Stars and Stripes

Hayley and I set out to make one of those delicious American Flag cakes you see on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens for Memorial Day this year. 

We started with a cake

and these

First for the stars

Then the stripes

It may not make it on the cover of a magazine, but we had a great time putting it together.

And it was delicious!

Happy girl to help in the kitchen



Silliness!



Budding Artist

Last week, we attended a reception at Chesapeake Memorial Hospital where Hayley's artwork was selected to hang in the Mother/Baby Unit waiting room.  She was so excited to have her painting picked and what a thrill for us as well. 

Hayley with her painting "Bunny and Sunshine"

Proud of you Hayley Anne!



Soccer Stud....

......The exact text from my brother when I told him that Luke scored 5 goals at his game on Saturday.  And the kicker was that Mimi was here to see it.  I will have to get pics from her since I didn't bring my camera along this time (of course).  To say he had the game of his life is an understatement.  So fun to watch him succeed after all of his hard work this season.  So proud of you Luke!!!!



Memorial Day

Thank you to all the men and women who have selflessly served this great Nation of ours.  There are not enough thank yous in the world to those who have given all so that we may be free. 

Praying for our Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen and women.  Take time to pray for these heroes and also for their families.



She Did It!

Hayley Anne Steele is officially a Kindergarten Graduate! 

So proud of my sweet girl and all she has accomplished this year.  We have had a wonderful time celebrating all her success. 

We had some amazing cupcakes!

Mimi came in town for all the festivities and we loved every minute of having her here with us.

Getting ready to go to the program

Hayley's class performed the play "Chicken Little" before graduation.  She was Goosey Loose and did an amazing job!  What a little star.

Hooray!  We did it!!!!!!!

Luke gave her these roses and it made her night!

One of the best teachers in the world!!!!

We love you Hayley! 



18 Months (and 10 days)

It has happened.  We have crossed the threshold from babyhood to toddler hood in a blink.  Hannah Beth turned 18 months going on 3 years a little over a week ago and she is every bit of a toddler.  BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!  Busy running, busy playing, busy dumping toys out, busy climbing stairs, busy exploring, busy getting into cabinets, busy reading, busy getting into brother and sisters things, busy coloring, busy throwing fits, busy chasing JJ our neighbor's cat, busy hugging, busy giving kisses, busy talking....just plain BUSY!

So what are you up to with all this busyness going on....  You're teething BIG time.  You have 8 teeth and are working on 6 more, all at the same time!  So you are crabby and who could blame you really.  Your gums look like they have mountains growing on them.  You constantly have a rash around your mouth from all the drool.  You are still sleeping pretty well through all of it, but there are times that I have to go in and give you some Motrin at night to help.  I pray they all pop through real soon.  PLEASE! 

You are still eating very well.  You are completely on table food and starting to try and eat with a spoon.  You love Mexican (you are so my child).  The spicier, the better.  I love this picture of your bananas.  You love to separate your foods and as you place them in the cup holder you say, "There you go." over and over.  I think it is your new way of telling me you are done eating.  You are saying so many things.  "There you go" is a favorite.  You are constantly bringing me toys or books and handing them to me saying "there you go".  You love to place chase and will come up to anyone willing to play and say "I gon get you" meaning you want them to chase you!  Cute!! 

You are 33 1/2 inches long, weigh 26.6 pounds, and wearing a size 2T.  You love animals and know many of your animal sounds.  You can tell us what the cow, cat, dog, pig, sheep and horse say.  You love naming all the parts of your face.  I love that you are talking so much.  You do get frustrated and throw a fit if something gets taken from you.  One of your favorite things to do is shred tissue and paper.  Not my favorite thing, but hey, it helps build those fine motor skills (Ha!)

Most of my pictures of you are you in a highchair or running from me.  Pretty much the only way I can capture you these days.  I love that you will be playing contently and then get up to come find me.  You will call "Mama" and then come and give me a hug and want me to pick you up to get a kiss.  I could play that game all day, every day!

Love you my 1 and a half baby girl! 

Baby Girl

18 months old and not such a baby anymore. 

I've got to do an 18 month post to capture all she is up to these days.

But for today, a picture of her first "whale spout". 

Ahhh.  Love.

Summer Reading Lists

One of my favorite things to do with my children is read.  We read ALOT.  Maybe it's the teacher in me.  I love a good book.  I wish I could say that I have more time to read my selections, but the majority of my time is spent reading to the kids or listening to them read to me (absolute favorite thing!).

So I have a feeling my reading list will look something like this:

The boy LOVES him some Magic Tree House.  The combination of action, fiction and non-fiction elements is perfect for a little man his age.  He devours these books.  When he gets a new one or checks one out from the library, he will be holed up in a quiet spot and read the entire thing.  And then read it again. And again. I love that he is such a book worm.

Hayley is into the early readers.  She is so excited that the words on the page are coming to life for her now.  She is gaining more and more confidence in her ability and it is a joy to watch.  She also loves for me to read chapter books to her at night.  Favorites right now:  The American Girl Series Books.  We have read all of the Felicity books, so we must move on to Kitt Kitridge, her new favorite.

Hannah is in love with:

and

and

Now, if I can find some quiet time to read when I am not falling asleep after reading the first paragraph, here is what my list looks like:

I pulled out Toddlerwise so I could reacquaint myself with toddler tantrums and how to handle them (hypothetically, HA!).  I'm ashamed to say that I have been reading the Help since last August.  I am 3/4 finished and can't wait to see how it all ends.  I must finish before the movie comes out.

Two others I would like to read this summer are:

and

I have both of these books down loaded to my iPad, and hope to enjoy them some time soon. 

Chris's book list might include this:

(I want to read this one too)

and some type of military history.

So here's to the summer; and lots and lots of good reading!

Just Keep Swimming!

The kiddos had their first dip in the pool for the season.  No, not the big backyard pool, but our new baby pool.  I asked Chris if he could pick up a little $10 baby pool for HB to play in when she doesn't want to swim in the big pool.  He has the "go big or go home" kind of personality so he came home with the $30 version that has a slide.  Sweet.  We (and when I say, we I mean Chris) will attemp to open the other pool next weekend.  Can't wait to enjoy it!  I see many pool parties in our future.