Watermelon Party

Dear Bubbas,

I love throwing you guys parties. It's so fun. You get excited about it for several days leading up to the party and it's all we talk about. I decided that I didn't need to wait for a birthday or a reason to have a party so we threw a just because party. However, all parties need a theme so we went with watermelons. It turned out super cute. Daddy helped me decorate watermelon cookies. My favorite part about the cookies was when you woke up on the day of the party. You saw the cookies on the table and you got so incredibly excited. Connor even told me that he knew it would be ok to take a long nap (go to bed) because he knew I wouldn't have the party without him, and I didn't! I love that whenever one of you is excited about something you run to tell the others as quick as you can! So as sleepy little heads walked down the hall Connor was letting you all know about the watermelon cookies on the party and that it was finally the big day!

At the very beginning of the party Hunter hurt his toe. I still have no idea how this happened. You all said you were looking for bugs under rocks. The toe is scraped up pretty bad and it was bleeding so Hunter, being able to see the blood, was screaming. I had to clean it up and bandage it before the screaming started to subside but he was very upset. I had to give him a cup of juice, let him sit in the recliner, and turn on Curious George so that he would settle. He eventually did settle down but the party was pretty much ruined for him. He sat outside feeling sorry for himself and eating all the yummy treats until the last twenty minutes of the party when he decided he was feeling better enough to hobble around and play.

Your favorite part of the party was the food, for sure! You loved the watermelon, the watermelon popsicles, the watermelon cookies, the pink marshmallows, the muffins, etc. I could go on and on about the delicious food that people brought to share that I watched you devour. Kaylee's belly was so round by the end of the party I thought I might be able to pop her with a pin!

Kaylee's favorite part of the party was the bubble refill station. We went through the first round of bubbles crazy fast and that's when I learned that the kids were trying to fill the bubble mowers with bubbles and that Kaylee was pouring herself some bubbles and then dumping them out so she could pour herself some more bubbles. I made a second batch of bubbles and instructed Kaylee to stop dumping them out. That's when one of her older friends showed her that she could pour bubbles and then dump them back into the bubble refill container. That made Kaylee's whole day and she spent a good ten minutes filling up her bubbles and dumping them back into the container.

Overall, our watermelon party was a success! You three had a great time. We're going to have another just because party next month and I think due to Hunter's tragic accident (that he's still limping from three days later, sigh, so dramatic!) we're going to have a bug themed party!

I love you three, so very much.
Mommy

Gummy Bear Trees

Dear Bubbas,

For Mother's Day this year I wanted the three of you to paint pots. In my head, each of you would have one color that you painted your pot with. That way, when we gave the grandmas our pots they would have three different colored pots. I visioned it being adorable! However, you all wanted to use the other colors. You know me, I don't fight the little battles and so you used all three colors. Except, you mixed your colors together and we ended up with a ton of brown pots. Highly disappointing on my end but you three had a blast. Hunter kept telling me that he was having fun, so it must've been one of your favorite activities.

Grammy Darrlyn came over one day and saw the pots on the counter drying. I didn't try to hard to hide them. Hunter came running into my bedroom to ask if he could tell her what they were. When I said yes, he asked what he was going to put in the pot. I just got out of the shower and to be honest hadn't given it much though. I said the first thing that came to mind. Gummy Bear Trees. Oh the excitement that created! Then I felt true panic. How on earth was I going to make a gummy bear tree? Well, luckily the craft stores have lots of fun things and we figured it out.

Last night we assembled the trees. You had so much fun. Your primary concern was making sure I saved a few for you to eat when the pots were finished.

They turned out pretty cute. I really liked how each of you did your own thing. Hunter wanted lots of bears, Kaylee filled the pot but didn't know how to hang the bears, and Connor made each tree one solid color.

I think your grandmas will be thrilled. Especially when they see the smile on your face over your creation. The pots are something they'll most likely keep forever, brown and all.
I love you! I love how you make the little things so fun and exciting. I love hearing you giggle over gummy bears.
Mommy

Money and Pajamas

Dear Bubbas,

We've been learning some hard lessons about money lately. We started giving you guys allowances for doing specific chores. You get a dime for going to sleep and taking a nap right away without whining. You get a dime for doing chores like cleaning your bathroom, vacuuming and dusting, and taking out the garbage. However, you also get fines. You lose money if you talk mean, if I have to find your shoes for you, and if you get in trouble at preschool.

The other day we were at Walmart getting plants for the garden. Daddy and I got you each a pair of gardening gloves but told you that if you wanted a tool it had to come out of your allowance. Kaylee and Hunter decided that was worth it to them. Connor did not want to spend his money. He wanted to save it.

Then the next night Connor wanted his firetruck pajamas. Unfortunately, he had ripped a hole in the knee so bad it wasn't repairable so I threw them away. He has lots and lots of pajamas so it wasn't a big deal. However, to Connor it was. He wanted new firetruck pajamas. There was a huge tantrum thrown when I said I wouldn't take him to Costco until he had enough money. Finally, when he pulled it together he did some chores around the house before bed and he earned some money. Then we called Grammy Darrlyn and she said she had some chores around they house that you three could do to earn some money, so this afternoon we went to her house and did chores while she was at work.

I think you guys like Grammy's chores. You got to dust, feed the dogs, check the toilet paper rolls, take out the garbage, and walk around the yard looking for garbage. What made me laugh was as soon as you got to her house you got a juice box. Hunter told me that "Gramma said we can have one whenever we need one."

