big smiles

 These two get to spend a lot of time together while Heidi is at school and at dance and soccer.  They usually get a long really well and have such a funny relationship.

 Caimbree has always struggled with smiling on demand.  She tries, but hasn't quite mastered it.  We love the result of her effort.  Looking at pictures of her cheesers just puts a huge grin on my face.  Sweet, sweet little girls.

Dear Time,
Please, please just stand still.

daily life

 Construction on a new house next door started and the girls have been pulling up a seat to watch the tractors every day.  Heidi even used the window sill to do her homework...the girl LOVES homework.  How many years will that last...probably not a lot haha.  Savanna got her Halloween costume and has been running around trying it out for the last two days.  I love seeing Princess Anna dancing around the house.

 Oh sweet Caimbree Rae.  How I love this hilarious, blue eyed, easy going, people pleasing angel.  Due to her older sister's school schedules, she often doesn't get the nap she needs and it kills me to wake her up to make it to pick up on time.  She is my only child who will fall back asleep after I wake her up and she occasionally falls back to sleep on the short drive to Heidi's school.  She is so easy going about schedules and never really complains too much when she doesn't get the sleep we wish we could give her.  She loves to snuggle and I hope I never forget the way her little arms wrap tightly around my neck.  Dream baby and dream toddler.

 Heidi really is a special big sister.  One day she was home sick.  She didn't want to be home, but oh how happy it made Caimbree to have her around.  I thought it was so cute that she made Caimbree a "worksheet".  She put her name in dots so that Caimbree could trace them. I love finding the little pictures and letters the girls leave around the house.

 Savanna has so much confidence and couldn't care less what people think.  I hope she keeps that quality forever.  One day we left the house and ran an errand and she had two purple flip flops on.  When we reached our second stop at the library, I noticed she had on two different shoes.  She said she couldn't find her other flip flop but found another shoe that apparently had been left in the car and slipped it on.   I found it hilarious how nonchalant she was about the whole thing and how she never even mentioned the shoe dilemma...she just solved the problem in the fastest way she could.  I had the biggest smile on my face as she pranced around the library in her mismatched shoes without a care in the world.

If the girls are good while I run in the morning, they get to walk when I am done.  I love watching their excited little faces as they slowly walk at 1 mph.  I love that the smallest little things bring them so much joy.

another lost tooth

 Heidi's look is quickly changing the more teeth she loses...especially now that the top ones are falling out!  After months of babying a loose front tooth, it finally fell out.  I wasn't sure what she would look like once all the baby teeth started disappearing, but she makes missing teeth look adorable.  Such a beautiful girl our Heidi bug is.  She is pretty much killing it at life right now.  She is excelling  at and loving school, she is becoming an awesome and graceful dancer, she gives soccer her whole heart, she is such an awesome big sister and is idolized by her sisters, and she makes friends so easily.  Everyone adores Heidi!  Whenever we get together with friends and she is at school, the first person all the kids ask for is Heidi and she sure seems to have a million little followers at school too.  We could not be more proud of this special angel and we cannot believe how fast she is growing.  Oh Heidi, we love you so very much.

the wink

Savanna has been working for awhile on winking.  Once she mastered it, she just couldn't quit practicing and I can't help but smile every time she gives me a wink!  I love the effort that goes into getting her eye closed!  Cutest wink I ever did see!

savanna banana

 It's hard to believe Savanna is almost 4.  This little Savanna girl of ours is spunky, carefree, unpredictable, bouncy, and really just a breath of fresh air.  We love her so.  I feel like this is her year to blossom.  She is doing so well learning to be a big girl and branching away from the safety of mom.  She loves her school and it is such a relief to feel like putting her in was the right decision.  She is learning a lot and loves the social aspect.

 There really is never a dull moment with Savanna around.  She is so curious and always has a twinkle in her eye and something up her sleeve to try to make someone laugh.  One day she jumped in the van to go somewhere and when I came out to get her buckled in she had this green bag on her head and was laughing hysterically at her green hair.  After giving her the laugh she desired, we talked about safety when it came to plastic bags haha.

