sunnies

Those chubby hands, that button nose, those luscious lips. I'm sorry, but this. is. perfection.

Swan Lake

To say that I daydreamed of one day having my own little girls dancing on stage is a major understatement. I mean, the second I found out Marisa was a girl my mind instantly turned the color pink, sparkled with pearls, and filled with bows and tutus. Truly!

While dressed in soft lavender, smiling from ear to ear, Natalie made my momma heart leap with excitement, swell with pride, and ache with complete adoration as I watched her dance on stage for the first time a few days ago.

She was stunning to watch. She was sweet, she was confident, she was graceful, she was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And oh, so darn cute.

Bravo, Natalie!!!

Last day of school!

School is out!!! Bring on summer!

Its been a great school year and both girls developed and excelled academically.  And YAY for those special people with special hearts who care and teach for our tiny elementary schoolers!

{Natalie with Mrs. Haskell}

{Marisa with Mrs. LaMarre}

Good-bye 2014-2015!

Party like a pineapple!

Natalie is my social butterfly. She loves everyone. She is always the first to say hi to everyone, the first to say bye to everyone, and the first one to give you a hug. She genuinely cares about the people around her and wants everyone to feel included and wanted. I admire that about her so much for I wish I was more like her!

With that said, when it came time to plan for her birthday party this year we sat down to make a list and she quickly rattled off all her girlfriends to me while I wrote them down on a piece of paper. All the names she named I heard before whether it be from stories she would tell me from school, or from the times she would wave them all goodbye at school. At the end of her list I noticed that her list was rather long. Did she just name all the girls in her class?? I counted the girls. 18 girls.

"Natalie, you can't invite your entire class!"
"I didn't!"

I reached for her school class list and counted all the girls. She only left out 3 girls whose names I hadn't heard before except for one. (A girl who made Natalie teary-eyed one day for being rude to her.)

I had to pause and smile as Natalie said bubbly, "But we can invite them. They are nice now."

That's my Natalie! Not a second thought. She wants to make sure everyone is invited. On her list were even a few girls from church who had afternoon Kinder and I had to try to find a time that would work for ALL 18 girls!

Only a couple girls couldn't make it but everyone else who arrived were SO eager to see Natalie even though they just saw her a couple hours ago. It warms my heart to see Natalie surrounded by so many friends who adore her just as much in return. What a lucky girl.

This cake was not only the cutest freakin' thing I have ever seen but it also tasted DE-licious!

Another quick story to illustrate Natalie's personality is when we arrived home after the party she enthusiastically said, "{So-and-so} didn't bring me a present because she said she forgot. But that's OK! Her being at my party is her present to me!" YES, baby girl!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Natalie!

First piano recital

Marisa's first piano recital nerves did not get the best of her tonight! She seemed nervous sitting on her chair waiting for her turn to stand up, tell the audiences her songs, and play two songs both by memorization. She nailed it!

Oh Marisa, I am so proud of you. Bravo!