The Gidley Girls

How about an update?!?!

2012-02-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

We are still here!!! I have had some horrible technical problems with my computer. January flew by and now it is almost half way thru February! So much has been going on and I want to get the blog all caught up!

We have to go way back to December...

Breakfast and Dinner with Santa is the big fundraiser for the girls' preschool. This year, I was fortunate enough to be part of a great group of ladies that organized the events. The girls had a great time playing games, making crafts, and we even got our first good pic of all three with Santa! Success!!!

FOUR years old!!!

2012-01-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of posts to catch up on from December. It was a busy month but one of the highlights was definitely the girls turning FOUR! We had a "pinkilicious" birthday party at the gym where they do gymnastics. I think all the kids had a great time playing in the gym. It is hard to believe that my little two-pound babies are now beautiful, healthy, smart, happy, funny, sassy little girls. I cannot imagine life without them!

Aggie Basketball Guest Coaches

2011-12-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knows Brooklyn, knows that she is a huge basketball fan! A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to be guest coaches at the Aggie Women's basketball game vs. Missippi State. Brooklyn was in heaven but all of the girls really enjoyed being a part of such a special event. They really thought they were hot stuff! :)

As guest coaches we got to tour the athletic facilities, be with the team during Coach Blair's pre-game speech, go in the locker room before the game, sit behind the team's bench during the game and meet all of the players. The players were all super nice and loved meeting the girls. Coach Blair is such an awesome coach and it is easy to see how much he truly cares about his team and the fans. After the game was over he brought the girls out on the court to sing the Aggie War Hymn. It was such an awesome moment and the perfect ending to our day!

WHOOP!!!

Watching the game
Kelsey Bone, their favorite player!
Checking out the practice court
Meeting Danielle Adams - All American and WNBA player
The salon room in the locker room!
Brooklyn in front of the Future Aggie locker....hope she her own locker in there one day!
The girls loved that some of the players had princess posters in their lockers

Pre-game talk

Dewberry Farms & Legoland

2011-11-22T14:38:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, several friends got together to take our kids to Dewberry Farms. The girls and I had never been but it was a blast! The girls loved all the fun things they had to do. We definitely hope to make another trip back soon.

The next day we headed up to Dallas for a friend's baby shower. Dodie was nice enough to go with us and we took the girls to Legoland after the shower. Who knew you could make so many things out of Legos?!?!

Halloween Part 2

2011-11-17T14:14:00.001-08:00

Ready to party!

Going on a hay ride

Decorating pumpkins

Making cookies

The gang ready to trick-or-treat

Mason and Brooklyn were always the first at the door!

Batman and Supergirl

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf

We attended two more parties the weekend before Halloween and then went trick-or-treating at a few houses on Halloween night. The girls were really in to it this year and it was fun watching them run from door to door!

Halloween Part 1

2011-11-15T18:47:00.001-08:00

This year, Halloween seemed to be never ending. I think we ended up with enough candy to last us until Easter :) The girls each chose their costume this year and we ended up with a pirate princess, Supergirl, and Little Red Riding Hood. We kicked off the festivities with Trunk-or-Treat at the girls' preschool. The weather got bad that day so they ended up moving it indoors. The kids didn't seem to mind!
Class pic with Thing 1 and Thing 2...aka Miss Amy and Miss Carla
Ready to go! Too excited for a picture...
Caitlyn and Olivia
The REAL Batman and Robin. Addyson wasn't too sure about them!
Brooklyn and Lexi
Me and my girls
Brian and Hudson, the big bad wolf

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-01T19:53:00.001-07:00

We took the girls to a pumpkin patch in Georgetown on our way home from our trip to the ranch. We have stopped there before because they always have a ton of pumpkins. The girls loved checking out all the pumpkins and of course we had to take home a few!

My little deer hunter

2011-11-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

I'm here!!! I know...shame on me for going over a month without a post! We have been busy! Before I start posting some pics from all of our Halloween fun I have to back up and post these pictures from the ranch. We went out there a few weeks ago and Brooklyn went hunting with daddy one morning. They shot a deer together and I don't know who was more proud! Brian promised the girls that he would take them each hunting but after he took Brooklyn hunting the first day we were there, a huge rain storm hit and it rained almost the entire rest of the time we were there. We really need the rain so we can't complain! Addyson and Caitlyn didn't seem too upset and I'm sure they will have a chance to go soon.

Aggies in Training

2011-09-18T17:46:00.001-07:00

Last night, the girls had another milestone....their first Aggie football game! The Aggies played Idaho and it was pretty much a blow out. The girls did great and really enjoyed the game. Their favorite parts of the game were seeing Reveille and watching the band. It was a wonderful first experience!
Gig 'Em!!!

Back to School

2011-09-06T19:51:00.001-07:00

The girls started back to preschool last week. They are in the three year-old class and are going four days a week. We had a wonderful summer but I think we were all ready for school to start! When we went to open house to see their class, the girls did not want to leave! They were super excited about going back to school. I hope it stays that way always!

The girls' teachers are Miss Carla and Miss Amy. They are both awesome and I know it is going to be a great year! It is hard to see them getting so big...pretty soon I will be sending them to Kindergarten :(.

Pretty Piggies

2011-09-01T11:06:00.001-07:00

The girls like for me to paint their nails and toes but I have held off on letting them get a real pedicure because I knew if they were anything like me it could be dangerous! (At least for daddy!). I thought that we would go get mani/pedis as a special back to school treat. We went with some friends and the girls loved it! They thought they were big stuff! :)

Dress up

2011-08-25T12:35:00.001-07:00

We have been busy getting ready for the girls to start preschool again and trying to stay cool in this miserable heat! Right now, the girls are very much into dress up. Almost as soon as they get up they run into the playroom and pick their outfit for the day! It is usually a princess but sometimes we have a cowgirl or a super hero. The girls are great at role playing and I am amazed at some of the things that they come up with to play. They have wonderful imaginations!

This is Brooklyn and Addyson playing mommy and daddy.

Then Caitlyn took a turn playing daddy....I'm so glad Addyson inherited my love of big sunglasses! :)

Hope you are staying cool!!!

Cousin Camp

2011-08-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

The gang!

The girls loving on Malosi

Brooklyn

Caitlyn

Addyson

Hudson

Mason

Jackson

Grant

Jackson, Grant, and Malosi came to see us a few weeks ago. It is so fun to see all of these kids play together and how much they love each other. Right now we have four boys and four girls but soon the girls will outnumber the boys! It is so hot outside there isn't much to do besides swim, so we did lots of swimming! We are looking forward to another visit with them soon.

Swimming with Dolphins

2011-07-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

While we were in Cabo, we took the girls to swim with dolphins! This was probably the highlight of the trip for them. It was our family and one other lady in our "group" and we got to spend 30 minutes playing with the dolphin and learning more about them. They were a little unsure about it at first but then they loved petting him, dancing with him, feeding him and kissing him. It was such an awesome experience!

Cabo Trip 2011

2011-07-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we went went on vacation to Cabo San Lucas with my parents. We are fortunate that this was our second year to go. Last year, the girls did great and we knew we wanted to make it an annual trip. The girls loved playing on the beach, building sand castles, and swimming in the pool. Addyson loved jumping in the waves but the other girls weren't too sure about it. They are some pretty big waves! The best part of the trip was not having anywhere to be and nothing we had to do for an entire week!

