heidi at 4

 The little girl who first made me a mom is now a big four year old!  It really does seem like yesterday we were bringing her home, yet I have a hard time remembering what life was like before we had her.  She has brought so much joy and love into our home.  Here are a few things about Heidi at 4.

*Lately she likes to dress herself and will occasionally pick dresses.  Then she will tell me all day, "I'm really into dresses lately."
*Starting to enjoy chapter books and I am loving it! So far the  Junie B. Jones series is her favorite.
*Favorite day of the week is library day when she gets a new stack of books.  I don't see her a whole lot on library days because she wants me to read them all to her when we get home and then she hangs out in her room reading them to herself the rest of the day.
*Still a mommy's girl but she doesn't freak out like she used to when I leave the room or the house or drop her off somewhere.
*Starting to enjoy her independence.
*Enjoys playing with other kids, especially if they are older.
*Has an incredible memory.  I am shocked at what she remembers.  One time I told her to remind me to get lemon juice next time we went to the store.  Literally 3 weeks later when we went she said, "Oh and don't forget the lemon juice."
*Has a very,very large vocabulary.  It cracks me up though because she will oftentimes use words incorrectly.  For example, this morning she said, "Come on, Savanna, you little reconcile baby."  I asked her what that meant and she said, "Oh, it just means she likes binkys."
*She is really enjoying learning to write all of the letters.
*Loves to color.
*If she can't do something or doesn't want to do something, she will say, "I will do that when I'm 5."
*Great helper.
*Loves to sing and remembers words to songs like I cannot believe.
*Is shocked out of her mind when someone doesn't follow the rules and talks about it for months.
*You know when she is tired because she does not handle it well.  That is when we see fits and she gets super, super sassy.
*Goes to bed around 8 and is up about 6:30 and takes a nap from about 2-4.  I am ready to be done with the nap, but I am hanging onto it just a little longer while Caimbree gets into a better routine.
*Hates to be dirty or sticky.
*Super responsible.

We love you, Heidi!

You are so smart and we love watching you learn, grow, and become more independent.

We can't imagine life without you!

2 months

 On the 19th, Caimbree turned 2 months old!  Two whole months! How did two months fly by already?  Oh my goodness, Caimbree is my most enjoyable newborn so far.  She is a real gem and since we all know that can change with the drop of a hat, we are enjoying everyday that has been so enjoyable.

Height: 22.5 inches--25%

Weight: 9 lb 2 oz--10%

Do you see this people??  I have a baby on the growth chart!!  This has never happened before!

*The thing that I feel makes Caimbree super easy is that while she is chill most of the time, if she ever does get fussy, I can generally get her to calm down fairly quickly.
*Swats toys.
*Can tolerate tummy time much better than my other two could, but only for short periods of time.
*Caimbree is very pleasant most all of the time unless she is hungry or tired, then she lets you know loudly, but it's usually to figure out what she needs.
*Likes her bath.
*Loves to smile, smile, smile and loves to look at you with her bright blue eyes.
*I thought her eyes were going to be brown, but they seem to be getting a lot lighter.  So now we are thinking maybe blue or green.
*Caimbree loves to coo and we love to hear her coo.
*Doesn't nap without a binky and prefers to nap in
 arms, but she will occasionally nap in her bed or in the swing.  The best thing is that she doesn't need the swing on, she more just needs an upright place to sleep.
*By far my sleepiest baby.  Some days she is awake more than other days, but she sleeps a large chunk of the day.
*So far my best night sleeper and I am not bragging even a little bit.  I am well aware that I did nothing (definitely less than I ever did with the other two).  I am also well aware that this could change at any moment...especially once those dang teeth come and screw it all up.  I usually lay her down around 8 or 9 and then I get her around 6 or 6:30.  She started this at 6 weeks and there have been a few nights where I have had to get her at 3 or so, but for the most part she gives me until at least 5.  I was not nearly so blessed with this kind of sleeping so early with the other two and I am feeling extra blessed because if she was up every hour like Savanna was, I might be officially crazy.  So I will be grateful for the nights she isn't up, and I will gladly love her and kiss her face when she does wake up.  She is all the proof I need that some babies just naturally sleep better than others.  I say this and now she will probably be up every 2 hours tonight.  Ha. Serves me right!
*She is so loved by her sisters.  Savanna always wants to hold her and kiss her and is always the first to ask where she is in the morning or after a nap.  Heidi loves to read to her, kiss her, and chat with her.  She is super lovable.
*Cuddly, cuddly, cuddly.  By far my most cuddly baby and I am loving it!  I spend a lot of time cuddling my little Caimbree girl.

