The Little Lear Ladies

So far behind

2009-08-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

OK, so far behind. I have not even been on my blog since Easter. I am not about to try to catch up. My laptop is out of service and all of my photos are stored on there. My goal is to have it all updated before school starts, that is if I can get some of my pictures onto our new computer.

Daycare egg hunt

2009-04-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, I did a little egg hunt with my daycare kiddos. Sydney really wanted to participate, but had to go to preschool in the morning. So, after lunch, I did a seperate little egg hunt for her and Abby. They were so excited.

Abby and Sydney

Sydney on the hunt

Daycare Easter Fun

2009-04-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

My daycare little ones are still a bit to small to do too many crafty things, but I decided this week to give it a shot. We dyed Easter eggs, and Sydney was so excited to be my little helper. The little ones had very short attention spans. We were able to get a few eggs dyed, and I think they all had some fun.

Sydney helping Sammy

Sydney helping Elle

No it is her turn all by herself

Our happy little princess

2009-04-12T20:42:00.001-07:00

Our little princess is getting so big. She is such a happy baby, especially since she has finally cut her first tooth. We went through a really fussy period, but as soon as that tooth cut, she went right back to her happy little self. She is crawling all over the place now. She reaches and pulls up on anything she can. It is hard to believe she is almost 9 months old.

Look at that smile!

I am such a big girl standing up

all by myself.

She loves playing at her leap frog

table.

Out to dinner for Sydney's birthday

2009-04-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

We went out to dinner for Sydney's 4th birthday, and since I am so far behind in posting, I never put these photos on. The girls love to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, especially with their daddy. This is where she picked to go. There were some cute pictures I wanted to share in here.

I am now "4."

Sydney with Julie, her new

American Girl doll she got for her birthday.

Rylee and her daddy

Rylee thought she was so funny

giving her daddy bunny ears.

Daddy's Little Girls

Mommy and Rylee

Rylee's missing another tooth

2009-04-12T20:03:00.001-07:00

Rylee lost a second bottom tooth right away. It was so loose and she really wanted it to come out, so she let me try to pull it out. It didn't take much. Here are a few photos of us trying to get her tooth out.

Waiting for the tooth fairy

2009-03-30T07:01:00.001-07:00

Rylee has had some loose teeth for quite a while now. She has anxiously been waiting for one to fall out so that the tooth fairy could pay her a visit. When she got home from school one day, her bottom tooth was hanging by a thread, so I convinced her to just let me pull it out.

Here she is with a big gap on the

bottom, but so excited!

Close-up! She loves to stick her

tongue in there now.

1st missing tooth

Getting in bed to wait for the
tooth fairy. Oh, and I forgot to mention how this made Sydney crazy. She was scared to death of the tooth fairy coming.

Putting her tooth under her pillow

So proud and excited

Kamryn's big day!

2009-03-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

We finally got Kamryn's ears pierced. I have been wanting to do it for a while now, but everytime I went, I left my camera, and I really wanted to have pictures of this. So, while taking a quick weekend trip back to New Castle, my mom went with me and had her camera along. She was 5 months when we had them done, even though, I am just posting them now.

She still has no clue what is coming.

Here we go!

That was not very nice mom.

With the other two, I timed it just right for a bottle following the piercing, but Kamryn's schedule was a little off. I tried some apple juice, but she was not having it. She really only fussed for a few minutes, then fell asleep and has not really even known they are there.

Way overdue

2009-03-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have had a lot going on, and have not posted in what seems like forever. But, I am going to try to get somewhat caught up. I like to keep things in order, and was missing pictures, so that was my actual hold up. HA!

New Year's Eve kids style

2009-02-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

Sick and all, the New Year's celebration still went on. Rylee had her second round of strep throat and we were at the doctor's office this morning, but she still wanted to party. Nana and Meme got lots of noise makers and snacks. They played games and the wii at home while Brad and I went out. It was a great New Year's. Thanks mom and Jan for helping with the girls so we could go out too.

New Year's Eve

2009-02-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

I can't remember the last time Brad and I actually went out alone New Year's Eve. I guess that is what happens when you have little ones. We went out with friend's of ours to a house boat. I was so excited to buy a new outfit and new shoes with somewhere to really go. We had a great time.

Christmas back in Virginia

2009-02-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

Another round of opening presents. Santa left everything under the tree in Virginia, so when we returned from visiting our family in PA, we still had another Christmas celebration.

Rylee showing off a new dress.

Sydney holding up a new thermal shirt.
Daddy helping Kamryn open one of her presents.

Sydney lovin' her new furry slippers.

What a cutie in her new winter gear! Sydney - How long will you keep that hat on?
Sydney finished her presents and

then moved on to Kamryn's. The girls looking at their new baby

doll care center.

Kamryn in her trendy pink & brown

2009-02-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

My mom bought Kamryn this adorable outfit for Christmas. I just love pink & brown. She looked so cute on our little shopping adventure to make holiday returns.

Kamryn & Mommy

2009-01-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Meme bouthgt Kamryn a cute little Christmas outfit. We are so use to her wearing headbands, it was different seeing her in a hat.

Kamryn & Mommy Christmas Day

Our New American Girl Dolls

2009-01-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

To say the girls are spoiled, it is an understatement. They are so into their American Girl dolls, especially since Nana and MeMe took them to New York this past summer. They each got a new Samantha doll over the summer amd before they were even back to Fredericksburg, they had picked out the doll they wanted next. Sydney got Molly, and Rylee got Kit. They were so excited. Thank you Nana for our new dolls and all the great accessories to go with them.

Sydney and Molly
Rylee and Kit

Kamryn's 1st Christmas

2009-01-09T18:40:00.001-08:00

Kamryn is now 5 months old getting so big. She is rolling all over the place and just about sitting up. We were so excited for her 1st Christmas. She is just a beautiful baby and we adore you. Merry Christmas Sweetie!

Kamryn looking adorable in her Santa hat

Christmas PJ's

2009-01-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Well, trying to get three of them to look at once is often a challenge, but I was determined to try and get a few pictures of the girls in their Christmas Pj's.

Nana and little miss

Sydney had had enough, so I told her I was cutting her out. :) She did not like that too much.

Christmas Eve Family Photos

2008-12-27T18:09:00.000-08:00

Before all the celebrating began, we took some family photos.

Our family

Me & my girls

Sydney & MeKamryn & me Rylee & me
Sydney, Aunt Kiley & Rylee Mom and me

Just some of the girls Rylee & Aunt Amy
Rylee even wanted to pose with Izzy

Aunt Bonnie & Kamryn

Pappy & Kamryn

Family Bowling Night

2008-12-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

Ever since Sunday when the girls saw the bowling alley, they wanted to bowl. So, we promised to take them. On Tuesday night once everyone got into town, we all went. They loved it, and they wanted to mostly do it all by themselves. I was actually surprised they had shoes that small. I thought they were so cute, I had to take a picture of their feet. It was fun to get everyone together. We had a nice evening.

RYLEE in her stylish bowling shoes.

SYDNEY posing in her cute little shoes.

Me & Brad
Kiley & Mike

Amy being goofy

Uncle Nick, Rylee & Aunt AmyAunt Amy & Syd

Sydney wanted to do it all by herself.

Brad giving Sydney a few pointers.

What a pro!

Happy 80th Birthday Pappy!

2008-12-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

Pappy turned 80 yesterday, so we took him out to dinner. Here are a few family photos.

Me and Pap

Pappy opening his presents

Aunt Bonnie & Kamryn

Sydney, Rylee & Dylan

Gram & Aunt Carol

All dressed up for Christmas Service

2008-12-22T13:42:00.001-08:00

Even though we were all under the weather, we got ready and headed to church for the Christmas service. Meme bought the girls all pretty matching dresses and mommy made them all bows to accessorize of course. It was quite a challenge to get out of the house ready on time, but somehow we managed.

Me and my girls all ready for church

Big Sister Rylee & Kamryn

Sydney, Kamryn & Rylee

Nana and her girls

Aunt Kiley, Sydney, Kamryn & Rylee

2008-12-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

Aunt Rene bought the girls a gingerbread house kit for an early Christmas present. Since we had already done one at home at a birthday party, we decided to wait and bring the kit to Nana's when we came for Christmas. Aunt Kiley is so crafty, so we thought she would be good at this. It turned out to be quite the project. The roof kept sliding off the top and the walls were collapsing. We eventually had to glue the foundation together. But it finally stood up, and the girls were able to decorate it. They had a lot of fun, and Nana loves the messy house sitting around as a Christmas decoration.