Jones Reunion 2011

2011-07-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Jones family reunion was full of good times, as always! This was our fourth year to go and each year it is better and better. We packed up and headed to the lake to visit with some of our favorite people. The girls were super excited to see their cousins! We spent a lot of time in the water and ate a lot of yummy food thanks to Dodie and Uncle Bob.

The girls LOVE their Aunt Kelly!

Malosi ranks pretty high up there too! Holding her is such a treat!

Poor Malosi....such a good baby

Face-painting fun

Sweet Cousins

The Quads

Time flies when you're having fun!

2011-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

A little recap of our summer so far:

LOTS of swimming!

Mommy and Daddy took a trip to Las Vegas and the girls were spoiled by the grandparents

We did two weeks of swim lessons with Miss Rachel

We started dance....and we are still doing gymnastics

We went to a family reunion and got to hang out with some of our favorite people

We took a trip to the beach

We swam with dolphins

And last week Brooklyn had her tonsils taken out and another set of tubes put in her ears. We have been taking extra special care of her!

LOTS more pics to come!!!

Waco Zoo

2011-06-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took at trip to the Waco Zoo with our friends to kick off the summer! We wanted to go before it got too hot. This was the first time we went to a zoo without a stroller or wagon but the girls did great! We had a lot of fun with our friends seeing all the animals!

Checking out some ducks

Hanging out in the aquarium

Sliding under the water

Brooklyn checking out the animals

Swinging like a monkey

Addyson was disappointed because we didn't get to see any monkeys...so we had to pretend to be one!

Attempt at a group shot...we had ten kids and five mamas!

Last day of school

2011-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

The girls had their end of the year program on the last day of school. They sang two songs with the other two-year old classes. This year went by really fast and it's hard to believe that they will soon be in the three-year old class. It was hard to say goodbye to their teachers, Ms Lauren and Ms Whitney. They were such wonderful teachers and true blessings in our lives!

Their class coming into the chapel with Addyson leading the way

She immediately began hamming it up as soon as she saw me with the camera!

Caitlyn looking a little nervous

Caitlyn was on the very top left....towering over the rest of the kids. I swear she is growing like a weed!

Saying goodbye to Ms Whitney and Ms Lauren with their friend Harrison

Children's Museum

2011-06-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my mom and I took the girls to the Children's Museum in Houston. It has been a long time since we have been there. Last time we went we stayed mainly in the toddler area because the girls were too small to do a lot of the activities. This time, they had a blast! Their favorite thing was the little town area. It has a hospital with an ambulance and police car, a diner, a grocery store, a bank and a vet. The girls had so much fun pretending to take care of the animals, buy groceries, drive the ambulance, and serve food in the diner. I didn't have my camera but I took some pics on my phone. I think we will making another trip back soon!

Biker Chicks

2011-05-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

The girls have had big girl bikes for about two months. They love to ride their bikes! We let them pick out their bikes and they each picked out something different. I am sad that it has gotten so hot because for awhile we were going on bike rides in the evenings almost every night. Brooklyn is always the leader of the pack and poor Addyson is always bringing up the rear!

Soccer

2011-05-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I cannot believe that I almost let May slip away with out one single blog post. Pathetic, I know. I sat down to the computer several times to do a post over the last few weeks but it never seemed to happen. So, in an attempt to make it up to all my loyal readers (all 5 of you) here are a few posts from May so you can see what we have been up to. First up is Soccer!

I signed the girls up for a six week pee wee soccer league because they had been telling me they wanted to play soccer. I figured that once a week for six weeks wasn't too long of a commitment and then we could find out if they really liked soccer as much as they said they did.

Ready for their first practice

Listening to instructions

The first four weeks consisted of going to different stations and doing "drills" Each station lasted a little too long for the attention span of a three year-old. Caitlyn was the one who was most excited about playing soccer and she only lasted about two weeks. After that she said she just wanted to watch and cheer on her sisters. The last two weeks they actually got to play games. Addyson ended up being the most die hard and that was totally surprising. I am super proud of all three!

My two soccer players

Go Addy, Go!

Pointing to where they are supposed to kick the ball

Brooklyn chasing the ball

Caitlyn being silly on the sidelines!

Easter Celebrations

2011-04-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

He is alive!

We had a wonderful Easter this year celebrating with egg hunts, dying eggs, the Easter bunny, and family. This year was very special to me because the girls really started to understand the meaning of Easter. I loved hearing them talk about Jesus, his death, and his resurrection.

The girls had an egg hunt at school....one of many egg hunts!

A few pics from Easter Sunday

After church we went to brunch with Brian's parents. The Easter bunny was there and I was really shocked at how much the girls were interested in him! Addyson wanted to know where he was at all times. It kind of gave me hope for Santa this year!

This is as close as Caitlyn would get. She wasn't quite as excited!

Spring Break

2011-04-17T18:41:00.001-07:00

I am slowly trying to get caught up on the blog.....I am only about a month behind! :)

We had a pretty busy Spring Break. I was worried we wouldn't have anything to do but it turned out that we had some fun activities. Here are some of the highlights:

We started out with a trip to the Houston Livestock Show

The girls loved the pony rides!

Petting the rabbits was also a big hit!

And of course we had to ride a few rides at the carnival

We played at the park

And we made a trip to Fort Worth to meet our newest cousin, Malosi!

I love this picture of all the cousins but especially Caitlyn's expression....she was soooooo excited to get to hold the baby!

Jackson and Grant showed us a great park. The girls had so much fun fishing with them!

The week ended with a girls trip to New York for mommy!

Cowboy Day 2011

2011-04-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

The girls have Cowboy Day at their preschool every year right before Spring Break. The girls got to wear their pink cowboy boots to school, which they were very excited about because normally...no boots allowed! There were lots of toy horses to ride, games to play, and fun crafts to do. The girls had a great time!!!

Pretty Princesses

2011-03-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

The girls went to their first "all girl" birthday party for their friend Chandler. It was a princess party and it was so much fun! The girls loved dressing up, getting their makeup done, and having a princess tea party. The pics are from my cell phone so they aren't very good, but I thought they were too cute not to share!

1st Dentist Visit

2011-03-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

Doing a little reading in the waiting room

Caitlyn checking out the little mirror

Addyson helping count her teeth

Brooklyn clinging to daddy

This post is probably of no interest to anyone else, it is just one of those things I feel I need to record. The girls had their first visit to the dentist a few weeks ago. Everyone got a good report and did really well. Brooklyn was pretty nervous so the dentist was nice enough to let Brian hold her when it was her time to go. The dentist counted their teeth, brushed them, and put flouride on them. Their favorite part was definitely picking out a prize from the treasure chest after it was over!

Fore!

2011-03-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn is my little athlete. Any sport that has a ball....she wants to play it! Lately, she has been talking a lot about golf. She has a plastic set of golf clubs that she has hit around the back yard, but she wanted to go play "real" golf with daddy. So, Brooklyn, Mason, Caitlyn, Brian and Pee Wee went to go play golf. Brooklyn got a new set of clubs to test out. Caitlyn decided she wanted to tag along and give it a try too. They both had a great time and I hope it is the first of many more trips to the golf course!

Like peas and carrots

2011-02-27T19:07:00.001-08:00

Is it really almost March?!?! I need to catch up on my blogging!!!

A few weeks ago we made a quick trip to Fort Worth to hang out with our cousins Jackson and Grant. The girls adore these guys and they always have so much fun playing together. I had to post a few pics from our visit. We had such a great time!

