Trick or Treat

The week of Halloween was full of fun festivities. Lately, I have just been forgetful and off and surprise, surprise...I didn't take that many pictures. For example: it was Red Ribbon week at school and everyday was a different crazy way to dress. I did not take one picture! Not ONE! It was so fun and took me back; as I remember dressing up and doing those crazy things for spirit week. It was fun to do it for Sadie. The last day was the costume parade (wait, actually I did take pictures! I just realized I have some on my little camera....I will post later I guess).
By the end of the week it seemed as if we dressed up in our costumes a million times! Each time there was a different look. Different accessories, makeup, hair...always different. Sadie is so funny and so particular! Here we are all ready for the church Trunk or Treat! (Lucy's hat is not on yet)
Lucy as Jesse from Toy Story 2
Sadie as Hannah Montana (of course!)

Striking that Hannah Montana pose!And our sweet little Daphne as a Sunshine.

I should have taken this next picture as a hint...Here is how our night ended up. Lucy threw up all over her costume on our way out the drive way! So Daddy and Sadie ended up going all by themselves. Sadie was so sweet and took Lucy's bag and got her candy too!
After a rough night, Lucy woke up feeling great! Me on the other hand, I needed more sleep! But who can sleep on Halloween!!!!
Here we are, ready to get some (more) candy!!
Little Lucy was so excited to be Jesse! Although it sounds like she says "Jelssie." No one could understand whenever she told them what she was going to be. :) At first she wanted to be a unicorn (good luck with that one Mom). When she changed her mind to be Jesse, I jumped on it! Her costume cleaned up well, thankfully!
Little Sadie is such a drama queen! I love her energy and wish I had half of it! She was so excited for candy! We were lucky and ran into a friend while we were Trick or Treating! Sadie and Vivian had a BLAST running from house to house!!
I don't really know what I was, but at least I dressed up right!?!
But Daphne, now she was too cute! I had a hard time trying to find a costume for her. When I saw this Sunshine costume, I knew it was perfect!!!! Just for her! She is our little Sunshine!! Bringing so much joy and light into our lives!
She wasn't quite sure what to think of me!

She did warm up to me after a little bit! She is so loving and sweet! I was going to say she loves her Mama, but really she loves her Daddy just as much! And you can't ignore how much she adores her sisters! She is just so sweet!!

6 Months

Seriously, where has the time gone? I always LOVE the 6 month stage, but that came too quickly. When people say they have a 6 month old I think, "awww, cute little smiley baby." Not "awww, look at that sweet little newborn." And that is how I want Daphne to be for just a little longer. Please!?! Although I must say, she is definitely a cute little smiley baby! I just love her to pieces! She is very into faces! She loves to look at expressions and loves to grab and claw at any and all facial parts! She absolutely A.D.O.R.E.S. her big sisters!!! She kicks and flaps her arms and squeals and giggles when she sees them! She can be completely crying as we are waiting to pick Sadie up from school and when Sadie gets in the car and gives her kisses and sits behind her, she will stop and giggle! She is starting to really notice our dog Missy. She loves to watch her, touch her, and share her food with her. Speaking of food, Daphne is quite the eater. She will down practically anything you give her which makes it nice for Mommy. She is also very vocal when she eats. It is hilarious. Maybe it is because that's a good long portion of time when she has my complete attention (poor third child!). But in between bites she will grunt and squeal and blow bubbles and tell me all sorts of stories. I love it!
She loves pulling the girls hair even though they don't like it very much. But they are VERY patient with her. They absolutely LOVE to be big helpers and help take care of her.
Daphne is starting to sit up but is still cute and wobbly. But the main thing that has happened is she has outgrown her carrier! SO SAD! No more portable naps! Being the third child she is always lugged around everywhere. In her carrier she could at least stay asleep as we are getting in and out of the car and to different places. Now...she gets woken up after falling asleep in the car for 5 minutes. :( This just has to mean that I need to slow down and little and not commit myself to too much.
But boy has Daphne had some good times in her carrier! Here are just a few of those times:
Que the music... ;)
Home from the hospital. 4/16/2009
Trip to the Dentist. 5/8/2009

Tons of sweaty days at the pool. 5/12/2009

Hangin' with friends.

