merry christmas everyone

the children are nestled all snug in their beds....

We had a great low-key Christmas eve, filled with family time! David was able to have the whole day off of work, and for that, all four of us were very thankful!
With David leading, we made cookies for Santa....

We were very thankful that weather improved slightly this afternoon, after a day full of horrible weather. We got ready and headed to church. We were so excited that SuSu and G decided to come to our church with us.

{ a typical group pic these days}

*

Then we finished the night off with another tradition...David lit a pathway of sparklers in the front of our house for Santa...the kids loved to watch...

Elise even remembered that last year the sparklers were different colors, and was quite concerned that he would know it was still us. She cracks me up.

And now, everyone is tucked in. We are all looking forward to a few days filled with family and friends. Mo and Phillip are en route at this moment after a trip through some of the horrible rain. We can't wait to see them and to spend some time together.

We hope you and your families are filled with the love of family, the warmth of friendship, the joy of Christmas, and the Peace of Jesus this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Parnell Five

reindeer games

Check out the extra cute shirts my kiddos are sporting these days. Handmade just for them by Suzanne. How adorable can you get?? And trust me, with the little bit of sewing I do, I KNOW these were a labor of love. Chenille is tough to sew on. They are the cutest things ever and they have been sporting them non-stop. As soon as we wear them I toss them in the wash so they are ready to go again!






The kids have been singing lots of Christmas carols. I love them all, but my favorite today has to be "We wish you the Peace of Jesus", which around here is being sung as "We wish you a piece a Jesus".
The other top contender is Happy Birthday Jesus. My favorite part is when Elise goes into her falsetto for "the real gift is yooooouuuuuuu!". David and I have to hold back the laughs. We wouldn't want to crush her American Idol hopes.

I can't help but smile.

The one sour note of our Christmas vacation thus far has to be the fact that Lila has fallen off of the potty training bandwagon. After a month of big girl underwear, we had finally gotten to the point where I wasn't even nervous in public with her. I trusted that she had it totally down pat. Well, based on the hugely disgusting mess I just finished cleaning up (I'll spare you the gory details), I would say the fact that she has completely regressed has been confirmed. Don't know what is up with that. I know I shouldn't compare, but it is hard not to do so. Elise HATED to have an accident. Lila seems to think it is kind of funny. And the mess all over herself and the floor doesn't phase her one bit. So, I guess we are back to two in diapers around here until she can prove she is a big girl again. Bennett stills seems very content to just let me change his diaper rather than going to all of the effort of pulling his pants down to potty!

I can't believe Christmas is so near....

Hope you are all enjoying your week!

day full of friends

I was feeling brave yesterday and piled all of the kids into the car for a day trip to Jackson, MS. Well, I should be honest, I wasn't feeling that brave...that is just how badly I have been dying to see my friend Dianne and to meet her beautiful twin boys. She is in Mississippi visiting her parents, and Jackson was about a half way point for us to meet. In addition, I knew Elise would love to see Millsaps, where Mommy and Daddy went to college, and where we met.
So, Dianne also loaded up her little 3 month old munchkins, and we met at our favorite lunch spot from college. Let me just say that Dianne has things WAY more under control than I did when our babies were that little. By the time we arrived she had already fed and burped them, and had Dyer back to sleep in his car seat. She is a natural..one of those calm Moms that looks like she takes it all in stride. And the babies are GORGEOUS. I couldn't stop staring.
Lunch went relatively well....but let's just say that it was obvious when it was time for the check...the Fields boys were just fine, but the Parnell crew had had enough of sitting still- between the 2 1/2 hour car ride and the restaurant.
So, we headed down the street to Millsaps so that the kids could run around and get some fresh air, and so that Dianne and I could visit some more. We also attempted to get some pics of our 5 little ones...

Surprisingly, Bennett was much more interested in Wyatt and Dyer than Elise and Lila. He kept asking to hold them and kept rubbing their heads softly. It was very sweet.

Lila was not so sure about the babies.....



This brought back some memories!! Dianne and Russell's boys are nice and big like our babies were and so I know she is getting some serious arm workouts when she is alone with both of them! I started remembering all of the different positions you have to get them in to get them both comfortable in your arms.

Oh they are so precious......

I am so thankful that she was up for the trip and that we were able to have a few hours together. It will definitely be a high point of my Christmas this year...

On the way home we were able to stop and see the Boerner family in Brookhaven. We were all so excited, as it had been quite a while since we had seen them. Quinn and Elise remembered each other so well and started playing immediately. Tyndale is turning into such a little man...I know he is keeping Lissa busy because he was moving pretty fast! Lila and Bennett made themselves at home right away....Lissa and I did some catching up as well, which was great!

We got back home around 6 and were happy to find David already at home! He made the kids breakfast for dinner with the new waffle iron we got from Emmy and Pop....and they loved it! Then everyone crashed after our day long adventure.

It doesn't get much better than that.

a parnell christmas

We had such a nice day today celebrating Christmas with the Parnells. They just got back into the U.S. Friday night after a 3 week buying trip in Europe. Elise has been loving all the postcards she has gotten in the mail, but was even more excited to see them today. After church we met them for lunch. Yum. After we ate ALOT, we came home to hang out and open gifts. They first gave the kids each a beret from Paris. SOOO cute. At first, Lila and Bennett wouldn't wear theirs, but eventually they put them on....here's our little French girl, with the name to match (Elise Laurent)....

As usual, Emmy and Pop spoiled the kids with lots of treats. Bennett really loves his "BIG BIG TRUCK", seen below...

And feeding his new baby Tiger, with some help from Emmy....



Here's B goofing around with the camera and Elise...

Lila feeding her doll....



A rare pic of me and my #1 girl....

Pop and his little ladies....

And his first grandchild....

We had a fun day hanging out, playing, and spending time together. It was fun to hear about the snow in Paris and pretend we were there!!

The kids actually did a pretty good job of sharing their new treats with each other, and were occupied all afternoon playing away....Thanks so much Emmy and Pop!

We are so thankful for the time with family and look forward to continuing to spend time with those close to us over the next few weeks.....

Gosh I love this time of year!!!!!!!!!

Merry, Merry!

Nicole

breakfast with santa, take 2

We started off the weekend with the annual breakfast with Santa at our neighborhood country club. We hope to make this an annual tradition, as we not only get to see Santa, but lots of friends as well.
The breakfast was going along just fine...until Santa arrived!!
Lila just did not want to go near him, which is documented below....

Elise and Bennett were happy to smile for the camera! We were glad Su Su was able to join us- David and I were thankful for the company and the help - and we also enjoyed seeing so many of our friends dressed up in their Christmas outfits. As usual, Davis got some great pics- he is like our personal party-pic man!

If any of you who have received Christmas cards from us ( I JUST started sending them out) were wondering why I didn't do a picture card this year.....above would be the reason....This is about as good as it gets these days with a family pic! Thanks to Davis for at least catching us all in the same frame.....it is rare!!!

We hope to continue this tradition every year!

singing angels

Elise's Christmas program was at school today and it was the sweetest thing ever. I don't know why, but it made me cry. The same thing happened at her ballet recital last year. I thought that was because of all of the drama surrounding it (with her dog bite, etc), but I guess not. I think it is just seeing what a big girl she is and, although she is shy, how well she does on stage. She takes things very seriously, and was very focused on her performance. She sang her little heart out!!!



I was pretty disappointed today with my camera...it was not taking decent pics at all. The room was dark, and we were towards the back, and so I guess the flash couldn't reach that far. But, trust me, it was cute!



Lila and Bennett were mesmerized at first. But, Bennett lost interest quickly. Like most 2 year old boys, he can't sit still. AT ALL.



...unless he is on his Daddy's shoulders...



Lila kept waiving and waiving at Elise...she loves her big sis!




Here's a short little clip of our singing angels...Elise is the one in the middle with the Christmas headband (it is hard to see)...
*tip- scroll down to the bottom and pause the music before you press play..that way you'll be able to hear how perfectly in tune they are ;)


Off to her Christmas party!
Nicole

let it snow

Actually, let it rain, and rain, and rain, and rain....that's all it has been doing in south Louisiana! Last night David surprised the kids with some new bubble bath, and it almost looked like they were playing in the snow....
Our huge, funky 1980's tub in the master bath was the perfect place for their snowy adventures...we even had a visit from Santa!






(In case you didn't recognize him- this is Santa!)

Lots of fun celebrating going on this week! More posts to come!

happy

Feeling pretty happy today....

Here's why-

It is my Dad's birthday! Happy Birthday G!! We love you!!

My sister got engaged!!! Congrats Mo and Phillip!!

Bennett is taking a nap for the second day in a row. It is no easy feat, but it is worth it to have my little boy act like himself, instead of a sleep deprived maniac!!

My Christmas cactus is FULL of blooms. And, I actually kept this one alive since last Christmas. I am so impressed with myself!



