No Training wheels....and balllet

Sallie learned this past weekend how to ride her bike with no training wheels and is now a riding machine. After many falls and lots of banged up knees, she is riding like a champ. I think that she likes riding even better now that the training wheels are gone. Anna has taken over riding Sallie's first bike and has learned how to peddle by herself. She loves it! She has taken several spills as well but seems to bounce back really quick. For some reason she could peddle her tricycle really well but could not do the bike until a week or so ago.

Anna got all dressed for her 1st ballet class Tuesday and got all excited about it. I took her and forgot that it was Tuesday and not Monday when her class is. Labor day really confused me this year. Anyway, she looked so cute, we had to get pics and come home and pretend ballet. She is one cute ballerina. I'm a little partial :)

Anna turns 3

Five days after the shock of having a 5 year old, I get to do it again and sing Happy Birthday to my baby. Anna, today you are 3 years old and no longer a little baby but a big girl. You know what you want when you want it and you will let everyone know. You have the best contagious laugh I have ever heard and sometimes you just make me laugh like crazy because you are laughing. I miss you when you are at school and miss our two days at home together. You love "Sallie" and when she is not around you are constantly asking where she is. Your favorite show is Dora and you love to eat yogurt and cheese. Your favorite activity is to play with your babies. You will be such a good Mama one day because you are so sweet to your babies even when they have to go to timeout. We are going to have to work on loosing your passy soon but you do love it so much:) You really wanted a care bear for your birthday and we have not gotten it yet so still working on that. Maybe that will be a later gift that you open. You are going to be so excited about your doll house that Daddy worked on for you last night for about 5 hours. It is huge!!! Before I know it you will be turning 5 too so I know that I need to soak all your 3 year old self up and enjoy every second.....We love you so much Anna Banana!!!!!!

The Big 5 and back to school

Today is the day that Sallie Celess turns the big whole hand 5. I can not believe that it has been 5 years since I brought that little bundle home from the hospital and learned all about what it was to be a "Mama". I remember those first couple of nights home from the hospital waking up every 2 -3 hours for feedings, that went on for what seemed like forever and now that time seems like forever ago..... I am so thankful to have a happy and healthy 5 year old. Not only is she happy and healthy but Sallie Warren, you are the sweetest, spunkiest, funniest, smartest little girl out there (I am a little partial). Your teachers and little friends in your class this year are lucky to have you there and I know that you will have a great year. Happy birthday sweet girl. This mama loves you more than you will ever know. I know that this next 5 years will fly by like the first and will be just as fun. I wish that I could freeze time and continue to enjoy you being 5 but I know that I can't so I am going to strive to enjoy every single day to the fullest (the good and the ugly). I hope that you have a wonderful day today.

We had Sallie and Anna's birthday party at the park last week so today is just a little birthday celebration for Sallie with family. We started the day with a doughnut with a candle in it for breakfast. I made some mini cupcakes for her class to have at snack. Ward is picking her up at lunch to take her to Frankies fun park to ride the go carts. Sallie and I are going to get pedicures this evening and then we are all going to eat at Chick fil a (her choice). You think that she may be rotten by the end of the day? I will keep you posted on that. She is so excited about her big day. She is unwrapping a pink cash register from us and some dress up shoes and a barbie from Anna. We will celebrate Anna's big day on Monday so we will do all this over again minus the Frankies and pedicures. Anna does not care about that and would hate to ride a go cart. All she wants for her birthday ........a carebear. Where do you even find those anymore? Sallie has one so Anna wants one. We are still on the lookout for that so if you have any suggestions on where to get this, let me know. Heres to birthdays!!!!

The girls both started back to school Monday which is earlier than most. Sallie started Kindergarten this year but stayed at Eastminister. She loved her first day and had so much fun. She is really impressed by the smart board that is in her room. She already came home singing a song about money and the order of the coins. Mrs. Mack is her teacher and she is so sweet and I know that she is going to have a incredible year. Anna got Mrs. Rachael for the 3's and will go to school everyday. She enjoyed her first day as well. She is warming up to the idea of going to school everyday. We used to have Tuesdays and Thursdays together at home so it is all new to be going everyday. I am adjusting to this as well:( They both get out at 12 so I do have lots of time in the afternoons to enjoy them. Eastminster has been such a great school and I will be so sad when it is no longer a part of our daily life. I do feel that the girls are loved so much there and have learned so much not only about school stuff, but about God. I know that next year we will have to move on but it will be a sad day:) This year is going to be great.... I must say that I really enjoyed my first summer being at home with the girls and we did lots of fun things.................but am loving being back in school as well. I like a routine and school is a good routine for us. I know that when we start real school, I probably won't look forward to that as much but this 9 -12 school day is great:)

