For my Brother

who pretends to despise my paparazzi tendencies:)

Brief Vacation summary:

We had a great holiday hanging with family...

It was brrr chilly but we bundled up for nature walks

and random exercise.

Brad was on call but was able to enjoy most of the festivities.

we celebrated this munchkins birthday a bit late

but she didn't seem to mind TOO much!!

Mostly we relaxed, ate food that didn't require tooo much prep

(other than the awesome turkey uncle J)

My kids were terrors at times but 3 positive strep screens

explained most of that.

Overall, lots of relaxing and smiles...and an insane amount

of toys!!

Fa-la-la-la-la

visual now-recap to follow!!

xo

Today

We successfully made it to the mall.

Daddy watched the kiddos greet santa before his

pager whisked him away....he has been so busy lately

but very present for his family at the same time-no easy task.

This shot made my little heart burst....Buds running to

tell me what he said to santa....

Bailey eyes the candy canes and Keeg recites a long list!

Pipe was so brave, waving from afar but clung to her big sis,

who wrapped loving, protective arms around her.

sigh.

my clan is so mature.

even pipe is maturing!

I loved watching the awe in their eyes

and the excitement.

I am grateful Brad and my parents got to take it in, as well.

xo

Last Christmas

this is what we looked like.

Thursday we visit santa for this years photo.

last year

we swam christmas day at papas.

this year Keeg has been swimming on a team;

she swims the IM and has a mean breast stroke kick.

Last year

Pipe charmed us all;

at least some things never change:)

xo

Happy Birthday

2009

2010

Had an awesome time in November with

my niece at the atlanta aquarium.

She turned one this weekend and celebrated

with a raging fever...poor thing.

No fear little one!

Piper has an awesome tea party planned

with your name on it in a couple of weeks!

x0

this little munchkin

learned to climb out of a crib yesterday

is cracking me up with her pronunciations;

screams for the ipad-seriously, she says ipad;

takes things and says mine or my turn;

LOVEs LOVEs Elmo

and Big Bird

and the song B is for bubbles;

is totally into being independent...

"got it" she says if she is trying something solo

"beep beep" if she needs to get in your way

"owie-ice pack" if someone gets hurt

and "cuddle-bed" if she wants a moment to snuggle

and love on you:)

posterchild for cloning.

A Couple more

photos of some pretty great people:)

xo

Serious FUN

Had a wonderful time hanging out and creating some

family art with this clan.

Mom brought palpable love for her munchkin

and that warmth etched image after image

of love into my camera...to be revealed later-hehe

Now this guy

STOLE.

the.

show.

His infectious smile and sincere joy were easy to capture

over and over and over!!

xo

Trick or Treat

This was the crew this year...

Brady aka Indiana Jones with pal Darth

Indy sporting bright Green crocs is a collectors edition IMHO

Bai, the candy/cupcake/lollipop maker...

why limit yourself, right??

Keeg ala Hermione from Harry Potter

and Pipe discovering the BEST Holiday EVER

xo

This is how

we spend Halloween day....

burning off energy to get ready for candy consumption.

daddy & piper yumminess:)

xo

More Fall goodies...

hello autumn.

i miss you:)

xo

and she is off....

Had an amazing trip to Michigan this weekend.

Pipe decided to boycott the cousin photo....

until significant bribery was instituted.

xo

beauty & the Bai

My sis glows and Bai....well, is just being Bai:)

Pop + Silliness

Looked what "popped" out.

Seriously, over the last week, this baby

is like "hello, i am taking over!"

I coaxed my sis to the beach to take

some more belly shots and I love how

natural she looks here.

Meanwhile,...

Bai looks absolutely "natural" being a goof ball and braving the surf.

Yes, she went in!

Beach sessions!

These two had my heart singing as I watched them

run and laugh; falling in synch each time.

Their love for the beach was contagious and I was

glad I revved up on diet coke to capture it all:)

Big brother had super silly sauce yet charmed

me in an instant. He is *all boy* and was

by far the sandiest and wettest of the bunch!

Keegan

lately is a very busy little girl.

she has discovered the world of swimming

and despite the cooler temps, is enjoying

being in the water.

She enjoyed Brady's party and was a total slugger

during pinata time.

She continues to enjoy school and learning new things,

is destined to teach me a thing or two about butterfly,

still busts out some amazingly detailed art,

and is very into Harry Potter.

Her front tooth is finally coming in, she enjoys styling

her hair in the morning, and she gravitates toward

wearing lots of bold colors.

I see a lot of Piper/Keegan similarities which makes

my heart smile huge, happy, momma smiles.

xo

Here she is

my sis + future niece:)

Bai after being told she can see baby thru her belly button

Hope + jonny being posed and photographed

by Bailey...she has some of my genes after all!

xo

Recently

this girl has awesome sauce all over her.

She received rave reviews at teacher

conferences today, has been

a great big sis and generous sharing

friend to all, and uses some pretty

big words that catch you off guard!

I love our one-on-one talking time

at night, and watching her get stronger

in the pool each week.

She is definitely maturing and her

little brain is bursting with ideas!

xo

Today piper is

mostly mellow with brief episodes of giddy-ness or all

out cranky-ness...

so glad I picked up the camera and caught some smiles.

Poor thing has been cutting teeth + her tubes are

working their way out + a cold is brewing.

Elmo is on the television for a bit each day to

ease the crabbiness!

"no" is a prominent word in her vocabulary.

the car seat is her least favorite place to be.

she is getting sneaky....

will look you in the eye with a glimmer of mischief at times!

man, she is awesome.

even when cranky:)

xo

Drivers wanted:)

not so much the carseat!

6 year olds rule

Brady had an amazing celebration with friends and family.

Brad dressed up like Darth Vader and the kids pelted him

with water balloons and pool noodle light sabers:)

Brady led "yoda says" and the pinata broke after everyone

pummeled it.

sigh

he is six

freeze-a-kid machine, anyone?!!!

xo

B is for Bubbles

We sing the sesame street song and voila, happy pipe!

Last Day

of five.....sigh.

He is such a fun-loving kiddo.

Loves his sports and video games.

He wants to cling to being a little guy-not a fan of

independence in most forms.

He LoVEs to run and race.

He reads his dinosaur book so much it is falling apart.

He was sleeping with "sharkie" all summer.

His perfect day would be endless Wii time, lots of hot dogs/

bacon/pizza, perhaps a bit of "lets pester Bai", a game of "volleyball"

spinning on the chair, and raiding the candy bowl:)

He is amazingly kind and sensitive,

prefers silence to noise, avoids smells at all costs,

does math better than me, can eat his weight in pizza,

knows every star wars guy and Loves his momma:)

right back atchya buddy.

xo