Aunt Kiley, Sydney & Rylee getting

ready to build their gingerbread house.

Aunt Kiley had a hard time getting the house to stand up.

We thought it was quiet funny.

Aunt Kiley and Sydney trying to hold the roof in place.

The girls adding candy decorations.

Aunt Kiley checking out the finished product.

Kamryn's 1st Christmas Party

2008-12-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

On Friday we had a little Christmas party at daycare. We had Christmas cupcakes with lunch and opened presents, so I put Kamryn's Santa hat on and took a picture. She is such a happy baby.

No Christmas Cards Yet

2008-12-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, since it is already December 15, do I still have enough time to make Christmas cards. I love using pictures of the girls, but our photoshoot was not so successful. Little Miss Sydney was not one bit interested in cooperating for the pictures. I had all 3 girls in one of their holiday shirts in front of the tree, but not so much luck. I haven't decided yet if I am going to try again or just send out a New Year's card after all the craziness. I have never done that before, but I am considering it. Here are a few of the pictures I took.

This is when Sydney started acting up. :) I

couldn't even bargin with her.

I loved this picture, but had to cut Sydney out.

You will see why in the next picture.

After this picture, I just quit and started to wonder if it was even worth the fight.

Little Miss Fancy

2008-12-14T20:42:00.001-08:00

OK, so this new business has kept me a little busy. I have not posted in a while. I have spent an endless amount of hours working on my website, creating new bows and headbands, and filling orders. I have been busy, and I can't believe Christmas is almost here. After this weekend, I have 4 more orders to fill, and then I am taking a break for a few days to get ready for our holiday travels to PA and just relax. So hopefully, I can get caught up on everything.

Rylee's 1st Kindergarden play

2008-12-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

Rylee's school puts on several plays each year. This year it was kindergarden's turn. She had been walking around singing for weeks. We were so excited to see her little play. The whole event lasted 7 minutes. Brad and I couldn't believe it was so short. She did a great job, and the kids were so cute. The pictures are a little dark, but I couldn't resist posting them.

Her turkey hat kept falling down over her eyes. We were trying to get her attention to push it up, but she didn't see us.

Kamryn and her sisters

2008-12-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

I loved these pictures of Kamryn. They were taken on November 20. I have been so behind on posting. But I still wanted to share them. She is getting so big and developing such a cute personality. I just love her to death. She is so sweet.

The girls love their baby sister.

Rylee and KamrynSydney and Kamryn

Cereal not quite a big hit!

2008-11-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

Well,we started cereal, but she wasn't too interested. More came out then went in. She didn't seem to crazy about it. But we kept giving it a try. It ended in tears.

Kamryn is 4 months old

2008-11-11T22:44:00.001-08:00

Wow, how time flies. It feels like I was just pregnant, and Little Miss is already 4 months old, well actually 18 weeks. We went to see Dr. Allegretti today for her well-check. She is getting so big. Dr. Allegretti said everything looked great and that she was perfect. She weighed 15 pounds 8 oz. and was in the 90% percentile for her weight. She was 25 1/4 inches long and in the 80% percentile for height. Her growth chart looked great. She is now finally in her crib. I decided Sunday night was the big night. She stayed in our room much longer than Rylee or Sydney. I had such a hard time moving her. She is rolling back to front and front to back. She is becoming more expressive, and I found several ticklish spots. She is just such a good baby. I adore her. My heart just melts when she sees me and smiles. I love it. Tomorrow we will begin cereal. I am sure I will get some cute pictures to post.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

Our Halloween started off with quite a trick. On Thursday night, our doorbell rang at about 10:00 pm. I was a little startled, and refused to answer it. We had just received letters from our HOA that there have been recent break-ins, so I was a little nervous. Brad went to the door to find to crazy women dressed-up but refusing to talk. Brad said, "You are a little early for Trick-or-Treating." They still didn't talk, so he started to back away from the door, and I started moving further up the stairs. After several minutes, we heard them say, "Brad." It turned out to be my mom and mother-in-law. They were suppose to arrive on Halloween right around dinner time just in time to go trick-or-treating. They decided to surprise us. I can't believe they were both able to keep the secret. We talked for hours about their little surprise. The girls were so excited, and I was greatful for the extra help.

On Friday, Nana took Rylee to the bus stop. Later in the day, both grandma's were able to go have lunch with her at school. Rylee was really excited about that. Since I had help, I was then able to go to Rylee's classroom for her party. It was exciting to see her at school.

After the bus stop in the afternoon, we got ready for our 2nd annual block party. We all brought lots of food and socialized until trick-or-treating began. Brad stayed home to hand out the candy, and my mom and I took the girls around the neighborhood. Sydney kept saying, "Are we going to get more candy?" Kamryn slept for the first part of the evening. We had such a nice weekend, and are so lucky to have such great moms to gave us a great surprise. Thank you so much and we love you both.

Sydney and Kamryn

My 3 girls

Ready to follow the yellow brick road

Kamryn's 1st Halloween

Dorothy and Glenda

Nana and the cutest pink poodle

Sydney and Sam

The children of Sharpsburg Lane

Sleeping right through her 1st Halloween.

I'm off to see the wizard

"There's no place like home"

Church Dedication

2008-11-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

We made it home for the first time in months to have the girls dedicated at church with all our family. The morning started out rough, both Sydney and myself were not feeling the best. Brad's mom, grandmother, sister and kids came were able to come up to be with us too. Randy prepared a nice service and the girls did well up front. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family. Thank you to everyone for coming to share this special day with us. After church, we went out to dinner. The service was extremely slow, but it gave us all time to hang out longer together before we had our 6 hour drive back to Virginia.

Our family

Nana and her girls

Papa and his girls

Rylee, Aunt Amy, and Syd

Syd, Aunt Kiley, Kamryn, & Rylee

Syd, Aunt Kiley, and Rylee

Photos from the church service

Jan, Brad, & Gram Lisa, Jan, Brad, & Gram

Amy & Nick
So happy to be back together!
Me & Sydney

We had to force the smile.

She wasn't feeling so great!

Brad, Rylee, Me, Dad, Mom, Kamryn
Sydney, Kiley, Amy, & Nick

Jacob and Sydney

The girls and their cousins

Hannah, Rylee, Olivia, Jacob, & Sydney

Another cute picture of the cousins

Sydney playing dress up

2008-11-03T13:47:00.001-08:00

While we were getting all our clothes out for church, Sydney tried out Aunt Kiley's shoes. She looked so funny trying to walk in these high heels. I loved the pictures.

What do you think of these ones?

Family visits

2008-11-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

We finally made it back home to PA to get the girls all dedicated at church. Saturday night family was in and out visiting. It was great to see everyone.

Aunt Bonnie cuddlin' up with Kamryn

Olivia, Kamryn, & Aunt Lisa

Mommy and Kamryn

2008-11-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Rylee had a Fall Festival at school, and it was a family event. I was able to snap a few pictures with Kamryn before we went. She is 15 weeks old in these pictures. She is getting so expressive and alert. I love just listening to her babble and talk to me.

Website Photoshoot

2008-10-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

After the craftshow, I unloaded the car and had this brainstorm to take pictures of the girls wearing bows and headbands to use on my website. I thought I would share a few pictures.

Kamryn wearing a big flower headband. It was quite

a hit at Rylee's fall festival at school.

Kamryn lookin' so cute ina white,

pink, & green korker headband.
Kamryn in white and black korker on a
crochet headband
Kamryn giving a little smile with her
black zebra print bow on.

Rylee and Sydney look so cute

in the white and pink double ruffle clips.

Rylee in orange, white, & green

korker clips

Sydney finally gave me a smile.

But she is not so happy here.

Or here, but here yellow daisy

headband sure is cute.

Rylee now in 2 pony tails with

brown zebra print clips in.

No more training wheels

2008-10-29T15:48:00.001-07:00

Well, the training wheels are gone! She hasn't really picked up the bike by herself and just went for a ride yet, but she is getting so much more confident. Brad and her practiced over and over after school each night, and finally she was excited to show people how she could do. Not so sure of the brakes yet, but we are getting there too.

Rylee and her daddy practicing

So proud and ready to take off!

Let's go Dad! I am all ready.

Here I go!

Starting out

Little Miss Fancy

2008-10-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the kick-off to Little Miss Fancy Headbands and Hairbows began at my first craft show 2 weeks ago. I did well in sales. It was a very small show, but I started to get my name out there. I have been having such a hard time with my website. It was about 60% done, and somehow the entire thing erased, and I had to start all over again. So, I thought I would put some pictures on my blog of my display until things were up and running online. I would love for you all to pass my name along to anyone you know with little girls or to people that may be looking for gifts for little girls. Anyone that wants to see more close up pictures, I have them all individually photographed and would send emails until my website is up. I am hoping to have it up within the week.