This little Caimbree of ours is a happy little dream.

We could not love this little angel more.

Thank you for choosing us, Caimbree!  

WE LOVE YOU!

celebrating 4 years

 Yesterday was Heidi's fourth birthday.  I can't believe it.  The last little while she has definitely turned from a toddler into a kid and it's a little bittersweet.  I love how independent she is now, but it's hard to realize the baby I thought she would always be, is growing up.  I never expected seeing your kids grow would be so difficult.  I think it's mostly hard because they just grow and change SO FAST.  It doesn't seem like 4 years ago that we were bringing her home from the hospital.  It feels like it was just yesterday that we found out we were finally expecting.

We had a fun time celebrating Heidi's special day.  Her birthday was on a Tuesday this year, which wasn't ideal for a party.  We don't do parties every year, but this was a party year and Heidi could not have been more excited.  We had the party on Friday evening, before her birthday.  She was a little confused thinking she was already four, but we finally convinced her she was still 3 for a few more days and that we were just celebrating early.  We did the party at the park and it worked out perfectly.  Almost everyone she invited came and she was thrilled.

We had pizza, salad, and of course cake.  With all the little girls around, I'm not sure Heidi opened her presents on her own, but she had so much fun and she was so cute about everything she got.  She gave hugs to all of her friends and was genuinely thrilled about each little gift.  She couldn't wait to get home and look at them all again!  She got a little diary from her friend Evie and when we got home she said, "Look mom, this is my diarrhea from Evie's family.  What is a diarrhea?"  I laughed pretty hard.

 

 When I asked Heidi what kind of cake she wanted she told me she wanted a chocolate giraffe cake.  I found lots of cute ideas and figured I could pull it off, but in the end I had it made at the local bakery.  I'm glad I did, because getting a party ready and set up is a lot of work and I just don't think I would have had enough time to make it.  She was absolutely thrilled with how it turned out.

It was such a fun way to celebrate our big girl and we are so thankful to all of our friends who made the effort to come and help make our sweet Heidi the happiest birthday girl in town!

On Heidi's actual birthday she woke up singing about being 4.  She got birthday candles in every meal (and Savanna may or may not have had candles in her meals too).  She requested blueberry muffins for breakfast, chicken sandwich for lunch, and frozen pizza for dinner.  Yes, frozen pizza.  I tried to change her mind about 20 times but she wanted that frozen pizza.  I realized later it was because she thought candles would be easier to stick in pizza than anything else.  We also had another little cake and I had saved her presents from us to open.  So I guess she had two days to celebrate turning four and she couldn't have been more excited!

I am so grateful the Lord trusted me to be her mom.

I feel so blessed and so lucky.

She was definitely worth the wait.

Love, love, love, love you, Heidi Bug!

heidi's day

8.19.2010

8.19.2011

8.19.2012

8.19.2013

8.19.2014

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, BEAUTIFUL GIRL!!!

iphone photo dump

I have a bunch of random pictures that I found on my phone that don't need their own blog post, but are pictures I want to remember.  There are quite a few from before Caimbree was born.

Heidi said she was going upstairs to put the bows on her animals.  When she came down she told us she changed her mind and put them all in her hair.  She was so proud of herself.

 Eating a snack after nap time.

 Posing a the park.

 Teaching Savanna to go down the big slides.

 Science day at the library.  They were supposed to dress like a scientist.  Heidi's favorite story hour by far.

 Folding laundry...Heidi decided to try on Jeff's socks and Savanna is doing what Savanna does a great majority of the time while I fold the clothes.

 Random pictures always end up on my phone as Heidi works on her photography skills.  Her animals are always getting lots of portraits taken.

 These two read together all the time.

 And Caimbree arrives!  

 If you're wondering, Jeff definitely got way more sleep than I did at the hospital.

 Savanna is always the first one to find her little sister.

 Heidi must have snapped this one.

 Savanna seriously loves finding and snuggling Caimbree.

 We play a lot of Disney Memory at our house and apparently the cards like their portraits taken as well. I love that Heidi set the card up for the picture.  If you're wondering, there were about 35 pictures...one for each character in the game.

 Heidi also loves taking pictures of her littlest sister.

 My big helper.

 Sisters

 Heidi is also learning to take selfies.  

 My girls love Smiths because of the little shopping carts.  Heidi has to bring her dog purse "Go-go-mo" on each trip.  I love how they push the cart together.

 My little ray of sunshine. Seriously, best newborn ever.

 Pretty sure I didn't know this one was being taken and perhaps I was in pain? 

 We got a few beans this year and Heidi wanted to send a picture to Jeff showing him how much we got.  I don't think the close up really told him much, but it was too cute not to send.  We got 2 bottles worth if you're wondering.