Daphne and Ryder 5/14/2009

Daphne and Isabelle 9/3/2009Fourth of July 7/4/2009

Many trips to McDonalds 7/21/2009

First time relaxing on the beach, covered by a blanket - it was cold. 7/24/2009

First trip to the Ventura County Fair on the Merry-Go-Round. 8/6/2009

First solid. Rice Cereal given to me by Sadie. 8/13/2009

Lucy's Preschool Orientation. 9/3/2009

Lunch at Sadie's school. 9/4/2009

Day at the Park. 9/11/2009

Ice Cream and Snow Cones with Friends. 9/18/2009

Good bye dear carrier friend. We loved all of our times together. We will miss you! :)

Movin' on Out

We have recently had to swallow our pride, and make a decision that wasn't the most fun for us, but one that is a good decision for our family. We have sold our beautiful home. The home that we built and made TONS of changes to, to fit US will now benefit another family. It took a lot of prayers and strength, but we did it and, although there are moments, it feels good. Like we can breath again. We can enjoy each other more and not stress so much about the unimportant things.

Chris has a great job. It is 100% commission. With the struggling economy it has put a dent in his income. He still makes plenty for us, but we just had to adjust our bills to fit into the changes that have happened. Although when we built this home we were living easily within our means, it has been a learning experience for us. We don't need all the fancy things, especially with young kids. I realize now that having those nice things added stress to our daily lives because we didn't want the kids to ruin them, for example the forbidden wood floors. :) Once we finally made the decision, it felt good! GREAT! We looked forward to the move.

With a lot of hard work we listed and showed the home, and after only two days we got our first offer! Two days later we got an even higher offer. We were very happy. We packed everything up and the day came to move! It was a lot of work but we got it done! We said our goodbyes to our home. It was sad to see it empty. This is the first time selling a home has been sad for me. So many fun times that are hard to separate from. But we did it and it is good. We are getting settled and are excited for the change. The girls are having fun and love being able to meet new neighbor friends.

We were so lucky to have Grandma Christy come to help us move! She is always willing to drop everything to come and help us out. We are so thankful for her! We could not have done it with out her. We did get to have some fun times when she was here too. We went to lunch with Sadie and that was lots of fun!

So we have been busy and blogging has been pushed aside. But I will get back into it...I promise.

5 Months

Wow, this little girl is growing way too fast! I don't know what it is, but these past five months have gone way to fast. I just wish I could slow down time. Pause moments that I absolutely cherish with Daphne. She is such a sweet heart! She will be crying in her bed, full blown cry, and the second she sees me she instantly gets a big smile on her face! It melts my heart!
This little girl loves to play with her feet! And who wouldn't want to play with and nibble on those adorable toes!?! Whenever I change her diaper, she grabs her toes the second she can and starts nibbling on them. I love it!
I love the way she twists her ankles in circles when she is happy and excited! Seriously, I love it!
She is loving being a big girl and eatting food! I can tell she is going to be a great eatter. She'll it peas, and everything! Although, she hasn't been a fan of peaches and pears. Weird... She will gag and then shiver. Too cute.
She LOVES playing in her exersaucer right now. She will play and squeel for so long in it!
Oh my goodness! The cutest thing that I LOVE right now about Daphne. When she sees you coming to give her kisses, she will bring her fists up by her face and open her mouth. Like she is just so excited and she can't stand it! Seriously, I LOVE IT!!!!!
She loves all the attention she gets from her family! We all love her so much and think the world of her! I am so proud of Sadie and Lucy. They absolutely adore her and have never had any jealousy issues or anything with her. They just adore her and I love that!
Daphne, you are my girl and I love you forever no matter what! I could kiss your cheeks all day long!!!