ME and my display at the show. Thank you mom and Jan for helping pull the allnighter to get things ready. I could not have done it without you both. You are the best. Love you!

Just the display.

Close-ups of the headbands

Close-up of the hairbows.

More close-ups of the table display

Not sure of the exosaucer!!

2008-10-29T14:33:00.001-07:00

Ok, I have been just a little behind on posting. Things have been a little crazy. Kamryn is now 16 weeks old. She is growing like crazy. She has had a cough and cold since the beginning of October. We went to the doctor, and I called several times after that, but it continued to linger. I finally went back on Monday and they put her on antibiotic. She seems to be doing better. They also weighed her while we were there. She is now at 15 pounds, 3 oz. She is so long. I can't keep her in clothes. She is pushing 6-9 months already. Rylee was the same way. What can I say, she has a great appetite! God bless her. Here are a few pictures of her the first time she sat in her exosaucer. She was wan't quite sure of it, and only lasted a few mintues, but I was able to snap a few pictures.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-07T20:26:00.001-07:00

Rylee joined "Daisy's" this year. Tonight was her family trip to the pumpkin patch. The girls were so excited to go. So, I pulled out Halloween shirts, made them new bows. Sydney counted the hours all day until it was time to go. It was such a nice trip. We all went on a very long and bumpy hay ride. The girls, played on the rope swings, fed the animals, and picked out some cute little pumpkins. We went out for pizza afterwards and had a nice family evening.

Little Daisy

What cuties! Sisterly love
Rylee, Sydney, and their friend Mary

Rylee on the rope swing

Daddy pusing Sydney on the rope swing

Little Miss on her first hay ride

Mommy and her girls

Rylee, Mary, and Mira in the pumpkin patch

Rylee on her search for the perfect pumpkin

Still looking!

Finally found it!Sydney lovin the pumpkin patch
I think I will take this one!

We missed you Aunt Amy & Uncle Nick

2008-10-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Aunt Amy and Uncle Nick are back together, and hopefully for good this time. There have been so many phone conversations when Rylee was giving her Aunt Amy love advice on how to get back together. They girls were so excited to hear the news and to see them both this past weekend. We snapped a ton of pictures, and even though Aunt Amy spent a lot of time with Little Miss, for some reason, there was not one picture of them together. Sorry baby girl, but I guess it will be nice to see some pictures of Rylee and Sydney on here for a change. :)

After we walked Rylee to the bus stop,

we took Sydney to preschool.

Aunt Amy with Sydney, Abby, and

Emily on our way to preschool.

Uncle Nick just loved Sydney

Friday after school, we went out to the Pub to eat dinner, but we had time to snap a few pictures. Rylee was lovin' being so silly for the camera.

So innocent!

Silly Girl

Sydney loves her Aunt

Uncle Nick happy to be back with his

hopefully soon to be neices. :)Aunt Amy lovin' two of her girls

Sydney, Aunt Amy, and Rylee
Uncle Nick and Rylee goofing off.By Aunt Amy and Uncle Nick.

We will see you soon.

Hangin' out in the swing

2008-10-07T19:25:00.001-07:00

Now that Little Miss is starting to pull her head up, I thought she would like to start sitting in her bigger swing. She has only really batted at her toys a few times, so they don't really interest her that much yet. She loves her swing, but likes the one that reclines a little further. Pretty soon this one will seem pretty cool.

Checking out herself in the little mirror.

12 weeks old

2008-09-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

Kamryn is 12 weeks old today! She is getting bigger every day. I spent time this weekend packing away all of her newborn clothes, gowns, baby hats, and 0-3 sleepers. I must say that I was a little depressed. I thought even if we did try again, we would love a little boy. But I was so sad to think I may never get to use some of these clothes again. :( Little Miss is getting much better sitting up in her bumbo chair. When laying on the floor, she is trying to push over on her side a little bit. Maybe she will be rolling over soon????? She is loving her play mat and last night I was rocking her. She was sound asleep, but gave her 1st real laugh. She must have been having a really funny dream. I started laughing so hard, and she laughed even harder. She never woke up, but it was the cutest thing. I took some pictures of us playing this afternoon.

Sporting a little one piece dress outfit from Aunt Kiley

Cute little smile
Ok, I will smile again!
I am getting pretty good at this
Modeling mommy's new favorite double ruffle bow! Tummy time - Mommy how many different
bows are you going to try on me today??

Play time

2008-09-29T18:56:00.001-07:00

We have tried to put Kamryn on her butterfly playmat many times, but after a few seconds, she would tend to fuss and lose interest. Just in the past week, she has enjoyed it a lot more. She has started to bat at the toys and even kicked her feet a few times and made them shake and make noises. She smiles and squirms all around on it now. This weekend, she played herself out on it and just fell asleep right there for a little cat nap.

Who is that pretty princess in the mirror?

Wow! I love my new toys.

Roller Skates?????

2008-09-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

The girls both got roller skates for Christmas last year and for some reason never really took an interest in them. So yesterday they wanted to try them out. We geared them all up, and then pretty much just got a few good laughs. Rylee was all over the place. She couldn't even stand up. It has been so long since I have been on skates, and I kind of wished I had a pair on to help her learn. She just wasn't gettin' the concept of how to move her feet. She laughed over and over, especially everytime she fell. Brad and I got a lot of entertainment out of it. Syd, put hers on and within minutes wanted them off. I did get a few good pictures of Rylee giving it her best try.

Too cute!

I need some help here mom!Wipe out!
Maybe it is just easier for me to stay right here.
How did I get in this position? Can someone help me up?

Trying to pose Little Miss

2008-09-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of Kamryn in her new bumbo seat. I am sure soon she will love sitting up in it for longer periods of time. Right now, we are just experimenting and 5 minutes is about the limit. I was also trying to get a good close up with her wearing one of my bows to put on my business cards.

Sitting up like such a big girl

Posing for possibly mom's new business cards.

What do you think???? Don't I made a great model?

Sydney wanted to pose with her baby sister.

Kamryn - Where did your bow go?

Abby and baby Kamryn

Looking so big

2008-09-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well Little Miss is still not always content when she is awake, so this weekend, I pulled out the bumbo chair to see how well she did with that. I can't believe she can actually sit up in it already. She looks so big. Here are a few pictures of her looking so big. You are growing so much baby!

So big! And even a little smile!

It's been a while

2008-09-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems like forever since I have posted, but not too much has really been going on, and for some reason, I have given my camera a little break. Kamryn went in last Saturday for her 2 month well-check. Everything went well. She is 23 inches long and now weighing in at 12 pounds. I was a little surprised by that. She doesn't really seem that big to me. She has been sleeping through the night for weeks now. She pretty much is settled and asleep by 9pm for the night. We are still giving her one more feeding, but she usually takes the bottle while she is asleep. Just a little afraid to skip that bottle. Last week was pretty much a blur to me. I had a really bad kidney stone attack in the middle of the night on Sunday. For the first time, I had to close daycare, and I felt like I shifted my own kids all over the place. I was miserable. Well I finally went to the doctor and I have not passed the stone yet. I have to have out patient surgery on Friday. They are going to blast the stone and break it up. I am just hoping to make it through this week with no movement until the procedure.

Kamryn 2 months old sporting her

new pink and white korker bow!

Sydney's first day of preschool

2008-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Off to preschool! The girls wore their backpacks around all morning. They wanted to go when Rylee got on the bus. They couldn't wait to go. They were so excited. No tears, just off they went. Everything went smoothly, but how quiet my house was all morning. It was weird.

Abby and Sydney

Abby and Sydney showing off their backpacks
What a big girl!

Such a poser!

All smiles - Look out Ferry Farm

One last picture before she went inside

I thought this picture was so

sweet of them walking into school

Kamryn is 2 months old

2008-09-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

This picture Prettymuch sums up my whole day yesterday. Little Miss was a fuss bucket. She started out pretty pleasant when she woke up, but after church, she pretty much did not stop fussing the whole day. She wanted to be held and fussed the second she was put down. I could tell she was really tired, but she just would not take a nap. She took several 15-20 minute cat naps, but that was the extent of her sleeping until 11:30 last night. I had a billion things to do and didn't begin working on them until around midnight. I ended up staying up until 2:50 am. It was honestly the only time I had to myself where the house was quite and I could get anything done. She is generally an easy baby, but it just seemed like she was really needy yesterday. I checked her temp., feeding, diaper, the whole checklist, but nothing. I thought for sure she would be so sleepy today and would try to catch up, but today has been a lot of the same. Hopefully it is nothing except wanted her mommy.

