Happy 3rd Birthday Harper Sage!

OMG. Did I really just write that? YES I did.
Our oldest peanut is 3 years old. I can't believe it...yet I can. This little girl blows my mind. The things that come out of her mouth are crazy, beautiful, and really unbelieveable. Between working, raising the girls, being a wife and family member I have a hard time documenting all the fabulous phrases that come out of her mouth and all the wonderful qualities this little/big girl possesses. What I can say right now is that I am so proud of her and love every inch of her being. She makes me a better person everyday and I love her through and through.
Happy 3rd B-day to the girl:

• who says " I don't want to say bye to that princess" (@ our cousin Megan's wedding)


• who kisses her sisters feet before bed


• who wants me to lay with her everynight before bed and then when I go to exit she makes up something to be afraid of, like "I think I'm afraid of my ...."


• who says "yesterday morning" when she means this morning or yesterday


• who gives kisses, noses, and hugs everynight before bed


• who some mornings lays on the bathroom floor with her pillow and blanket while I get ready for work


• who gets so excited and says "that will be awesome" or "daddy will be excited"


• who says "bless you mommy" when I sneeze


• who loves to play the drum (she will pretend anything is a drum) and dance


• who loves to sing loudly to Mumford and Sons


• who loves me for me to list people in her life while laying in bed and will say "tell me all the people"


• who loves to play with her best friend Ryder


• who walks outside and says "it's a sunny day today"


• who wakes me up and says "mom the sun is up"


• who can count to 20 and recognize most of her letters (except she always skips 15)


• who loves to do arts and crafts


• who is so full of life and love every minute of the day (even the minutes she isn't listening and/or following directions;)


• who I terribly miss when I am away at work


• who is my constant ray of light


• who is the best big sister around


• who I love more and more everyday!

A Rainy weekend in October..

doesn't stop our girlies from having a blast "outside" at the lake. Most of the time they were frolicking in the rain. A few times we were able to convince them to hang out on the deck when the rain was fierce. It was a wet, muddy kind of weekend spent with the fam.

Trick or Treating 2011

Liv: 14months: baby chick

Harper: 2 years (almost 3y): Blue from Blues Clues

Ryder: 3 years (almost 4y): Optimus Prime from Transformers

Asher: 3 weeks: cute little pumpkin outfit (not pictured)

This year we were able to go Trick or Treating with our good friends the Reynolds Family. I can't tell you how excited Harper and Ryder were when running up to the houses and ringing the door bell. They took turns at each house ringing (or at least tried to) and would run back to us elated with the treats that were placed in their buckets. We went around my parents neighborhood (2 cul-de-sacs) and called it a night. Harper was mistaken for a bunny in her costume. She didn't keep her hood on that made her look more like "Blue." Liv started the night by walking, but she couldn't keep up with the older ones and really had no idea what was going on but was just happy walking about. I then grabbed the stroller so we could keep up with the bigs and we cruised along. I eventually let her walk again towards the end of the outing. It is as if she had watched what the older ones were doing while she was strolling because she would then trail behind them to the door. She would just stand there and watch and then run behind them as they left the houses. She loved it. It was a BEAUTIFUL night with the stars and moon shining bright. A perfect halloween night!

Pumkin Carving 2011

We started off the festivities with pumpkin carving on Sunday evening. (10/30) We ate pizza and carved pumpkins with the Reynolds Fam (Derick, Sonja, Ryder, and baby Asher), Aunt Shay & Uncle Jay, and the Dorsey Grandparents. Pumpkin carving at this age seems to be more time invested with the adults in scraping, carving, and cooking the seeds. Harper and Ryder were distracted with having each other around to play and therefore weren't too in to the carving session. They did spend a few mintues at the table during the first phase of carving. The adults took on the mission and we're kinda into it:) The jack-o-lanterns turned out great!

Saved by the....

CRACKER...

When taking two small peanuts on an outing with the oldest having no nap and the littlest having only an hour for the day, having crackers on a Target run is a MUST. (especially when you brave the outing by yourself) I was about 1/2 through my shopping when melt downs started to unfold. As I am talking to myself saying "I hope you have some crackers Kandra" I reached in the backpack with a little panick and was saved by the crackers:) Thanks to the smart people who invented such a snack because they are a lifesaver when desperate times call. I know it's hard to imagine these sweet faces having meltdowns;)