4th of July in the Neighborhood

We were bummed to miss out on spending 4th of July at the lake this year but when it falls on a Wednesday it is hard to leave town.  Turns out we have quite the 4th of July celebration in Lake Highlands! We started the day with a LOVELY parade and carnival in our neighborhood- we saw cheerleaders, dancers, military moms, drill team, our elementary school friends on a float, and more.  After a day of mattress shopping (with all 3 kids jumping on the beds!) we were lucky to join in on our neighborhood friend's pool party.  It ended up being the perfect day and we are so thankful for our wonderful neighborhood!

Apparently I have twins.

4th of July Lake Highlands Parade!

Already a Lady's Man. Nolan and Eloise (in town from NYC, we ran in to her briefly)

Flora, Fauna, or Merryweather?

Gigi surprised the kids with the movie Sleeping Beauty and Mallory has become an instant fan.  She woke me up at 6:30 AM to tell me all about the Sleeping Beauty birthday party she hoped to have.  :) (Last week it was Pinkalicious)

Mallory loves dress up and is very creative. After breakfast she went into her room to get dressed and came out dressed like this.  It didn't take long for me to figure out what the inspiration for her outfit was.

Im pretty impressed with her for putting 3 very different pieces together to create the Sleeping Beauty Fairy look. Just reason number 1,334,654 that I love my baby girl. :)

Pump It Up Police Party!

Peyton has been requesting a "Pump It Up" party for about 2 years now.  We do a big party every other year and this was his big year so a Pump it Up party it was!  He also decided that he wanted it to be "Lego Police" themed.  (his current obsession) Thanks to Etsy I was able to deliver!

Here are pictures of his VERY fun day.  I think it was everything he hoped for and more.   All 3 of our kids had such a blast and we shared the fun with members of his soccer team, his classmates,  his playgroup, and some of our neighbors.

Learning the Pump It Up Rules

SILLY Dandy!

Running from one bounce house to the next!

Mimi is so sweet to come to our parties

Drew (Travis's brother) had a Blast too!

Peyton and Mal

The Whole Gang!

Next door neighbors and buds

Custom skittle lego police favors

Big Giant baby REALLY enjoyed his cake :)

What a fun party!  We LOVE you Peyton and are so happy that you had fun!

Funny Moments

The kids had 2 funny moments last week that I wanted to record.

Moment 1:   Nice Mallory
Mallory has become quite the sassy 2-year-old and has been talking in a very demanding voice lately.  Bebe was babysitting and asked sassy Mallory where "NICE Mallory was?" to remind Mallory to use nice words.  Peyton looked up from whatever he was doing with an answer for Bebe:  "Mean Mallory threw Nice Mallory in the trash."
Awesome :)

Where is Nice Mallory?

Moment 2:  The Baby Costume

14 month old Nolan

Mallory and Nolan are looking and acting more and more like twins these days.  They are constantly all over each other, tugging, pulling, taking toys, etc.  In fact Nolan actually weighs about 3 pounds more than Mallory.  I don't think Mallory realizes he is a baby.  He is so big (wearing size 2T of Peyton's clothes from when Peyton was much older) so we don't have a lot of "baby" one pieces to put him in.  I found a snap up one piece in his drawer and dressed him for school. Mallory saw and him ran up to the buttons intrigued and kept having fits of laughter all day saying "Nolie wearing his baby costume!". She truly doesn't know he is a baby and thinks he is just playing dress up!

"Stop laughing at me Mallory! I AM a baby!"

Peyton is FIVE!

I have a 5-year-old. Peyton turned 5 on June 4th and we celebrated in full-force with a Pump it Up party (bounce house place) Peyton has been asking for a Pump it Up Party for 2 years and asked for a Lego Police theme party to go with it- I was able to pull it off!  Gigi and Dandy came in town the day before so we did a little family dinner with Bebe and Papa and then the party the next day with his school friends, some soccer friends, and neighbors.  It was such a fun day celebrating our Peyton.

What to say about Peyton at 5?  Peyton- you are one of a kind.  You are thoughtful, sweet, calm, and have an engineering mind.  You love to follow lego instructions and can put complicated sets together all on your own.  You love police and catching the "bad guys" and have told me you want to be a policeman when you grow up. You love rules and do your best to follow them. You try so hard to be perfect at your legos, building blocks, etc. that you can get frustrated and need lots of love. You may be just a little bit of a perfectionist :)  You are affectionate, adore tickling and playing with your giant baby brother, have started to enjoy super heroes, and love Busy Town books.  You eat only a few things but do like totinos pizza, cereal, yogurt, french fries, vanilla ice cream and pudding, orange juice (with calcium!) and sprite :) You started T-ball last month and are so good! All those days hitting golf balls with Dad has really created some great hand=eye coordination. You love to play quietly and usually struggle to keep your baby brother and sister away from your toys.  Our house is overflowing with legos but I wouldn't have it any other way. You like bugs. Even dead ones. Potty words make you giggle uncontrollably and you love being the oldest in your class.  You are full of so many interesting questions and are just trying to figure out the world. You have this awesome way of gesturing and talking with your hands up in the air and squinting your eyes and I get such a kick out of it. Some of the things that come out of your mouth stop me in my tracks and make me laugh out loud- like when you call me "Meredith Price" (inside joke) You just completed swim lessons and are doing pretty well with your free-style. You are so nice to your friends and that makes me the most proud. I love you, love you, love you and credit YOU as beginning this beautiful family for your Dad and I. You make me the happiest Mommy in the World and I can't wait to see what you will do or ask next :)

Nolan enjoying his brother's birthday cupcakes

Messy birthday cupcake clean up! This might be one of my most favorite pictures ever. Their 2 grandmothers giving the a sink bath. Precious.

Pump it up Post to follow! Peyton had the BEST time at his party. 

Happy 5th Birthday to my first baby, my Peyton. My "Stinky Winky Binky Boy."

Last Day of School

This was Mallory and Peyton on their first day of school- Pre K 3 and  Mother's Day Out. September 2011.

Here they are on their LAST day of school- Pre K3 and Mother's Day Out.  May 2012.

Oh My goodness, Peyton grew!  He lost some of his "baby face". And as usual Mallory dressed herself for the occasion, I wonder if this dress is any indication of the college she will attend :).  Both of them are taller, leaner, and just look less like my little babies.  What a difference a school year makes.

We are so blessed to have a wonderful preschool and MDO for all 3 children.  Peyton has loved his class, teacher, and friends in his 3-year-old class.  He is confident, sweet, and loves all of the hands on learning he receives.

Mallory adores school. She has developed a special bond with her teacher- Ms. Joan.  I don't know what she is going to do without her next year!  If you ask Mallory, "Who Loves You?" she immediately shouts back, "JOAN LOVES ME!"  They are kindred spirits those 2 and exactly what Mallory needed in her life this year. We are so thankful for her year with Ms. Joan.

On the last day of school we joined Peyton on the playground for his end-of-year picnic.  Nolan joined in on the fun too.

Now we  anxiously wait for the beginning of summer school (I'm already ready!) and then a new year with Peyton's last year of preschool.  It will be the last year of a house full of preschoolers/toddlers with long days at home and daily life without a schedule.  We plan to make the most of our time all together!