Elizabeth's Baptism

Elizabeth was baptized last weekend at Jamestown UMC. The gown she wore has been worn by all three girls, and was actually my father-in-laws great-grandfathers gown..so we figured it is about 130 years old. I always get so nervous putting it on, as I am afraid I will rip a hole in it, or one of the girl's diapers will leak...but it is now hanging in my closet waiting for our picture session with The Portrait Gallery in Matthews next month. Below are some pictures of all 3 girls in the gown..Sarah Gray, Katherine, and Elizabeth.

What a blessing are our girls.

A Funny Picture

I came across this picture the other day with Sarah Gray and we just started to laugh. We take so many pictures these days we often forget to look through them, but Sarah Gray and I have made that a "quiet time activity"..we look through a certain month of pictures and talk about them, who was in them, what we were doing, etc. This picture is for you Abby and Makenna!

Happy 2 Months Elizabeth!

Chasing Butterflies

We have a butterfly bush in our yard, and our neighbors have a giant one that is always filled with monarchs. We counted 20 the other day. Sarah Gray and Katherine both have developed a fondness for all sorts of insects, especially butterflies. They love to try and touch their wings, or catch them in the net. I love it because it keeps them entertained for at least an hour. Sarah Gray even got stung the other day by a yellow jacket on the bush, but went right back over to it later in the afternoon to try and catch another butterfly.

Tiny Dancer

On Friday, Sarah Gray finished up a week of ballet class through the Greensboro Ballet. The week's theme was Flowers and Fairies. There was no dress requirement, so she had a fun time picking out different outfits to wear each day. The last day she and her classmates did a little recital of the Sugar Plum Fairy. I don't think ballet is a long term activity for Sarah Gray, but I probably will look into classes this fall. She was so cute during her performance and had a blast the entire week.

Say Cheese!

Elizabeth has been smiling at us for about 2 weeks now, and I finally today got a shot of her. She has lost almost all her hair on top, and is sporting a nice hairline. I cannot believe she is 6 weeks old tomorrow. Time goes by so fast when they are this little. She is still sleeping most of the day and night..we only see her little eyes for about a total of 2 hours each day.

Guess Whos 2!

Baby Katherine's birthday was on June 24th. That weekend we celebrating by having our family and neighbors over for bbq and fixings. We also had a wonderful strawberry and cream cake from Delicious, a bakery in Greensboro. Although it was the hottest day of the year at 98 degrees, all the kids had a great time playing outside on the swing set, in the sandbox, and sprinkler. I have posted a pic of baby Kat at 1 year so you can see how much shes changed. She is talking extremely well (and did I mention non-stop!), and when she is not trying to follow her sister every where, she enjoys playing with her dollhouse and baby dolls. I can't believe is she now 2. I still look at her like she is a little baby, just needing to be held and rocked all the time. She is definitely still a snuggle bunny, and still wakes us up every now and then wanting to be held, but she is so independent and not the little baby she once was!

The Girls

Although its a bit crazy during the days, we are slowly adjusting to having 3. It seems like everyone is on a different schedule whether its sleeping, eating, or playing, and I don't sit down all day, but I know this time goes by so fast. Scott and I are enjoying having a little one up with us watching late night tv again...she is such a good baby, we are truly blessed with another easy-going baby. I am working on announcements tonight..I found the sweetest website SarahandAbraham and I am so excited to send them out. I may end up ordering some more fun stuff!

So in love!

Our little Elizabeth James is just a angel. We are so very blessed with this sleepy head. She has not made a peep since she was born, and we just can't get enough of her sweet face. Sarah Gray wants to hold her every minute she can..and Katherine (although not very gently) just covers her with kisses. We thank God for her, and are so truly blessed with 3 little girls.

Any Day Now

So ready for you to get here little one. By the size of my belly, it can't be too much longer.

My Strawberry Shortcakes

Today we found a great (organic!) strawberry farm in Browns Summit. The girls and I drove down there this morning and spent about an hour picking strawberries. Sarah Gray held the little basket and Katherine helped her pick the berries. They were so excited about eating them.. SG kept saying "they're soo sweet!" I am sure after we have been eating those flavorless Costco ones for so many months! A friend sent me a great cobbler recipe so I can't wait to get to baking tomorrow. We are so excited about Faucette Farms, and look forward to getting some great organic produce from them this summer.

Myrtle Beach Days

A few weeks ago we went to the beach with our dear friends Matthew and Shannon Deitz and their beautiful girls Abby and Makenna. We had such a great time going to the pool, beach and just relaxing before #3 arrives. The girls did super in the car, my belly felt pretty good, and we actually enjoyed the 4 hour drive. On Sunday, the girls, Scott and I went to the Grand Strand to stay a few extra days at a beach front hotel. Although it was low 70s, Sarah Gray loved getting her feet wet in the ocean and jumping waves. She also spent many hours in the pool with her new Hello Kitty kickboard (thank you Y smim lessons!). Sarah Gray and Scott made it over to Jungle Golf to play a round while I stayed with Katherine who did catch a bit of croup 2 of our days. We were able to make it to our favorite dive Russells Seafood in Murrells Inlet one evening and enjoy yummy hushpuppies and local fish. I so do look forward to going back again later this summer, but am thinking a may need a bigger car to get down there!

Giddyup!

Last weekend Sarah Gray was invited to a birthday party for one of her school friends. It was at a beautiful farm in Advance..and the weather was so perfect, we could have not asked for a better day. Katherine stayed with her grandparents in Winston Salem for the afternoon. I don't think I could have handled two girls running around the farm. The owner of the farm let each child ride a horse. I thought for sure SG would be scared, for I remember last year she would not get near a pony also brought to a birthday party for entertainment. She hopped right up on that horse (it was a huge horse!) and held on with a huge grin. At the end of her ride, she received a blue ribbon as a prize...she was so very proud. Maybe horse riding lessons aren't too far off for us?