We loaded up all the kiddos and went for a walk to go feed ducks

Watching a movie and eating popcorn before bed

We also got to see some of our other favorite people.....Kelly and Matt! We were hoping that the girls new cousin, Malosi, would be born and we would get to see her but she was quite content in Kelly's belly and did not make her appearance for a few more days! We are so excited to have another girl in the family and can't wait to meet her soon!!!

My Funny Valentines

2011-02-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our Valentines Day was pretty low-key this year. The girls had a fun party with their class and handed out Valentines to all their friends followed by cookie decorating.

Caitlyn waiting patiently for her cookie
Addyson and Olivia
Caitlyn concentrating on her decorating
Brooklyn adding her final touches

Hope your day was filled with LOVE!!!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

2011-02-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

Brian took the girls to a daddy/daughter dance at our local children's museum. The girls were so excited to have a special night with daddy and they talked about the dance for weeks! I had so much fun getting the girls ready that day....we did manicures, used sponge rollers and practiced our dance moves! The girls looked so pretty in their dresses and Brian even got them corsages! It was precious but I couldn't help but think about sending them all to prom one day....I don't know if I will be able to handle that!

Could it be...

2011-02-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

SNOW?!?!

Yesterday we had something extremely rare for us....snow!!! The girls woke up and there was snow on the ground and they were SUPER excited! We bundled up and headed outside to check it out. The girls said their favorite part about the snow was throwing it and seeing their footprints in it :) After a few hours the sun came up and the snow began to melt but it was beautiful while it lasted!

Family Pics

2011-01-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

We took family pictures back in November and I love the way they turned out! I was waiting to post them because I used them for our Christmas card and then I forgot to post them! Steph Lee took them and she did a wonderful job as usual! She has been taking pictures of the girls since they were babies and she has become a great friend.

Here are my favorites.

2010 Year in Review

2011-01-12T19:13:00.001-08:00

Some of my favorite pics from the past year. Can't believe how much the girls have grown!!!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I can't wait to see all that 2011 holds for our family!

More Holiday Pics

2011-01-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

A few more random pics from the holidays....

The girls had their own tree this year in the playroom. They decorated it themselves!

We went to Brunch with Santa at Traditions and the girls got to decorate Christmas cookies....And Brooklyn and Caitlyn FINALLY talked to Santa!!! (After a little coaxing from Dodie)

Addyson still preferred this kind of Santa!

We made some special reindeer cookies for Santa

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-01-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with love, family, and joy. The girls were very into Christmas this year....they were excited about Santa coming, putting up decorations, celebrating Jesus birthday and of course opening presents! I think they are sad that they have to wait a whole year to experience it all again! It truly is a magical time of year!

Our Christmas in pictures:

The girls got a lot of wonderful gifts. They were too funny to watch opening their presents....Addyson tore threw hers so fast, she didn't even look at what was inside the wrapping. She was through her whole pile before Caitlyn even got one open. Caitlyn took her time and carefully peeled off each piece of wrapping paper. I think Brooklyn was somewhere in between! Brooklyn's favorite present was the four-wheeler that Santa brought, Addyson likes the doll house she got from Dodie and Pee Wee best, and Caitlyn loves her twin stroller she got from Nana and Poppy!

Everyone always asks me if we get buy three of everything and the answer is no! There are very few things that we buy three of because the girls all like different things and for the most part they are good about sharing :) I feel very blessed to have had such a wonderful holiday. It is hard to believe that we are starting a new year and I am so excited to see what this year has in store for our family!

I am going to try and get caught up on all my blogging this week. I hope that your Christmas was as special as ours! Happy New Year to you and yours!

More Birthday Pics

2010-12-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

After the girls birthday party, I kept telling them that their "real" birthday was coming up soon. So for two weeks they would constantly ask me if it was their "real" birthday yet. They were more than excited when they woke up on their birthday and I told them it was finally their birthday! We celebrated with Brian's family first then headed to Houston and celebrated with my family. Dodie made each of the girls their own special birthday cake and the girls just loved them! They opened presents and had fun playing with some new things. They also had cupcakes at school with their class and everyone sang to them at gymnastics, so by the end of the week I think they were feeling pretty special!

Tutus and Cowboy Boots

2010-12-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

The girls are turning three in just two days! We had their birthday party the first weekend in December to try and spread out all the presents that they will be getting this month. They had a princess pony party at a local equestrian center. The kids got to ride horses, and we also had a bounce house and a hay ride. It was a little chilly but I think all the kids had a great time. I think the girls would have stayed on the horses the whole time if they could! A big thanks to all of our friends and family who came out to celebrate with us and make the girls birthday so special!

Dinner With Santa

2010-12-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

We went to the big fundraiser for the girls' preschool last Friday, Dinner With Santa. There was dinner, crafts, games, and of course, Santa! The girls were very excited about seeing Santa. We had been talking about it all week. So as soon as Santa made his appearance we quickly got in line to see him and get our picture taken with him. The camera was ready and we had finally made it to the front of the line....as soon as the girls saw Santa, they SCREAMED bloody murder! They were crying hysterically. There was NO way they were going anywhere near him!!!

So needless to say, I don't think we will have a picture with Santa this year. I didn't take many pics but here are a few. After the whole Santa debacle, the girls were fine and had a great time seeing their friends, eating, and playing games.

Working on a craft

Showing off their balloon swords with their friend Harrison

Attempt at a group shot

Thankful

2010-12-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

I know that I am very late posting these but better late than never! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the ranch with Brian's family. The girls loved playing outside with all their cousins. It is such a great dynamic when they are all together! Brooklyn even got to go on her first deer hunt with daddy. I think it is the first of many! We have so much to be thankful for but most of all our amazing family and friends : )

Choir Girls

2010-11-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

The girls joined the Children's Choir at church this year and they had their first performance yesterday. It was pretty funny to watch a bunch of two, three, and four year-olds stand up there and sing. The girls sing those songs constantly when we are at home or in the car but I don't know if any of them sang during the performance. I think they did better at the second service but then they figured out that they were showing them up on the big screen and they started pointing and saying "I see me!" No matter what, I am proud of them and I always love listening to them sing, especially when they sing about Jesus!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know that it is halfway through November but I just realized that I never posted the girls pics of them trick or treating on Halloween. The girls were really excited about going and we ended up going to a lot more houses than I had planned. We went with Mason and Hudson, so we had two pirates and three fairies. They were precious!

Trunk or Treat

2010-11-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

The girls had trunk or treat at their school and got to go trick-or-treating with their class and get lots of candy from all the wonderful parents who volunteered. They loved going to each trunk and seeing all the different costumes and decorations while filling up their buckets with goodies.

Some of the girls getting ready to go

Checking it all out. I think they were a little overwhelmed at first!

They really liked this little monster guy!

Group shot with their BFF Ally

More Halloween fun

2010-11-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

This year Dodie had a Halloween party at her house for all of the grandkids and some close family friends. There were lots of fun games and the girls had a great time playing with their friends.

My three little fairies

Caitlyn, the peacock fairy

Brooklyn, the pumpkin fairy

Addyson, the strawberry fairy
There was a game to bob for apples but the girls just picked out the apples and walked around eating them!

All the grandkids digging for treasures

Brooklyn checking out the haunted house

Decorating a pumpkin mask

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-28T19:35:00.001-07:00

The girls' class took a field trip to the pumpkin patch last week. They loved checking out all the different pumpkins. There were big ones, small ones, and even some bumpy ones and white ones. Each of the girls got a pumpkin to paint and then we picked out a few more to take home. It was a lot of fun!

Working on their masterpieces

Listening to some Halloween stories

Attempt at a group shot....it was a little windy!

