Monday, August 31, 2015

Penny is Five!

Penny, ready for school on the morning of her birthday.
(Ellie wanted to be in the picture too.)
Who can believe our little Penny is now FIVE YEARS OLD???  It just doesn't seem possible, but here we are!  We have quite the little character on our hands, and it just comes out more and more the older she gets.  In the last year she has grown up a lot!  So much in fact, that we decided to go ahead and send her on to kindergarten, even if she is on the young side.  We know that little brain of hers is always working and needs stimulation!  So far, after one week, it seems to be the right decision.  She loves her teacher and has already made a little friend that she comes home talking about everyday.  (She also informs us everyday that the boys get in trouble everyday.) Penny has many interests.  She LOVES princesses and anything pertaining to princesses. This includes dolls, figurines, dressing up, frilly dresses, shoes, jewelry, and hair accessories.  She can still be seen wearing her favorite purple crown from time to time, though the year long stint of wearing it every day is over. (It had to be!  She wore it so much it stretched out and is too big for her head now!) Her favorite colors are now pink and purple, when a year ago everything had to be just pink.   

Even though princess stuff is her main gig, she can still be found playing in a number of ways.  She has become wild about coloring, drawing, and painting.  She draws and colors at least one picture everyday.   She also plays A LOT with her baby sister.  They play with dolls, in the toy kitchen, and just about with anything they find.  They also like to "read" books together.  We've especially noticed how much more willing she is to play with Ellie, and how much Ellie really loves her sister.  Penny likes to play games, work puzzles (and she is really good at it), play on the iPad, and hang out with Cooper.  She likes being funny and is always trying to get Cooper to laugh.  The other night Cooper was "scared" and didn't want to go to sleep.  Penny to the rescue!  We told her she was allowed to tell Cooper three jokes but then they had to go to sleep.  She did and both slept fine all night.  She also LOVES to help Mama in the kitchen and becomes indignant if I try and bake anything without her.  

We are so excited to watch Penny grow and change!  She is such a funny, sweet and sassy thing, we can't even imagine what the coming year and first year in school will bring.  We are in for a ride,  we know that!

Penny asked to go to Build-A-Bear again for her birthday, so that is just what our family did.  She really enjoyed building her purple pony...until she realized that the princess dresses were for the bears and didn't fit the ponies.  As the lip started to quiver when we told her it was too late to change animals, Daddy saved the day!  He suggested she pick out a princess dress as well to take home and put on the bear she built last year.  Birthday saved! Whew!

Penny gives her pony a bath.
Cooper got to build a character too!  He chose Kevin the minion, which immediately began the minion talk out of Penny.
Afterward, we celebrated at home with a cake made by Mama and presents!
Now the hard part...sharing all the new princess stuff with her siblings!

Monday, August 24, 2015

First Day of School 2015!


Cooper and Penny's first day of school!  Penny is in Kindergarten and Cooper is in First Grade!  All went smoothly for our first day.  Cooper was a little apprehensive but ok.  Penny was super excited!  As soon as she put on her new dress with matching headband, socks and shoes, she was all smiles and silliness and ready for kindergarten!
Parents are allowed to walk their little ones to class on the first day.  Cooper perked up when he saw some of  his friends from last year.
Mama was so sad to drop this one off on her first day!  Luckily Penny was thrilled that the teacher had set out purple play-doh for her and wasn't sad or scared at all! How can we be here with her already?  It just doesn't seem that long ago that we were here:
Penny, one day old.

And, a few outtakes from our picture taking session...

He's being silly, but I love how she's looking at him.
Being minions...

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Final Summer Weekend


We made sure to make the most of our final few days of summer with lots of family time.  We enjoyed some time downtown Boerne, dips in the pool, and a visit to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.  We had a great time, but now it's time to relax and prepare for tomorrow...the first day of school!  

Quick stop on our way downtown to feed the ducks.
Ellie didn't like the ducks.  She prefers chickens.
When asked what they wanted to do on Friday, Penny said, "I want to go to the bakery." And Cooper said, "I want to take a walk downtown."  Done and done!

On Friday evening, Uncle Clint joined us for a dip in the pool.  Crazy water kids!
Little water baby!
The kids LOVED not having to be strapped in at the Wildlife Ranch.  We got to see and feed lots of different animals.
First real use of the sunroof...
Buds for life.
Ellie liked petting the goats.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Finishing Up the Summer To-Dos

What's left of summer is counting down, and we are trying to squeeze in as much as we can.  So far we've managed...
Lots and lots of down time!
Chicken love.
Back to school shopping, complete with a stop at the mall play area.
Fiesta Texas!
Uncle Clint, Mama, Daddy, and Cooper braved the heat and the crowds for one more go at a theme park.  Penny opted to stay with the babysitter we got for Ellie stating, "It's too hot and I like to dress up." 
Children's Museum!
Lonestar Lagoon!
Its so fun that we have so many fun things to do so close to home!
and the Public Library.
(We have duplos and magnetic letters at home but I guess they are more fun out in the world.)
Five days left...what else can we find to do??

Thursday, August 6, 2015

It's Still Summer...Hooray!

With only 17 days until school starts (Nooooooo!!!) we are trying to squeeze in as much summer fun as possible.  Since we got back from our big vacation we've managed to have a weekend at the lake house, go to the movies, and visit Ma-mas and Pa-Pa in Corpus Christi.  I think we've had it pretty good...the kids haven't expressed boredom even once all summer!  The goal is to keep that sentiment for the next 17 days!    

Daddy and Ellie on the lake.
All five of us went to a matinee showing of "Minions."  The kids loved it...and have been acting like minions ever since.
Ellie had fun at the Texas State Aquarium...probably her first visit where she wasn't sleeping in a stroller.
Penny and Ellie cool off at the aquarium Splash Pad.
Cooper and Penny got to write their names on the wall at Van's BBQ on the way home from Corpus Christi.