Happy Birthday to me!

Thank you to my family and friends for thinking of me. I felt very loved today!

A few highlights of my day:

Natalie woke up from about 4 am to 6:30! She had come down to our bedroom and we pulled her in. Bad mistake, after an hour I put her back in her bed, but she still had quite the difficulty going back to sleep. Thankfully, she slept in until 10:30, so after Zack went to preschool with our carpool, Ashley and I cuddled on the couch (while I napped) and then we enjoyed breakfast and morning chatting by ourselves. Natalie then woke up and joined us for hot chocolate (see following post).

Ashley was going to argue with me about something, but instead said, "Okay, because it is your birthday."

I got lovely flowers from my in-laws and a few goodies from friends! Lots of well wishes from everyone have made my day.
The kids had a lovely birthday surprise for me. They collected all the "flowers" from the lawn for me and were so excited to find a lot of different varieties! I guess it is time to mow and get the weed killer out...

Josh had a tougher day, but he still made time for me and made me feel important to him. We went out to eat at Rosa's, and because he had to go to an important church meeting, we plan to celebrate again tomorrow at a Shogun's type place!

Ashley loses another tooth!

Ashley lost her 2nd tooth! She is now missing both bottom front teeth. She is excited because she can stick her tongue through them now.

She also setup a special area for her tooth to be. The blue Barbie towel is where her tooth was carefully placed. She made sure her room was especially clean again so the tooth fairy would be doubly impressed.
Tooth fairy left a note again as well (Ashley was SURE she would) and a dollar! She is excited that her hard room cleaning paid off.

She wanted to add an arabesque pose to show her Aunt Jenny. She has been practicing for her ballet dance!

"Sharing" hot chocolate

Natalie saw me drinking hot chocolate this morning and decided she REALLY wanted some. She got on the chair right next to me and then scooted over to my cup so she could "share." I thought it was really funny how determined she was. These pictures were taken courtesy of Ashley :)

First Day of Boating

We finally had a warm enough day to get the boat out! We went to Lake Grapevine, Katie's Woods boat launch, and had a fun time picnicking on the boat and helping the kids remember the rules and feel of the boat. They are so much more comfortable than last year, so that is great! Our very first trip out last year, they all huddled against me, very afraid. This year, they are laughing and screaming in joy as we cruise along. Natalie gets frustrated at me holding onto her, she thinks she is older too!