also loved practicing her toe touches with her friends. 

Snack and cake time arrived shortly thereafter.  Say cheese!

Madison loved her precious cake...

and blew out her six candles with no problem:)  I love Briana's enthusiastic support of Maddie being able to blow out all six candles!

Thanks, Aunt Lyndsie, for another job well done!

And thank you Poppi, Memaw and Uncle Scott for coming, too.

We all enjoyed celebrating Madison.  We love you!

American Dolls

Since both girls got American Dolls from their grandparents, we decided to take them on a little lunch date to the American Doll store.  Lila and I had never been.  When we walked inside, she could hardly believe her eyes.  There were dolls everywhere!

She couldn't decide which twin to bring, so she brought them both. Good thing she's got a carrying case for them--twins get heavy, ya know!  Madison and her doll wore their matching dresses--too cute.

After browsing around for a few minutes, we headed upstairs to the Bistro.  There were birthday hats on the table, for them AND their babies.  We even got a window seat with a lovely view of the highway and some stores--tres chic!

Everything was so cute, from the birthday crowns to the hot pink hair ties that were wrapped around our napkins.

The girls ordered pink lemonade...

and even shared it with their dolls!

After our delicious appetizers of blueberry muffins, strawberry yogurt, fruit skewers and spinach artichoke dip, these two didn't have much room left in their bellies for the main course.  But there's always room for cake and ice cream!

It was a very girly outing and one I'm sure we'll do again in the future.  This little lady loved it to pieces. 

Happy 6th Birthday, Madison!

Madison turned 6 years old yesterday!  She got the royal treatment all day long.  Birthday calls in the morning, Boom Pa was the WatchDOG at her school, movie after school, followed by pizza, cake and presents.  Whew!  It tired me out again just typing all of that!

Contrary to what the screen says above the kids, we took them to see Rio 2.  It was really fun and a great way to kick off Maddie's big day.

Cameron stayed with Memaw, but was so happy to get some good snuggles in with her favorite cousin after we got home.

 

While we waited on our pizza, Maddie dove into her presents.  She loved the Ariel tutu dress that she got from Lila...

and thought the spy gear from Jackson was WAY cool!

She was super-excited when she opened up this American Doll from Gigi and Boom...

and thought her fancy Belle dress was just awesome!  With her dark brown hair and beautiful brown eyes I think she makes the perfect Belle.

After dinner, we put candles on her cookie cake...

sang Happy Birthday to her and watched her make a wish.

Happy 6th Birthday, Maddie!  We love you!

Easter Fun!

We had not done one single egg hunt this year, so when we heard that Lila's gym was hosting one on Wednesday, we made sure to be there!

Cameron was content to watch her big sister hunt all those eggs, but she made sure to take some notes on the best ways to hunt for eggs while doing an obstacle course.

Lila liked the egg obstacle course so much that she did it twice.

"Are these tunnels shrinking, mom?"

The kids had free reign of the gym for a long time.  Lila worked on her toe touch...

and then waited patiently with Caitlin for a turn on the big swing.

She was all ready for this, too, and did lots of flips--front and back!

The next day it was time for the Easter party at her school.  They started off with an egg hunt that was fast and furious!  Thank goodness we had practiced the day before.

Her sweet class with all their loot.

Eggcelent job, girlie!

They ate fun treats like Peeps, Rice Krispies, Goldfish and M&Ms.

It was a great way to start our long Easter weekend.  We can't wait for Good Friday!

3 Months? No way!

Time is just flying by with our sweet little lady.  Today she turned 3 months old.

 

It is unseasonably cold for mid-April, but we didn't mind.  It gave us a good excuse to put on this adorable outfit from my cousin Shelly.  It's a 6 month outfit, but it fits!

We also got out her monogrammed bunny that was sent all the way from NC.  Thank you, Grein Family!

This little girl is just the happiest baby in town.  I adore those sweet cheeks and lips and she's got piercing blue eyes, too.

Over the last month she has really started smiling so much.  Any time I talk to her, this is the grin I get.  I love it to pieces!

She babbles a lot, too, and I'm pretty sure she's got plenty to say! 

Although the bows are way cute, this is much more true to how we roll on an every day basis.  Those headbands always make such an indention on her head!  She loves chewing on her fingers and is already drooling like CRAZY.  My guess is that she cuts a tooth around 5 months. 

Baby girl, you are the best third baby bear anyone has ever seen!  We all love you more than we can express--me, your daddy, big brother and big sister.  Happy 3 months!

We sure adore this girl who is four!

Yesterday it was Lila's turn to go show off for her doctor.  She was ready and had memorized my cell number and our address just for the big occasion.

 

First things first, though.  We gotta get the stats.

Height: 41 1/2 inches (90%)
Weight: 38 lbs. (75%)
Blood pressure: 98/58

The doctor said she was growing very nicely and was so happy to hear that she loves her fruits and vegetables, too.  She showed us a list and Lila can do all of the tasks that a 6 year old should be doing, with the exception of tying her shoes.  Way to go, little girlie!  You are going to be just as smart as your big brother--no doubt about it.

She did so great and loved being able to write her name, copy and name a circle, triangle, square, oval and X correctly.  She can do simple addition problems, like two plus two and four plus four, but is also able to tell you that 100 + 100 = 200!  She is able to read and spell Lila, Mom, Dad, Jackson, Madison and Gigi.  She can read all of her color words, too, and has even gotten the hard ones, like magenta!   When I figured out how well she was excelling at reading, I challenged her to read some sight words.  And you know what?  She could do a lot of them!  We found a stack of sight words that Jackson used in Kindergarten.  She's not even in Pre-K yet!  I was so proud of her. 

 Too bad that being 4 also comes with 4 vaccines.  Thank goodness they combined them, so she only got two "pinches" on her legs.  The nurse was so good about it and told her that she wouldn't have to get any more until she turned 10.  My sweet girl screamed when she got stuck but did not shed a tear.  Tough little cookie.  No matter how many times I have taken my kids to get their shots, it's still tough to watch.  I know it's for their own good, but it just hurts my heart to see them hurt.  She picked out a big prize from the nurse, soaked in a warm tub in the afternoon and by last night she was all better. 

Lila, you have grown and changed so much over the past year.  You are such the little comedian and keep us laughing all the time.  You love to perform your karate and ballet moves.  You also really like to paint, play The Voice and watch cartoons.  We can't wait to see how much more you are going to learn while you are four!  I love this age so much.