I have a white one as well, but it is choosing not to bloom this year. Not so sure why, but I'll be happy with my pink one. It is definitely cheering up our gloomy house, since it has been raining here, without exaggeration, for 3 straight weeks.



And lastly, after staying up later than I had in a LONG time, I am almost finished with all of our two you orders, as well as my own Christmas cards!!! Whooohooo!!

Hope everyone is having a great week.
Nic

princess

David offered to hang with the little ones last night so that I could take our princess to see the Princess and the Frog- her first movie!!! We had a fun mom/daughter date at chik fil-a and then headed to the movies. Since it was her first, I decided to spoil her even more with letting her pick whatever she wanted for a treat at the movies....she picked a HUGE bag of chewy sweet tarts. I think it was $17. Just kidding.
She was sooo excited, as was I. It is even better that the whole movie was set in New Orleans and the bayou. She loved that she recognized places in the movie. I think I enjoyed it just as much as she did. It was absolutely precious. Great songs as well. I think I should ask Santa for the soundtrack!
I took a pic of the little cutie pie in the huge movie chair, but it was sadly too dark for the camera on my phone to really capture anything...but, we have the memories!

we like to move it, move it

Quite a busy weekend around here, as they seem to be this time of year....

After our breakfast with Santa yesterday morning, we spent the day finishing up the decorating around the house...Bennett spent the afternoon "moving" in and out of his crib in record time...so, sadly, I think the final crib is about to come down at the Parnell house! I am so sad on so many levels! Bennett has been,by A MILE, our best sleeper, and he really needs his sleep. I can usually count on a 2 hour nap from him. But, when he doesn't take a nap, he has a definite mean-streak that comes out. Our little over-tired boy has been picking on his sisters all weekend. Our usual measures, which worked to keep the girls in their beds, have not worked so far, so David and I are going to have to figure something out...for his safety and our sanity!

This morning, David took the little ones out for a Daddy play-date with Davis and Jacob, and I spent some quality time with Elise....Bennett loves trains, and David said he was absolutely thrilled when he saw the train at the mall today....



Lila apparently wanted nothing to do it with...I was kind of surprised, because even our timid Elise took her first ride on this same train before she was two-- and loved it!



THUMBS UP!! CHOO-CHOO. David said there were immediate tears when his ride was over...



My big, brave, boy...

Last night, we decided on a whim to rearrange the girls' rooms. Lila's room has bugged me (for lack of a better word) ever since we moved here. We ADORE our new house, and are completely grateful for it, BUT if I had to voice one teeny-tiny complaint it would be that the kids' rooms are smaller than we realized. It isn't a big issue, because we do have a large playroom where we keep most of the toys. So, rooms around here are for sleeping and quiet time. We had a double bed, which used to be my Great Grandmother's, in her room, and although I like the bed, it took up the whole room. Really. In addition, Elise's room was filled to the brim with furniture, because we tried to fit everything from her old, much bigger, room into this one. After presenting the idea to her, she agree to let Lila borrow her beautiful white daybed, which she was no longer sleeping in. By giving it up, she also gained quite a bit of room in her room, which gives her a larger area to play with her dollhouse during quite time. I am sooo much happier with the way both rooms look, and I feel so much calmer when I go in there...I hope they do too. Lila's room still needs some finishing touches to make it truly "hers"....but, we will get there with time...Anyway, the whole thing was a definite win, win! I'll have to take some pics....SO, with all of my rambling, I am leading up to the fact that David let Lila pick a little thank you "happy" for Elise when they were at the mall today...and see below what she chose....



Of course she got one for herself as well. I cannot look at them with a straight face...they are the silliest little barrettes I have ever seen..but, both girls LOVE them!!! So funny.

Well, I better get a move on.....lots of two you to work on!

Nite, nite!
Nicole

first breakfast with santa

This morning was the annual MOMS (moms of multiples) breakfast with Santa....It was nice and cold and really felt like Christmas in Louisiana!



The kids had a breakfast "corn dog"- a piece of sausage wrapped in a pancake. This went over surprisingly well with ELISE (David and I were in shock) and Bennett....



Lila finally found her happy face when we located a blueberry muffin!




First year that we had three smiling faces for Santa! There wasn't quite enough room on his lap, but we improvised. The kids were all giving him high fives and so excited to see him. As usual, Elise's wheels were turning and she was quite concerned with where he had parked his sleigh.



Elise was thankful to receive a plush pink bear, and Lila and Bennett each got a ball.