Fort Worth Fun

2010-10-26T18:08:00.001-07:00

We took a trip up to Fort Worth two weeks ago to celebrate cousin Grant's 1st birthday! The girls got to play with Jackson and Grant and had a great time. We took over Chick-fil-a for lunch and then all of the kids took a great nap before the party. The party had a camping theme and everything was super cute. Thank goodness the paparazzi (Kelly) was there to take lots of pictures! :) I love that the girls are so close with their cousins and they all play so well together.

The birthday boy enjoying his cake

Somebody else liked it too!

I am trying to get caught up on blogging. The girls have gotten to do some fun Halloween things and I have more pics to post soon!

Party, Picnic, Princesses and Ponies

2010-09-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Kind of a random title I know but it is the best way to describe our last weekend. I don't want to jinx anything, but I think fall has finally come to Texas and I couldn't be happier!!! We had a great weekend just hanging out as a family. Brian had been gone for a few days for work so on Saturday he gave me a nice break and let me have a few hours "off." The weather was gorgeous so he took the girls to the park and they had a picnic lunch and played and played. I think they were really happy to spend some time with daddy and mommy was thankful to have a nice break :)

Saturday evening we went to a birthday party for one of our friends. It was a Toy Story party complete with a real Buzz and Woody. The girls had a great time with all their friends. There was a magic show, face painting, and balloon animals.

My three sheriffs

Can you tell how much Brooklyn enjoyed the cake?

The girls are really into princesses and ponies right now. They love to dress up and play princesses and one of their favorite toys is a horse camper and little horse figurines. I decided that they really needed some princess dresses after they kept going in my closet and putting on my shirts to "dress up" like princesses. They have lots of tutus and dress up shoes and crowns but now they have real, official princess dresses too! They spent a lot of time playing in them this weekend.

Caitlyn was a little unhappy she didn't get to be Cinderella first

Much Better!

Sunday afternoon, we took the girls out to a local equestrian center to let them see the horses and scope it out as a possible place to have their birthday party. December birthdays are so hard to plan because you NEVER know what the weather will be like! The owner was so nice....he let the girls feed the horses, ride them, walk them and run around and get nice and dirty. They had a ball! I think we found the perfect place for their "princess pony party!" Stay tuned....

Big Girls Rooms

2010-09-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

The girls have been sleeping in big girl beds for a little over two months (around two and a half). The girls did great in their cribs, they never tried to climb out and slept great in them, but the girls were getting too big for them. We travelled a lot over the summer and the girls were really cramped in the pack-n-plays so we just decided to move them to beds. It is so nice not to have to haul three pack-n-plays every time we go out of town!!! We just put them in queen or king bed and its like a little slumber party.

We knew that we were not going to be able to fit three twin beds in their room so we had to move someone out. Brooklyn's sleeping patterns are the most different of the three so we decided that she would get her own room....she is quick to fall asleep at night and almost always the first up in the morning. Addyson and Caitlyn take longer to wind down at night and they get up 30 minutes to an hour later. It is much easier on us to deal with one two-year old at 6:30am than three! The girls have all done great with the transition. Occasionally, Brooklyn will wander into our room in the middle of the night but we take her back to her bed and she will go back to sleep without much of a fight. I know eventually the girls will all want their own room but for now it is nice to have a guest room for our occasional guests.

Here are some pictures of the girls' "big girl" rooms. It took me a few weeks to get them done but I think they turned out super cute. Brooklyn's room has a flower theme and Addyson and Caitlyn's room has a teapot theme.

Brooklyn's room up first!

Addyson and Caitlyn's Room

Bye, Bye Baby

2010-09-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

The girls seemed to have grown up so much over the course of the summer. We had a lot of changes going on....potty training and moving to big girl beds were the major ones and now it seems like the few "baby" things we had left are now all GONE! The girls will be three in a few months and they really are big girls now. When they went back to school last week, all the teachers and moms who hadn't seen them since May, told me how much older they looked and how much they had matured. Over the summer we went to a lot of places, just me and the girls, without strollers, without another set of hands and they did great! They will hold hands and cross the street with me, walk along side me and follow directions. They talk non-stop now and it is so funny to listen to some of their conversations! Our house is in constant motion but I wouldn't want it any other way!

Before we transitioned the girls to their new beds, I took some pictures of their nursery because I realized the only pictures I had of their nursery were from our old house. I thought I would post them and I will post pictures of their new rooms as well, mainly for my memories but you might like seeing them too!

The view when you walked into their room

Addyson and Caitlyn's side

Brooklyn's side

Obviously with three cribs in the room, there isn't much room for anything else!

Dodie made the girls' bedding with fabrics I picked out and I just loved it!

These three cuties had to get in a picture!

Future WNBA ???

2010-09-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn has a slight obsession with basketball. She has been dribbling a basketball for as long as I can remember. She loves to dribble her basketball and shoot baskets. The school in our neighborhood just built a covered pavilion with basketball hoops and now every time we drive by she asks to stop and play basketball. She has even asked to sleep with her basketball!

Everyone that sees her dribble a basketball tells me how talented she is for her age. I always predicted that she was going to be our little tomboy and I think that will hold true. I hope that her love for the game continues and maybe we will be watching her play for the Aggies one day!

This video isn't great but every time we try and take a video of her she gets camera shy. There were some other kids playing basketball so you can see her stopping to watch them.

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-31T19:34:00.001-07:00

The girls had their first day of school today. They are in the the three day two-year old class. They have two wonderful teachers, Miss Whitney and Miss Lauren. Several of their classmates from last year are also in their class. I know they are going to have a great year!

The girls walked straight into their class and never looked back. They were just like old pros!

Little Miss Tonsil-less

2010-08-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

Addyson had surgery a few weeks ago to have her tonsils and adenoids removed and another set of tubes put in her ears. She has been having some problems and we decided to go ahead and do the surgery in hopes that she won't have such a such a rough cold/flu season this year.

Addyson did great and we were so proud of her! It is not easy watching your baby try to walk around with IVs and tubes hooked up to her but I think she liked having all of the attention and eating lots of ice cream! All of the nurses loved her and couldn't believe how well she did. Brooklyn and Caitlyn got to spend some one-on-one time with their grandparents and they did great too.

Sleeping peacefully

A little groggy

Trying to color left handed

Eating popsicles with daddy

Calling her sisters

Little Gymnasts

2010-08-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

The girls started taking gymnastics this summer and they love it! I think we might have some future olympians on our hands! Ha! :)

Another day....another zoo

2010-08-31T12:53:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I have been a horrible blogger. The last half of the summer seemed to fly by so fast and it seemed like we had so much going on. Now that we are settling back into a routine, I promise to do better!

After our trip to the Fort Worth Zoo, the girls and I went to stay with my parents for a few days and I thought they might like a dinosaur exhibit that they had at the Houston Zoo. The girls like dinosaurs and they seemed excited to go. Once we got inside the exhibit, they were terrified! The dinosaurs were huge and very life like, so I can see why they were afraid. So we quickly made our way through and headed to the carousel. This made up for the scary dinosaurs and everyone was happy!

This was the closest anyone got to the dinos

The girls did like these baby dinos hatching out of the eggs

So behind...

2010-08-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Where has the summer gone? How is it already the middle of August? I am so behind on blogging and am going to try and catch up soon :) In the meantime, here are a few cute pictures courtesy of Aunt Kelly...we had a wonderful visit with our cousins again and we are SO happy to have Kelly and Matt back in Texas!!!

