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This past weekend I headed up to LA with 3 friends for a 2 day photography workshop. It was so much fun to learn new things and to get excited about photography again. I also took an Illustrator course. It totally overwhelmed me but I am excited to take some more classes online with the same teacher and really figure the whole program out. We laughed a lot, ate a lot and learned a lot but I did miss my babies and Jon. Jon took Friday off of work and watched all 3 girls for the full two days. Amazing, I know... (he's a keeper). When I walked into the house late Saturday night the house was clean and all three girls were asleep. I asked him how it went with all the kids....he smiled and said, "they worked me". So funny! I loved it.

This morning I was cleaning up around the house and found Gwen just like this...in full costume. She is so hilarious. She kept flapping her wings and chirping. As fun as it was to get away for a bit I love being home.

Cheerios

Last night I was up with little Lily. She now has double ear infections. Poor baby. I settled her down, got her comfortable and back to sleep and then went in to check on Elle and Gwen. For the last year Elle has been begging me to have another midnight cheerios date. I whispered in her ear to wake her up and as soon as her eyes opened, I asked her if she wanted to join me downstairs for cheerios. Her entire face lit up. We tip-toed down the stairs in the dark and I got out the milk, bowls, spoons and cheerios. We sat on our kitchen bench with no lights on and a quilt wrapped around us. Neither of us ate very much but that wasn't the point. I asked her about kindergarten and noticed for the first time that she had a band-aide on her arm. She said she fell on the rug at school and got a rug burn. Something I had not even noticed the day before. I also learned some fun facts... she really wants to take an art class because she wants to learn how to draw penguins. Cute. Her very favorite thing about kindergarten recess is going on the swings but she does not like the rule that you only get 20 swings before you have to get off for the next person...I then asked how she liked that rule when SHE was the one counting....big smile. Elle also said that she wishes she had an older sister. I told her that even though she didn't have one, she could be the kind of older sister to Gwen and Lily that she wishes she had. That seemed to make her happy. I then told her 5 things (because she is 5) I loved about her and she then started to get sleepy. As we tip-toed back up the stairs she said, "mama, will you write me a note and put it on my wall so that when I see it in the morning I can know this was not a dream"? I grabbed a post it, wrote a quick note and tucked her back into bed.

I took this picture of her this morning before she woke up. So cute. I love my Elle and can't wait to start this tradition with my Gwen and my Lily.

Be Mine...

Forever.

(Balloons and photography compliments of Elle and Gwen)

My Little Lily

Miss Lily is still struggling with her breathing. She is eating more these days so that is a huge improvement. How cute is she with her bottle? I remember my grandma, Grammie Gwen, used to be so sick at the end of her life but she always looked so great every time we would see her...all dolled up in a cute outfit and jewelry. I remember her feeling really sick one day and saying, "you don't get very much sympathy when you're sick if you look this good". Funny. Well, the same goes for Lily. She looks adorable and keeps her smile almost around the clock but she is still having a lot of breathing problems. The nebulizer is helping a lot. I am still doing that for her around the clock. I am really tired but am so thankful there is something that makes her feel better. I am hoping things will improve this weekend.

Today is my Jon's birthday. He went out for a ride this morning and is still not home. I got the girls up early and we went to the store and they picked out balloons for him, a card, his favorite breakfast (an acai bowl) and of course donuts. Elle and Gwen both worked really hard decorating the card. They are currently sitting on the porch with all of their loot just waiting for him. It is so cute to see them so excited to surprise their daddy.

Kindergarten Valentines

Today is Elle's Kindergarten Valentine's Day Party. She is soo excited. I remember my elementary school valentine parties like they were yesterday. The night before carefully writing my name and choosing specifically which valentines to give to boys and which ones to give to girls. A mistake in that department could be very embarrassing! We worked on Elle's valentines last night and this morning for her to pass out to her classmates. She worked really hard and had to write her name 30 times! Yesterday at the store she chose Hershey's Kisses for her candy. She is my chocolate lover so it was an easy decision. Elle chose her outfit all by herself. I actually had her in something different earlier in the morning but before it was time to leave she came downstairs in this hot pink dress and cream sweater. She wanted to look extra fancy today for the party. I can't wait to hear all about it when I pick her up from school.

On a side note...please keep our Lily in your thoughts and prayers. She had a really rough night last night. I will take her back to the doctor this afternoon. xo

Sickie

Lily has been sick. Really sick. For the past week I have had a little girl who has been having a lot of trouble breathing. She starts coughing which leads to choking and it terrifies me. I am so nervous I have her right next to me in our room to sleep. We do rounds with the nebulizer every 3-4 hours around the clock, lots of saline drops, steam showers and she sleeps on an incline. She is so sweet and doesn't even try to rip the mask off during her treatments. As long as I keep eye contact with her while it is on, she is happy. Elle and Gwen think the rhino mask is hilarious. I think the best part of the week was finding this fabulous sleeping aid. I wish I had known about this years ago. Genius...and so cozy. My Lily is on the mend and I am so happy.

Baby Girls

Lily Grace:

Gwendolyn Paige:

Elle Madison:

All three of my girls at about the same age in their blessing dress. I went through my files yesterday searching for these pictures of Gwen and Elle. I want to frame them for our home. I love these little girls more than anything.

5 1/2 Years Old

If you ever run into Elle do not make the mistake of thinking she is 5 years old. She is NOT 5. My Elle Madison McGee is 5 1/2. She reminds me constantly and of course all of her friends. I took these pictures of her yesterday on our way out the door to church. For the first time she let me style her hair curly. We used mousse and a diffuser. She felt very grown up and in her own words, very "sassy". I asked her if anyone in her primary class told her she looked extra cute and she said, "no, but I bet that's what they were thinking".