3 years and 7 months

At Holland's 3 year check up with Dr. A, she weighed in at 39.5 pounds and is 40 inches tall.  Both are at the 97th percentile and make her BMI right on track.  They started taking her blood pressure and it was 92/60.  Hopefully she will continue to have low blood pressure like her momma.  She is talking very well for a 3 year old and knows a lot for her age.  She spelled out her name and counted to 10 in Spanish for Dr. A.  He was very impressed.  After her appointment, we took her to the bank to deposit her money she has collected in her piggy bank.  Holland helped me put the coins in the coin counter.  Then she held her cash and coin receipt and handed them to the teller.  She was so excited.  We told her she is saving money to go to college and she said, "I want to go to college.  College is cool." 

Britton is 7 months now and is changing every day.  She is saying "dadada" and one morning this week she said "dadada" when she saw Kirk.  I'm sure it wasn't intentional but it was nice to hear her say it to Kirk.  She will be transitioned over to all formula feedings this weekend.  She is eating stage 2 foods very well.  We haven't found any food that she doesn't like yet.  Britton still doesn't like to sit up on her own.  She prefers to be on her tummy or to be held.  We are starting to think she will be very strong willed like her older sister.   

So, what do we always do?  We go to Dixie for photos!  I was lucky to find a couple of matching outfits for the girls' photos.  Here are both girls' photos.  I love the bright colors! 

Holland is 3!

Holland is three years old today!  We had her birthday party at the Wichita Theatre yesterday.  It was so awesome just showing up, partying, and leaving.  Holland wanted the Princess Theme so everything was decorated with Princess stuff and costumes were available for the kids to dress up like princesses and princes.  The kids did 2 activities, a coin hunt and story time.  Then the kids decorated wands and shields for their craft.  The kids had a blast!  We had cupcakes, cookies, fruit, and drinks.  Then gifts!  Holland loved her party and loved all of her gifts.  Wichita Theatre even provided goody bags for the kids.  As soon as we got home, Holland went through all of her clothes and toys.  I especially loved putting up and organizing her new bow holder (Thank you Sara and Molly!). 

The kids could dress up like a princess or prince. 

The coin hunt.

Story Time!

Decorating their shields and wands.

Holland blew out the candle on the first try!

Cast members from Seussical the Musical came by to wish Holland a happy birthday!

She loves all her new toys and clothes!

Overall, Holland had a wonderful birthday.  Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us. 

Corpus Christi/Padre Island

We had a little mini vacation down to Corpus/Padre while I attended a conference there.  Kirk and the girls took the days to sight see and hang out, while I sat in classes.  One afternoon we all went down to Padre to play on the beach.  It was so much fun!  I just wish we could have stayed a little longer.

Kirk took the girls to the Aquarium one day and they had a good time.  Holland was really excited to see the dolphins and turtles. 

Holland's 1st dance recital

Holland had her first dance recital last night.  She did great!  She performed a tap and ballet routine.  But for her age, tap and ballet really consists of a few moves and just a little foot work.  She knew the routines and did them on stage.  Her tap routine was to Me and My Teddy where the girls danced with a teddy bear that had a costume just like the girls costume.  Her ballet routine was to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and they used wands for props.  We weren't allowed to take any photos or video of the recital so all the pictures I have are before and after the recital.  I wasn't excited about putting makeup on Holland, but our recital instructions highly recommended it so that the girls wouldn't be washed out by the stage lights.  Holland loved having makeup on.  She had more on than I did.  The traditional gift for a dancer are flowers, but since she's so young, I figured she might like something different.  Luckily, I found a ballerina Hello Kitty.  She loved it!  We are so proud of our little dancer.

6 month photos

WOW!  Soooo cute!!!  That's all I can say!  We had a great time doing Britton's 6 month photos with Dixie.  Dixie did the baby parts and a bath tub scene.  I brought all of Britton's bath stuff, like her duck slippers, robe, towels, and wash cloths.  Britton did great at posing like she was bathing.  Love the pictures!  Dixie is the best!

Holland's last day of school

Holland had her last day of school on Wednesday.  She was very excited to go to school and have their certificate ceremony.  Holland received Star Student with the biggest personality.  Soooooo true!  She had a blast at school and is excited to start the 3 year old program in August.  In celebration, we went to Maggie Moo's for some ice cream and Books-A-Million for a book.  We are so proud of Holland! :) 

6 months old!

Britton is now 6 months old!  She rolls over both directions, grabs and picks up toys, laughs, sings, and talks (babbles) all the time.  And, she loves her big sister!  At her 6 month well baby visit, she weighed in at 16 pounds and 8 ounces, which is between the 50th and 75th percentile.  Her height is now 26.5 inches, which is at the 75th percentile.  Britton received 3 shots and one oral vaccine.  She screamed so loud during the shots, but then calmed down once we picked her up.  I'm going to start transitioning her to formula now and she gets to start stage 2 baby food.  We gave Britton her first bottle of juice/water today.  She really liked it.  We had Britton's 6 month photos scheduled with Dixie this week, but with everything going, we are postponing until next week. 

We love tutus!

I finally got around to making the last tutu of this season for Holland and Molly.  This tutu is zebra print and hot pink.  I think they turned out pretty good for my 2nd attempt.  Of course, the girls had to have matching hair clips.  These pictures at the dance hall were taken with my phone, sorry for the quality.  Then I was able to get one picture of Holland in her tutu eating her gummies from Molly.

 

Mother's Day and cooking

Mother's Day was wonderful.  We had supper at Mommer's house and had a really good time.  It was laid back and stress free.  Kirk and the girls gave me a rejuvenation day at the spa.  I can't wait to use it!  Mom gave me some cutting boards, which I really needed since I'm cooking a lot more.  Kate and Matt sent me a new video camera so we can skype since they moved.  For Mother's Day, I made a jello cake and it turned out really good.  With the warm temperatures, the cool cake was nice treat. 

I was crazy and got up at 4 am to watch the Royal Wedding back in April.  I made scones and English breakfast tea.  It was really fun and I did enjoy the quiet time with my breakfast, tea, and royals.

Coopins............ as Ron White would say

We have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC the past couple of months.  After watching several episodes, we have decided to start couponing.  I've used a few coupons, here and there, but not like the families on Extreme Couponing.  And I don't plan on couponing like them either.  They have thousands of dollars in stock piles of stuff and I do not want that much stuff in our house.  This is my first week to attempt this and I saved $25 with using coupons.  I was nervous and excited about the shopping trips.  I just hope cashiers don't see me coming and run.  :)