Soccer Monster

Fall and Saturday = Soccer around here.  This year is especially fun because after having to cheer from the sidelines for what seems like FOREVER Emme is finally old enough to join in the fun!  

She couldn't wait to hit the field for her first practice...

And when game day rolled around she turned into a little Soccer monster...

I lost count after her 10th goal :)


I think watching her sister all these years has paid off!

She's a pretty great role model...

I'm totally digging the whole soccer mom thing...

Turning Nine

It's our last year with Carter in the single digits (if you need me I'll be crying in the bathroom:)...

In all seriousness I just love birthdays.  Celebrating people is very important to me and I think birthday's are the perfect excuse to do just that!

 This year Carter wanted to invite a few of her closest friends over to spend the afternoon...

Nate and I temporarily lost our minds and agreed to take them all to Main Event...

Luckily they were all little angels and so we rewarded them with a Pizza Dinner.  Our favorite little guy joined us...

Then it was home for cupcakes and a little "Happy Birthday to You"...

Carter I don't think we could love you more.  You are growing into someone we are so proud of.  You are a leader in life.  You are smart and witty and you are a delight to be around.  I hope the year ahead is your best year yet!!  Thanks for being such a bright spot in our lives...we simply adore you.

XOXO

Pre-Kindergarten

So I'm thinking the inventor of "Pre-Kindergarten" knew that it might do a Mama good to have a little years worth of preparation before having to do the whole sending them off to real kindergarten thing. I mean some days the fact that my sweet little Emme is only a year away from leaving me forever (ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic:) just blows my mind!  You know what else blows my mind?  This girls fashion...she insisted on leopard and feather for Meet the Teacher... 

If I loved her anymore there'd have to be two of me :).  She's chatty...

And goofy...

And she brings so much joy to our lives...

She's also an old pro at this pre-school thing and by the time her first day rolled around she was more than ready to fly the coop for a few hours...

Emme you are like a ray of sunshine everywhere you go...

I feel like the luckiest lady alive that I get to be your Mom...seriously it's so much fun!!  

Speaking of fun...Emme and Tatum at the Kiddie Park definitely fits that bill...

Other fun we've been having...Kicking off Friday Night lights in Temple with our favorite Coach...

Finally getting around to making room for baby and moving the girls in together...

Hanging out with our buddy MT...

Celebrating with friends...

Creating Mini-Me's... 

And growing a little buddy of our own...
 

It's definitely enough to make you wanna take a nap! :)

We are officially back in the swing of things!

Third Grade

Experiencing life with your oldest child is a unique experience.  Everything is new.  That being said I'm not sure a year will go by that I don't feel a little caught off guard by how much older she feels.  After all I've never had a third grader before...

I don't know if I'll ever get over feeling like she's growing up too fast...but I do know I'm starting to feel more and more determined to not mourn what we are leaving behind.  Don't get me wrong I love reminiscing with the best of them...I adore a good trip down memory lane and can get a little teary when I run across a photo of her from a few years ago.  But, here's the thing, I can't stay sad for long because I'm just so darn happy with who she's turning into.  I love this big girl version our little Carter is morphing into.  She's lovely and kind and she's just someone I find myself loving to spend time with.  I can't help but think about the lovely things that lie ahead of us...but first things first...conquering the first day of third grade...

And after we sent her off with a confident smile I needed a good dose of someone much littler and not nearly so grown up...

We can always count of Kim and MT for a good dose of baby!  

Carter I have no doubt you are gonna' soar through third grade with flying colors!  The year ahead is yours for the taking...go get em'.  XOXO