Phone Fun

This is how the kids and I entertain ourselves when it is too hot to go outside and I am too tired to play another game of chase or hide and go seek. They make me laugh. I LOVE being their mom!!

Just makes me laugh

I know that this is kind of sad, but it is also hilarious to me. This was Jacob's reaction to me not letting him have my camera when I got it out to take a picture of them being really cute. Claire seems totally oblivious to the fit ensuing and poses like a pro.

PreK Begins

Claire is going to a three day PreK program this year and we are all very excited about what this year holds for her. She has an amazing teacher who truly loves all the students in the class and Claire is totally taken with her. For the first day of school she got a pancake breakfast, smiled sweetly for a lot of pictures, was a little nervous until she found out that Mrs. Mayer had given her pink play dough which made her day. I was more sad about leaving her than she was about me leaving which is actually a great thing. When I picked her up and asked how her day was she jumped up and down and said "best school day ever!" quickly followed by "I do not like the nap time part though."
I am so thankful that she is able to be in a Christian education enviroment and is already learning "normal" school stuff, but also Bible verses and stories from the Bible. She is already coming home telling me all about creation and asking fun, and sometimes stumping, questions. This is going to be such a great year for her!!

This is Claire's third year to go to "school" and it has become tradition to go for ice cream after I pick her up that first day. I love this happy picture of my sweet girl. She is growing up so fast and I am soaking in every minute I can. She amazes me daily and I am thankful to be her mom.

Manly Outing

Allan is such a great dad. I love watching his interactions with the kids. It has been especially fun to see him parent his very own son. I have never seen a son love his father more. Their bond is something that brings tears to my eyes, I love everything about my two guys.

Now that Jacob is two they are having more and more adventures together. They had their first big outing to Texas Motor Speedway one Thursday night for some small races. I think they were both in heaven but Jacob, who is totally enamored with trucks, could hardly contain himself. Allan said he was so attentive for a really long time which doesn't happen much these days. I wish I could have been there to watch them from a distance and beam with pride at their love for each other and how much fun they have together. I am sure they have many more manly outings ahead of them and I hope they always take a camera ;)

Mom's Little Celebration

Mu mom was driving through our part of the world on her birthday and stoppped in to say hi. We decided to have a little celebration for her at the last minute. The kids and I baked her a most delicious strawberry shortcake birthday cake which has become my new favorite cake of all time. Claire and Jacob made her a card and decorated with a horse mosaic (of course). It was so fun to get to see her on her actual birthday and celebrate her life. She is one special lady and we love her very much!!

The Vintage Pearl

I am not typically a giveaway blogger, but this is one I REALLY would love to win. I decided to post the link for an extra entry. I love their stuff and would gladly take anything off their website (hint, hint to any of you who may ever want to buy me a gift). I actually just purchased a mommy necklace from them with my THREE kids names on it.

The Vintage Pearl

So Fun

While my MIL was here this last week she decided to help the kids beat the heat by getting them their own little pool (only a few more weeks until their big pool is finished being built). They have had so much fun splashing around in this thing. Can I also say Gig was such a trooper sitting out in this unbearable heat supervising them for a few hours almost everyday.

The top middle picture is actually one of my favorite pictures of Jacob and Claire. It is so fitting of what life is like with both of them right now. You just never know when Jacob is going to attack ;) Love these kids and love that they have somewhere to cool off during this hottest summer ever!!

Aubrey's Nursery- Part 1

This last week we really started making progress on Aubrey's nursery. My man finished painting the walls which turned out great. Jacob helped out in building his baby sister's crib. Gig and I organized the closet and bought all the last details stuff for the room. We are waiting for her dresser and rocker to be delivered then we will start hanging things on the walls. I think I am going to LOVE this room!

Beauty Turns FIVE

July 31st my firstborn turned five years old. I can hardly believe it. Claire is truly one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She is funny, has a vivid imagination, she is kind and loving, and so full of life. I love that she seems to be confident in the things that make her unique. She has strong opinions and sticks to what she sets her mind to (sometimes this quality causes a little friction as you can imagine, but it is a God given quality and I try to embrace it). She is stunning as you can see in the picture above, yet that doesn't seem to matter to her one little bit. She is a bright spot in my days and I am thankful she is mine.

We spread her birthday celebration over three days which was really fun. I mean how many times do you turn FIVE?

Day 1: Mima (aka Gig) and I took Claire out for a birthday mani/pedi. It is always so fun to do girly things like that. I guess it is becoming a tradition for the three of us, this is the third year in a row we have done this. Claire opted for rainbow fingers and pinkalicious toes with celebration flowers painted on her big toes in honor of her birthday party theme (more on that later). I love her creativity. Papa (aka Big Allan) had flown in that day so we all went out to dinner and Claire loved that there was a rose on her table. When we got home she opened a few of the Kavalich gifts. Her Mima and Papa gave her the Bitty Twins which she named Claire and Jacob since they look like her and her brother. She also got a horse book and the birthday Barbie from her Kavalich cousins. It was a good way to start the birthday celebration weekend.

Day 2: We had her party at our neighborhood pool. Claire chose the theme for her birthday party about six months ago and I was so happy that I could incorporate every last detail. Her theme was Swimalicious, Pinkalicious, Rainbow, Unicorn Birthday Party. It was so much fun. She said her favorite part was the rainbow pinata (which I sadly have no pictures of) and the amazing rainbow cake with the fancy unicorn on top that her daddy made (did I mention that my husband is amazing!!). The rest of that day was spent hanging with family at the house. It was laid back and just what we needed to recoup for the next days festivities.

Day 3 (The Actual Birthday): I told Claire that on her actual birthday she could do anything she wanted. She chose eating a pink sparkle star donut for breakfast, opening our family gifts, eating lunch and shopping at American Girl, cuddling and watching a movie with her mommy and daddy while Jacob napped and then eating a fun dinner at Magic Time Machine. She had also hoped for a carousel ride and swimming, but we ran out of time. It was such a great day. I loved spending time with Allan's parents and it was great to have the Powells join us for dinner as well. I think she was properly celebrated ;)

She says it was her best birthday ever and I would have to agree. I think we will mellow out on birthdays for the next couple of years, but I am not promising anything. It is hard not to super celebrate someone you love so stinkin' much. I cannot believe we have hit the five year mark, times seems to have flown by, but at the same time I can't remember life without my little princess.