Cry Baby.

Katherine has always been a very happy and relaxed, go with the flow child. However, recently, when things don't go her way, she has decided to add a little drama into her life. Right when she tured 18 months, she started to scream when Sarah Gray would take something from her, or when she did not get her way. Now she does this thing where she plops down on the floor and cries. This only lasts about 2 minutes or so (I think its so funny and I have to walk out of the room and laugh). Once she realizes she is not getting any attention, she gets up and goes on her merry way like nothing ever happens.

Happy Valentines and Goodbye Snow!

I have been slow to post as the girls have kept me pretty busy over the past 2 weeks. Sarah Gray was out of school the entire first week of this month due to snow, so we passed the days inside by baking, working on Valentines, and playing (thank goodness our playroom is finished). I took a picture of our snowman today, and since its still so cold..he still look pretty good considering its been two weeks.

Today is Valentines Day and its been a pretty good one so far. I made the mistake of taking the girls to the pet store, where everyone was buying dogs, bunnies, you name it. SG is obessed with getting a rabbit..and its hard to explain why Dixie and Shelby would not be fond of a pet bunny in the house. She also got a FurReal baby lamb for Valentines Day, so it should keep her pretty entertained (as you can see from the pics below).

SG also had a Valentine's party at school where the parents brought in food and other goodies for the kids. Katherine had a great time with another little sister who came to help out. This was such a fun year for Valentine's with Sarah Gray as she was really "into" making cards for her friends, eating heat shaped donuts from KK, and getting lots of candy from all her friends.

Here is Sarah Gray making her Valentines (Dora).

Eating Krispy Creme for a special Valentines treat:

The girls and SG's class party.

8 inches and still snowing!

We had a real snow here in Summerfield last night and today. We woke up to around 8 inches on the ground this morning, however..it was in the low 20s, and remained there most of the day. We tried to take Sarah Gray out for a little bit, but the blowing ice and snow was a bit much for her baby cheeks, so we didn't try to go out again until early evening when the wind had died down, and a light snow was falling. We spread out bird seed early in the day so we were able to watch all types of birds enjoy our backyard, and this evening SG and I spread out corn for the deer, turkey, and rabbits (see pic below)...so tomorrow we can track their footprints through the snow. We are looking forward to a sunny day tomorrow and sledding with the neighbors. We kept little Katherine inside today...she watched her sister through the window and wanted to go out so bad, so hopefully tomorrow she will get her turn on the sled !

My Nature Girls

We have been anxiously waiting a warm day to go and visit the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, and boy was it worth the wait! The girls and I headed over there around 1:00 on Friday afternoon. I really didn't know what to expect, as having been to the Nature Museum in Charlotte, I was so surprised at what this center had to offer. We first toured the inside, looking at really cool aquarium fish, including a moray eel and a small shark. SG even pointed out a Lion Fish (to my disbelief)--which she informed me she learned from "Elmo." We then toured a room full of snakes (I had the chills the entire time) but Sarah Gray and Katherine had their face up to the windows, watching rattle snakes hiss at them from behind the glass. A nice gentlemen let Sarah Gray touch a sweet turtle from Africa, as well as an albino snake, and then he took her into the sea creature explorer room, where she held a sand dollar, a sea urchin, and a hermit crab. We toured the center, looked an numerous "stuffed" wild animals, and viewed the dinosaur replicas, which included a life-size T-Rex. I don't think Katherine was too fond of it (see picture below). We walked a by a television that was playing a video of the "zoo" outside, and as soon as the camera panned to the lambs, SG went screaming and laughing down the hall, ready to go and see her best friends. The little zoo was wonderful!! Before we went to the "farm" we saw meerkats, gibbons, tigers, otters, macaws, giant sea turtles, (the alligators were not out), maned wolves and several other animals. SG felt like she was in an episode of Diego. At the farm, SG and Katherine were able to run around with the little sheep and billy goats, pet the donkeys and miniature horses, lamas, and pigs. Feeding time was at 3:30, so I spent the next 30 minutes watching Sarah Gray and Katherine feed the sheep and goats from a large bail of hay..they had so much fun! I could not believe Katherine even got close to those goats! What a great afternoon and well worth the $16. We purchased a family pass..so we will most likely be back next week!

Mary had a "Not so little Lamb"

So for anyone who knows my daughter Sarah Gray knows she is obsessed with little lambs. Starting with a baby lamb the Easter Bunny brought when she was 10 months old, we are probably up to about 10 now. And this doesn't include the little plastic ones she collects from here and there. The fact that we are surrounded by lamb farms here in Summerfield only fuels her obsession, as I have to literally stop the car on the road so she can look out the window and say hello to the lambs. She has always had this noise she makes, a sort of "baaaa" when she sees one, and no lie, this was Katherine's second word after her first, "uh-oh." This weekend, she and I made a trip to the Tractor Supply Company to get some dog food. I noticed when we walked in all their toys were 60% off. Scott had found these great pair of lamb slippers (they "baaa") for Christmas at the store..which she absolutely loves. She wanted to look at the toys..specifically a shelf full of extra, extra large stuffed farm animals. Sure enough, on the very bottom shelf, there was a lamb. Ok, so at 60% off $40, I was sort of leaning towards a purchase, but when she looked at me and in her lamb "shakey/baa" voice, she said "Pppllleease don't leave me in the store." I just died laughing and told her to load that lamb in the cart (it barley fit). This stuffed animal is quite large, and its not like we have the room for it..but she is just so in love with it! So tonight when I walked in her room to tuck her in..I just had to post this pic: