These Days

Today is the first day of summer and we're enjoying it!  Here are a few pictures from our days recently.  

Caught Claire reading a book on the patio.  

Abby rolled over for the first time on May 26th.  I was in the kitchen and walked in the room to find her like this.  She was proud and probably a little confused. Just in the last couple days she's started rolling over the second we lay her down for tummy time.  Every time.  

I've been saying for yyyyeeeeaaaarrrrssss that I needed to learn how to french braid.  One day a few weeks ago I decided that I would give it a shot.  I watched a YouTube tutorial and then tried it out. This was my second attempt although my first was similar.   

Here is a picture of our first swim of them summer.  We've been swimming several times since then, but the first swim of the summer is always exciting!  

Abby's doing great in her bumbo these days.  Sometimes she sits up on the counter (just a foot away from me) and watches me wash dishes at night.  

Our little 3 month old bundle of love makes us smile.  

About a week and a half ago Claire started a new thing where she would take off ALL her clothes and her diaper during her naptime.  She probably did it 4 times over the course of a week and a half and one time was disastrous.  I won't tell you too much on here in case you are eating while you read, but we'll just say she decided to take her diaper off with a little something extra inside of it.  Thank the good Lord Bert was off that day. 

One afternoon I had been watching the monitor all afternoon (which doesn't make for a very relaxing rest time) to make sure she didn't strip down again.  She had been on her best behavior the whole time and it was time to feed Abby.  So I started feeding and set the monitor down beside me on the couch.  A few minutes later I heard a door open from their hall - Emily and Hannah were in their room so I assumed it was one of them.  It did make me think though that I hadn't checked on Claire's antics in a few minutes so I switched on the monitor to find the crib empty.  I stared at it for a second because I thought maybe I was just missing her.  Just before I was about to jump up and go check out the situation, she came walking out of her room (it was her that had opened the door, not her sisters).  She walked out looking as proud as a peacock. 

Me:  Claire, what are you doing??!!

Claire: I get out.  

Me:  How did you get out?!?!

Claire:  I just hold on. 

Emily and Hannah never even attempted to climb out of their crib, but I had moved them to big girl beds when they were a couple months younger than Claire is now.  

We didn't get a chance to set up her toddler bed that night, and when we put her to bed she climbed out and walked out of her room before I could walk to get the monitor. 

Bert set up the toddler bed the next day and she's so excited about it.  Cute little climber.  

Bert's been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Emily and Hannah for the last several weeks.  They have loooved it.  I think it's been one of their favorite things all day. They've both stayed locked on listening and asking questions. They usually read it in the girls room while he is putting them to bed but on this particular night it was their last chapter and Emily was so excited she wanted Abby and I to get to listen to it too so they read out in the living room.

Our girls are so blessed to have this man as their Daddy.  He loves us all well.  He serves me, encourages me and makes me laugh and our 4 babies get to watch him do that.  I would guess that they're paying attention even more than we realize and I pray that they they all are blessed with husbands that love Christ and their families as well as their Daddy.  

One afternoon Abby was having a hard time sleeping but I could tell she was still tired so I took her to the glider and rocked her back to sleep.  Babies don't keep.  

I got to have dinner with Kristin and Jennifer last week.  It was so great to catch up.  Jennifer is due with her second in about 6 weeks, so we wanted to make sure and get a dinner in before she went into newborn land.  We met our freshman year at Clemson back in 2001.  I've known and loved these girls for 15 years....I'm thankful for their friendship and even though we don't see each other a lot I love that we live so close by.  

Claire said "I need somebody to help me." in the most laid back calm voice ever.  I knew she was in the playroom and I just assumed she needed some help with a puzzle or putting something back together.  I told her to hang on just a second and I would be right there.  I went to lay Abby down for some tummy time, finished making my bed and then went in there to find this.  She couldn't get down from her kitchen....wise move too because it surely would have fallen.  When I asked her what she was doing she said "I was washing my feetsies."  Claire seems to be a bit more of a climber than our first two....good times.  

This past Saturday morning we went downtown for a couple hours.  We enjoyed walking through the farmers market and just being outside on the beautiful June day.  

The girls always love dancing around on this huge stage.  Abby will be up there with them in no time at all.  

Greenville is so beautiful...we love spending time downtown.  

Emily and Hannah have started setting out their clothes for the next day each night before bed.  They lay everything on their nightstand down to their shoes and hair accessories.  It's cute.  

Bert had a good Father's Day. We enjoyed going to church and then spent the afternoon here taking naps, then with the girls playing in the water table and sprinkler, and we ended the night with grilling out and key lime pie (store bought, don't be impressed).  Our girls told him "happy father's day" about 80 times that day.  We loved celebrating him and are thankful for the way he leads, serves and loves our family!  

