I can't believe my baby is turning three in four hours

It seems like just yesterday that we were introducing Katelyn to her new baby sister. Now Ellie will be three in the morning. We have been having a great week counting down the days for both Ellie (Thursday B-day) and Katelyn (Saturday B-Day.) Today Alan and I each split the girls up and took them to buy birthday presents for one another. They did a very good job and were quite proud of their purchases. So with my reminiscing, I am attaching pictures from three years ago as we introduced Ellie to the world. What a blessing she has been to us with all her smiles, cuddles and "I love You"s.

Who says you need toys to have fun?

We hosted a shower for Karen Ford at my mom's house this weekend. She is marrying my cousin Adam. One of the gifts came in a large UPS box filled with peanuts. Of course, my kids thought it was the most fun ever. Even my cousin Bayley got in and had a ball. The weekend was filled with family and fun. Not only did we have the bridal shower, but we went to another friend of the family (maybe cousin)'s graduation party and then stopped by Mema and Papa's for a visit. The girls were wiped out by the end of the day from all the attention, love and playing.

Renaissance Festival

Once again we headed to Triune, TN for the Tennessee Renaissance Festival. It is quite fun. The girls dressed up in their princess clothes. For those who have never been, it is all outside with booths setup as though you were going through a marketplace or festival of the times. Lots of people come dressed up and the organizers are all in authentic clothes. The queen strolls through the grounds with her lady in waiting. There are fairies and gypsies. Today there was an international jousting competition. The girls enjoyed making candles, getting face-painting, and swinging on a man-powered seat spinning seat thing. They met the queen and her court and had a great time.

Warner Park and visiting the grandparents

We all were fortunate to get to spend the weekend with Granddad Tom and Thelma from Bethesda, MD. The girls enjoyed hanging out with them and taking them to their favorite places. We spent Saturday morning forging the creek at Warner Park. The girls loved splashing in the water. They even uncovered a crawfish under a rock. The morning finished with a trip to Red Caboose Park where they ran themselves tired. Our neighborhood pool has also opened, so we ventured there in the afternoon. Thelma was the bravest, spending the most time with Katelyn in the chilly big pool.

Pre-School Celebration

At Katelyn's school, they don't have a preschool graduation (Thank goodness). I am opposed to four year olds wearing a cap and gown anytime before high school graduation. If you do everything at 4 what's left? They sang a few very cute songs about what they do in school and saying goodbye to friends. Some of the songs were in Hebrew, so I am not sure what they were saying but i am sure it was nice :) It was a very sweet program, followed by an ice cream social. We have had an awesome experience at the JCC. Katelyn has spent the last three years there and has grown so much under their love and guidance. We will miss the folks in room 7. Hopefully, we can relive it all with Ellie over the next two years.

Last gymnastics

We have decided to forgo all summer kids activities so we won't have to be on the run so much. Tonight was the kids' last night of gymnastics. Katelyn is getting quite good at hanging upside down on the bar. They had a good time and will miss their new friends, but there is always fall.

Spilled the beans

We finally told Katelyn and Ellie about baby-to-be. We were waiting a little while in case something happened, but I am at 13 weeks and am lower risk now. They were very excited. They both want a little sister. Ellie wants to name her Cantaloupe and call her Canty. Don't ask me where she got that name. Ellie also said she can sleep in her bed with her and she will hold on to her so she doesn't fall out. Very sweet, but unlikely.

We are planning to move Ellie in with Katelyn this summer and having Katelyn move to the top bunk. They both seem to like the idea although I am quite sure they don't realize the implications of it all. I've been feeling pretty good lately, just a little tired. I don't feel all that pregnant yet, so I am sure the realization of how our lives will be changing again will hit me soon. I'm just hoping and praying for another easy pregnancy with the end result of a healthy baby girl or boy. I will keep you all posted.

More Mud

Katelyn finished out her soccer season this weekend with three goals. She played her best game of the season and was determined to go after the ball. Once again it was a mudfest with the girls slopping through puddles both midfield and in the goals. They loved it though. Katelyn was soaked all the way through to her underwear with mud.

Ellie has also been mastering new skills. Unbeknownst to us, she learned how to pump her legs and swing herself and she likes to go HIGH. What a big little girl she has become. There is hardly any baby left in her.

Soccer mudfest

Despite the rain and mud, Katelyn plowed through her soccer game. It drizzled a bit and the girls were covered in mud, but they had a ball. That is until Ellie fell on her butt in the mud. I never realized how much of a girly girl I have. She was very unhappy to be dirty. Katelyn's team, although they did not win, had fun running around in the mud. Some of the girls had too much fun and forgot to go after the ball. Katelyn scored the last goal of the game and was very proud of herself.

Mother's Day Early

I have been pleasantly surprised to have Mother's day all week this week. On Tuesday, Katelyn had a Mother's Day brunch in her class. She showed me all around to all of her stations. We ate and she presented me with a beautiful vase that she had decorated herself with a flower in it. I am so glad I made it. With it being a crazy week at work, it is often tempting to miss these events. Not only would I have been the only mom not there, bad mommy, but I would have missed out on how proud she was of her creation and how much she wanted to show off her classroom.

Today was Ellie's Mother's Day Breakfast. She presented me with a cute little bag with a flower on one side and her handprints on the other. Those little fingers which are growing so fast. We had a nice little breakfast with the other moms and visited a few before I had to go back to work. it was a very nice gesture that the classrooms made for us. As busy as things get, I need to remember to always take those mom moments because they won't be little forever.

Rain, Rain, go away

It has been raining in Nashville for almost three days. I should have taken a picture yesterday, but unfortunately did not think of it. My kids got decked out in their rain attire (boots and raincoats) and went looking for worms to put in their garden. Alan took them down to the river area and they returned with a bucket of squirmy worms which made a new home in the garden. Ellie looked quite pleased with herself for her catch. Yuck.

Derby Weekend

In trying to keep with the tradition of Derby festivities, we decided to have a little Derby gathering at our house on Saturday, primarily with neighborhood folks. The kids had a great time playing with their friends and hitting the horse pinata and the adults enjoyed mint juleps and derby pies. Although it was a wet weekend, we were fortunate to catch a break during the afternoon and were able to get out and do bubbles, corn hole and tee ball. We still have a TON of candy left, so if you need help giving your kids a sugar high, let me know. We were also blessed by a visit from my cousin Allison this weekend who helped out and spent the day on Friday loving on my kids and allowing them to play hookie from school.

Funfest at the JCC

My wonderful sister watched my kids two weekends ago so that Alan and I could go to his 20th Duke Reunion. What a surprise when I got home and saw pictures of my new cats!!!

Enjoying a beautiful spring day

Believe it or not, if you want to entertain my kids on a beautiful day, give them a sponge and a bucket of water. We took advantage of the great weather this weekend do some spring cleaning. We scrubbed down the deck and all the furniture. The girls probably spent an hour with brushes and sponges cleaning. Of course, it usually required Sherry and I do to some touching up, but they had a good time and were wiped out. Ellie ended up taking a four hour nap to recover. We also got the sprinkler out for the first time this season. We are looking forward to many more days like this weekend to just be outside in the wonders of nature. I feel blessed that my kids would rather be running around with a hose and on bikes that glued to a TV.

Evening rituals

So I just put the girls to bed. Ellie is still yelling, "mom, lay with me, just one more hug." As crazy as it may seem, I love putting the girls down at bed. It is not without negotiations. We negotiate on which pjs they are going to wear, what toothbrush they are going to use, whether I get to brush their teeth or whether they are going to do it, which book they will each pick out, whose book gets to be read first, where they will sit to have their book read and on it goes. But it is a time of snuggling and talking and praying. Tonight Ellie wanted to pray for all the "adults" she knew and she usually ends by blessing her bed. For those who don't know, Katelyn still bangs her head to go to sleep, so the music I am currently listening to is supplemented with a little bass beat.

I look at these two girls every day and wonder how they got to be so big so fast and how I can make it slow down. My mom keeps threatening to put them in a box with a brick on top so they can't get any bigger. It makes me wonder at what age my mom stopped looking at me and wondering when I would stop growing. I hope I do continue to grow each day (maybe not physically, but wiser).

Personal website not convenient

So I tried to go to my own personal website and I was just as bad at keeping everyone up to date on it. In fact, I think I was worse because I can only update it from my personal computer at home. So I am going to go back to using blogger. Hope I don't lose any of you in the transition.

We had an awesome weekend up in Louisville for Easter. It is always great to spend time with the family. I am so blessed to have a family that loves me and my kids so much. They are truly doted on for days on end and receive such unconditional love. We had our usual Easter Egg dying evening at mom's on Friday night and then had a rare unscheduled day on Saturday to just relax. The kids got to go to the bungy jumping place that they love. Katelyn is up to doing flips and everything. Then on Sunday we spent the day eating. I am not kidding. I gained two pounds in less than 48 hours in Louisville. We started the morning at church. . .it was actually quite distracting with the kiddos, although they were dressed to impress. They actually slept in curlers. if anyone of you are familiar with our family's hair--there is not an ounce of curl in it. Then we went to Grandma Libby's and visited and stuffed ourselves. We finished the day off at Mema Shirley's where we again stuffed ourselves with the relatives. We finally drug ourselves back to Nashville Sunday night. All in all, a successful trip.

Family Fun at Amelia Island

We had an awesome time at Amelia Island last week visiting the Calhoun/Barger families. The girls loved playing with their cousins. They are finally getting old enough to be able to at least hang with the Calhoun girls. Ellie followed her girl cousins around like a puppy dog and both of my girls were always asking where their Cousins were. We had great weather. It was warmer earlier in the week so we got lots of beach time. Both girls like the water, but Katelyn is a fish. She was fearless. The waves would knock her down and she’d be right back up again. Later in the week, it was windier so we went to a Parade downtown and to the Jacksonville Zoo which is one of our favorites.

We also got to hang out with Kit’s kids and the Barger cousins. They have all grown so much. Last summer when Katelyn and Ethan got together they just fought the whole time. This year they actually seemed to like each other a bit more. We are looking forward to seeing the whole gang again in July when we head to Pennsylvania for a week.

Purim Parade

Yesterday was the Purim Parade at the girls’ school. It is the celebration of when Esther saved her people. The girls got to dress up as whatever they wanted with the exception of super heroes and guns. Of course, mine are girly, girly. They then paraded around the JCC handing out goodie bags.

Soccer starts up

Katelyn’s soccer season started back up this Saturday. Her poor team got crushed by the other team. Fortunately, all the girls were in good spirits. They got the hang of it by halftime and were even in goals the second half, but you can’t really erase a 10 goal spread from the beginning. Katelyn was the perfect sport, though, which is a huge accomplishment. Last year, when the girls scored on her, she had some not so nice things to say to them.

It was a beautiful weekend here, so we spent a lot of time outside. The girls loved riding bikes, roller skating, going on nature walks and running around with the neighborhood boys. This neighborhood is going to be crazy as these little ones all start to grow up.

This picture is of Katelyn waiting on her turn to get in the game. I don’t have any great action shots since their goal was on the other end..

New website

In order to be able to post pictures more easily and add in movies, I am trying out a website associated with our mac. You can go to http://web.me.com/thecalhouns and see what we are up to. You need a username and password, so if I haven't sent you one, then shoot me an email at acalhoun@comcast.net. I am making the site password protected so pictures of my little ones are not able to be accessed any old stranger.

It's Friday!!!!!

It is Friday and about 70 degrees here today. We got to sleep in a little late today because it is Career Day at CPA. Alan was one of the presenters speaking on the law. I had the opportunity to meet up with him for a rare lunch out today which was very nice. Sherry picked the girls up from school and took them to the park to play, then they played out front with all the neighborhood kids until dark. I am so looking forward to spring and summer. We are so blessed to live in this neighborhood that is flooded with kids and sociable neighbors. It is kind of Desperate Housewifeish with all the wives gathered in the driveways with the kids running around like wild, but we all love it.

Great weekend with the family

We had a great weekend with the family. Mom and Larry came down to Nashville for a visit. It was Larry’s first trek down here since the weekend we moved in. In his typical handyman fashion, he helped with a few projects around the house. I almost electrocuted him I think when he was trying to fix an electrical problem in the bathroom. I switched off the breaker, but didn’t realize that the switches were on two different switches until on popped the light. Oh well, alls well that ends well.

We went to the Imax 3D under the Sea which Uncle Keith would have loved. It was pretty cool. The sea lions appeared to swim up to the kids and give them kisses at the end. Then on Sunday we went to the Playhouse Disney Live featuring Mickey Mouse and gang, Handy Manny (Dylan would have loved it), The Little Einsteins and Tigger and Pooh. Ellie kept looking around trying to figure out where rocket had gone. She didn’t quite understand why the characters didn’t look quite like they do on the television.

West Palm Beach

I have been out of sorts for a while. Sorry. Our computer moved so slow that it was difficult to load pictures and frankly, I didn't have the patience. Luckily, we got a new computer recently, so I am hopeful the upload speed is faster. Here are a couple of pictures from our recent trip to West Palm Beach to see the in-laws. We went to a Safari which ended at a park with a bird place. Katelyn LOVED feeding the birds. I regret to say I have taken no pictures in February. I'll get to it though. We are heading to Louisville this weekend which always means photo ops.