Lil Tap & Hip Hop Class

 We recently switched from ballet to tap and hip hop class!  The girls watched a tap class after their ballet class this summer and haven't stopped talking about getting tap shoes.  So this semester we decided to switch then let them decide which one they want to do.  This is the first day of class getting ready in our dance clothes! They were so excited to use their tap shoes and even more excited because they are taking the class with three of their friends: Natalie, Ava, and Molly.  These girls are my friends' daughters from OSU and high school.  It is so great to watch our girls become friends as well.  So far we are having a great time chatting during class and of course watching our little dancers!

 My beautiful dancers!

 Renna striking a pose.

 Reagan doing her dance pose before class.

 Here is Natalie (my best friend Sonya's little girl) and the girls primping in the mirror before class.  They are all three certainly becoming little ladies.

 The three best friends, don't they look adorable?

 The girls with Molly too before class. I think Renna is starting to work on her jazz hands here!

 Renna, Reagan, and Ava (little Ally in the background...such a sweetheart).

 Half-way through class they put on tennis shoes and do hip hop!  I must admit it is pretty hillarious to watch them dance to the hip hop music.  I tried to ask them which one they liked best and they said "I like Tap.  I like Hip hop!"  So there is your answer!  I must admit I can't wait until recital time this year.  The class we took last year when they were two was a non-perfomance class but this year they will do the recital.  Exciting!

 I wanted to post a few pics of the girls at the dance store getting their shoes.  We went and got them with Natalie and Sonya and lets just say those three girls were the wildest I have ever seen them.  I am pretty sure the dance store lady was ready for us to leave.  They had so much fun tapping around it was a little hard to discipline them...they were so excited!!

 Our three dancers posing on their own I might add!

Last picture...mommy had to buy a new dance leotards since I actually found two on the clearance rack!! That never happens so it must have been meant to be! So they were eager to pose in those too.  We are doing great here.  The second week of school went great, still no napping but they had a good time and mommy had an easier time leaving them. It is funny because I always give them 100 questions about what they did and all they will say is they played, colored, and sang!  I guess that about sums it up!  More pictures to come of our adventures at the State Fair!

First day of Pre-School!

 We had a huge milestone this week...the girls went to their first day of Pre-school!! Ahh!! I cannot believe I am even writing that.  Where has the time gone?  I cannot believe they are three and actually old enough to go to school.  I have been so blessed to be able to stay home with these girls and have and continue to enjoy every minute.  With much thought we decided to put them in the pre-school program at our church one day a week...so this week was the day!! I will work and see patients during the hours that the girls are in school.  I am so blessed that my work schedule allows me to do that as well.  Anyways so I woke the girls up early and we had our usual cheesy scrambled eggs and toast.  The girls were very excited to go even though I am not sure they knew what they were going to be doing.

 Cheesin it up at breakfast.

 Then after we got all ready I had to have a little photo session!  Thanks for making the cute sign grammy!  Renna was excited about her backpack and did not want to take it off.

 On our way out the door....(this one is a little out of order).

 A few photos...look how grown up they look here!  They of course wanted to wear dresses for their first day of school.  I let them and so I am sure next week it will be a battle to get them to just wear comfy clothes!

 Seriously?? More pics mom? Let's go!

 We made it to school early so I could do more pictures...I am a crazy momma!  What can I say? They are my only babies and they have only stayed with grandparents so this was a huge day for us all!

And off we went...they held hands of course.  Look at their sweet horsey backpacks.  Thanks aunt Amy for getting them for us and Amanda B. for monogramming them!  They worked great!  So Daddy met us at school(church) to see them off and we took them to their room.  They hugged us and walked right in and started playing!! Yeah!!!  They didn't even look back which was excellent because I immediately started crying...it was like the tears had been threatening all morning and then they just wouldn't stop!  I am just so glad they didn't cry or it would have been a total meltdown and I may not have went through with it.  They had a great day.  They said they played, colored, went to music class, saw puppets, ate, and played more! Sounds like a great first day to me.  They of course did not nap during nap time but the teachers said they laid down and rolled around!  That sounds about right to me...that is often what they do at home during naptime. The teachers commented about how sweet they were to each other and shared so well! I am glad they at least did that at school...they have such a special bond that they calm each other in new situations.  Anyways we all survived our first day and hopefully next week will be less tears but I make no promises.  So happy and blessed to see these ladies doing so well but it does make this momma sad that it is all happening so fast.  More pictures to come of our 3yr. old photo shoot and the girls' first Lil Tap and Hip Hop class!!  What a busy week it has been!

