My Madeleine

My sweet, spunky, smart, beautiful, witty, imaginative, courageous, caring and inspiring firecracker of a daughter - today you turn 6. 

Everything about you is BIG - your personality, your vocabulary, your creativity. And maybe your temper too. But that's ok, we're working on that, along with making my patience, well, bigger as well.

Another thing that is BIG is your heart. You are so full of kindness and generosity. It is a joy to see. This past year, you have truly grown into the role of being a big sister. You and James have always had an incredible bond and are thick as thieves - but this year you have brought Matthias into the fold as well. You take care of him and love on him and always make sure he is included. He could not have a better big sister looking out for him. 

This year you went to kindergarten and entered the new world of "real" school. The sheer amount of knowledge that you learned this year is astonishing. At your kindergarten graduation you even won a reading award because you were the highest level reader out of 100 kids. You did tell me later the night that you were disappointed you did not win the most fashionable award (which isn't even an award). I hope you know that you are the most fashionable in our house and that should count for something!

You have always been independent and confident but this year you have added determination to your already strong personality. Earlier this year, you walked outside and demanded I take your training wheels off of your bike. When I tried to help you ride on two wheels you told me "I got this" and after ten minutes you were riding around the block chasing James on his bike. You rocked it. And that pretty much sums up this entire year, you rocked it all. 

You still love the arts - singing, dancing, drawing. You are so purposeful in your movements and it can be quite beautiful. I'm actually totally amazed with your artistic ability. That is something that definitely didn't come from me and I want to encourage you and help foster your love of it. You are constantly coloring, drawing and creating. I have a new picture or creation for your art folder every day. 

I love that you still want to snuggle. You give hugs and kisses out like candy to me and Daddy and I don't take that for granted. I can still pick you up and there's nothing better than having your arms and legs wrapped around me. My heart smiles every time you say "Hey Mama, I love you".  Because I love you too, so much more than you can even comprehend. 

You continue to befuddle me, challenge me, delight me, and make me fall in love with you all over again. You are responsible for more than a few gray hairs on my head, and I wouldn't give them up for a minute. 

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

I love you to bits. 

Mama

8 years

Dear James,

Eight is enough. Anytime you want to stop growing and remain just as sweet, innocent and full of joy as you are right now, I'm game.

You are kind.
You are so very smart.
You are generous with your time and your love.
You work hard and play hard.
You are funny, silly, goofy and lovable.

These are all traits that I wish for you as you grow older. My goal has always been to raise a kind, generous, hard-working, play-loving boy... and to guide him to being the very same kind of young man and then adult. I've noticed that you are growing up a little bit more lately... and though you told me last night that you will always be my baby, I can see the baby slipping away by the day. Being replaced by a boy with a heart and mind of his own. I am raising you for these moments., but I confess to knowing I will miss the little you.

This year you are in second grade and killing it, played more soccer, basketball and soccer than I can count, made me laugh till I cried, held my hand and my heart, continue to snuggle every night as we read our books, and reminded me that life is for living and loving.

As I watch you grow, I cant help but think about the future and who you are going to become. Please remember a few things:

There is no substitute for family. Your dad and I will always be here for you, will always support your dreams and will always be here to pick you up when you need us... and your sister and brother as well.

Work hard, play hard. You do this beautifully now, but it wont always be easy.

Losing is growing. I wish I could tell you that you will never fail, that a trophy will always be within your reach, but not only is that not true, I don't want it to be. Every time you lose a game, miss that A+, over thrown the ball - you have the chance to grow, to learn from your mistakes and improve.

Respect. Give it, earn it.

Take responsibility for your actions. Learn from your missteps, stand tall and do better next time.

Worry about yourself. I tell you (and your sister) this every day. Your job is to compare yourself to  "you", not to worry about anyone else's grades, actions, abilities or attitudes.

It is my absolute honor to be your mom and to help shape you from this sweet boy into the amazing young man you are becoming. I cannot wait to see what this next year brings.

I love you with all of my heart.

Mama

Matthias on your second birthday

Dear Matthias,

You are 2 today. My baby is 2. It doesn't seem possible. I thought your first birthday came fast, but your second? That arrived at lightening speed. I can't help but think back to when I was pregnant with you and how different you were from your brother and sister. I had never ending morning sickness and because they could not see you clear enough on all of the many ultra sounds, I had to have weekly stress tests the whole last trimester. Little boy, you've been giving me hell since before you were born even born, and I wouldn't change you for anything.

