Weekend Wrap-Up: Jr. Cheer, Bitty Baby Party, New Family Member

Friday night, Chloe and the Jr. Cheerleaders were able to perform during half time of the Boys Basketball game.  She was so excited because she volunteered to be lifted up.  She did great.  Unfortunately, these are the best pics I could get with my phone...nonetheless, I wanted to document the occasion!  I was so proud.  On another note, I got quite a few compliments after the game thanks to my well-behaving 2 year old.  He sat still and quietly for 1 1/2 hours while we were there...all thanks to a Big-Ole-Bag of Popcorn!  Best $1 I could have spent!

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A few weeks ago Chloe asked if we could celebrate her Bitty Baby's Birthday.  Maggie {who we have had for a few years now} was turning 1 so she was very adamant that she wanted to have a party.  Well, she has been so good lately and is doing so well in school, I thought this would be a fun treat for her.  She invited Chandler, Kathryn Luther, and her friend, Rebekah, from school!

Saturday morning, Chloe and I headed to the Dollar Store for decorations.  We got pink everything-streamers, tablecloths, plates, napkins, balloons, hats, horns, and heart picks for the pink cupcakes!  She and I decorated the upstairs loft area.  The big girls had their own table and the babies had their own table as well.  It was so fun to see the girls with their dolls...each of them cherish and care for them.  I never had an American Girl doll when I was young, but I'm so thankful to be able to provide things like this for Chloe.  She takes exceptional care of her dolls, and I know they will be passed down to her daughter as well!

Chandler, Chloe, Rebekah, and Kathryn enjoying their snacks! 

I had to share this picture as well...Kathryn's Mom, Mary, texted me this picture Saturday morning...Kathryn was so excited for the party she had all her dolls dressed and ready to go as soon as she got up!  So sweet!

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A few weeks back, we told Chloe we would get her a fish...well, life gets in the way and we just haven't gotten around to it.  I finally took her to Walmart this weekend and we officially 'adopted' our first fish family member. 

Meet Katie the female beta fish! 

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The kids finally got some outside time this weekend.  It was cold, but they didn't care.

I love how they love each other. 

I hope it never changes...my prayer is that they remain this close even when they are older and are on different paths. 

The joy in their faces is priceless. 

Pee Pee in the Potty

Hooray!  I'm happy to report that Carter has officially begun the Potty Training process!  Cindy, his wonderful sitter, has started sitting him on the potty this week.  Her only instructions for me was to sit him on the potty in the morning and right before he goes to bed.  Well, last night, he sat on the potty....and actually peed!  I couldn't believe it.  I tried not to get too excited because I know the 'over reaction' can cause them to regress...so, I gave him a high five & told him how proud I was!  This morning before he got dressed, I sat him on the potty again, and, wouldn't you know it...he peed again!  I could not believe it.  He was so proud of himself!

I, of course, had to document the moment with a photo!

{don't mind the bed head}

Happy "Early" Birthday GG!

These 2 sweeties want to wish our favorite Granny a very, very 

Happy Birthday!

We hope you enjoy the day; we miss you and Papaw and look forward to seeing you soon!! 

Why I couldn't be a teacher...

Well, there are tons of reasons why I wouldn't make a good teacher, but one of them would be because the messiness of youngins' would give me anxiety!  I do, however, love that Chloe's teacher embraces the mess for the greater good of learning!  Ms. Kemmer sent us pictures today of the kids practicing their spelling words in shaving cream!  So fun!  You can tell the kids were having a blast! 

Happenings lately {via iPhone pics}

In no specific order...

Last week, I stopped by Starbucks to grab a Peppermint Mocha {my weakness}...much to my surprise, I found out that the person in front of me paid for my drink!  I was so surprised...I hear of this happening all the time, but I've never actually experienced it!  Thank you to the white car in front of me...whoever you are!  I am grateful!

I found Carter asleep like this the other day...not sure how that is remotely comfortable! 

Friday, Chloe had a 1/2 day so I decided to take a 1/2 day as well.

Our tradition for 1/2 days has been to grab some lunch and catch a matinee!  The only real kid-friendly movie out was Wreck It Ralph {I have to say I wasn't thrilled....}, but it ended up being a great movie...one that I will probably buy for the kids when it comes out!  Great moral to the story...we had fun! 

Candid photo of the kids.

I can't get over Carter's facial expression!

My Mom got Chloe her 1st pair of real diamond earrings for Christmas {thanks Mom}.  She has super sensitive ears so we don't change them often and when we do .... it's DRAMA.  I finally got her to change into these beauties!  As you can see, there is still a lingering tear on her eye.  After the fact, she realized it wasn't that bad...and she was excited that we matched! 

Carter wanted to play with his train track...I was busy with dinner so he decided to put it together himself.  I have to say I was pretty impressed with his work! 

Finally, I'm still sticking to my plan to work out more in 2013.  I wanted to note my run from yesterday...I did 5 miles....5 miles!  I couldn't believe it.  I haven't ran 5 miles since before I was pregnant with Carter.  It was the best I have ever felt...I truly think I could have kept going but I didn't want to push too far past my limits.

5 miles @ a 9.69 minute pace!  AHHHH!  

Photo-A-Day: January 1-15

Its a new month, you should join in on the Photo-A-Day Challenge...

it's easy & fun!

Follow me daily @franjenkins on Instagram.

1.1 today

We celebrated with our other favorite 2 year old! Happy 2nd Birthday Austin!

 1.2 something new

My new Mizuno tennis shoes...they have been put to good use the last few weeks!

1.3 heart

This girl has my heart. She has been loving on all 3 of her American Girl dolls since Christmas. She will make a good little Mommy some day!

 1.4 the view from here

"Momma, catch...arms up" I love this little boy!

1.5 movement

...or lack there of this day. Taking advantage of 2 napping kids and watching Apple TV.

1.6 mine

All mine.

1.7 street

Busy weeknight on Warfield Blvd & Dunbar Cave Road.

1.8 something beginning with a "t"

BED-TIME! Ready Llama Llama Red Pajama 4xs in a row!

1.9 paper

Always a sea of it on my desk at any given time!

1.10 one o'clock

Ordered in at work with Amanda...Blackhorse to-go!  YUM!

1.11 water

My favorite water bottle to drink my water from!

1.12 surprise

I am super surprised at how great this DIY burlap wreath turned out!  Looks great on my door...I was happy to replace my Christmas wreath with something fresh and different!

1.13 circle

top//ham salad for lunch

bottom//turkey taco chili for dinner

1.14 yellow

This Gerber daisy has been with me through all of my cars.  Something nice and bright to look at every day!

1.15 an ordinary moment

Chloe visited me at work today because school let out early due to the impending ice storm.  She left us with this fabulous snowman drawing.  I especially love the large black bow on stick figure Chloe!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Nothing like a low-key weekend...they are much needed sometimes; especially because we like to run, run, run ALL THE TIME! 

The weather was beautiful on Friday and Saturday. You never would believe that it was January out there. So pretty, in fact, we had all the windows rolled down on the way home Friday.  Chloe was more than excited...I snapped this picture of her on the way home. I love the joy in her face. 

We did a lot of movie watching too.  I think we watched The Sandlot 4 times total this weekend.  I love that that my kids love the same movies Blake & I watched as kids. 

Here are Carter & I snuggled up on the couch watching Toy Story. 

Chloe likes to steal my phone and take tons of pictures {like 40-50 at a time}.  This weekend, she decided to have a photo shoot with her American Girl Dolls and Clarice, her Build-A-Bear.  These are the 'best' from the shoot ;) 

Chloe has been really into playing school lately.  Yesterday, she asked if I would play with her.  When I said yes, she got her area all ready....to include Welcoming me to her classroom!  We did several worksheets and then she read me Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss {it was a win-win--she thought she was playing teacher and I was getting in some reading time for her}!  