July & August Catch-up

 Since the girls' birthday it seems like the summer has flown by!  I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day but I guess that is the way it has been since they were born.  We have so many things we want to cram in each day.  Here is a very brief overview of what we have been up to.   Get ready for picture overload. We went to the lake with Grammy & Papa to celebrate daddy's birthday.  The girls loved driving the boat and Reagan even tubed with daddy behind the boat, sadly I didn't have my camera so I will post those when I get them from Grammy.  It was a fun weekend.

 Renna & Daddy driving the boat.

 I worked the week of 4th of July so the girls got to spend several days at my parents!  They loved their days on the farm.  We spent the day of the fourth out there doing fireworks and playing with our cousins.  The girls seemed to really enjoy the fireworks this year and weren't too nervous about the noise!

 Lovin their sparklers!

 Watching daddy and Uncle Ray's fireworks show with papa, Sara, and Aunt Janice.

 They also had their first visit to the dentist since they are such big 3 yr. olds now!  The picture is very deceiving because it is the end where they are all done and they got pink timers.  Lets just say that the dentist said their teeth looked great but not sure how he could tell through all the screaming! For some reason they got very scared when they had to sit in the chair. So glad mom could go with me and hold one while I held the other one down.  Hopefully our next visit will go smoother.

 We went to the Drive-in movie with my parents and my niece and nephew.  We saw Madagascar 3 and it was so much fun.  We enjoyed sitting outside in the back of Papa's truck and eating tons of snacks that Grandma brought.  What a sweet cousin picture of Reagan, Sara, Renna, and Gage.

 Our next big adventure was going back to my hometown to spend four days with some close friends and attend the Woodward Elks Rodeo!  We stayed with our friends The Taylor family.  The girls had a blast playing with Zach and Zoey.  It was so great to see them bond and have fun since I used to babysit Zach and Zoey when I was in High school and college.  What a sweet family.  Thanks so much for letting us come stay Kellie & Kyle.  We had so much fun and love you guys so much.  Here is Zoey and Renna showing off their pink streaks Zoey put in their hair! Such glamorous gals!

 Zoey braiding Reagan's hair.  We wished we lived closer so we could see them more often.

 Zach and Renna playing basketball.

 We went to the Rodeo and parade with one of my best friends (Chandra) from highschool and college and her sweet family.  Here are the girls before the parade started...Lilly, Sophia, Renna, and Reagan. Not pictured is sweet Evelyn sleeping in the car.

 Eagerly awaiting the candy.  We also got to spend some time with Chandra's family at her parents home.  We had a great time swimming. Thanks so much for having us over Doug & Theresa.

 The girls were mesmerized by the huge longhorns...look how closely they walked to us.  It was pretty amazing I must admit.

 The girls in their rodeo dress best!

 All the girls waiting to get more snacks from my purse.  The rodeo was about 3 hrs. long and they all did really well. We had a fantastic time.

 On our way home we decided to take the girls to Alabaster Caverns State park.  I grew up near it so we went a lot.  It was really fun to be able to share that fun experience with my own family.  The girls did great. They really liked hiking through the cave and excitedly talked to the tour guide about what shapes they could see in the rocks.  It was truly a fun little vacation.  Here is Renna outside the cave being a bat!

 Reagan the Bat

 I had to post this picture since it is truly a glimpse at a day in our life!  The girls have become obsessed with dressing up in "beautiful princess dresses" as Renna says.  It has become their new reward for napping well...they get to dress up if they do nap!! Here is just one of the many gorgeous princess ensembles.  Thanks to our princess party we now have plenty of outfits to dress up in.  What a fun imagination these ladies are starting to have.

 I know everyone will be surprised but we got two more animals!! Baby kitties!! The girls love them so much.  We have had so much fun playing with them in the barn.  They will hopefully follow in our other barn cat Ivan's footsteps and be great mousers.  Adam delivered these kittens by c-section and we got them back in 6 wks when they were weaned.  It was fun surprising the girls with them.  We took them down to the barn and told them there was a surprise and let them find the pet carrier with kittens inside.  These pics are right after they got them.  Such excited faces.  Here is Renna and her kitty, Ike!

Reagan and her kitty, Mike.  Yes, we named them Mike & Ike...it goes so perfectly with Ivan our other cat.  So far they haven't asked to bring them to the house and they seem to be staying at the barn really well.  I must say they are the best kittens I have ever seen as far as letting two 3yr. olds drag them around.  And of course they even ride the golf cart with us.  Renna keeps asking to let Ike ride the horse with her...don't think they are that good!! The first day Renna kept asking "Will my baby kitty still be little when we go back down to the barn?" Adorable!  I will try to post more regularly as we have exciting days ahead.  The girls are starting Pre-School one day a week very soon and starting Lil Tap & Hip Hop class as well.  I guess our fall will be just as busy but we are loving every minute!