Sydney meets her teacher

2008-09-08T11:20:00.001-07:00

Well, I have so preoccupied bow making that my blog has been about a week off. Last Tuesday after I put Rylee on the bus for her first day, I took Sydney and Abby to preschool open house. They got to meet their teachers and check out their classrooms as well as the playground. They were both so excited to go. It is hard to believe 2 of my girls will be in school now. They are really growing up fast. I was so curious to see how Sydney would do because for about 2 weeks in August, she said she was NOT going to school and that she was staying home with me. I think she is going through a little stage since having Kamryn. She was a little shy at first and even started to cry when she realized she was not in the same class as Abby, but then did fine.

Abby and Sydney with a cute little pose

Abby and Syd
So cute - what good friends
All smiles Syd
Syd playing with the snap dolls in her new classroom
Syd checking out the kitchen center and
she even found some watermellon

She loved the little kitchen, but smiled for the cameraMs. Tammy, Sydney, Ms Nancy

After we met the teachers, we went

outside to check out the playground

I think she will have a lot of fun here

Kamryn's New BIg Bow!

2008-09-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the bow making is going well. It is actually a little addicting. I have always loved buying ribbon to scrapbook with, and this is just as fun. I am trying to put this whole business together and get a website up and running. I have gotten into 2 craft shows so I have been busy trying to get a lot of stock made up hoping it will take off and do well. Don't I have a great little model?

Kamryn 8 weeks old

I even got a little smile.

Rylee's first week of school

2008-09-08T10:38:00.001-07:00

Well, Rylee completed her whole first week of school. She has done well. She seems to really enjoy going. She likes her teacher and has made many new friends. She earned a trip to the treasure chest on Friday for good behavior. We were very proud of her. I took a few pictures each day on her way.

Rylee - Day 2

Rylee - Day 2 Sydney, Abby, Rylee on day 2 Rylee - Day 3 Rylee was so excited to wear her school Grizzly clothes.

They wear them every Friday for school spirit.

Future Stafford Cheerleader

I thought she looked so cute, but she hated her hair.

Syd loves posing with her

Rylee's first day of Kindergarten

2008-09-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the day was finally here. I can't believe I just put her on the school bus. Where does the time go? It seems like she was just a little baby. She has really grown up. She was ready to go and seemed excited. She was a little crabby at first, but maybe she was just nervous. She didn't really say much, except. "What if I can't find the bathroom and I get to ride the bus today." I thought that was cute. We are so proud of her and know that she will do well in school. There are so many changes that are going to take place for her now as she begins this new phase in her life. We love you little peanut, and we hope you have a wonderful year.

Ready to head to the bus

So excited and lookin' so cute!

A little hug for her baby sister before we went

The girls at the bus stop.

Mary, Rylee, Haley, and Emma

Luc, Mary, and Rylee
They are all together in Miss Sheehan's class
What a good year they are going to have.

Mary and Rylee

Bye mom, don't cry.
I will see you in a few hours.

Getting off the bus on the first day

So excited to share her day

Rylee's Kindergarten teacher

2008-09-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? We went to Open House to meet Rylee's teacher. Her name is Miss Sheehan. She is young and just graduated from Mary Washington College here in Fredericksburg. She seems really nice and enthusiastic. Rylee seemed to like her classroom, but was very shy and quite. Tuesday is her first day. WOW! My baby is growing up. I love you sweetie. I am sure she will do well.

Rylee and Miss Sheehan

New York City

2008-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our girls are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents. As soon as Nana heard that The Little Mermaid was coming to Broadway this summer, she called up MeMe and they started planning this trip with the girls. They looked forward to it for months. It was such a special treat, especially since we didn't vacation this year with Little Miss being born.

Nana and MeMe bought lots of snacks and special treats for the car ride to New York. The new Little Mermaid movie came out at perfect timing.

Here is Rylee showing it off.

Bye guys - we are off on our trip

to see the boy from New York City

The girls got to go to the American Girl Store. They each got a new American Girl Doll. They both picked Samantha. I thought for sure they would have each wanted a different one. Nana and MeMe got them PJ's and a swimsuit for their dolls too. Then they had dinner at the restaurant there.

Rylee and her new Samantha doll

Sydney and her Samantha doll.MeMe, Rylee, and Sydney on the train
Nana and the girls on the train
MeMe, Rylee, Sydney, and Nana

Rylee and Sydney on the bike cart

with the boy from New York City
MeMe and the girls off to the show

Rye an Syd posing with their new babies

Rylee showing off her things from the
American Girl Store

Rylee lovin' New York style pizza
YUM! This sure is good pizza

Sydney and her baby

Smile Rylee - You are almost back home.

How much longer???

Kamryn's newborn pictures

2008-09-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

We got Kamryn's newborn pictures done. I don't have the pictures yet, but here are the proofs of what we got. I had to take a picture of the pictures. I loved them.

A day at the park

2008-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Before the craziness of the new school year began, we decided to meet up at the park with some of the children that attend my daycare. The kids had a lot of fun, and we had a little picnic. Here are a bunch of pictures.

Little Miss Alivia swinging high

Cute smile Alivia I just loved this picture of Syndey swinging.
Look here Sam!

Savannah had a blast on the swings - What a cutie!
Lauren on the swings
Over here Alivia!

I caught you looking Sam!

Lauren on the horse

Kamryn slept through the whole picnic -

She is such a good sleeper.

Part of the crew -

Sydney, Rylee, Savannah, and Sam crowded around Kamryn Sydney loved being pushed by Ali and only Ali.
Rylee, aren't you a little big for that swing?

Who cares, you look so cute!

Sydney spinning around
Savannah giving the merry-go-round a big push

Rylee enjoying the ride on the merry-go-round

Kamryn 6 weeks old

2008-09-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just a few cute pictures of Little Miss sitting in her chair. She is 6 weeks old and getting bigger every day. Her little head and neck are getting so much stronger. This week she seemed to find her fist and just stare at it while laying in her crib. We got to spend some time with MeMe and Pappy this week too. I can't believe how much of a big girl you are getting to be. I love you sweetie.

Ribbit! Ribbit!

2008-09-02T09:41:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my cousin Cheryl in Florida for this adorable outfit. I love pink and green and I love frogs. The girls bathroom is all done in frogs. She looked so cute, I had to snap a ton of pictures. She really cooperated too. She was 6 weeks old here.

Family day

2008-09-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Daddy has to go back to work a week before mommy, so we decided to have a family day. We had a few errands to run first. Then we went to Chili's for lunch. Finally we finished the afternoon playing a game of miniature golf. It was pretty hot out, but we all did great. Kamryn slept through the whole day, barely woke up for a bottle.

The girls were so excited for our big family day. They wore shirts that Brad's friend Mike's mom made. They all three got one. They were big sister shirts. They fit well and they both looked so cute. Kamryn's is still just a little big.

Kamryn sleeping the day away.

Kamryn slept the whole day, but woke

up briefly for her bottle at Chili's.

Brad and two of his girls waiting for our food at Chili's.
We had the waitress take a family picture

We played miniature golf at Funland

Sydney was so determined to put her own shoes back on.

Rylee, Mommy, and Sydney

Sydney looking to make the perfect shot!

Daddy and Sydney watching Rylee take her shot.

Rylee stopped to pose for the camera
What a stud!

Brad is ready for the Masters
Rylee and Sydney at the end of our game

Yuck! Dirty Diaper

2008-09-01T20:51:00.001-07:00

The girls have been great little helpers. Since Kamryn's neck and head are getting so much stronger, Rylee can hold her by herself a little bit. I was getting food off the stove, so I asked Rylee to sit and hold her for a minute. The timing was great. Just as I gave her to Rylee, she filled her diaper. Rylee kept saying she smelled bad, so Sydney came over to hold her nose for her. I thought it was hysterical, so I grabbed the camera for a quick picture before I took her back off Rylee. What a priceless picture.

Random Kamryn photos

2008-09-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of Kamryn during the week of August 16th.

Little love bug - so alert!

