For Bo! My Monkey on the Monkey Bars!!!

Just for FUN!!!

Annie's Pedicure

Pretty Toes! Annie, Mommy and Aunt Becca got pedicures for Kate's wedding!

Annie sat so still! What a BIG girl!

Wedding Weekend!

Annie and Emma playing on the kneeling bench while waiting for pictures!

Annie examining Mema' s corsage!

Emma jumping off the steps...it's a miracle we didn't end up in the emergency room!

Daddy and Gracie wait patiently to get their picture made! Lookin good!

This was another busy weekend for the Thompson family. Josh's cousin Kate got married on Saturday so we loaded up and headed to Opelika for the weekend. We left on Friday afternoon around 2:00 and got to town in time to freshen up (thanks Chris and Megan for letting us hang out at your house! Y'all are awesome!) and then pick up Mema in time for a pre-wedding barbque. We met Becca and Matt and Walker at Mema's and headed out to the barbque. The rain finally quit and we were actually able to eat and play outside. Very nice. We stayed long enough for a great dinner but had to leave before the "make your own sundae" dessert much to Annie's disappointment-Mema and the little one's were getting tired. After we got Mema settled at home we had to go on an icecream search before heading back to Chris and Megan's for the night.

Saturday morning...wedding day...was a busy day for all! The "big" girls (Mommy, Annie and Aunt Becca) went to get our nails done. We all got manicures and pedicures....such fun! Annie had such a blast and sat so still while she got her nails painted! Daddy, Uncle Matt, Grandpa, Emma, Walker and Gracie went to Mema's to play and visit with Mema and Grandma. Around 11:00 we met at Mema's and had a quick birthday party before we had to get dolled up for Jason and Kate's wedding. We got ourselves put together and headed over to the church. It was the first time we had been in the sanctuary since they had remodeled-Josh did a little bit of exploring while we were waiting for our turn to take pictures. The girls and Walker entertained themselves playing on the steps and the kneeling bench..oops!

Finally it was wedding time. Kate was a beautiful bride and Cary was the prettiest bridesmaid. Everything went off without a hitch and it was obvious to everyone that Kate and Jason were crazy about each other! It made me think about my wedding. It's hard to believe it's been 6 years (and three kids) since Josh and I got married-I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!

Happy Birthday Emma and Walker!

Walker reading his new bear book!

Gracie with daddy wearing her party hat! She wore it lots longer than the others! So cute!

Mema watching the action.

Josh blowing up balloons. He was like the pied piper! Everyone wanted to hang out with him :)

Yes, I know Emma's birthday was last weekend but this weekend we had the chance to celebrate with Josh's family while we were in Opelika for Jason and Kate's wedding. We squeezed in a quick party for Emma and Walker, our nephew who will be one next Sunday! Yay Emma and Walker! We reserved the pavillion at Mema's place and celebrated with Chick fil a and Marble Slab cake! YUM!! Even Gracie had a bite!

VBC Children's Choir Program

I know you are all sorry you missed this! Last night, we had our spring children's choir program. Annie T. was right in the thick of things...literally! The 3 and 4 year choir sang four sweet little songs including Annie's favorie "I L-O-V-E, Love you, Lord!" and "He's got the Whole World in His Hands" So cute! Here are a few (or several) pics!

Fun in the Sun!!!

I'm don't think Emma understood the whole concept of a sprinkler! I'm not sure she was prepared for the water to shoot out at her! She took off back to the porch!

Ok....so yesterday the girls decided to break out the birthday presents! The favorite for the day was the beachball sprinkler. I just happened to find this at Target and grabbed it last minute because I thought it would be a fun on days that the pool wasn't open or when we didn't have time to go for a REAL swim. So yesterday the girls decided to try it out....nevermind the fact that it was only like 70 degrees and windy! yikes! At first the girls were a little timid...the water was shooting everywhere and they weren't so sure about that-I'm sure the cold didn't help any!-but after a minute or two they were all about it! We had such a blast watching the girls laugh and play!

Introducing the newest member of the Thompson Family...