Lucy's Turn for Preschool

Lucy has been helping me drop off Sadie at Preschool for 2 years now. Each and every day as we dropped Sadie off, Lucy wanted to stay. Some days even more than Sadie! :) Well, now it is her turn! She could not be more excited about it either! Each time we went to the store to get school stuff for her, she wasn't really feeling it. I began to wonder how she would do. But she did fall in love with the same lunch box as Sadie, and that was exciting for her to get. She also picked out a spider man folder! She is so funny! She is such a tom-boy sometimes! She loves animals, frogs, lizards, snakes, cars and evidently Spider Man!
Once Sadie went to school, Lucy got really excited to go herself! We went to Target and she picked out her Hello Kitty back pack and was SO excited about it! When Sadie got home Lucy was so excited to show Sadie and Sadie was so excited for her! Their exchange was precious! One of those moments as a Mom you just cherish!The night before she started school, we went to a Labor Day BBQ with friends. Lucy is so excited to be able to go to school with her friend Averee! As we were leaving the BBQ we told them we had to go home to get ready for bed because school was tomorrow, Lucy squealed with excitement and grabbed Averee's hands and began to tell her how fun school will be! Yet another moment that makes my heart smile!
Lucy's teacher is Mrs. Lisa! And they are the Ladybugs! She is already having SO much fun and meeting new little friends. She has always been an independent little girl and she hasn't changed. She has a GREAT imagination, turning a strip of fabric into a snake and imagining what the McDonald's inside Walmart said, to get to be inside Walmart. She is hilarious! Her teacher says she is very independent at school too but that she draws kids in without even trying. She is such a sweetheart! I just love her! She has very unique and distinct qualities about her that are just so endearing. Lucy loves that she gets to go to school! She only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays but she would love to go EVERY day! She LOVES that she now has a back pack for her cubby at home! She feels so big and responsible as she follows Sadie's lead of putting her lunch box by the sink, folder on the counter and back pack in her cubby. She is so big!
Her teacher said she LOVED playing with the sorting toys on her first day. Seriously, everything about school is perfect for Lucy! She loves details, organization, scissors, painting, everything! With her personality, I don't worry about her in school at all! I know she will love it and thrive!Wow, I just can't believe how big she is! She has been the baby for so long and now she is such a big girl! Each day she is growing so big! We just adore our little Lucy and how sweet and loving she is! We are so excited for all the fun she has in store this year at her first year of pre-school!

Back to our Vacation

After Daphne's blessing, sadly we had to say good bye to Daddy since he had to go back home to work. Then we drove with my parents back to their house. We don't do many road trips since we live so far away from everyone so I was curious as to how the girls would do. The first 5 minutes was not a good sign. But they were obviously tired and both the big girls ended up crying themselves to sleep. Which was nice as they slept for a good chunk of time. We had planned to stop at a couple stores that I wanted to go to, but sleeping kids was more important to me!

We drove from Ogden to Las Vegas making many potty breaks and nursing breaks. Even though my sister Tricia and her family were on their way to Nebraska after Daphne's blessing, we stayed at their house that night. We ended up not getting much sleep because it was too exciting to play with cousin's toys even when they aren't even there! And then my sister Tara and her family got there as we were "trying" to go to sleep. More excitement!
The next day, we ALL were driving home. Tara and Jon to their house in Palm Desert and us to Ventura. We drove to State Line and road on some rides at Buffalo Bills. The kids LOVED the log ride! Lucy was so scared about it at first, but then LOVED it and talked about it for DAYS! Sadie and Allie road with Grandpa and thought it was so cool. Then we drove to Calico which is a ghost town that I remember going to as a kid. Note to self and all others interested: Do NOT go to Calico in the summer and in the afternoon! It was HELL...literally! I did not take any pictures (I think my Mom did but I will probably never see them; ahem Dad!) because I had to be in the shade with Daphne. I had her covered with a blanket but even still if we were not in the shade she would just cry! Just standing in the sun made you feel like you were getting an instant sun burn! It was crazy! Some sweet lady even gave me an umbrella to hold over Daphne. I do have to say, the people at Calico were all SO nice! Giving us things and letting us do extra etc. We walked through the old mining tunnels and even panned for gold! Sadie and Lucy both got some gold and were so excited about it! The kids got a souvenir and we got a post card for Daddy and we were out of there!

We made our to McDonalds and were so ready for a drink! The girls were excited to see Ronald sitting on the bench as we walked in. Look how hot they look! Red faces and everything. And of course Daphne is out!