First Lake Trip of the Summer

We went to the lake last weekend and had such a great time!  It was so relaxing and fun to all be together.  There is no internet or cell phone service and it's glorious...sometimes we really just need to disconnect.  We got to the lake on Thursday evening and left Saturday afternoon after naps.  The lake was calm and beautiful for us the whole time.  I love the lake any time, but I especially love it when there aren't 10 million other boats out there.  

Watts family (minus Abby, who was sleeping on the dock) playing in the water on our first night there.  

I thought Hannah looked as cute as a button.  Her hair is getting longer.  :) 

My two littlest babies were matchy matchy.  Abby didn't actually get in the water....she just stayed in the shade on the dock, but I think she enjoyed being there with us. :) (And it made us happy to be with this chair again! We sent it from our house to the lake house a couple months back when we got new furniture. Nanie gave it to us when we got married after she had used it for years, and it's incredibly comfy, so we're glad we're getting to keep it around!)

These girls had so much fun playing in the water.  They would ask if they could get in the water the second they stepped foot on the dock.  

Jacob gave Hannah this fun boat for her birthday that the girls liked playing in, although they haven't yet mastered rowing.

We had fun jet skiing too!  Emily and Claire especially looooved it.  They would go for a jet ski ride every chance they got.  Claire would say "I want ride jet ski." She'd tell her Daddy to "Go fast." Hannah took a few rides each day but was a little nervous riding and was just as happy playing in the water or in the orange boat.  

We got to take a tubing ride on Thursday night.  Bert rode with Hannah and I rode with Emily.  Emily and I made up a tubing song while we were bouncing along.  We had fun!  

Abby had some good naps in the rock-n-play on the dock. No worries - we have a smaller life jacket on the way from Amazon!

Caught Claire smiling and cutting her eyes at her Daddy.  She loves him.  

On Friday night Jacob ate dinner with us and spent the night.  The girls were so excited about getting to spend time with him.  

Mimi took the big kids out on the porch to read some books while we waited for it to get dark enough to read catch lightening bugs.  

Those lighting bugs were fast little things.  Hannah was the only kid to catch one...she was really good at spotting them even when they weren't lit up.  Bert caught many....the kids got super excited every time he caught one.  

Love.

This was Papa's job while everyone else went out to catch lighting bugs.  

Mimi and Papa recently got bunk beds for the lake house and the kids have been SO excited about getting to sleep in them.  Seriously, I think they were just as excited about this bed as they were about playing in the water.  That night, Bert and I had Jacob, Emily, Hannah and Abby in the room with us and believe it or not we all 6 slept great (Claire was in Mimi and Papa's room).

We had a fun weekend at the lake and we're looking forward to a couple more lake trips before the summer's over!  

Abby - 3 months

A few things I'm treasuring about our 3 month old:  

-She's rolling over about once every couple days...sometimes multiple times a day if she's in the mood.

-She still loves her playmat and swing. 

-I dropped her 6th feeding on the day she turned 3 months.  I had been having to wake her up for the last feeding of the day for awhile.  We've been able to spread the feedings out a little more now and she continued sleeping through the night.  

-Her last feeding is about 9:30 or 10:00 and she's in the bed by 10:30.  She wakes up about 8:00 every morning or a little after.  

-She's broken out of her swaddle a few times so I'm slowly transitioning her to the sleep sack.  She's used it 3 nights and slept the whole night, but she still seems to nap better with the swaddle.  

-She still naps between most every feeding although her best two naps are late morning and early afternoon.  

-She doesn't care for a paci but loves sucking on her hand. Still hoping she won't start sucking her thumb, but we'll see.  

-Abby loves to watch ceiling fans and her big sisters.  

- I haven't had any trouble with plugged ducts or mastitis this month, which I am very thankful for.  

-We had been giving her a bottle every day for weeks, but then she started being very difficult every time we gave it to her.  She would scream for 15 minutes or more and finally after she was so worn out she would just take it.  Then, one day about a week and a half ago she said no more  She refused the bottle for several days in a row after loooong periods of Bert trying to get her to take it each time.  We decided to give her a break (us a break) and we'll try again in a couple more days. 

-She's having some tear duct issues with her right eye.  Usually when she wakes up from a nap or in the morning we have to wipe some stuff out of her right eye, but other than that it stays clear.  Hopefully it will clear on up in the next couple weeks. 

-She's scooting now when she's on her stomach.  When we put her on tummy time she often scoots off the blanket.  

We love you, Abigail Kate Watts!   

Wrapping Up Kindergarten

Emily had field day at her school a couple weeks ago.  Bert was able to switch his mornings so that he went to field day for the morning and then worked Friday morning, when he is normally off.  It worked out perfectly.  Their theme this year was "Boot Camp," so all the games had that kind of a feel to them. Bert helped out with the "Tire Flip Relay" and pretty much had to stay there the whole morning as all the K, 1st and 2nd grade classes came through.  There was an obstacle course relay just beside the tire relay so he was able to snap a picture of Emily doing that one.  She had FUN!  Her favorite event was the slip-n-slide.  