I love laying here after my bathLaying on my tummy after my bath Getting so big - She is getting so strong and

can hold her head up so much better

All ready for bed

Just laying around

Finally back

2008-09-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally got our computer back this weekend, and it is still not really working. So, I have a feeling it is going back to Best Buy for another check-up. I have about had it. I have had total withdrawal. I have no idea where to begin reposting. This blog has really kept me up to date with everything we have done this summer and all of the Kamryn's changes. I have not had a chance to read or post on anybody else's blogs either. I will do my best to go back over the past 2 weeks to get things back up to date.

The girls love to get together with the Jones'. We had a little last minute cook-out on August 16th, the day after our computer went in to be fixed. Kamryn had slept all day long, and when our company came, she continued to sleep. Becky still got her baby fix and held her anyway. The kids played outside all evening and had a blast.

Becky, Garrett, Kamryn, and Rylee

Sydney, Becky, Kamryn and Dillo

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

2008-08-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

A little bit of this and a little bit of that. That is what today was like. I swear since I have had kids my brain is so scattered. I can not stay focused to finish one job. I jump around so much. My day started out at 6:00am. I was extremely tired, but I actually stayed up again for the second day in a row to try and get some stuff done. After Kamryn had her bottle, we layed on the floor and she looked around for a while.

Kamryn so wide awake and lovin' her new blanket.

She fell back to sleep around 8:00am for her first nap of the day. So, I started jumping around cleaning. At one point, Sydney helped herself to a frozen pancake. Rylee thought it was hysterical, so ran for the camera. Sydney even posed for the picture.

Sorry mom, I was starving

While I finished my dinner, Brad held little miss. He kept talking to her, and it was like she was following his voice. She kept staring at him. It was so adorable. Daddy and his new little peanut

After dinner the girls wanted to hold their baby sister. They are getting a lot better at it too.

Sydney and Kamryn

Rylee and Kamryn Please hurry up mom and take this picture
Kamryn sitting with mommy

Mommy, Sydney, and Kamryn lounging

Love it

2008-08-13T21:50:00.001-07:00

One of the gifts I got last night at Kamryn's welcome party was a blanket. Love it! It is so thick and soft. Kamryn laid on it off and on today. The colors and design is so cute! Check out the other patterns on the Haute Momz website. Thanks again Heather and Anne!

Kamryn resting on her new blanket!

Busy Day and Haute Momz gathering for Kamryn

2008-08-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today has been on visitor or thing after another. I don't know if I really sat down until the evening. My friend Sheila from work came over in the morning to visit and meet our sweetie pie. We have stayed in touch since I have been home, but it was nice to catch up. The girls of course would have loved her son Andrew to have come to play while we visited, but he was at a camp. When she left I got lunch for everyone and Kamryn woke up just as we sat down. Before we finished, Mike and Julie stopped over and visited for a while.

Sheila getting her girl fix from little miss

Thanks Aunt Kiley for my little dress. Don't I look so cute?

So I got a little cranky this afternoon. We were suppose to go for family pictures, but since I didn't have a minute all day. I could not find matching outfits for everyone. It was a little tricky since nothing fits me well and Kamryn is still so little that not all of her 0-3 month clothes fit just yet. Needless to say, we moved our appointment into September. Since that didn't work out, I ran a few errands and had some "quiet alone" time. Then I went over to meet up with Heather and Anne. Heather had a little welcome party/shower for Kamryn. She started an online boutique of baby things, Haute Momz, and everything was on display. It was so nice to see all of her company's items and hang out with the girls. Go to their website and see all of the different products. If you need a unique baby gift, you will find something original. Thank you Ali, Stephanie, and Terri for coming, and thank you Anne and Heather for putting it all together. I got some really nice things for Kamryn. I will put pictures on tomorrow. But for now, I am off to bed.

Heather finally got to meet Kamryn. She was lovin' the girl time with her.

Kamryn is 5 weeks old

2008-08-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe our baby girl is 5 weeks old already. She is doing so well. She is really a great baby. We have been blessed. She is so beautiful, and I find myself kissing and loving on her constantly, and so does Rylee. She is still sleeping a lot, but when she is awake, she is starting to be more alert. She is getting stronger and really holding her head up a lot better. She is not really on a schedule yet, but she is going longer stretches through the night. I am only getting up once between 4 and 6 am. She is still fighting a little bit of baby acne, which is driving me crazy, but she is just a baby doll. Tomorrow we are going for more pictures. I want to get a new family picture and some pictures with all 3 girls. I am looking forward to that.

We had a pretty full day today. We started out by taking Rylee to school for her kindergarten screeing. We have been reviewing her letters and sounds. I wish I could have gone back to watch what she did, but I couldn't. When she came out, I asked her how she did, and she said good. I asked if she knew all her letters and she said not all, but most. So I kept asking her which ones she didn't remember, and she finally siad, "Mom, if I knew which ones they were, I wouldn't have missed them." I just laughed. I guess she was right.

After lunch, some friends I use to teach with came over to see Kamryn and hang out. My friend Stace moved to Las Vegas 3 years ago. I miss working with her, but I am so glad we have stayed in touch. Stace has two little boys, so she was loving on Little Miss. Maybe a little girl will be in her future. :)

Stace and Kamryn

Stace loved holding Kamryn. She held her

just about the whole time they were here.
Stace cuddling with KamrynTerri, Kamryn, and CJ Terri looking at how big CJ is holding

baby Kamryn and asking him if he

wanted a new baby in his house.

CJ just looking at Kamryn. He is ready

for a new baby in his house.

Brad went out fishing with my friend Chelsea's husband Danny this afternoon, and later on in the day, Chelsea came over. She brought her sewing machine and we had sewing 101. I have not really used a sewing machine since 7th grade home economics class. We started working on making the bands to the headbands. I was so excited they turned out great, and I actually did ok on the sewing machine. I am going to work on putting the bows and headbands together tomorrow. Thank you Chelsea for the great class. Sorry you had so much trouble getting it all started, but I really appreciate your help.

Chelsea giving Kamryn her bottle

Danny finally holding our baby girlHe was a little nervous, but he did a great job. He needed the practice. Only 18 weeks until he becomes a dad. We are so excited to meet Grayson!

Sunday with my girls

2008-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

With school starting back in about 2 weeks, I need to try to get back to a normal schedule. So I wanted to get back to church today. Brad had a tournament, so I needed enough time to get all 4 of us ready by myself. Kamryn had an awesome night, so it was helpful. She ate around 11:30 and slept until 6:00 this morning. After her bottle, she was so alert and happy. She layed on a blanket and looked around. I just talked to her while I folded clothes. It was such nice bonding time. Then she started to fall back to sleep around 7:30, so I decided to get back into bed. Bad move. I am always more tired when I do that. Anyway, Rylee and Syd got up and wanted breakfast at 8:30. So then I was back up and ready to actually get moving. I got the girls ready for Sunday School and took them there for 9:45. I came back home and got myself and Kamryn ready. Fed her another bottle and somehow made it to church for 11:00. It felt good to be back, and the girls love to go too. We then ventured out to the grocery store for my first shopping trip with all 3 of them. It was pretty successful. The girls all did well. Kamryn did not wake up until the check-out line. Later in the eveing, Brad watched all 3 girls and Savannah while I went with Evette to girls night out in her neighborhood. It was nice to get out for a few hours. Thanks Brad for watching everyone.

Little Miss all dressed up in white.

Thanks Aunt Kiley for my pretty dress.

It finally fits me.

I'm just closing my eyes for a minute.
Rylee and her baby sister. She did such a good job
of holding her.

Sydney is so proud to be a big sister.
My 3 girls looking so pretty for church.

Family Day

2008-08-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

The girls have gone to Vacation Bible School all week. They have loved it. Today was the last day. At the end, they sang some of their songs for all the parents. Brad, Kamryn, and I went to watch. The girls met some new friends and had a blast. They were so sad today was the last day. Rylee even met a new friend named Rylie that will be going to the same school. She is so excited and hopes that maybe they will end up in the same class. That would be exciting for her. Friday night, my friend Evette came over and we scrapbooked for a while. It was a nice end to a great day.

Rylee is in the yellow at the performance.

Sydney is in the middle Rylee, her new friend Rylie, and Sydney singing and dancing

After the performance, they had a lunch at the church. We stayed for pizza and ice cream. The girls wanted to sit and eat with their friends.