It was a fun morning spent together...many more to come as Christmas quickly approaches!

Ho!Ho!Ho!

geaux, geaux, geaux, saints 11-0!!!

TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (FIVE, actually!!)

What a way to start the week! GOOOOOO SAINTS!

trimming the tree

After baths on Sunday night we decided to let the kids stay up a little so that we could get some ornaments onto the tree....We have REALLY high ceilings in our new house, and so this is the biggest tree, by far, that we have ever had...we could definitely go bigger, but we wouldn't have the ornaments to fill it, and I would hate for the girth to take up the whole den!
This is our tree with lights, ready for some ornaments....

We had lots of help from our little footed pj (LOVE THEM- even the tacky ones from KMart) clad munchkins.....they would put the ornament on the low branch and then when they turned around to grab another ornament from David (he was the guardian of the ornaments) I would quickly relocate to a higher location.....sooo sneaky...

Lila's hair is very, very curly after her bath...love this pic.....

Elise helping out....

Bennett showing off the LSU ornament....

Everyone wanted a "term" putting the star up, so they all got one!

I have to admit, this made me a little nervous....but David assured me he would not be dropping any small children onto the hard brick floors below....

Fearless Lila....

Our three, hard at work....

The tree looked great!! Why the past tense, you may ask? Well, sometime between Sunday night and yesterday morning ALL of the lights stopped working. SO, we are going to have to do some trouble-shooting to figure out what the deal is. Because what is a Christmas tree without lights?? (I am wondering if a certain little kitty cat had something to do with this.....)

Merry, merry!

Nicole

it's beginning....

...to look a lot like Christmas!!!! We love this time of year, and it is been lots of fun (and let's be honest, lots of work!) getting the decorating process going....

The "star attraction" (pun intended) around here is this awesome star with lights trailing down that David managed to suspend about 40-50 yards up in the air!! He did list last year, but our trees at the old house were not quite as mature, and so the star wasn't near as high....this year he definitely out did himself...needless to say, the kids LOVE it!

While he worked on the star I got to work on the front door....I think I am done, but don't hold me to it, because I have definitely been known to go back and make adjustments...

Today we have been tackling the inside, but with a big brief due tomorrow David had to work all afternoon and so we haven't gotten too much done. But, the tree is in the stand and the stockings are up!! Maybe Kate & Nick can send that elf they are hoping for this way after he finishes up at their house!

Elise definitely wins the quote of the day award around here, yet again. She was so excited to help me unpack the nativity scene (a wedding gift from awesome Aunt K), and like last year where she cracked me up telling someone that we "keep our Jesus in the attic"..she had me laughing again. We were pulling out each person...Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, etc...and she said, "Mom- we've got to find Jesus. He's the little guy!"

On a serious note, hopefully we'll do our job this year of teaching them all that, although he may be "the little guy"...that he is the ONE, and the Reason for all of the celebrating....

Happy Christmas Season everyone!

Love, Us

thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year.....where do I even begin?

Well, first of all, how many 33 year olds still get to celebrate Thanksgiving with their Grandpa? And how many 2 and 4 year olds get to spend time with their Great Grandparents? The kids had fun yesterday playing with Grandpa and Virginia.



They also loved seeing their Aunt and Uncle and getting to work on some puzzles with them....We all definitely missed Mo and Phillip, but know they will be here before we know it!





And it is the little things, like a family photo where everyone is looking at the camera, that I am thankful for as well....



This has been a great year for us, and we are extremely grateful for all of the time we have had with family and friends. We also are thankful for our new home, and the fact that we were able to pull it off without ever having to have two house notes....thankful that Elise's face has healed so much better than anyone thought it would, and that we have peace knowing that Baxter is happy in his new home....
This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the list we have...as we are humbled and blessed today....
Thank you to all of you who choose to stop by here and check on our family...and for you fellow bloggers, thank you for sharing your families with us....as we love keeping up with you!!!
Love,
The Parnells

dinner and a show

Hello! I'm back!!

David's parents are prepping to leave for an extended buying trip this week and so they came over yesterday afternoon to spend some time with the kids before they leave....They wanted to take us out to dinner, and David thought it would be fun to take the kids to a hibachi restaurant. It really was. Bennett definitely enjoyed the show the most, but we all enjoyed the food and the chance to get out!



A choo-choo train of onions (this was Bennett's fav!)



The two David Bennett's and Bennett....




Lila, Elise, and Emmy...waiting (im)patiently for their food...




