How I love me some Cutie Kate!!!  She has been begging for some one-on-one time with me (as she calls it, a day alone with Mommy), so of course, it’s been one of my New Year’s goals to make that happen.  On Mondays, Rose goes to school, and Anna Kate and I have the day to do “whatever we want to do!” as my Granny used to say to me!  Although she has to do mundane things like allergy shots and oil changes, she is along for the ride, giddy all the way (sweet girl)!  Last week, we had so much fun going with Landon to see Frozen.  Anna Kate had seen it already, but I hadn’t (she couldn’t wait to see it again).  The girls have been going on and on about it, and we dance to the soundtrack literally every day, so I had to see it.  Wow!  That was one of the most amazing movies I have ever seen.  The music!  The wide range of emotions and lessons and humor!  It makes me so happy there are such creative and amazing people in the world to think this snow up!  And although Anna Kate told me everything before it happened, I hung on to every facial expression and giggle she made.  Noelle had two years of alone time with me, Rose will have two years starting in the fall when the big girls are in school, so Anna Kate gets Mondays in the Middle.  Love you, Cutie Kate!

(Our camera’s flash won’t pop up, so it’s in the shop under warranty.  Until it gets back, we have lots of iPhone pics to keep us blogging, lol!)  The littles and I headed up to Sweet & Sassy last week for haircuts!  First up, lunch at Café Express before our appointments!

Now that their tummies are nice and full (see, I’m learning how to set us up for success), it’s time for Bob #1 for Rose!  She was a little nervous but so excited!  She seems so wild and crazy because she is 2, has strong opinions, and tries to run the show a lot of the time (key word “tries”), but when she is in situations where I really need her to be a good girl and on her best behavior, she almost always pulls through for me!  We joke about her because she is spunky, but she is such a great kid (I wish we were all full-out and as high on life as she is; she’s my little burst of motivation)!!!

I mean, how precious can you get!?!  (that’s her biggest weapon, lol… see, now I’m joking again)

Rose!!!  You are sooooooo cute!

After lots of smiling and posing, it was lollipop and iPad time while sissy gets her next bob!

Anna Kate wanted a long, angled blog (like one of Noelle’s friends), so that’s what she got today!  Aren’t her shoes cool!?!  They are suede Pedipeds, and they have held up so nicely and for maryjanes, are so comfortable!  She never complains about putting them on, and Rose will get to wear them too, which is a huge bonus for shoes.  If you need a good pair of kicks, we’ve been wearing Pedipeds and loving them for over 7 years now!

As I was taking candid pics, Anna Kate randomly looked at me and gave me the “I love you!” sign!  She was so excited when I did it back to her, and it melted my heart.  Isn’t her face in the far left pic hilarious?  That was her face when she first gave me the sign.  I love this kid!

Cutie Kate!!!  You’re so adorable!!!

Next up, time for the stage!!!  Entertaining (to say the least) videos to follow!

It doesn’t get much better than this!  I hope Anna Kate remembers all of these preschool moments with such joy and happiness for the rest of her life!  She sure has had a blast, and I’m getting sentimental that it’s quickly coming to an end!

How cool is this school!?!  We are beyond blessed to have this wonderful preschool for Anna Kate (and Rose next year) to experience!

This post is a little bit of everything from the past few weeks!  Mom made ThePondFam5 this awesome snowman ornament/door hanger for Christmas.  Ever since Mike and I were newlyweds, we have always built snowmen in our yards (even when we lived in apartments).  As Rara was giving us this gift, she told us that every time she sees a snowman, they always remind her of us (so she made us a snowman that we can keep forever); Such a sweet and thoughtful gift we will treasure for always!  Speaking of special treasures, Anna Kate brought home this super cool Christmas star craft, and it has added so much color to our holidays!  Always so proud of our girls and their creations!

Anna Kate got bronchitis and ear infections over the holidays, but we made it through, just like these birdies (as Rose calls them).

I wore lots of pep talk tees in December (it was fun), and Noelle rocked out her Lite Brite sheets during my doctors’ appointments.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Cerly Grace!

“Thumbs up, thumbs up,” when I asked Rose if she was doing okay during Cerly’s tea party, and here’s Rose and Katie being silly girls all dressed up (admire their long hair in the mirror because soon they will both have cute bobs as a result of fun with scissors)!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Cerly!

Wedding day Ariel and after Christmas shopping with Noelle!  We’ve been going 90 to nothing pretty much since we’ve been home from Disney!  Looking forward to a more relaxed schedule in 2014.  So far so good! 

Layla, Noelle, Emme, Macy, Isabella, Anna Kate, Landon and Rose

Sweet Baby Rose!!!  Right in her element.  She was so happy the morning we went to Cerly’s tea room birthday, and it showed!  It was a precious, sweet and eventful one-on-one morning with my littlest love!

I was so excited to go back to Chelsea’s tea room for a party, because I remember going to Ananya’s with Noelle when she was a toddler (and a few in between, but these two stand out to me because of how little they were)!  When I saw they still had the exact same dress for the girls to dress-up in, six years later, I had to pick it out for Rose to wear (usually at dress-up parties the girls get to pick whichever dress they want).  Thankfully, Rose loved it!  In the picture on the left, Rose (playing with her scepter and a stick) is almost 3, and Noelle had just turned 1 in the picture on the right.  In my mind, I thought Noelle was older, but when I found this picture today and realized she was just 1 when she went to a tea party, I was super impressed with the both of us that we did such a big girl party at age 1!  Noelle has never shied away from anything princess, so I shouldn’t be surprised.  I was thinking how crazy it would have been 6 years ago, if someone had told me at the party Noelle attended, that several years down the road, I’d be at the same sweet little tea party with my third daughter celebrating with her little friends in the same dress!  Interesting to think about how full of surprises life is, and I love it so much!

Cheers!

Happy New Year!!!  Hope yours got off to as crazy and fun of a start as ours!