one, two , THREE!

Our Sweet Bear is three. We cannot believe she is that old. It feels like we just had her second birthday. It's so fun to watch her personality develop. It amazes me how different she is from her big sister. They are so different. Curly is a pleaser. The Bear is a straight shooter. If she doesn't like something, she lets you know. Unlike her big sister, The Bear is shy. If she doesn't know you or if you haven't seen her in a while, you can expect her to lower her head and not look you in the eye or talk. However, once she comfortable around you, she is so much fun. She loves animals, Dora, puzzles, books, and her milk. Also unlike her big sister, The Bear is not a good eater. She would live off of milk alone if we let her. It is very common for her to say in the morning " I just want only my milk for breakfast. No food.". She asks for a peanut butter sandwich everyday for lunch. Every. Single. Day. Don't you dare put jelly or honey on that sandwich. Only peanut butter. For dinner refuse to give her something other than what the rest of us are eating. She may take one bite of the main dish. I'm really not sure how she grows. But she just had her 3 year check up today and she actually grew 2 1/2 inches since her 2 year check up, so she is growing.

The Bear has been so excited about her birthday even since Curly's birthday back in March. She asked almost every morning "Is today my birthday?". This year her birthday fell on Friday the 13th. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for a birthday party at the park with her best friends. Both of my girls are so blessed to have such sweet friends. We brought sandwiches for all the kids. The Bear requested a Dora cake, of course. The party was a hit and the birthday girl had a blast. For dinner we let The Bear pick what she wanted. Thankfully she chose Mellow Mushroom. Normally if we let her pick it's either Chick Fil A or Moe's. Mellow Mushroom was a yummy change. You want to know what she eats at Mellow? Just pizza crust with parmesan cheese sprinkled on it. That's it. If you give her a piece of crust that still has a little bit of cheese or sauce on it, she says "No! No! Only crust, not that other stuff".

3 brand new dollars from GG Lucy to start her day

A hug for mama

He is only a week older and a whole head taller

The Bear and two of her besties, Kate and Abby

Dora cake time

Blowing out the candles with Sissy's help

She enjoyed it

Giving a sweet kiss after she opened Sissy's present

Birthday dinner at Mellow

3

Today our sweet little Bear turns 3. It's very hard to believe she is already that old. She is such a joy to be around (most of the time). It's been birthday week around here. This past weekend we went to Montgomery and celebrated her birthday there with Grandma. Unfortunately Pap Pap was out of town; however, he did buy the girls a super fun toy to play with while he was gone. It was an inflatable large ball that the girls could get in and roll around the backyard. Curly had a BLAST in it. The Bear sat in it once and decided it just wasn't for her. Today we had a little party at the park with some of her best little friends. Tonight we are going out to dinner with Aunt Jenna and Uncle Prem. We always hold our breathe when we let one of the girls pick where they want to eat. Their answers are usually Chick Fil A, Moes, or McDonald's. Thankfully, today The Bear picked Mellow Mushroom. Yum Yum.

I'll do a separate post about her birthday party when I have a chance to go through the pictures. But for now enjoy some pictures from Montgomery.

Ready to roll!

The Bear isn't so sure about this ball

The ball made Curly's hair stand up

Thanks for the new wheels Grandma and Pap Pap!

Easter

We had a quiet Easter this year. Just the four of us. It kicked off on Friday with the Good Friday service at church. Just us girls went since Daddy had to work. Curly went to big church with me while Lily went to the nursery. She did a great job listening and sitting still. However when it was over she did say that she prefers to go to her church class with friends because it's more fun. Daddy had a final exam Saturday morning. We all took gloriously long naps that afternoon. I can't remember the last time I actually took a nap. It's been WAY too long. Saturday evening the girls helped make resurrection cookies. This is a fun family activity that tells the story of Jesus while making the cookies. After putting the cookies in the oven, we turned the oven off and sealed it shut with some tape. The next morning the girls were super excited to unseal the oven and see how the cookies turned out. The cookies turn out hollow inside to represent Jesus' hollow tomb.

Easter Sunday we went to early service at church and then home to enjoy a beautiful day in our backyard as a family. The girls enjoyed hunting eggs that the Easter Bunny left and we all enjoyed being together.

Bear didn't really feel like taking pictures on Easter

Sweet Sisters

I think this was right before she accidently spilled her eggs out of her basket. She was VERY upset after they fell out of her basket and said she couldn't hunt any more eggs.

Silly Easter Bunny put eggs on the trampoline

Happy Easter

The Children Wave Their Palms

On Wednesday, the 4's and 5's preschool choir sang the Easter songs they have been working on for the past few months on stage. Families were invited to eat a picnic dinner in the gym and watch our kids sing their hearts out. Curly LOVES performing. LOVE IT! She marched right on up and stood smack dab in the middle of the stage. She knew the exact spot she wanted and made a beeline right for it. They sang 4 songs in total. All the kids did such a great job. It was so sweet to watch all the different personalities up on stage. Some kids yelled the songs. Some kids didn't sing at all. Some kids danced while they sang. Other kids just like making silly faces at the audience. The concert started at 6 and thankfully Daddy was able to make it. Curly was so surprised to see him.

