A Dramatic Reading by Lia

Short and to the point. I like her style.

Short people...

...get it done any way they can!

I came around the corner to find her "practicing" her piano with a little help from the bathroom stool.

I don't think there's much that will stop this little one from going places!

Mmmmm...

...chocolate chip cookies are the best...especially on this sweet face!

"I Do It Myself..."

...and so she did.

And boy was she proud of it.

Dancing with the Stars

With 2 out of the 5 down with a virus, more dreary weather, and no escaping the house for a few days we are all suffering from a little cabin fever.

So what better time to break out the cell phone and dance to some ring tones?

Alex is more of a slow groover while Lia is experimenting with some new break dancing techniques. It's a wonder she didn't break her little tailbone with her grand finale.

49 Degrees?

As a high? In mid-October? In North Carolina?

Really?

And I thought I was moving south to enjoy some warmer weather.

I don't like the cold but I do like the snuggly PJ's that it brings out.

I Thought The Day Would Never Come...

Today I lost Alex for about 30 minutes. No, not out in public. In our house. I had told him to go get ready for his nap and then 30 minutes later I realized that the house was awfully quiet but that I never went up to tuck him in. (Yes, I do understand that the previous statement indicates that my short term memory is whittling away but that's not really the point here).

Now, 30 minutes of quiet during Alex's wake time usually indicates trouble. But not this time. This time, I discovered him in the corner of Michael's room happily playing with God's greatest gift to mothers of little boys...Legos. For 30 minutes, he was alone. He was safe. He was happy. He was doing something relatively educational. And it was quiet. Blissfully, quiet.

While I don't have any pictures of that treasured moment, here are some shots of the little ones being "big" like their brother and sisters...doing school and practicing oral presentations.

I think I posted this one before...but look at that smile. It's worth 2 posts!

Every week, Alex has to do a presentation and don't you know Miss Lia is not going to be left out. We have no idea what she says but by golly she's gonna give her presentation too!

Alex, hard at work on his letters.

Doing school in PJ's. Is there any other way?

Alas, the silence of naptime has just been broken. Wonder what we'll get into next?

Haircut Day

One of the more challenging things about moving is replacing some of the things that we loved so much back in Virginia...like our hairdresser. (If any of you go to Styles Unlimited please tell Miss Laurie how much we miss her! )

So today was attempt #3 at finding a reasonable yet decent hairdresser for the kids. I can't say we succeeded in finding anything reasonably priced, but as you can see, the kids were well pampered during their time in the "chair."

We went to Peek-A-Doo's which is specifically for kids.

Alex got to sit in a car while watching "Cars" on DVD

as he got his hair cut.

He has SO much hair to cut AND he's so ticklish.

Yeah, I think he could get used to this place.

I've been trying to grow Lia's hair out so this was

her first haircut since coming home in March.

Any guesses as to what she might be thinking?

I'm going with "What the heck are you doing, lady?"

Now she's getting into it.

She opted for a boatride during her haircut.

The "pirate eye" is always a good sign that

things are going well.

She chose to watch "Dora" while getting her "do" done.

I can't complain too much because we had the whole salon to ourselves while we were there, so it was a very easy experience to take all 5 at once. But sadly, I think our days of $8 haircuts are now over.

Wonder if they make a "Haircutting for Dummies" book that I could purchase?

I'm Not A Fan of Beauty Pagents...

...but if I were, I think she'd be a contender...

Thanks for the birthday present Lindsey, Rachel, Brady, and Zach!

Long live Princess Lia :)

Catching Up...

Where has the time gone???? Thirty days without a post...that's pitiful!

Here are a few pictures from the past month of the faces of those who have kept my hands busy, my head spinning, and my heart full....

We took the kids to the Tech game last week

when they were in town to play Duke.

We have a cheerleader outfit

but who knows where that is at this point?

I think she pulls off the jersey look pretty well though:)

Stylin' and profilin'


Playing a little football in the parking lot
with the boys while we tailgated.

H-O-K-I-E-S...HOKIES!

My future orthodontist bills aside...I love the thumbsucking.

The pigtails are back! She just won't keep them in :(

Love it...

Still fascinated by pockets...

...and I'm always fascinated by what I find in them

when I do laundry :)

This is Lia's "pirate eye" pose...you should hear the "Aaarrgggghhh"

she has to go along with it. Too cute.

Princess tiara and microphone...think she likes attention?

We KNOW he likes attention :)

Enjoying a good book...

...and the last few days of summer.

Hopefully, the next post will come before Christmas!