Growing things

On Friday we met my sweet Auburn friend Jane at the Botanical Gardens, where she shared her annual pass and gave us a fabulous experience for free! Jane is one of the coolest moms and most fascinating, creative people I know, so I'm a fan of hanging with her.

Jane's kids are absolutely precious, and it was a delight to be around them as this age (Elisha turns four next month, and Anna turns two!) We spent most of our time at the Children's Garden...

where we ran a bit...

put on wings...

to learn about pollinating flowers...

planted a sunflower seed to take home...

and played with worms. Tiny little beautiful Anna LOVED those worms! Janie wasn't interested,

and even after a little instruction...

Joy was still more interested in trying to decapitate the worms with the magnifying glass in her hand, while Blythe would take them from my hand to put back where they're supposed to be on the tray. Cleaning up, once again.

Group pic on the cow.

Big kids running off to the next thing. Independent, yet need a quick glance to make sure mom's coming.

I love Blythe's hands behind her back here, like she and Joy are strolling their gardens, perusing their work.

Did I mention that Boutwells make some beautiful children?? And Jane made this precious dress.

We walked to Piedmont Park for a picnic lunch before going home. It was a FABULOUS morning!
After some serious naps, our day ended with a picnic dinner at the park with the Owens!

The unpredictable weather kept the crowds away, and it was a perfect evening to end a perfect day!

Spring Break

Another playdate extravaganza week with swim lessons on break!

Monday- played at the Joneses. Mamas talked about some paint colors while kids played fabulously. Fav moment- twins both flat on their backs while Andy tickled both girls' tummies simultaneously. Blythe and Joy later graced us with this candid moment.

Monday afternoon at a park...

Tuesday morning, my precious grandparents came up and were fed all kinds of "cookies", "strawberry soup", and other such delights from the little pink kitchen. They are among the most enthusiastic patrons of my children's "cooking."

Joy showing Grandaddy the finer points of big sis' heels. We SURE loved having them visit!!

Wednesday- park and picnic with my precious newly-moved-back-to-town friend Katie and her little man Carlton (three weeks younger than the twins).

Sure is nice to have another set of hands and eyes when we go to the park!

Lovely picnic,

where Katie (and baby girl-on-the-way) got up every few minutes to chase down a busy Mr. Carlton!

Thursday morning- another park with sweet small group friends, LOVING THE WEATHER!

Friday needs a post of its own!

Mother's Day Gift

***I AM NOT PREGNANT!!! I'VE BEEN TOLD THE PIC BELOW IS MISLEADING!!!***

Mother's Day is not too many weeks away! In an age when we all are accumulating more than we need, we are challenging ourselves to try to find gifts that are experiential, memory-building, and long- lasting, not just dust-collecting and floor-cluttering.

The Mother's Day idea is to give to a crisis pregnancy center in honor of your mom. What better way to celebrate motherhood than to promote the life of an unborn child and support those ladies in crisis?

thanks for the cameo, Joy!

Our small group at church is involved with the Hope Center, which conveniently has the Walk for Hope the weekend before Mother's Day. Last week, I challenged the women of our church to request donations towards the walk in lieu of any presents!

We did the same thing last year, and it also posed one of those great opportunities to discuss with Janie the concept of giving to others and why we were walking with hundreds of people on a Saturday morning.

I would love to encourage y'all to find a crisis pregnancy center to contribute towards this year. If any of you are in town and want to be a part of in the Walk for Hope as walker or sponsor, get in touch with me (or just click on the link above) and I'd love to help you get involved!

She's been three...

Abby Jane is two months into being three, so it's about time for me to attempt to encapsulate my oldest daughter at this age. We all do these age updates on our kids, but is it as daunting for you as it is for me? How to find words to peg the entirety of these treasures that are our kids? That said, here goes my attempt at being concise. (*Update: this is not concise. At all. Sorry!)

-She is not concise (either)! We're in the 20 questions stage, and I answer "why?" and follow-up questions at least 500 times a day, and that is literal. I remind myself very regularly that this is how she builds her intellect!

-She loves, loves, loves her sisters. Frequently calls them "sweetie," has her own personalized if-they're-crying loop of songs that starts with Jesus Loves Me, moves into a rousing rendition of Wheels on the Bus with a few verses, sometimes throws in some Itsy Bitsy Spider or I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee... usually tears are all done somewhere in there.

-She is chief of the backseat, responsible for passing out snacks, toys, reporting on baby status, if Blythe is becoming "Shoeless Joe", etc.

-She loves rough-housing, wrestling, tickling, doing tricks, running, and being crazy with Jake when he gets home from work.

-Every morning, she gives the "Rambo call" (our neighbor LOUDLY YELLS for his dog Rambo on his back deck). That is what we call the way I am summoned when she awakens: "MAMA!!!!! MOM!!! MOM!!! It's light outside!!!!!")

-She remembers EVERYTHING, even going back to California days. She picks up on and hears EVERYTHING we say, often impatiently asking, "What are you telling Daddy?" when we're in the middle of a conversation, so she can be involved, too.

-She repeats adult phrases and correctly in context. I.e. "Mama, this sure is a GREAT dinner!" (with same inflection Jake uses) "I'm having issues with my sleeping bag."

-We don't get to go to the playground often, as I need to have another adult to help if I'm going to a "good" playground, but swinging is still her favorite thing.