Cousins

2010-07-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last week we made a trip to Weatherford to spend time with cousins and make a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo and Children's Museum. We had seven kids under three-years old! It was a little chaotic but we had a great time! The kids all play so well together and I love watching them. I took a ton of pictures of our trip. A huge thanks to Uncle Bob and Aunt Janelle for having us!

Swimming at Uncle Bob's

Trip to the zoo

Waiting to get in

The "big kids"

Addyson and Brooklyn

Caitlyn really liked this alligator.....or is it a crocodile?

Caitlyn and Jackson in deep conversation

The quads

Taking a lunch break

Sweet little Grant.....such a good baby! I have NEVER heard him cry!

Playing at the Children's Museum

Mason and Addyson

Caitlyn giving her doll a bath

Addyson on a mission in the grocery store

Weighing her goods

Mason, Addyson, and Brooklyn working hard

Caitlyn so proud of her tower!

Cabo Trip 2010

2010-07-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

We took the girls on a vacation to Mexico over the 4th of July. We went with my parents and had the greatest time. The girls got to ride in an airplane for the first time and they did really good....well as good as three two-year olds strapped in an airplane seat can be! I had lots of entertainment and snacks on board :)

We spent most of our time laying on the beach watching the girls play in the sand and relaxing. We also went swimming, ate lots of good food, the boys went fishing, and Brian and I went golfing. The girls keep asking when we get to go back to the beach. I hope that we get to make this our annual summer vacation with my family!

Beach babes

Easily entertained!

I could never get tired of this view!

Addyson would have stayed in the pool all day if we let her

Digging to China

Lounging poolside

All that swimming is hard work

The golfer

The caddy....this cactus has to set some kind of world record!

Thanks nana and poppy!

Catch up and another video

2010-07-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

I have alot to catch up on. So much has happened in our house over the last few weeks! The girls are now officially two and a half and I wish that I could just freeze time because it is going by so fast! Addyson and Brooklyn have done great with potty training and are pretty much potty trained during the day. At night, they still wear pull ups. Caitlyn is just not ready and I am not forcing her.....I know she will do it in her time.

The girls are sleeping in different rooms for the first time in their life. They now have big girl beds and Brooklyn has her own room while Addyson and Caitlyn share a room. So far it is working out great! I am still working on some decorating things but they love their new beds.

We also took our very first trip on an airplane with the girls. We went to Cabo San Lucas over the 4th of July and had a great vacation with my parents. I will post pictures soon but in the mean time here is another singing video! Caitlyn is singing the Barney song to my parents dog, Zach. Two of her favorite things in life are Barney and Zach! Brooklyn and Addyson also make a brief appearance :)

Now Starring.....

2010-06-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Addyson!!!!

Happy Father's Day Brian!

2010-06-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wish Brian a very Happy Father's Day! Brian, you are such a wonderful father to our three girls and there is no way I would have been able to do this without you. The girls absolutely adore you and we are all so lucky to have you! We love you!

Jones Reunion 2010

2010-06-14T19:23:00.001-07:00

This weekend we headed to Lake Buchanan for the Jones Family Reunion (Brian's moms' family). I have said it before, I am so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family.....not just Brian's immediate family but his extended family as well! We had a great time visiting with everyone and seeing how much all the kids had grown from last year. The girls played their little hearts out swimming and digging, playing with their dump trucks, and watching all the "big kids." Get ready for LOTS of pictures!

Love this smile!

Heading to the pool!

My biggest water baby

The "quads"

The girls love playing with Jackson!

Mason and Caitlyn checking out the sand

Row, row, row your boat

Loving the water

Our clan

The whole gang!

Can't wait for next year!

Summertime and the livin is easy

2010-06-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, we have survived the first two weeks of summer! I was worried that we wouldn't have enough going on to keep the girls busy and mamma happy, but so far we have had a great summer. We made a trip to the ranch over Memorial Day weekend, we have done lots of swimming, and the girls started gymnastics. Here are a few random pictures from the start of our summer.

Aunt Janelle took some cute shots of the girls at the ranch

I think there will be lots of pictures of the girls swimming this summer. They LOVE the water! They have been taking swim lessons for the past month. I signed them up initially because I wasn't sure how they would do in the pool and I wanted them to get used to the water, but now I know that they have no fear!

San Antonio

2010-05-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our summer with a trip to San Antonio with Brian's family. We went to Sea World one day and spent lots of time at the pool! I had no idea that the girls were such little water babies! We stayed at the JW Marriott Resort, which is beautiful, and they have the best kids' pool. We had a great time and I am hoping to go back soon!

Playing in the pillows when we first got there

Caitlyn, Brooklyn, Addyson, and Mason

We got a special treat at Sea World because I have a good friend that works there. She set it up so that we could go "behind the scenes" and see some of the animals. We went into the penguin exhibit and the girls got to pet a baby penguin.

Ready to go!

Caitlyn is the biggest animal lover. I swear she is going to be a vet! She LOVED seeing all the animals.

Addyson got in on the action but Brooklyn wasn't too sure about it.

We also got to play with these three guys!

If we were at the hotel, we were at the pool. The girls couldn't get enough swimming!

School's out for summer

2010-05-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

The girls had their last day of school on Thursday. I am not sure what we are going to do all summer but I'm sure we will find lots of fun activities to keep us busy :) It is hard to believe that the girls are already done with their first year of preschool! Before I know it they will be going to Kindergarten!!!

Here are a few pics from their program.

Modern Technology

2010-05-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last week, the girls had their first ichat with Nana. They got to tell her goodnight when she was in Denver and they thought that seeing her on the computer was the greatest thing!

Mommy Day

2010-05-10T18:20:00.001-07:00

I had a great mother's day. Brian got me a new fancy camera that I am still learning to use. Hopefully, I will soon be showing off all my new photography skills. Ha! The girls colored me a picture and painted some rocks at school for me to put in my flower pots. I am so blessed to be the mommy of these three girls!

I hope that all you other mommies had a great day too!

March For Babies 2010

2010-05-02T18:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was our March For Babies. There was a great turnout and it was a wonderful event for a very special cause. The girls did great during the walk (3 1/2 miles) and then had a great time playing games and eating pizza. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family who came out to walk with us and give donations. Thank you to all of our team!!!

Ready to go!

Mason and Hudson

Carter and Ally

Whitney

Dodie made the cutest shirts for the girls - No, Caitlyn did not have an "accident," just a little fun with a water bottle :)

Brooklyn playing baseball

Caitlyn and Whitney in the bounce house

Addyson at the bubble station

Caitlyn showing off her face painting

Brooklyn hula-hooping

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T12:20:00.001-07:00

I guess triplets do run in our family...

2010-04-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Last night, I went in to cover up the girls before I went to bed and found this:

Caitlyn has "twin" babies that she has with her at all times, but last night I noticed that her "twins" had become "triplets." I thought it was so cute how she had them all lined up next to her and she was sleeping soundly. I guess she thinks all mommies have babies in multiples!

And, yes this is her signature sleeping position - lying across her crib with her feet stuck through the slats!

March For Babies

2010-04-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my absence in the blog world. We have been staying very busy lately. It is hard to believe that soon April will be over when it feels like the month just started! Our local Bryan/College Station March For Babies is less than two weeks away! This year we have a team of family and friends that will be walking in honor of my three precious girls, Addyson Brooklyn and Caitlyn.

I am raising money for our team but I am far from my goal and could use your help. I would appreciate anything you could give to this cause that is so dear to my heart. March of Dimes is vital to helping premature babies like mine! And if you are local and would like to come walk on May 1st, we would love to have you on our team! I am working on t-shirts and they are going to be really cute!