Savannah, Sydney, and Rylie

Rylie and Rylee being silly
Savannah, Sydney, Rylie, and Rylee

Not much going on

2008-08-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

The last few days have gone by so quickly and we haven't really even done anything but hang out around the house. Brad has been doing a little fishing, and I have been doing a little cleaning, but other than that, nothing real exciting has been going on. Sometimes I feel like I just sit around waiting for little miss to stir again, so I hesitate to get involved in anything. I am a few days behind in posting too. Thursday Brad took Rylee and Sydney to ballet and Kamryn and I went and did a little shopping. My new brainstorm to is begin a hair bow and headband web based business, and then maybe branch out into some local little stores. You can't find girly girl headbands and bows around here too easily. Just about everything I bought for Kamryn is from online. So Kamryn and I went shopping for materials to give it a try. I have a few connections lined up, so I am excited about it. My mother-in-law has been helping me. She is so good at those things. Too bad we didn't live closer to each other because I think we could really get a cute boutique going. Later Thursday night, Brad and some buddies went out to play a golf game and my friend Chelsea came over to hang out with me. Chelsea is due to have her first baby on December 18, a little boy. So we did a lot of baby talk. Yeah! A little playmate for Kamryn.

Chelsea, Kamryn, and Sydney

While Chelsea visited, Kamryn was wide awake. She layed on one of her playmats and was so content.

So comfy

Close up shot - all ready for bed

Rough night and day

2008-08-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you are getting into a schedule, things change. I thought I was doing really well adjusting to 3 children, and I until the past 2 days, Kamryn has been a really easy baby. But, for the past few days, she has seemed really fussy. She just does not seem content when she is awake unless she is being held. So today, I started to really question what I was doing wrong. I got so frustrated and was on the verge of tears several times. So even the third time around you question things. Last night Kamryn woke up to eat at 4 am. She then wanted to stay up. I walked the floors until 6:30 this morning. As soon as I thought I had her asleep and settled, she would wake up again. I was up and down for hours. Needless to say, when I had to get the older girls up for VBS, I was grouchy and misserable. I was a little on edge from the beginning, and it was not the best way to start my day. Kamryn was fussy off and on all day, and by evening, I started to worry that maybe something was wrong. I went through the whole checklist, "She had just eaten. She was not wet. She did not have a fever. I changed her clothes into her PJ's so she was more comfortable and warmer." So, what was bothering her? She kept acting like she was hungry, but it had only been an hour since she had eaten. I got so stressed and worked myself into a headache. I finally fed her after 3 hours and gave her an extra 1/2 ounce and the rest of the evening went pretty well. She seemed so much more relaxed. She sucked on her pacifier and I massaged her little feet and legs. I finally ate dinner around 9:30 and my headache eased up. So right now I am feeling a little better. Once I got her settled tonight, I snapped a few pictures of her. They are not the best, but I wanted some pictures of her in this little one piece outfit from Great Grandma Shoaf. It will probably be the only time she wears it. It was a newborn size and she is well into her 0-3 clothes now. She does look cute in it, so thanks gram. I am hoping tomorrow is a better day. We are going to get her newborn pictures done. I am so excited, and I hope she cooperates.

Finally happy

All stretched out and looking around

Lounging on her bobby in her outfit

from Great Grandma Shoaf

Up all day

2008-08-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

Didn't I just say yesterday that Kamryn was sleeping a lot? Well, today she had other plans. She took a really good morning nap, which allowed me to get a lot of cleaning done while Rylee and Sydney were at Vacation Bible School, but she was up and fussy for a lot of the day. My friend and sorroity sister Jen stopped over to visit with her daughter Maddie, and every time Jen held her she cried. By late afternoon, I wondered if she had a little belly ache or if she just wanted to be held. Around 6:00, I decided to give her a bath. I thought that might relax her. Then we gave her Mylicon drops she seemed a little better and slept for most of the evening. I guess you when you have an easy baby you are bound to have a day like that every once in a while. I am sure tomorrow will be a better day for our baby girl. We still love you sweetie and thanks for stopping over Jen. We had a nice visit, and it was great to catch up. Please keep in touch. We miss you Maddie!

Quit telling stories mom, I am as happy as can be Fast asleep for a few secondsJust a litte uncomfortable today - just pick me up mommy

Sydney, Rylee, Kamryn, Jen, and Maddie

4 weeks old

2008-08-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe little miss is already 4 weeks old. She is doing so well and getting bigger everyday. She is fitting into her 0-3 month clothes now and has slept through the night several times. She is still sleeping alot, and we haven't yet seen a real smile, but that will be here soon, I am sure. We have enjoyed everyday with her. She is such a good baby, and we are really lucky. We love you Kamryn Grace! You are such a beautiful baby, and we are enjoying watching you grow.

Kamryn just lounging on the couch all stretched out

Thank you Aunt Kiley for my

little Gap outfit. Love ya

Peace!

Shark Week

2008-08-05T19:57:00.001-07:00

Brad and Rylee were layng on the couch and then Sydney jumped up there with them. They were all watching shark week. I thought it was so cute, so I layed Kamryn up there too and snapped this picture.

Daddy and his girls

Rylee, Daddy, Kamryn, and Sydney

Congratulations Mike and Julie

2008-08-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice weekend away. We traveled to North Carolina to celebrate with friends. Brad and Mike have been friends since we moved to Virginia. Mike was in our wedding 8 years ago, and Brad returned the favor for him this weekend. They seem so happy, and they had a beautiful wedding. The entire event was outside right on the Chesapeake Bay. The weather held off, and they had a beautiful evening. Best Wishes to you both on a happy marriage.

Shannon & Brad

Heather and Jason
Jason, Brian, and Brad
The Guys - Jason, Brian, Brad, Andy, and Mike
Brad and Mike

The happy couple

Julie and Mike

Weekend Away!

2008-08-04T18:40:00.001-07:00

After 8 years of marriage and 3 babies later, Brad and I finally got away this weekend. We have not been away without kids for 6 years, so it was a nice break. At first I was feeling a little guilty, especially about leaving Kamryn so quickly, but we had a great time. Thanks to my wonderful mom and mother-in-law for coming down to watch the girls. I didn't really have to twist their arms too much since they love being with their grandkids, but it was really appreciated, especially since they have made the trip here several times in the last few weeks. It was also nice to get Haleigh and Hannah together. They had so much fun together and were really helpful with the girls. Here are some pictures from their weekend together.

Sleeping Beauty-What a sweet baby!

MeMe decided to wash daddy's truck, but Rylee and Sydney had other plans. This turned into a water battle.

MeMe, Rylee and Sydney playing with hose

Rylee and Sydney having a blast
Surprise MeMe, we got you!

Haleigh, Sydney, and Hannah dancing in the water

What can I say, another great day.

2008-07-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

We are really adjusting to having our sweet baby Kamryn here. Today, I actually was up, showered and had all 3 kids ready to start our day before 9 am. So, I guess it will get easier and we will get on more of a routine eventually. Brad went to work at Stafford Elementary for the last time. Summer school was over today. I think he felt a little bad leaving some of the people. He had been there for 10 years, so it was a comfortable place for him. I am sure he will make many new friends and be happy at his new school.
My friend Ali came over today to meet Kamryn, and she slept the whole time so Ali didn't want to hold her and disturb her. So we will have to get a picture with Ali next time. I was so surprised how big Sammy, her son is getting. He is one of the little boys I watch at my daycare. He is saying so many words now. I can't imagine what they will all be like in a few weeks when school starts again.

Thursday is dance day. This week it was daddy's turn to go. He was really excited about that. They all left and I had the evening alone with Kamryn. We ran a few errands, ate dinner, and started packing for our little overnight trip.

Of course rarley a day goes by when I don't snap a few pictures. Kamryn was so happy today. I got her wide awake in her little chair. This is the first 0-3 month old outfit that really fit her. She is definetly growing. Thank you Terri for the cute little outfit.

Wide awake and happy!

Sweet Baby Girl

2008-07-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last night after the girls went to bed, we were up waiting for Kamryn's last bottle before bed. She was so content we got a few cute pictures. I have always wanted pictures of our girl in Brad's hands like this, but never really got any. These are exactly what I wanted, but she was so cute laying there, I couldn't resist having Brad grad the camera. We go for our newborn photos next week.

Kamryn Grace asleep in mommy's hands

After she stirred, we got her ready for bed. Since her neck is getting a little stonger, we have put her on her tummy a little bit . A little bit is the key word because as soon as I got the camera out she was unhappy.

Is that a little smile?

Quick, take the picture.

I can't do this for too long mommy.

Ok, I have had enough. Please pick me up!

Another Good Day

2008-07-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

We knew with the baby being born that we wouldn't really vacation this summer, so we are really just enjoying time at home. It still takes me awhile to get up and moving in the morning with Little Miss waking up in the night. It seems like she wants her quality time with mom around 4 am. Ha! We need to get that straightened around baby girl. I am not complaining. She is really doing well, I just miss my sleep. She is lasting about 4-5 hours through the night, which at 3 weeks is great.

