Our Little Stars

The girls were giving us performances in dress up clothes (a daily occurrence) today when my wheels started spinning. Today's matinee was held in the tiled foyer with the playroom in the background. I started mentally measuring the opening to the playroom...and I just had to ask for an intermission. My mental measuring was spot on and I proudly found the supplies around our house to create a backdrop for their performances. I was quite proud of myself (if you couldn't tell since I am blogging about it!) for my creativity. However, I did have to laugh when Brady excitedly proclaimed, "Now we have a dressing room!!!"

Here is a couple acts from today's matinee in the new outfitted auditorium...

A couple sidebar lessons:
-I have obviously moved a lot since I had a shower curtain, rod and hangars all at my disposable (without dismantling one of our three full baths).
-Raising kids in awesome (for many reasons) when you get to see how they see the world (even if it is way different then you) I see a backdrop, Brady sees a dressing room.
-My girls are way better at wearing high heels then I have EVER been.
-I think I will be attending many of performances in real auditoriums, whether for drama, dancing, or choir...these girls LOVE to perform.

Firehouse Walk

The preschool does a couple 'neighborhood walks' a year. The spring one is to the local firehouse a mile down the street. I was unable to make it to the walk last year, but boy am I glad I made it this year. It was so much fun!

The school asks the parents to come along if they can so that they can lower the adult child ratio. Most people walk with two kids. Well, that puts me needing to be there just to cover my kids ;) I can't believe I am actually going to post this picture, but here is my trio... Maybe a I should say my quadruples since my bottom could count as its own entity.

One of the cool parts about the walk was that we had to cross a very busy road, well that isn't the cool part. The neat part was the police car that is scheduled to stop traffic for our parade of preschoolers.

So after a mile of trotting we finally arrived at Fire Station Number One...just in time for a snack!

After snack, we got to enter the station, where the fireman welcomed us.

Then, after the short introduction, the children got to walk through the fire truck....so much fun.

The tour then included seeing their dining room, sleeping quarters, their heat sensing guns that can spot the fire location (if smoke is too thick) and people, and a mom dressing up in all the gear that weighs about 100 pounds! Can you imagine wearing 100 pounds of gear for your job, WOW?!?!?!

Then they saved by far tejecoolest part (in my opinion) for last. Each kid got a chance to turn a fire hose on and off!!!! They put out a construction cone for the kids to aim at and knock over. I was giddy (and jealous) with how incredibly cool this experience was for the kids.

Well, my jealously was quickly turned into pure joy when they asked if any parents wanted to try....UM YEAH!!!!!

BEST FIELD TRIP EVER!

So I asked the girls later that day what was their favorite part of the field trip. Reese immediately responded "the red light". Nope not what you are thinking, she was referring to the red lit hallway that lead to the sleeping quarters. They make the hallway red so that when they get middle of the night calls their eyes can slowly adjust to light before having to drive around a massive fire truck. So there you have it, after all of that Reese got to see, she liked walking through a 10 foot hallway that was glowing red. Brady said her favorite part was seeing the mom dress up in the fire suit and....the red light! Simple pleasures of preschoolers ;) Later when Brady relived the day with Karl, she told him her favorite part was going through the jungle... other words, walking on a sidewalk with overgrown palms and shrubs ;)

Then and Now

I love that when I look at this four year old face...

I still see this (as Brady says) zero year old face!

When I look right into Brady's eyes, I flashback to early 2008. The interesting thing is I don't have that with Reese, I guess her face has changed more.

 What do you think?

Leader of the Day

Reese was leader of the day at preschool last Tuesday. I know I have posted several times about this role on this blog, but it is a big deal to my girls.

The Saturday before she was set to perform this task Reese was up before anyone else. When I wake up second, I see that she has a dress from her closet hanging on her door knob. I comment on how she already picked her outfit for the day... "No mommy, that is for Tuesday, when I am leader of the day!" I have to explain to her that the class is having a walking field trip and all the teachers asked the students to wear their Montessori shirt. "Mommy, I will put that on AFTER I am leader of the day." Alrighty then...

There are two (of many) responsibilities the leader of the day holds that both my girls love. Calling names and show and tell. Guess what Reese choose to 'show and tell'...

I didn't press record in time but when the teacher asked her what she brought to share, she stood up twisting her hips and said my twirly dress. I LOVED it. Then she slowly walked about the line allowing her friends to touch this oh so magical dress. One of the boys even asked, what is inside of the dress to make it do that?!?!?!

How do I manage to raise such girly girls?

Another responsibility of the leader of the day is to change the date on the calendar. They may bring one friend to assist them in this task. When asked who Reese wanted to have help her, the picture below shows her excitement as she proudly and loudly states "Brady"

 Then, this picture shows Brady's happiness to have been chosen by her sister...

I am so so so glad these girls LOVE each other!

Wordless Wednesday: Angelina Ballerina

seven month craving=day of great fun

Since basically the very beginning of the this pregnancy, I have been craving high quality Asian food. I tried to get some take out Chinese in hopes of satisfying the craving...no luck. I tried having sit down Thai food...no luck. I needed some P F Changs. Easy enough right? Not if you live over an hour and a half away from one! Well, my awesome friend, Kristen, organized our lady friends to have a mom's day out in honor of Elliot. HOW AWESOME IS THAT! I have an amazing hubby that let me escape for the day while I went out with my amazing friends that were willing to make the 3 hour round trip ride for some Chang's spicy chicken. I am a lucky lady!

