Happy 1st Birthday Emma!

Last week we celebrated Emma's 1st birthday!  Crazy how fast this past year went, loved every minute of it.  Her personality is all sweetness and smiles, we are so thankful for the blessing she is to our family.

We had both sides of the family over for food, presents and of course cake.  I wanted to make her a fun birthday party outfit, and decided to start with that and try to theme everything else around it ... was actually surprised at how many zebra print party supplies I was able to find!

She rocked the outfit, definitely worth the effort. :)  Thanks to Shari's Designs for the embroidery!

She wasn't real sure about what to do with the presents, but her sisters were happy to help.

 

Soooo excited!!!

She held it up to her mouth, ate all the frosting off, then set it down and played with the rest of it.  Didn't make too much of a mess for mommy, thank you Emma!

Mommy had fun, I think she did too. :)  As much as I will miss my snuggly little baby, I am looking forward to all this next year will bring ... walking, talking, playing with your sisters.  Thankful for every moment we have with these three amazing gifts!

On the Move

We have a crawling baby!  She will be one next month, but since her sisters did not begin crawling until 10 and 11 months, she is right on track!  And I know by now that it is really nice when they do just stay in the same spot you set them.  She has actually been on the move for a while now, scooting across the floor on her bottom.  And although she figured out crawling a few weeks ago, she still probably chooses scooting half the time, guess it still gets her where she need to go.  These are pictures from the first day she really took off, we were tempting her with a sippy cup.

Proud of you baby!

Addison ~ 3 Year Pics

Took Addison's 3 year pictures a few weeks ago (my how time flies!) ... knowing her personality I knew she was either going have a lot of fun with it or refuse to even look at me.  As I was posing her for the first shot, she informed me she did not want to do this, so I promised her if she cooperated with mommy we would stop at McDonald's on the way home for a chocolate shake.  She inherited her mommy's love of desserts and sweets and she decided she couldn't be more excited about having her picture taken. :)  Captured lots of sweet, silly smiles that define our precious Addison.

A Perfect Fall Day!

I always think summer is absolutely my favorite season, but when fall does come around, I am always excited about the colors, cooler temps, apples, pumpkins, different schedules and fun activities.  A couple weeks back we spent a Saturday at Klackle Orchards.  So much fun!  It was a bit of a drive, but so worth it.  There were an endless amount of activies to keep the kids busy ... a ride out to the pumpkin patch, apple picking, face painting, inflatables, pony rides, barrel train, mazes, pedal tractors, donuts, cider and more!  We picked a chilly day to go, but the kids were having such a great time, I don't think they cared too much.  And here are a bunch of pics of our adventures!

Best buds!

Long day ...

Our transportation out to the pumpkin patch

First Day of School!

And the adventure begins!  Noelle started preschool this week, the most exciting day in her life I think, a bit of a sentimental day for mommy. :)  Just can't believe it's time to send her off to school already!  When I went to wake her up that morning, the girl who usually hides under her pillow popped right out of bed and went to get the clothes we had laid out the night before.  When we arrived I stuck around for a few minutes since she is typically shy in new situations but she was ready to jump right in and practice writing her name with her classmates.  So thankful for the opportunity to send her to this great school, where I have so many great memories too.  Her first day was 'so much fun' and I've enjoyed hearing stories about it all week, the only disappointment is she has to wait til next week before she can go again.

Labor Day/Halloween Weekend

Spent our last weekend camping at the same place we started the summer, in Hart.  Every Labor Day weekend is Halloween weekend at the campground, where many of the seasonal campers decorate their lots and have a trick-or-treating night.  The girls have been looking forward to this for weeks and they came away with a bag stuffed full of candy ... and they still have one more round of trick-or-treating to go!  I think they'll be set 'til next year. :)  Noelle and Addison's costumes from last year still fit which worked out perfectly since Emma could wear the adorable butterfly that Auntie Karin got for Noelle when she was a baby, and Lani wore my ladybug costume.  Love these girls!!

Emma ~ 9 Months

Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I posted her 6 months pics, and here she is 9 months already!  While we were camping at the beach, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful scenery and snap some 9 month pics.  Rain was on the radar, so we didn't have much time but she was full of sweetness as usual, and actually didn't eat nearly as much sand as I expected her to! :)  Precious baby.