Rose’s favorite game is “Monster” which she sometimes calls “Dinosaur!”  One of us plays the monster and one of us runs away and acts scared, and then we switch roles.  We’ve played this game for literally hours this year!  So when I found this monster cape, I knew it was the perfect add-on to our imaginative game of play.  Rose and our cousin, Noemi (Mike’s brother, Stephen, and his wife, Susana’s little girl), had a play date at the mall play land with Grandpapa and Kay Kay!  We had a blast!

   

Rose wanted me to take a turn like we do at home, and all of a sudden, the entire play ground became interested in “Mommy Monster!”  All was well until some rough little boys started running after me.  I immediately took off my cape and said, “I’m just a Mom.  I’m not a monster!”  I didn’t know what to do with those boys, lol!

I had fun getting Noemi to smile and get into the game!  We are really concerned about her mommy, Aunt Susana.  She has been admitted into the ER two times, and this week, she just went in for her 3rd visit.  At her 2nd ER visit, her appendix ruptured, and at this time, they are still fighting infection.  Please please pray for her weak body, that is beyond tired of living in extreme pain for the past three weeks, and her sweet heart, because she misses Noemi!  Noemi has been staying with Kay Kay and Grandpapa and they have had lots on their plate as well.  This has been a difficult summer for our family, and we are trying to make the most of it, that’s for sure!  Thanks for your prayers!

Sweet Noemi, age 16 months!

 

Rose loved testing out her new monster powers!  I have a feeling this cape will be the center of hours and hours of fun and laughter for years to come at the Pond household (or wherever we go)!   

I finally got Rose’s newborn pictures in (I know, 2 1/2 years later), but they are with us to stay!  Every Thursday, I’m going to post a new one to reflect on such sweetness and completeness she brought into our lives in February, two amazing years ago!

Noelle is the nurturer in the family, always has been, always will be.  Our photographer captured this side of her without even knowing her, or posing her for that matter.  She was loving on Rose after Rose’s shoot, and Janice got her camera back out and clicked this picture.  Noelle HAD to wear a rose in her hair on Rose’s special picture day, and I almost asked her to photo shop Rose’s feather off of Noelle’s cheek, but after seeing it several times, I actually like the natural look of it all.  It’s life, it’s raw, it’s beauty, it’s creation, it’s love!  Noelle’s little profile, and Rose’s luscious lips and adorable toes, not to mention the way Noelle’s tiny hands look so big covering Rose’s body, are just perfect.  I pray Rose will always feel this comforted and protected by her big sisters; they both love her to the moon and back!!! (even though I caught Anna Kate spanking Rose today because she wouldn’t give her her Jessie doll back!  When I looked shocked, Anna Kate said, “What are you going to do?  Throw me in time out, spank my little bottom?” with her hands up in the air.  That’s probably the first time I’ve laughed during discipline.  She was just taunting the situation, and it got the best of me!)  Anyway, hope you enjoy this Thursday throw-back pic with a Thursday in-the-moment-tell-all thrown in there for the fun of it, lol!

 

While the big sisters are away, the monster will play!

*First pictures with our new camera; I’m so excited!

These are just some sweetie pie pictures that were on my phone I didn’t want my bloggy friends that aren’t on Instagram to miss seeing from our summer so far!

Noelle’s favorite place to eat ~ La Madeleine!

Mommy/Daughter date to get make-overs at Sephora!

Noelle’s favorite thing.

 

We’re in trouble!  This girl loves all things fancy, even high heels!

Fun lunch/mall date with Noelle in June, and Rose absolutely loving her bread/butter on the patio at Cotton Patch!

 

We have to wait 30 minutes after my allergy shots before they will let us leave each week… it’s not fun for the girls, but they are good sports.  I try to schedule them when Rose is really sleepy so she won’t find a way to burn the place down with her energy!  Noelle and Anna Kate have had fun dressing up in all sorts of different outfits this summer for make-overs and dance parties!  They do bicker like all sisters do, but when they get a fun idea that keeps them busy, they are the sweetest teammates around. 

One fine Monday, we went to see Despicable Me 2 and shopping with friends (Ava and Chloe).  It was one of my favorite days of summer so far!  I took all three Pond girls to the matinee by myself for the first time ever.  Anna Kate got a little hungry half-way through, but other than that, they all sat perfectly still.  I was so impressed and now we can start doing movie dates!  Wha-hoo!  New freedoms every day!