If you are interested in making a donation to our team you can go to this website: http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1378516
Anything will help!!!

Thank you!

Also, thank you to all of you who have checked on Brooklyn...she is doing great since she got her tubes put in and her adenoids taken out. She had a very sleepy afternoon that day and then was back to normal. I will post some new pics soon!

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

Dying eggs with Dodie

Attempt at a group photo after church

What are y'all looking at?

Easter egg hunt at aunt Kim's house

Addyson, Caitlyn, Brooklyn, Hudson, Mason, and Whitney

We had a great Easter and I hope you did too! Our day was filled with worship, family, and lots of fun!

Hunting for eggs!

2010-04-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

The girls have had two Easter Egg hunts already and I'm sure they will have a few more this weekend. We had one at church last weekend and they had one with their class at school. They are getting to be real professionals! Addyson always stops and shakes her eggs after she picks them up to make sure there is something in there! I think the girls are all very excited about Easter. They love talking about the Easter bunny and seeing Easter decorations. I took them to the mall to get their picture taken with the Easter bunny but unfortunately they wouldn't go anywhere near him!

Waiting at the starting line

Off we go!

Brooklyn didn't make it to their class hunt. She has been fighting a nasty stomach bug. The girl just can't seem to catch a break! She is scheduled to have another set of tubes put in her ears and have her adenoids taken out next week. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I am hoping for a much healthier spring and summer for all of us!

What we've been up to

2010-03-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

I am posting some random pictures from the past two weeks. Last week, the girls were on Spring Break but we really didn't do anything exciting. It was nice not to have anywhere to be. The girls have been to three Aggie baseball games so far this season and they seem to really like going....I'm not sure if it is to watch baseball or to eat popcorn though :)

I didn't get a picture of Addyson at the game so here is one of her in her outfit of choice one day (puppy dog t-shirt, tutu and cowboy boots!)

Brooklyn and Addyson both had doctor appointments recently. Addyson had a follow up appointment with her orthopedist and got a good report. Brooklyn had a follow up appointment with her ENT and unfortunately did not get a good report. We are going back again next week but it looks like she will be having surgery in the next few weeks to have another set of tubes put in her ears and have her adenoids and tonsils taken out. Poor girl can't seem to get well but you would never know it by that beautiful smile! She is such a trooper!

While we were in Houston for Addyson's appointment, my mom and I took the girls to the zoo.

We have had some beautiful weather lately and we spend A LOT of time outside. Here are some pictures from a trip to the park.

Cowboy Day

2010-03-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

The girls had Cowboy Day at school on Thursday. I think they make pretty cute little cowgirls! Addyson was not crazy about the hat but she did wear it for a short time. There were lots of fun activities set up for the kids to do. The girls had a great time riding horses, throwing horseshoes, roasting marshmellows, and playing games.

Group shot of their class with their teachers Mrs. Carley and Mrs. Cathy. What a great group of kiddos!

Little Cowgirls

2010-03-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to the Houston Rodeo on Friday and went through the children's area and rode a few rides at the kids carnival. It seemed like the perfect time because they have been studying cowboys at school and next week they have Cowboy Day. The girls really enjoyed seeing all the animals. They got to go through the petting zoo, ride tractors, see baby chicks hatching out of eggs, pet bunnies, and ride some rides.

It is hard to believe that it is already March! it seems like we have been super busy but having so much fun! I love taking the girls to do new things and I hope that the beautiful weather continues.

SNOW!

2010-02-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

The girls got to experience another first yesterday....snow! We didn't get as much as some other parts of town but the girls were excited to see it and play in it. Caitlyn thought it was neat but didn't want to stay out long.....It was too cold!

We went to the carnival and rode three rides

2010-02-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

We have had a carnival set up at the mall for the last week. Every time we drove by, the girls would start shouting "I ride! I ride!" from the back seat. So Sunday, we finally took them to the carnival and of course they loved it! They were only tall enough to ride three rides but they didn't seem to care.....We just rode them over and over!

They also got to play a game and pick a prize. They all choose giant blow up monkeys that are as big as they are!

I wanted to post some pictures from the baseball game but I only had my iphone and it was dark so the pictures didn't turn out very good. I'm sure we will be going to more games though because the girls really seemed to like it! Have a great week!

Guess who....

2010-02-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

Is

FINALLY

rockin some Pigtails!!!!

I had to look back at this post and it was a little less than a year ago that Caitlyn had enough hair for me to put it in pigtails. Poor Addyson just really got jipped in the hair department! But she makes up for it in her BIG personality! This girl is constantly cracking me up. Just like the girls' personalities, their hair is very different. Caitlyn's hair is now almost half way down her back but it is super fine and has some curl to it. Brooklyn's hair is super thick and kind of kinky. I almost have to put it up every day because it is so thick! Addy's hair is growing alot in the back but not as much on top. I think it will probably be more like Caitlyn's but maybe a little thicker. They are all very blonde but three different shades. With three girls in the house I can only imagine the hair drama we will have!

We took the girls to the Aggie baseball game last night so I will post pics soon! They had a blast!

Sugar and Spice

2010-02-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

The girls had their Valentines Day party at school yesterday. They decorated cookies and filled up on as much sugar as possible before it was time to go home and attempt to take a nap after all the excitement. Here are a few pics I took of them working hard on their yummy treats!

This is a picture I got of Caitlyn and Parker. I think the girls all have a crush on him....they talk about him all the time!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Sesame Street Live

2010-02-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

We went to Sesame Street Live yesterday in Houston. The girls were so excited to go see Elmo and Abby (their two favorite characters) and they loved the show!

They watched very intently

Loved the popcorn

Brooklyn cheering in the aisle

Addyson watching with Daddy

My little cheese balls!

And we made it out with just a t-shirt. Score!!!

There can never be too many cooks in the kitchen

2010-01-30T11:37:00.001-08:00

Let me just start off by saying that I rarely cook dinner....Since the girls were born, Brian has taken over most of the cooking duties in our house and I am totally ok with that! Last night I decided that I would make dinner and give Brian a little break. Usually when I try and make dinner before Brian gets home from work, my back is turned to the girls while I am at the stove and they spend most of the time tearing up the kitchen and living room. So tonight, I decided to let the girls be more involved and "help" me cook. We donned their chef hats and aprons and went to work! The girls loved it! They were great helpers and it wasn't such a "battle" to get dinner on the table!

Stirring up some cornbread....We ditched our uniforms because I wasn't sure how much of a mess it would make but there was no spilling!

2010 so far....

2010-01-24T18:23:00.001-08:00

I know it is only three weeks into the new year but so far I would have to say that it has been pretty crummy. Last Sunday, we got up and went to church and took the girls to breakfast like we do most Sundays. We came home and played outside then put the girls down for a nap. When they got up, all three were running fever. They continued to run fever until Friday morning. They were sick....VERY SICK. Normally, when the girls get sick, it is usually one at a time and they just pass it around. Well this time, it was all of them. Needless to say, we had a very long week. By Friday afternoon I could tell that the girls were finally starting to feel better. The only problem was, Brian and I were starting to feel worse. So now we are all on antibiotics and getting back to normal (I hope!)

I took this picture on my phone and the quality is horrible but you can tell just how miserable they were.

Starting to feel a little better....all three laying in our bed watching cartoons

Finally, a smile!

