She's a Natural

We just signed Anna Grace up for soccer! Have you ever purchased cleats for a three year old? Have you ever even purchased cleats for anyone? I certainly haven't. This blonde beauty takes after her daddy when it comes to sports. 

Summer Photo Shoot

This summer by good friend Erin, from Brooke Shelby Photography took some wonderful pictures of the girls! Here are some of my favorites...

Quarter Century!

Last week was Anna's 25th Birthday! We had a wonderful day, beginning with a surprise visit from Spencer who showed up at church!

Anna with her favorite gift, a beautiful new watch!

The cake. (I forgot the candles, sorry Smalls.)

 Grammy and Adalyn

The Gauntt's

The Girls

The Grandparent's

Then we headed to the bowling alley for some family fun.  Let me tell you, we are a fierce group of bowlers.

Uncle Paul came to join in on the action.

Check out Granddad's form.

Birthday Girl

Super dad bowled for a good 45 minutes with that sleeping beauty on his shoulder.

The End.

Happy Birthday Anna! I love you more than the stars!

Today was...

The...

Yea for Anna Grace! She did so well today and I am so proud. She wasn't in the mood to take pictures before we left and I was short on time so we did an after school shoot. She may look very happy to be holding my silly sign. Don't let that cute smile fool you. I had a stash of treats in my pocket she was being bribed with. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

She is in the same classroom as last year which helped a lot with transitioning back into school. She wasn't super excited for me to leave, but wasn't nearly as upset as last year. She did not eat her lunch, but she took a nap so we were 1 for 3. Hopefully in next week or two we will be 3 for 3!

All of these smiles/silly faces were originals and not coerced :)

Meet the Teacher

Today was Meet the Teacher at preschool and it was a success, as long as you don't count the fact that I didn't get a single picture of AG with her teachers.

Then, we took advantage of the cooler weather and headed to the park!

Adalyn really enjoyed it.

Look who decided to join the fun!

Adalyn, you will be playing in no time. For now, you loved snuggling with Sugie.

Granddad made a surprise visit and Anna Grace actually said "Granddad!" unprompted. She can say "granddad" but refers to my dad as Ga Ga." Thank goodness he's not a lady. We are hoping "Granddad" sticks. Either way, it's all with love!

I know this is blurry... but can't you just see the love?

Uh oh...

Panic!!!

Wait... don't panic.

Those are window crayons! Aren't they wonderful? 

While Aaron was out of town for a few weeks, this was the easiest way to get a quick shower in while the girls were awake. Anna Grace loved them and clean up was a breeze!

Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating all of the things that make America a wonderful place to live! In honor of the occasion, Anna Grace and I made a flag to hang on the wall.

First we gathered our supplies. I always keep construction paper on hand and I remembered we had this great star punch! If not, you could use anything white like beans, pom poms, cotton balls, etc.

Then Anna Grace punched the stars out. This is great for their pincher grasp and prewriting skills.

I cut the big blue square and put the glue out and Anna Grace put all the stars in place.

Again, I cut the stripes and let her glue. Then with a few extra stripes I let her practice her scissor skills.

The finished product.

Ta Da!

Look at that pride!

Doesn't get much better than that! There are lots of crafts we could have done but since it was spur of the moment we just used what we had available and she couldn't be happier!

Mother's Day Gifts

I know I'm a bit behind on this...but it was Mother's Day=Mom gets to do what she wants=No blogging, and more sleep :)

I got my very first homemade gift! It is a precious coaster with Anna Grace's fingers as the flower petals and bugs.

I also got a magical little rose that just so happened to make doing the dishes a little more enjoyable. I could use one of those magical roses a bit more often.

I don't have any actual pictures from Mother's Day since Aaron and I went away for the night to Lake Texoma to celebrate our 3 yr anniversary. I'm fairly new at this mom thing and forgot all about my own day when I made the plans and about my Mom's Mother's Day when I left her with my children! Thanks Mom!

On the Cob

How do you know it's getting close to summer? Corn on the cob!  Anna Grace has been thoroughly enjoying the lovely weather we have had the last few weeks and now the great fruits and veggies that are coming into season. Corn is one of her favorites, and while I am a little less of a worrier, Anna Grace's Daddy wasn't a fan of her using the standard cob holders and my little neat nick was not a fan of getting her hands dirty. In comes the greatest kitchen utensil yet...

Tovolo's Twist Lock Corn holders!

I happened to stumble upon these little babies at TJMaxx, but now that I know how wonderful they are I would have paid full price! Anna Grace gets to keep her little hands clean and Daddy doesn't have to stress about the sharp pokers being yanked out and used as weapons.

Yes, she ate the whole ear by herself. Enjoy!