2 tweets for tiny!

bIrThdAy GiRl

photos!!

sweet big sister lillibug

liam :: don't think he ever sat still long enough for a photo

if you know me, you aren't the least bit surprised that these cupcakes have birds on them!

it was my first attempt at making buttercream icing

happy birthday to my tiny

love you foose!

freshy to fun

you know when i was pregnant with Lillian everyone would say

"hold on tight, it goes by so quickly"

in that moment you 'hear' what is given as wisdom but aren't quite

prepared to heed it as intended :: at least i wasn't

because as a first time mommy i just couldn't wait

for each stage to arrive, to experience the 'firsts'

first time to hold her, first smile, first babble, first roll over, first steps, first 'ma-ma da-da'

but after 3 tinys and and life blurring by my heart is content in the moment :: soaking it up

and...you realize there are still so many firsts to come!

tiny was our most content baby!

slept thru the night at 7 weeks :: 3rd time around this was a gift!

she is so much fun, is our free spirit and has absolutely NO fear!

she's extremely tall for a 2yr old,

like Liam, she's currently in 110% percentile on the growth chart.

its fun to watch God grow her tiny heart and watch who He's made her to be!!

some of my favs of tiny

from freshy to now a fun-filled 2yr old!

tiny right after she was born

lucy 1 week

lucy 3 months

her royal chubbness

tiny 11 months

tiny 1 year

lucy 18months

tiny 2!

you are wonderfully made, tiny!!

xoxxoxo

tiny turns 2!

the tinys love watching simon the cat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q

its an animated cat who loves to pester his owner!!

they laugh so hard!!!

so we played 'simon cat' on lucy's birthday

and got out the washable markers and drew on animal faces

just the 5 of us celebrated tiny's actual bday . . .animal faces, ice cream sandwiches and all!

few things are better than a hand full of ice cream!!

fresh squeezed lemonade

this week it has been so hot here in charlotte :: its just wrong

so with 3 tinys

5, 3 & almost 2 who have insane energy :: we have to get really creative!

we build forts, make multiple trips to the Y,

paint, pjs+popcorn & movies, play trains, read books,

dress-up & silly dance, hide&go seek...goes on and on

i've not yet been brave enough too be at our neighborhood pool with all 3, alone.

(hence the backyard baby pool)

we're in our first round of swim lessons at the Y, lillian first, liam in a week or so.

then i think with two confidently swimming we'll be prepared!

this summer isn't quite as challenging as last, however;

i'm realizing that every stage comes with new 'challenges'!!!

makin home-made lemonade outta lemons!!

we're doing our best to rise above those challenges

and make the best of it our 'lemonade moments'

and the mess they leave in their wake :: that's a whole 'nother blog post!!!

my daily motto :: if the house is messy, i was a good mommy today!

i know, not everyone can adopt it; i've never been good at tidyness; sorry mom!

we're gonna blame shift that one to my 'creative nature'

mess just seems to follow the tinys, and i've come to expect it, welcome it, live with it!

i know that someday in the not so distant future i won't be stepping on little plastic dalmations or miniature ponys or make a circuitous path to the kitchen to avoid permanent peril to my feet; things will be in their place again; and part of me will be sad!

its a stage, a sweet, messy one!

so for now :: play on

liam has this new face where he tries not to smile :: caught one

this week lillian has been at VBS at a local church up here by the lake

she's taken very seriously the theme

she is wearing my cowgirl skirt from :: 26 years ago

we've also been wee bit obsessed with Toy Story 2.

so the cowboy theme has taken to all the tinys!

love those sweet slate blue eyes!!!

tiny :: in her uniform :: diaper

'draw' mommy

lucy's favorite phrase lately :: "NO, mommy, no"

this one, is a special one, feisty to the core, a girl who knows what she wants :: already

i love it! there's no mistaking, she breaks the rule of laid-back third child!

we're recently bought arm floaties for tiny, lets just say she may have swim team in her future!

off to stir today's gallon of fresh-squeezed lemonade!

xoxoxo

Foosey & Lala

Scrolling through some old photos and videos, I came across this one of Lillian.

This was just before she turned 2! Reminds me so much of her tiny sister.

Lillian :: and incase you were wondering, at the beginning of the video I asked to hold a tiny penguin she affectionately named 'Elvis"

Lucy :: keeps calling the computer screen a 't-b" , and herself pretty. even sings a little!

old soul in a tiny man

A nine-inch toy dinosaur stands guard beside our front door. Were it 65 million years older, it would be roaming some ancient plain long forgotten at the bottom of a sea, its long neck reaching the tallest branches in search of luscious greenery. Lillian reminds us that the toy dinosaur is an 'herbivore' but today, the 'thunder-lizzard' spent most of the day in the tiny hand of a three year old boy.

Sitting at the computer to type this memoir, memories of the day are so sweet they nearly force the suspension of time. Thoughts turn inward in efforts to squeeze every drop of joy from each moment. Memories of:

-A curly headed boy with his two curly headed sisters singing 'Happy Birthday' to him.

-A neon green dinosaur cake Arin stayed up until midnight the night before making for him. All Liam wanted to do was sit and stare at the cake!

-Liam greeting his YaYa, Roo, Grant, and JJ at the door so excited to share his Birthday.

-A tiny boy so excited to have people he loved around him he forgot about cake and gifts.

-Opening each gift and thinking each was the greatest thing ever.

-With a smile, waiting patiently until we stopped singing so he could blow out the candles on his cake.

-Teaching my son to play t-ball.

-watching my daughter hit the ball.

-Watching a movie as a family.

-Playing in the pool together.

-etc.

My favorite moments are at the end of the day, once the chaos has subsided and the good-night songs have been sung. The quiet allows the significance of moments from the day to be colored with the richness they deserve. The brain races and the heart overflows with thoughts of bright eyes, kisses, and tiny hands clutching toy dinosaurs. Nostalgia screams of grasping tight to moments like this. Wisdom knows better. Love and life must be savored. They cannot be possessed.

Liam is a little man, distinct in ferocity and wildness from his sisters, yet similar in demonstration of tenderness. He is a leader and passionate in feeling. Look into his dark eyes, framed by his dark curls and you will see the reason for the richness of the life I lead. Yesterday, Liam turned 'free' as he tells everyone. We who witnessed the occasion, including the dinosaurs, felt we were observing something fleeting yet significant, common yet rich. He had all of us in the small, dinosaur toting palm of his.

happy birthday Gigi!!

today is our gigi's birthday!!!

so gigi because we couldn't be with you to give tiny love

our evening + this post is just for you

HaPpY hAPpY bIrTHdAy from the tinys!!

tonight we packed a picnic dinner fit for a butter bean tent!

we drove to the lake with full expectations of celebrating LIFE :: and getting soaking wet!

HiP hIp hOoRAy its' GigI's bIrtHdAy!

look gigi :: i have wild woman hair!

"before"

"after"

"yook daddy, a boat"

foosey kickin the slick mullet after takin a dive!

we love you gigi

today we celebrated your life and making the most of every moment!

happy birthday!!!

xoxoxox

love the tinys