N-I-N-E

Today marks 9 glorious, wonderful years that Paul and I have been married. We are closing in on the decade mark... crazy! I do love that we got married in 2000... it makes the math easy. It has been an adventure for sure. Nine years, seven moves, two college educations, countless road trips, lots of good times, a few trials, a major remodel, and three kids later we are still going strong!

*photo by Kelly McCaleb

Our celebration plans are as extensive as going out to dinner (we can be gone for 2 hours tops without bringing the baby along), and dreaming of our relaxing, kid-free vacation we are already starting to plan for our tenth next year! Happy day!

P.S. Paul went to work for a couple hours and then ended up surprising me by taking the rest of the day off! We took the girls to the pool then went out to dinner at Novo (love) while gramma lee stayed will all 3 of the girls. It was a perfect way to celebrate the day.

i give in

Finley has been showing signs that she is ready to be potty trained for a while now, but I have been resisting. I just have not had the energy to clean up messes for any length of time- a day, a week, a month?! Well, little Fin has been taking off her diaper and making messes anyway, so I had to give up and give in. We are officially on the potty training wagon! She has been running around sans clothes of any kind and I have been at the ready to whisk her off to the bathroom at the first sign of a possible accident. Turns out that my fears (at least so far this morning) are unfounded. She came to me while I was sitting with Emerson and said, "mommy, I gotta go pee pee." We rushed in, got her on the potty, and... success! Through no action of my own, my little 2 1/2 year old is on her way to being diaper free! We still have a ways to go. One little success down, many more to go before we are home free. But, for the moment, Finley is basking in the positive praise from her big sister, loving her m&ms, and rocking the Elmo panties, "just like you Avery!"

She, of course, insists on putting on her panties, "by myself mommy- I do it myself!" Alright already...little miss independent! It is so fun to watch these girls grow, get excited about their own accomplishments, as well as encourage each other. We are so proud of you Fin!

"such hard work"

After her 3rd time out in a 20 minute span (for attacking both of her sisters repeatedly), I reminded Avery, yet again, that she needed to make good choices. Her response, "but mom, being a big girl is such hard work." I couldn't help but smile. Oh, sweet girl, yes it is. It is a good thing she is so cute- it goes a long way in taking the edge off of mom's wrath.

It has just been one of those days. The girls have been testing limits at every turn. Avery has been very physically aggressive (Finley has scratches all over her body to prove it), and blatantly defiant. Between spurts of giggles, Finley has been screaming almost constantly- either because she is wounded (emotionally or physically- thanks to Avery), or because she is defending her territory/property (from Avery). Early in the day, Finley stuck her hand down her dirty diaper and wiped it all over (flashback to THIS). Then later, she took her diaper off (her new thing- ever since THIS incident), went and peed on my rug, announced it, and then proudly showed me the spot. Emerson has also been crying all day- the poor thing has not gotten more than a 5 minute nap. Between her own tummy troubles, teething discomfort?!, and other baby ailements, plus her LOUD, disruptive sisters that make it their mission in life to wake her up, she can't sleep for any length of time. Days like this are very, VERY long. I love them all so very dearly, but I am ready for a break. Is it bedtime yet?!

the many faces of finley

Since she was a baby, miss Finley has had the MOST expressive face. Her glowing smile can melt the hardest of hearts, her dirty looks are painful, her funny faces are hysterical, her puzzled look is a crack up... the list goes on. Her face is an open book- you can always tell how she is feeling, what she is thinking by her expression. One thing is for sure... like her shirt says, she is most definitely SASSY, though I lay no claim to the "just like mommy" part. She uses her vast repertoire to display defiance, sassiness, silliness, and a hint of sweetness everyday. I love it!

glorious summer evenings

Most nights all through the year (since we live is a place blessed with wonderful weather year round) we go for a walk in our neighborhood as soon as Paul gets home from work. We all look forward to the time together as a family and the girls get especially upset if something interferes. It is our time to talk about the day, and just be together. A new development this summer is that the girls have been riding their bikes the full mile and I put Emerson in the front pack.... no stroller, which has been a wonderful change! Avery has really gotten the hang of riding her new "big girl" bike, though she is still not so sure about riding down hills (however small). I don't know when, if ever we will get the training wheels off, but...?! We will take the progress, in whatever size increments it comes. With her, the move to a big bike is a huge step in and of itself. Finley is still too little to reach the pedals on this particular trike, but the nice thing is it has a long handle that one of us can walk behind and use to push/steer her. Helps us keep moving. Can't believe it is the end of July already?! Where does the time go? I just don't want these glorious summer evenings to end!

it's all in the details

This is Avery's most recent "family portrait." Left to Right: Bubba, Mommy, Daddy, Avery (with LONG hair), baby Emerson (also with very long hair?!), and Finley. I just love all the details she has chosen to include- curly vs. straight hair, earrings, and check out the eyelashes. She even included the sky and the ground for reference. It is so fun to see how she is beginning to translate her observations into art. She is getting so big and becoming more and more capable every day. We are also working on letters- she can copy most letters if I write them at the top of the paper. She is interested in spelling everyone's names and other things as well. She still has another full school year before she goes into kindergarten. I am thinking by then she will be more than ready. It really amazes me how quickly she is growing up!

only when you are a baby...

are the words "thunder thighs" and "cute" used together in a sentence. Never again.

Emerson has quickly become my little chunky monkey and she is oh, so very adorable (in my very unbiased opinion of course).

and her eyes... still blue by all accounts.

dog days of summer

1. personal photo, 2. Untitled, 3. personal photo, 4. vintage_002.jpg, 5. personal photo, 6. lemonade relief , 7. personal photo taken by Kelly McCaleb, 8. s u m m e r by Patricia McCormick , 9. personal photo 10. Summer on ice

FOUND: cute, modest clothes/outfit ideas

This is a new to me blog that searches high and low at stores and online retailers for cute modest clothing at reasonable prices. They put outfit ideas together, list skirt/dress/short length (if available), and then post links to everything. It is really a great idea! Love it! Here is a sample: I want it all!

Shorts: ‘Flat Pocket Bermuda Shorts’ at Wet Seal for $24.50
Top: ‘Pearl Flower Blouse’ at Charlotte Russe for $22.99 UPDATE: No longer available… BUMMER!
Shoes: Mossimo Supply Co. ‘Odell Ballet Flats’ at Target for $12.99
Bag: Angie & Lola ‘Hobo with Rings’ at Target for $29.99
Bracelet: ‘Grooved Bracelet Set’ at Forever 21 for $5.80
Earrings: ‘Painted Laser Cut Earrings’ at Forever 21 for $3.80

Independence Day

We had a fun day here in San Luis for the 4th this year. We usually make the trek up to Oregon for the festivities, but we were just there for my sister's wedding the end of May. We have to give ourselves a few months in between big long road trips, so we stayed home this time. Next year we are back there for sure. It is Independence Day done up right (in my opinion).

We went to a BBQ with friends for lunch (to which I brought my camera, but did not end up taking it out of the car). Later in the evening, after nice long naps all around, we went to a pool party at the home of a family down the street from us. It was fun to get to know some of our neighbors and for the kids to play- there are actually quite a few around the same ages as our girls (no pictures to show for that outing either).

We came home and did sparklers (plus a few loud crackers that scared Finley into Papa's arms) and called it a night!

It was a fun, low-key day with family (my mom and Larry joined us for the weekend), friends, and neighbors.