On this day...

I'm thankful for those who have served,

and to those still serving,

via

and once again, feeling incredibly

blessed.

I hope that you're having a wonderful Memorial Day where ever you might be-

working or

playing or

grilling or

eating or

swimming or

just relaxing.

The hubs is off to do a bit of kayaking,

 and the rest of us?

We're doing a bit of this...

and this...

and this...

and by way- that baby doll already has banana smooshed into its small crevice of a mouth. Looking forward to digging that out before it gets all moldy and whatnot...

What are YOU looking forward to on this Memorial Day?

one year

today marks one year with our sweet

Mary Martin

what a wonderfulcrazyblessedwildincrediblylatenightsawesome year it's been with this little babe.

By far, the most laid-back of the bunch, until a few weeks ago-

when the screaming began.

haha

I think this is her way of telling us that while she may be the youngest, she can definitely be the loudest!

***

We are so incredibly blessed that you're a part of our family, sweet girl!

3 weeks old

2 1/2 months

first Halloween- 5 months

first Christmas- 7 months

big sister likes to 'help'

M cubed

Mommy is still super jealous of your long lashes

9 month Dr visit

11 months, 1 week

you are SO ready to run around just like your brother and sister

 

And here you are 2 days before your first birthday.

I still can't believe how fast this year has flown by. You are the sweetest baby, even with your feel-like-my-eardrum-is-going-to-burst way of letting us know what you want. You love your big brother and sister and want to be doing everything they do. I know that any day now, you will be running around with them, I'm just hoping that your crayon & chalk eating phase is over soon.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

We love you!

Impromptu photo shoot where the balloons popped and made the girls cry

have you seen those pics with children/adults holding balloons and the photos are always stunning?

One of my fave examples is on Gussy's blog header.

Well, I tried that yesterday.

The girls are now a year older,

we had balloons left from O's graduation party,

so I thought,

"why not? I can do that. I can take the pretty pictures with my kids + balloons. How hard could it be?"

Butt-hard.

That's how hard it is.

Some of the balloons popped when we stepped our big toes outside,

the girls screamed and cried,

and then screamed some more,

Eliza wasn't really keen on holding ANY of them once she was aware of what might happen....

but I still managed to get some decent shots.

I think...

notice the popped balloon that MM had just tossed up in the air which landed on E's head

doing the "nose scrunch" she does so well

she is SO about to take off...

love our brick sidewalk.

love that little girl on the brick sidewalk too.

there I am!

And I made MM's headband a few minutes before shooting these pics. Super-easy to make and I'll share the how-to next week. Had to buy the products I needed from HobbyLobby.com since I can't go and fill my little blue buggy anymore, but that's okay. If you're my friend on FB, you know that I've been calling hob lobs corporate offices since they were listed as 'undecided' on the list that would be rebuilding in T-town. On the 5th call I made last week, I was finally told they,"had every intention of rebuilding, but were unsure if it would be on site since they are still evaluating the situation caused by the storms of April 27th". I'd received a scripted answer each time I called, but THAT particular scripted answer was much more promising than the previous 4. I'm ready to see new structures in these holes. I'm ready to attend lots and lots of GRAND RE-OPENINGS in this town. I'm also ready for lots and lots of house warming parties because friends are moving into new homes.

Today marks one month.

It's time.

**Just realized that this post started off super-light hearted, about a little photo shoot in the yard and ended up on a serious note. Sorry to throw that curve ball at ya. I'll try to stay on track next time and maybe not use the phrase 'butt-hard' anymore either...**

Have a lovely Friday, friends!

More Pomps and Circumstances

We now have a Kindergarten graduate at our house.

He is SO pumped to now call himself a first-grader.

He is very aware of the fact that there are roughly 8 weeks until first grade starts.

His mommy is also aware of the fact that there are roughly 8 weeks before going back to school.

Here are some of my faves from Tuesday-

leaving for school on his last day as a Kindergartner,

and just to compare...

this was his first day of Kindergarten

with Dr. Lamon (principal) and Mrs. Williams (K teacher)

with his buddy, Grayson

yes, that's my big booty leading the graduates in a few songs

proud daddy and mommy

2 sisters who had to play on the stage once it was over

proud great-grandparents

***

That night to celebrate, I put up some easy, inexpensive decor, ordered pizzas, picked up some cupcakes and ice cream at Target, and

BOOM.

we had a party.

To make the party a little more personalized, I found these free Star Wars graduation printables online from Living Locurto, punched them out, and attached them to some toothpicks with hot glue...

 and voila!

Star Wars graduation cupcakes!

I blew up a bag of regular balloons from Target (about 99 cents) and taped them up in the doorways and on the lights.

I also threw some on the floor too, ya know.

Why not?

The fabric pennant banner is also from Target (3.99) and while I totally could have made that myself, A)I didn't actually leave myself enough time to do it, and B) did I mention that I found that one for only 3.99? I couldn't have even bought the fabric for less than that!

thank you Target

On the dining room table, I placed one of O's graduation pics and some of his artwork from the school year

my mum had these graduation cap & stars cookies made-

aren't they aswesomeness?

and yummy to boot

Pop with the girlies.

Neither of which is wearing the bow or headbands I made the night before to specifically match the dresses they're wearing.

I'm not bitter.

not quite sure why I took a pic while we were praying, but there ya have it...

someone JUST wanted dessert

had to post this one because seester and mum are making some odd faces...

thanks also goes to Target for the cool plates/napkins

after the party, it was an all-out balloon-throwing-bopping-trying-not-to-pop-them-while squeezing-and-biting-them time,

and then....

the Mathews 5 settled in for a bit of TRON on the hubs new tv.

Such a wonderful day.

So incredibly proud of my no-longer-a-kindergartner.

So looking forward to an awesome summer with my kiddos.

So glad I didn't have to cook anything for that party.

Congrats Oliver!

We love you!