Life With Our Little Ladies

Movie night with these two guys. It's amazing to think about how just six months ago, I couldn't stay awake for more than fifteen minutes whwn we would sit down for a show or movie after the kids went to bed. We assumed it was just normal, mom of three exhaustion, definitely not a reaction to the bread I likely had for dinner. Change is never easy, but there's lots to celebrate as I continue to heal and discover a new normal (including not feeling completely wiped out all the time).

The look my 7 year old gives me when I sing her all the words of "weird songs" (her words not mine) from the 90's...

1. My music isn't weird.
2. When did my music become oldies?

We told her that Grandma was on her way and she kept looking for her and calling for her through the window.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnyEaIkX_fc

Troll dance camp was a favorite in August. The girls and I had a lot of fun crafting and dancing together, while Juliet was back home at "Grandma" camp. The first half of the week Grammy was here and Grandma came for the second half.

Ella and her school bestie, Gianna

Abby and Miss Margaret

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-S-3nhfyy0

One night when Grammy was here, we took the girls to get ice cream and do some rides. Juliet fell in love with the merry-go-round.

She felt like such a big girl riding with her big sisters!

Ella was super brave and went on the rides even though she wasn't sure about her flippy stomach! She was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed them too. Everyone had a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMSLkmhPRms

Juliet sat out and watched for this one!

Airplane airplane fly fly away...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asUJmUJbI7g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvN1DMw8Gu8

We went in to wake Juliet up one morning and jokingly put Oliver in the crib. He laid down and made himself right at home.

We baked up some goodies for our end of dance camp celebration and Anna Kate came over to help us!

Our 3rd Cuse baby and all the sass to go with it 😍

Finishing up these summer days with a homemade waterslide!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OS7IefWOKA

We snuck in a play date with Ella's friend, Madison, before school started. After playing together on the playground, the girls insisted on a photo shoot in the rose garden!

Ella brought her pretend phone and took selfies with her friend. 😆

After the playdate, it was time for an Ella and Mommy date. We stopped at a popular local gluten free restaurant for the first time and enjoyed all the treats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8yIHIA_KBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1tuOrvcFG4

The morning of the big Eclipse 2017, our bathroom plumbing broke and we were completely preoccupied all morning with plumbers cutting through our kitchen wall to get to pipes. Our initial plans for the day included making a project/memorable event out of this once in a lifetime moment. But, our plumbing crisis happened and we had no running water/toilets for the day. So, when we made a bathroom run to our friends' house, the girls jumped right in to their eclipse making project/memorable moment and we ended up having a memorable,impromptu viewing party with friends. Perfect!

One last swim for the summer...

We were in town on our way to NYC for the day, so Abby and I stopped for a morning date with Grandma and Great Grandma Irene. It was the perfect morning for some treats on the patio.

Then, our chauffeur arrived to drive us to Abby's doctor appointment in the city. Cory spent his day off driving us through the city! It made the day go so smoothly.

Next time we go to the city, we will really take the girls to explore. We had specific things to do on this trip, so we didn't have much extra time. But, Abby's eyes still got big as she took in the wonders of NYC while we drove through. I loved watching her look out the window in the backseat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYte30h3TIk

Lunch with my girl

When her doctor ordered bloodwork and wanted us to get it done there, Abby lost it. It was the end of a long day and NEEDLES were the last thing she wanted to deal with. When we walked into the lab and Abby's very favorite show (Liv & Maddie) was playing on the TV in the waiting room, we took that to be a hug from the Lord reminding her that He saw her and He knew what she needed in those moments.

The school librarian invited us over for a tea party. The girls enjoyed seeing all of her fun collections, including hearing their very first record on a record player.

Making sure we all know who the baby is...

After bath story time with Daddy

Summer backyard shows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYozOn_-yts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsbj8O_19GI

The best mail days include boxes of Nagymama's amazing handiwork.

When your big girl is suddenly old enough to make the pulled pork dry rub all by herself, you hand over the recipe and let her go to town!

Back to school haircuts. It was Juliet's first and her face says it all, but then our hairdresser came to the rescue with some Daniel Tiger and by the end this girl was all lollipop and smiles.

Ella got a super cute braid and Abby became a teenager.

Do you love me?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh3EOgsvP0w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2HWRzEJIw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3-zZGBLc-o

We love evening walks up to the park at the top of our street.

That face! In order to get Juliet to sit patiently through a grocery trip, I usually have to have a good snack planned for her in my bag. I say "good" because if it isn't something she is interested in at that moment, she will throw it over and decide she wants to spend the rest of the trip figuring out how to get herself out of the shopping cart. Since she is buckled in, that usually means she will start screaming and squirming until I get her out and carry her or let her free in the store. So....chocolate dipped granola bar for the win!

A morning at the splash pad with our friends

The many fun faces of Juliet

surprise face

the look

kisses

Sitting around the fire with good friends and s'mores makes for a pretty perfect summer evening.

We love this bunch so much!

Christmas gifts (like movie theater gift cards) that you can use months later are the best! A trip to the movies on a rainy summer day with my big girls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0DSXPpddE4

Juliet loves walking her puppy.

So proud of our girl! Abby has been nervous on her bike since the training wheels made it wobbly and has really had no interest at all in riding a two wheeler. We had a talk with her this summer about how it's a skill we think she should have and one we wanted her to learn by the end of summer. Day one and she persevered through her nervousness and frustration until she got it. To her perfectionist self, it felt like forever. But really, we got to the park and she was riding a two wheeler in twenty minutes. Go girl!

Day 2: No more training wheels for Ella! Something about wanting to keep up with your big sister (paired with fearlessness and Ella's "never give up" attitude) makes for some serious goal setting! She did it! Go Ella!