Happy 5TH Birthday, my Sweet Sophie!

I still can't believe my little Sophie is FIVE!  Five seems like such a big jump from 4...it still makes me a little sad to think of how quickly my little ones are growing up!  We had a great family day...we started out the morning with a quick trip to Dunkin Donuts to pick out some birthday donuts (just Sophie and mommy)...for the last couple of years we only made it to the convenient store to get donuts but since this year her birthday fell on a Saturday we were able to go all out and get the super delicious donuts!  :)  After unwrapping her gifts we made a family trip to a local cider mill (and had MORE donuts) and then topped off our afternoon with some Sonic (wow...as I write this it is making sense why I have not been able to shed all my baby weight!!)  We then enjoyed some cupcakes...it was a great day...

And here some things I want to remember about my sweet Sophie at the age of 5...

• Still LOVES horses
• loves to play...she can play with anything!
• loves to make arts and crafts...her latest artwork involves dried leaves and sticky letters...they are everywhere around our house...very festive!
• Still says a couple words in a funny way...My favorite is "Brefkiss" for "Breakfast"
• Although she can be mean sometimes...when she is excited about something she is just the sweetest little girl...
• She is ALL girl...loves anything pink, glitter, hearts, pretty...and she is now asking me if she can have long hair..this is a hard one for me!! I LOVE Sophie's little bob!
• She does not care for Matilda Jane ruffles at all (much to my dismay)!  She calls them "fat pants" and will cry and say she looks ugly when I put them on her...and yes I do make her wear them...she is only 5!! I am not about to give up my clothes choosing authority yet!
• Can be very competitive with Ella...I know at times Sophie gets upset because Ella is very good at a lot of things she does (ex. sports, school, etc.)...but the one thing that Sophie has "up" on Ella is she won't cry for shots, getting blood drawn, or even getting her ears pierced...and of course she will tell Ella this a hundred times a day!
• She loves her mama!  Although she loves her daddy she still prefers me...

I was so excited to find this at Target!! I used to play with Monchichis!!

Tim's Pumpkin Farm!!

Oh I just LOVE the pumpkin farm!!! It is definitely my favorite thing to do in the fall!  This is our second year in a row going to Tim's pumpkin farm outside of Syracuse.  I love that it is not too commercial and that we can come out of there with a trunk full of pumkins and bellies full of doughnuts and cider for under $20...that is my kind of place! 


I also LOVE that you can get AMAZING pics there!!! I just love the scenery and all the fall colors...Now with this comes a lot of pressure to get the amazing pictures...and with this pressure comes a high strung momma who unfortunately sucks the fun out of the day in order to get the perfect picture...I so realize this but hey I want good pictures!!


Well it started off pretty well...the girls were cooperating with my commands (with the exception of  Sophie who was starting to put up a stink) and I was still envisioning the mother of all pictures in my head (all 4 kiddos in a wheelbarrow with big perfect smiles and bright orange pumpkins littering the background...oh yeah!)...I then started to lose my flow a little...Sophie was on her last warning (for not smiling!) and we told her that we were bringing her back to the car if she didn't smile (empty threat?  of course...)   So after a couple warnings she then decided that she would work with me and then all three of my precious little girls flashed me a beautiful smile...I quickly focused in on my little angels and pushed the button to take the picture...it wouldn't push...so I tried again...they started to get a little inpatient and I knew I had approximately 2 seconds before the moment was lost.....so I quickly tried again...Nope...the unthinkable just happended....my camera battery died!  Yep...D-E-A-D!    As embaressing as it is to admit...I began to cry like a little baby!! I could not believe it!! My wheel barrow picture was becoming a distant memory...and the realization that I would not be able to take any more pics at the pumpkin farm began to sink in...

And then through the tears a a sense of releif came rushing over me and I thought, "Jeannine, you can't take any more pictures...this is a blessing!! Put your camera down and enjoy the day with your 4 amazing children and wonderful husband!  I then put my camera away and  became the momma I should always be!! The kind of momma that is enjoying the moment with her children rather than being so preoccupied with photographing the fabricated "perfect" moment!!!  I am sure there are some mothers out there that can do both but it is not this momma! 

I truly believe God sucked every last bit of power out of that battery that day so that I would have no choice but to spend the day having fun with my babies!!! THANK YOU GOD...it worked! 

Am I just crazy or can any of you camera toting mommas out there relate??

Apple Fest!

We had a great time at Apple Fest this year...it was a gorgeous fall day which made it that much better!  I really do love our little village!!

The girls loved the pony rides...with the exception of Ella...she chose to play a game instead...

The girls painting pumpkins...I tried with all my might NOT to have Abbie paint a pumpkin...For those of you who know me I really really do not like "stuff" on my girls clothing...I know that sucks the fun out of a lot of activities but I thought Abbie was going to be just as happy with a plain pumpkin...then she kept asking for paint...well then Daddy saw her and said, "Go paint your pumpkin, Abbie!"...that was the breaking point...Mommy had to let her...and I am so happy that I did...she just loved it!  Lesson learned (for the day anyway)...Mommy has to stop being such a freak...they are only clothes!

Waiting to get their faces painted...

Wordless Wednesday...

Random cute pics of my 4 sweeties!

I am frantically trying to play catch up with all my pics...I am shooting for the end of the week to be all caught up!!! We shall see...We have had several beautiful days here in NY...so we made a big leaf pile and had some fun (luckily Daddy is not so Type A anymore...he used to suck up all the leaves the minute they fell!)

Happy 3 months!!

Happy 3 months sweet Levi!!! We love you so much and are sooo happy that God has blessed us with you!  You are such a sweet baby...even during your fussy times you are sweet!  You still love to nurse and mommy just loves that!!! I think you are definitely a momma's boy which again I just love!  You love to look up at me during your bath and just smile...it melts my heart everytime! 



I can't believe how big you are getting.  You are now in 3-6 month clothes and I am thinking your nights in the bassinet are numbered...but I don't like to think about that because I want you by my side no matter how big you are!  Since you are most likely our last little baby Mommy just wants to keep you little forever...but I know I can't...

We love you, Little Levi!