We topped off the night with a trip to a new frozen yogurt place!! Yum! Yum!!
Have a great trip Emmy and Pop!!

fun fall pics

We had a great time taking pictures with Paula the Friday that Mo was in town, and she quickly got a beautiful slide show of pictures to us. Click here to see. I love photography, love different people's points of view, and treasure pictures of our children (if you've been to our house you can attest to this!)...I never want to forget the way they look right now and I know that will be hard to remember when they are grown (which is happening quickly!)....
She was so much fun to work with, and came to our house- which I thought was so fun! The kids were able to play freely in our backyard, and we even moved some of our favorite pieces of furniture (gifts from David's parents) out back for them to play and climb on. Not only did we create some great pictures, but great memories as well!
I decided to let her shoot me in a few of the pictures, with hopes that I could maybe surprise David with a great group shot for his office, but with three kids and a Mom that is not so photogenic, that was a tall order...but anyway, we are thrilled with the pictures of the kids and feel that she truly captured their personalities....
ENJOY!

lot of fun with aunt mo

We had lots of fun with Aunt Mo!! So much fun that I haven't had a chance to post about it! We had a great family dinner at Mimi and Grandpa's Wednesday night, a fun "adults only" sushi meal Thursday night, she was my assistant on Friday helping with pictures with the kids and flu shots (she is probably scarred for life), and some more fun family time watching LSU get beat Saturday night! (That was the one low point!) We all miss her already and are looking forward to her and Phillip's Christmas visit!

Luckily, Lila and Bennett waited until after Mo left to get sick....unfortunately, this coincided with a quick visit from David's parents, who had to see a pretty pitiful Bennett yesterday afternoon. Lila joined "team sick" around 1:30 this morning. We just got back from a Dr's visit and they are pretty sure it is just a viral case of croup. They did flu swabs just to be sure (even though we chose to vaccinate them for both strands) and we'll get those results this afternoon. So, my two little pitiful munchkins are both tucked in bed, happily taking naps after a rough night last night...Hopefully they'll feel better soon!

Happy Monday everyone!
Nicole

my favorite birthdays

July 19, 2005



June 1, 2007




These are the "birth"-days I like to think about on my birthday today. These gifts will never be topped!





Thanks to all for the birthday wishes and to my sweet husband and munchkins for making my birthday morning so special! Looking forward to some time with Mo this weekend!! I guess 33 isn't so bad.....:)
Love, Nicole

it's not always sunny days and golf courses

Everybody has them. You know...those days. Those days where you wonder what happened to your kids, and where the aliens or demons that are inhabiting their bodies came from. Those days where you are ready to call it a day and it isn't even 8 a.m. yet. Those days where you realize what a good marketing campaign "Calgon, take me away" was. Those days when you are pretty sure your Grandmother is appalled at the behavior of your children and you just want to crawl into bed with some stolen (from the demons) Halloween candy and hide (wow, that was a little dramatic). Those days when your husband cannot get home soon enough. You know...those days.
Can you tell I had one?

So, yes, I had one of those days. But tomorrow is a new one, and it will be better.

Goodnight.

Love, Nicole

i play golf with daddy

Bennett tells anyone and everyone that will listen that he "plays golf with daddy". At this point, it still sounds a lot more like "pays goff wiff daddy". It doesn't matter if it has anything to do with the current conversation or not, it is just his saying of late. Two things are funny about this- 1) he has actually never been to play golf with David, and 2) David rarely plays golf anymore (unless it is for "work" during the week).
Today was GORGEOUS, and so after his short nap today, with a beautiful afternoon ahead of us, we decided it would be a fun day to go play golf all together. The girls and I drove the cart, and David and Bennett played...







It was really soooo much fun. Bennett loved trying to see where the ball had gone and trying to swing, and he also like kicking the ball off of the tee. I told David maybe we should focus on place-kicking (a great way to be on the football team without giving me a heart attack every week!). It was a perfect way to end a great weekend....

Also, if you can't get enough of Halloween, be sure to check out the Brister's blog. I took ZERO pics at the party last night, but as usual, Davis and Suzanne got GREAT pics! The kids were all so cute!
Hope you all had fantastic weekends!
Love, Nicole

we ARE in wonderland

We knew this was the case, when curiously, yesterday afternoon a little white rabbit showed up and kept saying, "We're late, we're late....for a very important date!". He kept looking at his pocket watch and hopping around the house like crazy....



Then Alice and the Queen of Hearts arrived, curiously getting along like best friends....or even sisters....