 The girls had a blast snapping the beans. Savanna's shirt got a bunch of dirt on it in the 10 minutes we were picking beans and went straight in the laundry.  I typically dress her completely in the morning.

Finally, my little happy girl.  Cooing and smiling all the time.  

savanna

 I snapped a few pictures of the girls playing at the park last night.  It's hard to get pictures of Savanna because she doesn't hold very still for very long.  I was so glad I got this one of her cute face.

I love this curly headed, blue eyed beauty so much.  Every day I swear her hair gets just a little curlier.  Pictures don't show her curls quite as they really are.  Her hair goes well past her shoulders in the tub, but as it dries it curls up in tight little curls that are well above her shoulders.  I am thinking the curls might be here to stay.

I love that no matter what we ask her, the answer is, "No, no way."

I love that when she hears thunder or other loud noises she will hold onto me.

 I love how much she loves to play with Heidi.  I love how quickly she forgives Heidi when Heidi doesn't want to be patient with a curious little sister.  I love how the second she wakes up she wants to look for Heidi and Caimbree.

I love how tender hearted she is.  I love that when Heidi or Caimbree are upset, she tries to comfort them.  I love that she plays pat-a-cake with Caimbree.  I love how she plays pat-a-cake with her own feet when I am changing her diaper.

I love how she notices everything around her.  I love that she will stop what she's doing when she hears a car horn in the distance and start laughing and pointing in the direction it came from.

I love how she clasps her little hands and closes her eyes when we pray.




I love how strong she is.  I can't believe the things she can climb and I can't believe she hangs from the monkey bars and does pull ups. I love that she is willing to try so many new things.  I love how independent she is, even if it means a few meltdowns when she can't quite do everything Heidi can or everything she wants to do on her own.

I love how she thinks peeking through the banister is the funniest game that was ever invented.

I love how at the mention of the word popsicle or otter pop, she runs to the freezer.

I love how she runs everywhere she goes.  Everywhere.

I love that when I fold laundry, she hands me things and tells me who it belongs to.



I especially love the little twinkle in her eye.  I love seeing her big grin when she sneaks a binky and shows me she was smart enough to figure out how to get it from the middle of the crib. I love how when I tell her to smile she closes her eyes and gives a huge cheeser.   I absolutely love how she is finding so much joy reading with me lately.  She doesn't sit still for long and she isn't a big cuddler so when she snuggles up in my lap and reads with me, I am in heaven.  I love how she gets excited when we read curious George and I love how she plugs her nose when we see the skunk in The Grouchy Ladybug.  

Savanna is so busy and so full of life.  I cannot imagine starting my day without seeing her cute little smile.  I cannot wait for the day she can communicate better and I can hear all the funny things I know she is wanting to say.  I am so grateful she came to our home.

soccer

 Soccer started last night!  Heidi was so excited!  The uniform could not have been more ridiculous...the whole thing could have fit a ten year old.  When my mom was here she made some alterations to the shorts so they were at least wearable.  We still had to safety pin them.  We had to try a few different shin guards but we finally got them to fit in a way that she could handle...she's a little particular about how everything fits.  My big fear was that she would be so uncomfortable she wouldn't even play, which is how it was looking until about 10 minutes before the game when we got everything to work.  Hallelujah!

 Jeff is Heidi's coach so that made it super fun for her.  She has such a cute little team and one of her preschool friends is on her team.

 Caimbree spent a good majority of the game sleeping.  She woke up about halfway through and happily watched and enjoyed being outside.

 All morning Heidi has been begging to go back and play soccer again.  She cannot wait until next Wednesday!  She LOVED it! She couldn't even fall asleep last night she was so excited.  We heard her upstairs rolling around and singing until almost 9:30...yikes.  I was surprised because she was pretty exhausted.  They have a 30 minute practice followed by a 30 minute game.  After practice she said, "I'm so worn out!!"

Heidi went with Jeff to the game and I followed a few minutes after.  When Savanna saw her leave she lost it.  The whole way to park she cried, "HEIDI!!  HEIDI!!!"  She was thrilled when she realized we were all going to the same place.  Next week we will be a little more organized so we can all go together.  Savanna had fun emptying my purse and filling it back up about thirty thousand times.  Of course she found a bright blue lollipop in there I had no idea was there.  She enjoyed being outside, but I think she would have rather been on the field with Heidi.  I don't know how she will survive Heidi going to kindergarten next year.

It was such a fun night and we can't wait for next Wednesday so we can do it again.  I am so glad Heidi loves it so much.  There is nothing better than watching your kids enjoy life.