We were both able to go to Emily's awards program for her Kindergarten class.  The room was filled with parents and it was fun to chat with some who we have seen off and on all year and all be there together to celebrate our kids.  

We are so proud of our girl!  

She requested a silly picture.:)  

She's had such a great year in Ms. Powell's class!  When her tooth came out the other day she told the dental hygienist that "I can't wait to tell Ms. Powell and Mrs. Merritt....they are going to be SO excited!"  Ms. Powell and Mrs. Merritt have loved and taught these kids well this year and we are thankful for all they have invested in Emily and her classmates.

Finally the last day of school had arrived! Emily was excited and sad....totally understandable.  She wanted to wear a "dress from her closet" for her last day of school. We were running a smidge late that morning so we really didn't have time to get the perfect picture (one with her eyes open).  Also, her last day of school sign leaves a little to be desired, but she looked adorable and as her Daddy drove off with her for her last day of school I couldn't help but think about how fast this year went by.  

That evening when Bert got home it was time to celebrate!  We started off by letting them play in the sprinkler, which they looooved!!  

This little love muffin was locked on watching them run around and scream.  

We told the kids that we were going to go out for dessert to celebrate the end of school and Emily asked if she could pick.  Before we could answer she said she wanted to go to Hardee's and get an Apple Turnover.  Side Story:  The other day Grangy said she wanted to go out to lunch with us somewhere after church next Sunday and told Hannah she could pick the restaurant.  Hannah picked Hardee's.  What in the world is wrong with our children?!  Why do they like Hardee's so much? We go there about once or twice a year for breakfast.  Anyway, Bert told her that we weren't going to Hardee's but that we would give her options....Dillards (a local ice cream shop) and Sno Hut.  She picked Sno Hut and her sisters were so excited about their snow cones.  

Emily and Hannah ended the night with a "spend the night party" in Hannah's bed.  Bert called me in to look at them after he had checked on them when we were going to bed.  I thought they looked so sweet and their profiles looked so much alike I had to get my camera.  

She'll be moving on to 1st grade sooner than I'd like, but before that we're going to enjoy a great summer!!  

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was the day after the recital so my mom decided to spend the night and hang out with us for most of Monday.  Bert had the idea to head over to Lake Robinson and have a picnic, and it was a great idea.  We've driven by Lake Robinson many times, but never stopped for a picnic.  It was a beautiful view.  

Mom got to hold our sleeping sack of potatoes.  

My Claire Kaylin Watts is one busy and CUTE 2 year old.  

Grandmama bought these cute Memorial Day/4th of July outfits for the girls. 

Hannah was striking a pose.:)  

Emily and Hannah sat down at the rocks with their Daddy while Claire was up top with us playing with the frisbee.  No telling what all they talked about, but I bet it was good. 

Dance Recital

Emily has had so much fun in dance this year.  She's been in a class of 6 and 7 year olds even though she was just 5 for most of the year.  Her teacher wasn't totally sure about letting her in that particular class because of her age but the time of the class worked out well for us so she let her give it a try for a few weeks, and Emily did just fine. 

Their tap dance was to "Jessie the Yodeling Cow Girl" from Toy Story.  

There were 6 girls in her class so they got to be good friends.  

I got t a couple of pictures of her dancing on stage during the rehearsal...

For their ballet routine they danced to "A Dream is a Wish" from Cinderella.  She said this one was her favorite. 

Look at all those cute buns.  All the moms had to run back after their first dance and get them changed and get their hair (which was curly for their first dance) up in buns before their second dance.  We had plenty of time but it was still a little crazy back stage as we were all packed in this itty bitty room trying to get them ready.   

Blakely, Emily and Marlee.  Blakely and Emily were in 3K and 4K together so they had fun being in the same dance class.  

I got one of them in action during their ballet routine too... Emily is on the far right.

This cutie was SO excited about the recital and wanted to wear a pretty dress.  This was her pick and she was pretty.  She's asked so many times this year when she gets to go to dance class and every time I'd tell her in the fall.  She's going to be super excited when the fall finally gets here!

Claire and Abby did so great!  Abby slept for a lot of it while Papa was holding her and Claire actually watched a lot of the dancing while sitting in her daddy's lap.  One time just before intermission Claire decided to take off down the aisle during one of the dances and Papa had to chase after her since he was on the end, but you really couldn't ask a 2 year old to do any better than she did.

Emily's fan club...

All of Emily's grandparents made it up for the recital.  We so loved having them there with us.  Jeff and Linda needed to make a day trip of it, which was a lot of driving for them, but they didn't mind.  

Looking forward to having 2 tiny dancers next year!:)  

Great job, Em!