Three Girls and a School

The start of this school year has been such a good one for us. I obviously didn't post after the first day of school. Now, we are half way through the first quarter. This is a big year for all of the girls, and for us, as this is the only year they will ever all three be in the same school. (one drop off and one pick up every day! YAY FOR US!)

Emma:

Emma started 5th grade. She has the same teacher this year as she did last year, Mrs. Duncan. I cannot believe how much Emma has grown up over the summer. Part of me wants to tell her to slow down, but the other part loves that she is quickly becoming one of my favorite people in the world.

She is still somewhat reserved at first, but quickly comes out of her shell and is quite funny! She has a lot of opinions and is so very smart. Emma listens and takes in everything around her.

This year, she had a student-led parent teacher conference. She explained to us all of the things that she has been working on and I was blown away. She has created three PowerPoint presentations on books she has read and presented them to her class. She is learning to be responsible for herself and her teacher pushes the kids all to take that responsibility to help them prepare for Middle School.

This sweet girl is a beauty, but more than that, she has a good heart. She doesn't want anyone to have their feelings hurt or feel sad and that is evident from her group of friends. She is friends with tons of people in her class and even some younger girls (who look up to Emma in admiration). Fifth grade has been a great year so far and we are so proud of Emma.


Hannah:

Hannah is in the 2nd grade and has the same wonderful teacher that Emma had in 2nd grade, Mrs. Isabell. Hannah is very much a planner at heart. She needs to know what is going on when to feel a sense of comfort. So, on the first day of school, she cried a little. She always hates that first day of the unknown.

Now, she is succeeding and learning faster than I can keep up. She is constantly "leveling up" in math and reading like it's her job (well...it kind of is!). She is so happy in her class and crazy smart!

Hannah is still one of the most loving children I have every been around. She loves to hug us and constantly tells us how much she loves us. She has gotten several compliments from her teacher and other teachers about how sweet she is.

Another thing that keeps Hannah going is her quick wit. This girl can spout off jokes with the best of them. She is hilarious and her one liners just prove she has the "Burton" gene! Hannah is so beautiful and loving. This year has been a breeze for her and she is so very happy at her school!

Catherine:

Catherine started Kindergarten this year. The first day, she waved at me and never looked back. She was SO excited to start school like "the sisters". On the second day, I asked her if she remembered where her classroom was. She said that she didn't, but she would be fine...and maybe she would just go to the "fiveth" grade with Emma for today. (Don't worry...I walked her in! If you know Catherine, you know she really would have gone to another class just for fun!)

She had a little mishap the second day of school with her best friend, Anna Grace. Both of them are the youngest of three daughters and their personalities couldn't be more similar. So, when they saw Emma in the library, they climbed in the window and yelled "HI Emma!" Needless to say, we got a note home!

Since then, Catherine has been great at school. She is the class helper and loves to help other kids with their work if they are struggling. Mrs Banks had all three of our girls and went on and on about what good girls we have. She told us that Catherine asks her every day if she can skip stations (where they have play time) and just have some more work!

Catherine loves learning and can already read lots of words. The best day of Catherine's year so far was the day they started having homework. I have never seen her so happy!

Catherine is still our little fireball and still sucks her thumb. She lives in "Catherine's world" and is very head strong. She is by far the hardest to parent, because we do NOT want to break that strong will.

We are so SO proud of our three crazy girls. They keep us so busy, but this season in life is probably one of the best ones yet. I don't think Travis and I go to bed a single night without laughing about something that one (or all) of the girls did or said that day. (I will not deny it could be sheer exhaustion!)

There are days that we both wonder if we are getting any of it right, but looking at these three happy, healthy (mostly) well-behaved girls, we know through God's grace, we must be doing a little something right. :)

Each year, I look at these pictures and wonder what in the world I have done to be blessed beyond what I deserve! (Now here's hoping I'll be a better blogger!)

Catherine turns FIVE!

For a long time now, probably at least since she had any concept of being a certain age, Catherine has wanted to turn 5. To her, that was THE number...THE age of being a big girl (and the age of no more sucking her thumb).

On July 24th, my youngest and last baby turned 5. I guess to me, this also indicated the end of having a "baby" (I know...4 isn't a baby, but 5 is kindergarten *tear*). So, we celebrated her birthday in style.

Catherine requested Mexican food at our favorite hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, cake and presents. We did just that.

We went at ate at the restaurant. We are there so often that the manager knows us (literally once a week we eat there). So, when we told him it was Catherine's birthday, she got serenaded by the live band and the entire restaurant and LOVED it! Even on our way out, the singer quit singing and started singing "There goes the birthday girl, Catherine" to the tune of the song they were playing. :)

Then, we got home and had cake and gifts. This little girls asked for only one thing: A hide-away pet (google it...she saw it on an infomercial!). So, that is what she got! One thing about Catherine is she isn't lacking for enthusiasm. She was so happy with her gifts and loved her big day!

