These Days

January has been a fun month!  We've enjoyed a beautiful snow, days off school, and good health for our whole family (SO thankful!).  

The big girls had several spend the night parties in early January before they went back to school.  They all three share a room, but sometimes think it's fun to sleep in their sleeping bags so that they can sleep right beside each other.  Whatever floats their boat! 

Mimi and Ressie came over early on the day of Claire's birthday party to help us get ready for it.  Jacob and Katherine and Papa came over just in time for the party because Jacob had a basketball game that morning.  Mimi took a picture of the girls all chilling out on the couch watching a show together.  

Hannah got a matching PJ set and a matching set of clothes for her and her doll.  She loves matching Maddie!  

One day Bert and I were in the kitchen getting dinner ready and I came around the corner to check on the girls because it sounded like they were getting rowdy and this is how I found them.  Crazy kids! 

Bert was planing to watch the national championship with his good friend from college, Adam, but found out around lunch time on the day of the game that Adam's dad had bought them both tickets to the game. Bert spent some time with their family when he was in college, and loves their family.  UGA lost a heartbreaker, but it was such a good game and Bert was so thankful to be able to be there!!  

Claire and Abby play SO well together these days. I'm sure they will start arguing more at some point in the future, but right now they will play together for so long and it is fun to listen to.  

Also, Claire loves this bean bag she got for Christmas.  

We had a low-key Saturday one weekend in January and Bert took the big girls out on Daddy Daughter dates. 

He and Hannah went to a favorite breakfast restaurant (Stax Original) and then took a drive up to the top of Paris Mountain.  

Emily got some roller skates for Christmas and hadn't been able to use them yet, so she asked if they could go roller skating for their date instead of going to a restaurant.  We thought it was a great idea, so on Saturday afternoon they headed over to the skating rink that is about 2 miles from our house. Bert said she's getting better and better!  

Claire got to bring their class bear home the weekend after her birthday and wanted to read him a book.  

Hannah got this Minnie sweatshirt for Christmas and asked me to take a picture of her wearing it so that she could send it to her cousin, Piper.  Piper likes Minnie and Hannah said "I know it will make her so happy."  

We're in the middle of some kitchen renovations (another post) so one night Bert and I were still in the kitchen working on something and told the girls to go to bed and we'd be in there in a minute to tuck them in and pray with each of them.  When I walked into their room I found them like this....they were taking turns praying.  I snuck back out to grab my phone.  We pray that they would always love to pray!  

We took a quick library trip last week.  Emily loves being able to check out books with her own library card.  She feels like such a big girl.  She doesn't want me any where near her when she's checking out....she wants to do it all by herself.  Ha! 

We've enjoyed some temps in the upper 50's for a few days in January and have been able to get some outside time!  

They're loving their new Jeep that they got for Christmas!  

We had this outside time right after we got back from the library and Hannah decided she wanted read her books outside "since it was so nice."  I hope she turns into a little book worm like her big sister.  

Bert likes to put his glass in the freezer to get it good and cold before he puts tea or Coke in it each night for dinner.  Interesting, huh.  I've never heard of anyone else doing this, but maybe there are others?!?

I walked in the living room to find Abby and Claire like this while they were watching a show together last weekend.  And they stayed like that for awhile.  Aren't they they sweetest?  

Bert and I had a Pastor/Pastor's Wives retreat (just one night) for our local association last weekend and Bert's parents came up to keep the girls for us.  Linda took this picture of Pawpaw playing checkers with Claire.  

We were thankful we were able to go and connect with so many other pastors/wives in our area and the girls LOVED getting Grandmama and Pawpaw time!  

Emily got to go to a fun arts and crafts birthday party at Michael's and made all this fun stuff. I think her favorite thing was the goo that she's holding in the picture. 

Bert was taking a cat nap this past Sunday afternoon and Hannah decided to curl up and go to sleep with him. I was surprised she fell asleep.  She only naps about once every two months.  

She loves her Daddy.  

January was great and we're looking forward to February and celebrating our Hannah Beth!!  

Claire - 4 years

Claire turned 4  years old on January 8th!  She won't have her 4-year-old well check until the end of March (after flu season), so I won't be able to include those stats in this post, but she seems to be doing just great!!  Here are a few things I'm treasuring about Claire at this age...

-She's so much fun to be around and is full of spunk.
-She enjoys playing with her sisters and playing by herself.
-She loves marshmallows, cheese sticks, bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and all things sweet
-She's not a picky eater and will eat most anything we give her, but she does have a certain kind of yogurt she likes and really doesn't care for any other kind.  Her favorite it Yoplait Key Lime - the Whips version.
-She dislikes having water poured over her head in the bath.  She prefers Bert to give her a bath because he's more careful to not get water in her eyes; unfortunately for her I'm the bath giver 90 percent of the time.
-Claire loves school and would go every day if we let her.
-She loves playing blocks, with the doll house, and with puzzles.  She'll play by herself for over an  hour but especially loves it when someone else will play with her.
-She is so helpful!!  She'll  hear me say something like "I need to get your coat, Abby" or "does anyone know where the stool is?" and Claire will race to get it.  She especially loves to surprise us so she usually runs to get the item without saying a word and she'll bring it back with a big smile on her face.  She'll often do this several times a day.
-She's shy in public....if you say hey to her in public she probably won't respond.  In fact, she might grunt at you.  We're working on how to respond to people when they talk to her and she is definitely improving.  I usually give her a pep talk on the way to church.  She gets nervous when people show her any kind of attention, but is getting better.
-Her speech isn't perfect.  She still replaces many t's with a "d" (as in, "dis" instead of "this") and r's with a "w" ("weally") and others that I'm not thinking of right now.  I started to wonder if I should get her evaluated to see if she needs some speech therapy, but my friend Stephanie (who is a speech therapist at E and H's school) listened to her and said she wouldn't get her evaluated right now.  So I'll wait for now.
- She LOVES to be read to. Any book, but one of her favorites right now is a Sophia Look-And-Find book where she has to find 8 objects on each page.  And don't even think about skipping an object.  She wants to find each one.
-She likes to pray, but only if one of us feeds her the words a line at a time.
-She's doing so much better with her water and milk drinking. She still drinks best if she is being read to, watching a show or riding in the car (doesn't drink well just sitting at the table), but it's so much easier to get her to drink than it was 6 months ago and most days she doesn't drink juice at all.
-She loves to hold the door for me.  This is especially helpful when I have an arm load of stuff and am trying to get in the door at home.
-If someone asks her name she will tell them "Claire Bear"
-She sits with her knees behind her (like a frog).  The doctor has said this is not good for her hips and I've told her a bajillion times to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce. Every time I tell her she says "Oh, sowwy mom" and will change the way she's sitting right away, but then is back sitting her favorite way the next time I look at her.  She sits this way ALL the time and we haven't been able to figure out a way to break her of the habit.  Maybe I should try a chart?
-She got some Paw Patrol DVD's for her birthday and she is now a BIG fan.  Anytime she gets to watch a show that is usually her pick.
-She has more hair than any of her sisters.  It's thick and beautiful!
-She and Abby are playing so well together these days.
-Claire gives the best hugs.  (tight)
-She's recently started wanting to pick out her own clothes.
-She dresses herself, but still needs help taking her shirt off.  She puts her own coat on and can put most of her shoes on by herself.
-She likes dress up, but isn't as into it as her sisters.

Here is a little interview I did with our sweet 4 year old....
What is your name?  I'm Claire Bear
How old are you?  Four
Where do you live? In Dis House
What is your favorite color? Wainbow
What is your favorite toy?  Balls
What is your favorite food?  Egg
What is your favorite drink? Milk
What is your favorite thing to do? Play games with Abby 
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Painter
Who is your teacher?  Mrs. Beesley
Who is your best friend? Charlie (a girl in her class at school)
What is your favorite show? Paw Patrol 
What is your favorite book? She thought for a minute then pointed at the book sitting right beside her.  I don't think she's ever read it before.  It was a book about The Princess and the Frog.  Ha!
What is your favorite movie? Frozen
Who is the funniest person you know? Sawyer (Friend from school)
Where is your favorite place to go? The park
What does your Mommy always say to you? I love you 
What does your Daddy always say to you? I love you always

Claire Bear, you are beautiful inside and out!  You are an amazing big sister to Abby and a fun little sister to Emily and Hannah.  You are loved by God and by your family more than you could possibly imagine.  We're thankful for you and we LOVE you, Claire!

Trip to Gatlinburg

For pastor appreciation month (back in October) a couple in our church gave us a weekend in Gatlinburg using their time-share.  SO sweet!!  We set the date for the trip in late January and have been looking forward to it ever since.  Mom kept the kids for us that weekend and we sooooo appreciated it!  

They had some fun cousin time!  I loved getting pictures of them while we were away.  

Happy birthday to our Ressie Roo, we love you!!!  

Uncle Stanley and Alisha came into town that weekend too to do some wedding planning and the girls loved getting to spend time with them!  Emily came home soooo excited because she got to see a picture of Alisha's wedding dress!  

I loved this picture that Mimi took of our girls! All four of them crossed their legs...sweet things! 

Our friends Rhett and Shannon (Shannon's parents were the couple that gave us the weekend) and Toby and Mary Pat went on the trip to Gatlinburg with us and we had so much fun!   

We played lots of games until late at night, enjoyed eating at great restaurants (kid-free), had fun walking around Gatlinburg for hours on Friday, slept late (late for me anyway), but my favorite part of the weekend was just sitting around talking (which we did a lot of).  

Bert got in a fountain and stood on the ice.  Yikes!  I was not in support of this decision, but thankfully he didn't fall through.  

I loved getting to spend quality time with this guy too!  So fun!  

Mary Pat and Toby have Haley (6), Gabe (almost 4), and are pregnant with their 3rd (due in April)

Rhett and Shannon have Hudson (6), Katelyn (3) and Rachel (1)

Our kids have so much fun together and get to see each other many times through out the week when we are all at church.  

We  had such a great weekend and were so thankful for the trip!! 

Thankful for these friends that we get to do life with!  What a blessing!  

First Snow Day of 2018

We had a snow day in mid January, which was a fun surprise.  The snow started Tuesday night/Wed morning and the girls were out of school Wednesday - Friday of that week.  We all got out there on Wednesday morning and played in it for awhile.  

Our neighbor, Nicole, took this picture for us!  

Abby kept eating the snow, and ended up with it all over her mouth.  

The picture below was our pile of clothes after we came in.  Playing in the snow is hard work on the parents to get everyone bundled and out the door, to keep their gloves and hats on while they are out there, and to dry everything once they come in, but it's totally worth it!! 

We made snow ice cream and they ended up drinking it with straws because it was a little more soupy than normal, but they all said it was soooo good (again, Whole 30....so no snow cream for me).  We're going to need one more snow in February so that I can make some more.  

I love snow days!  I love seeing the excitement on the kids faces, the beauty of it covering everything and a day were I'm "forced" to stay inside with my favorite people in the world. 

Claire's 4th

Claire's birthday fell on a Monday this year and we found out on Sunday night that school was going to be canceled the next day due to some possible weather (that didn't end up coming).  We enjoyed getting to spend the day together though!  Bert worked that morning and then came home at lunch and we had a birthday lunch for Claire. 

Sisters picture!  

We had a birthday lunch and then sang and had cupcakes (not me, I've been doing Whole 30 for the month of January).  

Then she opened gifts from us and Claire was especially excited about the balance bike that she got.  

After the birthday celebrations Bert was out the door and headed to Atlanta to watch his Georgia Bulldogs play in the National Championship.  We were all so excited he was able to go!  It worked out so well that the girls didn't have school that day so that we could do our birthday celebrations for lunch instead of dinner.  

Happy, happy birthday to our Claire Bear!  You are loved!!! 

Claire's 4th Birthday Party

We had Claire's 4th birthday party on the January 6th this year.  This is the first time she's had a party with friends (we waited until the 4th birthday party for E and H too) and she was super excited about it!  We had it in the AWANA room at our church and had a Doc McStuffins theme.  I possibly would have been okay without having a theme, but Emily and Hannah wouldn't hear of it. They first wanted the party to be an Olivia (the book character) party, but when I couldn't find any Olivia party supplies they wanted to switch to Strawberry Shortcake and surprisingly enough I couldn't find much of that stuff either. I started planning the party decorations and food about 3 days before the party (this is typical for me), so that probably limited me in where I could order supplies.  I ended up just going to Party City and decided we'd go with Doc since they had plenty of Doc stuff and she likes Doc.  Win-win.  

Some of the decorations...

Team Watts before we got started....

While everyone was getting there we let them just run around and play with balloons.  

Then we played a few games, which Bert was in charge of explaining.  He does such a good job of making it sound even more fun and exciting than it is.  He doesn't mind being silly in front of everyone. Ha! 

We played a "cast" game where they had to get a partner and put a cast on their arm or leg.  

Jacob kept pretending he was sick and would let the other kids come fix him.  Funny boy!  

Bert was explaining a relay game in this one.  If you can zoom in on Emily's face it is so funny.  He must have said something that embarrassed her (not hard) because she has her hand over her face and is rolling her eyes.  Ha! 

They also played "Pin the Button on Chilly" which was probably the biggest hit of all, but I don't have a picture of that game. 

I loved Claire's facial expression while her friends were singing to her, and sweet Hannah looks so excited.   

Opening gifts was chaotic as they wanted to be on top of each other to try to all see the gift she was opening at the same time, but Claire definitely didn't mind.  

Papa took off work to come to Claire's afternoon party.  You can see the goose egg Abby got on her forehead earlier that afternoon, when she fell just before the party started.  

Claire loved this pillow that she got from her friend Jazmine.  She sleeps on it every night.  

We LOVED celebrating our sweet Claire, what a precious gift she is to all of us!