15 months!

The past 15 months have simply flown by!  That's how long ago it was when we welcomed our last baby bear into the family.  She's grown so much, is learning more every single day, and is sharp as a tack.

Miss Cameron is going from baby to toddler right before our very eyes. 
She now loves playing "tea party" with her two best friends, Maddie and Lila.

We might need to work on her drinking etiquette, but that sure looks like some mighty fine tea!

She is still very much a mama's girl, only allowing daddy to hold her if I'm not at home.  When I'm gone, though, I hear she loves on her daddy a lot! 
She's really not a fan of many people holding her...even Elsa!

Miss Cami much prefers doing her own thing.  She still is not that into toys, although she has been showing a little more interest in them lately. 

 

Today was her 15 month check-up with Dr. Betty and the tears started flowing the second the nurse called her name.  Oh no!  She boo-hoo'd all the way through getting weighed and measured, but then turned off those sad tears right after the nurse left the room.

By the time Dr. Betty came in to visit with us, she was a happy camper, rocking and...

feeding her baby Ariel a bottle.  Thank goodness we had this doll with us this morning.  Dr. Betty was able to show Cami everything she needed to do, like listen to her heart and look in her ears, by doing it to Baby Ariel first.  It worked like a charm and kept those tears away.

She is growing so well and learning like crazy!  Still not walking, but the doctor really thinks it's just because she lacks the confidence, not ability, to do so.  All in due time.

15 Month Stats:
23 lbs. 6.4oz (50th%)
31.5 inches (80th%)

She is cruising around the furniture and I'm sure she could win a crawling contest any day of the week!  She can feed herself with a fork and loves doing it.  She likes chocolate milk, just like her mama, and shuns regular white milk.  She eats oatmeal for breakfast, turkey and cheese sandwich, yogurt and natural Cheetos for lunch, and anything I make for dinner.  She's a great eater with a very hearty appetite!  She can say lots of words--Mom, Dad, Bubba, ball,  bye, dog, ow, yes and no.  She knows that a cat says "meow" and loves to meow at our dog, Tyson.  Ha!  She knows her nose, belly button, hands, feet by name.  She is a crazy nose blower right now, too.  She blows her nose if she sees a kleenex or even hears the word!  My favorite thing right now though, is that she's my little enforcer.  Whenever I tell Jackson or Lila to do something, she quickly follows it up with, "now!"  This kid means business--too funny.  She loves to rock her babies and is so gentle with them.  She also asks to hold other little babies (real ones) that we are around.  I think she's going to make a good little mommy one day. 

We can't wait to see what she will do next!

Sweet and Sassy

I took my very favorite five year old to her check-up on Friday afternoon.  She was all about it and ready to impress her pediatrician with all of the growing and learning she's been doing this past year.

 

Dr. Betty was impressed indeed and told me I have a very smart little girl who is most definitely ready for Kindergarten.  She passed her hearing and vision tests with flying colors, then got her official stats done, too.

Weight: 44 lbs. (75th%)
Height: 44 inches (75th%)
Blood pressure: 86/54

 

 

The next morning, Lila woke up and told me that it was going to be a great day.  She sure was right--the kids both had fantastic soccer games.  Jackson scored two goals and his team won 2-1, and Lila scored a goal and helped the Bees get a win, too.  Way to go, my little soccer stars!

 

 

Part 2 of Amazing Day began when we arrived at Sweet & Sassy for Lila's birthday party.  To say this girl was looking forward to it, would be the understatement of the year. 

 

 

She wore her Elsa dress and was the first one in the hair and make-up chair.  They did her hair in the cutest bow with braids on the side.  So precious I could hardly stand it.

 

 

We had to really limit the number of guests that she could have this year because it's a small place.  She invited all the girls in her pre-school class, along with some long-time close friends.  After the girls got their hair and make-up done, they got their fingernails painted, too. 
They were all in heaven--so cute!

I think blue was the color of the day!

I love my blue-eyed Elsa girl!

Maddie is kind of out-growing the princess stage, so she opted for this fierce, yet sassy, cheetah dress.  These two are such close friends these days.

After the girls got all made-up, they had a dance party to "Shake it Off."  Maddie sang and danced her heart out, while Lila was a little more reserved.  The party host got Lila dancing and smiling a little bit, though, and I knew she was having fun.

Then they rolled out the red carpet and we had a princess fashion show.  They introduced all of the princesses, told their favorite shows, pets and vacation spots.  Too funny.

Princess Lila was the last one introduced and all of her loyal fans were there to cheer her on.

Such beautiful little girls!

Then it was finally time for the cake--hooray!

We turned out the lights and everyone sang to the birthday girl. 
She blew out those five candles like a pro.

 

 

She was so thankful that Aunt Lyndsie and Memaw were there for her fun day...

as well as Gigi and Aunt Colleen.  The cake was scrumptious and the party was deemed a big success.  Hooray!



Our family came back to our house to watch her open her gifts.  Lila got so many thoughtful and sweet presents.  She couldn't wait to start playing with them.