Today we were having company so, I had intended on getting up earlier to get moving, but at her 4 am feeding last night, I felt like my kidney stones were acting up. I ended up getting Brad up to finish her feeding so I could get in a hot tub to try and get them to relax. It seemed to help a little. He finished her bottle and then since she hadn't had a diaper decided to empty out at 4 am and then was content, but wide awake. Needless to say we hung out and dosed off on the chair until 6:30, when I finally got back into bed as Brad was getting up for work. So I didn't move until 9:00

My friend Michelle and her kids arrived for our playdate arrived at 10:00. The kids have been looking forward to us getting together. Michelle and I usually scrapbook everytime we get together, but today we just hung out and caught up with each other. Since I am out of the loop at school, she keeps me up to date with everyone. We had such a nice visit. Thank you for stopping by. It was great to see you.

Michelle holding Kamryn and thinking how

nice it is to hold a little one again

Rylee, Hannah, and Sydney hanging out

Later in the afternoon, I needed a few things from the store, so I decided to pack up all 3 kids and venture out for my first time alone. Kamryn slept the whole time, and the older girls listened really well through the store. I was very proud of them and our first outing was a success.

Rylee and her baby sister

Sydney, Kamryn, and Rylee

ready for our first shopping outing

Family time

2008-07-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

After Brad got home from summer school, he took Sydney up for a nap and took a little one himself. I also thought about a nap, but then that passed, so I just layed around with Little Miss for a while and Rylee played with her little princess dolls. When Brad came back down he went out to cut the grass and Rylee joined him. It has been a long time since she rode along with him on the tractor.

Rylee spending time with her daddy

Around dinner time we went over to Central Park. We had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was wing night, so it was really crowded, but the girls did great. This was the first time Kamryn really wanted held while we have been out. She hadn't had a good diaper in two days, so I was convinced she had may have had a little belly ache. Since she has been such an easy baby to this point, it was kind of different to see her a little fussy. If she was being held she was fine, but she didn't really want to be put down. We made a few quick stops at Borders and Old Navy before heading home to watch "Shark Week" on TV. Daddy looks forward to this each year and this year, he kind of got the girls interested in it too, so they have been up past their bedtimes for the past few nights. Hey, that is what summer is all about. It was great quality family time, and we will look back at it one day and miss them being little. So we might as well enjoy it while we can. We love you girls.

The Memory Game

2008-07-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

I got this off my friend Lisa's blog.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

So there you go. What do you remember about me?

Hanging out with Megan

2008-07-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today Daddy had a fishing tournament so he was gone for the day. We were excited for Megan to come over to hang out for the afternoon. We have been planning to get together to scrapbook, so decided to try. We got all dressed and ready for the day. Thank you Aunt Kiley for the cute little outfit. I am so glad I ordered this brown bow. It matches so many of her little outfits. Daddy loves it too. Ha, Ha!

Kamryn lounging in one of her

many little outfits from Aunt Kiley

Megan loving spending time with Kamryn
Sydney,Megan, Rylee, and baby Kamryn

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2008-07-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today was my 32nd birthday. It was so nice to just have everyone home. We didn't really have any plans made in advance. We started the day by giving Kamryn her first real bath. Then we decided we would go out for lunch any where I wanted to go. One of my favorite places is Chili's so that is where we decided to go. We had such great quality time together, and I loved the pictures of Brad and the girls. After lunch we went grocery shopping together, something I usually do, but have not ventured out yet with all 3 girls, so I was glad for the help. The rest of the day was just spent lounging around together. It was a great birthday. Thanks to my wonderful family for spending the day with me.

Rylee, Mommy, Kamryn, and Sydney all

dressed up for lunch.

When I pulled out the camera, they

thought it would be funny to make mean

faces. It was so cute. I am glad I had my

camera with me.

Rylee, Sydney, and daddy
Sound asleep right through lunch. She is such

an amazing baby. We love you sweetie!

Kamryn's first bath

2008-07-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Since we were all home together this morning, we were finally able to give Kamryn her first real bath in her tub. At first she fussed a little bit, but once she got all cozy in the water, she loved it. She looked so relaxed. Rylee and Sydney thought it was neat to see her in her own little tub. Sydney leaned down near her tub and Kamryn grabbed onto her pajamas. It was so cute, and Syd loved it. They have both been great helpers. They especially love to help pick out her clothes each morning and her pajamas at night. They love having a baby sister, at least for now while she can't do anything.

Kamryn's first tub bath - 2 1/2 weeks old

Oh to be so peaceful

2008-07-28T16:28:00.001-07:00

When we got home from the fair the other night, I was so excited to upload the pictures. We had gotten some really good ones. Well, it has taken me 3 days to get my blog posting fixed. Every time I put on a picture, everything would shift. I was getting so frustrated. Everyone was in bed, except for Kamryn and I. She layed on the floor with me the whole time so peaceful. She was wide awake, so I just talked to her the whole time. I grabbed my camera to get some pictures and everytime the flash went off, she closed her eyes. It was so funny. Regardless, she still looked so peaceful and content. She is such a blessing and a wonderful baby. We are so lucky. We love you sweet girl.

Fredericksburg Fair

2008-07-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Since the girls loved the Balloon Quest and the amuesement park they went to with their cousins, we decided to take the girls to the Fredericksburg Fair. Brad and I have lived here for 10 years and never gone, so we didn't really know what to expect. I had looked it up online today and it looked like it was a nice size, so after a relaxing day with no plans, we decided to head out to the fair. We invited our friend Evette and her daughter Savannah to come along. The girls were excited to have a friend along too. We ate tons of junk food. The girls rode every ride and some twice, and they each played a few games. Kamryn slept in her stroller the entire time and never made a peep. I even moved her several times to make sure she was still breathing. Ha, you still do that the third time around. We all had a very nice evening, and the girls keep asking if we can go back again.

Daddy, Mommy, and Kamryn all ready to go.

Sydney, Rylee, Savannah, and Kamryn

going into the fair

The first ride of the night!

Sydney and Savannah rode up front and Rylee pulled up the rear.

Rylee enjoying her train ride
Savannah and Sydney on the train

Savannah lookin' so cute on her carosal horse

Sydney was too short for a horse on the carosal,

so she had to ride on a bench.

I thought she would be upset, but she was a real trooper.

Rylee enjoying her carosal ride
Sydney and Savannah ready to go up in the elephant.

Hold on tight girls.

Rylee flying on Dumbo

Rylee is peeking up over the top of the dump truck.

Savannah and Sydney wanted to drive.

Daddy was so excited to see you two on a boat.

Love that smile Syd!

Sisterly loveLittle Miss was such an angel. She slept the entire time and didn't even move. I even checked twice to make sure she was breathing. Sydney holding on tight Rylee with a huge smile on her

face while riding the whale

Sydney having a blast!

Rylee gave a wave from the flying alligator

No plans today

2008-07-25T12:42:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day where we didn't really have any plans at all. Brad got up last night for the 3 am feeding, so I got a full nights sleep. Thanks sweetie, it was greatly appreciated. He decided to go out fishing all day since he didn't have summer school, so I still had the 7 am feeding, but decided to go back to sleep until about 8:45. I thought I would take advantage of the older girls sleeping in and summer break. Soon enough, I will have to be up at 6 am daily for work anyway, so why not.

The perfect end to a relaxing day

Daddy and Kamryn

Kamryn taking her early morning nap.

I thought I got a little smirk.

Still can't get into the tub yet, so we still have to take little sponge baths. She was so comfortable, she barely woke up for her bath.
So sweet!

All relaxed and cozy!

All cleaned up and finally ready for the day.

I am just missing my bow!

Now I am ready!

Back to sleep again

Kamryn's 2 week check-up

2008-07-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Today was Kamryn's 2 week check-up. Everything has been going well. She is already looking bigger to me, so I was so anxious to see how much she weighed now. She grew a 1/2 an inch and is now 20 1/2 inches long and weighs 8 pounds 1 ounce. She was in the 50% for everything. I really never understood all that, but she is still a little peanut. Her belly button has just about cleared up, so in a few days she can take a real bath. I bet she will love it. Her neck is getting stronger, and she is able to hold her head up a little better. When I lay her on her belly, she is lifting it up on her own and starting to torn it from side to side. She is still sleeping quite a bit, but when she is awake, it is for longer periods of time. We are really lucky she is such a good baby. She is such a wonderful a ddition to our family, and we are so in love with her.