I know you are looking at that picture and thinking "Wow, that looks a lot like Emma." Well, I think so too. However, the girl in the picture has decided that her name is LULU. That is the only name she responds to and when you call her Emma she is awfully quick to correct you! "I Lulu!" I'm not sure how long she'll keep it up but for now Lulu it is!

Happy Birthday Emma T!

So today is Emma's 2nd birthday! So hard to believe she is 2!!!! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home and now she is two! And now we have Gracie! How quickly life changes! This weekend was also my cousin Liam's law school graduation. Since everyone was going to be celebrating in Birmingham we figured we would just join in the fun! On Friday afternoon we packed up and headed to Gadsden to spend the night with Grandmother. We got there around dinner time and spent the evening visiting with Grandmother and Aunt Jane and Billie! What fun! Annie rode her $1 yard sale scooter to her hearts content...you would have thought that scooter was the best thing in the world! On Saturday morning we loaded up and headed to Birmingham to celebrate Emma and Liam. We had lunch at Anna's (Liam's fiance') house and then ate cake and opened presents! Gleigh and Bo and Uncle Matthew were there (Uncle Daniel got a better offer...six flags with friends. I don't blame him!) along with Grandmother and Aunt Donna, Uncle Bill, Elizabeth, The Scully's and Anna's family! Lots of fun!

When everyone else loaded up to head to graduation we hit the road for home....no point in taking three children under three to any place they have to be quiet! :) and we had to be back home for church on Sunday morning! On our way home we stopped and got a quick (ish) bite to eat with Becca and Matt and Walker at Mellow Mushroom in Oxford. YUM! It was nice to see Becca and Matt and the girls had fun with Walker. It's nice for the girls to have cousins to play with! We'll get to see Walker again next weekend at Kate's wedding AND celebrate birthdays again! This time Emma's 2nd and Walker's 1st. YAY!

So, today was Emma's real birthday. After church we took her to Moe's for a burrito (her pick) and then after nap we took the girls to church to make a 10 ft. banana split and have a messy water balloon/mud/water fight with the "big kids". Such fun! Annie and Emma and their daddy had a blast! Gracie and I watched out of the way of the action! :) About halfway through it started pouring down rain....yikes! Good thing the kids were already wet! We ended our night with birthday cake with the Jones'. What fun! It was pretty much a great way to end an already super day!

Perfect Attendance

I'm not sure if this counts or not since her dad is a minister and therefore it is his job to be at church BUT Annie T was the only Mission Friend to have perfect attendance this year! YAY ANNIE! :) (I will say that it was quite an accomplishment for her mother to get her to Mission Friends the Wednesday after Gracie was born on Friday!) Last night at the Missions program her teachers called her up in front of the whole church and gave her an "award". Here she is LOVING her Hello Kitty stuffed animal and sunglasses with her daddy! So cute!

Emma LOVES the diving board! :)

A few pics of Emma at swimming lessons! Working hard for those whale stamps! :)

Good thing kids are cute.....

otherwise you just might kill them! So, today the girls and I are home. I had misplaced something so i was searching the house high and low-in other words this is sort of my fault for being too preoccupied to notice what Annie and Emma were up to. So I walk into the living room -after only like 3 minutes tops!-and Annie has a bottle of baby lotion and very white hands. No big deal I'm thinking....until i look a little closer and see that not only are her hands COVERED in baby lotion but also her legs from ankles to knees and the rug she is sitting on! What a mess! I dragged her straight to the tub and cleaned her up. I guess it worked out ok in the end because tonight the Mission Friends are doing their missions program at church and she really needed a trip to the tubby before that anyway!
Ok....so talking about cute things kids do and say...today on our way home from church we passed a VW bug convertable. Annie was so excited to see a car without a top. Our conversation went something like this:
Annie: Mom! Mom! Did you see that car without a head, i mean a roof?
Me: Yep. That's called a convertable.
Annie: I want one of those. A red one. Can we buy one tomorrow?
Me: Maybe one day but not tomorrow.
Annie: But Mom, I really want one!

Join the club, Annie. Join the club!

The pool is open! YAY!

