JC is 7!

Low key birthday.  Dad threw a flame on the counter cuz that's cool.  :-)

Love you JC.  You are my tricky trickster full of delight and beauty.  God has blessed me.

The Medium One Turns 6

So, once again, we nixed a party. Well, we went swimming with some friends and hap cupcakes, but we nixed a big party. What did JC want? Ears pierced!! After one ear was done she was not quite sure the second should be done! She was brave! Then big sis said ok I'll do it too. YIKES, this time we REALLY thought the second ear would not get done. This is why there is no after shot of big sis! Apparently JC made it look too easy! In the end BOTH were glad and thrilled they did it! Big step!

So, next we surprised the girls with their first trip to Build a Bear! I am so glad we didn't do this until now. Because they LOVED it and truly appreciated it! JM got a white cat and JC got a purple bear. Thankfuly there was a fabulous special going on and they got an outfit and shoes too. That was a stroke of luck! You "bathe" the bear under a blow dryer and its really to get any fuzz off ut the next day JM got a smudge on her cat and said I needed to get the hair dryer out. I can't believe she thought that would get it out! Perhaps she felt these were just magical stuffies! Thankfully I have successfully washed both creatures.

I think the best part about this is the girls seriously thought they were having a full-on shopping spree! That's not something we do much and with the special going on there were no price limits on choices so it was perfect. Also we had no clue what an "activity" this would be. It took a while to buy a stuffy!

And did I mention our favorite Mia and JE were there! Mia met us in Waco and we just spent the day at the mall! JE was just her easy going self of course. Had Chick-fil-a at lunch then after our bear building adventure we had ice cream. It was a great day and both girls thought it was the best day ever. JM has said she wants a birthday at the Waco mall too! haha Loved our girls day out for JC and thank you Mia for our wonderful day and gifts. My girls are so blessed.

MDO Christmas Program

Love JM's little school. The program was very sweet. And we have a few friends there of course which is nice. Last year for MDO miss JC!

Puffy Tree

JC knows I am a sucker for a messy craft. So once in a while she asks, begs, to make something and off we go to find some sort of recipe. Today it was shaving cream, glue and food coloring on a tree. It is supposed to dry stiff...It does for a while. Deffinitely is not a keeper, but when you first do it, it's beautiful!

MDO Halloween

They had a costume parade and JC was ALL smiles.  You could tell she thought she was a star!  I love seeing her shine at school and no longer in the shadow of a sister and doing things happily on her own!  She also has some super sweet friends that seem to really like her. She still is pretty shy at first but starting to break free a lot.  And still loves her mom and home time too!  So, at school she went as a princess...  How many costumes can we wear!? 

Baby Got Tired

I know my mom is looking at this and saying, that poor thing!!! But she LOVES her Bumbo seat! More than the swing I think! Probably because we move it around to wherever we are so she can be with us. So, I think on this day she was just thinking, I'm tired, no need to fuss, I am right here with the family where I want to be, so, I'll just lean over and rest my little head!

You've Got One Shot Mom!

And this was it! Not bad considering she was really serious about that and my next shot was of her legs running off. Quick little girl!

She just had her 5 year well check. 42" and 32 pounds. Oh you little sweet thing.

Something About Five

Baby JC turned 5! Something about this age that creates so much excitement in my girls! JM loved turning five too! Miss J made this SWEET cake for JC. Fancy! Thank you thank you! What a way to make a party-less day more festive and special! We will be doing a birthday trip for all the girls in the fall and of course letting them have cupcakes at school.

Birthday girl on Birthday morning! What did we do today? Well we had to go get our Krispy Kreme birthday doughnut since she got a postcard in the mail for a birthday free one! Then her lunch request was to get a steak taco at Freebirds World Burrito. Then we measured feet for birthday boots for the girls from Mia. (PS Mia, JM declared you the best Mia in the world for getting her books along with JC's goodies. We know it's true.)Then we came home to swim in the nighbor's pool. Another request JC had! Then cake..lots of cake!

She got lots of fun gifts: crafty things, books, clothes, cute necklace etc. Along with some other little things, we got her a couple of cooking classes because her current interest is becoming a chef. She is very excited. JM covered her bike and roller skates in a pink sheet to give to JC. I thought that was very sweet becasue it means she will have to wait for the new ones, but it's nice knowing JC is excited about hand me downs for now too. $100 savings right there!

I like this picture. Just us at home eating cake with our big kids. :-)

I do have a few more birthday pictures to pull off my phone later.