Also, since yesterday was a rainy, yucky day, we all stayed in.  While Carter was napping and Chloe was watching The Sandlot for the 3rd time, I decided to make my  newest DIY wreath!  It came out so great.  I am thrilled with our newest door addition! 

Finally, I saw where someone posted this on Facebook...it was a good reminder this morning when I was waking up to go and run...great thought to help start my day...bonus that it was said by Henry Ford ;) 

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday

It's been a while, but today I'm linkin' up with Jamie for

First up, I'm Lovin' my new kicks {thanks Mom for the Christmas present}...

I have to say that I have really enjoyed working out these last few weeks days....I appreciate having a workout buddy that keeps me accountable!!  Makes those 5:30 am mornings a little bit happier ;)

I'm Lovin' this Boy...this sweet, sweet Boy.

He has stolen my heart for sure.  Though he can be extremely rotten at times {a lot of the times}, he is sweet as sugar and it's a bit hard for me to punish him.  He just looks at me with those big blue / gray eyes and I melt...seriously! 

He has continued his obsession with Llama Llama Red Pajama {and all other Llama Llama varieties}.  So much so that he has several of the books some what memorized   Check out this video to hear our sweet baby boy reading Llama Llama Hoppity Hop! 

I'm Lovin' these 2 guys.

It is amazing how similar they look...that is the most common thing people say to me when they meet Carter..."oh my, he looks just like his Daddy!!"

There is no way on Earth Blake could ever NOT claim this sweet faced boy!

#twins 

Speaking of twins, I'm Lovin' that Chloe and I were matchy-matchy today!  Not really on purpose but since I pick out her clothes, it was obvious that I was in an orange mood today! 

Sweet girl!

What are you Lovin' today?
Link Up!

Normalcy after the Holidays...

Chloe is loving all 3 of her American Girl Dolls...they go everywhere with us // Carter has been under the weather lately...he is now on the mend {thankfully}, but the above picture was taken while we were at the night clinic...he was so sad and just felt awful. Sad Momma // We got a few flurries and the kids wanted to try to catch a few in their mouths // We had a dance party at Adrienne & Travis' house...our next purchase will definitely be a Wii so we can get the kids Dance Revolution 4...so fun! // Finally, Chloe has a new little nook area in our bonus room for all of her craft stuff...we played school the other day and she was so proud to be the teacher.

'Tis the Season Part 3

Christmas Day 2012!!

Started out at 7:30 am when Chloe came down and woke us up...

While waiting for Daddy to come up...I caught these sweet siblings having a tender moment. 

We then headed to see what Santa brought! 

Stocking time... 

{Carter loved Chloe's harmonica that she got in her stocking} 

After we got cleaned up and played for a bit, we headed to my Mom's for brunch and more Santa treats! 

{Birdie got Chloe her first pair of diamond earrings...I may have been more excited than her, but one day she will realize how special that gift is} 

Later that night, my Dad came over and we had a bit Prime Rib feast {Yum}!!  Santa brought a few more treats for all of us that night as well!

I'm so thankful that Christmas wasn't nearly as stressful as it has been in years past. I feel like we had adequate time with everyone and the kids had lots of down time too...I am starting to feel really good about the traditions we have started!  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas...I know that we were extremely blessed and are extremely grateful for all we were given.

On December 26th, my Mom took Chloe & I to the Trans Siberian Orchestra Concert at Bridgestone.  The show started at 3pm and last for 3 hours!!! I couldn't believe it.  It was probably the best concert I have ever been too...I'm thrilled that Chloe was there to share it with us!  I am hoping to make this a yearly tradition as well...they played tons of great Christmas music but also other types of Rock songs so it made it quite fun! 

 

{3 Generations}

Thanks Mom for our final Christmas treat!