Ok. so the Thompson family made their first outing to the pool this weekend. We make quite a motley crew...two parents, three kids, a float, a bumbo seat (for Gracie while we ate dinner) picnic supplies, towels, sunscreen cover ups, flip flops etc. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it all! So we got to the pool around 5:00. The letter we got from the pool management said the pool would be open from 11:00-8:00 so we're thinking 5:00 should be plenty of time to hang out and swim and eat dinner. The Jones' were meeting us and we were all set for a relaxing Mother's day night. As soon as we got inside the gates the lifeguard says "You know the pool is closing at 6:00 tonight?" NO....we didn't know that! Ok no big deal you're thinking. Well normally it wouldn't have been but we had ordered pizza to be delivered at 6:45.....45 minutes after the pool CLOSED! So we decide that Josh will wait for the pizza and all the girls (thompsons and jones') would go home and change clothes and then we would pick josh up (with pizza) and go to the playground. Problem solved....disaster averted. So 6:00 rolls around and we all head off and leave Josh to wait for pizza. About 5 til 7:00 Josh calls and asks if I've heard anything from the pizza place.....NO! So i called and our pizza had not even left the pizza place yet! It was the next one to be delivered! WHAT!!!! Could this day get any crazier? Finally, after lots of haggling, I canceled my pizza order (but ended up with a $30 credit-yay!) and told Josh just to pick something up! Oh yeah by this time it's raining so the playground is out too! We ended up eating KFC in the youth room and just hanging out with the Jones' and their 3 girls! Fun! Fun! Not exactly according to plan (you know what they say about the best laid plans :) ) but still a really great Mother's Day!

HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY!!!!

Three very sweet girls with a sweet (and heartfelt) Happy Mother's Day!!! :)

Swimming Lessons

Ok, so we know that summer is rapidly approaching. With summer comes the pool...YAY! (something fun to do with three little girls during the super hot Georgia days!) So, since the pool will be opening tomorrow the Thompson girls (well, Annie and Emma at least) have been taking swimming lessons! They are doing awesome! This is Annie's second year so she is practically a pro and Emma is swimming with her dadddy-what a sweet daddy/daughhter time (and how nice for mom that i can avoid the freezing cold water and wearing a bathing suit for a little longer!) The girls have been coming home with whale stamps and good reports every day! Yay! Can't wait to see my little fish in action!

Oh to be a Princess!

Today as soon as we got home from school and swimming lessons, Annie wanted to dress up. She had been asking to wear her "princess suit" for the last couple of days and we have been so busy that we just haven't had the time to dress up! So we rushed in and raced straight to dress up clothes! Annie put on her sleeping beauty dress and crown (she would have worn her high heels but we could only find one! I told her to pretend to be Cinderella and maybe the prince would bring her other shoe later :) she didn't really like that idea so we are on a hunt for the missing shoe!) and Emma and Gracie shared the tutu and purple high heels. Everyone got in on the action! Oh what fun!

\Annie and Emma are really at the age where they are starting to enjoy each other. I love that. It's not like Emma is a baby and Annie doesn't have the patience to play with a bump on a log (that would be Gracie's title now!) but they seem to really enjoy playing together these days! Such fun to watch them cooking in their playhouse or dressing up together or rocking and "feeding" their own babies! They have such big and fun imaginations! What sweet smart girls i have! I can't wait until Gracie is big enough to join in the fun!

Ok...totally changing the subject but still fun and funny. One more crazy story about the things kids say. This time about Emma. I went to pick Emma up from the nursery at church last night and we were talking about who she played with and what she did. Out of the blue Emma says some crazy stuff. Read on.

Emma: I's hungry!

Me: What would you like?

Emma: I wanna black one!

Me: A black one? A black what?

Emma: A turkey!

Me: A turkey?

Emma: Momma, i wanna big black turkey for lunch!

I have no idea where Emma thought i would get a big black turkey or why she needed one since she had already eaten dinner at church but that was her request! Poor Emma. When she got home she had to settle for a chocolate oreo instead! :) I think she ended up with the better end of the deal anyway!

Kids say the darnedest things!