Enough pictures. Can we please put the

camera away and go?

Back home in Virginia!

2008-07-25T07:32:00.001-07:00

Well, we are finally home! We have had company or been on the go since July 3, several days before my induction. We had a great time visiting with family and friends and a nice trip back to New Castle, but it is so nice to be home. I feel normal again. I am trying to get back into some kind of routine too. I got Kamryn on a pretty good schedule for the time being. I am able to feed her around 11 pm and then we all jump into bed. She has been getting up between 3 and 4 am to eat, but has pretty much gone right back down and then sleeps until 7. Rylee and Sydney have both been sleeping in until around 9, so after Kamryn eats again in the morning, I too go back to bed and have been sleeping until 9. It has been nice, but kind of makes the morning so starting. We will eventually get going a little earlier, but for now, it is a nice summer break. It has taken me days to get caught up with laundry and unpacking, but Brad has been so helpful. Thank you again to all our family and friends for all the help. Anyone who has not seen our new princess yet, we are settled and would love for you to come meet Kamryn. Give us a call. We look forward to more visits soon from eveyrone.

Last minute fun and visitors

2008-07-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

While we were relaxing late Sunday afternoon, Nana was cuddling with Kamryn and Sydney wanted to join them. I am not exactly sure what Syd thinks of her new baby sister. Every once in a while she wants to hold her for about 5 seconds and then she is done, and she will come over and kiss her from time to time. But for the most part, she doensn't really pay much attention to her. I guess it is her age and it is all normal. So, I wonder if Nana cuddling with Kamryn was making Sydney a little jealous. Anyway, Sydney climbed up on Nana's lap too and it was so cute to see her singing to her baby sister. Kamryn was wide awake and very content. What a memorable moment that I was able to capture.

Syndey singing to her baby sister

Janet finally made it over to visit with us, even though her hand was bothering her and she wasn't feeling well. We love to visit with her and were glad she made it there. Next time we will have to plan better so the girls can play with Masey.

A Relaxing Sunday Afternoon

2008-07-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

Since we have been busy shopping, eating out, and visiting all week, we decided we wanted a relaxing Sunday afternoon. After brunch we came home and everyone got all comfortable. I was able to upload more pictures and finally get my blog up to date. Nana worked on cleaning and laundry, and the girls played. Aunt Rene' Commesso stopped by to meet Kamryn and to visit in the late afternoon. We even turned down a dinner invited with Aunt Bonnie's family because we were too wore out to pack up the kids and go again, but met them later for ice cream. It has been a nice week at home and I am glad we made the trip. The girls have been spoiled to death by everyone, and it will now take me at least a week to get them back on a normal schedule. We head back to Virginia tomorrow afternoon, and it will be the first time in two weeks that it will just be our family. I am anxious to get back to normal, but will miss all the help. Thank you to everyone who has helped get us through the first two weeks with our new bundle of joy. We love you all very much and appreciate all the love and help you have given us. We look forward to our next visit.

Mommy and Kamryn just laying around

Doesn't she look comfy?

Aunt Rene' stopped over to visit.
She thinks Kamryn resembles Rylee.

Sunday morning brunch

2008-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite restaurants to eat at on Sunday's is Lady's of the Dukes. They are only open on Sunday and the pasta is great. We met up with Aunt Bonnie, Grandma and Grandpa Shoaf, and Aunt Carol after church to have dinner.

Nana and Kamryn with coordinating outfits

Mommy and Kamryn ready for dinner
All dressed up and ready to go

Mommy and her girls Mommy adoring her baby girl!

Great Aunt Carol got to

meet Baby Kamryn too!

Rylee, Sydney, Nana, Aunt Carol,

and Sleeping Beauty

"Shoafy", Pappy, and Kamryn

Great Grandpa Shoaf meeting

Kamryn for the first time

Outlet shopping

2008-07-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today Aunt Kiley took Rylee and Sydney to the Pittsburgh Zoo, so it was just me and Kamryn. So we decided to shop again. I feel like all we have done on our little outings is shop and eat! But off we went again. Me, Mom, Aunt Bonnie, Haleigh, and Little Miss all went out to Grove City. I wanted to see if there were any good deals on school clothes for the kids. Kamryn was amazing! She was the such a good baby. Everyone thought she was just adorable, and they all asked where she got her headband.

Balloon Quest

2008-07-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

I lived in New Castle for most of my life and had never gone to the Balloon Quest. So, we decided to take the kids Friday night. We wanted to go early before there were too many people there, and we didn't want to miss the balloons go up. There was food, crafts for the kids, games, rides, and of course hot air balloons. The kids did it all and had a blast. They had never seen a hot air balloon. Syd was a little unsure at first and even kept hiding behind Kamryn's stroller. Rylee loved every minute of it, especially being with her cousins. Kamryn slept the entire time and was an angel.

Sydney, Mommy, Rylee, and Kamryn

Rylee, Dylan, Haleigh, Sydney, mommy, and Kamryn
Aunt Bonnie, Nana, and Kamryn
Kamryn just relaxing on Aunt Bonnie's shoulder

Rylee and Dylan

Sydney hiding behind Kamryn's stroller

while the balloons were getting ready to launch
Sydney, Dylan, and Rylee in front of

the balloons as they were getting ready to go up.

Sydney eating cotton candy

Sydney on the train

Rylee and Sydney on the motorcycles

Dylan, Rylee and Haleigh on the scrambler

Here is an action shot of Dylan, Rylee, and Haleigh on the scrambler. This was Rylee's first time. I thought she would be scared, but she loved it. She got off and asked to get right back on.Rylee and Dylan on the super slide

Sydney on the carousal

CRAFT TABLE FOR THE KIDS

Rylee and Dylan working with Wikki-Stix

Sydney, Rylee, and Dylan

Rylee working on her craft Sydney getting some help from the lady

Rylee and Kamryn

2008-07-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Rylee loves to hold her baby sister.

KAMRYN'S PHOTOSHOOT

2008-07-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

After buying her new headbands, we decided to undress her and take some pictures with her naked and wearing only her headband. I am trying to decide if this is what I want to use for her birth announcement. I just love these pictures. She is so amazing. I love her to pieces.

More Shopping

2008-07-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

After every pregnancy, I have felt like I needed a make-over for a fresh new start. While Amy was visiting, she helped me pick out new colors and did a little mini make-up session with me. So, today I wanted to go to the mall and get some new make-up. Kiley kept Rylee and Sydney at home, and Amy, Kamryn and I went on a little shopping trip. I was also on a mission to find the little peanut some fancy socks and some more headbands. The trip turned out to be very successful. Kamryn did so well again. She slept the entire trip, but was the hit at the mall, especially near the make-up counters. Here are a few pictures of Kamryn with one of her new headbands on.

The little princess with one

of her new headbands on

Mommy lovin' on Kamryn Grace!

Papa and his girls!

2008-07-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Rylee and Sydney were not here yesterday when we got into town, so Papa did not get to see Rylee and Sydney. So, he stopped back over first thing this morning to see all his girls again.

Spoiled by their MeMe

2008-07-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

While the girls were shopping with their MeMe, they each got to pick out a dress at Gymboree. MeMe loves to shop and buy for others. When they got up today, they couldn't wait to wear them. So, I had to make them pose for a few pictures. Rylee had no problems hamming it up for the camera. Syd didn't want to cooperate after the first picture. She even went into the corner to pout for a little bit. Then Aunt Amy had to joke with them to get a few pictures together. They had really good taste picking out their new outfit. Thank you MeMe. We love you and will see you soon.

Rylee and Sydney all dressed up!

Rylee - NOT one bit camera shy!

Sydney was not as cooperative as Rylee

What a busy day!

2008-07-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

As soon as my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, neices, nephew, and gram Grannas left, my Aunt Bonnie and the kids stopped by. We new it would be a busy day just coming into town and everyone wanting to get their hands on our princess. I swear she hasn't been put down all day long. I hope that doesn't mess up her sleeping tonight. Ha! It was great to see everyone loving all over our baby girl. They think she is just as special as we do. How could they not, she is just too cute! And of course, Rylee and Sydney were in rare form performing for everyone. They were really excited to see Haleigh and Dylan. Thanks everyone for coming by to visit. It is great to have such a wonderful family.

Aunt Bonnie just staring at her new neice.

She's already in love with her

Cousin Haleigh lovin' on Kamryn Grace Sydney, Rylee, Haleigh, and Kamryn Cousins - Dylan, Sydney, Rylee, Haleigh, and Kamryn