Sweet and Sassy style!

The Banks boys and Pond girls had their first play date last week!  We had a blast getting to know these great little guys a little better!

Noelle (6), Brayden (5), Anna Kate (4), Braxton (3), Rose (2) and Breland (1)!!! 

Noelle is about to lose her first top tooth… like, any.day.now. We are so excited to see her toothless grin! Mike and I were talking about it the other day, and in 3 years, she will be 10. We are not ready for double digits yet; not with three girls. There’s going to be the perfect window in there for a couple of years where we can just hang out with our buddies. We’re thinking when Rose is 4, Anna Kate is 6, and Noelle is 9. No diapers, fewer melt-downs, more sanity! Don’t get me wrong, we are living it up right now! The story is that we also have a lot to look forward to. I always tell my high school friends who are going through hard times, not to worry, just get through it, because life truly does get better and better in time, especially when you pray and try your best to make good choices with the intellect God has given you to use. I tell them no one can take away your dignity, so you’ve got to earn it and never let it go… anyway, that’s another story for another day. My brain is here, there and every where these days, constantly thinking of how to give these girls the best life they can possibly have… and that includes tons of awesome childhood memories. Can’t wait for this next little milestone!

  

Apparently Rose loves yogurt… on her tights!  God love her!

We love when our neighbor Lesleigh stops by to hang out!

 

One day Daddy and Rose took Noelle to the doctor because she had an ear infection while I was at the doctor for bronchitis (good grief) and another day the littles and I got an afternoon snack and drove around in the sun.  Anna Kate made a “foot ghost” on our way home!

 

More fun to get us through these past few weeks of being sick!

 

Anna Kate absolutely loves going to the dentist!  She still wants to be a doctor when she grows up and is so observant of everything when we are there for check-ups!  She wants a skeleton for Christmas, ha! 

 

We had Texas waffles the morning of our hotel visit for Anna Kate’s birthday!  They were delicious, of course!  Rose is getting too big, too fast!  She got up from the table last night and got a spoon out of the utensil drawer all by herself and came back to the table.  What!?!

Anna Kate had a hard 4 year check-up… but she’s got all of her big girl shots now, so we’re good to go!

Anna Kate’s enjoying her play doh “Doctor Drill ‘N Fill” she got from Malia for her birthday.  Even the toothbrush squirts out red play doh!  Rose is such a sweetie… pictures like this one make the terrible 2’s do-able, lol!

Emily, Luke, Ella, Brielle, Anna Kate and Layla had the best field trip of their lives to visit Luke’s farm!

Yay, the girls doing bunny ears with Mrs. Paula!

 

 

Anna Kate did such a great job holding the bunny!  I’m impressed that she did it!

She was brave enough to pet the little goat too, cool!

  

 

When the little pony came out, she studied him and decided he was okay too!

 

So she rode the miniature pony!  Yay, Anna Kate!  I’m totally proud of you!

 

She’s proud of herself too!  Love her little expressions and so thankful Mrs. Paula took pics of them for me to see!

When the big horsey came out, Anna Kate studied him and decided she’d stop there.  She didn’t chose to ride this big fella, but I don’t blame her.  A smart girl knows her limits!

 

  

Luke’s “rock pile” was the most talked about farm activity!  I love that Mrs. Paula slows down and let’s them have fun just being kids!

Look how happy they are!

“We’re in charge of this rock pile!”

Skipping rocks for the first time was another amazing memory for Anna Kate!

 

Anna Kate said they climbed up the hill to find rocks and then would run down the hill and throw them as hard and far as they could in the pond.

 

 

Back to the rock pile!

 

Mrs. Paula asked Anna Kate to compare the sizes of the two rocks in her hand.  She was trying to figure out which one was bigger and which one was smaller… always teaching… always learning!

 

Aww, I love this picture of Luke’s mom, Mara, hugging the little girls as they thanked her for letting them come out to their farm!  And how precious is this picture of Mara helping Anna Kate get the rocks out of her boots… from one cowgirl to another!  Best field trip ever!!!

 

Rose brought the art easel into the living room all by herself and turned it into her own personal little couch.  She went upstairs and got sissy’s big pillow and lined the frame to make the perfect-sized couch just for her.  Mike and I were looking at each other like, “How did she think to do that?”  Rose is a mystery to me at this point; a bag of tricks; a mile a minute; quick thinker; adapts well to all different types of situation.  She truly amazes and surprises us everyday, while we’re not necessarily looking.  She’s witty, clever, and knows how to play the game to get what she needs/wants.  Resourceful third child.  I’m so excited and interested in what kind of things Rose will be good at and like to do.  She’s really cool!  And so is her little twin friend, Katie!!!  Katie is the third child in her family too, and they are two little peas in a pod!  They love each other a lot and play like sisters; good times!

 

While the boys were off playing in the trees, Anna Kate was busy discovering the egg contraption Mrs. Paula set-up for the kids to explore.  Anna Kate couldn’t stop talking about how much fun the egg drop tunnels were!  Such a clever idea, as always!

