14 months

Virginia Ann reached the 14 month mark this month and while it is not typically a big milestone, for my girls it has been the month they go from a baby to toddler. (Jack was a late bloomer:) During this month, Virginia Ann has become a little person. She started saying more words- mom, dad, ack, mad, up, down, out, juice and her favorite- more. She understands so much like "go get your shoes", "put this in the trash", "bring me your babydoll", "find your bottle", etc. My favorite is when I announce to the kids that it is bathtime and Virginia Ann runs down the hall to the bathroom trying to take her shirt off at the same time. She LOVES the bath. She tries so hard to play with Jack and Madeline, following them whenever they go. They have even locked her out of their room- a true sign of sibling love. Mad and VA are starting to play together. They share a love of all things baby and push their baby dolls around the house (loving the hardwoods!) and lately started having tea parties. Most of the time VA lets Madeline be the boss but she is learning to push back and it is cute to see her personality coming out.

Every day I feel so blessed to be Virginia Ann's mom. She is the happiest, easiest little girl; a cuddler who loves giving hugs and kisses. She is daily evidence to me that God is in control. We were quite surprised when we found out we were pregnant with her. Although we wanted a third,  the timing seemed so off with everything that was going on in our lives at the time. But God knew better and gave us this precious little girl who I am so thankful for. I am sad as I watch her turn into a toddler b/c I know she won't be little much longer but I am so grateful for this healthy, happy light we have been given! We love you Virginia Ann!

Mud puddles

It has rained for days here. We got a peek at sunshine for a few minutes and rushed outside to enjoy it. What I thought would be a nice afternoon in the sun turned into a dirty afternoon as the kids raced to the mud puddles in our yard!

Madgirl- not afraid of the mud!

 Jack decided to make his bike a "dirt"bike and Madeline quickly followed suit.

And all the while sweet Virginia Ann mastered the slide by herself and stayed quite clean!

January Fun

Jack started his first basketball season last week. He was so excited!

 Showing off his number 5. He picked it because he is five years old- duh!

 While his team only scored 2 points (total), he had a blast and that is all that really counts, right?

 Boxing out

 Taking it down the court

 Getting congrats from Dad!

 I spent the afternoon running errands and the kids had big time in the yard with Clay. I came home to find Virginia Ann covered in peanut butter.

" Um, i am just going to stick my hand in here and hope no one will notice"

 Apparently she is a peanut butter fan!

 VA loves to play in our pantry. She was in there the other day while I was cleaning the kitchen. It was quiet for a while and then I heard a little voice "uh oh uh oh" and I looked and she was not in the pantry anymore. I followed a trail of chocolate chips to the coat closet and found her in there with a 2lb bag of chocolate chips! She had half the bag poured on the floor and chocolate running down her chin! I couldn't stop laughing. This is the first mischevious thing she has done and it made me realize she is not a baby anymore. Of course the big kids heard me laughing and came running. When they saw the chips there was a big scramble to see who could eat the most!

 Very proud of herself!

 I have been busy with my little business. One of my boards was featured on Pinterest and it generated lots of orders! Madeline helped me with the painting the other day. It was quite chilly in the garage but she insisted on wearing her princess heels!

I might have a problem

As I was going through the last couple months of pictures, I realized that I might have a problem. I never thought I would be that mom that dressed their girls alike but I have fallen into the trap. They are so close in age and just so darn cute! It is also a lot easier to just pick out one outfit and know you can go to the next closet and get the same thing. And I realize that Madeline will not think it is cool for much longer so I will do while I can. Below is some evidence and these are only the days that I took their picture!

New Years Weekend

Our good friends from Raleigh, The Smith family, came to visit for New Year's weekend. We had a fabulous time playing with them. The kids miss the girls so much and we miss our adult friends. It is so rare when you find a couple where both the wives and husbands get along well and have common interests. We found that with Barb and Bret immediately and we miss them so much!

Because we had our favorite babysitters in town, we got to go out for New Year's! We haven't had the opportunity for many dates lately so it was much needed!

When we left, Madeline was snuggled up with Paige...

 and Jack and Macey were making cookies.

 When we got home, Madeline was sound asleep on Macey!

 Since there were five extra people to watch the kids, I actually cooked a real meal! Paula Deen's black eyed peas, mashed potatoes, a yummy salad with pecans, apples and blue cheese and

 this spicy fruit stuffed pork loin with roasted pears and onions from Southern Living. Can't ever go wrong with a SL recipe!

We had a great start to 2012! Here is to a wonderful year!

Christmas 2011

Going to play catch up here. We had a fabulous Christmas in Knoxville. We drove over Christmas Eve morning- so nice to be only 3.5 hours away now! We played and then went to mass with my family and came back to my parents for a yummy dinner. The kids had a great time serenading us with all the songs they knew from school- Go tell it on the mountain, Jingle Bells, etc. They all got to pick one present to open ( a Connor tradition) and then everyone headed to bed to wait for Santa.

This is what the main tree looked like after Santa came.

 And this is what the kids tree looked like after Mimi and Goose came :)

They are way better than Santa!

 All the stockings

Jack opening his BatCave- the only thing he asked for and was so excited!

 Madeline wanted a crib for her babies. We are in serious baby doll obsession stage!

 Virginia Ann slept through most of the chaos- she is my late riser! But joined us at the end.

 Madeline and her bff, Aunt JuJu

 My parents wanted a family picture so we told the kids we couldn't open any presents under the kid tree until they took a good picture. This is how it started.

 But we got a few good ones! We are so so blessed!

 Mom and Dad and the grandkids

Madeline (2), Jack (5), Quinn(9 mos), Cael (2), Virginia Ann (13 mos) and Maeve (5)

 Big Squish

Madeline giving Maeve a thank you hug

 Mom has given Ryan a Nerf gun every year since forever ago. This year he and Jack got matching guns and Ryan and Cory went to town.

 It was a Batman kind of Christmas for Jack- sleeping bag, shirt, hat, rain boots, etc

 Maeve and Madeline bonded over their babies and played well together. Jack kind of got the shaft b/c he wanted to play with "boy" toys.

 We won this peeing Santa at a Christmas party and it was a big hit. It is supposed to be a liquor dispenser but it works great with water too!

 My mom's friend Patti got a new English Bulldog puppy named Walter. Madeline was in love!

 Goose and Jack in their matching polos!

We had a such fun time- lots of playing, eating and hanging out with family. Loved being at home- no place like it!