F-I-V-E

Julia turned FIVE yesterday! She is getting so big. Every stage is so fun, and I am so proud of her. I am so amazed that it has already been five years since Dave and I went to the hospital to have our first kiddo.

We had a small birthday party for Julia at Chick-fil-a. Dave and I decided to invite a smaller number of kids than we usually invite because December is such a crazy time of year, and we are especially busy right now. Julia loved her party, and hopefully all the kids had a great time! Of course the kids played, ate chicken, drank lemonade, and wore party hats. They also decorated cupcakes, sang happy birthday to Julia and watched as she opened presents.

The partiers

Julia and her cupcake

Julia was about to open gifts.

The celebratory squeals from the little girls as they watched Julia open her gifts were truly sweet. We did have to quiet them down, though. Look at the people in the behind the girls, trying to see what on earth we were letting our kids get away with!

Lydia, Julia's friend and their cupcakes

Family photo at Chick-fil-a. (Thanks Heather.)

After Julia's party on Saturday, Dave went to tutor, and I brought the girls home so the three of us could nap. That evening, Dave and I went to my work Christmas party, and had tons of fun. I was very soar the next day from dancing the night away. When we got home, Dave blew up balloons and filled the girls' room with them (as is our family tradition before a little one's birthday), and then we both hit the sack!

Sunday morning came early. Julia had to be to church early to sing with the little 4 and 5 year old choir. It was so precious! Julia was excited to get to wear a brand new birthday dress and sing on her birthday. (Thank you, Granny Ruth for the birthday dress.)

Our Birthday Girl

After church on Sunday, Dave and took Julia to a restaurant. Her only request was that we go to a place that had ice cream. So Dave and I drove to a Mexican restaurant that had ice cream the last time we were there. But, low and behold, the machine was broken, and there was no ice cream. Julia got to have sopapillas with whip cream instead. It almost, kinda, sorta made up for her lack of ice cream. She also got to wear a sombrero as the waiters sang happy birthday to her. After the waiter left, Julia told me she did NOT like wearing that hat. I had no idea that even 5-year-olds would have an aversion to wearing a huge hat while being sang to.

Can you find her? Julia is on the bottom right.

On Sunday evening, Julia got to open her gift from Dave and I. She got a few small things and a kids pump style ice cream maker. She has been begging to make ice cream, but I still haven't gone to the store to buy the cream. I should really get with it! --My only excuse: I guess I thought it could be made with regular milk....

Julia and her princess cup

Julia, blowing out her birthday candle.

This last weekend was crazy and overwhelming, but tons of fun. I am so grateful for our sweet girls and our little one on the way. God has richly blessed us our family with each other! Thank you for reading my blog. -Amber

First of Day of School and My Birthday Week

The day before my birthday, my girls had their first day of preschool/mother's day out. They love their school and so do Dave and I.

4 year-old Julia

3 year-old Lydia

Cousin Time

Birthday Dinner complete with candles and a fudgy chocolate cake

Hugs for Aubrey and Josiah at the airport. We all mis you!

My sweet hubby helped our girlies hug their cousin.

Me and my sis.

In the picture above, I look as tired as I am...we had a fun and exhausting birthday week. (I didn't know my sister was that much taller than me. Hmmm...)

Well, I thought I had a lot more pictures from the week. I guess I didn't get any picures of my parents or my brother! Oops! Sorry!

Thanks Dad, Mom, Aubrey, Alex and Josiah for visiting me on my birthday.  I love you all! -Amber



My Little Lydia

Woe is me. My Lyd turns 3!

6 months old, and very smiley.

Tomorrow, our youngest little girl, the baby of our family, our little Lyddie Lou turns 3 years old!! How did this happen? How does time fly so quickly? Where has the time gone? I'm sad, I'm excited, and I'm thankful.

Baby Food firsts

 Lydia is our spunky little second born. She has a sweet heart and a very strong will. She has surprised us in so many ways!
Surprise # 1- God planned for her to come a little sooner than Dave and I had planned.
Surprise # 2- I thought second borns were compliant. I didn't know you could have two super strong willed kids right in a row.
Surprise # 3- She has an onry streak that isn't shy.
Suprise # 4- She's not afraid to jump off of any single piece of furniture that we own, but the least of villains will make her turn her head from a t.v. show, while telling us she can't watch.
Surprise # 5- She's not platinum blonde. (I thought my kids would at least start out blonde.)

Clean baby. She was fresh out of the bath in this pic.

 Lydia truly is a comedian. She is quick to laugh, and picks up quickly on what other's find funny. One of my favorite things about Lydia has always been her laugh. One of my other favorite things about her is her reaction to exciting news. Whenever something strikes her fancy, she pumps her fists straight up in the air, throws her head back and bellows, "Yeah!!!" It makes you want to join her in her victory.

This was our first Houston Halloween. Lydia was a little over one.



Lydia looks so different from when we first ventured to Houston. Look at her little bob.

Beautiful little Lydia has the best hair! Her hair is thicker than mine, and still has a curl on the end. I still haven't had to start using conditioner on her hair. After bath, it brushes easily. It's just not prone to tangles. 

This picture was taken last week. Her favorite princess was Snow White up until a few weeks ago. Now there's a tie for favorite between Snow white and Ariel.



As bittersweet as it is to watch my girlies grow up, I am super excited about celebrating them. Tomorrow is going to be so fun! First, Lydia will wake up to balloons in her room and some birthday decorations in the dining room. Dave and I are staying home a little later than normal to start the day off with Lydia's breakfast of choice: Pancakes. We'll also let her open a few presents and put on a birthday dress. For dinner, Dave, the girls and I will enjoy Lydia's favorite foods: mac n cheese and cake. After dinner we'll be headed to Toys r us so that Lydia can spend some of her "hard-earned" birthday money. This weekend, we are having a small get-together/party to celebrate her 3rd birthday. We've only invited a few friends, so I hope that some of them are available to come and help us celebrate my little Lydia. She is such a blessing to us.

Dear Lydia,

I love you to the moon and back!!

Love, Mom



Thanks for reading, Amber