Catching up

I've gotten really behind on the blog lately and had a couple spare minutes to give a few updates. Summer is in full swing now and almost over:( The kids start back to school August 8th. Sallie will be a big kindergartner this year at Eastminster and Anna will be in the 3's (wiping tears). I really can not believe that my girls are almost 5 and 3. It has been a fun and low key summer. It has flown by like I knew it would. It was my first summer at home with the girls and not working. What a joy it has been to be home with them. I can't say that there have not been days that I would have wanted to be at work however I know that this is time that I won't get back and I want to enjoy every second. The girls have really been so good at home and have learned to play together really well in the mornings with their babies and playing kitchen. Now the afternoons when everyone is tired is another story. We went to the beach for the 4th of July and had a blast. It was so much fun and the girls both loved the ocean. I actually enjoyed it myself. I am usually scared and don't like it but I made myself go in this summer and once I was in, it was ok. I rode some waves and really had fun. We have been to the lake a couple of times as well. We borrowed a float that Ward pulled behind the boat with Sallie and I on and it was so much fun. Sallie did not want to go at first but when I said that I was going, she was in. We laughed so hard that my stomach hurt the next day. It was so much fun. Not only was my stomach sore but my back was really sore from holding on for dear life. I was so scared that we would flip off and Sallie would never want to do it again. We did not flip off and by the end of the ride, Sallie was holding her thumb up for Ward to go faster. We have used the pool alot and have really enjoyed that this summer too. Sallie is swimming like a fish and Anna can hold her own in the water too. Sallie recently started jumping off the diving board like a champ and swimming to the side on her own. She got so brave that she has been jumping and twisting in the air. This is a great activity to wear them both out including myself!

The girls are having their birthday party today at the park I just watched the weather and they said 100 degrees by 12. Oh well it may be a short one. They are having a little princess party together at Heathwood park. This may be the last year to do a party together and get away with it. It was pretty easy this year because Anna is so agreeable. She keeps checking to make sure that she will get to blow out her own candles. I did make them small individual cakes to blow out on their own. Sallie really wanted to paint nails at her party and Anna wanted a pinata so we have both those requests filled. They are really excited and I must admit I am excited too. I could not sleep last night. I love to see them have fun:) I will post some pictures after the party!!

A "funny"

Sometimes things that Sallie says are so cute and funny that I don't want to forget them. Sometimes I try to mentally remember them but sometimes they make me laugh so much that I must actually type them and put them on my blog to go back to one day. This particular "funny" was really funnier in person but still one for the books. We were eating dinner outside and Ward was not feeling so good so he was laying on the couch. Sallie said "I hope Daddy feels better because I love him all the way to Disney World and back. I said "that is really sweet Sallie, I am sure he is better now." Sallie said "I love you all the way to Bethlehem and back." Anna was sitting there looking at me like she was thinking, what about me? Anyway, I said "Sallie, what about Anna?" She looked at me and said, "well, I love her to the park". It was so funny! Again, much funnier in person but want to keep some of these things fresh to refer back to. I will blog about our annual beach trip this week. We got back Saturday and had a blast as usual. It was wonderful to get away and relax with the family.

Anna's 1st trip to the dentist

Anna had her first dentist appointment yesterday and did great. Sallie was always great at the dentist so I really was not worried. She loved it and especially loved her bag that she got with the toothbrush, toothpaste and little flossers. I wish I could sit in the dentist chair like this with a smile on my face. She does not come by this honestly. I really don't like the dentist at all but I guess I do a pretty good job hiding my fears of the dentist:)

Mother's Day 2011

This Mother's Day was once again a wonderful day. Sallie had the sweetest tea for me at her school where they sang songs about us, said memorized bible verses for us and then shared cookies and tea with us. It was so special. She made me all kinds of sweet goodies but the best of them all was her picture of me and description of me. I was 35 this year which is pretty good considering I was much older last year. I look pretty when I am going to work. I love to play with her and she loves me because she likes me. Oh, and my favorite food is salad. I almost left that off. Anyway, it was really cute and her picture of me was so cute. I had purple earrings in and a matching madras like top. I will have to get a picture of this and post it. I had a free day to myself on Saturday which was so nice and Sunday we all enjoyed church together, lunch with my Mom and Dad, and then a trip to the lake. Ward let the girls fish and they each caught a little fish that we threw back. The girls loved the worms...YUCK! They held them, played with them, squeezed them, and maybe killed one or two. Anyway, I could not have asked for a better day. I am so lucky to have my girls and my Mother to celebrate with.

Tables turned

It was so funny yesterday as we were sitting down eating breakfast and Sallie was trying to tell Anna that she needed to eat her fruit first before her waffle and Anna turned to Sallie and said, "Sallie, you worry about yourself". I lost it laughing. It took me by such surprise to hear that come out of Anna's mouth. I say this all the time to Sallie because she is always worrying about everyone except herself. Anna is really staring to pick up on what we are saying and repeating it all. Sallie did not like this comment either but I really think it took her by surprise too. The look on her face was priceless. The tables are turning and I think that all the bossing around from Sallie is about to come to a halt. I think that I might have two tough cookies on my hands.

