We have always jokingly called Anna Kate our perfect child from the day she was born.  We even go on to say she’s the reason we were able to have a third child; because she was just that perfect that we were convinced three would be a piece of cake, ha!  She was our only baby that didn’t have colic (um, right there makes her the winner by default, lol).  I held her in a sling for the first 6 months of her life while I was on the build job of our house (in the summer) without a peep out of her! She has always been a little rag doll to Noelle’s beck and call, and during the terrible 2’s, she would silently sit in her stroller like a perfect angel while other 2 year olds had their Mommies chasing them like they were on a wild goose hunt (looking much like I do today chasing Rose around, funny, but not at all if you are me).  Other parents would even ask me, “What do you do?”  And I would just throw my hands up and say, “That’s just Anna Kate.  She’s our easy one.”  The doctor even said during her birth, if she handles life like she’s handling birth, she’s going to be an easy going gal!  And when it was her turn to become the big sister, she was so sweet and gentle.  Rose didn’t phase her.  Anna Kate knew the perfect combination between loving on Rose but also letting her have space to explore on her own.  Age 3 came and went.  She wore whatever I put on her with risen arms waiting for whatever I picked, ate and slept when we instructed, and pretty much laughed and played the rest of the time; oh and listened to stories and chapter books with her big sissy.  There is no other way to describe Anna Kate, except as the perfect child.  Until this summer.  Now, that tiny little verb has changed to was… there was no other way to describe Anna Kate… such a bummer.  We had such a streak going with that one!  We almost had everybody fooled.  Oh well, after all, no one’s perfect.  Although I joke, this summer has been very difficult for her.  She has been growing and learning and changing and with that has come some growing pains, such as general frustrations, not liking what the family eats, screaming, hitting, yelling, not sleeping, and everything else we missed out on during the first four years of her life!  When I reflect on the summer of 2013 with my middle child, this picture will forever be branded in my mind:

See her little neck veins… yeah, I’ve seen them bulge almost every day for the past three months!  I can write all of this, because with the green trees showing tiny tips of orange on their leaves outside, and school bells ringing, I think we have finally reached the end of it.  Or the worst of it.  I joke all the time about Rose being in her terrible 2’s, but 2’s is just destruction.  4’s is more emotionally charged, and I know you veteran moms are thinking, you ain’t seen nothing yet, and you’re right! I can’t even imagine, but I never thought this summer would happen to my perfect child, but it got the best of her!  It shook her up and spit her out… which means she’s totally normal, and although, up until this point, she’s been way too easy, she’s still such a bargain.  I can’t wait to have a front row ticket to the rest of Anna Kate’s life.  She’s so great!  No one can deny that!  Right now, as I type this, we’re sitting here talking about snakes and her wedding!  So, after every tantrum is conquered comes the irreplaceable blessing of living every day with our fun-loving, hilarious, dancing brown-eyed girl!

This kid right here is my heart throb, even though she’s not perfect… she’s perfectly Anna Kate! 

Anna Katey Watey, I love you to the moon and back!  You make my heart skip a beat every day just being with you!  I’m so glad you get to be my buddy this year!  I can’t wait to read and get into all sorts of crafts while Rose is asleep and Noelle is at school.  As I always say in our house, everyone gets a turn, and this year is your turn to have the most adventurous afternoons with yours truly.  I hope I can be as imaginative as you are.  I’m so excited to have you all to myself three afternoons a week, to love, snuggle, play and do whatever we want to do!  (laundry included)  XOXO, Mommy  

My precious little baby girl!

Here’s Rose changing Mike’s sleep number, making sure it’s nice and soft for him to come home and lay down on after a long day at the office… or, it surprise him when his back is hurting half-way through the night and he can’t figure out why, ha!  That’s way more Rose’s style… mix it up for her old man!  And yes, that’s lotion in her hair from her little experiment in the bathroom from previous post!

Oh Rose and your orange bouncy ball!  How can we ever get enough of you!?!  You are the perfect storm that keeps our family laughing and on our toes.  We all beg you daily for your sweet kisses and tight hugs where you literally grunt.  They’re awesome.  You’re awesome.  No little blurb can describe what a little firecracker you are that makes our world go round.  We are all crazy about “our” baby, and you will have three mommy’s for the rest of your life because your sisters take as good of care of you as I do!  You are simply irresistible.  You love hard, play hard, and live hard.  It’s fascinating to see you in action!  I can’t wait for you to be 3 in 5 more months, but at the same time, I want to freeze time because I know I’m going to look back on all your messes and my tired eyes with such joy and happiness knowing that we conquered this phase together and came out on top!  If any kid lives on top of the world, it’s you!  Cheers to our spunky baby Rose!  There’s no one that has ever been or who will ever be like you.  We are blissfully honored that you are here with us!  I love you, sweet sweet baby Rose! 