These are some other cute pictures I took pre-sickness:

Addyson and Caitlyn having some girl talk

Loving on her big sis

The girls love playing dress up now!

Brooklyn loving on Addyson (I promise she's not choking her!)

Looking forward to a much better week!

For the Record....

2010-01-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

The girls finally had their two-year checkup on Monday. At two-years old, doctors stop adjusting for preemies because most preemies have caught up to their peers by this age. Our pediatrician said that the girls are doing great and are perfectly happy, healthy little two-year olds doing exactly what they should be doing at this age. This is always good news and again makes me so thankful that our girls do not have any major health problems from being born so early. Caitlyn is now the tallest (35 in.) and the heaviest (28 lbs.) and is in the 50-75% on weight and height. Addyson and Brooklyn are about the same weight (27 lbs.) and height (33 1/4 in.) and are in 25-50 percentile. I wanted to go ahead and blog about life at the moment because they are growing so fast! I have thrown in some random pictures from the last few weeks.

-The girls have really started talking over the past month or so. They have started using two or three word sentences and it is so cute. They will repeat anything!
-Jumping is a very fun activity. We got the girls a toddler trampoline for Christmas and it was a huge hit!
-The girls are really getting into pretend play. They love playing with their dolls....feeding them, rocking them, putting them in the baby bed, strolling them, etc. They also spend a lot of time playing with their kitchen and cooking pretend food.
-The girls do roll call on a daily basis. The people they usually ask about are daddy, nana, poppy, dodie, and pee wee. Sometimes I feel like I say "Daddy is at work" a hundred times a day! If we have a play date or see someone we don't see on a regular basis they will ask about them for the rest of the day.
-They love seeing pictures of themselves and people they know and pointing out everyone in the picture
-We have started to enter the picky toddler eating phase but they are still good eaters most of the time.
-They are still in their cribs and still in the same room. They have yet to try and climb out and I am so thankful! (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by typing that) Our plan is to seperate them into different rooms when they are ready for big girl beds.
-We have started getting the girls used to the potty but I don't plan on really trying to potty train until this summer
-The girls are very good at the name game. They know all of our family and extended family. They will call Addyson, either "Addy" or "Addyson." Brooklyn is usually "Brooklyn" but occasionally they will call her "Brook, Brook." Caitlyn almost always calls herself "Kay-Kay." If you ask her what her name is she will say "Me Kay-Kay." I haven't broken it to her that her name starts with a C! :) We are working on middle names and last names.
-The girls are learning their shapes and colors and can sing most of their ABCs and count to ten with most of the numbers in order.
-They love to sing! Some of their favorite songs right now are Jingle Bells, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat, She'll Be coming Around the Mountain, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
-There is an obsession with shoes in our house. The girls love to wear their dress up shoes but mommy's shoes are even better. I think they can walk in heels better than I can!

We always predicted that Brooklyn wouldl be our little tomboy and I think this will hold true. She loves all the girly things that her sisters do but she also loves to watch sports and hunting with daddy. She has a small obsession with basketball. Every time we pass by a basketball goal she will spot it and start yelling "basketball! basketball!" We hope to take her to first Aggie basketball game soon. Brooklyn loves to be outside and would swing for hours if you let her.
Brooklyn is very curious and will always point at things and say "What's that?" It is funny because the way she says it is more like "wha sat?" or just "sat?" and her voice will go up at the end so that it is posed in the form of a question. She takes notice of everything and will be sure to ask you about it if something isn't right.
Brooklyn is definitely the most independent of all three girls. She wants to do EVERYTHING herself! This can cause problems when we are running late to be somewhere and she has to dress herself :) She is very strong willed but can be a huge mommy's girl and very needy at times. It takes her awhile to wake up and she loves to sit and have cuddle time for a few minutes before she takes on the day.

Addyson is a big girlie girl. She loves to play with her baby dolls and has an obsession with monkeys at the moment. She loves anything and everything that is monkeys! Addyson is the most advanced with her speech. She uses sentences on a regular basis and has the most extensive vocabulary. She is always making me laugh with the things she says! She has a great memory. Addyson loves to read books and will entertain herself playing with her toys. She loves music and loves to sing. When we were at the doctor's office over Christmas, Addyson busted out "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and I had no idea she even knew that song! I'm hoping that maybe we are raising the next American Idol 2024!
Addyson especially likes to play with her dollhouse and a wooden castle that she got for Christmas. She loves to pretend the people are doing things like laying in bed, going up the stairs, and sitting in chairs. She also has some cars that have little people drivers and these are some of her favorites as well.

Caitlyn is my little drama queen. This girl can work the waterworks! If someone takes a toy from her she will cry like her heart has been broke in pieces! She will mix jibber jabber with real words and talk a mile a minute, almost like she is trying to talk like an adult. Caitlyn is very caring and thoughtful and will go out of her way to do nice things for her sisters. She loves hugging and kissing on them....it is very sweet! She will bring them dolls or toys to play with. She loves animals especially puppies!
We call Caitlyn the hoarder because she loves to get as much of something as she can just to have it. She will fill up her stroller or shopping cart with every toy she can find and walk around with it. Caitlyn likes to dress up the most and loves her accessories! We used to think she was going to be the laid back one but now we aren't so sure!

Two year pics

2010-01-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Stephanie took the girls two-year pics at the beginning of December. I am a little late posting them but I wanted to show some of the good ones. Steph is an awesome photographer and I am always amazed at what she can get with three toddlers! Addyson was a total stinker that day and I think we got one picture of her smiling! Here are some of my favorites. (The one I put at the top of the blog is one also)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

Nothing like starting out the new year with a trip to the emergency room! While we were at the ranch with Brian's family celebrating the holiday, Caitlyn fell and busted her chin. It was a deep cut so we decided to go to the emergency room and have it looked at. Only problem is we are hours away from any major metropolitan hospital. The fact that it was a holiday didn't help much either. We did find someone to look at it and they used a liquid bond to close the cut rather than trying to do stitches on a two-year old. Which I was totally fine with. I hope that the cut heals okay and she is not left with any major scarring. The good thing is it didn't seem to phase her much and she was such a trooper. I was so proud of her! I hope that this is not any indication of our year to come :) We had a wonderful 2009 and I am looking forward to see all that 2010 holds for our family.

This is a picture of Caitlyn I took on my phone after we left the hospital. She was too tired and too busy watching her DVD to look at the camera!

Our Christmas in Pictures

2009-12-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families despite the fact that the girls have been sick since the day after their birthday. I think we are on the tail end of it and girls seem to be feeling much better! Hope you all had a merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours....

A Very Happy Birthday!

2009-12-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

We officially have three two-year olds! The girls had a great birthday last Thursday. We went out to eat with the grandparents and cousins to celebrate. Here are some pictures from the big day:

We started off the day with a birthday muffin and singing of "Happy Birthday" by mommy and daddy

Had to post this cute picture of Addyson because I rarely get one of her smiling!

Brooklyn ready to eat some cake after dinner

Yummy!

Another rendition of Happy Birthday

Dodie made the girls cute aprons and chef hats complete with utensils

What a great birthday!

It is hard to believe that the girls are two! I can't wait to see all that the next year holds for them. I know that this age is challenging but it also so much fun! We love you so much Addyson, Brooklyn, and Caitlyn!!!

If only it were a little warmer.....

2009-12-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

We have been busy playing with new toys, getting the house decorated for Christmas, and trying to finish all of our shopping. I really love this time of year although it is always super busy! We have a new addition to our back yard that the girls cannot get enough of. Last week, the girls got a play set from Dodie and Pee Wee for their birthday. Unfortunately it has been cold and rainy so the girls haven't gotten to play on it much. But I know it won't be long and we will be spending a lot of time out there! Here are a few pictures of them trying it out.