Evelyn's Crew

 Last September one of my best friends from high school (and throughout my life since), Chandra, gave birth to this precious little girl, Evelyn Joy.  She has been such a light and joy to their life and everyone around them.  Chandra has been one of the best friends a girl could ask for. She is one of those friends God gives you to help you get through life and encourage you at every turn! She has been there with me through all of the major milestones in my life since high school and the wonderful part is we continue to be there for each other as we raise our little girls. She was there for me as I endured the months with the girls in the NiCU and I want to help support her in the same way. Sweet Evelyn has Downs Syndrome and is pretty much the sweetest happiest baby I have ever been around.  On September 29 this year they are celebrating Evelyn's first year of life by doing the Buddy walk to raise awareness and funds for the Down Syndrome Association.  Such a wonderful cause and organization.  My girls love little Evelyn, especially my Renna.  Here is Renna holding her!  She would sit with her forever and love on her.  Renna has even named her favorite baby doll, Evelyn. Most anyone who knows us will see us going all over the place with Renna's Evelyn in her arms!! Such a sweet love she has for this precious baby!  Please help us support this cause in anyway that you can.  The girls and I will be walking in the Buddy walk as members of Evelyn's Crew on September 29.  Please visit the link below and help us in anyway that you can.

http://www.razoo.com/story/Evelyn-S-Crew?referral_code=share

More pictures of our busy July and August to come soon!  Don't give up on me!!  Just a busy summer it has been.

Our Little Princesses Turn 3!

Our Little Princesses recently turned 3!! I cannot believe how these last three years have flown by.  We are so blessed to have these little miracles and we have loved every second.  The girls wanted a princess party this year...so get ready to see lots of princesses!  Here is the table for the party, Adam's mom helped do most all of the decor and my mom helped make the Krispie Treat wands that we sent home as party favors.  Thanks for your help Grammy and Grandma.  I don't know what we would do without you.  Didn't Grammy do great on the tissue balls?

On their actual birthday Adam and I took them out to eat and get ice cream cones! When we got home we let them open most of their presents from us.  Here is Reagan showing off her new riding helmet!

Renna modeling her new cowboy boots. See how excited she is about it?  We also got the girls each their first "barbie." They were actually Sleeping Beauty and Belle.  Reagan is totally in love with hers and carries it with her everywhere.

Renna on party day dressed as Aurora, which is Sleeping Beauty's name for all who don't know.  They chose who they wanted to dress like.  We thought they would only wear these costumes at the beginning of the party but they wore them the whole time...it was like 3 hours!!  Even in the heat a Princess needs to look her best I guess.

Reagan answering the door for the first party guests.  She is dressed as Belle and is of course carrying her Belle barbie with her.  The girls really got excited about their party this year and were really excited once people started coming.  We pretty much never use our front door so it was exciting for them to open it and see people arriving.

Our little princesses seeing their cakes of the first time!

Adam sister again made their cakes. Didn't she do a fantastic job?  Thanks Aunt Lindsay, you always exceed our expectations. You can kind of see the wands I made in the background...they were super yummy!

Our quick family photo

Belle eating her hot dog on the go in the backyard.

Aurora climbing up to her castle slide!!

Blowing out their candles!  I was so impressed because they needed no help this year...such big ladies!

  A little sisterly love.  So precious.  It never gets old seeing them kiss each other.

We opened lots and lots of presents! Their friends were very generous.  We still haven't opened all of our gifts to play with yet.  I have stashed them away to open slowly so it is more fun.

Cake eating time

So the big gift we splurged for was a saddle for the girls to ride Payday. My parents split the cost of it with us so it was a Grandma, Papa, Mommy, and Daddy gift! Of course we looked for the last month trying to find the perfect one and the girls kept requesting a pink one! Shocking!! So you guessed it, we got them a pink one...and I think they were truly surprised because we kept telling them we didn't know if they made pink saddles!  Here is Renna taking the first official ride in their saddle. She was so speechless when she saw it that all she would do is point and reach for it.  They did not each get a saddle in case their is any question...they will be sharing it.

The saddle in all its glory.  Poor Payday did wonderful giving all the kids a ride that evening.  Not sure how thrilled he was to be wearing pink but he got lots of love so didn't seem to mind.

Belle riding in the saddle!  It was a great party and made me so happy to see the girls running and playing with their friends.  Can't wait to see what this year has in store for us.  On another note Reagan is finally wearing big girl panties for the past week and a half!!! Yeah!! It has been a long year of trying but she seems to be finally getting it. Way to go Reagan!! We are so proud of her and are super excited to be saving money on diapers now.  I guess our little girls truly are growing up as they seem to remind me everyday.