six years old



Today Laila turned six years old.  She is growing up way too fast!  She is loving being in kindergarten.  Dahlia sure misses her during the day, and is so happy when she comes home. Laila always comes off the school bus full of smiles and tells me a big dramatic story about her day, which usually includes a boy being mean to her on the playground.

pumpkin patch

frio river

We went on a quick getaway to the Frio river.  I love this part of Texas, it is so beautiful. It was a six hour drive and we got to hear, are we there yet, over and over.  Everyone was so excited when we finally arrived.  We had the river pretty much to ourselves.  The weather strarted out warm, but turned breezy and cool.  That didn't stop the kids from getting in the water.  Dahlia loved setting on the river bank, throwing rocks in.  At night we had a fire, roasted marshmallows and told stories around the campfire.  It doesn't get any better than that on a cool fall night!  This was such a fun trip spent with lots of family, making great memories.

three!

On the twenty-second of September we celebrated Dahlia's third birthday!  This past year we were really able to experience the beauty of organ donation as we watched Dahlia get to enjoy life as a happy, healthy, busy toddler.  We saw her cute personality blossom even more, and saw her become physically stronger. We are extremely thankful that Dahlia didn't have any hospital stays, other than the expected appointments and checkups. We are so grateful  to have Dahlia in our family and for the family that said yes and gave us this precious gift.

Dahlia was being the biggest diva when I first started taking her pictures.  I had to get Ava and Laila to jump around and make funny faces to get her to look at the camera and smile.

the weekend

Yesterday the weather was a breath of fresh air from our normaly hot and humid weather.  We had to get out and enjoy it!  We drove to a park and went on a little hike and played on the playground.  It was so nice to be outside and not sweat!

laila lost her first tooth

Laila was so excited to place her first baby tooth under her pillow, for the tooth fairy.  She was even more excited when the tooth fairy left her a note and some money!

back to school celebration

The night before school started we had a back to school dinner to help get the kids get excited about the new school year.  I found the idea for these cute apple cupcakes here.  I filled these fun pencil containers with treats for the kids.  I think the night was a success and especially helped Laila get excited for Kindergarten.

first day of school

Laila started Kindergarten on Monday.  She was a little nervous, and so was I!  Laila had a great first day.  When she got home from school, she told me all about her day and said it was lots of fun.  Being at school all day tired her out, and she feel asleep as soon as she got home.  Laila was brave enough to ride the bus home from school on the first day with Ava.

 Ava started second grade.  She always loves getting to pick out her outfit for the first day.  Before the girls left for school that morning, I overheard Ava giving Laila lots of tips.

 Aiden is in fifth grade this year and is now in middle school with Dario.  He was a little worried about being in a new school and having to find his way to all his classes and opening his locker.  He told me he went to the wrong class and didn't realize it until they called role.  He also had to ask for directions, which he said was embarrassing.

 Dario started sixth grade. He is in the oldest grade in middle school, and wasn't as nervous as Aiden because he is an old pro at middle school. He had a great first day!

popsicles!

We have been trying to enjoy the last bit of summer before the kids go back to school in one week.  I made these raspberry vanilla popsicles.  They were the perfect summer treat.  Summer has flown by, but to be honest, I am happily waving it bye!  I love fall and the cooler weather that comes with it.