The little siblings enjoying the picnic dinner before the concert

Curly in the center with the pink shirt

Sing your heart out baby!

I tried to get a group shot after the concert

Walk Through Jerusalem

This past Sunday evening, our church hosted a Walk Through Jerusalem. We got to walk through the town while people re-enacted how Jerusalem might have been during the first holy week more than 2000 years ago. The girls had a great time. Curly was rendered a bit speechless among all the people dressed in costume. She didn't really know what to say when people tried to talk to her in their Jerusalem character. Towards the end she got the hang of it. At the end of the walk we listened to the Easter story and visited the empty tomb. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for the girls.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Petting some animals before walking into Jerusalem

They made stained glass windows

Playing the drums with a local

The Bear didn't want to get too close to the basket weaver

Curly wasn't too sure about dressing up. Nobody was selling pink cloth =0)

Meeting a donkey. The Bear wasn't scared. Curly on the other hand wasn't a big fan.

Making olive oil

Petting animal skins

He has risen! He is not here. Mark 16:6

Egg Hunting

This past weekend was our annual Sunday School Easter party. This year we were fortunate to have it out at the Buice Family Farm. It's a beautiful piece of property that's been in their family for like 60 years. We got to enjoy a yummy picnic dinner, a hayride, hunting eggs, and the beautiful scenery. There is also the psycho looking bunny who pops out every year. Someone in our class owns this bunny costume. It usually scares the younger kids but the older kids are used to seeing this big bunny each year so they tend to not have any issues posing for pictures. Curly loved the bunny. The Bear not so much. We finally convinced her to take a picture if Curly was sitting between her and the bunny. To get to the eggs we took a hayride up a hill. It was so cute to see all the kids standing anxiously at the starting line waiting for some to yell "GO". The girls had so much fun with their friends.

The Bear is a little uncomfortable being that close the the bunny

Curly wanted a solo shot too

All the baskets ready for the egg hunt

Daddy and his sweet Bear

Waiting for everyone to get up the hill for the egg hunt

Little Miss Personality x 3

Ready! Set! Go!

Curly found some eggs

And so did Bear

Checking out all their eggs

Curly and some friends pretending to row a boat

The Bear and her friends preferred the sandbox

The Break is Over

Well I took a long month off from updating the blog. March was crazy busy with birthdays, spring events and daddy's school, so I didn't really take the time to update the blog. Sorry. This past week was spring break in our county. No preschool, no gymnastics, no choir, no play groups, no nothing. I was looking forward to spending a nice week at home and doing some MUCH needed spring cleaning. Aunt Lauren called a few weeks ago and said she and Uncle Luke would be driving through town on their way to Augusta and sweetly asked/begged to take the girls to Augusta for a few days. It was great opportunity for me to really clean this place without the girls interupting, switch out our closets to spring clothes, rest, and go on a few much needed dates with my husband.

The second night they were gone some terrible storms blew through our area. I am still incredibly anxious during storms. I am glued to www.weather.com watching the moving radar. I normally do not sleep until all storm threats have passed. I used to love sleeping when it rained. I loved the sound of thunder. Not so much since the fire. The strongest storms hit our house around midnight. The weathermand had been talking about how bad these storms were going to be all day. I remember saying " I am so glad the girls are in Augusta and not here". We did not have any damage from the storms and actually they didn't last long. Thank the Lord. However, the next morning we learned that Augusta was hit pretty hard and my in-laws lost several trees. One of which hit their garage. You can see pictures of the damage here on Lauren's blog. Thankfully the girls slept right through the whole thing. They aren't normally afraid during storms. I usually try to hide my fears from them when bad weather is around.

Curly and The Bear had a great time in Augusta playing with all their Aunts, Uncles and Gran and PaPa. We are very happy to have them home though. Those sweet little girls are easy to miss when they are gone. Tonight during bathtime we noticed that Bear had a ton of dirt in her hair. It looked she scooped up dirt outside and dumped it in her hair. She also has a knack for taking her shoes off often outside so her feet and always disgusting. This was a conversation from the bathtub tonight:

Me: "Bear, why do you take your shoes off outside. Your feet get so dirty."

Bear: "Because I just like to"

Me: "But it's so messy"

Bear: "I just did it anyway"

Me: " Well at least you are honest"

Curly: " At least I'm beautiful"

Me: "Yes, my confident one, you are beautiful"

That conversation made me laugh so much. Curly is so girly and that little Bear is so messy. Both are so different. Both are so special. Daddy and I are both very blessed.

Here's some pictures from the end of March for your enjoyment:

Curly's 4 yr old choir sang a few songs during Wednesday night supper at church

The Bear's music class always ends with a choo choo train. She is right in the middle with the pink dress and pigtails.

All aboard the choo choo train

A Sunday afternoon rest with Daddy