Stella's Birthday (6 weeks late)

Our sweet girl turned 3 on June 7th. She's getting so big and is so much fun. We had a big backyard party to celebrate her. She wanted a "green" party with "lots of games!" We did our best to comply. ;)

Stella's teacher, Mrs. Case, joined us. Stella had been asking for her to come for months.

She got a new scooter

Stick the tail on the donkey

Green iced cake on green plates with green cups...Mommy's best attempt at a "green" party

Aunt Amy

The sweet birthday girl

At her 3 year check-up, she weighed 36 lbs. and 37 7/8 inches tall. She was declared perfectly wonderful by Dr. Ryan! We think so, too.

Cuddle Bugs

These two were playing "Night Night." Love it.

Fairy Princesses

The girls have enjoyed putting on performances a lot lately. This day they did a fairy princess play. Aren't they so cute?

Soccer

The girls took a soccer clinic this summer at the Y. When I signed them up, I thought that Stella would really love it & that Jordan would play along. To our surprise, Stella wasn't into it all that much, but Jordan LOVED it. She quickly became the star of the group! She scored several goals during their games and even understood defending the goal really well. We were surprised to see just how scrappy our little girly-girl could be out on the field. Jamie & I decided that we'd better learn to like soccer pretty quickly, as Jordan's already asking when she can take lessons again!

Prima Ballerina

Jordan's first ballet recital was on Saturday. She did a wonderful job & loved being a real ballerina!

Sweetest Girl in the World

So, our dogs have a habit of chewing on any plastic toys that get left out on the porch. Unfortunately, the other day it was "Baby Jo," Jordan's very first (and very special) baby doll. Jordan wasn't the one who left it out, so I was worried about how she was going to react when she learned Baby Jo's fate. Her sister promptly claimed responsibility for the crime and apologized, and Jordan immediately forgave her. She told me later that she did feel a little tear on her cheek about it, but she knew Stella didn't mean for it to happen. I gave her the choice of throwing her away or keeping her. Jordan decided that she would like to keep her, but asked if maybe we could find some socks and mittens for her. It ended up being a great teaching opportunity about how people are still valuable even if they are different. But we were so impressed with how she handled it without any coaching or prompting. She's a really sweet girl.

Earth Day

Yesterday for Earth Day we spent the afternoon outside celebrating God's creation. The kids spent time looking around for different "creatures," and watching clouds. I enjoyed celebrating nature, but also the three lovely creatures that God's put on his Earth, under my care.

Painting

The babies & I spent the afternoon painting the other day. We had a lot of fun with it.

Leprechans!

We had a dance party at preschool yesterday for St. Patrick's Day. These guys had a lot of fun!

(see Stella dancing in the background?)

i love our monkeys

catching up

Stella has really enjoyed playing on the computer lately. Daddy made the kids a nice little desk area in the playroom, just their size.

Jordan's valentines

Jordan making valentines

Mommy playing with the camera
Davis showing off his new ability to stand. He's also been taking a few steps here & there. Lots of people have been telling me lately how much he looks like Jamie. Usually I don't see it, but I thought he did look like his Daddy in this photo.