Our kindergartner!

Well, this is a huge week for one very special member of our family!  Our sweet Mary Beth is going to be a kindergartner!  The Children's Ministry had a ceremony for the newest school age kids at church today, and Mary Beth was thrilled to receive her very own bible.

Since the day she was born, Mary Beth has always been my side kick.  We enjoy doing many of the same things, and it was rare for one of us to be seen without the other.  I am going to dearly miss my sweet girl, but I am so excited for her to begin school!  We found out who her teacher was on Friday, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I had a vision in my head of who I thought would be the best fit for Mary Beth, and Mrs. B seems to fit the bill.  They had a nice talk on the phone on Friday night, and Mary Beth is already telling the boys that she has the best teacher of them all!

I was looking at Mary Beth this morning in church, and thought that the times she was home with me all day were the happiest of times.  I will always have wonderful memories being a stay at home mom to my baby/toddler/preschooler.  I feel blessed that I got to spend so much quality time with her, and I can't wait to see her as a big student!

By the way, I took Mary Beth in for her 5 year appt., and she was in the 67% for height and 50% for weight.  The doctor thinks she will be as tall as me, which surprises me, since she has always been a little peanut!

I can't believe how BORING our wedding entrance was!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

New chapter...new do!

Life is about to change dramatically for my little 5 year old, so what better way to commemorate this new chapter than a new hair cut?  I have always loved Mary Beth's long blond curls, but I thought that a cute bob looked much more "schooly".  On a whim today, I cut 7 inches off Mary Beth's hair!  She loves it, and I can't believe how grown up she looks!  I blow dried it straight today, but will try it with her natural curls tomorrow. 

Party Time!

We got to celebrate Mary Beth's birthday for over a week.  After our trip to Seattle, I started thinking about Mary Beth's friend birthday.  Her bff, Whitney, was going to be gone 10 days right around her birthday, so we tried to work around that.  After trying a few days with no luck to make it work, I asked Mary Beth how she would feel having a special date with Whitney...mani/pedis, Chuck E. Cheese, a movie, and spend the night.  Mary Beth thought this was the greatest idea ever, so party dilemma solved!  I had a little mommy guilt that we didn't do a huge friend party, but she was thrilled with how it ended up! 

Matthew accompanied us to Chuck E. Cheese.  He was M.E. and Whitney's hero scoring them many, many tickets!  I think they really look alike in this picture!

Next was our family party this weekend.  Michael, Jilinda, and Lydia came down to celebrate with us, which was so thoughtful.  Lauren, Josh, James, Jack, Nana, and Deedah were also in attendance.  What a fun party!  Strawberry Shortcake was the theme.

Mary Beth has gotten in the habit of looking at cookie cutters when we go to kitchen stores.  She saw these wedding dress, wedding cake, and bridesmaids dress cutters in Dallas last week and gave them to Nana!  Beautiful and delicious!

Mary Beth was blessed with many wonderful gifts!  Here are her soccer things from Uncle Michael, Aunt Jilinda, and Lydia.
A Barbie from our dear friends, the O'Quinns...
One of two adorable outfits from the Satterfields.  Mary Beth is in desperate shape for school appropriate clothes! This helped a lot!

A Barbie and Jeep from Matthew.  Deedah was inspecting the car!  Thomas gave her a Barbie movie and Fancy Nancy sticker book.
And a beautiful American Girl doll from Nana and Deedah!  They went to the American Girl store in New York last week.  Aunt Barbara was there as well and gave Mary Beth the carrying case and additional outfit.  Mary Beth can't stop staring at Rosie.  She already loves her dearly.
Italian Cream Cake...Yum Yum!
Had to make a strawberry cake for our Strawberry Shortcake party!
Mary Beth loves her brothers and adorable boys cousins dearly, but it is nice to see another girl as well!  I know these two will have tons of fun together!

Mary Beth at 5

5 years ago today, God blessed us with our precious Mary Beth.  The joy that she has brought us these past 5 years cannot be measured.  We love our Emmy Lou/Emmy Lou Who/Mare Bear/Mary Bary/Chickadee/Chickadini to pieces!

Here is what our 5 year old is up to these days:

*She continues to be extremely social.  She has a need to find a friend anywhere she goes.  Whether we are at a ball game or a wedding, she will find kids her age and become fast friends.  I think this trait will serve her well as she enters kindergarten!

*She is starting to read books.  She loves her brothers' Bob books and Dick and Jane. 

*She is swimming well now without floaties.

*Mary Beth loves her brothers.  She has enjoyed having them home all summer.  Matthew is her protecter and Thomas is her best bud.

*She is one of the funniest kids I know!  She loves speaking in accents.  Some of her favorites are talking like a red neck, British person, and Fat Albert.  Listening to her sing "All the Lonely People" in her British accent is something else!

*She continues to be a huge Mama's Girl, and wants to be with me all the time.  She will accompany me to the bathroom so I won't be lonely! ;)  Whether I am cooking, cleaning, shopping, gardening, or reading, she is happiest right next to me.

