life goes on...

eep! it's been a little while... and once again, there's some catching up to do. this will be only a "partial post" (we had some fun recently with j and the kids and i want to make sure it's ok to share photos before i post), but it's better than nothing, right? ;)

madison finally had her little birthday party! we had coconut cake with tinkerbell on top. she's starting to get into the whole princess thing, but seems to have a particular interest in the well-known little pixie. so tinkerbell it was!
my rush-job on the cake... sigh. at least it was edible. the little tinkerbell came with shoes that come off; knowing my daughter, i decided that a little super-glue to keep them on would be in everyone's best interest. so once the cake was gone and the shoes (and their respective tiny feet) were cleaned off, they became permanent.

miss madison- three years old!!

j and the kids came too, and they spoiled madison... as well as cole and rem! madi loves the tent they found for her, as does cole. it's big enough for adults to sit in... so j and i decided that someday, we'll have a turn in the tent, complete with coffee and chick-chat. (hey- who says you're ever too old to enjoy a clubhouse??)

cole got something special from daddy too... his first hotwheels track! i don't have photographic evidence, but he and madison figured out a way all on their own to use their new things at the same time: hotwheels track inside the tent. problem solved.

auntie sarah came to spend the weekend with us not too long ago! she flew in to little rock on the 27th (friday) and left the following monday. it was SO great to have her here- i really needed it, and the kids got to enjoy spending time with her. we even dragged her out bright and early on saturday to attend tournament practice at the ata, so she got to see the kidlets in action. or distraction... same thing. (both of our kids sort of have the attention span of a hummingbird, making their class time a little interesting, to say the least).

cole bowing for master jorgenson

madison bowing too (note how she's looking at master jorgenson for approval!)

see? totally distracted. but it did get a few muffled chuckles from the other parents/spectators. is this taekwondo or yoga?

in the afternoon we met j and her kiddos at pinnacle mountain state park. the play area was fantastic! we explored a base trail and then came back to let the kids keep climbing and running on the neat equipment.

some random guy was kind enough to let the boys use his football for a little while... they were well-entertained, and auntie sarah got some practice passing (heehee).

sunday found us napping (while sarah met ted back at pinnacle for a walk/run), and once everyone was awake again and happy, there were some snuggles and giggles on the couch. remington has been really taken with his big sister lately, and she's starting to take her role as his personal quite seriously.

well hello, you!

kisses!

after sarah left, we didn't quite know what to do with ourselves... thank you again for coming, auntie sarah!! we love you :)

two weeks ago the kids earned their orange belts! (so did i, but that's not quite as exciting, haha!). remington took careful note so that when he's old enough, he can join ata too.

madison graduating to her orange belt...

... and cole graduating to his too! since then, they've both earned a stripe on their belts... maybe they'll be ready for yellow by the end of the month!

yay!

cole has been showing his paternal side lately... he'll sit down next to rem, hold him under his arms (not around his neck- we didn't even have to tell him that!) and slide him onto his lap. remington is pretty gracious about allowing this, even letting cole "burp" him. it's just adorable- totally melts my heart <3

aren't they the cutest pair of snugglers ever?