Hadley was in town!

Back in May, Aunt Jenny and Hadley were up for north for a short visit. We got to see them one night for just a short time, so I just figured I'd take as many pictures as I could with all the kids together since it doesn't happen that often!!

 Hadley enjoyed walking around the yard with Avery. 

 We got the kids lined up to snap some photos and Grayson instantly leaned over and kissed Hadley and....I amazingly caught it on camera!

 Then, you can see the progression of how things went...

 Big kids trying to keep Hadley sitting...

 and then trying to make her laugh...

 Hadley trying to break free...

 But then, she was like "forget it...I'm outta here!"

 She is just too cute!

 We thought laying on the ground would be more fun for them, but this was the only semi-decent shot I got from that idea!

Wish we could see this blue-eyed beauty (and her parents) more often!

Rockin' Robin

Mother's Day weekend from here on out is officially dedicated to Avery's dance recital!! This was her third year doing dance and we've already registered her for next year. 

This year's song was "Rockin' Robin" and this girl rocked it! She has improved so much from last year. But what I noticed the most about her on stage was that her smile NEVER left her face. She just loves to dance!

She also loves the "getting ready" part! We do the make up (minus lipstick) and hair at home and she loves the pampering!

We spent a lot of time in the dressing room this year just hanging out. Here is Avery with the McClarin girls. They are all about a year apart and in three different classes at Miss Jeanne's.

Lining up ready to get on stage...no nerves for this girl!

 She especially adored her fan club. She had some visitors on each night!

And we both love the amount of flowers that fills up our house for the next week. 

Adam is basically off the hook for buying flowers for Mother's Day!

 Of course, we had to have some celebratory fro-yo!

 Our little beauty looking so old and mature when her hair is up and she is all made up. Inevitably, Mommy always does some crying this weekend thinking about how fast she is growing up. 

Just look at the difference between last year and this year!

(Same signature pose though!)

We can't thank our family enough for taking time out of their busy weekend to watch Avery dance. She appreciates it more than you know!

A new niece to love...

This shows you how behind I am in my blogging life....this little lady was due to be born yesterday, but she has been a part of our lives for over 10 weeks now! My sister and her hubby welcomed this little firecracker, Brooklyn Elizabeth Wales, on April 12th when she was only 29.5 weeks pregnant. What a scary time for them, but with lots of prayers and the amazing medical staff in the NICU, this little girl has been reaching milestones left and right and is doing amazing! 

I was lucky enough to stay along for the ride and be there for Kara through labor (I left the room for the delivery part...been there, done that!) In typical Kara fashion, depite being on oxygen and feeling like she was going to throw up, she had the nurses and doctors cracking up at jokes the whole time. 

Here is Brooklyn's first "hello" hand wave to the world at 2 lb. 13 oz.

You can really see her size when you compare her to the nurses hand here.

She spent a lot of time under the lights to get rid of her jaundice.

But clearly, she was alert and thriving (this picture was taken at just 5 days old!)

Conveniently, she was born at the hospital I work at. So I was able to have some lunches with Kara and stop by her room on my break. It was certainly hard to go back to work after spending time with this doll. 

Kara's shower had been planned for late April at our home. So we went on with it as planned. I've never been to a shower after the baby was born, but it all worked out perfectly! 

Here are some pictures from the shower day....

 Cousins hiding out under the sweets table..

 We were all thrilled for Brooklyn's arrival, but I'm not sure if anyone was more excited than this girl right here....

 This was taken on my last visit to the NICU....

 because just about 3 weeks ago, Brooklyn came home!!!

 And finally was able to meet her big cousins! 

(No kids are allowed in the NICU...it was torture for Avery!)

Grayson was curious...

 I'm loving getting my baby fix with B...

 This guy looks pretty good holding a baby...

And here she is now....

I just took this one yesterday when she came over for a visit. Look at the chubby cheeks! I have loved watching her grow so much already. It's hard to believe that she should have been just arriving now.  I love you Brooklyn Elizabeth! I have so much spoiling planned for you, I can't wait! And congrats to Mommy and Daddy who are doing a fab job!  

Leader in Avery!

A secret letter came home with Avery's third quarter report card explaining that Avery was selected by her teacher as the recipient of the "Leader in Me" award! Parents were asked to come the school assembly but also to keep it a secret their child. Avery was chosen because she "always does the right thing!" 

 Here she is with her 5th grade buddy, who she just adores!

 She was very excited to win and we were very proud! 

She really is a good egg!

Apparently, we look alike!

So, back in April there was a day called "National Siblings Day" and just about everyone was posting pictures of their siblings on Facebook. So I joined in and posted this classic picture of me with my brother and sister!

And everyone thought Grayson was a spitting image of his Mommy! 

Who knew!?! I never saw it myself until it was pointed out to me, but I kind of see it now 

(at least the nose and mouth anyway)!!

Dance girl!

Once a year, Moms are allowed into the dance studio to watch their girls practice! 

She doesn't normally wear this much makeup to dance class....this just happened to also be on a dress rehearsal day! It is SO fun to watch how much fun they are having! 

She just LOVES her teacher Miss Sarah!

Yeah, she didn't notice me or my camera at all! What a ham!

Pictures of costume and recital to follow in an upcoming post....