Phia's got marriage on the mind...

Phia's #1 concern for the past 6 months or so has been who she's going to marry.  Her and I had a long conversation one night before bed about her desire to marry "Daddy".  "But who am I going to marry if I don't marry him"? and then the tears started rolling down her face.  She's very serious about this and concerned as well.  She always asks about our wedding photos and talks about getting married.  I make sure to express the importance of growing up first, going to college, learning about herself, traveling etc before she thinks about marriage. She doesn't seem to want to wait that long...but we know once she understands all this...she will!! Here is a little conversation she had with Daddy this weekend about marriage:

Phia: "How did you first see mommy"
Daddy: "You mean how did I meet her?"
Phia: "yes"
Daddy: "In School"
Phia: "Wow, that must've been a long time ago, like in kindergarten"
Daddy: "No, in college"
Phia: " You saw the girl you wanted to marry and her name was Jennifer, but we don't call her Jennifer, we call her mommy"
Daddy: "That's right!" 

Park play....

We have the BEST parks here in our lil' 'burb, especially when the weather is nice and the sun is shining! Seems like we're still discovering new ones although we've been here for a few years. We especially love the park we spent Sunday at because of it's awesome walking trail, super clean bathrooms, 2 giant playgrounds for the kids to run wild, and plenty of grass for a picnic!! Our neighbors joined us for a long day in the sun:)

It's so fun to watch Bentley get in on the action...

Presto loves the monkey bars...

And try and keep up with his big brother

Look at how long her leggies are getting!! All her 4T dresses are getting so short.

Our sweet Phi can swing for hours!

Bye bye Phi Phi

They loved going down the big slide every which way...

And the Phia and Presto held hands and went down over and over together



And "twin baby" was brave too!

Love her sweet face:)

Presto and Jenson practicing their army moves...

Even Daddy fit in the tube...this is why we love him so so much!!

Mama and my sweet sweet bear(and baby sweet baby girl in my belly!!)

Presto sandwiched b/w they twinsies

I could just squeeze them!

Sweet neighbor hugs...

Presto teaching Presley the rules of the road

And my favorite picture of the weekend.  Daddy "teaching" Presto to shave.  Doesn't really get much cuter than this!!



Bentley 16 months...

Look at how big he's getting!!!

Our bear still loves to yell "DADA" at just about everything but now he's added an incredibly adorable "uh oh" and "looka"(for look) while pointing, to his vocabulary. He loves his brother and sister. Loves to put things into bags. And his new favorite things is climbing onto the couch(UH OH INDEED!!) and he's so proud that he can get himself onto a kiddie chair so he loves sitting at the little table like his sissy and brother. He's super stable on his feet and very coordinated so we're certain he'll be amazing on a bike just like his big brother!!

Exploring at the park...

Starbucks time with mama and Presto!

Loves all the attention

Loves the slide!! Esp which his big sis and bro behind him!

The Johnny Appleseed Blessing

Our sweet, curious, monkey keeps us smiling every single day...

Last night we were saying family prayers before bed and at the end Preston very softly started singing  "Oh, the Lord is good to me...and so I thank the Lord".  We made him continue and it turns out he's learned the whole Johnny Appleseed Blessing from school! He was so proud of himself and sang the blessing over and over.  His class says it together each morning. Way too precious for words.

Oh, the Lord is good to me,
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need
The sun, and the rain, and the apple seed.
The Lord is good to me.

Valentine's Festivities

This Valentine's Day was more like Valentine's week!! Mommy was lucky enough to attend the kids school parties.  So many crafts, so much candy....ahhhh!!! We made a heart cake, and a Valentine's shoe box.  The kids loved all the festivities and as hectic as it was...we all enjoyed every minute:)

My beautiful flowers! So breathtaking:) They're still alive on our dining room table.

Sophia had to make a "Valentine's box" for her classroom for her classmates to put her Valentine's treats in.  It was packed to the top!

And mama made a heart cake...kiddies helped too of course.  Presto is sneaking a sprinkle in this picture of course.

Yummy!! Chocolate with chocolate chips and since I ran out of pink vanilla frosting the top was cream cheese!

Happy toddlers...

Presto's Room 1 class.  Mond/Wed/Fri only has 9 kids(and 7 are boys! Woah).  Giancarlo is Presto's favorite friend.  He talks about him nonstop!!

Before the Valentine's party the kids had music class.  This is what I walked into in the Hall.  A giant ring around the rosey!

Phia showing off all her Valentine's.  She wrote her name on each one.  They were little bags of teddy grahams and the tag said "Bear hugs from Sophia"

I had to run back and forth from Room 1 to Room 2 as I didn't want to miss anything.  Presto's class decorated cookies!

This face is the BEST!!

Mama and her sweet Valentine





Phia passing out her Valentine's

So proud of her box...she did such a great job

Mama and her sweet princess Valentine

Back to Presto's class where he was making this candy necklace

Back to Phia's room where the teachers had taken pictures of each child and she was doing a heart art project with the picture

Time for food!! Presto scarfed up the cupcakes FAST!



I caught Riley reading Phia a book...these two are amazing friends.



They get along so well!



As if the school festivites weren't enough...Nana came over Valentine's evening and had huge baskets for the kids.  Best. Nana. Ever.  Highlight of the baskets were the Starbuck's cards she gave the kids.  Now they can pay for their own milk and cookies!

Phia got a princess Valentine's card from Nana that she could decorate...



Presto opening his basket

Note: Woody boots always








And finally, Mommy with her handsome Valentine. We spent the 13th evening at Cafe Firenze.  Our favorite local restaurant!