Two of our best friends forever, Jon and Heather’s oldest son, Landon, turned 4 this month!  Anna Kate kept telling him, “Welcome to the 4 year old club!”  I hear it’s a fun one to be in!  We love this little buddy with all of our hearts, and it’s so fun watching him grow!

Sweet friends enjoying Landon’s sweet pool!  Go Jon!

A Daddy and his baby!

A girl and a boy!

Swimming with friends!

Noelle and Landon are little buddies too.  It’s so special to us how all of our kids love each other so much!!!

And how we all love each kid as if they were our own kid!  Can’t imagine life without knowing these guys are here for us!

Rose rolls with the big guys too!  She was all up in this party, getting her groove on like only Rose can!

Pop Don was helping Rose rock it out!

Our happy baby – YAY!

I found Noelle just chillin’ in this float with her juice box and shades!  She looks so big!  I seriously need her to stop growing!

Happy Birthday big guy!!!

Landon and Rose had a blast playing “puppies” after cake and presents.  Noelle told Jon this was the best birthday she has ever been to.  He was up all night the night before making it absolutely perfect.  Jon and Heather have a wonderland for a backyard.  It is so spacious, beautiful, and full of fun activities for the kids!  Our new camera lens broke (I know, I know, just another day in the life), so I couldn’t get a wide angle shot of how cool the set-up was, but trust me, Landon is one lucky dude! 

Happy 4th Birthday, Landon!  We are in love with you!

I overheard Anna Kate telling her friend, “My mom says I can be a star!” the other day on a play date.  She went on to say, “You know, like the ones that sing and everyone knows.  They’re called stars!”  I always tell the girls they can be whatever they want to be, as long as they are kind and work very hard at the things they love!  Sweet girl!  She’s already a super star to us!

Noelle couldn’t wait to meet her teacher last night!  At Noelle’s school, all the supplies are combined for the entire classroom, except for the pencil box.  So, the pencil box is always something we get to personalize and make super special.  Noelle asked me to take her picture with her pencil box before we left the house, and said, “I sure do love Chevron!”  I actually bought this dress at the end of last summer before I even knew what the pattern Chevron was; guess that worked out!  Here are the Pond girls at school!  The littles were so excited and distracted, but Noelle was all smiles!  She’s a pro at this!  How is this her third year to be in school?  Time, please stop ticking my babies into young ladies!

The moment we walked into Noelle’s class, we could immediately tell that it is going to be a great year!!!  Her teacher’s name is Mrs. Hull, and she is so very nice!  We feel so great about entrusting Noelle’s care to her this year at school!  One of Noelle’s BFFs, Emily, jumped across the hall to give Noelle a hug…

along with her little brother, Vaden, so he could hug Anna Kate! 

Mrs. Arnold was in her traditional “Meet the Counselor” greeting spot, and all the Pond girls flocked to her side!  Our next door neighbor, Julia, is going to be at kindergarten next year at Noelle’s school!  Anna Kate is SO ready for kindergarten, and was really sad tonight (like tears before we left the house sad), but I am holding her back with every step!  I am going to soak up every second with her this year because I’m going to be a total mess next year when it is her turn for meet the teacher!  I can’t even imagine.  My stomach was literally in knots about it tonight, even though it is a year away.  Although, she’s ready right now, I’m not!  Thank God I get to love on my middle child one more year, before I give up her weekdays forever (to learn and grow and be great, but still… a mother’s heart is never ready to let go)!

*Anna Kate even brought her own pencil box tonight and kept it in her hands to show off the “AK” the entire time.  Sweet girl!

We’re just about out of ideas of things to do at home!  We’ve painted nails a million times, played dress-up even more than that, given make-overs, had spa days and dance parties, watched movies, created art, read books, turned the living room into a gym, played on the iPad, enjoyed board games and make-believe (house, kitchen, weddings, births, doctor, school, restaurant)… so yeah, summer, it’s been real, and it’s about that time!  The school bells are ringing!!!

Claire, Georgia and Noelle were really excited to rock climb at Claire’s birthday party!

This was Noelle’s first experience to rock climb!  She was so scared at first, but was determined to conquer her fears.  She went higher and higher each time until she reached the top, and then she was done.  It was really neat to watch all of the kids learn something new all together!  Happy birthday, Claire! 

The big girls LOVE watching YouTube tutorials on all different things.  The other day Noelle explained in perfect detail with really specific ingredients how to make oreo balls, and we are excited to try them!  For today, the tutorial was the “Top Knot!”  I think it’s so cute when I see one, but I just felt silly wearing one!  Fun, but not my style!  Too much weight on the top of my head!  The girls, however, loved them, and had fun wearing their top knots all over town for a little back to school shopping!  We were giddy to sport our new hair style and having fun!