Currently Catch-Up (A Long One)

Syd loves this!

So does Mills ;)

Buddy's back in the swing of things...and by that I mean: he's completely annoyed with everyone but me. :)

A couple of weekends ago, I went to Tulsa for my cousin Jennie's going away party (her family is moving to PA).  It was a fun night of shenanigans that included a midnight water slide ride (brrrr).  This pic is of me, Cindy Lu, and Brooke (Jennie not pictured)...the only pics I have of Jennie include Brooke in a swimsuit or Jennie dancing on some picnic tables.  hahahaha...it was a fun night.

JKK and Coco held down the fort with the girls...thanks Aunt Coco for coming out!

New water table fun!

I had to rush back the next morning to take Mills to a birthday party at the splash pad.  Mills still isn't thrilled with that place....I need to take her more often so she gets used to the random shooting water spouts.  She did enjoy the birthday cake, though.

Often overheard from Mills: "watch out, pid pid!".  Big new milestone for Syd: she's finally able to stand up on her own without pulling up on something.  Almost two weeks after her birthday, it finally clicked...she was very proud of herself.  She's also clapping and waving now...I need to get video.

The last weekend of May, my good friend, Ashley, and her boyfriend, Scott, came to visit.  We had a fun outing to the Crystal Bridges museum, which included seeing some groundhogs frolicking around this pond behind A & S pictured below.

There is a pretty cool kids' room filled with art projects, like this snap bracelet decorating station.

This is one of my favorite pics of Millie...she looks so lovely and grown up.  I know every parent can see the beauty in their children, but John and I are consistently in awe that we made these beautiful babies. <3

JKK took the kiddies home for naps so that Ashley and Scott could enjoy some of the outdoor trails. The CB grounds and trails are gorgeous this time of year with the wildflowers.

We even got a babysitter one night so that the four of us could head out on the town!  Since we were eating at a restaurant on the Bentonville square, it was the perfect opportunity for a photo op...

Since JKK loves Buddy Love so much, he ordered the "Buddy Love" cocktail, which turned out NOT to be his new favorite cocktail.

Millie is into accessorizing these days...this necklace is worn with almost anything.

Syd just likes to accessorize with mud.  

We had Syd's 1 year pictures taken a couple of weeks ago...on the windiest day of the year.  I'm not kidding.  Some of the pictures were so funny that Amber turned the camera around so I could see the shot.  My hair looked like a turban wrapped around my face and head.  Thus, we didn't love the family pics nearly as much as the shots with just the girls.  She posted these two on Facebook, and they turned out soooo lovely.

Look who's back for the Summer?!  Cayden and Beckham! And Amanda and Heath too ;)

Last Monday, we got to spend the entire day with them and it was wonderful!  Mills was in heaven.  So was I...terribly miss my adult conversations with Amanda.

These two are going to have so much fun at their co-birthday party in July!  Save the date: July 12 from 10am-12pm at Little Giggles

Beckham has grown up so much since we saw him in January!  Big boy will be one at the end of this month.

Syd was kind of funny with him...kept staring.

a lion...rawrrr

The rest of the week, Millie asked to see him again and again ;)  BFFs4life

Friday, I drove down to Dallas for a college girls reunion, and we had the most fun catching up, shopping, hanging by the pool.  It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed...especially some time with this girl.  Bekah will always be one of my best friends...wish we lived closer.  PS - I got my hair cut!

Sunday morning, I drove home bleary-eyed and ready to see my three.   However, what we thought was teething and allergies appeared to have turned into something worse for Syddles.  After a call to the nurse to explain her strange wheezing, we headed to the ER.  Our first emergency room trip.  Poor Syd has the croup viral infection.  After an extremely long day of treatment and monitoring, we got sent home late Sunday night.  Thank goodness because we both slept so much better than we would have in the hospital.  There was only about an hour where it got kind of scary and the rest was just waiting.  So thankful she is on the mend...now we are just battling some nasty cold symptoms.  Get better soon, Pid Pid...we miss your laugh.

Millie's Last Day of School

Thursday, May 22nd was Millie's last day of Mother's Day Out....forever.  Next year, she'll officially be in preschool.  I think she'll love it, just like she loved MDO.  She had a great year with Ms. Kimber and loved all of her classmates.  I never felt sad leaving her because I knew she loved it and was thriving and having a great time.  Such a good time, in fact, that she never took naps there.  Most Monday and Thursday afternoons were pretty rough with the non-napping monster, but it was worth it...good for both of us to have some time away and also great for her social skills.  I'm proud of our big girl!

Millie isn't much for hugging people outside of immediate family, but she didn't hesitate to give Ms. Kimber a big hug!

Afterwards, we had a special treat with Sawyer at TCBY (this year was wayyy better than last year)

Syd loved it too, of course ;)

Another classmate, Finley, met us there also...it was so much fun for these big kids!  It gets a little crazy once the ice cream is gone though...can I suggest that TCBY install a playground to let the kids run off the sugar high?!

Finley's little brother, Tate, is only 2 days older than Syd!  They'll be in MDO together next Fall <3

Ms. Kimber had the kiddos make this thumbprint tree the last week of school

Random turtle artwork, which Mills especially enjoyed...she loves turtles (I think because of Crush the sea turtle on Finding Nemo)

The week before, her class had a special field trip to the local Fire Station.  Millie was in heaven.  Ms. Kimber even commented on how she thinks Mills had the most fun...climbing all over those big trucks and "driving".  She sent me this pic...the cutest thing I've ever seen!

What a good year for Millie...I hope Syd likes school as much as Millie!

Party Pics

party time!

Syd's 1st Bday Party

Syd's 1st birthday party was Saturday, May 17th.  We had it here at our house, and it was absolutely lovely to have our friends and family here for the day to help us celebrate!  We had a casual lunch and some delicious cake (Syd LOVED her cake!)...and the kids played outside on the swing set while the adults enjoyed some delicious spiked punch.  It was pretty perfect.  Syd enjoyed all of it, but she crashed hard after coming down from her sugar high...thus, she left the party a bit early for a nap.  It was a wonderful reminder how many friends we've made here in Northwest Arkansas, and as always, I was blown away by everyone's generosity.  Our little family felt very loved that day, and it was the perfect ending to a year full of getting to know our sweet Syd.  She went with the flow, just like she always does, and I think it's safe to say that birthday cake is her new favorite food (based on the fit she threw when we took it away).

My dear bestest friend, Jamie (aka Auntie Midge), flew in for the party and was in charge of photography.  She did a gorgeous job, and I had a hard time narrowing it down to these favorites of mine for the blog.  So much prettiness.

The following are from the previous day, which was her actual birthday: