Bushel and A Peck

Pumpkins, Party and Planting - Oh My!

2011-10-15T22:46:00.007-05:00

Kelly Barnes, who started working with Rhett when he was still in college, became a YNS associate speaker and is now considered as much family as work colleague, recently got engaged to Evan! We are so excited for him. As a bonus he's gaining a precious step-daughter, Mason who turned 3 and we celebrated with her at the pumpkin patch!

Mason (far left) with Vivian and Addison on the hayride

Mase loves Emerlyn! They were so cute together.

Addie and Vivi about to enter the corn maze!

Emmy decided on the aerial view of the maze!

AHHH - another dead end! It was a really good maze and I'm sad to say we never found our way to the end but we did manage to lose Addison! Don't worry, we found her quickly!

There was a great play area with slides all over hay stacks

Emerlyn even went on one of the slides by herself!

Going to feed the animals...

Daddy's Girls!

First pumpkin patch picture of the season!

Happy Birthday Mason! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

The girls loved the pumpkins so much that they decided to split open one of theirs and plant the seeds so we could grow them in our backyard!

With thighs this cute, pants are over-rated!

Loving that Oklahoma red clay!

Emmy Kate loves her big sisters and never wants to miss out on anything they are doing! Luckily they love her just as much!

School Days...

2011-10-14T21:19:00.002-05:00

The girls have both been busy with lots of fun school activities so I thought I'd share a few!

On Fridays, lots of kids and teachers wear shirts to support their favorite teams. Vivian came home one day and said she really wanted to wear an OSU shirt because most of the kids in her class and her teacher were all OU fans! Glad she is learning at a young age to be proud of your team even if you're in the minority!

Family Fun Night at Vivian's school was a hit again! She got to meet up with all her friends and eat pizza, play games and go on the bounce house. She even got her picture made with the school mascot!

This was a self portrait she made that hangs outside the classroom!

Addie is excited to be a Centennial Buffalo next year!

Spirit Day this month for Addison was Hat Day!

Addison has been learning colors in Spanish. Click here to watch her telling me all of them! You should know I have watched this video a million times! It's never fails to make me giggle!!

Color day was - Orange! We have plenty of that to pick from at our house!

Addie's school has a Shutterfly page where they post pictures of the different class activities so parents can see what they have been doing. I love getting to see Addie in action! Here are a few of my favorites from this year so far...

Making necklaces

Playing - yes, that is Addison Grace, in a dress hanging with all the boys! Her best friend is the cutie pie in the red shirt, Gunnar. They were great friends in class last year and even though we didn't really see him all summer they have picked up their friendship right were they left it!

They studied apples and did several projects with them but what study would be complete without a taste test?!

The firemen came to the school. Addison enjoyed them but the first thing she said when she came home was, "Mom, the firemen came today but Ben wasn't there!" Ben is my cousin who is a firemen in Lubbock and all three of our girls are crazy about him!

Addison's class with the fire truck. (Addie is second kiddo from the left, next to Gunnar)!

This was part of their obstacle course...love the face of determination!

Go Addie Go!

They had a Yawn Party one day. They have been learning about animals at night and this was one of the highlights! Wearing pajamas to school, learning in tents and playing with flashlights!

She even got to touch a bat!! It was dead she said but real!

I am so thankful that the girls love school and with fun like this...how could they not??!!

Fun Around the House...

2011-10-10T13:56:00.013-05:00

October has finally brought fall weather and although we are loving it, I think we've rotated through the "change of season" colds. Addie had to miss a day of school but of course being sick didn't her down. To keep her entertained we set up the tents and tunnels and introduced Emerlyn to lots of fun!!

Addison getting the balls just right in the tent.

I think she loves it!

This is the cutest my laundry has ever looked!

Who knew a laundry basket could be so entertaining?! After playing the climb in, climb out game they figured out how to push each other around the house!

Emmy Kate has figured out how to climb into her rocking chair all by herself. It is one of her favorite things to do. She wakes up and runs to it and it's the first place she goes once her pj's are on after bath time!

Rocking before bed...

Such big stuff!

Back to Tiger Town!

2011-09-25T13:13:00.000-05:00

Rhett had his 20 year class reunion for Laverne so we made it a family event!

At the high school, ready for dinner and some football!

Walking the halls with the girls.

Granny and Papa went with us and kept the girls at a hotel in Woodward so Rhett and I could go to the reunion after the game.

Poor Granny was wrestling Emmy all evening!

Addison thought it was hilarious that the school had purple and yellow flamingos all around the front flower beds.

Laverne won the game big time in fact, they called the game before half because the score was 50-something to 6!!

The girls had lots of fun and really enjoyed the football game although they were most excited by Vern the Tiger and the princesses (homecoming court)!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-09-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

Daddy was traveling on his actual birthday so we had an early party the Saturday before. It was a great day of pajamas, presents and cake!!

The girls and Daddy ready to open presents on the back porch.

Addie and Daddy with the special picture she made just for him!

Emmy and Addie morning snuggles

Vivian reading Daddy the birthday note she wrote!

Gone are the days of getting to open your own presents!

Yummy! Cookie cake!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

We hope you get everything you wished for! We love you up to Jesus!

11 Months and Walking Everywhere!

2011-09-20T23:07:00.001-05:00

At 11 months, Emerlyn is walking all the time! She has added another tooth for a total of 8 (4 top and 4 bottom). She waves bye bye, will give you 5 if you hold your hand out and has started saying Dada and Mama. She thinks it's especially funny when I ask her to say Mama and she says Dada instead!

We made a whirlwind trip to Tulia, TX to celebrate Dejah and Paul's birthdays! This was at lunch on the day of the party.

Mommy and Emmy Kate

I love you so much my heart feels like it could burst!

Emmy's tired of the car! I will keep this picture forever! It looks like it could be on a greeting card with a million captions.

After being in the car for 5 hours, we set Emerlyn down in the living room and she just stood up and started walking back and forth across the room! We were all so excited!

Click here to watch her first steps that weekend!

Walking with her purse! She carried this around one entire day!

Click here to watch her walking at home.

Another video of Emerlyn walking while Addie plays with her.

Emerlyn loves to play with her sisters! Here she is in Addison's store.

Look we even have hair now!! Hee Hee! Found these and couldn't resist!

Enjoying the swings

Emerlyn I can hardly believe you are almost 1! Where did the time go? You bring us so much happiness! We love you up to Jesus!

Playing Bigger and Better!

2011-09-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

One night in early August we had quite a storm roll through. It had wild winds that caused a little damage to the house and a lot of damage to the girls play set!

Time for a new playground

The one we picked out said it would take two pretty savvy men, 24 hours to put it together! Luckily we found Antoine with Some Assembly Required and he put the whole thing together in 10 hours - by himself! (Highly recommend him!)

The new finished playground! Thank you Granny and Papa!!

The girls named the top part the Friendship Clubs and even created rules:

No Badnis (badness)

No Bad Jockings (jokings)

No Gassing or Brping (burping) but you can do it out sibe (outside)

No Bracking Thangs (breaking things)

No Bracking the Rlus (breaking the rules)

Mind Vivi (pretty sure Vivian wrote this one on her own)

No Fiting (fighting)

These are rules to live by!

The girls love it and have already had lots of picnics in their

Friendship Club!

Emerlyn likes the slide too!

She can hardly wait to get a swing that's just for her!

Whee!!

The girls will definitely have lots of fun making memories with this play set!

Addison's First Day of Pre-K!

2011-08-31T21:40:00.006-05:00

Addison was so excited to start Pre-K this year! She could have gone to pre-k at Centennial with Vivian but she said she wanted to stay at Henderson Hills because she really liked cooking and praise and worship! We couldn't argue with that!

All smiles on the first day!

You can't tell she was ready for school!?!

We love Ms. Kaycie and are so happy she is Addie's teacher this year!

Getting hugs from Ms. Becky, her precious helper!

We also love CLC's color days. This is Addie on purple day with her purple bear, Magic for show-and-tell!

Addison we are so glad that you love school and can't wait to see all that you will learn this year!

We love you up to Jesus!!

Flipping Over Gymnastics!

2011-08-22T20:37:00.004-05:00

After we got home from taking Vivian to her first day of school, I put Emmy down for a nap and then Addison wanted to play. In two hours we had played 9 games of Guess who, worked 2 puzzles and she was ready for lunch! It was then that I decided she might need a good outlet for some of her energy and so she started gymnastics the following Monday!

First day, a little nervous waiting on the mat but at least she was wearing her lucky socks (mis-match of course)!

Now we're loving it! Stepping over the dog bones on the beam was one of her favorite things.

She was grinning from ear to ear for the entire hour! It was so cute to watch.

Click here to watch her going on the zip line!

Learning to flip over the bar

Going down the slide

The class starts out in a large group for warm ups and then breaks up into small groups based on age. Addison's group has two other kids and they became fast friends!

Watch her finish the first obstacle course here.

Hot, tired and still smiling! Gymnastics was a hit!

10 Months and On the Go!

2011-08-20T15:29:00.000-05:00

At 10 months, Emerlyn's big step was literally her first steps! One of the girls got out the Pooh walker and she loved it. She was doing laps around the house that afternoon! She took a few steps completely on her own but none for the camera!

Click here to watch Emerlyn walking and Vivian giving the narrative.

Love this one. Look at those rolls!

Click here to see her pushing Pooh

Here's another video of more of the same.

Please excuse my high pitch squeals and Mommy voice. You'd think by the third baby walking I would have learned to control that voice but it's still just way to exciting!

I think Emmy may have her Daddy's love of music! She will stop whatever she's doing when music comes on and start bouncing or rocking!

Click here to watch Emmy dancing to her Daddy playing guitar.

She is trying hard to figure out Addison's giant piano.

She tried swinging for the first time and loved it (not that this picture shows it). Mommy was struggling to balance the camera, push her and keep close enough to make sure she was okay!

Emmy also moved to a big girl car seat. She's still facing backwards but really likes sitting up like her sisters!

Sweet girl you are getting so big! I love you up to Jesus!

Vivian's First Day of First Grade!

2011-08-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe but Vivian is starting First Grade this year!

Ready for the first day of school

She started with taking her lunch, tried the cafeteria a couple times and has gone back to taking her lunch. The fun of eating the school food wore off pretty quick.

Glad to see friends on the first day!

We didn't find out her teacher until the day before school. She was SO excited to have Mrs. Spitler! She had prayed all summer that she would get her.

Getting right to work!

On the first Friday of every month, the school has Spirit Day. They were their school t-shirts and get popcorn during class. This was Vivi's first spirit day this year.

First graders have to do a family project every month. Everyone in the family works on it together but Vivi has to do the majority. The first assignment was to create an apple and the only rule is that it has to hang on the wall. Vivian quickly decided to make a sparkly apple with sparkly stem, leaf and even a sparkly worm! We had glitter everywhere!

Looking forward to lots of fun projects together this year!

Family Fun Nights!

2011-08-04T20:23:00.000-05:00

We had several fun family nights this summer. Here were some of my favs:

Surprising Daddy at the airport with a big Welcome Home sign!

Then we went to dinner in Bricktown and went down to the river. Yes, I let the girls pick their own outfits for the night!

They couldn't figure out why everyone on the tour boats that went by said something about waving to the girls in the shiny dresses!!

Emerlyn loved the ducks! She was completely fearless.

Another night we went bowling. Again, Addie got to dress herself. She is such a fashion queen!

Taking our own family picture (Emmy stayed home from bowling)

Now we're just getting silly!

Vivian about to bowl a strike!

The face of determination!

Sometimes its the simple things that are the most fun! We also took the girls miniature golfing (baby-golfing, as they called it), for the first time.

I'm looking forward to many more family fun night memories!!

Thank you God for blessing me with a family I treasure!

Celebrating 9 Months!

2011-07-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

Emerlyn's 9 month well-child visit was on July 20, 2011.

She is 28 inches long, 19.1 pounds.

She loved the turtles on the wall!

Dr. Stephens said she could start drinking whole milk in a sippy cup.

She loves it! She still takes a bottle of formula at bed times but she drinks milk all day long.

Even out to eat she gets to drink her milk like a big girl!

She is really pulling up on everything and crawling crazy fast!

On her 9 month birthday, her big sisters threw her a party!

I love that the girls like to plan parties as much as their Mommy!

After cake, it was time for playing! We have a set of 100 plastic balls and put them all in the tub for Emmy to play with.

It was lots of fun until she figured out how to reach up and turn the water on!!

Look! We're even getting bed head!! Yeah! Her hair is growing.

She has added 4 top teeth for a total of 6!

She is still all smiles and giggles!

She will stand up in the middle of the room now! She has probably figured out this is a fast way to get our attention because we think she might start walking any time!

Three precious princesses!

I love these faces!

Emerlyn, we can't imagine a baby who could have made our lives any better! We are all crazy about you!

Swimming for Bears!

2011-07-18T16:08:00.000-05:00

This was a big summer for swimming at the Laubach house! Vivian and Addison both learned to swim without floaties, Vivi jumped off the board, Addie jumped off the side and Emerlyn had her first swim!

Emmy Kate loving her first time in the pool!

Click here to watch Emerlyn's First Swim!

We got a little pool for the girls to splash in when it was crazy hot!

Sister smiles!

She loves the pool even without any water!

Vivian jumping off the high dive by herself!

As the girls were swimming better and better, they wanted some challenges. They had both been asking for a Build A Bear but we hadn't ever gotten them one before. We told Vivian if she jumped off the diving board, caught her breath and then swam to the shallow end of the pool, she could get a Bear. Addison's goal was to jump of one side, catch her breath and then swim to the other side. Needless to say, we have 2 new Build A Bears and 2 girls who are swimming like fish!

The girls were too excited to wait for Daddy to come home so we made lots of videos so he wouldn't miss anything!

Listen to Addison give her reason for getting a Build A Bear.

Build A Bear is really cute! You pick which animal you want, pick a heart for it and then they go through this darling little ditty where the girls rubbed the hearts on their tummies so their bears would never be hungry, rubbed it on their ears so they would always listen, etc.

You can watch the video of the whole thing here.

Next they push the pedal on the stuffing machine to make their bears fluffy.

Addison filling her bear.

Vivian adding the stuffing to hers.

Next was bath time. They used the air showers to get their fur super clean and soft!

Here's the video of the bear bath!

After getting their bears dressed in the perfect outfit, they named them and typed up their birth certificates and then the new bears were complete!

Here's Vivian telling all about her first experience at Build A Bear!

Addison explaining how she built her bear!

Vivian with her bear, Giggles and Addison with her bear, Magic!

Girls we are so proud of you for being brave this summer and learning to swim! It was so fun celebrating you both making your goals!

We love you up to Jesus!

Summer Fun!

2011-07-13T20:56:00.000-05:00

Since I am so far behind and trying to catch up I am going to do a big summer recap!

We had a great summer. We stayed pretty close to home and just enjoyed lots of play time together!

We kicked off the summer with a super fancy tea party put on by the girls.

They have a Fancy Nancy Tea Party book that tells how to set everything up and they followed it perfectly! Notice the butterfly place mats!

We even had place cards! Love it!

Our hostesses...

You can't have a proper tea party without clinking glasses!

I was in the kitchen one day and heard Emmy laughing. I went around the corner to find this! Vivi's doll came to life!

Papa took the girls to a fun night at Freddy's and they got their faces painted. They looked awesome!

Addison made my heart beat faster one night. Rhett was out of town and I was checking the girls before I went to bed only to find Addison's bed was empty. I thought she'd probably gone down to my bed. After checking the other two, I went downstairs but she wasn't in my bed, the living room, couch, guest room. I went back up and looked all around the beds upstairs to make sure she hadn't gotten in the floor. Nothing! I came back down and just about the time I started to really panic I saw a little pink under the dining room table...

She had gotten up and crawled under the dining room table and even pulled the chairs back in so nothing was out of place. She was sound asleep when I found her and like a good parent I made sure to take pictures before I moved her!

All three girls went to Vacation Bible School and once again, loved it! Vivian was upstairs and in with the big kids in the worship center. It was a little overwhelming the first day but after that she was hurrying me along each morning to get there faster!

The theme was Shake It Up Cafe! Carrying Out God's Recipes! It was adorable!!
The girls checking out the fresh lobster

Emerlyn was in the crawler room and she had lots of fun! It was the first time she'd spent any length of time playing with babies her age, besides church on Sundays. She practically jumped out of my arms the second day to get down and play!!

Three sweet girls with pink sun-kissed cheeks!

There were lots of shows and tons of dress up this summer!

Even Emerlyn got in on the dress-up action!

Addison got to ride the "bronco" at Mimi and G's house!

Click here to watch The Big Girls Handshake

Vivian loved to wake up early and if Emmy Kate was already up she would go in her room and read to her!

She would even give Emmy books to read too!

Vivian's school sent home a summer reading program and we had lots of fun doing it together! Reading is one of Vivian's most favorite things to do!

We wrote down 195 books she read this summer including two chapter books! These are pictures of her with most of them!

The girls begged all summer to have a lemonade stand! Right before the end of summer they got their wish. On a visit to Mimi and G's house they made signs and got everything ready.

I'm pretty sure they drank most of the product!

Rocking the lemonade stand!

8 Months and Lots of Firsts!

2011-06-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

At eight months, Emerlyn's learning new tricks all the time!

She is eating table foods and loves them. She will try anything and so far seems to like almost all of it!

Click here to watch her talking away while she eats!

Eating "Mimi's Peas" for the first time

Click here to watch the video.

Even with food stuck to her face she's smiling!

She loves playing with her sisters!

Click here to watch a video of her crawling.

She is crawling lots and pulling up on everything.

One of her favorite places is the bathtub! She would stay in there for hours if we let her!!

Click here to watch her talking and splashing in the tub!

She had her last therapy session. We are going to continue with our stretches and watch her closely but she is holding her head very straight and looks great!

Getting her last baby massage!

Emmy Kate and her fantastic physical therapist, Jane

I am always in awe of how God can know our needs before we do. I had no idea how crazy our lives would be with a third baby and after finding out about Emmy's torticollis I was so overwhelmed. Then we started physical therapy each week with Jane and it became as therapeutic for me as it was for Emmy. Jane has raised three daughters and now enjoys lots of grand kids. Having already walked a very similar path to the one I'm on, she shared great wisdom while she stretched Emmy and we enjoyed lots of laughs! I am so thankful for her!

Schools Out for Summer!!

2011-05-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

How is it that the school year seems to fly by?! Really, I feel like life is moving fast and these sweet girls are getting so big!

Addison on her first day of Pre-School

Fall School Pictures

Her class and teachers, Mrs. Casey and Mrs. Kelly

Spring Pictures

Walking the drop off line for the last time as a pre-schooler!

Addison's Last Day of Pre-School, May 19, 2011

Vivian ready for her first day of Kindergarten

School Pictures

Her class and her teacher Ms. Ellis

Way to grown up looking in her graduation pictures!

Both girls had great school years and although we are sad to leave friends and teachers we are excited about what the next year will bring!

Pirates and Princesses - Fun Day!

2011-05-26T20:09:00.000-05:00

To celebrate the end of school, the Kindergarten had two special days. The first was Pirate and Princess Day, where all the kids dressed up and the second was Fun Day! Both were a hit!

Our Princess Ariel, I mean Vivian!

She has to have her best friend, Flounder.

Face Paint on Fun Day!

Great friends making wands

These toys were one of the favorites, although they scared me! The kids would run and bump each other and half the time they would flop to the ground but they loved it!

I love Vivi's face in this, you can tell she's having a great time!

Wind in her hair!

It was a fun way to end a fantastic Kindergarten year!!

Seven Months and Crawling!

2011-05-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

At 7 months, Emerlyn is still the sweetest, happiest baby! She laughs and smiles and can hardly wait to run and catch her big sisters.
Sitting pretty for her pictures

During pictures, she took off crawling for the first time! It was pretty funny. The photographer was caught a little off gaurd when I started shouting, "that's the first time she's ever done that!"

Beautiful Emmy Kate, we could not imagine our family without you in it! You are growing up way to fast for me but I treasure that you will always be my baby!

Vivian's Kindergarten Graduation

2011-05-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

Vivian had an adorable Kindergarten graduation ceremony.

(I have been really slow to get this posted because I was trying to get all the videos to work but have had a lot of trouble. The solution has been to insert links you can click on to watch the videos).

Click here to watch the procession.

Click here to watch them sing: Count by 2's

Count by 5's Video

Count by 10's Video

First Grade, First Grade Song

Getting her Certificate

Ms. Ellis' AM Kindergarten Class

Vivian's Cheering Section

With Ms. Ellis

Mommy and her Big Kindergarten Graduate!

Great friends!

Landrey, Skylar, Vivian and Brynna

Vivian's self-portrait that was hanging in the hallway. I guessed it on my second try!

Her graduation gift - Junie B. Jones Graduation Girl!

Vivian Claire we are so proud of you! We love you up to Jesus!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2011-05-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

This was Vivian's first year to take dance. She took at ballet and jazz class and had her first Recital!

Her dance was to Somewhere Over the Rainbow and each girl wore a different color. Vivian looked beautiful in lime green!

Warming up...

One last hug before the show!

She is on the far left side.

This picture didn't turn out very well but she had such a great cheering section I had to post it!

Emerlyn went back and forth between being glued to the show and using Uncle Adam as a trampoline!

At the request of the star, we went to Orange Leaf to celebrate Vivi doing such a great job!

Emmy even got to try some but she wasn't so sure about it.

After yogart, the girls decided to dance around the store...

Addie's twirls in Orange Leaf...

...even Mimi got in on the dancing! You will hear me warn Mimi so she can't say I didn't!! It's too cute to pass up though!

Vivian we are so proud of you! You looked beautiful dancing!!

Celebration Weekend!

2011-05-09T13:09:00.000-05:00

The first weekend in May was filled with fun around here! We got to celebrate Uncle Adam's birthday and Mother's Day.

Uncle Adam decided he wanted to have his birthday party at the zoo! The girls loved it!! Aunt Manmae even got us all matching hats to wear. We had lots of fun and stayed until they closed!

Can you tell these girls were having a great time!?! They love their Uncle Adam and Aunt Manmae!

Love this picture!

Addison had a special Mother's Day tea this year at school! All the Moms were there and the kids sang to us and then we went and had tea and snacks. It was so sweet!

Each student went up to the front with Ms. Casey and she read their poem, My Mommy. They got to fill in the blanks. Here's Addison's (her part is in bold):

My Mommy is so special,

She likes Mimi's yummy peas to eat.

My Mommy has brown hair

And her reading books before bed just can't be beat!

Her eyes are a lovely blue;

They look really swell.

What I like best is that she cooks food so well.

She's very smart and knows a lot, I'm told.

That's because she's 13 years old.

I know my Mommy perfectly,

She will say it's true.

Because I know that loving me

Is the greatest thing she'll do!

Such a special day with Addie Grace!

Vivian brought home a special card she had colored all by herself and she had filled in the blanks too! Here's what hers said:

All About Mom!

By Vivian Laubach

My mom is so nice.

My mom is really good at helping me.

My mom has blue eyes and yellow & brown hair.

My mom weighs 8 pounds.

My mom likes to watch her shows.

My mom is good at cooking carrots.

My mom loves to wear dresses.

My mom does cleans up around the house.

My mom loves to eat peas.

My mom is the best mom because she is nice to me and loves me.

On Sunday, we had a great Mother's Day lunch! Rhett made his delicious fajitas and the Moms didn't do anything but enjoy the day!

I am so thankful for these three precious girls!! Being your Mommy is the greatest thing I will ever do! I love you up to Jesus!

Say Cheese!

2011-04-30T09:56:00.000-05:00

Our good friend, Dustin Galyon came to stay with us again. He has so many talents one of which is photography. When he came last year he was going to take family pictures for us but it was pouring rain and although we got some great shots of the girls we didn't get any family photos. This year it was windy but we had sunny skies!

Here are some of my favorites:

Love that he captured this face! I get that look quite a bit!

This was one of our favorite family shots but if you look close at Emmy's finger you will see why we won't be hanging it on the wall anytime soon!

Thank you Dustin for sharing your gift with us! We always enjoy your visits!! The girls can hardly wait until DG comes back!

He is Risen!

2011-04-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

Easter is one of our favorite holidays and this year we had several celebrations!

Our flock (Sunday School class) has an annual lunch and Easter egg hunt for the kids.

Vivian loves to hold Emmy now

What a find!

Addie got to have a special party and egg hunt at her school too.

She was so funny! Instead of just grabbing every egg she saw she would walk around and be very selective. If she had a blue, she would say, I already have a blue one I'm going to find another color.

Addie with her classmates

Ms. Casey's Preschool Class

Sunday morning we started the day at church and then our family came over for lunch and fun!

Emerlyn Kate ready for her First Easter!

The girls with their Easter goodies

Emmy getting snuggles from G. Gram

The girls counting their eggs from our indoor egg hunt! The rain couldn't keep us from traditions! The "big kids" even had our hunt inside too.

As is almost always the case with celebrations at our house, the girls ended up in costumes and ready for a show!

The girls singing Rock What You Got although G helps them find the rhythm to this song!

Singing one of my favorite songs (my theme song these days), This is the Stuff!

Now that Uncle Michael and Aunt Susan are in Oklahoma and get to be here for all the family fun they've added a new element to our shows - two stepping! Here they are teaching the girls!

Father God, Thank you for sending your Son to save us!

How Awesome it is to serve a Living God!

Six Months of Sweetness!

2011-04-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

Emerlyn had her 6 month birthday on April 20th. As the girls say - she's 1/2 way to being 1 instead of 0!

This is at her well-child appointment. She is sitting up all by herself!

She is 27 inches long and 15 lbs. 12 oz.

She has two bottom teeth that came in back to back nights!

She loves her jumper!

She is trying to crawl. She gets up on all four's and rocks back and forth. She looks like she will take off at any minute. It's driving the big girls crazy that she doesn't just go! They get on either side of her when she starts doing this and they count down - 1, 2, 3, Go! They both take off crawling and she just smiles at them!!

Snuggling with Papa, She plays until she crashes.

She's started riding in the shopping cart sometimes instead of always being in her carrier. I think Addie enjoyed it more than Emmy!

Emerlyn Kate - you are so precious!! We love you up to Jesus!!

Never a Dull Moment

2011-04-23T22:43:00.000-05:00

The girls saw Tangled twice on the big screen and the day it came out on DVD their Daddy and Granny and Papa, both surprised them with it. So we have one for the car and one for the house. We have now seen it at least 1,000 times!

And when we like a movie that much...this is what follows:

Vivian always loves the most dramatic characters, which are usually the villains, in this case, Mother Gothel. She can sing every song and say every line. I'm pretty sure we have a star on our hands!

The flower song

I loved that she found the costume, wigs and props all by herself! I was only called in to watch the show!

Mother Knows Best

Rapunzel Knows Best

Vivi tried to get Addison in on the show...her job was to hold the yellow flower Vivi had drawn...

...But Addie liked this version better! Needless to say, she ended up with me in the audience!

Another day, the girls were upstairs playing and when I called them down, Addie looked like this. She said look mom I'm a cat! Vivi did this to me! Then she turned around and mooned me only to reveal a black squiggly tail drawn above her behind!

The girls love to build tents to play in, now they have figured out that Emerlyn's big enough to play in the tents too!

I'm pretty sure she loved doing what her big sisters were doing more than anything!

Playing bicycle with their feet...

Pretending to take naps...

I laugh all the time about how our world right now feels like a circus but this is a circus I wouldn't trade for anything!! These three girls melt my heart and keep me thanking God for them EVERY day!!

Addison's Got Happy Feet!

2011-04-23T16:17:00.000-05:00

Addison Grace loves to express herself with fun socks! We pick out outfits together (although she will usually wear anything I suggest) but when it comes to her socks - she picks the perfect pair all by herself! Here are some of my favorites:

Buzz Lightyear

Care Bear

Pink and blue with snowflakes

Dora

The Little Mermaid

Mix-Match Days - She throws these in every once and a while too... this is a Santa, Belle Combo

Monster's Inc.

Addison - I love that you are so creative! You make my heart smile!

5 Months and All Smiles!

2011-03-20T15:37:00.000-05:00

Emerlyn Kate was 5 months old on March 20th. She is so happy all the time!

At 5 months she isn't quite sitting up all by herself but she loves trying.

Unless she's hungry or really tired, she is all smiles. She's starting to giggle and it is the greatest sound!

She loves her white, fuzzy blanket and just like her sisters she likes to have it on her face.

Peek-A-Boo

Emerlyn, We love you up to Jesus and just can't get enough of your sweet smiles!

New at the Zoo!

2011-03-12T19:46:00.009-06:00

Yesterday was beautiful! Windy, but beautiful! The girls were so excited. After school we went with our precious friends Carter, Campbell and Katie to eat lunch and play at the zoo!

This crew was way too excited to sit still for pictures!

Even Emerlyn was all smiles!

The excitement was because the elephants are finally back! They have been at the Tulsa Zoo for what feels like forever but now they're back and living in an awesome Asian exhibit!! One of them is pregnant too so we will be seeing a baby elephant soon!

The funny part is that this is the only picture I got of the elephants and it was just the statue out front! I guess I was having too much fun to take pics of the actual animals!

Emerlyn loved being out and enjoying the day!

She couldn't keep up with the big kids for long!

Vivian hanging out on the monkey swing!

Vivian and Campbell doing their best monkey acts!

My precious big girls and our little peanut!

We had so much fun! Thank you God for the sunshine, the amazing animals you created and great friends to share life with!

Happy 70th Birthday Papa!

2011-03-12T19:20:00.007-06:00

To celebrate Papa's 70th Birthday we had a surprise party last Sunday! He knew something was going on but wasn't sure what we were up to. All the family was here hiding when he came "to babysit" and in classic tradition jumped out yelling surprise! The kids loved it!!

Papa with the grand kids

Addie and Vivi wrapped their own presents for Papa while Rhett and I were getting ready for church. I was as surprised as Papa when he opened an orange fork and OSU napkin from Addison!

Both girls had colored pretty cards for him too. Vivian wrapped up orange and black markers for him so he could draw with his favorite colors! I think I'm letting them do the Christmas shopping next year!! So thoughtful!

In true Emmy form, the louder the party got the more tired she became and finally it was too much! She fell asleep watching the presents!

The girls entertained us with a dance party to finish off the evening! It was a great day!

Happy 70th Birthday Papa! We love you!

Addie's Adventures!

2011-03-12T18:57:00.006-06:00

Addison loves Lego's! She and Papa built an entire city one day! She had so much fun with it. We even left it up for an entire week so she could play!

Proudly showing off their masterpiece!

Last week she had a Pet Parade at school and got to take her favorite animal. She chose her white dog named Collar. Collar even got a ribbon for being the "Most Obedient" animal in the parade!

We went to Mimi and G's for a quick visit and some extra hugs and kisses!

The girls got to go with Granny and Papa to watch Noah play his last basketball game of the season. The girls have so much fun playing with Paden!!

Noah and all his cheerleaders! They were so excited that Noah won his game and made lots of baskets!! He definitely has quite a fan club!

Vivian - Joining the Club, Dancing and Having Fun!

2011-03-12T17:12:00.020-06:00

Things have been busy for our precious Vivian Claire! She is loving school and recently joined the 5 Star Club!

To become a member of the 5 Star Club you must:

1) Write your first and last name using upper and lowercase letters

2) Know your address

3) Know phone number

4) Know your birthday

5) Know how to tie your shoes

This last one was the only one we were waiting on and shame on her Mommy, she has been asking for weeks for me to teach her how and I kept telling her we'd do it but then we'd get distracted. Finally, we sat down one afternoon and she had it in no time!

Vivian showing how to tie shoes!

Yeah Vivian! You are our 5 Star Super Star!!!

She also brought home the Me Bag from school. She got to fill it with her favorite toys and books and anything she wanted to show her class.

She took pictures for the bulletin board in class.

Her favorites were of her family and special trips!

We had Family Fun Night at her school and wow, it was wild but so fun!! We lost Addison about five seconds after we walked in but managed to find her quickly. It was a good lesson about staying close and they both either kept a hand on the stroller or made sure to hold a friend's hand for the rest of the night!

We met up with Skylar and Landrey, two of Vivian's great friends!

Rhett had to be on a trip so Unca Adam and Aunt Manmae came to play with the girls and rescue me!! We were so glad they came to share in Family Fun Night!

Last week was parent visit week at Vivi's dance studio. Mommy, Daddy, Addison and Emerlyn were all there to watch Vivian dance! She did so good!!

Warming up!

Blowing a kiss and taking a bow after zig-zagging the floor practicing her jumps!

Doing a dance they learned during class

Giving us a mini curtsy and smile while she waited for her turn to cross the floor.

The second part of the dance.

Vivian is so graceful and danced beautifully but I was even more proud of how well she listened to her teacher and followed instructions! I love this picture but she looks way too old!!

Yesterday was Career Day at school. They have been learning about all different jobs from parents who have visited the class. She had a hard time picking just one thing she wants to be so we narrowed it down to 3: Artist, Doctor and a Teacher!

To represent being an artist she wore her tie-dyed shirt she made last summer and carried her scissors, glue and paintbrush in her supply belt!

Every teacher needs an apple, pencil, ruler and a name badge!

The doctor had a tongue depressor, band-aids and a stethoscope!

Vivian, I have no doubts that you will be wonderful at whatever you decide to do! We are so proud of you and the beautiful young lady you are becoming - both inside and out!

Four Months Old - Yummy Time, Tummy Time!

2011-03-12T16:19:00.013-06:00

Emerlyn had her 4 month well child appointment on February 23rd. She is so much fun! This stage is one of my favorites (actually they all are) but she is so happy all the time, sleeping great and not mobile yet!

She was 13 lbs 7 oz and 24 1/4 inches long.

The doctor thought she was a perfect angel too!She has found her hands and now they are constantly in her mouth! She loves tummy time and rolls from her tummy to her back. She's so close to rolling the other way too.

She got to start baby food. The girls thought this was awesome - well, until they saw how messy it was and how much the food smells! Our doctor has changed his strategy and is no longer doing the rice cereal first so we went straight to veggies, starting with green beans.

Emmy Kate's first food!

Hmm...spoons? Green beans? Not real sure about this...

Really not a fan of the green beans, neither are her sisters so I wasn't surprised!

But she loves carrots!! I was making a mess dripping them on her and she was trying to lick it off her bib!

We've now officially had veggies, meats and veggies and fruits. So far the only things she doesn't like are green beans, macaroni and cheese and she hated turkey and rice! You would have thought I was physically hurting her the night I fed her turkey and rice - can you say healthy lungs!?! She screamed until I gave her carrots.

Emerlyn is still an amazing sleeper. Although she never wants to be away from the action. We went home for a surprise birthday party for Miss Debbi and she fell sound asleep with all of us talking loud and laughing!

Out cold!

Emmy Kate - we are enjoying every one of your new phases. You are such a blessing!

We love you up to Jesus!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-19T21:24:00.013-06:00

Rhett and I got to celebrate Valentine's Day with dinner at Boulevard and our first date away from the house since Emerlyn was born! It was such a treat. Thank you Aunt Manmae and Uncle Adam for watching the girls and making it possible!

Aunt Manmae and Uncle Adam gave the girls new headbands as part of their V-Day gifts! We came home to the most beautiful Valentine flowers ever!

Even Emmy Kate was into it!

Vivian in front of school with her Valentine box we made over the second round of snow days!

Before school on Tuesday - Addison's party day!

They got to ice their own cookies and add sprinkles. Addie chose to eat most of the icing instead!

Emerlyn got to come with Mommy to her big sister's party

For the craft the kids made "love bug" masks! Here's Addie with her class of Love Bugs!

My Love Bug! Notice the beautiful eyelashes - Addison calls them blushes! When her teacher explained that they needed to decorate the face and asked what the eyes were missing - Addie yelled out "Blushes!"

On Wednesday, right before we went into Emmy's physical therapy she had a major accident all over her cute outfit and of course her Mommy didn't have an extra one in the car so she went in only her diaper and socks. We came home and while I was explaining to Granny and Papa why she was naked she got so upset...

until Granny wrapped her up! She's going to be a modest girl! Amen!!

We have spent the week filled with love for our family and for this beautiful weather!!

Thank you God for all the blessings you give us!!

Snow Days!! Fun Days!!

2011-02-09T23:15:00.029-06:00

The weather has been crazy lately!! The girls have been praying for snow since November so they could build a snowman and God clearly answered them!!

Loving how deep the drifts were!

Vivi jumping into the snow piles!!

I love my snow angels!

Last week, Mimi came up on Monday to help since Rhett was in Oregon all week. We had so much fun!! I was so thankful to have her here!! We got quite a laugh out of her Alaskan native gear she brought! She is always cold and managed to bundle up so much that she was sweating in the freezing weather!?! Awesome!

Vivian sobbed when Mimi left! I think it's safe to say they had a great week with their Mimi!!

Mimi found these face masks for the girls and they were perfect to keep them warm!

When we weren't playing in the snow - we were staying entertained inside by building a tent city!

Addie crawling through the maze

We made cookies. This is the girls helping ice the them but as soon as Mimi said they couldn't lick the knives until they were done - Addie looked at her and without missing a beat said "I'm done!" I think she'd only iced about two cookies!!

Cookies aren't complete without the sprinkles. Look at those concentration faces!

Delicious! I'm pretty sure they lasted about an hour!

We played dress up...Ariel and her best pal Flounder

Dorothy and her sweet dog Toto

Emerlyn even got to enjoy her first snow! Mimi had gotten this snowsuit when Vivian was a baby but we never took her out in it or Addie but Emmy finally put it to good use!! She was bright-eyed checking out that snow!

Mommy and her snow bunnies

I don't know if it was the cat masks they were wearing but the girls kept getting on all fours and trying to eat the snow!

LOVE this picture! I was laying in the snow and flying Emerlyn in the air and she was smiling and laughing so Mom ran and laid down by me to take pictures. That is the most gorgeous blue sky in the background!!

Mimi and the girls tried to build a snow man but it started out as a snow throne! And then the middle was too heavy to lift so they made a small one but I didn't even get a picture before he was tackled!!

Here we are snowed in for a second week! This was a pajama day! We stayed snuggled in and never even got dressed but we did have fun with the camera!!

Vivian loves to hold Emerlyn and now wants to hold her like we do. She does such a good job being careful with her.

Addison wants to do the same thing but she lasts about five seconds before she says "she's heavy"!

Addison wanted a turn taking the pictures

Vivian's turn. She wanted the dreamy look out the window! So funny that even their picture taking matches their personalities!

So many people are sick of the snow days and while we are so much more productive with a routine, I have loved every minute of these last two weeks!! How often do I get the chance to stay home in my pj's with my girls, play all our games, work puzzles and just spend time with them without needing to do so many other things!?!!

Thank you God for slowing us down, surrounding us with this beautiful snow and giving us this special time together!

Addison Grace is 4 Years Old!!

2011-02-09T19:12:00.018-06:00

Addison Grace is 4 years old! We got to celebrate with two parties because her Daddy had a trip and had to be gone on her real birthday. So on the Sunday before, we let her open a few presents and went to Chucky Cheese for dinner!

Birthday Bear got to come home with her on Thursday and ended up staying for a week and a half because of all the snow days!! She loved it!

Birthday squeeze from sister

I don't think she likes Vivi's driving!

But she does love the horse! (Bonus: Daddy's not even allergic to this one)!

Lily Anna (Vivian's Doll) and Birthday Bear got to go too.

Singing to the birthday girl!

Birthday Cookie Cake

One of her presents was a new outfit with a matching doll outfit. It was a perfect fit for Birthday Bear. She made sure they were twins all the way to matching hair bows!

This is Addie's way of saying - Enough pictures already!!

On her real birthday, February 2nd, we woke up to tons of snow! Mimi was here and helped me decorate the house for the Hello Kitty party she wanted!

Ready for birthday breakfast

Presents wrapped and waiting

Our 4 year old and her birthday donut!

Singing Happy Birthday. Yes, the video starts with her telling us to do the "Cha Cha Cha" version!

Wow! How is it possible for her to be 4 already!?

Opening presents! She got a bike "that she always wanted and told Mommy and Daddy she wanted for Christmas next year but Mimi and G already got it for her"!!! It worked out great since we couldn't ride real bikes outside! The girls have played on it non-stop!!

It wouldn't be an Addie party unless it got a little more exciting...immediately after this picture her hair caught fire! You can almost see it about to light up on the left side of the picture. Thank you Lord for protecting her and putting out the fire as quickly as it started! She paused about 5 seconds and then was completely over it. Mimi and I were shaking for quite a while longer!!

Addison Grace, you are one of the funniest, most precious people I know and you fill our lives with joy!! Happy 4th Birthday! We love you up to Jesus!!!

Party Like a Rockstar!

2011-02-06T23:15:00.029-06:00

Vivian's 6th Birthday Party was Rocking! She wanted a rock star theme and with the help of our family we made it happen!

The Big 6 Year Old!

This is her rock star pose!

Our Nail Tech, Make-Up Artist and Hair Stylist with the rock star!

Aunt Manmae made the cutest signs for all the stations! When the girls arrived at the party they went to "the salon" and got their hair done...

Vivi and her Aunt Manmae

Next was make-up...

Addie getting her make up applied by Mimi

After that it was nail time! Granny polished lots of little nails!

The girls all took home microphones, boas, guitars and Cd's of Vivian's favorite rock songs!

This was the grand entrance stage! After the girls got done at the salon, they got their boas and microphones and then came through this arch to have their picture made.

I found a picture of a little cardboard arch I thought was so cute and called Mandy and Adam to see if they might be able to make something like it and this was what they brought!!! I wish you could see the difference! This is AMAZING! It is made of wood and folds down flat so the girls can save it to use again later, thanks to their genius Uncle Adam! Aunt Manmae painted all those zebra stripes and cut out the letters! All I can say is Aunt Manmae and Uncle Adam definitely rocked our faces off with this creation!!!

All our rock stars!

Cake and ice cream time

Singing Happy Birthday!

Ready for cake!

After cake the girls got to learn a dance to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"!! Miss Maddy (right), Vivi's helper at her dance studio and her friend Miss Jenny, came to teach the girls! It was adorable and they were wonderful! (Worth mentioning, they also dress like Belle and Cinderella for Princess parties and I would highly recommend them!!)

The Show!

We could never have done this party without our families! Thank you all so much for all you did to help make this a special day for Vivian!! We love you all up to Jesus!!

Mimi and G with two tired rock stars!

Aunt Manmae and Uncle Adam - You Rock!!!

Granny and Papa - We're so glad you could be here!

Vivian Claire we hope you had fun at your party! We had a great time celebrating with you!!

You are always a Rock Star in our eyes!! We love you up to Jesus!

3 Months Old - Way to Fast!

2011-02-06T22:26:00.013-06:00

Time feels like it's flying by. I love pictures and try so hard to capture how much my babies change in the first year so we've made a habit of having their pictures made each month. Here are my favorites from Emerlyn's 3 month pictures:

Just want to kiss this face!

Ten little toes...

She looks like she's asking - Are we done yet?

At 3, 6, 9 and 12 months we take all the girls together. I'm finding it's much more difficult to get a great shot of all 3 looking at the camera and giving their best smile but this one makes us laugh every time we look at it!! Emerlyn's face is priceless - Yep, I'm one of the big girls!! I found a great book called "If I Could Keep You Little". It describes beautifully the tug of war I feel as I look at my girls.

If I could keep you little, I'd decide on matching clothes.
But then I'd miss you choosing dots on top and stripes below.

If I could keep you little, Id tell you stories every night.

But then I'd miss you reading the words you've learned by sight.

If I could keep you little, I'd strap you in real tight.
But then I'd miss you swinging from your treetop height.

If I could keep you little, I'd hum you lullabies.

But then I'd miss you singing your concert's big surprise.

If I could keep you little, I'd keep you close to me.

But then I'd miss you growing into who you're meant to be!

Loving Life!

2011-02-06T18:23:00.011-06:00

We have finally settled in to life as a family of 5 and are loving every minute!! Here are some of our highlights from January:

We went out to eat one day and I looked up at these three sitting across the table ALL with their phones out playing! What are we going to do later if we can't even get the girls off their toy phones now!!

How can you not love life when you are looking at this face?!!

I took the girls to Chick-Fil-A and while the big girls were playing Emmy and I were watching them when she started making all kinds of adorable faces. I grabbed my camera to try and capture them all!!

The girls and I made puppets one afternoon while Daddy was at work. We practiced a puppet show that we got to put on for him the next day!

The girls wanted the puppets to be a surprise for Daddy so I told them to put them in the guest room. This is how I found them!

Emerlyn, all smiles again! Loving her new pink ruffle outfit from Aunt Jenny!

This is a video of Daddy helping Emerlyn get her arm workout done!

I think she's officially lost almost all her hair! This was one afternoon when we were enjoying the unusually warm weather with a big walk around our neighborhood.

Sister love!

Vivian Claire is 6 Years Old!

2011-02-06T16:28:00.018-06:00

Vivian Claire turned 6 years old on January 13, 2011!

It seems impossible that my baby now has to use 2 hands to show how old she is!!

Ready for Birthday breakfast!

Blowing out the candles on her donut

After I picked her up from school, Emmy and I took her to the Inspirations Tea Room for a big girl lunch! She got a balloon bouquet from Mimi and G at school. Her monkey was attached to the balloons. Of course monkey had to come to tea too!!

She picked out what she thought was the perfect hat to wear at tea...

but then changed to this one!

She thought we should all wear fancy hats! Emerlyn had a stocking cap on but Vivi said it wasn't fancy enough so we put Vivi's hair bow on it to dress it up a bit!

After Addison got home from school she got to open presents!

A new book from G. Gram! Vivian loves reading. She was so excited to have a new Fairy Princess book!

Even Lily Anna (her doll) got a party hat!

Emerlyn celebrating her big, big sister!

For dinner we told her she could pick any meal and I would cook or we would go eat anywhere she wanted, so...to Cracker Barrel we went. We told our waitress not to bring dessert since we were having cake at home. The table near us thought it was awful that the restaurant didn't sing to her (she wore her party hat through the entire dinner) so they called her over and serenaded her with Happy Birthday! It was adorable!!

After dinner it was home for cake (she got to pick it out earlier in the week).

On Friday she got to take cookies to share with her class.

Happy 6th Birthday Vivian! We love you up to Jesus!!!

2 Months Old and Precious!

2011-02-06T14:33:00.007-06:00

Emerlyn Kate turned 2 months old December 20th!

We went to the doctor the week after Christmas.

She was 23 1/2 inches long and weighed 12 lbs. 9 oz.!

She's already caught up to her sisters that started at 9 lbs!

I noticed one day that her head was leaning to the left a little. At first I thought it was that cute thing babies do with their floppy necks but then I realized she always leaned the same way and was resistant when I tried to hold her head straight. I debated between thinking I was crazy and really being bothered by it. I prayed that if this was something silly God would take it out of my mind but if it was something I needed to check out he would continue to press it heavy on my heart. God answered me by having it continue to nag at me until I called our pediatrician. He diagnosed her with torticollis. It is fairly common and can be 100% correctable if caught early.

So we have started physical therapy. God is so good!! I love our therapist. She is a mother of three grown daughters and now has 7 grand kids (2 of which she treated for torticollis)! We go once a week for 2 months and then we'll re-evaluate. She said this was a very mild case and was shocked we'd even caught it already - Again GOD IS GOOD!!!

Emerlyn is the happiest baby! She is smiling all the time, sleeping through the night and loves to snuggle and be held!! We are so in love with her!

Christmas Joy!

2011-02-06T11:53:00.024-06:00

We had an incredible Christmas filled with lots of family time. We started our celebration with the Laubach Christmas.

Addison, Vivian, Paden and Noah

The Laubach boys

Loving on Paden

Papa and Emerlyn

The girls and Mimi getting ready to blow out the candles! Happy Birthday Mimi!

It is tradition that on Christmas Eve the girls get to open one present from Mimi and G. It's always new Christmas PJ's!

Getting their stockings out...

Leaving Santa milk, cookies and a special note!

Emerlyn was so excited about her 1st Christmas she refused to sleep!

Finally!!!

Santa was here!

Emerlyn loving all her new toys!

Santa brought Vivian a new karaoke machine. She instantly went to find the dress up clothes and get a show started!

This was her original Christmas song!

G. Gram and Emmy Kate

One of the many things that G can do to get the girls laughing is to "talk Choctaw" in his own style. Addison has picked up on this and began saying - A Poochee in the pakatcha. So we had t-shirts made for all 3 girls and G with that saying on the front and their pictures on the back!

Addie opening presents

Marshmallow guns! I am pretty sure Mimi and G will be finding marshmallows all over their house until at least 4th of July!!

The rest of our Christmas break was spent reading with G

And snuggling with Mimi!

It was such an awesome Christmas! We are so blessed. Not because of all the presents (although we are thankful for those as well) but because of the gifts God has given us - loving family and the greatest gift - His son Jesus Christ! Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Christmas with Friends

2010-12-21T00:37:00.012-06:00

I am blessed with the fact that several of my best friends from college still live nearby. It is so fun to get together now not only to laugh about the fun times we have had together but now to watch our kids making memories together as well!

I didn't get any pictures of us together but got lots of the kids!

This year we did a gift exchange and each of the kids drew names.

Vivian got a new book and had to read it immediately!!

Addison got this adorable tutu! She put it on and refused to take it off even playing outside!

Precious Campbell modeling her new dress up clothes.

Campbell loves baby Emmy!

Emerlyn sleeping through the action this year.

After presents they got to play outside and enjoy a warm December day.

Trying to get a picture of all the kids at once. Always a crazy experience!

Another attempt.

After our Christmas party we stopped by Aunt Manmae's office to say hi!

Parties Parties!

2010-12-20T23:36:00.014-06:00

Last week was party time! Both girls had school Christmas parties.

We started with Addison's - Happy Birthday Jesus Party on Thursday. This is her class blowing candles out on His birthday cake!

Addie was in rare form during the party! Can you say sugar high??!

This was what I got when I asked for a real smile!

Mommy and Addie Grace

They each brought a wrapped book and played a game to exchange gifts!

Addie showing off her baby Jesus in the manger

Ms. Kelly, Addison and Ms. Casey

We are so blessed to have such wonderful teachers!

Friday was Vivian's turn!

Mommy and Vivi Claire

Miss Ellis and Vivian

Vivi and her friend Jay

Landrey, Skylar, Brynna and Vivian

So much fun to celebrate Christmas with our friends!

Away in A Manger...

2010-12-20T22:59:00.012-06:00

Vivian is taking dance this year and loving it! Her studio did a special Christmas performance. Vivi's class danced to Away in A Manger and she was awesome!

Vivi is on the right

Emerlyn made her debut as well - she was baby Jesus!

Vivian is second from the right

I wish I could blow up this picture so you could see how big Vivi's smile is! She was definitely dancing her heart out and having fun! I love this studio! Back stage before the girls went on the instructors were telling them - Remember we're dancing for Jesus so let's have fun! Music to Mommy's ears!

Love Love Love this picture!! The performers were both wonderful and we were so proud!!

A proud big sister! Addison cheered on both her sisters!

We were so happy Mimi, Manmae and G. Gram could all come to the performance too!

After the dance, we went back to our house to celebrate G. Gram's birthday!

The girls with G. Gram giving her a birthday squeeze!!

Preparing for Christmas

2010-12-20T21:42:00.013-06:00

December has been filled with fun getting ready for Christmas. The girls are at such a great age and I have so enjoyed seeing Christmas through their eyes this year!

For Addison's Spirit Day at school they were suppose to dress up as one of the people/animals from the nativity scene. Addie was so excited to be a lamb!

We've had lots of time to play as a family. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures.

We have a new family member this year - not Emerlyn but Merry Christmas Elf Laubach - our Elf on the Shelf. The girls named him all by themselves.

The first three mornings the girls woke up at 5:30 to "find" him! I almost sent him packing but they finally got used to it enough to sleep in like normal.

Vivian spelled her name and Addison's for him so that he could be sure and write it on the nice list! She told Addie that they would have to be good everywhere because he can see really far - like all the way to Colorado!

Addison sang him Jingle Bells during breakfast the first morning!

Our annual tradition of making a Gingerbread House was a little bit of a disaster this year but we still managed to have fun! The girls and I were putting the house together and right about the time Vivian said "Mommy, You are really good at building gingerbread houses" the roof started sliding off and while holding Emerlyn in one hand I used the other to try and put it back in place but instead managed to break the roof in two! We decided the gingerbread people would rather look at the stars anyway and it's easier to do without a roof!

Emerlyn was really excited about decorating the house!

Hard at work...

Vivian with the two sides she decorated

Addison with her part of the house.

I love the Christmas season!

So Much to Be Thankful For!

2010-12-03T20:26:00.015-06:00

We went to Mimi and G's house on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and celebrated Mommy's birthday! We had THE best cake ever! I think I could have eaten the whole thing by myself - Delicious!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

The girls played dress-up the whole weekend! It was hard to keep them in regular clothes. So funny to think I wore Addie's red dress when I was a flower girl and I danced in Vivi's costume!

Emerlyn's 1st Thanksgiving! She was so excited she slept through it!!

I am so thankful for these three precious girls and that God has blessed me by letting me be their Mommy!!

Family picture! My cup runneth over!!!

Emmy Kate in her new swing! Mimi and G got down the girls' swing and the batteries had rusted in it so of course G went straight to the store and bought another one! They don't spoil these girls or anything?!?!

We laughed remembering when they bought the first swing. I think it was their first time to keep Vivi overnight and she was just a few months old. She got fussy one night and so at 11 o'clock they load her in the car to drive her around and G circled the parking lot of Wal-Mart while Mimi ran in and got her a swing! By the time they got home she was sound asleep which was a good thing because they hadn't counted on assembling the swing themselves!!

Emerlyn snuggled with cousin Emily

I think Emily has the magic touch because she was out! Mouth open, snoring - Out!

The girls ready to cheer on the Cowboys during the Bedlam Football game.

No idea why they decided to wear the straw hats with the PJ's?!

I really can't explain this one! They sure look ready for bed!

Emerlyn started smiling! We love trying to make her do it as often as possible!!

It was an awesome Thanksgiving weekend and we clearly celebrated until we dropped!!

Addison's Thanksgiving Feast

2010-12-03T14:54:00.013-06:00

We kicked off our Thanksgiving celebration with a program and feast at Addison's school!

We are so thankful our family! It is awesome having grandparents so close they can come to all the girls' activities!!

Granny, Addie, Mimi, Papa, Daddy, Emmy and Mommy

The class sang 3 songs. The first was If You're Thankful and You Know It. Addison is in the back row, center. She did a great job!

The second song was Turkey in My Tummy

Next came 10 Little Indians!

These are Addie's "Boys"! She actually refers to them as "my boys"!! It is hilarious! She talks non-stop about Jarrett and Gunnar.

Gunnar, Addie and Jarrett

Mommy and Addison

Addison, you did such a good job singing your songs and making the special crafts at our place. We are so proud of you and thank God everyday for blessing us with you!

We love you up to Jesus!!!

November Fun

2010-12-03T14:18:00.014-06:00

November flew by filled with lots of fun activities and still adjusting to having a baby in the house! Here are some of the fun things we did:

The girls have been putting on lots of shows! Here they are dancing to one of their princess videos in full costume, of course! Starting with Ariel...(Notice Emmy Kate is sleeping through the performance in the background! She is a GREAT sleeper)!!

Then on to Cinderella!

More sleeping! She is such a good baby!!

We went to play with Aunt Manmae one day! It was lots of fun. We watched a movie at her house, did a little shopping and ate some delicious Mexican food!

She melts my heart more everyday - which seems impossible at this point!

Mimi came to visit! We enjoyed lots of treats while she was here...this was getting yogurt at Orange Leaf.

One of the best things about this month was having our Daddy home a lot! He introduced Emerlyn to his guitar skills...

Took naps with her...

Got lots of "Snackles" (Yes, he created this word. It is a combination of snuggles and tackles!) from Vivian and Addison...

We LOVE our Daddy!

This was after Emerlyn's first Sunday at church.

Three of our greatest blessings!

Zoo Day!

2010-11-04T13:56:00.012-05:00

I promise I won't blog EVERY first for us as a family of 5 but I'm still very much in giddy new mom mode so you'll have to be patient with me!!

Monday we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and all went to the zoo for the afternoon. It ended up being beautiful and we had a great day!

Have I said today how blessed I feel?!?! I am so thankful for this family God has given me!

Whirlwind Week!

2010-11-03T23:54:00.017-05:00

Time flies when you're having fun but it blasts by when you're trying to keep up with three little ones!! Emerlyn's first week home went by in a flash! Here are the highlights:

She is such a good baby! She eats, sleeps and occasionally entertains us by opening her eyes and trying to smile!

The girls both had busy weeks! It was Red Ribbon Week for Vivian. They had to dress up each day. This was her on crazy hair day.

Addison had her fall party at school. On a whim I signed up to do the craft at the party. What was I thinking?!?! But it was fun! We made macaroni pumpkins and Mimi helped me get everything ready and went with me to the party!

Mommy and her adorable pumpkin!

Addie loved having Mimi at school and showing her all the things in her class! She was only disappointed her two best buddies from class weren't there - Jarett and Gunner. Although we did discover that Mimi is good friends with Gunner's Grandma who lives in Claremore too! Small world!

Emmy's cord fell off so she got to take her first real bath. She really liked being in the water although I'm not sure this picture captures her happiness!

Vivian was so excited to help.

She got to wash Emmy Kate's hair all by herself.

Cooing and loving it!

Addie was pretty excited about bath time too! After walking in the bathroom and looking around she said cool and ran out to play. This is where we found her!

Taking time to chill during the wild week

Both the big sisters are doing great with Emerlyn's arrival. Vivi is mother hen and loves to hold her and help in any way she can.

Addie completely does her own thing. She'll run over every now and again and want to hold her or talk sweet to her and then she's off to play!!

We made a doctors visit this week. Addie had a follow up for her ears, which are doing great and Emmy had her 10 day check up. You can see Emmy loved it!

The Great Dr. Stephens checking Emerlyn out! The nurse put her on the scales to see if she was back up to her birth weight and she'd already gained a pound! 8 lbs. 7 ounces now.

Mimi left on Sunday and as she pulled away Vivian and I were both standing in the driveway sobbing!!! I don't know what we would have down without her and I have been looking for reasons she'd need to turn around and come right back since she left!!

Mimi - Thank you doesn't seem like near enough! You kept us running smooth through a wild and crazy week. We're all healthier having eaten all those delicious weight watchers meals (and yes, we're still trying to add more fruits and veggies to our meals and I still haven't had a pop!). The girls loved every minute of their Mimi time, cooking, reading, taking nature walks, going through the drive thru in your car!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

We love you up to Jesus!!!

Trick or Treat

2010-11-03T23:33:00.008-05:00

Until this year we have managed to skip the trick or treating and the girls didn't really notice. Between the Pumpkin Patch and Storybook Forest they would always tell people they had already been to Halloween! But now that Vivian is in Kindergarten there was no way we were sneaking past the holiday!

Emerlyn ready for her first Halloween

Since our neighborhood only has three other families currently living out here, our sweet friends the Sage's invited us over to their house for dinner and then the Dads took the kids out trick or treating! We all brought our "cars" for the kids so they wouldn't have to walk all over the neighborhood. It was too cute!!!

I still haven't figured out all the settings on the new camera and didn't get a great shot of all of them in their cars but you can tell it was quite a caravan!! I don't know who had more fun - the kids peeling out of the driveway or the Moms laughing as we watched the Dads scramble after the cars going in all different directions!!

Can't tell if Addie is scared or already worn out?!

Cruising

Happy Halloween!

Thank you Brandon, Sherry, Harper, Stella, Atticus and Nash for having us over! We had so much fun!! It was the perfect way to spend the evening!

Storybook Forest!

2010-11-03T22:48:00.017-05:00

It's never too early for one of our favorite Halloween stops - Storybook Forest! When Emerlyn was one week old, we loaded up the family and headed for the forest!

Two Rock Stars and a Pumpkin

Annual family picture at the entrance

We were so excited Mimi got to go with us this year! We're always telling her how much fun it is and this time she got to enjoy it too!

This year several characters were out walking around by the games. Of course we had to have pictures with them!

Mimi and the girls waiting for smores!!

While Daddy was in line getting the supplies, Addie laid down on the log and said she was tired...

...she managed to wake up when the smores were ready!

We had a great time and passed with flying colors on our first trip out all together!! Looking forward to lots more fun adventures!

Welcome Home Emerlyn!

2010-11-03T21:02:00.015-05:00

Friday morning Emerlyn's big sisters came to the hospital so we could all go home together.

The Bigs

They both liked that she had a bow on! I think they were just happy she was already being forced to wear them too!!

First picture as a family of 5!

Getting excited to take sister home!

Everyone loaded and ready to go

As soon as we got home Vivian wanted to show Emerlyn the house. She started the tour in Emmy's room and then wanted to sit in the floor and hold her so she could really look around!

Addison wanted to demonstrate all Emmy's toys for her!

Next on the tour - Vivi's room

Addie helping with the tour!

Getting clean

Everyone helped with the first sponge bath

She looks settled in and content with her new home!

Day 2 for Emmy Kate

2010-11-03T20:34:00.012-05:00

Emerlyn had a great first night and woke up bright-eyed and beautiful!

Dressed and ready for the day...

Saying Good Morning to Daddy

Proud Daddy with his 3rd little princess

Mommy and her baby girl

Katie, Carter and Campbell came to visit. The kids were so cute! They both held her and did such a good job. Campbell kept saying baby and gently rubbing Emmy's head. She is going to have so much fun playing with these precious friends!!

Uncle Lance came right after work to meet Miss Emmy

Aunt Jenny and Paden checking out the new cousin! Paden brought Emerlyn a special card she had made all by herself. She is so sweet!! We love our cousins!!!

Granny and Papa stealing sugar!

Ending the day the same way she started...snuggling with her Daddy!

Emerlyn Kate's Arrival!

2010-11-03T17:56:00.020-05:00

Well, we didn't have to wait too long after my last post before Emmy Kate made her debut!

The next morning, Wednesday, October 20, 2010, was Vivian's first Kindergarten field trip. We went to Chester's Party Barn in Piedmont. The kids all rode on buses and the parents followed in cars. To keep all of us from having to drive I suggested we carpool and ended up riding with Jenny Taylor (Skylar's Mom, one of Vivi's good friends). We laughed all morning about how funny it would be if we got all the way out to Piedmont and I started having the baby. But, convinced this would never happen for real we took off. Chester's is out in the middle of nowhere and we had to take several gravel roads to get there. I felt fine but as soon as we parked and I got out of the car I knew something wasn't right!! Sure enough, my water broke about 5 minutes later! I called the doctor who told me to go straight to labor and delivery. Precious Jenny, got directions, drove me to the hospital and waited with me until Mandy arrived, missing her daughter's field trip too. She kept me calm as we rotated between shock and laughter over what was happening!! I will forever be grateful to have had her there!!

I called Rhett, who was speaking in Stillwater. Surprisingly, he answered (he had already told them he was leaving his phone on and out in case I called). I told him I was pretty sure my water had broken and I could hear the audience laughing and cheering. He was still holding the microphone when he took my call!!! Luckily, they were to a break in the program and he was able to leave and meet me at the hospital!

This would be my only picture from Vivi's field trip! If you look right above the Edmond, she is the girl on the left!!

By the time I figured out what was going on, she was already off and playing but her teacher found her and brought her to me. She ran up saying, "Mom, I thought you said sister was coming tomorrow??!" I told her sister had other plans and that she could stay and have fun and when I saw her next, sister would be here! She gave me a big hug and went back to playing.

After a very long and painful labor (my epidural was delayed by two and a half hours and didn't arrive until it was time to push) Emerlyn Kate Laubach was born at 9:07 p.m., 21 inches long and only 7 pounds 8 ounces!!

Her first picture with Dr. Wayman

I couldn't believe how tiny she was after being told over and over how huge she was going to be!

Footprints

She has the longest, skinniest feet! She loves when you rub her feet and will fan out her long toes!

Aunt Manmae was just putting the girls to bed when we called them and said it was getting close they could jump up and head to the hospital! They were pretty excited.

Love this picture! Three generations in awe over this little one.

Checking her out...

Two beautiful BIG sisters!

Mimi getting her first snuggles.

G probably already promising her donuts or anything else she wants!

Cuddling with Granny

Papa teaching her to say Go Cowboys!

An excited Aunt Manmae

Unc'a Adam holding his newest niece.

Emerlyn got the girls new Big Sister night nights.

Getting her first bath - not real happy about it.

After her bath they brought her to me and Mommy got to wash her hair for the first time. This she liked much better.

Clean and warm and loving on Daddy!

I have no idea how anyone could experience the miracle of a baby being born and not stand in AWE of God!! A perfect little baby with all her tiny features making our family complete. Thank you God for this amazing gift!!

Ready and Waiting...!

2010-10-19T21:13:00.008-05:00

Emerlyn Kate's room is ready and we can hardly wait until she gets here!! Praying all goes well, I will be induced Thursday morning. Here are a few pictures of her nursery.

One of my favorite finds - Mom and I stumbled across this changing table/chest in a furniture store in Pryor, OK. Rhett sanded it down and I painted it. I was so excited by how it turned out!

Daddy still has the job of hanging the fun but, heavy-as-lead mirror!

This is one of my other favorite finds! Mom and I had seen this saying on a frame at a store but it was outrageously priced. I went to Mistletoe Market and found the exact saying on a frame there for a steal!!! Love it!!

It says: Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of love!

I cry every time I read it! SO true!!

Thank you to my precious friend Katie who helped me get her letters done on our craft day. I managed to sit and talk to her while she did all the work!

Emmy Kate we know God has already planned your arrival down to the second and we are praying for patience as we wait on His perfect timing! This is a hard one for your Mommy!! I am so crazy, excited to hold you in my arms and kiss your sweet face! I already love you up to Jesus!!!