I love this picture of Rose.  She wanted her picture taken but was acting uninterested.  It looks like she’s a star baby the paparazzi were after at Target.  She’s my little star baby!!!

 

So, after the success of the matinee, Mike and I decided to take the girls to see Monster’s University one night last week.  Monsters Inc. is Rose’s very favorite movie!  She absolutely loves Boo (the little girl that accidentally enters monster land, which would be Rose’s dream come true, lol), Mike (green ball monster), and Sulley (big blue scary but sweet monster) and talks about them daily!  If fact, she wanted to wear her hair in pony tails to the movie so she could look like Boo!  She definitely squeals and talks just like Boo, so we’ve started calling her our little Boo!  She loves it!  When we call her Rose, she’ll sometimes correct us and say, “I Boo!!!”  It’s adorable!  We want to get her some MU dolls for Christmas, but we’re having a hard time waiting b/c she loves them so much!!!  Here’s the big girls with a poster we put up above our trash cans in our laundry room.  Obviously, this phrase is on a much simpler scale than we adults face in our daily lives, but it’s a good reminder to the girls, that when they aren’t fussing and whining, their countenance is much more pleasant to be around.  And it also encourages them to keep smiling, keep shining, and that true beauty comes from the inside out!  On the girls’ level, it’s such a good quote for them to remember, especially when they are doing laundry room chores… and they need to turn that frown upside down! 

Cow Appreciation Day was so much fun this year!  The girls absolutely LOVE dressing up as cows and getting free kid’s meals!!!

 

Noelle and I before her 7 year well last week.  She’s doing great!  She’s in the 25% for weight and height, so she’s my little burst of joy!

We started curling our hair with beach waves for the summer, and Noelle and I are enjoying our new tousled look!  It’s low maintenance, so that’s always a plus when I have fix four hairstyles every time we go out, lol!

Dear God, help me get through the curious 2’s.  Sweet baby Rose is flat wearing me out!  And by the time I have one mess cleaned up, she’s used that time I’m working on that to create an entirely new mess.  We are spinning wheels!  Mike and I very consistently discipline our girls, but in situations like this, I could’ve been watching more closely, put the tube of toothpaste further out of reach, or given her a productive activity to do; so although she’s made more messes than the other two girls put together, she’s just trying to explore and have fun.  She’s a total sweetheart… we just need better boundaries with her.  We’re working on it!

 

 

Her shirt says, “Lil’ Girl, Big Game!”  Amen, sister!  By the time I had cleaned out all of the toothpaste out of our bathtub, she had gone in the shower and rubbed soap all over her hair and clothes (again, I should’ve had it out of reach, lesson learned on that one too).  It was a double bummer because she was already squeaky clean from her shower the night before (this was first thing in the AM).  Sweet baby Rose, something’s gotta give, sister.  You are wearing your momma out!  I’m gonna get you! 

 

Lesleigh was my saving grace last week!  She came over almost every day and helped watch the girls with me.  We ran errands, had fun lunches, shopped, and just tried to make the best out of a really hard week for me physically.  I don’t know what I would’ve done without her extra set of hands and love for the girls!  In the picture to the right, the big girls and I were headed out to a late night outdoor movie at our neighborhood Pond to see the movie “Up” last weekend with our friends.  It was so much fun roasting s’mores, feeling the subtle breeze blowing, listening to the trickling of the fountain in the pond in the background, and just sitting down in our comfy chairs in the dark, stars brightly shining, taking a breather, and enjoying a cute movie with our neighbors.  I’m thankful to God for little moments like these that bring relaxation, reflection and thankfulness.

The Pond girls have had a blast swimming this summer… and it ain’t over yet!  Lol!

  

A sand pit is exactly where Rose needs to be chillin’!  Isn’t she adorable!?!

  

 

Enjoying the pool with my girlies!

Oh no you didn’t take away our torpedo!

 

Please give it back… I’m getting angry!!!  (OMG! This is Rose in action!)  Don’t mess with our Rose blossom!

  

Mommy swooped in and worked it all out… torpedo’s back in business!

Mrs. Paula’s preschool is the best!!!  Thanks for having us over to swim in your beautiful pool, Mrs. Paula!!!

