My 31st Birthday

 Another year, and another birthday.  I actually do not remember what we did, what we ate, or anything else.  What I do remember is that I felt very grateful for all that I have been blessed with, and very loved.  That is all that matters.

Audrey's Recital

Audrey had her first piano recital.  Her teacher is such an amazing lady, and I really love how she teaches.  Audrey loves her also.  Audrey has been taking lessons for almost a year, and she has learned a lot!   Hopefully the video that I posted will work!

Our Kid Christmas Party

I told the kids that they could have birthday parties this year, but I just couldn't must up the energy for them.  So I told them that we could have a fall party, but that didn't happen.  So I decided to do a Christmas party for them and their friends.  It was so fun and laid back.  

The night before the party I hot glued some graham crackers together for the gingerbread houses.  A friend taught me that years ago and I thought it was genius.  Then the kids could just decorate the gingerbread houses instead of cry becuase the icing wasn't strong enough to hold the crackers together.  #parentwin

 We had four girls and four boys, everyone was a brother/sister.  It was a great group, and the kids had a lot of fun together.  They decorated gingerbread houses, Christmas ornaments with their pictures, we played a white elephant game, and the kids had chick-fil-a chicken nuggets, chips, and jello roll-ups for lunch.  They ended the party by playing outside (I love our southern winters).  

Felicity's Photoshoot

I was determined to take Felicity's baby pictures, and a friend came over to help me (which was super helpful).  These pictures (along with everything I have posted lately) have not been edited.  I got quite a few really cute pictures, but as I told my friend, if you take about 700 pictures over the course of three days, you are bound to get at least a few keepers.  

This floral frame was the picture I cared the most about getting, I tried to get this shot in three different rooms, with different blankets, over three days.  I am glad I was so thorough, because my favorite shots were from the last day.  There is a lot of pressure to get the baby pictures taken before your baby is 10 days old.  After the 10 day point, baby doesn't stay asleep as long or as easily.

A friend, who is also a photographer, edited some of my favorite pictures so that they could be pretty for the birth announcements.  The editing was way beyond my skill set (or complete lack thereof) so I was SO grateful to her.  I wish I had pictures like this of Audrey and Phoenix when they were born, but I am glad we got some pretty pictures of Felicity.  

The First Few Days

Here are a few pictures from our first few days with our precious little ladybug.

Felicity LOVES getting her hair brushed, it is hilarious!  When she got her first bath in the hospital she was crying the whole time, except when the nurse brushed her hair.  She immediately stopped crying and just enjoyed getting her hair brushed.  We all laughed.  It happened again for her first bath at home.  

I was completely shocked with how natural Audrey was with Felicity.  I was overly cautious when Audrey would hold her, but I didn't need to be.  Audrey watched how I held Felicity, or fed her, or burped her, and she would do all of those things on her own, without me ever showing her how.  My heart bursts with pride as I look over these pictures.  I am so proud of my big girl, Audrey is such an amazing help to me, and I love watching her with her baby sister.  

While I was at the hospital, Audrey and her friend Lonna made this banner to hang up before I got home.  "Welcome Home Mom and Felicity".

Audrey drew this picture of me with Felicity.  She is just the cutest!

Grandma and Felicity

It was so nice to have my mom here for the week after Felicity was born.  She made me oatmeal every morning, and she helped a lot with Audrey and Phoenix.  I was admittedly somewhat of a baby hog (sorry Mom!), so there was not a lot of opportunity to hold Felicity for everyone else. I am glad I snapped some pictures of my Mom and Felicity together.  

Peter Pan Play

I was bursting with pride when I saw Audrey, she was awesome with all of her indian dance moves, she really got into the role!

Three days after I had Felicity, Audrey and Phoenix had their performance of Peter Pan.  The past plays were all homeschool productions (same director, but different group of kids), the homeschool group was not an option this time, so it was a different experience for Audrey and Phoenix.  They still had a few of their homeschool friends that did the play with them.  Audrey was an indian, and Phoenix was a lost boy.  They both loved their roles.  My mom was in town to see the play also, I was so glad she could be there.  

Phoenix was so sad when the play was over because he wanted to be a lost boy again.  I just love seeing Audrey and Phoenix perform!  They both had choreography and lines to say and songs to sing, so many skills aquired!