Here’s part of a quote I heard this week that I really liked:

“Children’s faces hold wonder like a cup.” Sarah Teasdale

We pulled out the play-doh this weekend and Noelle made a winter wonderland scene… Christmas tree and a snow man.

Next she made a lion… we are reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe right now, so that’s probably where the winter wonderland came from.  Father Christmas just visited Narnia, so that’s why she’s got Christmas on her mind.

This is what Anna Kate came up with, sweet girl.  I love the way her little mind works!

Photos compliments of Anna Kate’s amazing teacher, Mrs. Paula!

It was Noah, Conner, Luke, and Anna Kate’s turn to go to the zoo last week.  Mrs. Paula has passes every where, so they get to take turns (4 at a time) going on field trips all over the city, while her amazing assistant, Julie, stays at preschool to take care of the other kiddos.  They have an awesome system, and it’s workin for us!

I’m so thankful for finding Mrs. Paula.  I had no energy on Wednesday and couldn’t go on this field trip with Anna Kate, but I had no worries that she was being perfectly taken care of… I just kept wondering which animal she was into as each hour passed that day!  So blessed she is out and about enjoying the world around her!

The Meerkat was Anna Kate’s favorite zoo animal.  She could not stop talking about the Meerkat when she got home from school on Wednesday.  I didn’t even know what a Meerkat was.  Anna Kate liking this animal is perfect… so cute and random!

I told you guys Anna Kate loves to have her picture taken… she’ll stop and smile for anyone, anytime… it’s soooo sweet!

When I asked Anna Kate about these pictures, she said, “I was chasing the boys, and I caught one of them!”  Go girl!

Anna Kate was so proud to show me these pictures as I downloaded them from Mrs. Paula’s share site.  She said, “The fish were so slippery for the penguins to catch!” 

Enjoying the kangaroos… and smiling for another photo op!

Anna Kate said the bear was going back and forth and they got to chase him!

What an awesome day!  Thanks, Mrs. Paula!  You’re the best!  The end.

 

Noelle’s school is doing something really cool this year.  They’ve divided the entire school into colored houses.  Each house has a character quality, and they are supposed to focus on that word and make their school a better place by living out their word.  Noelle is a part of the yellow house and their word is “kindness.”  If someone sees you acting out your house word, your house gets a point.  They are doing it all year, so it will be neat to see how it all plays out.  Noelle loves the idea and is having a blast with it so far.  On house days, they wear their house color, so she’s been having fun getting creative with the color yellow.  They will be getting matching shirts soon. 

Just to update, Noelle is having a great year and is thriving!  She is so energetic and happy and loves going to school.  Her reading has shocked us, as has her spelling comprehension and memory.  It’s like it just clicked!  She’s rocking and rolling and having a blast at school!  I love seeing her bounce off the bus and as soon as she gets to me, she tells me all about her day.  And it’s all happy, the way it should be.  We are so thankful and are so proud of her for trying her best and embracing herself!  GO NOELLE!!!

So as it turns out, Mike has a horrible allergy to baby wipes… which means… yep, I’m a single parent diaper changing Momma.  He was so sweet and tried to wear gloves at first, but as luck would have it, he’s allergic to latex too!  Thank God this allergy became active so late in the game.  Rose will be two years old in Feb. and we’ll be home free (unless she decides to pull an Anna Kate on us, lol).  Mike’s helped me so much over the years, he deserves a little break… although he would much rather change diapers than deal with the fissures all over his fingers.  They are miserable and hurt him so badly.  And he types on computers for a living.  It’s been rough for him, and my attitude has changed about diaper changes.  I change Rose’s diapers with thankfulness that my fingers aren’t stinging!  It’s not so bad after all… it’s all a matter of perspective!  Isn’t that true for so many things in life!?!  

He’s been dealing with this allergy since April, and five appointments to the dermatologist later (thank God for our emergency fund, this little allergy cost us $500 so far, and those of you who know how frugal we are, well, that part was a bummer too), we finally figure out the culprit was baby wipes.  He’s such a great Dad.  He actually feels bad he can’t help me change her diapers, and I’m like, most guys would be like, “Yes!  I got a free ticket!”  But it really makes him sad to ask me to change Rose if he finds her first.  I love that Mike is so caring and selfless like that.  I strive to be more like him in that way all the time. 