 

Every year, we get pedicures with flags or fireworks for the 4th of July holiday.  It’s our little tradition, and the girls love it!  We only get pedicures once a year, so they definitely look forward to it all year long!  Noelle got creative with her breakfast at the hotel our first morning, and Mike made an awesome thank you basket for the Thurmans this year; impressive!

Instagram pics the night our camera died… these are three happy girls right here!

Rara, Noelle, and Aunt Joe spent the entire afternoon in the pool one day.  Noelle LOVES being with adults and just listening to their conversations.  She’s enjoyed this ever since I can remember.  She was the first kiddo at our young church, and she would quietly sit on the couch and just listen to our conversations.  When she was teeny tiny, she would whisper that she had something to say, and then we would give her a turn to express her opinion about the subject we were talking about.  She’s our emotional, spirit-filled child who thinks deeper than you would expect of a child her age.  I love it!

This is Noelle’s happy place!

Sweet baby Rose with her Mommy and her “Ra-re!”

Anna Kate is finally not scared to ride in the boat!  Yay!  She was LOVING the wind blowing her hair back like a super model!

Uncle Fred and Aunt E had some of their friends’ granddaughters come over to play with the girls the last evening of our vacation; they all had a blast together on the boat!

 

My angels!

Livin the boat life!

 

More savoring the relaxing breeze on the lake… I’m so happy Anna Kate faced her fears this year and got to enjoy a little piece of heaven on earth!

While we were in the middle of our vacation, one of my BFFs said, “Where are those adorable girls’ parents!?!”  So we took this picture for Mrs. Lisa!

Noelle and Aunt E gaining some momentum on their tubing adventure!

Rose watching Aunt E and Noelle tubing with much excitement, but when we put her in the tube for a turn, she absolutely freaked out, so it was a no go for Rose this year… but at least she wanted to ride in the boat.  Anna Kate wouldn’t even do that at two… love them all!

Uncle Andy rode with Rara on her first tubing experience!

Of course our girlie diva loved finding seaweed and scaring her sisters with it!  Like I always say, you can’t read a book by its cover!

Mom absolutely loved swimming in the lake with Aunt E and Noelle!  They were having WAY too much fun! Lol!

 

When you gotta go, you gotta go!  This is the only store in town in Liberty Hill, TX.  They have this bulletin board outside of the store for city announcements.  Noelle was so fascinated with the small town feel, she kept taking picture after picture.  She said she wanted to remember what the olden days looked like, ha!  There was a barber shop across the street with and old strip of business merchant store-fronts, all different colors and beautiful woodwork with chipped paint in all different colors (beautiful).  I’ll take a picture of those next year!

 

Noelle tubing on Lake Nacimento at 2 years, 2 months, one handed and fearless! 

 

Anna Kate doesn’t even go near the boat, much less the tube, but is our social butterfly at 2!

 

Noelle tubing (age 7) in Texas, while Rose at 2 years, 5 months, is saying, “NO WAY!”  Rose is definitely our wild child, but is very aware of her surroundings and potential danger!  Noelle is our calm neat-freak but is a dare devil.  Kids are such dichotomies.

 

We loved everything about this amazing day, cutie pie tantrums and all!

Art with the best!  They have no idea how much people pay to sit down and paint with their great aunt, who is teaching them right in this moment!  All I’ve got to say is, lucky!  It’s amazing to have a gift and have the best teacher… beautiful combination. 

  

 

My Mom’s (Rose Mary/Rosie/Rara/The Ra, lol) sister, my Aunt Joe, spending time doing art with the Anna Kate and Noelle = awesome!

 

Rose marches to the beat of a different drum!  I love this picture of our baby in the spotlight doing her thing!  I also adore this picture of Aunt Joe Anna with our Anna Kate (namesake of Aunt Joe)… they do look like kindred spirits!

Sweet, trouble, pokey objects, smiles, kisses, imagination, LOVE!

 

Our crazy family has so much fun together!

The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah!

 

This picture of Mike and me was taken right after mom asked us to take a “kiss” picture.  When we puckered up, she just waited and waited to click the button.  Finally, we started giggling, and by that time, Rara had already put the camera down and was laughing so hard she couldn’t stop!  She thought she was so funny, and she was!  We were all goofing off, smiling and having fun!  Sweet Rara always knows how to make everything fun!

 

More precious cousin/Rara moments 

This right here… mmm, mmm, mmm!  There is nothing more precious in all the world than a newborn baby, and right now, Saylor is our guest of honor!

 

And don’t you dare forget about Harper girl… she will cuddle and snuggle with the best of them!  I can’t wait to see these precious Banks girls again!!!

Pool talk with the baby sisters, Rose and Aunt E… I think these two have a lot in common, and if Rose turns out anything like her great aunt, we are good to go!  Love you, Aunt E!!!

Anna Kate pushed over a pipe in the hot tub, and Brother Man worked under water to try to fix it.  Anna Kate knew he was trying to get her out of a jam (trouble), so his trust was earned.  From this moment on, she let him hold her, and she doesn’t let just anyone hold her.  You are guilty until proven innocent with this Pond girl.  So now, Brother Man has  friend for life!

Gary and Mary’s beautiful girls

 

The girls and I watched the ants on this step (left) for at least an hour one night, and talked and talked about families/groups of people, and how we are stronger when we work together than we ever would be by ourselves.  At the top of this step, we had no idea what the ants would do with their treasured red bug.  But, slowly and surely, three little ants, held this big bug and made it to the bottom of the step.  See how there are two ants on top and one of the ants is just holding on to the other for traction and balance.  How do they know how to work together so flawlessly?  It was insanely fascinating.  So, although this picture might gross you out, and you would never watch ants for any length of time, these creatures taught me a the girls a great deal tonight!  I’ll never forget my little stories in action while the girls were watching first hand about all the life lessons I was trying to teach them.  Hopefully they were listening and picked up something they can take with them from this spontaneous observation… and then we were back to partying!  The Thurmans have these adorable saddle bar stools and the girls love eating their snacks, pretending to be cowgirls the whole time.

 

Noelle enjoying taking pictures of Saylor (wonder where she got that from, lol), and Mike loving on his big girl!

 

Noelle enjoying being Noelle and Saylor’s great aunts doting over her! (Aunt Joe [middle sister], Aunt Elsie [baby sister] and Rara [the big sister])

 

Harper had her birthday party the week before our trip, so we anxiously awaited seeing her to give her a special “H” book Noelle picked out for her that has a pad of paper in it to color to her heart’s desire!

Love this sweet curly haired cutie!

 

Backyard babies enjoying Rara’s zucchini muffins!

Beautiful girls ready for the fireworks, which were unbelievable this year!  My camera broke right as we were leaving to go to watch the fireworks, so I’ll describe my experience.  I had Noelle and Anna Kate both in my lap on a cozy lawn chair 10 feet from the lake, with the gentle waves in the background and the wind blowing on our warm faces.  It was absolutely surreal and perfect in every way!  One of the most favorite moments of my life, for sure.  And then the tears started flowing with each firework explosion reflecting on our freedoms and our strong love for each other!

 

Beautiful brown-eyed girls!  In the right picture, I asked Harper to find a picture of a cow for me, and she flipped through the pages and did it!  So cute!  Then we all moo-d really loudly!

 

Ring around the Rosie… we are so cute!  After they all fell down, Rose kept saying, “Let try again!”  That meant lets do it again.  “I try again!”  What precious memories I’ll treasure for always.

*Still no camera, and these are the last pictures our camera that we’ve had since Noelle was born will ever take again, but guess what?  The last two days of our vaca, I took pictures with Mike’s phone… so, he loaded them on my computer tonight, and lo and behold, there were 200… so folks, we’re back in business a little bit longer, lol!

Couldn’t pass up these cute short bikinis with little gold buttons after the 4th of July last summer on clearance for them to wear this year.  I found super cute ones after the 4th on the sale racks last week for next year too!  We’re able to do cute little festive outfits like these, because I always buy ahead after each holiday and get at least 50% or more on most everything I buy.  I think these swimming suits were $5 each.  Enough about shopping, these girlies are adorable from head to toe!  I love their happy little attitudes and how they are so proud to match each other.  They really are a team, and I love that they have each other and will always be best friends!  Their love for each other brings me so much joy!  You can see their excitement just being together, sharing something as simple as matching swim suits.  I love it!  I love them with everything I’ve got!