Catherine,
You are the wild and crazy that completes our wild and crazy family! Life with you is always an adventure and (most of the time) that adventure is full of giggles and crazy songs. We are so proud of you and cannot believe that you are a big FIVE year old. You are growing into such a big girl, but just know you will ALWAYS be my baby. We love you so much and can't wait to see what God has in store for you...He is going to use that big personality in a big way!
Love,
Mommy, Daddy & "the sisters"

Dance Recital 2014

If you've been reading here at all over the past three years, you will know that one of my most favorite times of the year with the girls is dance recital. I dreamed of having a little girl in dance long before I even became a Mommy (and little did I know that God laughed and said "A little girl in dance...no my sweet child, you will have THREE little girls in dance").

This year, Emma had tap and jazz on Friday night. It was so nice that she is old enough for me to get her dressed and actually watch from the audience. It actually dawned on me that this could possibly be the first dance recital I have ever watched from the audience; I was either in them or watching the girls from the wings.

I cannot begin to express how much Emma has improved over the past year at dance. She is also in classes this year where the parents don't watch anymore (not to mention her dance class started and 4pm...and I work, so I was rarely there for her classes). Seeing her on the stage dancing her heart out and loving it, it made me SO proud. She worked so hard this year and it paid off; she was selected as one of the finale dancers for Friday night. I, of course, teared up a little watching my girl on stage.

Saturday afternoon, all three girls had ballet. (THANK GOODNESS FOR HONEY! She came to help me get them ready on time) They all three did so good! Each of the girls is definitely a leader in her class, because other students looked to them if they forgot a step. Also, all three of the girls were in the finale for ballet. Que the super proud, teary eyed Mom again!

Saturday night, Catherine had her tap dance first. Catherine is a spotlight stealer. She gets on the stage, and her big personality just shines through. She loves the stage and when it was done, she asked if she could do it again!

Hannah had her tap and jazz afterwards. I have to brag on her. She had a broken arm and missed a few practices...not to mention a cast up to her arm pit. I will say that you couldn't even tell. We cut a tan pair of tights to fit over it and no one could see the neon green cast from the audience. She danced her little heart out and those precious dimples just shined brighter than the diamonds on her costume!

It was such a fun weekend. And, even though Travis isn't a fan of dance recital weekend, even he admits that he LOVES seeing the girls on stage doing something they love. To quote him "it's watching all those other dances that my girls are not in that bore me to death":) Oh Travis!

And of course, we had Honey and Daddy Brooks here with us all weekend cheering and supporting our girls! (Even if it wore one of them out completely!)

Sea Grove Beach 2013

Last week, we spent the week at our favorite summer spot. The drive is about 14 hours, but as the girls get older, it gets easier and easier. We drove half way Friday after work. About two hours into the trip, Catherine started asking, "How much further? How many more minutes?". So, to keep her quiet, I handed her a snack...a massive bag of skittles. (Mother of year!)

Saturday, we finally made it to the beach. We spent every day playing in the water and sand. One day, it rained, so we went into Destin to shop....so did everyone else in the area! WOWZA! Every other day it was so nice out.

We spent the evenings eating at our favorite restaurants, hunting crabs and hanging out. Of course, we took some typical family beach pictures. I LOVE THE BEACH!

The biggest thing that happened while we were there is: Catherine turned FOUR! (tear!) I cannot believe that this girl is four years old. We had her favorite things for dinner; hot dogs, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and calico beans. She had a big princess cake and opened all her gifts.

(Before I show birthday pictures, I have to show the list I have from my phone of the things she asked for for her birthday.)

Yes, she got everything on the list plus some. I would say she was a happy happy girl!

 

 

Catherine,

 

I cannot believe you are four years old. You are growing up much too quickly. While we all still think of you as "the baby" (and always will), you are such a big girl. My favorite thing about you is your hilarious personality. You love to laugh and make people laugh. You really picked up on an "acting like a pirate" from somewhere and love to do it ALL.THE.TIME; especially when I am trying to take a pretty picture of you. You still suck your thumb and love your "tag" (blanket), but...we are working on that. I am not pushing it too hard because checking on you at night and seeing you suck your thumb is the last little bit of baby that we have in our house. I am not rushing that away. We love you so much Catherine! Don't ever lose your sense of humor! XOXO

We had such a great vacation. I hate when it's time to go home! But, we will be back in a year! And, in case you were wondering how many times we had to take the "jumping" picture of the girls and have them all actually in the air...here are the out-takes...