And off we went to a fun, food-filled, party full of friends.....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

more curious

As Alice would say, things got curiouser and curiouser today when not Lila, but the Queen of Hearts, showed up for ballet...




Lucky for her classmates, she did not yell "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!"

are we in wonderland?

I am quite curious...because today, when it was time for ballet, it was Alice, not Elise, who was ready to go....

And then Alice had a very nice ballet class with quite a group of characters!

Happy Halloween Week!

Nicole

first fire and a surprise

We had our first fire in our new house Saturday night while we watched the LSU game (go tigers!) and Elise said, "you know, the perfect thing to do by a fire is read a book!"! So true, but seriously, where does she come up with this stuff?

***

Sunday afternoon we loaded everyone up into the car and didn't tell them where we were headed...Bennett was just excited to go on the "big bridge" (the Causeway) and I think he would have been happy with that!



Below you can see my (unsuccessful) attempt at getting a picture of the kids with David....Bennett cannot be still for 5 seconds!!



UNLESS he is eating cotton candy.....



and watching SESEME STREET LIVE!!!

Was a fun family night....

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

princesses and pansies

There are a plentitude of "P" words in my posts today for some reason! One of David's closest friends from childhood has a son playing in a soccer tournament here today and so he took Bennett out to the ball field this morning. The girls and I stayed back and worked in the yard. They were very excited to help me plant some purple pansies!

Elise was especially precise with the planting, and very concerned with exactly who had what job and how many jobs we each had. We ended up settling with, after much discussion, Lila holding the bone-meal box (Mimi swears this will make the pansies do well), me digging the hole, Elise putting a scoop of bone meal in, and then placing the pansy in, and me finishing up. Our system worked well. I do think it probably took us 4 times as long to plant one tray of pansies as it would if I had done it myself, but I guess it was a good day to practice my patience....and spend some time with my little princesses!!

pumpkins and pa pa

We had a fun filled Friday yesterday starting off with our second failed attempt to visit a local pumpkin patch with our Friday playgroup. Last Friday we all drove out to the country only to discover that they were closed for a wedding. They assured us that they would be open all this week, including yesterday, but when I arrived they were closed again! Frustrating!! But, we were able to move past our disappointment and we ended up taking the kids to a farmer's market that has a small pumpkin patch and then to a park to play afterwards...

I tried my hardest to get Bennett to leave his corduroy hat at home, but he really never takes it off. I do think it is adorable with play-clothes for the winter, but combined with this jon jon he almost looks like he has a little costume on! Oh well, he's my cutie regardless!

Lila was not in the posing mood and did not like sitting up by the big pumpkin...Oh well, I tried!

Bennett loved the big scarecrow and the horses they made out of corn stalks....Lila steered clear!

After picking Elise up from school and heading home for Bennett to nap, we went over to Mimi and Grandpa's to celebrate Grandpa's birthday! My Mom cooked his favorite "bbq" shrimp and Mimi made crab and corn chowder. I think the quote of the day goes to Elise, who said, "Mom- what are we going to do about the fact that I really want cake, but I really don't like what we are having for dinner?!"

Everyone had fun helping Grandpa blow out his candles....BUT, even more fun helping him eat his cake!!

We are so thankful we were able to celebrate another birthday with him!!

Happy Birthday Pa Pa!!

On another note, we are especially thankful as well that our very special Aunt K had a successful quintuple (hope I am spelling that right) bypass surgery yesterday morning. She has been in our thoughts and prayers so much, and continues to be as she heals....She is such a blessing in our lives...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

tea for two

I had the honor this morning of joining Elise and her class for a Mom's tea. She was so excited about it and has been practicing her songs for weeks! They worked really hard and made all of the decorations for the room and the table. There were cute little pumpkins made from brown bags that they had painted and stuffed, adorable place mats with the sweet "my Mom is marvelous" song printed on them, paper gourds on the walls with their pictures, and beautiful leaf coasters for our tea cups! In addition, each Mom got a corsage that looked like a large fall mum, with a picture of their child in the middle. Priceless!!

As we came in there was some free time where they were able to show us around their classroom...to see all of the different centers and projects they have been working on. Then we participated in circle time with them, where they taught us their morning prayer, we talked about the calendar, the weather, and the various jobs that they rotate through during the week. We said the pledge, marched and sang "Grand Ole Flag", and saw how they start their day every morning. Then the class sang a few songs they had been practicing just for us....

How cute are these kids!! When looking at her in the line I can tell how much Elise has grown in the last year. When I went to her Mom's tea last year, she was the smallest one in the class- now she is right about average!

