7!!

Somehow, my spunky Little Miss Giggles just turned 7 today!!  (Ok, make that yesterday since it's after midnight as I'm posting this...oops.)  She had her birthday party this past Saturday at Bounce USA (soo cool!) and I loved getting to see my kids!

My snuggle bug.  :)  He gave me hugs and squeezes every time he ran by me.  And wanted to sit RIGHT next to me when it was time to eat.

So many fun things to play on here!!

Isn't she just beautiful??

LMG has lots of new little friends...this is one of them.  :)

She is waay into Hello Kitty these days.

Ohmygoodness I just love him so much!!

We also thought it was funny that we had two long tables placed end to end to spread out on...and when it was time to eat, all the kids sat on ONE side of the tables all in a row! Ha.

LMG, you are too stinkin' cute with those front teeth coming in!  :)

Lol!!  This picture makes me laugh.  

"Look!  It's icing lipstick!!"

She got just a few presents.....

This one was way cool.  

LMG, I missed being with you today after being with you on every birthday since you were two years old.  I hope you had a most fabulously fantastic day!!  I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MISS GIGGLES!!

littlest monkey

My friend, Jing is from China and a couple years ago, married her husband and moved to a new country all in the same big leap.  She speaks excellent English, although she doesn't think she does.  :)  She make the absolute best Chinese dumplings EVER!  I think they are most definitely one of my all time favorite foods.  Yum.  She is quiet and sweet and so very kind. My kids think she is just awesome.  :)

And she and her husband just had their first baby on Saturday!  He wasn't due for another month but apparently was in a rush to get here.  :)  Leah and I took her a few essentials (since she hasn't even gotten to have a baby shower yet! It was supposed to be this coming weekend!) at the hospital Saturday evening.  They came home yesterday and then Ye left to drive down to Atlanta to pick up her parents who are coming for a visit to see their grandbaby.  I had the oh-so-rough job of hanging out with Jing and baby for the afternoon/evening while Ye was gone...so of course both days...I took pictures.  :)

Tiniest baby I have ever held!!

(Ok, so the foot picture was actually taken by Leah on my camera and edited by me.  I was too busy snuggling him at the moment...!)  :)

Ready to see his coming-home outfit???

Eeps!!! So cute!!  :)

I tried to take a few more later in the day yesterday, but this is the only full-length basket pic that turned out semi ok (and it's not the best), because... 

...Benjamin was HIGHLY insulted.  :}  I told him eventually he will just get used to it.  He'll see me a lot...and the majority of the time I very well may have a camera in front of my face!  :)

(Oh, and can I just say that he has the CUTEST cry ever?! Oh my goodness.  He has this little hoarse voice that just melts you!)

I did manage to get one or two pretty good close ups though.  :)
(Rebekah...I thought about you a lot while I was taking these pictures...)

Congratulations, Jing and Ye!  We all knew you would make great parents...and you already are proving us right!  Enjoy your sweet boy - and having your parents here for a while!  :)

madison nicole

 Madison is Shannon's baby girl.  She decided to arrive ONE DAY after I left for camp in July which meant that I didn't get to see her in person until two weeks later!  Little stinker!  lol  :)  But really it was a good thing that I had her to look forward to since I was dreading the few weeks after camp and saying goodbye to my kids.  I might not have come home if she hadn't been waiting for me!  :}

It took a little while with all my moving, etc. to get over for an actual new born photo shoot but here are  a few for you.  The first three were taken a week or two before the rest.

Don't mess with Madison.  :)

 

Being a baby model is hard work. She was ready to be snuggled.  Oh, and this little pink dress is a dress Shannon wore when she was a baby! :)

first day of school

My kids came up to see me just before they left for their first day of school. They were very excited. LMG has already made a good friend. LMS made a 104 on her pretest in spelling. And when I asked Mr. Happy if he likes school the other day he said "yeah....we get to sleep!" :-p School is a big adjustment for my sweet boy - says a lot that his favorite part is when he gets to stop and rest!

I miss them.

my last day

This was the day I had been dreading all summer. It came way too soon. LM Sunshine asked to have a "goodbye party with a Leah cake" added as the very last thing on our summer list. As this day got closer, I realized it was a very good thing we were going to have people around that day - otherwise we all would have just been sad all day! Which I was, really, but it was just good to have some distractions.

We decided to make it a pool/slip'n'slide party...of course!

Sometimes Jonathan is not so sure about trying some things...but the slip'n'slide?? He cracks up every time!!

Laura was not too sure about the slip'n'slide herself at first but I told her she had to try juuust once!

She loved it. Everyone does! It's better than Dollywood! lol

Then Leah wanted to try.

Shannon didn't get to go on the slip'n'slide the last time she was here because she was pregnant...this time she went and said it was more fun than you could imagine!

Cute, cute, cute.

LM Giggles is very serious about her butterfly catching this summer. It's one of her favorite things to do.

Then I got to babysit for the evening and put my kiddos to bed, which was the perfect way to end my last day as their nanny.

Little Miss Sunshine, Little Miss Giggles, and Mr. Happy:

I love you so very much! I have loved every day of being with you for the past five and a half years! From potty training to time outs (that I thought might never end on some days!) to trips to the library to imaginary pink hammers :} and so so so much more! All three of you made me laugh and smile every day by just being you. :} I hope you always remember all the fun things we did together and how much I love you...but most importantly of all, I hope you will always remember, no matter what anyone else ever tells you, how much Jesus loves you - so much that He died for you! He who created you thinks you are beautiful (and handsome! ;) ) and even though Kiki can't be with you every day now, He is ALWAYS with you and He will NEVER leave you!

I already miss seeing your sleepy little faces each morning and I especially miss my eskimo kisses each evening (oonne...twwwo...frreeee...)! But I am asking and trusting God to keep you safe and to remind you often just how much He (and I!) loves you. I will never stop praying for each of you by name and I will always be here if you need me.

I LOVE YOU.....TO THE MOON AND BACK!!