Easter Egg Hunt @ The Learning Tree

Rachel had her Easter egg hunt at her preschool today. It was fun to watch her run around trying to find her eggs. We got there a couple of minutes late and she had already found all the eggs she was aloud to pick up so she was helping her friends find theirs. After all the kids had found their eggs they ran around and played for a while. Doug and I always enjoyed watching Noah play at his preschool. It was nice to watch Rachel interact with all her friends.

Happy 1st Birthday Kate!

I'm pretty sure our baby girl had a nice birthday today. She started her day with her favorite breakfast- a blue berry muffin and milk, then we took Noah to school. After running some errands, a nap and some playing with her new toys we all had lunch. Kate had two adult sized pancakes and ate every bite. The girl is amazing when it comes to eating. We headed over to Mamaw's house for a quick visit before we picked up Noah and headed to the park. Kate loves to swing in the baby swing at the park. She always get this happy little pleased look on her face as she swings. We took the kids and let them run some energy off and they were all happy to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. They have all commented on the bradford pear trees and the tulip poplar trees - about how pretty they are. What a beautiful day for a birthday! We had dinner at Lenny's where the birthday girl enjoyed part of a turkey sandwich and her milk. We came home to share birthday cake, which was happily eaten by Noah and Rachel. Kate was so tired, she didn't want any of hers and even pushed it off her tray when offered a bite. After a bit of snuggling we put her to bed. It has been a wonderful year. I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. She is so precious to us and she is growing and changing every single day. She is getting more and more excited about the idea of walking around and really starting to furniture walk. She pulls up on everything. She is beginning to try to crawl correctly although she still understands that her army crawl is much faster for her. She is saying Ma-ma, Da-da, Pa-pa, Bye-bye, done and she has just begun to nod her head and to shake her head no, although she is still getting the hang of it. She is wearing sizes 6 months - 12 months and size 3 diapers. She loves milk and will try eating just about anything. More than anything she is a special part of our family and we all adore her. Happy Birthday Kate! We love you!

Tomorrow She'll Be 1

It is amazing to me that a whole year has passed since our little Kate was born. Just amazing ... as is she. It's been a great year - she has grown so much and her little personality is really starting to emerge. She grows more precious to us each and every single day. The kids totally love and adore her. Rachel loves to play with her and Noah just loves to make her laugh. He'll do anything to hear her cute little baby laugh. I'm so very glad she's here and that she's a part of our family. We love you baby girl!

Kate's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Kate's 1st birthday today with all of our family that could be here with us. She was happy to be the center of attention for a couple of hours. Mamaw showed up a bit early to play with her as I prepared things and got the cakes set out. After singing Happy Birthday and seeing her candle (blown out by Rachel), Kate enjoyed a tiny white bear cake of her very own, while the rest of us enjoyed a chocolate bear cake and a white #1 cake. She was very hesitant to try the cake and Doug finally cut into her little cake with a fork and gave her a big bite. Once she figured out she could actually eat the cake and that we weren't going to stand there and feed her bite after bite, she caught on that she could dig in with her little hands. Once we had all had our share of cake and ice cream we moved into the living room where Kate got to open her gifts. Rachel once again, was a big helper and helped her unwrap each package and pulled the contents of each bag out for her little sister. Kate was happy to find some pretty new outfits, a Jack-In-The-Box, Raggedy Ann, touch and feel books, a bag full of new hair bows and several toys all just for her. She was growing tired, but seemed happy to sit and play with her new toy phones and books. We are so glad she got to celebrate with everyone and thanks to all of you who helped to make her day special! We love you!