2 months later....

So I totally meant to update our family blog more frequently than every 2 months...but wowza, I. AM. BUSY. This crew keeps me in a constant state of exhaustion. And I love every minute of it. Okay, not every minute, but a lot of them :) 

Callie turns 4!

We celebrated Callie's birthday this year  with a small pool party at my Aunt and Uncle's house. Small is not typically my style...but it was super nice! We've made a few good friends with girls around my girls' ages....such a blessing! My biggest concern moving here was building a support network of like-minded, like-hearted people...and we have! Such an answer to prayer. 

Strawberry Shortcake was her theme of choice this year.

Hard to believe this little girl is already 4-years-old. Sheesh Louise. 

My co-worker (and friend!) Sharon let us borrow this super fun blow up slide to use in addition to the pool. They had HEAPS of fun!

5 cute little girlies

She is applying lip gloss as we sing "Happy Birthday!" Such a diva. 

Soccer Season 2013

 We signed the girls up for fall soccer through the YMCA this year.   Just my luck, they ended up having soccer practice on the same day, same time, different fields. Yeah. Also, Callie is on a smaller field than Anneliese, so on game days, they're on different fields as well. Oh well! Thus begins the next 17 years of my the Thomas Taxi Service :)

3rd year

This is her first year on a big kids field. There are 16 players (versus Callie's 6) on the field at a time.  Casey and I could actually see her starting to understand the game a bit....spread out, pass the ball, defend your goal, etc. It's fun to see her starting to develop her own passion for the game. She is learning how to put her "shyness" aside and actually have fun.

Whew! Soccer in 90 degrees is quite a bit different than soccer in 60 degrees and rainy.  She was HOT!

Callie's first year of soccer! 4-years-old

So much cuteness in this picture. 

This picture summarizes Callie and soccer. Ha ha ha. Makes me laugh out loud just thinking about it. Sister is clueless. Absolutely, without a doubt, clueless. She has tons of fun...way more than Anneliese used  to...because she isn't shy. But seriously, she has no clue what's going on. She just kind of runs around, hugs and high fives her coach, eats the snacks. We have a little work to do. Daddy is going to take her out to our neighborhood fields this week to kick the ball around a bit. Love this kid's free spirit.

Houston's Children's Museum-September 25, 2013

We found a groupon deal for Houston's Children's Museum and so packed the kiddos up and went on Callahan's birthday. Such a fun place! It is ranked top 10 in the nation....we incorporated a little education into the day and called it a school day :) A major pro of homeschooling!

A distortion mirror

Hard at work. He thinks like a boy. It's fun to watch his thought processes vary so greatly from the girls.

One hunky little nugget man.

Anneliese "picking up her puppy from Daddy the dog groomer"  I love her profile shot here. You can see how much fun she was having pretending with her daddy. 

Cutest little puppy in the shop. 

This random little girl was getting her some JoJo lovin! She was all up in his grill....kissing on him, sucking his fingers, caressing his cheek. That is, until he took that there hammer and wonked her over the head :) 

She painted her very own face and was quite proud. She's a kitty cat...not a bunny, don't make the same mistake I did. Sister was offended. 

First day of school-August 2013

We started our homeschool program about 5 weeks ago...and so far, so good. We are using a Sonlight curriculum for Anneliese's core subjects and we really like it thus far. If (with a BIG emphasis on if) Jonah semi-cooperates, we are done with school around noon-ish every day. We are very slowly working our way through "All About Reading" with Callie this year. It's basically just a letter recognition/phonics based program for her age. Because she has a late September birthday, she will have a whole additional year of preschool next year. She tends to march to the beat of her own drum...always has...so we go day by day with her. Her attention span is a fraction of what her sister's was at 4-years-old, so we are changing it up and doing school "Callie Style!" 

Growing Up!

Julie comes to visit-August 2013!

Jules and Ash came to visit us for a week in August. All in all, we had a fabulous time and miss them dearly. The girls adore Asher, especially Leesy. Ash will be a life long buddy to her. We swam, swam and then swam some more :) Jules was 5 months pregnant and just a wee bit hot. Hee hee. 

Community Pool-time

This little lad doesn't just LOVE the water quite yet. He tolerates it, but would much rather go about his business poolside.

I left Jonah with my madre and the rest of us drove to Galveston for two days. We went to Moody Gardens, Rainforest Cafe, the beach and Pleasure Pier. 

Wizard of Oz in 4D. So fun!

Galveston doesn't have the prettiest, cleanest, most beautiful white sandy type of beaches...but the kids didn't mind. The water was warm, there was sand to play in...what more do you need when you're 5?!

                                                             
                                             Pleasure Pier

Anneliese, a first class scaredy cat, went on every single ride that she was tall enough for. I even convinced her to go on the tall chair ride pictured above. The picture doesn't do it justice folks! The swinging chairs go all the way to the top (where it is SUPER windy) while it swings you out over the ocean and circulates round and round. I absolutely love all rides and NEVER get nervous...but this one had me shaking in my boots! 

Ash really wanted to go on the log ride and I of course being the heaviest, had to sit in the front. Hence why I am soaked! Ash loved it, Anneliese not so much. Callie was super bummed and cried for quite some time that she wasn't tall enough for this ride. My girls have such different personalities. 

Man time!

My lil' Martha Stewart

Leesy baked and delivered cookies to almost every single neighbor as their houses closed and they moved in. We are so blessed to be surrounded with TONS of kids in this little cul de sac. Such an answer to prayer. 

"Welcome to the neighborhood. Love, Anneliese" -Does it get any cuter??