3 Girlies at 3 Years Old

Just for fun, tonight I looked at some pictures of Lucia and Rhea at 3 years old.  It's always fun for me to compare the girls' pictures and remember their stages.

You might enjoy these pictures, too! :-)

I can't believe these years have gone by SO fast.  Just the other day I realized that more than a third of Lucia's childhood has already passed.  It's amazing how much of a difference four years (and two, for that matter) has made in Lucia and Rhea... kids change so quickly.  Looking forward to the next three years with each of them!

Cousin Time

Now that I started posting pictures in reverse chronological order, I might as well add a couple more of our time together in Chicago over Thanksgiving. :-)  Some of these are too cute to pass up!

Lucia demonstrating her budding piano skills.

Playing a game together

Jaida watching the snow come down.

Lucia and Westen shoveled a path on the deck

Jaida on her birthday morning, excited to see the decorations!

A bunch of fairies having breakfast. :-)

Just waiting for the fairies to make this party happen!

The younger girl cousins plus one of Jaida's friends.

Ashton patiently waiting for juice.  You can see him saying "juice" in the picture. :-)

So fun to be four!! :-)

Some fairies never change. ;-)

Some grandma snuggle time.

Papa and Lucia racing :-)

Rub-a-dub-dub, four cousins in a tub!

Getting ready for our Thanksgiving meal

All minus David (who was taking the picture).

One of my favorite recent pictures of Alexa. <3 p="">

Doing his best trying to keep up with those big snow boots on. :-)

Westen showing off. :-)

It's always so fun to be together. The kids absolutely adore their cousins and their memories are so special.  And they were thrilled that they got to see a little snow too! :-)  Already looking forward to our next visit.

Post-Christmas Treat

After Christmas, we got to have some extra time with David's parents, and as a surprise, they brought Hayley (12) and Westen (10) with them!  The girls were so excited when they found out that the cousins would be coming.  We stayed home most of the time, but did go on a special outing to the Gaylord Texan resort and just walked around the huge indoor pavilions of the hotel.  It was beautifully decorated for Christmas and would've been even more impressive at night.  I guess we'll have to do it again another year. :-)

Trying to figure out where to go next...

Taking a little break by a fountain.

The obligatory Hayley-Rhea picture. :-)  These two are so sweet together!

Cousins on a rock.  Just sad to be missing Jaida and Ashton!

We always enjoy and appreciate time with family!  Too bad it was so short!! 

A Few Glimpses

Hard to believe it's already February, and I haven't posted since November (I think)! Ha.  Well... without further ado, here are some pictures to give you glimpses into our lives these days.

The weather is turning and we are getting more and more days that invite us to spend time outside.  Alexa has been working on her scootering skills and is doing pretty well!

The big girls set up a picnic in the living room and invited some of their stuffies to participate.

 Aaaand, just like in most other five- and seven-year-olds' lives, school takes up a fair bit of our time. Here Rhea is working on spelling and eating cheerios (because they help you be cheery).

Part of the time Rhea and Lucia work on school, Alexa likes to sit and color or trace her name.  She's a big girl too, after all! :-)

Doing some math and airing out her tongue. :-)

These next few pictures were taken during one of our Mondays at Classical Conversations.  I was helping out in Rhea's class that day.
Here, Rhea is assisting with the scientific experiment - she was putting some dish soap in water.

Waiting to see if the experiment would work - gas expanding in the bottle, pushing soap bubbles out of the straw at the top.

Here, Rhea is giving her presentation, which the girls do each week.  This day's topic was geography, a place you've been or would like to go.  Rhea chose to present on Germany. :-)

Showing her friends some of the pictures.

 Alexa writing (tracing, in this instance) her name.  This is serious business, folks! :)

We're enjoying some park play dates -- these 65 to 75 degree days are simply delightful! (No idea who the boy is; he happened to be on the "turn table" along with the girls.)

 Lucia under a tree. :-)

Sometimes, though not that often, we get a treat lunch at Chick Fil-A or somewhere and eat it at the park. Lexi was so proud of having her own cup of water. :-)

 Making a "fire".

"Tadaa, my fire."

Having a leaf-bath.

The girls continue to enjoy the play set and come up with new things to do out there all the time.

Big sister love. ;-)

Alexa investigating a dead worm

 Can someone please ask this kid to stop growing up??  Can't believe my baby is definitely not a baby anymore.