Here she is showing me her "car". The teachers have cleverly written each child's name on a car and the car "parks" at a new job every day. Since there are 11 kids in the class and only 7 jobs, a few people's cars go into the parking garage at the end of the rotation. What a neat way to teach patience!! It is funny how E always knows exactly when her car is coming out of the garage-she is always even MORE excited on her way to school that day!

*apparently I had a smudge on my lens and didn't realize it...sorry for all of the fuzzy pics*

They have been talking a lot about families in school this fall. The have a book with all of their baby pictures in it and one with all of their family pics. In addition, they made this graph on the door where they practiced charting the different members of the family.

Here is Elise in the housekeeping center. She loves this area..they have a little kitchen, a table and chairs, a phone, an area to dress up.....

So cute!

Elise and her friend Antonella (they have been in the same class for 2 years and love each other) demonstrated the listening center for us. They were reading and listening to a Corduroy the Bear Halloween book.

Antonella's family is bilingual and her Mom has been teaching the class Spanish once a week. Elise ADORES it. My Spanish degree has been extra helpful lately as she has been asking me quite often, "How do I say (insert whatever) in Spanish?" It is definitely something I want to continue practicing with her as I feel like picks it up easily. I went up to Antonella's Mom to thank her and tell her how much Elise is enjoying it and she said, "oh I already know that. She pays such close attention and is mesmerized!" She can count to ten (almost twenty) on her own as well as remember some basic colors, greetings, etc...

So, I think I have been enough of a bragging Mom for today, but I just don't want to forget any details about the special time we had together! Stay tuned for Dad's night next week!

Love, Nicole

Happy Birthday Pa Pa!!

We love you!!!

Chef Lila

Resourcefully using her socks as oven mitts, Chef Lila is cooking up some pacifier pie. Quite a hit with the 2 and under crowd!

Happy Monday!!!

Nicole

what a day

I don't know how it works for ya'll, but I always find that we don't have much going on on the weekend, or else we have a TON going on on the weekend. So far, this one has proven to be one of our busiest yet. David took the kids to New Orleans this morning for a walk for asthma that his firm was sponsoring. It was in Audubon Park and his parents met them down there. After that, since they were so close, they made a quick trip to the zoo before they headed back home for Elise's soccer game. (I stayed back to start painting the bookcases in our den, which, in hind site, was probably not a good project to start on such a busy weekend. But, I digress.) They dropped off L & B and picked me up- my Mom offered to stay here with them so they (well, Bennett) could nap- and we headed out to Elise's game. The definite highlight of the day was that this cutie pie.....

...scored her FIRST GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes!!! There were actual tears in her Daddy's eyes as he saw the smile on her face. We are so thrilled with how much her confidence has grown and with how much fun she is really having out there with her team! Emmy and Pop treated her to some ice cream on the way home, which she loved! I am soooo glad I was there to see it! What a memory!

As soon as we got home from soccer, I took Lila to her first "on her own" birthday party. Obviously she has been to parties before, but this was the first one where she was just invited by a little girl in her ballet class. She was so excited and has been talking about it all week. We had a great time!! (The mother, who is a friend of mine, very nicely also said Bennett and Elise were welcome to come, but Bennett was sleeping and Elise needed to rest after soccer and spend some more time with her Grandparents. Plus, I thought it would be fun for Lila to get to do something by herself...)

As soon as we got home from the birthday party we loaded up the car with the whole family and headed to a church picnic organized by the Mom's of young kids group. It was a fun way to top off a VERY busy, fun-filled day!

Now, off to get another coat onto the bookshelves....then I think I'll go pass out! :)

Night Night!

Nicole

I can't decide...

...which one made me smile bigger today....

a "choo-choo" train of trikes?

a sweet little man enjoying a cool day with his new fall hat?

or a sweet baby waiting patiently for a bedtime story with his footed pj's....

Hope you all had a happy Friday!

Enjoy the weekend!

Love, Nicole

a question answered...

David has been trying to figure out for a while now who (or what!) has been getting into our garbage can. You see, we have the big can with the lock on it that is supposed to make it difficult to get open. Well, I was able to answer his question today. As we were driving off to school the kids were THRILLED to see a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) family of raccoons run across our street. I was not aware that raccoons could grow to be that big. Elise goes, "YES!!! They live in our back yard!!" (That is exactly where they went...and up a tree!) I was not so excited as she was as I now picture the raccoons watching me through the windows at night!!


