"Big Guwl Pwincess Bed"

Finally we converted her crib to the toddler bed, or as Hannah calls it her, "Big Guwl Pwincess Bed".  Although there is nothing princess about it, really.  She was one happy camper!  She has fallen out a few times in her sleep so far, but nothing too bad.

Ouch!

Hannah took a tumble down a few steps on our deck and earned quite a marking on her face.  Just in time for our family pictures scheduled for Saturday, of course.

[on a separate note:  check out how long her hair is when it is wet and not wavy!]

Birthday @ Dollywood

We went to TN for Memorial weekend to see family.  Mimi and Granddaddy Pete treated the birthday girl (and all of us including Uncle Tyson, Aunt Amanda, Elle & Emerson) to a day at Dollywood.  This park has come a LONG WAY in my lifetime (when I was little it was a hillbilly-esque park called Silver Dollar City).  We had a completely wonderful day!  All the kids were so good, the lines were very short, the weather comfortable, and the company the best!  Tyson and I rode a roller coaster that was the fastest thing I have ever been on.  We screamed our heads off!  I was amazed at all the rides that Hannah could enjoy - even some by herself.  *sigh*  She's getting so big.

trying to teach her to lift 2 fingers on the trolly ride over

when we got to the top of the Ferris Wheel, she said, "I so big.  I fly like a bird!".

duckies with cousin Elle

Beyond soaked after the River Battle.  It was their FAVORITE... a unique ride where you shoot other boats and spectators with water cannons while they shoot you.  Uncle Tyson and Daddy LOVED pelting people and both were a little sore afterwards!

new favorite picture of my dad!!

After Dollywood, we crashed at Mimi's and had a small party for the birthday girl!

She was beside herself with excitement for all the Rapunzel dress-up stuff!

priceless look beholding herself as a "pwincess".

Family Reunion

My Aunt Kaye hosted a family reunion for the Riddle side (my dad's mother's family). I haven't been back to TN for a reunion in... well, over a decade, sad to say. It was wonderful to see family from Alabama, TN, Mississippi and Ohio and introduce them to my kids. Tyson and Amanda brought their new pink carriage jumpie for the kids - what a godsend!  Elle, Hannah, and Emerson wore matching dresses that Mimi gave them.  They were way too hyper to pose nicely together, though.

Aunt Amanda brought birdhouses for the kiddos to paint.  Hannah also painted lovely blue streaks in her hair.  :)

Toni, Inez & Ron

Sweet Emerson!

Cutie Conor!  Jackson was thrilled to have another boy to play with after being surrounded by dolls and dress-up all weekend.

Cousins - Nikki Lynn, Jimmy, my Dad, and Debi

It seems that blogging is not as fun to me without the capability to add photos.   Our camera that is now only taking blurry pictures has a dead battery ... and now it will no longer charge.  Sooo... I gotta figure something out soon before Hannah's birthday next week.
 
(NEXT week.  Next Friday my baby turns 2.  I'm totally unprepared for this - both mentally and practically.)

Anyways, I pulled some out from the last few weeks that I had not posted...

 

snugglin' on the couch together in their jammies





Easter morning... somebody was less than eager to have a photo shoot at 8AM.

We put our tent up in the backyard and the kids had a BLAST.  We've got to carve out time somehow to go camping soon.

Hannah kept playing "Night Night" and giving her brother smooches. 

We went to Peak Fest in Apex. 

We kicked off the Summer Kids Club for our church at our house.  Jackson is thrilled to get to be with the "big kids" (1st-5th graders).  The high lite... playing Balloon Ball.  Jax and Hannah have been playing with it all week.

 

You know you have an older brother when...

Some of the first sounds you made were car noises and guns blasting.

Pirate Hannah

Some of your first words were pirate ("pie-yat"), Star Wars ("saw-was"), and Legos ("wegos"). 

On a daily basis you want to "pway bad guy" with a pretend sword (any stick/straw/broom will do). 

You eat sugary cereal WAY before your older sibling was allowed to do so.  (My fave is when she requests "Apple Jacksons" - aka Apple Jacks).

You've learned to show love by mauling someone over wrestling.

You think bugs are cute and want me to touch them too.  You collect rocks.

You think flatulence is funny.

(((sigh)))
Guess it perfectly balances out the girly dress up, tea party, baby doll toting, little pwincess we have the other half of the time.