Any chance little sister decided this was the time to start walking?  Nope!  Not a chance.  But the kid can stand really well!  Maybe this week--before she turns 15 months old:)

Happy 5th Birthday, Lila Grace!

My sweet, sweet Lila,

You are now five!  FIVE!  That's a whole hand, you know.

We just had the BEST time celebrating with you all day, from the moment you woke up and followed all of the balloons from your room, down the stairs...

 

and into the kitchen.  Where you found the first of your presents--an Anna and Elsa bike!

Your brother was so happy that you woke up early on your birthday, because that meant he got to give you his present first.  He told me to buy you some new soccer shirts--little did he know that I had found this gem! I knew you would love it, and you did:)

"Can you believe it, big bro?  I'm FIVE!"

After brother left, you went to the donut store with your daddy.  Y'all picked up donuts for our fam, as well as plenty to share with all of your classmates at school.  You are so lucky to have such sweet friends.

A few hours later, I had picked you up early from school and we were dining in style at the Chocolate Angel.

You had mac and cheese with fruit, and even got the wear this fancy tiara and hot pink feather boa.  Tres chic!

 

You are such a sweet little darling, that you insisted on sharing with your mother. 
I gotta admit it, wearing a tiara does make you smile.

 

 

Five years old!

We went to your soccer practice, had a quick change in the car, and then met all of our family at Frankie's for dinner, per your request.

 

We had quite the crew there to celebrate you!

 

After eating your soft cheese taco, and I'm sure all the queso on top, you were serenaded by the waitstaff and our table with "Happy Birthday."  Bonus--you got to wear this awesome sombrero!  From the moment they placed it on your head, you just had the biggest smile on your face. 

 

 

And as you asked for, you had your very own bowl of sopapilla bites and ice cream.  After a few minutes, you said it was ok to share with the rest of the table!

Then it was time for some presents.  Your first gift was Julie, The American Doll you've been asking for since before Christmas, from Gigi and Boom. 

Next was life-sized Elsa from Memaw and Poppi--another thing on your wish list!

You were elated before, but when you opened up life-sized Anna, you were simply over the moon.  Thanks, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Maria!

Maddie got you an Anna and Elsa alarm clock since you will be needing one for Kindergarten in a few short months.  You've already put it to good use and it looks so nice in your room.  The last gift was this beautiful china tea set from Aunt Colleen.  You spotted it a few months ago in a cute store in McKinney.  You didn't know that we secretly bought it that day and had been saving it for your birthday.  It's such the perfect gift for you, too.  Thank you so much to our whole family for helping you have such a magnificent day.  I'd say being five is going pretty well so far!

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came through!  Check out all the fun things he left in their baskets. 

Cookies, a Frozen Wand, Ninja Turtle bubbles, water bottles, coloring book, chapter book, suckers, bunny glasses and ears, too--he did so good!

This little bunny thought her ears were pretty funny.

But she could only leave them on for .2 seconds.

 

After breakfast, we all got cleaned up and hopped in the car for church.  It was rainy and cloudy, but these three were all smiles.  Well, not so much Cami, but that's because she was headed to the nursery--her most dreaded place!  One day she will love it, I'm sure.

We found all of our friends in church and even got to hold sweet Baby Dylan for a few minutes. 
If his girlfriend Cami would be as quiet in church as he is, she could have joined us, too.

We had such a good service and then went to Gigi and Boom's for lunch.

To say that there were lots of eggs would be an understatement!  There were even these enormous ones with movies inside them.  Bonus!



We had a good lunch and then brought out our beloved Bunny Cake!  Lila was my main-most decorator this year.  Her big brother took a pass and kept playing ball.  Imagine that.

The kids got ready to hunt some eggs after dessert.  Ready, set, go!

200 eggs were everywhere!

Where's my basket, mom?

Little girl got the hang of it pretty quickly...

but may or may not have had a stinky diaper while she did it.  Ha!

Jackson found his favorite eggs--confetti time!

How many eggs and such can three children collect?   More than you might think:)



Then it was time to move on to the much-anticipated piñata!  The girls had finally got it to bust open a little bit, but then brother delivered the final blow.

And candy went everywhere!  Oh my word.  It was like Halloween.  And they scooped it up like they were competing with 22 kids for it!

These four little rascals had a great time with their grandparents...

and by the time we got home the littlest one was sound asleep.  Sweet baby girl.

 

A few hours later we arrived at the Memaw and Poppi's house for some more eggcellent fun.  Ready, set, go!

Lila did her best, but big brother was hot on her heels the whole time.

We diverted him to this egg that was very precariously placed in the middle of the spa. 
Thank goodness he didn't fall in!

Within a few minutes, 57 more eggs were found!

After dinner, the fun still wasn't over.  Aunt Lyndsie had brought special easter cookies for the kids to paint, with icing!  So cool.  They worked hard on their masterpieces...

and I think they turned out pretty cute.  The best part was still getting to eat them, though. 
Such delicious cookies and a very Happy Easter indeed.

He Is Risen!  We are so thankful.