My beautiful, beautiful boy. You are rambunctious. You were blessed with a fire-cracker attitude and a determination that is going to get you so far. You are brave and courageous. Funny and sweet. You are so funny. I laugh every day with you. You give the best hugs and kisses. You are the best cuddle buddy. You are a miracle. My miracle.

You have such an amazing sense of wonder that never ceases to amaze me. You're like a little sponge, trying to soak up everything you can. You try so hard to keep up with your brother and sister and want to be with them every chance you get. They can make you laugh harder than I ever thought was possible.

I love watching you splash in puddles, I love seeing your eyes light up when your brother and sister get home from school. I love the sloppy kisses we give each other a hundred times a day. I love that you hold my hand when we go on walks. So much has changed in the past year. You couldn't even walk at your last birthday but now you are running everywhere you go. You know your own name and have proven every hour of every day that you know mine. For the last two years, I have watched you grow from a sweet newborn to a beautiful toddler. I know you are growing up, the new things you pick up every day are a reminder of that but today still creeped up on me.

I won't pretend that parenthood is easy or I've been anywhere near perfect, but make no mistake, being your mom is a blessed job. And every second of every day, I'm thankful that you're mine and I'm yours. Happy birthday, baby. I love you more than you will ever know.

All my love,

Mama

Winter Fun

Nana got Matthias a battery operated water spout for the bathtub so that there is always running water. Anyone with a baby/toddler - I highly recommend this! It is the best bath toy with endless amounts of entertainment. 

Matthias loves snuggles with a blanket on the couch now, if hes on  the couch - he has to have a blanket. 

James and his bff Cayden and Madeleine with her bff Addie - with their little sister Bayleigh

James and Cayden having one of their many sleepovers! 

James was scientist of the week at school. He had to present a project and do an experiment in front of his whole class without any help. He did awesome!

Sick toddler snuggles

Hard to tell but Madeleine lost her first tooth!

Middle of January, Madeleine got very sick and we took her to the children's hospital in Charlotte. Shes ok, but it was a scary few days.

Sick snuggles with Daddy.

And once she was better she lost another tooth! 

This also happened. John finally got his weimer. We names him Blitz and he fits right in with our crazy household. 

Now I have three sets of pathetic eyes looking at me when its meal time.

Morning giggles.

Love that face.

Madeleine had her first father daughter dance! She wanted to wear her Elsa dress so she was like a real princess. They had the best time! 

While they were dancing the night away, James and I snuggles and watched movies! 

John and I got a date night and he was a good sport and went painting with me! 

James played basketball for his third year in a row and they did pretty well. It was a rough start because several of the kids had never played before but by the end of the season they all really came together and finished strong. James has worked really hard on his shooting and became one of their big scorers on their team.

Matthias finally got to have some chocolate milk - and he loved it! 

We had some of our friends and their kids visit for the weekend with their kids - James was the oldest but he was so good with the little kids! 

Madeleine and her bff Addie

Matthias and his bubbles

Matthias had a great 2nd birthday with lots of love and friends. And crazy hair! 

Christmas 2017

This year the kids had almost three full weeks of winter break. They go back to school tomorrow and as I upload these pictures I realize how fast it all went. Overall, they did amazing. It was so cold here that we could not go outside to play (which is very unusual for us!) and so our cabin fever might have gotten the best of us on some days but we also had some really fun times. And yes, I know Matthias needs a hair cut but he hates them and its not worth the fight right now ;)

For one of the kids Christmas gifts, we got season passes to Carowinds and with those passes came a free night to go this year to their Winterfest. We bundled up and went with friends and had the best time! The lights were beautiful and the activities were so much fun. Now we are all really excited to go next season! 

Christmas cookie making! She wanted to do them all by herself so she did... I wont say how edible they were but she had fun and I love that she wants to be in the kitchen. 

Christmas Eve excitement! 

And Christmas Morning excitement!

We went to Discovery Place a few days after Christmas with the whole family and made a really great day out of it. John has not been there in a few years so it was really fun to have him with us. 

New Years Eve! We went to a friends house and rang in 2018! Heres to another year!