Ok...we've all heard it but i swear it's true. Kids really do say the funniest stuff. With three girls-two that talk-we are bound to hear it all! Lately Annie T is all about being mad (check out the picture of Annie making a mad face at me). She is always telling me she's mad at me but the other day in the car she really let me have it. It went something like this:

Annie: I'm mad at you, Mom.

Me: Oh, Annie. I'm sorry you feel that way.

Annie: Well, I'm mad AND angry.

Me: Ok. You can be mad and angry if you want.

Annie: Mom, I am really mad and really angry AND really disappointed!

Ok if you have kids-or have ever been a kid-you know that "disappointed" is much worse than angry! When Annie busted out with "I'm disappointed", I couldn't help but laugh because already at three she has figured out how to really "hit you where it hurts"! She really is so dang on top of things it kills me. Wonder what she'll be like at 13 if she's got this much spunk at 3! YIKES!

Two more funny things Annie said today (if this is just one day's worth can you imagine all of the exciting things we talk about at our house?)
Annie: Mom, people who can't walk use crunches.

Me: I think you mean crutches.

Annie: No, mom. I mean crunches. -like get with it mom. I know exactly what I'm talking about.

Also, all day today Annie was smelling "something crunchy"....."like maybe some crunchy noodles." HA!
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Pretty girls!

I told you there would be dressing up at the Jones house! This is what we came home to find! :)

I'm a GREAT starter...we'll see about finishing strong!

OK... I know you are thinking "WOW! She is serious business about this blogging deal." and for today you would be correct! We'll see how long i keep it up. I'm sure 2 in one day or even one week will be the exception rather than the rule!

So, I feel like I started out on the wrong foot re: my sweet girls! They really are so precious! Today they have been delightful! SERIOUSLY! We have run errands all afternoon and spent lots of time (and $) at Lowe's and they have all been so good! We bought some Gerber Daisys (pink, at Annie's request) and three little pots and the girls were so cute helping dad plant them! Emma of course was sleeping in the car (all doors were open..don't freak out on me!) which may have contributed to her cuteness but Annie and Gracie were just super pleasant and Annie was such a good helper! What sweet girls I have! Annie is already talking about planting a garden...I am considering it since I have been so inspired by my friend Megan but wow would it be a lot of work!?!?! and that goes back to that whole finishing strong thing. We'll see! Maybe Annie will have a green thumb! A garden might be a great daddy/daughter project. I'll mention it! :)

Anyway, tonight the Thompson girls and the Jones girls are all going to hang out with Ms. Katheryn while their parents enjoy a night out. YAY! That Ms. Katheryn sure is brave-six girls at once! I can't wait to see what they are dressed like when we get back! Don't worry I'll post pics....sometime!

Does Swine Flu cause incessant crying?

If so we've got it! I don't know what has gotten into my sweet girls the past couple of days! They are just not quite themselves..at least i hope they are not themselves and this is not a glimpse of things to come with three (beautiful and fun) girls! :) I'm guessing that everything has to do with the fact that Annie is boycotting nap time and Emma thinks she is big enough to go napless too. They are both so wrong! Everyone is much more pleasant when they have napped! Even baby Gracie gets grouchy without one (and she is rarely grouchy!) She is the kind of baby that could trick you into having number four! :) I have to always remind myself that they aren't all as easy as Gracie!

Moving on...Annie and Emma are loving being big sisters! They are so good to Gracie and love love love her...sometimes too much (oops). Last night we put them all in the tub together for the first time. Everyone had lots of fun. Gracie loved being a big girl and the big girls loved having her to play with. Annie and Emma love to make "funny hair" when we wash their hair and wanted to make some for Gracie too. Unfortunately Gracie doesn't have enough hair to join the funny hair club yet! It won't be long though. They grow SO fast. I have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the time i have with my girls. I get so caught up in laundry and dishes and poopie diapers that sometimes i just think i miss the sweet times. Like at bedtime when i can hear Annie and Emma talking and laughing together (what fun to have a sister!) or when one of the girls wants to crawl in my lap and read a story. It's happening less and less these days even with Emma...they are just too grown up!