I was showered with gifts that were all perfect! Much needed items for my new adventure in cloth diapering, mommy pampering, and memory capturing was all gifted upon me. 

 Thanks to my great group of friends for celebrating Eli Dew. It was truly a day of awesomeness.

 Since we were a few towns east of Pensacola, we decided to hit up the outlets and the gelatto shop. So we left our houses around 10:30, well the first time any of us thought to look at our watch is was 5:00...and we were still shopping!!!! See where the awesome husbands come in. We closed the outlet mall down at 6:00 and headed home. After all was said and done, I got home after 8 (yes, 10 hours later). Karl was so gracious to not complain, and actually brag about his day with the girls. I love you, honey!

As you can tell, I really had a BLAST!

Easy Breezy Friday Afternoon

Last Friday, I brought the girls to the park on base so that Reese could try out her new (new to her that is) bike. They can ride on the sidewalks (no where close to a road) at different speeds without my having a heart attack. Reese's bike is something I have JUST recently heard about...pedalless bikes. Apparently this is the way for them to truly understanding balance in biking and therefore never have the need for training wheels. You are suppose to start them on the pedalless bike around two. They just push themselves along with their feet, slowly gaining speed, all the while learning their center of balance on a two wheeled bike. Then when they are ready you move them over to a pedalled bike (without training wheels). The moms I have talked to that did this at 2 had a kid riding a bike without training wheels by 3! AMAZING in my opinion. The first day on the bike was frustrating for Reese, but it will also be the hardest day for her, since it will get easier and easier with each use. 

 Since we were on base, Karl left work (an hour early) and meet us out there. Luckily, we had our softball gear leftover in the back of the van and the girls and Karl played a pick up game of softball. I so throughly enjoyed sitting in the dugout, feeling the breeze from the bay, and watching my family bond and have a great time together. As I sat there, I thought to myself, this is what life is all about...this is pure happiness.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Baby Bump: 33 weeks

Here we are at the home stretch...only one more of these posts after this! I am happy to say this past month I only gained 2 pounds. I have NEVER been able to say this throughout three pregnancies, even in the first months. I always gain 5-10 pounds a month, every month. And at this point the baby gains 2 pounds a month. YAH! 

I had an ultrasound on Thursday and Elli Dew measured at 4 pounds 14 ounces. Either she is on track to be a big baby, or she is like my other two and will be at least a pound less then what they predict. 

 Also, this month, I am not the only one that wants to show off her baby bump. I am proud to say Brady will be having twins soon, a boy and a girl. Yes, that is two baby dolls stuffed in there....Leave it is Karl to stuff them in, in such a way that she grows a chest too!

 With all these babies on the way, it is a good thing there is a doctor in the house! She looks like a natural to me!

Now, I am off to get ready for my mini baby celebration. My playgroup friends celebrate impending babies by eating out, with the mom's choice of restaurant. Thanks to my friend, Kristen, who convinced the other moms to drive 1.5 hours to the closest PF Changs. I have good friends! I will post about the celebration later...

Wordless Wednesday: What you looking at?

Three-peat

It is the second Saturday in April and you know what that means right? WIENER DOG RACE DAY! I know I know, only in Pensacola...

In case you are new to the blog, feel free to read a brief history of Champion Admiral Dewy of Dayton (AKA Dewy) here for 2010 and here for 2011.

This year was a blast just like the past two years. The girls are older and can interact a little more and we have our system down now. The only let down was we promised the girls we would buy them snow cones again this year, well it would have helped if there was actually a snow cone vendor there....

We got there early this year and got front row seats! The girls were ready and set, expect that we got there 45 minutes early and they started 45 minutes late, needless to say they were very patient.

 Here are some of the initial race heats. I took the picture before all the dogs were listed, but there were about 12 initial races. This year they formatted the races different and grouped by pounds. Last year there were three categories with a range of pounds.

 This was our attempt at a family shot (remember we leave Pace at home since he doesn't like the heat or being on a leash). You see the top of Dewy's head? With my belly he had to sit on the end of my lap ;)

 I bet you can guess the result of the first race...Yep, Dewy didn't let us down! He got first place!

 Well there is one problem with have a fast dog...you have to wait around for the next heat of races. Tough life having a Dewy Dog!

 And it is a tough life if you are that fast Dewy Dog... you have to sit around in the sun waiting for the next heat of races, that is unless you have a master that will hold an umbrella for you!

 The second heat of races was between some of the lighter dogs that had won their individual heats. We didn't get any pictures of this race, but as you may have guessed Dewy was the big winner again. The interesting thing is Karl and I both noticed that Dewy wasn't as into this year. We would slow down before crossing the finish line, not run directly to Karl and just not as into it. But both of the first two races he was the undisputed leader! So after all that racing (which in the past two years that was it) the event held one final race for the top three dogs... we didn't know what to expect, they have never had this race...could Dewy come out on top?

I kneeled at the start line, Karl got the toy in his sights and backed up to the finish line squeaking the toy. This is our method every time and it has not let us down. There was a slight delayed but normally that just gets Dewy more into it. The MC says, "ready set" and then something to Dewy's right caught his attention, he looks right..."GO". I let go of a distracted Dewy who took off with a slight delay.

We walked away from the 8th annual Pensacola Wiener Dog Races with the third place overall title! We are proud of our almost nine year old Dachshund. And yes, Leroy the winner was 3 years old and Dewy only lost by a dog's length...

 

This will most likely be our last time going to these races since we should be moving within the year. I will have to say the races will mark some of our favorite memories here in Pensacola! We are proud of you, Dewy!