After outside play, it was time for the birthday girls to make their birthday cupcakes.  Mrs. Paula let’s each birthday kid make their cupcakes for the class on their birthday.  It’s such a neat tradition, and the kids love it!  It was Anna Kate, Brielle, and Mrs. Julie’s birthdays last week, so the three of them had special time together baking their cupcakes!

I love this picture of Mrs. Julie and Anna Kate smiling at each other.  I’m pretty sure this picture happened right as Mrs. Julie was asking Anna Kate if she wanted to take a turn stirring the mix.

Great picture, Mrs. Paula!  The girls are deep into their cooking project!

Brielle’s turn to mix!

 

Awww, such sweet girls!  Happy birthday Mrs. Julie, Brielle, and Anna Kate!!!

 

Another day last week, the kids got to enjoy one of Anna Kate’s favorite activities… painting!!!

 

She simply loves it!

And then there was another zoo day!  I’m telling you, Anna Kate’s school is so amazing, and we are so blessed she gets to do all this fun stuff at school!  And you can’t imagine the things that I don’t show you guys on the blog that they do as well.  She brings home the most creative letter art.  We have a box full of all of her letter creations.  And… Mrs. Paula does a letter book and journal for them in the form of a scrapbook of all of their experiences throughout the year.  It’s unbelievable!

Looks like he’s snapping his fingers saying, “Aww man!”  I love this picture!

 

King of the jungle!

Mike and I were trying to guess how many zoo visitors sing, “When I was a young wart hog…” from Lion King when they pass this little fella each year!?!  Lol…

 

The zebras are always a hit!

I couldn’t believe the tiger meat was just hanging up there like that.  It would have been so neat to watch them jump for it and chow down!

Anna Kate is always very precautious of everything at first…

but once she understood the great white tiger couldn’t get out from behind the window, she stepped a little closer to observe.

Love these sweet little faces!

Had to include these pictures, because the rhinoceros was Anna Kate’s favorite animal this visit!

Can’t forget the elephants!

What an awesome week at pre-school!  Hope you enjoyed these pictures of Anna Kate discovering new things as much as we did!  Go girl!

 

The girls got to model over spring break… they loved the excitement of downtown Ft. Worth!

  

Noelle knows not to climb up the wall of a set but couldn’t help it just this once… she is still a kid after all!

 

Anna Kate had a blast following her big sister around!  The girls had such a fun experience doing this together!

 

The girls loved every minute of the spotlight, as you can tell!  I’m going to post lots of our modeling ads on the blog from the past and the present… first part of the summer!

 

  

Anna Kate, we loved celebrating your birthday week with you!  You are such a little joyful daughter!!! You call yourself the middle child and your sisters the “side children.” That’s hilarious to me. I’m a middle child and never thought of that. If you get upset, you’ll say to Noelle, “You’re just a side child!” She’ll say, “No, I’m the first child!” But you guys love each other hard too! During your 4 year old shots, all you wanted was, “Sissy!!!” You kept calling out for Noelle through your tears. You guys cuddled the whole night when she got home from school that day; and don’t forget Rose!  She looks up to you in ways that are so special! She’ll just come and lay on top of you, and you will chuckle with joy! You love taking care of her, holding her hand, and leading her into another room to play. She totally trusts you and when you are there, she feels safe and comes alive! To Mommy and Daddy, you exemplify FUN and happiness!  You are not old enough to feel heart-broken yet.  I watch and learn from your innocence!  Nothing phases you or gets to you… you are just like your Daddy!  You guys have a special gift that protects you from the harshness of the world.  It’s something that can’t be taught.  I pray you use it to live a stress-free and happy life, being a cheerful example to everyone you meet, while displaying empathy along the way (which you’ve got lots of too)!  

… which brings me to your soft side!  You are a sweetheart, that’s all there is to it. Everyone you meet  couldn’t agree more! Sometimes when you get in trouble and upset with us, after you’ve had a time out and say you’re sorry, you’ll add, “It’s okay, I’m just a little girl… I still love you and I still care about you!”

Several times during the past couple of months when I’ve been changing Rose’s diaper, you’ll come sit next to me and admire her. You will say how much you love her and pat her tummy, and it’s all so sweet. Twice you’ve said, “I love her born feet!” It took me a while to get that you were saying you love the feet of a newborn, or in this case, Rose’s. Apparently, you’ve heard people say “I love newborn feet!” and so you say “born feet” trying to copy. Cute thing is, Rose is 2 years old now, and you are still admiring those “born feet.” That’s just how sweet you are!

You are hilarious every single day!!!  I try to get it all in your journal but you say and do way too many funny things in a day.  I wish I could think of everything there is to shout out to the world just how cool Anna Kate Pond is! We are so excited you are here and love watching those big brown eyes sparkle and dance with excitement for each new day! Thanks for hanging out with us! We love you forever and always, Cutie Kate!!!