This is not one of "our" actual 'coons (Bennett's term), I was not fast enough to get a pic with my phone..plus, I was trying not to run over one!
I am guessing, based on the size of them, that they easily stand on their hind legs and push the top off of the can...no problem for an animal that must at least weigh 50 lbs. Seriously.
As Elise likes to say, we really do have a zoo out there.

geaux tigers!!

just for kicks

Some great pics from last week's game by our unofficial, but officially awesome, team photographer Nikki!

Happy Thursday!

Nicole

three terrific talking twos

Poor Bennett. He gets dragged to ballet twice a week for his sisters, and often times I have to wake him up to get there in time. He is my best sleeper and, unlike his sisters, still loves his naps! Very nicely, Kimberly offered to pick Elise up yesterday and bring her, so that if Bennett were sleeping I wouldn't have to wake him up. I knew that Lila would be up, so I had her leave Camille here with me so that they could play! MUCH better then cramming them all into the small waiting room at ballet and trying to entertain them for an hour....
Well, unfortunately, due to the business of life, and the little ones staggered school schedules, we really haven't been able to let them play together much. They had SO MUCH FUN. I was cracking up because they were having little conversations, making each other laugh, fixing "dinner" together (and "coffee" for me, of course) in the little kitchen, and comparing bo-bo's. So cute and funny! And then when I loaded them up into the car to go meet K at ballet, they were ecstatic at the thought of riding together! So cute and refreshing how they get so excited about the smallest things! I have to admit I was a little nervous because I have heard the stories about cute, cunning, Camille and her ability to escape any car seat (I think K once pulled over 16 times on a road trip to put her back in her seat- can you imagine?), but she was a perfect angel and did not escape until I parked in the parking lot!!





It was a fun afternoon! We'll hopefully do it more often....

In the spirit of fall I thought I would change my blog header- designed by fabulous Mo. If any of you bloggers want a new header, she is your girl!
"Fall" is apparently a joke in south Louisiana. I swear I think it is 100 degrees today!!!

Happy Tuesday!
Nic

some catch up

It was a busy weekend, but we all enjoyed it! After some yard work Saturday morning we headed to Elise's soccer game. She has improved drastically, running with the "pack", and even kicking the ball quite a bit. She seems to be really enjoying it now that she has more of a feel for the game.
Saturday night we enjoyed watching LSU beat Georgia- Go Tigers!! We also all enjoyed the "world famous" brownies that Suzanne dropped off. Even Bennett, who is not usually into sweets, couldn't get enough!!





After church on Sunday David headed to NOLA for the Saints game with Nick and Davis, and so the ladies and the kids came over here after naps to watch the game and play. We all had a lot of fun! I am disappointed that I don't have any pics of the kids in their Saints gear- I hadn't charged my camera. They all looked really cute- trust me!! And GO SAINTS!!! I am having flashbacks of my sophomore year in high school when the Saints were undefeated at this point too! How much fun! I've always been a huge Saints fan....my parents passed that trait down to me (their first date was a Saints game) and now we are passing it to our kids!!
After a pretty long (and tiring) weekend, I got quite a laugh yesterday at my own expense. I was feeling pretty good because I actually made it to the gym for a short workout and then showered and got dressed because I was reading in Elise's class in the morning. So I went, read some stories, chatted with the teachers AND director, then ran a few errands before going home for a bit and then heading back to pick everyone up. As I am walking into the school to go to Lila and Bennett's class I ran into my friend Missy. So we are talking about the weekend (her little girl was actually on the opposing soccer team Saturday) and then after a few minutes she said, "Nicole- do you have on two different earrings on purpose?" Umm....NO. And these weren't discreet little stud earrings or anything. I had two totally different dangling earrings on!! I guess everyone else was just too nice to say anything, or seriously thought I had done that on purpose!! We could not stop laughing. Just shows you how many times I checked myself in the mirror once I threw my clothes on. Zero.
The kids continue to make me laugh and smile a million times on a daily basis. Lila's saying of the moment is "oh my goodness" and she says it over and over like that little girl from the movie Annie. Bennett tells anyone that will listen that he "plays golf with daddy"- although it is more like "pays goff wit daddy". Elise is into using "big" words like embarrassed, actually, and structure, although I would say she only uses them in the correct context about 80% of the time. I really enjoyed observing in her class yesterday and watching her with her peers. I was a proud Mommy, as usual.
Hope you all enjoyed your weekends as well...

Happy Happy Birthday to Shelley AND Gray today!!! We love you!!!!

Nicole