  We never, ever know what is going to come flying out of her mouth!  I learn so much from this girl every single day.  I love her tender, sweet heart and her forgiving nature.  She can be so feisty and dig her heels in like no other, but I wouldn't change one thing about her.  So much personality wrapped up into one small body!

play dates

My dear friend recently had a benign brain tumor removed.  She is one of the most amazing friends and people I have ever known.  So positive, giving, and just unbelieveably Christlike.  We love her and her family so much.  As she has been recovering, I have had the privilege of helping out from time to time with her kids.  It's always such a treat for the girls and while it gets a little wild and crazy, we absolutely love the days we get to spend with them!  Our girls have always loved playing with their kids so they get super excited to have them over.  Lately they have all been really into the wagon and we go for a lot of walks.  One day Caimbree insisted on being the "wagon girl"...which meant, in her mind, that she must pull the wagon at all times.  She was very determined, as most two year olds are.  She pulled that wagon at a snail's pace and eventually lost the people she was pulling, but she didn't give up.  She was also determined to put on her own shoes, which resulted in two different shoes haha.

Heidi gets excited when we have extra people picking her up from school and it melts my heart how they hold hands up and down the school hill.

My friend is recovering so incredibly well and we are so grateful for so many answered prayers.  As she continues on her journey to recovery, we gladly welcome any chance we have to help out!

park days

 Oh I have so many pictures of days at the park.  Sometimes we go alone and a lot of times we go with friends.  How grateful I am for the friendships I have made and for the wonderful kids my kids get to play with.  I truly feel like my girls are so loved here and included.  It is such a blessing and thanks to having more days in the year with weather that allows us to play outside, we get to play with friends a lot!  The girls especially love Bowie Park, but we also love Buckner, Tennsco, and White Bluff park!  There is nothing like spending the day outside with a picnic lunch, great friends and company, and watching the kids happily enjoying life.  We love watching the sweet, carefree days of childhood!

opryland

Grandpa and Grandma wanted to check out the Opryland hotel and the girls were more than happy to show them the fountains and the escalators.  I loved watching the girls pose in various places.  Savanna was pretty excited about her "cool pose"...I'd say she nailed it.  Love, love, love this phase with these three pretty ladies.

indian mounds

 We also went to some Indian Mounds.  They probably would have been a lot more fun if it hadn't been so miserably hot because there were so many nice walking trails.  Unfortunately Savanna chose the wrong shoes and between the heat and the blister forming on her foot, she was not moving very quickly and I just could not carry her.  So she and I walked back to the museum to look around and Caimbree and Heidi were troopers and kept walking with Jeff and his parents!  Jeff got some cute pictures of Heidi and Caimbree.  The girls don't get along perfectly, but they sure love each other and we

sure adore them!  

battle of shiloh

 One of the many things we love about living here is access to so many historical sites.  The day we went to the drive thru zoo we went to the Battle of Shiloh.  We were excited to go, as it is one of the sites we have been hoping to visit.

 The only thing I am disappointed about is that I didn't bring my camera or my phone so I didn't get any pictures of the girls with grandpa and grandma!  Jeff got some good shots of the girls.  Everyone who worked at the site were so nice and there was a dress up area the girls could have played in all day.  It was a nice reprieve from the heat.

 There was a little section that had items the soldiers would have carried with them and Caimbree thought they were there for her.  We could hardly get her away!!  She loved the pot and was having a great time playing with everything.  It was fun and we definitely want to go back when it isn't so hot and we can spend more time reading and learning more.  The battlefield is huge and there is so much to learn!

drive thru zoo

 We went to the drive thru zoo last summer and we decided to do it again while grandma and grandpa were here.  They raised their prices and we probably won't do it again for a long time, but it was fun!  Caimbree was especially fun to watch.  She had the best time sitting on dad's lap and sticking the bucket out the window.  She had no fear and loved seeing the animals.  Savanna and Heidi liked the animals from a distance.  I think the part they will remember the most is how grandpa lost his bucket of food to the very first camel!

soccer begins

 It has been so long since I have been able to blog.  We have been super busy, but the biggest problem is that I haven't been able to get my pictures off of my phone.  I finally got it figured out so now I have a lot to catch up on!

Heidi is so busy this year.  Not only is she in school all day, every day, but she is also doing dance again and now soccer.  It's so fun to see her out on the soccer field again!  We kept missing the sign ups, but we finally figured it out this year.

 Jeff is her coach again, and she loves that!  He does such a great job.  The team is really cute and there are a lot of good little boys on the team!  Heidi still isn't very aggressive, and she is the youngest on the team, but she is doing so well!  She tries so hard and loves to play.  The older she gets, the better she will get.  We are so very proud of her.

 Heidi's first game was extra special because Jeff's parents were in town and got to see her play!  Her team ended up winning and she said she had fun.  Savanna and Caimbree did a great job watching the game and entertaining themselves.  Heidi looks forward to practice on Thursdays and games on Saturdays.  Soccer is such a fun sport to watch!