This is a current picture.  Please pray that these cuts would heal and stop stinging for Mike, that he can work and not have pain in his fingers.  Poor guy.  He’s just trying to take good care of his family!  Thanks for reading, even though this post doesn’t have pictures of pretty little girls in it!

Mrs. Paula found this little guy and had a lesson all about turtles on Monday (before their zoo field trip on Wednesday).

It’s so tiny!

I just had to show you guys his shell… it’s so creative! 

 

After letting all of the children have a close-up look, Mrs. Paula put him back in the creek.

And off he goes.  (Pictures all by Mrs. Paula)

 

Noelle and Chloe were having fun wearing silly things to school and oh my dear! This child is going to wear high heels like tennis shoes.  She tries them on everywhere we go and doesn’t want to take them off when it’s time to leave.  Fancy Nancy, help!!!

Noelle loves to sleep in braids and wear her hair wavy the next day at school; it’s cool!

 

A lizard followed the girls and me inside this week after lunch… lots of squealing, lots of fun!  The picture on the right is Anna Kate after eating her first s’more!  She loved every last sticky bite!

Rose LOVES playing on the iPad!  It’s crazy how fast they pick everything up!  It’s the perfect way to engage a kid because it’s something they can touch and feel, literally hands on.  So thankful Mike won our iPad because our girls are learning so much and have enjoyed it immensely.

 

Thank you Kay Kay and Grandpapa for taking us out to eat for Mike’s birthday and all his fun presents!  Here’s Mike enjoying (about to share) his chocolate flan with the girls… he’s the best!

 

Daddy got lots of little presents for his birthday!

I had to post a picture of the red velvet cake I bought for Mike that went all wrong!  Like seriously, what the heck does it say?  It’s supposed to say, “Happy Birthday, Daddy”… it did make me laugh though.  When we picked it up, Noelle said, “Mommy are you sad about Daddy’s cake?”  I said, “No, just confused,” lol!

Happy Baby, Happy Daddy, Happy Week!!!

I asked Julia and Anna Kate what they were talking about.  They said, “Our boyfriends!”  I said, “Who has a boyfriend?”  And they said, “We both do!”  Silly girls!

The not-so-glamorous part about a park play date!

Good times!

My friend Tanna is having a fun countdown full of 10 activities she wants to do with her girls before her baby Audree is born.  One of the things on her countdown is: Pj Party with the Ponds, so today, that’s what we did! 

The girls had such a blast!!!  Anna Kate said, “This is the best pj party ever!”

After lunch, we went outside to play and make a craft!  The girls were in heaven!

 

 

Cerly put this cone on her head and walked around saying, “Happy!”  It was so cute!!!

What a fun day!  Tanna’s getting closer and closer to meeting her 3rd little girl… so excited for their family!  I think this was #7 on her Countdown list until Audree’s birth! 

The girls couldn’t wait for Daddy to get off work so we could go celebrate!

 

We had fun taking pictures and playing outside before dinner.

 

Rose is a little camera shy but not her big sissy, ha!

Go girl!

Noelle always watches over Rose… she’s the best big sister ever!

 

Anna Kate is my picture girl these days… she wants me to take her picture even more than I already do, lol!

 

The girls picked out their outfits for dinner; they love being fancy!

Thanks Noelle, for taking our pic… you’re getting so big and have always been my faithful little helper!

They had nothin’ left for Mommy, lol! 

 

We had an awesome dinner Thursday night with Kay Kay and Grandpapa (thank you so much for the delicious meal and birthday presents for Mike) and Mexican flan at Gloria’s on his birthday!

Daddy got lots of little presents for his birthday!

I had to post a picture of the red velvet cake I bought for Mike that went all wrong! Like seriously, what the heck does it say? It’s supposed to say, “Happy Birthday, Daddy… it did make me laugh though. Noelle said, “Mommy are you sad about Daddy’s cake?” I said, “No, just confused,” lol!

Happy Baby, Happy Daddy, Happy Birthday Week!!!