My BIG girls!

This past Spring, we had some professional pictures taken of the girls and I'm finally taking the time to post them. I had to keep them under wraps for a few months because they made great Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts for grandparents! I was thrilled with some of the great photos that were captured. Although I have these three running through the house all day, it doesn't hit me how grown up they are until I see pictures like this.

In the past, I have had the girls wearing matching or coordinating outfits when they take formal pictures, but guess what has happened as they've gotten older? They now have opinions about what they will wear and of course, each have their own favorite color. SO....that just meant I had to back off a bit and let them choose what they wanted to wear. I'm glad I did as their personalities just come through a little bit more in the pictures.

Riley in yellow, Alyssa in pink, Makena in purple

A little 80's flashback


Cute....even with the flamingo pose!

Sisters!

Candid, but adorable

Makena

Alyssa

Riley

Superstar!

Another milestone was conquered this weekend. Miss Makena is no longer in need of her training wheels and she couldn't be more proud of herself!

Makena in her best "superstar" pose....couldn't help but think of SNL's Mary Katherine Gallegher :)

Congrats baby girl on your latest accomplishment! Your sisters are eager to follow in your bike tracks!!

Sisters

It must be so special to grow up with your best friends.

There's always someone to talk to.

There's always someone to play with.

And there's always someone to make up silly games with that make absolutely no sense to anyone else.

(It took me a good 5 minutes to figure out what the girls were saying in this "game." You shout out "one leg fall, one leg fall-UH OH!" and then fall backwards into the water. And then repeat it over and over and over again!)

Wordful Wednesday and Hippie Chic

Sending a little peace and love your way

Happy Spring!

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Wordful Wednesday- Like Mother, Like Daughter

Just like her mama, Miss Makena has dark hair and dark eyes.

2009- Makena, 4 years old

1979-1980 ish, My 4 year old self



And at the tender age of 4, we both wanted nothing more than to be just like a hot, blonde television star.

Makena would love nothing more than to sing on a big stage with her favorite character Quinn from Glee. Rest assured that the girls aren't watching Glee at their age, but we DVR the shows and play just the singing parts that are kid-friendly.

I wanted nothing more except to be the ditzy blonde Chrissy Snow from my favorite show Three's Company. I just couldn't get enough of her snorting laugh.

We dream BIG in this family!

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Wordful Wednesday~Sleeping

One of my monkeys got out of bed during naptime and decided to play instead of sleep. But sleep eventually won out. Too bad she couldn't make it that extra 5 feet so that she was back in her comfy bed.

Playing with those princess toys sure does make you sleepy!

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This is why I don't turn my back on 'em

At least she's prepared right?

Photostory Friday and The Grafitti Artist

If this girl isn't digging in the dirt, she is busy "tagging" our backyard (and herself) with her own version of grafitti. Luckily, chalk washes off easily and I don't mind seeing the various rainbow colored markings all over our bricks and sidewalks. Not to mention it just goes right along with the crayon scribblings inside the house that mark our walls and furniture.

I know I will miss these little signs of childhood one day.

It's hard to say no to that face isn't it?

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Wordful Wednesday and Little Biker Chic

Throw daddy's helmet and sunglasses on her and Makena looks like one tough cookie.....ready to rumble!

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Photostory Friday and The Long Road Home

One of the best things about the warmer weather and longer days is playing outside with the boys next door. The kids get to play in the sprinklers, ride bikes and scooters, or play in the sandbox at BF Jess's house.

But the fun always has to come to an end at some point. It is always an adventure rounding up my girls and trying to get them to walk the short distance home. Evan is usually the gentleman and will help "walk" the girls home.

On this particular day, Evan, Lissy, and Riley decided to play "Ring around the Rosie" on the way over to our house. I snapped a few pictures because I thought it was so cute. When I got home later and looked through the pictures, I noticed that I also captured a typical trip home.

Notice Makena running like a madwoman in the opposite direction down the street.

And in the next picture I capture her again. She has now circled back around but has no interest in heading towards home. What's new?

Never a dull moment!

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Multi-tasking

Proof that girls get their multi-tasking talents early on in life!

Now if I could only sleep my way through cleaning the house....

Wordful Wednesday and When doody calls

Occassionally, there just isn't enough time to take off the safety equipment.

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Friday the 13th

Check out my early valentine's day present from Makena. My dearest daughter left me a gift that will never be forgotten since it is carved into our dining room table. Gotta love those valentine's cards they needed to "sign" for their friends at preschool with a ballpoint pen. And now I know why she was so quietly content as I stood 10 feet away from her making dinner.

Note to Self: Stick with washable crayons and washable markers DUMB ASS!

Wordful Wednesday and Makena's New Pet

We made a trip to Lolo and Lola's house around Thanksgiving and the girls just so happened to find a hidden treasure among Lola's garage-sale finds. You'd think most kids would be afraid of a large plastic lizard, but not my girls. It was love at first sight. And somehow there was never any disagreement that this lizard was Makena's.

So proud of her "iguana"

It's almost as big as she is....and it sleeps with her!

"Don't mess with my iguana!"

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Wordful Wednesday--Toddler yoga

I've mentioned before how much of a monkey my girl Makena is. She will try to climb and hang on anything. And now she has started to do headstands against the wall. She cracks me up with her freakish strength and boundless energy.

And don't mind the half eaten apples by her head. Energy food. She might have had some help eating them from her two partners in crime.

Related Posts: Wordful Wednesday-Makena

Energizer Bunny


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Wordful Wednesday and Ahhh Nuts-Part II

A little over a year ago, we discovered that Makena was allergic to peanuts. She had a follow-up appointment with her allergy doctor last month and he suggested that we do another blood test. The first time around, "her numbers" were low, but did show a peanut allergy. We decided to re-test to see if she possibly outgrew it.

I was thrilled when the doc called and said "her numbers" came back at zero and he suggested we do a taste test in the office to see if she reacts. So Makena and I headed out for a little peanut butter date the day before Halloween. I had visions of her enjoying a Reese's Peanut butter cup on Halloween night. It's the simple pleasures in life right?

So the taste test was quite the production. The doctor started with giving her one little dab of peanut butter to eat and then we waited 30 minutes to see how she reacts. So far so good--no reaction. We give her a second cracker with a little more peanut butter (probably less than 1/4 tsp) and we are still good to go after the next 30 minute wait.

I tried to keep my girl occupied with Elmo and Nemo DVD's and some color crayons but the poor girl was ready to climb the walls after an hour of waiting.

After the third peanut butter cracker with about a teaspoon of peanut butter, the rash and hives appeared. AHHHHH nuts! If you look closely, you can see the red rash around her mouth.



After a dose of Benadryl, we were on our way home. Makena enjoyed a little Benadryl-induced catnap in the car on the ride home.




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Wordful Wednesday--Makena

Makena, my first born baby girl. She seems to have enough energy to power a small country, always climbing and jumping off of things. If you can hang from it, she's all over it. Makena has a hearty appetite but is the most petite of the girls.

In the NICU, her premature lungs were the worst out of the three girls and the doctors were worried that she would struggle to come off of the ventilator after 6 weeks of support. Makena won that battle with flying colors and although she needed supplemental oxygen at home until she was 9 months old, you would never guess she once struggled to breathe on her own.

Makena's most prized possessions at the moment are her four beloved "boo blankies" and her Zoey (Sesame Street) backpack. Don't try to fool her at bedtime with crazy excuses when you are too tired to schlep downstairs for the one boo blankie that is hiding in the corner that didn't make it upstairs with us. Makena knows if one of the blankies is missing. It's her sixth sense. She'll ask, "Where are my lots of boo blankies?"

Makena is quite shy when we go to new places or there are unfamiliar people around. She will cling to me until she is comfortable, which usually just takes a few minutes. Makena still grabs onto me when I drop the girls off for preschool two mornings a week. She is definitely a mama's girl.

She loves to read books, count, color and practice writing her name, which at this point is just scribbles on paper, but she gets so excited to show me her work. "M" is her favorite letter and she loves to find it anywhere she sees writing.

A quick video of Makena counting the candles on Lolo's birthday cake.



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Energizer bunny

I'm always looking for ways to keep the girls busy and get some of that crazy toddler energy out. On an afternoon at home recently, Makena was running around in her t-shirt, Elmo undies, socks and shoes. Girlfriend had energy to BURN.

She was like a cross between Richard Simmons and Olivia Newton John.

I found her sweatin' to the oldies on the trampoline.

Woopsa-daisy. One jump too many. Get up girlfriend! I know you've got more energy to burn.

When jumping got old, she hopped on her tricycle and did laps around the kitchen.

And then it was time for some musical entertainment to wind things down.

I get tired just looking at the girl run circles around me.

Is it naptime yet?