I love you sweet baby Jane. Just like when you were a baby, I think I could wrap you up and snuggle you and stare into those peaceful blue eyes for hours. An ocean of calm. You are smart and have a quick wit. You always make me laugh and feel loved. You are such a big part of this family Janie! You are the only one who has the experience of being a big sister and little sister and is awesome at juggling that role! I don't think your sisters could love you more!

The BEST Game EVER!

Today JC is a robot. Not just any robot but one that just cleans all day. She will take orders from JM and I and just clean clean clean. What on earth put this idea in her head? I don't know, but I LOVE it!

My only problem is that today hubby and I did some straightening this morning so I actually don't have enough of the easy jobs for her to do today. I do believe she is going to clean up after JM's playroom adventures though.

I'll take what I can get. In fact, JE is napping and since we spent the morning outside I think I want to relax for a bit! Why not? I have a robot that cleans my house! haha

Splash Park Days Again

JC and friend.

Learning Time

JE is only 2 months old and the sisters have begun their hard core letter teaching!

Sad Meal

Last night I took the kids for a rare meal - a Happy Meal at McDonald's.

JM: Will there be a toy?

Me: Yes, a toy comes in a happy meal.

JC: Unless it's a sad meal. A toy does not come in a sad meal.

Have I ever mentioned JC has a good sense of humor? In fact that was what her pre-school teacher said in her recent evaluation.

Still NOT Acceptable

JC to JM while in tub making up their own rules to a tub game: Nuh-Uh! That is NOT acceptable.

giggle.

Not Acceptable

I think maybe JC is feeling a little "off". Maybe it's a new baby in the house or maybe the "Terrible Fours." Who knows, but JM suddenly got easier while JC who is normally so easy going got a little more difficult. So, I am attempting to carve out time with her. These days if I only have 2 kids with me that is considered one on one time.

So, yesterday I took the girls to the gym to play and I was going to walk outside on the trail with JE in the stroller. JC said she wanted to walk too. So JM played at the gym and JC came with me, so yes this had to count as one on one time! JE is pretty quiet so it works for now. JE is a good walker and kept up with me very well and even ran some! YAY Maybe I have a walking buddy! Or even a running buddy when I get back to that! JM tends to pick up and examine every rock so she is hard to walk with. So, the last thing JC wanted to do was feed the ducks the last bit of her granola bar. (Have no clue if that's bad for the ducks, but these ducks eat ANYTHING!)

As we are walking JC is talking about the ducks and this is what I hear:

"Those baby ducks are just running around and getting away from the Momma duck and crossing the street and that is NOT acceptable!"

Yes I am always amused when my kids say the things I say.

That night JC had a rough time going to bed. Poor thing just wants to be with me all the time and is a bit demanding. Sigh... Let it pass soon. I finally settled her down in her bed by cuddling with her for a bit and promising a little cooking of her choice the next day. So, a cooking adventure should be posted soon. :-)

The Things You Will Learn

JC to JE: Ok, I'll smile at you and then you smile at me. You learn to do that, then we'll work on letters.

Easter at Summit MDO

Pre-School Butterfly Release

JC's class pets this spring.

Being Verbal

My JC has always been a verbal child. She formed complete and long sentences at 2 or earlier. I always say JM was her teacher. JM was constantly drilling her on words, ie. "Repeat after me". So, now I still have a verbal JC, which sometimes surprises people until they get to know her because she does start off quiet.

So, the cons of being a great talker? Using words you hear and not using them correctly. This is also the highlight of my day. And other times she just uses big words that sounds funny coming out of her tiny mouth. BUT, she uses them correctly!

JC: He didn't go to high school that day so he didn't learn how to ice skate. (I think high school sounded like "ice school.")

OR

JC: Don't swim out into the ocean too far, or you'll get stung by a jellybean!

Then we have the ever-logical JM. Hubby was quizzing her:

Hubby: When JC is 6, how old will you be?

JM: 8

Hubby: When JC is 12, how old will you be?

JM: 14

Hubby: When JC is 100, how old will you be?

JM: Dead. (Let me note here there was no pause and no change in her tone of voice.)

Catching a Mess

I love catching my girl in a big painted mess...at school! ha And what did she say when she saw me peek my head in this day? "I think I feel like hugging you!" Riii-ight you big goof ball! They were making Valentine mailboxes I think.

In sad news, on "party day" for this one she started throwing up so we didn't get to go to school! Fortunately it's just her very bad allergies playing tricks on us and not a tummy bug! But goodness her allergies create some serious issues with the coughing and mucus! ACK!

My Little Cowgirl

C for Cowgirl at school this week!

And I didn't even have to say give me a "cowgirl face" for that look! She's a laugh a minute.