she has reached another milestone. today was elementary school promotion. the ceremony was filled with songs, speeches, a band performance… everyone was so organized, they did a beautiful job. we completely adore our kid’s school. kira has had such a positive experience with her teachers and school staff- we are so proud of her. i can’t believe how quick those years went. it’s crazy. i can’t even explain how this day made me feel.. you find yourself picturing the future and remembering the past all in a matter of moments.. it’s unbelieveable. and just to know that you are a part of that.. that you get to witness the everyday of it all… i am so thankful.
throughout the ceremony- even the second i snapped this picture, i found my eyes welling up with tears and i feared that i would not be able to stop… that there was no way i could control myself, i was going to lose it and cry like a baby. i know i am a sap, but this really topped my list as one of the most proud moments. and it was only 5th grade. i am going to be a wreck at high school graduations, weddings, etc. (it’s late.. they are all tucked in bed… i am fully aware of how mushy this post is 🙂 )

this is how she usually wakes up from a nap… happy, relaxed, chatty. she will stay in her crib and roll around (not totally around, just half rolls) and talk to me and her mobile and toys. i love it. the last few days she has been taking short naps and then being grumpy in between naps. it’s funny how unroutine of a person i am, but this girl is SO routine. you take her out of it and she is not a happy camper. so miss nonroutine-me wants nothing but a routine to make her happy.

anyone know why my file in photoshop would be showing these pics crisp and yum and just blah(colorwise) on the web?

this girl has a new book. she has been inspiring me for a long time now… and i am so giddy that i got to be a part of this project. what i love about ali’s work is that every page is so different. that she can come up with such unique things over and over and over again. it’s like a whole sort of freshness that i love about her. i cannot get enough!

so i copied annie with this post… except that i had caleb go through and find himself. 🙂

all of the other contributors did an amazing job…and ali gives you so much in here. it’s a total steal for 20 bucks!  i completely devoured her first book… this one is awesome too…it is so good, you guys. you will not be disappointed! a whole book about patterned paper– my favorite supply… yay!

from my desk to see this:

i could get into a long emotional thing about the last few days with caleb at home with her before he starts kinder…how it’s so sweet to see the 2 of them together…my last 2 babes…how they amaze me…but you already know all that.
mom+moment like this= super gush.

our firstborn. our first daughter. our tween. she turns eleven today. of course we can’t believe it! i remember so much about her birth… the baby days… all the newness of her. i can almost smell it. she is finishing up elementary school in a few weeks and off to the big middle school…and is so excited. she has such enthusiasm…it makes us proud! she is an awesome sister and a great helper to me. we love her dearly. chris helped set this blog  up for her…to get her reading and reviewing.. to keep her in touch with her friends. she is very excited! we have this tradition where the birthday person gets to pick a birthday dinner.. anywhere they want to go.. and she chose to grill at home.. steaks, green giant vegetables and mashed potatoes. it’s going to be a great day. we love you kira soleil!

today and i can’t think of a better way to spend it than this:

cam was invited to a pool party for his baseball team and the other kiddos came along too of course. they are such little fish! the last to get out was caleb (after being in there for over 3 hours straight) … he did not want to go. kira LOVED the diving board:

and our little tagalong was so good. i remember days when it was hard to take little babies places… was it because i was younger and it was hard to juggle all the STUFF? especially in the heat…sticky, sweaty, grumpy babies is what i recall. but she was a breeze. enjoyed all the action and stuck those fingers in her mouth when it was time to have a nap. thanks els. 🙂
chris bought elsie this ‘love’ top from children’s place  for her big social outing. i can’t believe all the cute clothes for kids out this summer… look at gymboree- holy cow! cute stuff. 🙂

chris and i had a great saturday with the kids. so nice to be all together and out there doing fun stuff. tomorrow it will be 2 degrees cooler… whoopee.

3 months ago today we met her. 
i almost didn’t post today.. except that i watched  a snippet of the baby story this afternoon, and i wept like crazy when that stranger mama pushed that baby out. and when she held her for the first time…and the daddy came out crying to tell the family that it was a girl. so beautiful. the whole process. being a mother. i am so thankful that i have 4 beautiful babes. beware… i am in full motherly gushy mode right now. 🙂

this one cracks us up. she amazes us. she makes us fall in love with her more each day. we could burst. BURST! she’s a whopping 12 lbs 8oz (i got to sneak in a weigh while i was taking kira to the doc today) and loves her routine. she loves to sleep… YES! finally a child who loves to sleep! and does so well at night and during her 4 naps in the day. she sucks her fingers. (we never had one who did that) and coos and smiles so beautifully. she loves her playmat and her bouncy seat. i love the expression she makes when she is checking out her toys. 🙂 and her eyes are STILL grey.. but you can see bits of brown seeping in. lovely.

she is an amazing kid that little elsie bells.

so we headed down south for spirit west coast. chris had some work stuff and the boys joined him. they handed out hundreds of angel wars flyers. the people loved them. so cute. it was neat to see how different their techniques were– cam was pretty shy and quiet about it.. and caleb was right there in people’s faces, waving the flyers… running after people… 🙂 he would finish in a snap so that he could play.

and since the drive down was a bit far for us, here we are taking a little stop at the beach since els had just about enough with that carseat. 🙂

chris and i took the boys to see this on saturday. we were all thoroughly entertained… me- especially with the romance of the movie. of course i liked the action– but it was the whole love dynamic here that got me. 🙂 they know what they are doing… they know how to get the wives in the theatre! leaving us hanging the way they did in the end of x2. yeah.
we had an awesome weekend… more pics later.. lots of scrapping to do! the first of the month at 2p’s! very soon!

elsie had not one, but TWO playdates today! her firsts! 🙂 i know, silly to think a 2 month old could have a playdate, but she did enjoy herself. and mommy enjoyed lots of conversations with the other mamas. what’s neat about this is that these three kiddo’s daddies work together. 🙂 and we all had our babies within 2 months of each other.

natalie is 2 months older than els. and cole is 2 months younger than els. neat to see where elsie might be developmentally in 2 months, and remember where she was just 2 months ago. i know, that’s all a little wordy. but you know. 🙂 her little buds. 🙂
could you just scream at how cute this picture is??? the toes being played with?!?!! the way they are checking each other out!!

and i need this. i mean, elsie needs this. i mean, i want this for her!!!!!

(talking about the bumbo seat)

ok, i want it for me. 🙂

so after spending the day with these two buds, elsie came home to one more social event with sofia. 🙂

needless to say, she conked out at about 730 and is pretty whooped from all the partying. go els. 🙂