We finally made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house and we were so excited! The weather was exactly what we hoped for! It was so nice to get away from our Texas heat! We got to go visit my Grandma Beebe and Aunt Joyce. It was great to see them and they loved seeing the girls! We hadn't been to Ventura for almost 2 years so they have grown a lot since then.

We got to go to the beach a lot! Which is what I wanted! I wanted a nice relaxing vacation! Most of the times when we go to Ventura we always have so much planned. This time we planned nothing! Me and the girls got to hang with Grandma and Grandpa and just enjoy each other! We walked to the park, went to the library that I used to go to as a kid, went to many favorite restaurants, and of course the beach!

The girls got to sleep together and they loved it! They have gotten in the habit of it and one usually ends up in the others bed during the night now that we are home. They are so cute! I love sleeping kids! They just look so peaceful and cute!

We did a lot of playing Barbies! Well, mostly following directions with Barbies! Sadie likes to tell us what to do and say as we are playing! One time Grandma and I got "too silly" and we got shot down quickly! Even though Grandma has never really played Barbies before (according to her word) she did great and the girls LOVED playing Barbies with her in her room!

Grandma and Daphne! Daphne got so spoiled with all the attention from everyone! It was so fun! We all enjoy her so much! I did a little photo shoot so we went down town to view the area before hand. The girls asked to put their feet in the fountain while I was looking around. I said yes, but not to get wet. Pretty soon, this is what I found! Yes, we were the white trash kids playing in the fountain! But it was worth it! They had so much fun!
Here are some of the pictures of my kids during the photo shoot. Lucy with her fingers in her mouth and playing with the seam of her shirt. She really has found comfort from those two things. She will come up to me and grab my shirt hem or the hem of my skirt. I have even seen her use Daphne's hem. So cute! She had her shirt off because she was hot (?I know?) and smiled perfectly, but when I put her shirt on, this is what I got.

We had so much fun in Ventura! It was great for me to be able to see friends and their kids too! There is more to come, but this was the first part of our trip when just our family was at Grandma and Grandpas. It was such a great time! The girls really enjoyed being able to spend so much time with them at their house! They love finding gold coins in the sand box every day and trading them in for a prize out of the treasure chest! They loved chasing their cat Taffy around from under the table to under the bed. :) It was a great time!

3 and 4 Months

Life has been busy and sadly, blogging has taken a back seat. But not for long! :) Before we left for our trip this summer Daphne turned 3 months old. Then we were gone for most of her 3 month life. :) We returned the day before she turned 4 months. At least I took a picture of her at 3 months before we left!
She is such a doll! So sweet and such a good baby. It always takes a little while for our babies to adjust but she has been such a good baby. She is getting on a good sleeping schedule and does well in the night. She is definitely the third child and the poor girl gets lugged around everywhere! She gets woken up from naps WAY too often and spends a lot of time in her carrier! But she does have 4 people in her family who absolutely adore her and give her LOTS of attention! Daphne loves her blankets and loves to cuddle them up to her face! It is so cute and so sweet! She loves to be swaddled and knows its time to have a good sleep when she actually gets swaddled and laid down!
Daphne is a dream! She has the best chunky-monkey thighs and the most kissable cheeks! She loves to hold her hands together in front of her chest and suck away at her binky so intensely! She did absolutely amazing on our trip and on the airplane rides. She gets lots of attention from on-lookers. She went on so many adventures on our trip and was such a great baby! There were many ALL DAY events that she quietly attended! She did so well and made it easier for Mommy to handle 3 little kids for so long without Daddy to help. She really enjoyed LOTS of time with Grandpa Stewie. They loved to cuddle! She even got upset when I came to get her from Grandpa!
She is starting to reach for and hold onto toys. Which is always so cute. She will stare at her hands just trying to figure them out! Her sleeping patterns got a little messed up while on our trip. I don't know if it was the fact that she was a little sick or being in a different place or needing solids. Or possibly all of the above! But we got them back to normal after about a week of being home.
She is growing up so fast! I just want to pause time so I can enjoy her a little more at this stage. I just love it! She is absolutely cuddly and I ADORE that! She is a little snuggle bug and loves to be held but is content when she is not. She is just so precious and sweet! We love her so much!