-Favorite inside activities: reading books, drawing, cutting, making towers, cooking in her kitchen, playing in her tent, playing with leapfrog word hunt, taking extremely detailed care of babydolls as only the big sis of twins would.

-Favorite front yard activities: tricycle, scooter, simply running around, playing with cars, lawnmower, raking, blowing bubbles. And get rides from her sisters.

-She loves pink. Shocker.

-She'd rather talk than eat during dinner.

-She has loved her gymnastics and swimming lessons! Starting the next level of swim lessons next week.

-She can identify all the letters and many numbers and is noticing letters in her environment

-She takes a while to warm up sometimes in a new surroundings, but she is irrepressible once warm.

-She always wants to know what our plans are and absolutely prefers to be on the go and out and about.

-She canNOT wait to start preschool in the fall, to the extent that the other day, I had to show her how many months are left on the calendar before she goes. She thought she could go the next day.

-Sometimes she isn't a fan of staying in her Sunday School class.

-She still loves the smoothie she has had every morning for the majority of her life!

-She sometimes plays for the first hour or two of her afternoon nap and has very involved conversations with her babies during that playtime. Afternoon "nap" lasts around three hours.

-We try to not dumb things down for her and never underestimate what she might grasp. She still surprises us with concepts she internalizes. With that comes greater accountability for all of us- for us, to realize nothing gets by her; for her, because we KNOW she KNOWS better sometimes!

-Sometimes she might need to wear a tutu to Publix.

-She is absolutely immersed in spiritual things between BSF, church, our sing-a-long CDs, and her stories. We have spiritual conversations on a regular basis that often switch mid-conversation to something vital like, "What are we doing after naptime?" But God's Word is surrounding her, and we are so thankful for signs here and there that it's sinking in!

This age has its share of challenges too (sharing, obeying, etc!), but there are more than enough precious priceless moments that redeem those very "three" moments. Janie has kept us on our toes since day one. (Or day minus two, for those of you who remember how long it took that kid to come.) And oh, how we love all the parts of her that keep us guessing and keep us amazed at the gift she is to us! Happy 3rd, precious Janie!

Taking Advantage

Last weekend, Jake's extended family took advantage of a couple of spring birthdays to have a great family party! There was hide and seek...

swinging...
golf, football...

baseball...

a little catching up...

and lots of kids and adults enjoying beautiful weather!

We got to meet our cousin Emily's sweet little Caleb, but I missed getting a pic of him with his mama! Here he is with his adoring and beautiful grandma!

Then there were the after-dinner laps around the house that lasted until too many people were getting too injured. This was not an injury, but was just a funny series. Janie clotheslines Joy.

Joy is grounded, Cade is a blur passing her...
Joy is up and back in the game, this time going in the same direction as everyone else...

Caleb getting some love from his Uncle Barrett!

What a gorgeous Saturday it was- so fun to share it with family!

Royalties...

J. Crew definitely owes us some on this one! Payment in the form of gift cards would be acceptable as well.

*I have been told that I should clarify this post- my point was that the shirt seems to be named after my smallest child. In the catalog, the shirt had its own page and said, "The Blythe Blouse" in big letters. And here we were, thinking we had picked a really original name for our child...

Super-playdates

A break between swim lesson sessions meant getting in some special playdates! On Tuesday, two of my oldest friends who have very recently moved to Atlanta, Katie and Betsy, came to play. Our kids ages made it more like two sets of triplets. Betsy's twins, Hannah and Eli, turn three in May, and Katie's little Carlton is three weeks younger than Blythe and Joy! This is my only picture that has all six bodies in it, and that is a reflection of the sheer kinetics of that playdate! The huge blessing was that the girls and I actually were able to complete an impressive number of sentences and communicate on a number of subjects! I love these girls!

Yesterday, Beth, Bella Grace, and Tucker hosted a fabulous playdate of dear Auburn friends at Beth's home in Alabama. Bella Grace was quite the welcoming committee, saying "HI!" to everyone who came in the door!

Lyndsay and I came from Atlanta, and Em came from Birmingham, and we all converged for a baby boy extravaganza! The three of them have all had little boys in the last eight weeks, so it was a perfect opportunity to meet all these precious tiny men! Here's the whole crew- Jackson (8 weeks), Bella Grace (18 months), Tucker (4 weeks), Blythe and Joy (17 months), Cooper (6 weeks), and Abby Jane (3).
Beautiful Em (who's like a little sister to me!) and sweet Jackson, obviously adoring his mama. (Excuse my camera's lighting, Em!)

The three mamas of newborns!

Sweet Cooper, his daddy's mini-me with his mama's eyes.

I just loved holding these tiny guys! Tucker felt a lot like Blythe did at this age- just like a doll (a manly one), especially after lugging around my now- chunky toddlers...

We all got to swap around babies, and here's Beth hanging with Cooper (correction- Jackson- Aunt Em got her boys confused!).

Even though I had the most children, I was the least busy- you forget how much maintenance these tiny people require! But, just like Tuesday, we were able to actually have conversation and get to enjoy the company we travelled so far to enjoy! I am so thankful to have these precious ladies in my life! Thanks to Miss Em for the flower headband that we sported the entire ride home! Shout out also goes to Thomas the Tank Engine and Leapfrog's Talking Letters for providing in-flight entertainment.