Where the Sun Shines Much, We Are Happy!

Swimming has been glorious this summer! We enjoyed every minute of it. Now that our pool temperature is getting in the  high 80's, it is feeling a titch chilly for us wimps...looks like Fall is underway in Phoenix:)

This baby girl is a little too daring, EVEN without the flotation device. She now feels invincible in water thanks to this thing. She even decided to jump in with her clothes on the other day...thankfully, Mama and Hudson were right there to fish her out. (Phew...)

With Hudson at school, we feel a bittersweet reality. We MISS MISS MISS him, but now we acually do girl things (aka: lots of shopping, tea parties, dancing and lugging baby dolls around). The girls love to keep busy pretending with their purses, babies and push things. I adore the show! It is always precious to me. 

Putting lots of rocks in a mini pool with friends? Now that's a great idea! We love Kate and Millie Bahr. Met them at the park last Fall and they have become some of our best friends:) xoxo 

This little shadow is the cutest EVER. Feeling a little arm and chubby hand wrap around your leg while doing the dishes, is probably my favorite feeling, She really has this thing with purses, babies and her blanket. Very rarely is she seen without all three in tow. Where did she learn to be SOOO stinking squishy?! 

A happy birthday shout out to our beloved Papa Montague!!! We feel so blessed to have so much love and support from you. We think you are pretty incredible and love the time we get to spend with your smiling face:)

For Brielle's birthday, she insisted upon a chocolate cake, with LOTS of flowers, spots and stripes. Mama provides, hunny. It was sooo much fun to put this baby together, but a huge time sink. She was ecstatic so it definitely was worth the effort. 

Bri's 3!!!!!!! We love you doll face! You are such a sweetie to your big brother and little sis. Your Mom and Dad are so proud of everything you are!

Hudson builder was excited about the new toy from Bri's birthday and got into character with the fireman's hat:) I love this kid's imagination!

Cookout in the backyard with Kate and Millie! We have loved this new house, neighborhood and feel so blessed to have the extra space for our chillens to explore. It is heaven sent to us. God has been such a part of every detail of our lives. Even the simple things, such as housing comforts. We couldn't be more grateful!

Cloud of cuteness, Ruby... this hair is too much for me. The fluff. The bounce. It is overflowing!!!! LOOOOVE you.

What is better than clean, freshly bathed kids eager for stories. This has always been a favorite part of my day: snuggling with my babies and reading bedtime stories. Aaaahhhh. I hope I always remember the joy of such moments.

Hudson is a kindergarten champ. He has an amazing enthusiasm for school and even wishes it continuted through the weekend:) Homework? Fun. To him, school is the best thing ever! I miss you, but we are so proud of his remarkable attitude and eagerness to do his best.

Picnic in our backyard! Why not? Any excuse to turn on some music and get snackie together.  

Here's the fluff that I'm obsessed with...and the profile and thumb...I need 15 of these. It never gets old. Being a Mom rocks my socks.

Summer Bliss and School Begins

This baby is too much cuteness for me to handle! Ah! We love to swim in our pool, but I think I just like to get this baby into a swimming suit:)

4th of July outfit from Nana. They really became our favorite July outfit...and August... Bri loved matching with Ru.

This handsome Hudson was an incredible swimmer this summer. He decided he wanted to get better at swimming and he went for it. He could swim for hours and hours and still have loads of energy to burn through.

Here is our matching-July-stripe-outfit girl. She is eating blueberries on the countertop, which is probably the funnest spectator sport for me. Why is everything she does so irresistably adorable??!

Came into the toy room only to find that Bri had turned Ruby into a wolf:) It is very agreeable.

Hudson enjoys a good puzzle and B is his biggest fan. Put some dinosaurs on there and this kid is in hog heaven.

Woah. Chicka bow wow! He has NO idea how cute he is.

Easter Sunday, my little darlings all ready for church. I am so crazy about her jewelry, puppies and purse fetish.

Purse? Check. Pearls? Check.

What is this? My baby girl is obsessed with transforming everything into a handbag. If it's not a real purse, it seems that flip flops are a quick solution.

This young lad is now a school boy! What?! My little fella is so grown up and doing big kid things. It is like he has a full-time job. 8-3. I miss him so much while he's away to school. 

The good news is that he is doing great! He loves his friends, his snack time and even----homework?! I know. This kid is having the time of his life with this school business. Mom is the one going through withdrawals. Brielle is second in line on the sad list and Ruby seems to be pretty happy to have Brielle all to herself. We are making it.

Bri insisted on taking a backpack for Hudson's first day of school. She was completely devastated when I told her that she would need to get back in the van and come home with me once the bell rang. "What? I'm not going with Hudson?!" Tough reality.  Things have really changed at our house! We are happy and forlorn all in one. I'm sure the forlorn will dissipate soon enough when I internalize that this isn't college or a mission send-off each day.

We Like to PARTY!!!!

11 months old in this picture! Lots of teeth coming through. So far she has 4 on top and a third one coming up next to the two bottom middle teeth (almost 7 total). She loves her thumb and following the big kids around. A good beat gets this girl moving and she LOOoooVES green beans.

Compadres FOREVER!!!

I had big dreams for Ruby's cake but I decided to just make it a smash cake after I ran into a time crunch. Afterall, Thomas doesn't like cake and I don't want the kids eating pounds of cake (although they would be in heaven!) So that would have made me the horrific cake monster...I didn't need that...

=Mini smash cake for a baby to smash, eat and share a bit...

Poor baby Ru beat up her face with a nasty fall a couple days before her birthday. She decided to stand up on a moving toy car and face planted on our backyard pavement. 

Still happy and trying to mimic Big Sister 

"WHAT?! THIS IS MARSHMALLOWS???!"

SHE TURNED 1!!!!! 

Enjoyed her cake too...

and her armrest baby...

and being the baby pushed in the stroller...

and a beautiful quilt made special by Nana Montague xoxo

I gave Brielle another haircut. She's had so many, yet her hair just keeps speeding up its growth rate as it grows! It's almost to her waist, when it is straight. I was so happy with how it turned out:) she just comes with that cheesy, cute smile...

The two best buddies---- Ruby is working her way into the group, but it takes a lot of proving yourself. "So, what's in it for us?" They love Ruby, but she still is a baby destroyer of towers, forts, legoes and everything big kids pride themselves upon after laboring over. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes once Hudson starts Kindergarten in August and Bri and Ruby are left to bond.

Sleeping angel Ruby. She is now one, as of May 26th! I can't believe we kept another child alive! :) Having children certainly is rewarding, but I'm realizing how having three has really stretched me thin (and I don't mean around my middle section...) Heaven knows I cope emotionally by stuffing my face! Working on that.

Having an older brother sure does rub off in more ways than you can imagine. Bri is really into playing "fight the bad guys", building, trucks and running wild. She does, however, also love a good hand bag and nail polish;)

Hudson turned 5!!!! He has two permanent teeth pushing up, is really into angry birds and could play with transformers all day.  We made a big deal of his birthday this year and invited all our little friends over. The house was crazy, but it was a hoot for Hudson to have a pizza, pinata, and pool party with all the special friends we've made this past year. We made every meal an occasion to blow out candles. Hudson dictated our every move for his birthday. I even set him loose in the grocery store and the wildest thing he came up with was: DOUBLE STUFFED OREOS and a lollipop... You should have seen the joy on his face!

Making a wish...pay out chicken nuggs!

Brielle is Ruby's Little Mama. Bri adores her little sister and is always cuddling her with love and concern. I hope the friendship sticks and continues to blossom! (Fingers very much crossed)

This was the most difficult cake I've made so far...I vowed it might be my last. Not because it was hard, necessarily, but because I had so many obstacles in my way and I lost the "fun" aspect and it quickly became stressful. I like to bake the cake and make the fondant the day before I decorate it. Done. So assembly day (Hudson's birthday), my body decides to embrace the flu...It was a beast. Never fun, really. So I didn't get much sleep and then I had to finish the cake (4:30 am) before our guests arrived for the party that next morning. Terrible timing to contract death flu! A miracle took place and everything worked out somehow. I couldn't be as picky with the details of the cake, but it made all the struggle worthwhile to hear Hudson's excitement once he saw fondant covered OPTIMUS PRIME!!!

Friends swimming in the pool: Becca, Perry, Roland, Jane, Kate, Joel, Russell, Ruby, Sammy, Nolan, Brett:)

Cute Daddy, Thomas, lighting the cake.

It was 110 degrees out there...Hello Phoenix summer!

Ruby is a walking machine with poofy hair on top and around the nape of her neck, but nowhere else... She will come up to my leg when I'm sitting and give me a raspberry:) then have the biggest smile on her face. How does she know that's such a playful action?! She is crazy about her minkie elephant and is really into purses and shoes. Happy Birthday, baby doll. We are definitely in love with this clown-haired baby!