*She has decided that she wants to be a nurse when she grows up.  Originally, this was because she wanted to give shots, but she is a very nurturing and caring soul, so I think she would make a great nurse!

*Mary Beth has a very tender heart, and hates if she ever gets in trouble.  She asks for forgiveness over and over and tells me that she prays every time she does something she shouldn't.

*The above rarely happens, because she is a happy, easy going girl.  Being good and following rules comes easy to her.

*Her room is always the messiest in the house.  She can't stand cleaning her room and will always beg the boys to help her.  They usually do.  One of the biggest things that I am excited about for next year is that Mary Beth's room should stay a little cleaner!

*She has surprised me with how much she is enjoying soccer!  She is wearing her sporty clothes all the time.  How do I have 3 kids wearing Under Armour now? 

*That being said, she is still the girliest of girls.  She loves cute shoes, and getting her nails painted!  She loves cute clothes and shopping for them.

*She is still attached to her blanket.  We can never leave Bibi behind!

*Mary Beth loves flowers and she is starting to recognize the differences in them.  She has a bud vase in her room, and she enjoys putting roses in her vase....only when her room is clean! ;)

All these add up to one fun and sweet little girl.  Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Purple Princess!

When Mary Beth was 2 weeks old, Matthew started playing sports, and she has spent a large portion of her 5 years at various ball fields around Waco.  Now, it is her turn!  We signed Mary Beth up for soccer, and she started practice this week.  Uncle Michael, our resident soccer star, and Aunt Jilinda gave Mary Beth awesome soccer gear for her birthday, and she has been wearing her new shorts and cleats ever since.  Unfortunately, I had to wash them, so she couldn't wear them to practice tonight!  I enjoyed watching Matthew show her the ropes before practice tonight.  Heaven knows, she will gets lots of advise from her sports loving boys!  So far she loves it, and I have enjoyed looking at her in her new sporty clothes!  I will say that she is just as excited about her light purple uniform than anything else.  It should be a fun season watching our Purple Princess!

Plugging back in.

This summer has been fantastic.

We are a very plugged in family.  Church, school, sports, music, PTA, etc.  Sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming.  Last spring was very overwhelming.  Due to our normal schedule and some unforeseen complications, I can say honestly that I had never been as busy as I was from March until early June.

We made a conscious decision as a family to totally unplug this summer.  No summer sports.  Fewer camps.  Less volunteering.

It has been heavenly.

I thought I would have a harder time with this, since I love volunteering for things, and I crave a schedule, but I have been great with it!  Less time shuffling around our city means more time at home.  More meals at home.  More movie nights at home.  

Heavenly.

This isn't to say that we haven't done much, but it has been evenly spread throughout the weeks, so the kids haven't said the dreaded, "I'm bored".  

Some of our favorite highlights have been:

Thomas's baseball city tournament

Attending several Rangers games.

VBS

TMEA music festival (Matthew and Thomas played piano)

swimming lessons

Matthew's first time to go to church camp.

Baylor basketball camp

Fourth of July parade/picnic

Our trip to Yellowstone/Seattle/Oregon

Lots of friend dates for both the kids and myself.

Celebrating birthdays and our anniversary.

Eating dinner late, staying up late, and sleeping late.

Now, all of the sudden, "Back to School" is being advertised everywhere.  PTA responsibilities are slowly starting up.  I have started working in the garden at school, and have planted flowers getting ready for all the upcoming events.  Soccer practice has resumed.  I am starting to think more about the reality that I will be a stay at home mom to three not stay at home kids.  I have mixed emotions about this, but will write more on it later.  Just two weeks until "Meet The Teacher Night" at school.

Two weeks

We are planning on making them the laziest, sleeping in-niest, eating brunchiest, playing wii-iest, watching cartooniest, riding bikesiest, wearing pajamaiest two weeks ever!

Once it gets here, I will be ready to plug back in.  Let's face it, I am a plugged in kind of girl.  But, oh, how I have loved plugging out!

Our Mare Bear

Mary Beth will do just about anything for a make over, and Aunt Lauren gives the best make overs around!  I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture!

We took Mary Beth in for her final kidney appointment in Ft. Worth last Thursday.  The good news is that her left kidney has grown in the past two years.  The bad news is that there is quite a bit of scarring on this kidney, and it will never function like a normal kidney.  

I couldn't help but tear up in the car after the news.  This is the first time that we have had a problem that couldn't be solved by antibiotics or glasses.  This is something that Miss Mary Beth is going to have to be conscious of for her entire life.  We are going to stay away from ibuprofen, which is hard on compromised kidneys, and staying away from carbonated beverages.  In fact, the boys have voluntarily given up carbonated beverages in an act of solidarity with their sister!  I am so proud of their thoughtfulness!  

I am also mindful that she may never have a problem, and many people live long and healthy lives with just one kidney.  We will continue to pray that she does the same, and will take good care of herself her entire life to increase this chance!

I can't believe my little girl is turning 5 next week!  She has been a constant source of joy and laughter the entire time we have known her.  She is having her family birthday party this weekend, and will write more about our big girl next week!