Sallie started playing soccer last month. She does not love it by any means but is sticking it out to complete the season. She got kicked in the eye in practice and really has not wanted to play since. She is pretty good at it and I have tried to encourage her to continue until the end. She looks pretty cute in her soccer shirt and little soccer shorts. She does love to put on her "skin guards".

We are loving the spring weather.....our annual picture at the tulips at Trenholm road Methodist Church. So sad at how much they have grown since last year :(

Disney World 2011

We just got back from Disney World for the kids first trip and mine and Ward's second trip. Wow has Disney changed since I went for the first time in the 6th grade.....We had a great trip and the girls loved it. There was so much to do. The trip started out a little rocky with two little girls with the flu. We started tamiflu on Saturday and did not leave until Sunday so they were a little better by the time we left but not fully recovered until Monday. Then on Monday I got the flu and was very sick. I did Epcot in a total fog because I felt so bad. I had to go to a care clinic in Disney on Monday and got tamiflu as well and was better by Tuesday late afternoon. By Tuesday we were ready to have some fun. Some of our favorites were our character dinners with the princesses at Akershurs House in Epcot, Chef Mickey, and Crystal Palace. We loved Peter Pans flight, Its a small World, and the play Beauty and the Beast. I did Space Mountain and it was so scary. I think I am too old for roller coasters. Ward did Tower of Terror and some other scary roller coasters. Sallie was too short for all the bigger rides. She is 39 1/2 inches and you have to be 40 inches tall for a lot of those rides. She did get to ride thunder road with Ward and loved it. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and the girls got to sleep in bunk beds which may be Sallie's favorite part of the trip. She also loved the swimming pool which she begged to go in everyday. It had a pretty cool water slide that she loved. It was pretty hard to explain that we can swim anytime and Disney was what we were going to do during the day time. Anna did great in Disney. I thought that she would be scared of alot of the characters and shows because she does not like a lot of noise but she loved it all. The car ride was a breeze. We have never traveled further than about 3 1/2 hours in the car with the kids and were a little worried. We drove straight both ways. On the way home we only stopped one time for about 15 minutes. I was so proud of them:) It was a great week of family fun and hopefully happy memories for the girls. We had such a great time. The pictures we took and the smiles tell it all.

Big girl in a big bed

Anna had her first night in her big girl bed last night and slept great. She went down great and did not get up until I woke her at 8:30. It was really sad watching Ward take the crib down. I tried to explain why I was sad and I guess it is just that the crib has been a part of our house and lives for 4 years now and it is now in the attic in storage. Plus this also means that Anna is now a big girl :( She is pretty darn cute in her big girl bed!!! I will post some pics of her big girl room later. I can not believe that my baby is in a bed but do love that I can now snuggle in her bed with her and read books at night. She is very proud of her big girl bed and is telling everyone that she sees.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Well Christmas has come and gone and I am late on this post but I thought better late than never. I am so sad this year that Christmas is over. I enjoyed the holidays and lazy days so much. I was ready to get the girls, especially Sallie back in a routine as she does well with structure but I sure did like sleeping in and not rushing to get out of the door everyday. I had almost a full two weeks off of work and loved it so much!! It was also nice having Ward home for some of that time off as well. We did so many fun Christmas activities. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights, baked many batches of cookies, attempted a gingerbread house with about 5 little girls that were more interested in the candy and the house finally collapsed so we just ate the candy instead of completing it. We took part in a Christmas play at church, visited old friends and made dozens of loaves of bread for our neighbors. Our Christmas was busy but it was busy with fun memories. The girls really got into their Elf name Rody, this year and had so much fun searching for him every morning. We did Christmas three different times with three different sides of the family which was fun too. It made Christmas last longer. Anderson, SC was our first stop at Nanas house, we celebrated with my family on Christmas eve with brunch and then again on Christmas day at out annual Bishopville trip. We then celebrated it with Ward's Dad and family on New Years Day. All were so much fun. We went to dinner with the kids and then watched the game with family and neighbors on New Years Eve. It was low key but a lot of fun. 2011 is here and is going to be a great year. I just know it :) Our big surprise for the kids for Christmas was a trip to Disney World in Feb. They were excited but I really think that I am more excited. I can not wait. I went when I was in the 6th grade and don't remember a lot about it. Sallie really has no clue what she is about to see and do but she is still excited. She has heard many friends at school tell stories of their trip. Our New Years Resolution: Well we really did not make any this year but I am going to try to spend more time reading the bible and less time on the computer so better get off here. Happy 2011 everyone!