Fun, friends and family

We have had some fun times celebrating birthdays, holidays and crazy weather the last few months.

It has been a cold winter here in the south so we have been keeping warm inside.

Kate loves to lay on the floor and push herself around at random times...and when she is tired.

 She also enjoys climbing….(insert my crazy face here).

A couple of Aubrey's buddies have birthday's in January. We had a great time celebrating with a vintage baseball theme at JW's as well as Carter's superhero party.

 We have had a few wintery mixes this winter. It consisted of mostly ice but the kids enjoyed playing in it. It helped Aubrey prepare for the slopes!

The following pictures are from the storm that brought lots more snow and ice. We were thankful for a warm house.

 We saw LARGE snowflakes fall. Like, you would have thought we were up in the mountains. But….it only lasted a short while before it turned back into ice. It was a slushy mess!

 The next morning everything was iced over and slick! Aubrey loved exploring and playing in it though. Shelby was pretty funny to watch walk on the crunchy grass.

Aubrey would have stayed out and played in the ice the whole day if someone would have stayed out with him! Everyone else was to cold to stay out for very long! His favorite thing was to throw chunks of ice and knock ice off of his toys.

On Valentine's day, I hosted a play date with some friends. It was great to have the kids over on such a pretty day when earlier in the week it had been sleeting and nasty! The backyard was still a bit damp but it made it a great place for the boys to get their hands and clothes dirty!

 We tried to keep the little girls inside (and clean) for as long as possible...

but it was just to pretty outside to stay in!

We are blessed to have so many great friends (mommy and kid friends included)!

Kate and daddy have a had some special times reading and playing on the floor. 

One day, Aubrey and I went on a date to Krispy Kreme. He loved picking out his doughnut and drink of choice-chocolate milk. 

Kate's hair has been growing in. I have been experimenting with a little pony on top of her head but can't do pigtails because neither she nor I have the patience to do two pony's! :)

 Kate has about ten teeth now. She has six on top (four front, two back molars) and four on the bottom (two front, two back molars). Teething has been difficult on her as it appears the teeth are just slowly making their way in.

One day, Kate and Henry had a sweet snuggle. She probably just appreciated a pillow to lay her head on but it was a sweet moment. She has no idea that she is about to be promoted to big sister/middle child. 

 Henry is growing and doing well. Seth and I enjoy watching his crazy movements at night. He and Kate are going to be my gymnasts I suppose! He measures closer to "normal"/50th%tile in size than his brother and sister who were "small"/25th%tile.

 Kate is quite the performer and loves to sing, dance, and make music. Her teachers at BSF have said she knows all the motions to the songs they sing and participates really well.
She found my baby sling/wrap and likes to put it on like a scarf or some sort of accessory.

 Her "cheese" face.

Kate and I spent several days together while Dad and Aubrey went snow skiing with the Thomas family. We had a good time but missed brother and Dad.

One of her favorite activities each day is to check the mail and then knock, open and come into the house….and repeat as many times as I will allow her!

She is quite a mix of tomboy and girly girl at this point. She loves accessories (jewelry, shoes, etc.) along with babies and stuffed animals but she also enjoys playing in the dirt, kicking/chasing balls, being outside, and wrestling with the boys. She is talking so much lately. Some favorite words of hers are: Aubrey, bubbles, no, daddy, hi, bye, Shelby.
Another fun activity for Kate these days is dressing herself.

We were able to go to one of the big Mardi Gras parades with Aubrey this year. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it since I was having some contractions but it worked out and we all had a great time!

 Aubrey enjoyed playing with his cousins and friend, Carter.

 My family always gets a great spot on the parade route and have quite a feast and party plot. We were in no shortage of good food and sugar/king cake!

 We had a really good time with the kids and enjoyed the fun throws/toys! I think this float was one of my favorites!

 Now, we wait for Mr. Henry Mitchel to make his arrival!