Cairi's 4!

I'll probably start crying if I write too much so I'm going to try and keep this short but sweet.

My first little baby isn't so little anymore (I'm pretty sure I say that every year). I mean, she's only four so I guess in the whole scheme of things she's still little, but you know what I'm saying! I swear it feels like she's 16, the way she communicates and is able to understand so much. Cairi is the best helper a mom could ask for. She's extremely outgoing and doesn't know the meaning of the word shy. If any of my kids ever tells me they want to be an actor or performer it will definitely be Cairi. Everywhere we go, if there's people around she tries to put on a show. She's also my sensitive baby. Oh boy, does this girl have the most tender heart and she is just the sweetest. Every night when I lay the kids down to sleep I tell them that they're special and that I love them, well naturally, as loving as Cairi is she has started telling the kids at bedtime that they're special and that she loves them (seriously, she's the best big sis). I am beyond grateful to have been blessed with Cai. She makes me so proud and teaches me so much. I love her more than words can say. Happy 4th birthday to my sweet baby girl! :)

 The day before her birthday we took her to get her ears pierced. Cai is kind of a scaredy cat like me when it comes to some things (especially things that could involve pain) so I thought once we got there she wouldn't want to go through with it. However, she didn't even cry! She was so brave!

 Gabe and Ollie eatin' cake.

 Liam and Nelly

 The birthday girl!!

3, 2, 1...

I now have a 3 yr old, a 2 yr old and a ONE year old! Yay!! Penelope turned one on December 30th and though she is the littlest one year old I've had yet, she is acting very big these days! She's been walking since about 11 months and loves to jabber up a storm just like her big sister. She'll say thank you occasionally and once I got her to say "eese" while taking her picture. Penelope is my snuggle bug! If I'm in the room with her she wants to be right in my lap -lately she'll get frustrated because my belly is getting so big that she can't get as comfortable on me as she use to. She is a complete mommy's girl right now but loves getting reallllly excited when daddy gets home from work.

So far I think her and Cairi are going to be a lot alike. They both have really big personalities and a lot to say. It's so much fun to watch her observe her big brother and sister and try to be just like them. Sometimes she bullies them by stealing their drinks or snacks and then runs away giggling -she definitely knows she's the little princess in the house. I think she's going to be a little sad when she's not the only baby anymore. Having Penelope in our lives has been such a blessing and I just can't say enough how much fun it is to watch all of the kids interact with each other and the love they have for each other. Love you Penelope!!

This is the TERRIBLE cake I got from Dairy Queen. I wanted to cry when I picked it up. Not only did it look horrible -it tasted bad too. Needless to say I called the store and got my money back. I will not be ordering an ice cream cake from them again. However, I will say that they were very nice and accommodating when I called, the lady that made it said she knew it didn't look good and felt bad. They gave me a full refund.

Penelope at least LOVED it. LOL she gobbled it up...

and licked the plate clean!

She wasn't much into opening presents, but luckily we have great cousins and big brother and sister to help us out!

Thanks to our always awesome families for helping us celebrate!

Birthdays Galore

Let the birthday catch up begin!! I won't post a lot of pics since I also post them to my FB but I wanted to acknowledge the birthdays we've had recently since they belong to two of my favorite little people!!

On September 15th Cairi turned 3 years old!! Cairi is an absolute hoot these days and she seems way older than her 3 years. She's my little mini-mommy and helps me do everything! She loves taking care of Gabe and Penelope SO much so that I have to remind her sometimes that they need their space -especially when she's trying to drag Gabe around the house like a doll :)

Some of her favorite things to do these days are: sing (Yo Gabba Gabba songs are her fave), play video games with mommy and daddy, read books, and play pretend. Every 5 minutes throughout the day my little Cairi turns into something else, at first she will be a dog, then a frog, then a baby or maybe a farmer. She LOVES using her imagination. She also loves sleepovers with grandma Kelly and playing with her cousins.

Some of her crack up phrases and cute things she likes to say:

"Oh my heck!"

"Silly Cai-ee!"

"What was I thinking?"

"Oh dangit!"

Cairi asks for a cookie, to which I reply she needs to finish eating lunch -she says "Um, maybe I just want a cookie." -She loves suggesting things in this way, making it a casual suggestion so we're more likely to say yes?!

Cairi asks Chris for something, he says no. She says "I'm going to ask mommy, she says yes."

Sometimes when I pick up Cairi from a sleepover with grandma she has a hard time saying goodbye and will cry. I told her if she wants to continue having sleepovers then she can't cry when mommy says it's time to come home. One day as she's getting ready to sleep over at my moms I pretend to cry and tell her I don't want her to go because I'm going to miss her so much. She gently and sincerely comforts me saying "Member mommy, no kying -I'll be back afer I seep at gramma's."

Gabe turned two years old last month on November 17th! Gabe is my little mellow monkey. He's extremely laid back and happy and he loves to climb EVERYTHING! He's a big sweetheart and he really loves his two sissies. If ever Cairi goes somewhere without him he gets so excited for her to get home. As soon as she comes in the door he will exclaim "Cai Cai Cai!" He refuses to go anywhere without his pillow pets or Buzz, Woody, and Jessie. When we buckle him in his carseat we have to pile him high with all his things otherwise he will cry for the whole ride.

Obviously, Toy Story is one of his current favorites and Rio just recently made his top movie list. He likes to sing a long to the songs which has been really cute since up until recently he's been my more quiet one. Even though he's been a slower talker than Cai he's already learned his whole alphabet and his numbers up to 10! He can't get enough of numbers and letters!! Gabe also likes to build anything and then smash it down :) -he's my Gabe-zilla.

Some of his favorite things to say:

"To infinee and beyon!"

"Scuse me!"

"Gamma's house!!!!" -He says this any time I get him dressed or put his socks on. He thinks both things mean we are going to be leaving to grandma's lol.

"Jink" -for drink.

"Chiop" -for chip, which are his absolute favorite.

"Wha happen?!" -which he likes to exclaim whenever he can tell something of significance has occurred.

"Oh no!" -what he says sometimes instead of "wha happen?!".

His vocabulary is expanding leaps and bounds but he's still learning to put everything together in sentences. I love toddlers' broken speech, so cute!

WE LOVE YOU Cairi and Gabe! 

I also had a birthday last month and am 25 years old now!!! CRAZY! I feel a lot older actually, so I'm pretty happy about being only 25. :)