Before I forget...

I have some great pictures from Sophie's Preschool Graduation, but I needed to write these down before I forgot!

- Sophie's new favorite word is "delish"... as in "these strawberries are delish!". I have NO CLUE who in her life uses this word instead of delicious. It is really cute, but I can't figure out why it has made it into her vocabulary.

- Last night Harper and Lee had a night together while Sophie and I went to my neice's ballet recital. Lee said he and Harper were playing in the playroom and Harper all of a sudden jumped up, told him she needed to be a cowgirl, and to sit still and wait. She ran out of the room, fumbled around in her bedroom for a while, and came back a few minutes later completely decked out from head to toe with boots, hat and cowgirl skirt. That is her first time to really figure out what dress up person she wanted to be all by herself. Usually she has help from her older sister. And so it begins....

- With summer here and fresh veggies coming into the house, we are really encouraging everyone to try new foods. The other night I cut up a cucumber and put a little on everyone's plate. The girls tried it and didn't like it one bit. Sophie told me that maybe those tasty bugs that live in her mouth and fly around to help eat the food didn't like the taste of the cucumber yet, so give them a few weeks and try again. She was close on her logic! For the record, I am the only one of the four of us who actually ate my cucumber. Did I mention that is a flourishing plant in our garden? Anyone need any cucumbers?

Show Days...

Our little girls have been in full force show off mode this week. Saturday was Sophie's end of year ballet recital. I love Mobile Ballet because, not only is it very Classical where she learns correct terms and no bellies are shown with some crazy dance, but they do not want the little kids on a huge stage until they are 7, when they can handle it a little better. However, we do get to watch a full class and see the routine they learned. Luckily, we got to her show in time to get a seat right in front of where she stands in line and get some great pictures of her. And not to be biased, but she is really a talented little dancer! It is definitely not from me, so hopefully it will continue!

Here is Sophie waiting in line to show off a skill she had learned. She LOVED the audience! She smiled the whole time! I got a little sideways smirk here, and thought it was adorable....

Here is the start of her "dance". Sophie actually knew the whole dance, and got to be the line leader. She was also so happy because her partner was a no-show, which meant her teacher was her partner. Sophie has just adored Mrs. Zoe since we moved here, so that was a treat for her. I will post the video in a later post, so you can see her little proud moment!

Not to be outdone, Harper had a "show day" at the Little Gym, her gymnastics studio. It wasn't a huge deal, but we had to make it one with all the attention Sophie and soon to be baby are having these days. Lee took off work to see her, and I got Sophie out of school early to come cheer her on. She got to demonstrate her skills to us and receive a ribbon and a star for her improvements this semester. It was such a cute program, and she loved every minute of it. In honor of her big day, we let her pick lunch, which was a big bowl of mac and cheese!

Harper on the beam. She learned how to point and dip her feet while walking across the beam this semester. She also learned how to do a forward roll and wheelbarrow across the beam, but only with her favorite spotter, Mrs. Michelle. Apparently mommy isn't too good at spotting these movements!

Harper getting her ribbon from Mrs. Michelle. She also got her special recognition for always smiling during class and being eager to try new skills. She was very excited about this!

Speaking of showing off, I had to show off our garden! Only one plant has died, and we have been using herbs almost daily to spice up our food. This week I know we will have squash and cucumbers and probably a tomato with our supper. It is pretty amazing how much the girls (and me!) have gotten into this garden. They are actually excited for squash to be ready so they can try it. I get reminded daily to water, weed, and check the plants. It has been a fun month so far with our little crop!

Happiness is no burnt skin....

With the baby coming in about 6-7 weeks, Lee's work schedule, my doctor visits, and end of year activities, we kinda ran out of time for a vacation before baby comes. As much as we wanted to go on one last trip with one-on-one defense strategies with the girls, it just couldn't happen. So, we started watching local condo deals and ran across a great week in Orange Beach.

We got to spend a great five days soaking up rays, building sand castles, and floating on the lazy river at the condo. I am also happy to report that we went through three cans and one stick of sunscreen, and the only truly burnt parts of our pale skin was one part mark in Sophie's hair. Go us!

Sophie, Harper, and their buddy Charlie enjoying the kiddie pool and splash pad at the Pheonix.

Lee, Sophie, and Harper taking a splash in one of the pools. No pictures of me, you ask? Oh, several were taken, and they will be stored in the baby's treasure box for he/she to see themselves in my belly in a swimsuit. If you notice any odd shaped photos, it is because I cropped myself out!

Sophie being a sand mermaid.

Lee and Harper setting our crab trap for a night of seafood hunting! We only caught one fish and two baby crabs and threw them back. We were successful at Hermit Crab hunting. Our two we kept, Sally and Shelly, didn't quite make it out of the condo.

My little beach beauties!

Mothers Day (and a reminder to myself)

So another fun Mother's Day has passed. This will (hopefully) be my last Mother's Day as a pregnant mommy, because frankly, I am over the belly. We will get to that in a bit.

The weekend started off great with a little performance by Sophie at her school's art show. She has been talking about this show for weeks with all the works of art she has been creating. It was cute to see her sing and just BEAM when she got to sing her Mothers Day songs. The day just got better as their Bebe and Poppie took the girls for the afternoon, and I had some time to get a pedicure, eat sushi (the cooked rolls only) and finish up some thank you notes. After a great dinner with friends, the weekend just kept getting better!

Now, what I need to remember next year.... I took both girls on errands during the week to pick up gifts for my mom and Lee's mom. Sophie was with me when I went to pick out books for my mom. She is way into reading these days, which is great for me because I love to pick out books! Harper went with me to get Lee's mom a cute Iphone holder and a candle for my mom. Well, Sunday morning rolls around and I have to act asleep while I hear scampering for someone to find something to fix for breakfast. When the door opens, both girls are SO excited to bring me my gifts. What do they get me? Exactly what I got my moms! Lee didn't realize it when he took them on Saturday that they were just mimicking what I had bought. He told me they knew exactly what to pick out for me when he asked them what I needed. Next year I need to remember this, it could REALLY work to my advantage!

It is fun being a mommy to little kids. Harper kept singing Happy Mothers Day to me, and Sophie made me draw hearts in her hand all day because she wanted to show everyone I loved her. And, as a rare treat, around 6:30 last night my current baby crawled in my lap and fell asleep until 8:00 pm. It was a little difficult breathing, and there is now way I would want to have triplets after having additional weight added to the already huge expansion of a belly, but it was nice to have the cuddles.