After we had a juice box we got to work. You did a really good job on the chores. You fed the dogs especially well! Then when all the chores were done we looked on the counter to see how much Grammy left us. She left a dollar for each of you! You were thrilled!

Then it was off to Costco to get Connor's firetruck pajamas. There was ONE pair left. I was hoping and praying as I picked them up they would be a size that would work. They were! They were the perfect size. Thank You God! Connor was THRILLED! Hunter was upset because he wanted to spend his allowance but didn't have enough for pajamas because he bought a gardening tool the other day. He decided he would get a movie at blockbuster on the way home.

Kaylee was crying hard when I wouldn't let her get pajamas. She also didn't have enough money due to the gardening tool. She didn't understand, and I wanted to buy her the pajamas but I didn't want to take away from Connor's accomplishment, so I told her no. However, she saw a box of pop tarts so I pretended that she had enough money to buy those and that seemed to be a good idea to her. Until she saw the chips. Then she wanted the chips. That was fine with me, because I also wanted chips and they were cheaper so she really did almost have enough money!

We stopped at blockbuster on the way home and Hunter picked out his movie, and then it was home to show Daddy about our successful day. We were home only a few minutes before Connor was stripping down and putting on his new pajamas!

You three are so cute. I'm sorry it's so hard to learn about money, but we're making it as fun as possible! I think it's working too, because you three are all pretty proud of yourselves.

I love you,
Mommy

Easter

Dear Bubbas,
Easter was so fantastic this year! On the Saturday before we started the afternoon by going to Josie's house for an egg hunt. Aunt Diane had planned some fun games for you to play too! One of the games was for you to balance an egg on a spoon. You were all good at it! Aunt Diane also found these fun confetti eggs. When you cracked them confetti went everywhere! You thought it was pretty hilarious! We had the egg hunt with Josie and you were all very into it! We got to hang out with Josie outside for a bit until we had to go to small group.

For our Easter small group we had an egg hunt too! That was a really fun egg hunt to watch because there were 7 of you running around. Riley was the funniest because she figured it out right away. When the rest of you went running in the same direction, she turned around and went the opposite way and hit the jackpot! You all got a lot of eggs though! Then we had dinner outside and made s'mores by the fire. It was a really fun evening! I love how all you kids get along so well. Connor and Hunter think Caleb is hilarious. Kaylee loves playing with Gracie and Riley. Hunter and Abby are joined at the hip. It's a fun group to hang out with for sure!

On Easter morning we had brunch with Grandpa Dan and Grandma Shannon, Uncle Wade, and Cousin Amanda. You all ate like you've never eaten before. We had a great time visiting and then we all took a nap together! After our nap we made a bunny butt cake that you all thought was the funniest thing you'd ever seen. Connor said he didn't like butt cakes, only head cakes.

It was such a relaxing weekend, filled with lots of time together. Nobody got overwhelmed or overly tired so that was really nice!I hope every holiday together mimics this one. 

I love you guys,
Mommy

Kaylee Girl

Dear Kaylee,
You are in the cutest stage ever right now. Everything you say and do is just making me giggle. Even the way I see you out of the corner of my eye streaking down the hallway to get the bathroom stool so you can go potty on your own. You talk so much. You have the cutest little voice, it's so sweet. My favorite sayings right now are...

"need help, me!"

"said no?!"

"Mommy, nuggle me?"

The "said no?!" is my absolute favorite. Every time you ask us for something and we tell you no you say that in absolute shock. How could someone say no to you? The other night you wanted a brownie in the car and Daddy told you not until you get home. You got one anyway and Daddy took it away and told you that now you couldn't have one when we got home because you disobeyed. You looked at him heartbroken, started crying immediately and through sobs said, "No Brownie?" Daddy replied, "That's right, no brownie." Then you just broke down into heaving sobs. It was so hard not to giggle because you were so stinkin' cute.

You rough house right along with the boys. You love to play Star Wars and you make people laugh with your "force" stance.

You still love to dance at home and your favorite dancing song right now is the "I like to Move it, Move it" song. You have a variety of moves and every day you add to them.

You LOVE to have your face painted! You ask Daddy all the time to paint your face. Sometimes you just want a green nose, sometimes you want to be a Hello Kitty. It's very random, but regardless of what you choose, you always love the way it looks!

You also like to paint. Daddy took you to the store and bought you some special watercolors and the two of you sit there and paint pictures together.

We made some family rules together. You had a great time coloring the poster and using stickers to decorate it. You understand the rules, but you don't necessarily follow them. Although you are such a good girl as it is. We're working really hard on sharing and talking nice so those two made the rule list for sure.

We took you to the mall and we saw the Easter Bunny there. You thought he was fantastic and you wanted to see him and wave to him, but you did not want to sit with him! We spent a lot of time just admiring him from a distance. Grammy Darrlyn was going to buy you a stuffed bunny to take home but you picked a pink teddy bear with spots. You love that bear and take it almost everywhere with you.

You still love your Princess Snow Boots! You wear them all the time, regardless if you're in a dress or shorts. They are cute boots, but they are so clunky you can hardly walk in them. The warmer it gets the less often you put them on, but you think about it every time.

Josie gave you her old bike. You love it. You tell me all the time it's your bike. The boys don't have bikes yet even! You're pretty proud of it. You had a great time with Daddy while he was helping you ride it. You even let the boys ride your bike too.

You still love to cook and help in the kitchen. Last night you were suppose to be helping me unwrap mini Reeses PB cups but you were eating them all instead! I think that's your favorite part of helping in the kitchen, the taste testing!

I love you sweet girl, thanks for always wanting to nuggle me and for making me giggle.
Mommy