2nd Birthday Party!

2009-12-07T11:16:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had the girls' 2nd birthday party at our local Children's Museum. The party went off without a hitch and I think everyone had a good time. The girls loved playing with all their friends, eating cupcakes, and opening LOTS of presents! We are so thankful for all of our generous friends and family that celebrated with us!

Nana and Poppy got the girls a playhouse for their birthday and gave it to them before the party. The girls loved it! We couldn't get them out of it! I think they will enjoy playing in it for a very long time!

Breakfast with Santa

2009-12-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy weekend and it started off with Breakfast with Santa at the girl's school. This is our annual fundraiser and it is always a lot of fun. There was yummy food, lots of arts and crafts, silent auction and of course Santa! We had been talking about Santa all week and the girls actually seemed excited to go see him so I thought there might be a chance of actually getting them to sit with him for a picture. Um, no....as soon as we got up there after waiting in line for twenty minutes, the girls screamed bloody murder. So we got a family picture with Santa.....Lovely!

Group shot before it got too crazy

Playing in the gingerbread house

Checking out their balloon creations

Waiting to see Santa

Pee Wee with Caitlyn and Brooklyn

We did it! (Kind of)

All Things Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T17:42:00.001-08:00

This is going to be a very long post because I have so much to get caught up on!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both of our families and the week was full of fun and lots of eating! Tuesday, the girls had their Thanksgiving feast at school. I love watching the girls interact with all of their classmates. They had cute little hats to wear that they had made, but the girls refused to wear them during the party. I did manage to get a pic once we were home though.

Wednesday evening we took the girls out to Santa's Wonderland and drove thru the lights. We figured it would be best to go now before the lines got crazy long!

Who knew that you could make so many things out of lights?

Brooklyn heading into Santa's Town....but no Santa sighting!

Checking out the petting zoo

Addyson watching the snow falling (the fake kind!)

Thursday, we had a nice lunch with my family and then headed to the ranch to spend the rest of the weekend with Brian's family. The girls got to play with their cousins, Mason, Hudson, Jackson, and our newest member of the family, baby Grant! The girls are officially outnumbered!

Brooklyn on the tractor

Caitlyn guarding her rock collection!

Sweet little Addy!

Caitlyn and the boys

"The Quads"

Caitlyn and Jackson

Brooklyn and Addyson with Grant....they were fascinated with him!

Another group shot. Dodie made all the kids the cutest Christmas shirts!

Last week went by super fast and I know the rest of the year is going to do the same. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we are on to birthday and Christmas!

National Prematurity Awareness Day

2009-11-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

Today over 400 Bloggers are participating in Bloggers Unite Fight for Preemies to raise awareness of the 20 million babies who are born prematurely each year. The March of Dimes is fighting to drastically decrease these numbers.

Something about the holidays and the fact that my girls will be TWO in one short month has made me somewhat emotional lately. Two years ago next week, I quit working and went on complete bedrest. I wondered what in the world I was going to do with myself for the next eight weeks. I had a goal to reach 35 weeks and if I did, my doctor said he would go ahead and deliver the babies. Little did I know that only three short weeks later, at only 28 1/2 weeks, one of the girls' water would break. We rushed to the hospital but my doctor and nurses could not stop the labor. So my girls were delivered that night. I have never been so scared in my life! Right before the girls were born we met with a neonatologist and he explained everything that we could experience with babies born that early.....brain bleeds, patent ductus arteriosis (PDA), chronic lung disease, retinopathy of prematurity, etc. So you hope for the best but expect the worst.

Meeting the girls today, you would never ever know that they were born at only 28 weeks weighing a combined total of eight pounds. We are so blessed to have happy, healthy beautiful little girls. I am so thankful for these girls! So many stories do not turn out as good as ours. It was amazing to watch the girls grow and fight for their lives everyday. We had an amazing team of doctors and nurses taking care of them. We are so thankful to The Women's Hospital of Texas and March of Dimes!

Afternoon at the Zoo and a trip to the Emergency Room!

2009-11-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, so far our November has been pretty quiet. The girls had a great Halloween and loved eating lots of candy, but I don't think they really understood it all. Between parties and trick-or-treating, I don't think any of us wanted to get them dressed in their costumes again. They were adorable little piggies but not fun to try and dress (and keep dressed) three of them.

Brian was hunting this weekend so we went and spent the night with my parents. Saturday afternoon we took the girls to the zoo because it was such a beautiful day. They got to see a lot of the animals up close and really enjoyed it, particularly the elephants and giraffes.

I had to include this picture of Addyson. My mom went to get her up from her nap and found her with her shirt off and her skirt pulled up around her chest, wearing it like a tube top!

Sunday, Brooklyn and I made our first trip to the Emergency Room. I will spare the details but it involved her hand and an elevator. It was one of the scariest moments of my life but thankfully her fingers were not broken and were all still there! God is so good!

I hope that we don't have to go back to the Emergency Room for a very, very long time but I'm sure with three little ones it is inevitable!

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures of my three little piggies. They had their Halloween party at school on Thursday and decorated cookies with icing and sprinkles. They also had a trunk-or-treat down the hallways because the weather was not so great.

For Halloween we went to trunk-or-treat at our church and then the girls did some trick-or-treating with their cousins, Mason and Hudson. I'm not sure the girls really understood why they were walking around getting all this candy but they sure did enjoy it! Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Trunk or treating at school

Party with their class

Brooklyn didn't mess with the icing, she went

straight for the cookie!

Addyson loving her some icing!

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating

The cutest horse I've ever seen!

What a great night!

Halloween Party

2009-10-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

The girls went to their first Halloween party at Aunt Sammye's house on Saturday. There were games, lots of good food, and all the kids dressed up in their costumes. They had a great time playing with their friends.

The girls are dressing up as the three little pigs this year. Caitlyn is the only one that will wear the hat so here she is modeling.

Pumpkin Decorating

2009-10-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

When we went to the pumpkin patch we let each of the girls pick out a small pumpkin to decorate. Last week, I got out some paint markers and stickers and let them go at it. I drew a face on the front and then they decorated the back. Here are some pics of their masterpieces.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

On our way back from the ranch last weekend we stopped at a Pumpkin Patch in Georgetown. I have seen this one every year and thought it would be a great place for the girls to explore the pumpkins. Last year, we went to the pumpkin patch at our church but this year they decided not to have it again. The girls liked playing in the pumpkin patch....they threw the pumpkins, drummed on them, carried them around and even sat on them.

We have lots of fun activities coming up for Halloween. I was going to do a picture preview of the girls' costumes but I think I will wait. Here is a hint:
"One built her house out of sticks, one built her house of of straw, and one built her house out of bricks"

Fun with the Fam

2009-10-19T06:42:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to the ranch with Brian's family to celebrate Pee Wee's birthday. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins. They especially liked playing on Mason's gator. They loved climbing up on it and pretending to drive, but they weren't real sure about it when it really started to go. Addyson was the only one who took a ride with Mason. It is so fun to watch the kids all play together. We had a great weekend relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. It won't be long and the girls will be ready to go hunting with daddy!

Old Friends

2009-10-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends, Meagan, came to visit us this weekend and go to the Aggie game. She had never met the girls so she was in for a treat! The girls loved playing with Meagan and her husband Jason and it was so good to catch up like old times!