Five Years Old

Kylie Sophia {divine beauty & wisdom}
She is the first bright light in our lives...
we are humbled and deeply thankful that God chose to give her to us.

Kylie's birth-day turned into a birth-week - and it was a glorious week!

 

On her actual birthday our planned trip to the zoo got rained out.  So instead, we opted for her first mani/pedi!

Kylie really enjoyed the massage chair and Avery remained very focused on what was happening to her feet.



That evening we went down to the farm so Philip could finish a little building project. 
Meanwhile the girls enjoyed several games of Go-Fish with Gan.

Friday brought ear piercing!  Kylie has wanted to do this for a while and she was a CHAMP!

Then this little one climbed up in the chair...

...and she actually did it!  No tears : )

They look super cute and enjoy telling everyone they meet that "it really hurt!"

Saturday Kiki & Pop came bearing gifts.  We got a large pool for the backyard and a darling summer wardrobe!

By the end of the weekend we were all pooped out.  The girls spent Sunday afternoon watching a movie with Dad.

Memorial Day in H-town

We spent the long weekend at my parents house.  A great time was had by all, as we honored Memorial Day, which was particularly special this year because my brother.in.law, Nick, deployed Saturday for Afghanistan.  An added bonus was being with Uncle Stone for his birthday!

Avery poolside


Lots of water-sliding...

Uncle Stone's birthday dinner landed us at The Blue Nile for Ethiopian food (my favorite!), which Kylie quietly referred to "as piles of poop."

I'm still working on my adeptness with indoor lighting...bear with me!

Monday found our brood at the Rainforest Cafe, a great adventure for the girls!  Thanks, Mom & Dad, for a lovely weekend :)

Erin
In addition to running the girls around, playdates, and flirting with homeschool, I am attempting to grow my photography skills!  Slowly but surely...thus far I have taken one evening class in Dallas and several online tutorials. I have also started learning a new editing software. We shall see where I end up...hopefully not too frustrated ; )

Philip
As always, Phil has a lot of irons in the fire.  He has been out of town at least once a month since the beginning of the year.  This weekend he'll be in LA again for The Great American Pitchfest.  The filming of The Savior is steadily approaching as the funds come in and we are all excited about that!

Kylie & Avery
Kylie will have her first t-ball practice this Friday, with games carrying us through mid-July.  She will also start her first round of swimming lessons this month!  We've transformed the formal living room into a "school room".  Ultimately it's a good designated learning spot, reading, crafts, etc. Although Kylie was less than thrilled when I first moved all the furniture around, she is now in the habit of asking nearly every kid she meets, "What does your dining room look like?"  We are working our way through an English reading curriculum that seems to suit Ky very well and I'm teetering with starting her on some basic Hebrew in the near future.  Avery is ever-chipper and happy just to be included in whatever "my sister, Kylie" is doing!

Four Years Young

Kylie turned 4 last week!  I can't believe we're already at four, and yes, I'm sure I'll still be saying that at 20, 30, and beyond.  She decided the agenda for the day:  early morning zoo, followed by gymnastics, lunch, and backyard pool time.  Then, a few days later we celebrated with friends and family.

 She chose a Hello Kitty theme for her party.   It was a great day, with fun had by all!

Here are a few of the highlights...

Sisters at the zoo

Hangin' with the giraffes

Hello Kitty Cake

Pizza

Pinata

Merry-go-round

Presents

Eating cake...

and then eating her neighbor's cake!

And of course, lots of love from Mom & Dad!

Birthday Week!

The first week of April is a BIG birthday week around here...Philip's is April 2 and mine is April 4.  Yes, we are both Aries, both firstborns, and have a *little* age difference...it all works well for us somehow  =)

We spent Philip's birthday at the park and had a great lunch at Little Italy, a local family-owned Italian place.  Spaghetti is its own food group in Philip's world, so he couldn't have been more delighted!

My birthday got rained out so we had to resort to the indoor sport of shopping!  The girls had almost as much fun, but I think Dad's day "took the cake"  =)

Two Years

Seven hundred thirty one days. That's how long we've had the pleasure of Avery Noble. We are blessed beyond measure! Avery has an exceptionally sparkly personality for a child her age. Her sense of humor is delightful and comes so naturally. We haven't really schooled her in "please" and "thank you", yet she seems to use them all the time. And she very often spontaneously says,
"Hey, Mom?"
"Yes, Avery?"
"I love you too, Mom."
These are just a few of the things I adore about my sweet two year old.


Birthday giggles while waiting for lunch.










Many hands make light work


Instantly smitten


Needless to say, neither one of them have mastered the art of sharing. Maybe next year : )

Birthday Wishes

We celebrated Kylie's third birthday at Chick-fil-A with some of her special friends. Of course we can't believe she's already been with us three years! It was a really wonderful day!


"Let's get this party started!"


Avery loves her some "chicee filee"!


I made ice cream cone cupcakes - Kylie chose the pink icing and purple sprinkles.

Daddy & the birthday girl


Holding court at the slide!