The Little Cousins go to the Zoo

We had such a relaxing day at the zoo with the little kids. Paige was in school, so it was just Annabelle, Daisy, Stockton, Rusty, and Melody! We headed over right after dance class and had a great time! The highlight of the day was definitely Annabelle conquering a fear and going down the "Snake" slide, something she has been afraid of. We talked her out of her worry, Daisy led the way by showing her there was nothing to fear, and down she went, having a blast and doing it again and again and again  :) It was a great day--thanks for the lunches Brittany and Mom  :)

So excited to be at the Zoo!

Watch how it's done Annabelle  :)

There she goes!

All smiles and feeling proud!

Stockton and I waited for the girls to go through the reptile building--Ick! I just can't bring myself to go inside!

Loved the tiger!

Little Girls Night

Annabelle invited her cousins, Paige and Liv, to sleep over at her house! She chose Kangaroo Zoo for their activity and "Green Collages" for their craft  :)  She also wanted to ride bikes and play at the playground. I thought she had made a great plan, and she was soooo excited! A few days before the big night, she and I went to the mall so she could choose matching $5 T-shirts for all of them. Going to the mall with Annabelle is heavenly  :)  She LOVES to shop--it doesn't even have to be for her, and she still LOVES it! She loves looking at everything, and putting together outfits for herself, Stockton, and whoever else she thinks of along the way! Her favorite mall meals are baked ziti and teriyaki chicken with rice  :)  She even loves to window shop! Needless to say it was a super fun night together and she chose some pretty darling shirts. On our way home, I didn't want Annabelle to fall asleep, so I dialed my mom and had Annabelle talk to her to keep her awake. It was so funny--Annabelle talked the whole way home and was saying such cute and funny things! I Love that girl, and I loved having such a fun night with her and her cute cousins!

This was the 1st time Annabelle has been on this slide! Paige and Liv were there for her when she decided to try and conquer her fear--they helped her every step of the way and they all went down together! Thanks girls!

At the bottom!

Stocky came and played with us

I was so shocked with how brave these girls were! Both of them headed straight for the tallest slide as soon as we walked in the door!

Playing a game of Memory while they wait for their moms  :) They all looked cute in their new shirts!

Annabelle helps paint the Kitchen

Josh had a great little helper when he painted the kitchen! Annabelle LOVES to paint--it's one of her favorite things to do! She was so excited to help, and did a wonderful job on her wall  :) 

Unfortunately for one of them, and fortunately for one of them I'm not too thrilled with the color and we will be re-painting very soon  :) Finding the right paint color is proving to be much harder than I anticipated!

Thanks for all the hard work!!

Babysitting FUN!

Annabelle, Stockton and I had SO much fun spending 2 days babysitting the Tolman kids! All of the kids were great! Olivia and Annabelle played so well together: Barbies, princesses, coloring, hiking in the back yard  :) Stocky and Brody did well too; Stockton was funny and kept trying to walk around with Brody, holding onto his shoulders like a little choo-choo train! They are only 6 months apart, but Stockton is quite a bit bigger and kept smiling at me like "Hey mom! Look at this little guy I'm leading around"  :) They were cute and Brody didn't seem to mind. Annabelle got sad when Liv went to school, but when she realized it meant she had free rein in Liv's room, she was happy and I didn't see her for the next hour! But by the time Liv got home, Annabelle was ready and waiting on the doorstep to welcome her back home. It was cute and they gave each other a huge hug when they were re-united. Both boys slept like champs--Brody took a 3-hour nap on our first day and Stocky went down right after him for 2 hours, so it was pretty easy-peasy when that happened! What a fun time! It was great to bond with Liv and Brody a little more, and Brody loved Annabelle when we were there--it was darling. I think Nikki and I will be switching off babysitting again in the near future; it was fun for the kids and a great excuse to get out for a little while! Thanks for letting us come play! These pictures were taken on our 2nd day--we played, played, and played some more!

This cracks me up! Liv is already learning how to make those cute-silly faces for photos!

So sweet! Brody just wanted to cuddle with Liv, and she was loving it  :)

Josh came and played for a little while after work. The girls loved it when he threw them around! Brody was being so silly at lunch--he and I had the best time laughing and being silly for a good 15 minutes! Annabelle LOVES this little microphone toy and finally let loose singing her favorite song, which is actually a song she makes up on the spot about whatever she's doing at the moment :)

Hmmmm...does it look like she's enjoying herself? No, but I promise she asked him to do it!  :)

Hiking up the back yard

Running down over and over and over again. They had a great time and got A LOT of exercise!  :)

Thanks for letting us babysit and play!

A Belated Valentine's Lunch with Cousins

We were so happy to eat lunch and play at Brittany and Brad's house for a special Valentine's lunch! Annabelle had been counting down the days ever since she received the invitation, and Stocky always loves playing with his cousins! The afternoon did not disappoint and the kids had a great time eating, laughing, playing, dressing up, and dancing to music together--Rusty was even getting a little funky and showing us his moves. Stockton is not much of a dancer yet, but if he sees anyone jumping up and down and screaming he can't resist joining in :) The food was delicious and it was fun to spend so much of the day together! Thanks for the party Brittany!

Annabelle chose her outfit for the party and was so excited to go!

Enjoying lunch with his cousin Rusty

Love his eyes!

The girls. It is getting pretty tough to get a picture of all 3 of them doing the same thing  :)  Oh well, they are still cute!
Happy Valentine's Day to our family and cousins!

Annabelle writes the Alphabet

Woohoo! Annabelle passed her "Capital Letters Writing Test!"  :) Annabelle can write her full name, all capital letters, and a handful of lowercase letters. She is doing wonderful and is progressing so fast. Recently she has learned 45 sight words and is also reading beginning books: "Dot is hot. Mit is hot." :)  Great Job Annabelle! I LOVE being your teacher and watching you succeed!
*The alphabet is out of order because I wanted to mix it up (since it was a test and all...)*  :)

Our Non-traditional Valentine's Day

Josh and I decided to try something a little different this year and we LOVED it! Josh took Annabelle out on a date (dinner at Chik-fil-A then playtime at Chuck-E-Cheese), and I stayed home with Stockton for a date. We all had a great time on our dates! Annabelle was so excited to go out on a Valentine's date that she chose to dress up  :) Stockton and I had a blast and chose to dress down  :) He played in the tub for a while, we read books together, I sang him all his favorite songs, and then rocked him to sleep--it was PERFECT! Annabelle and Josh got home close to 9:00pm, and she was still talking a mile a minute! It was clear she'd had a memorable night with her daddy! I think we have established a new tradition!

Annabelle got a surprise valentine from her friend Brayden--she was so happy and couldnt stop smiling and carrying it around  :)

Thanks for the fun cuddly night Stocky--I LOVE you buddy!