Blogger Neglect

i am not even going to begin to apologize for my lack of posts lately. life at the beynon house has been so so busy and we have all been struggling just to stay a float. what have we been doing you ask?

well, drew has been traveling quite a bit so that leaves me here with all three girlies by myself. fine, but they are running in three different directions and this momma is tired. needless to say, i sleep very well at night!

preslee and mason are going into their second month of pre-school. they are absolutely loving every single day. i have just been amazed at how much they are learning. just a few weeks ago they could only write the first letter of their names and now they are writing their full names and trying to write their "second name." they are learning site recognition of all of their letters and numbers and are very interested in what letter things start with and what day of the week it is. i put up a calendar in the play room and they take turns changing the date on it everyday. it's something that they really look forward to. they are making so many new friends and i have met so many new mommy friends too. we decided to separate them this year so they are in different classes and adjusting to that change really well. drew and i are so proud of our little girls.

finley is almost 22 months old. when i look at her she is changing and growing so much, but yet is still such a little baby too. i think i tend to baby her and try to keep her small because i am just not ready to end this stage. this last 6 months with her has just been amazing. she is like a little sponge, just absorbing everything. she knows three or four of her colors, repeats anything you ask her to and just talks all day long. she is speaking in sentences most of the time and can count to 5 too. she has really taken to her bitty baby doll and calls her "bitty". she changes her diaper, feeds her, makes sure we are quiet when bitty is napping and even puts her in time out when she is a "bad girl." it's so sweet to watch and amazing that she knows how to be such a little mommy. It's extremely hard for me to look at her and remember that she is the same age that preslee and mason were when she was born. hard to imagine that we had two little babies at home and a newborn too. we must have been in such a fog those first few months!

and i have some exciting news too.......no, i am not pregnant, bite your tongues! i started, after many months of planning, my own business. i am doing party planning, designing and party decor. i can do invites, banners, signs, anything you would need to make your party extra special! check out our website www.thecupcakeandlemonadeshoppe.blogspot.com i have a FB page and an Etsy store too! shoot me an email for all of your party needs!

and last but not least, we are headed to disney world in 10 days! i don't know who is more excited, the girls or drew and i. we will be there for 2 days and then my parents, sister and nephew will be joining us. the beynon house is on princess overload so it will be fun to see the girls when they finally get to meet all the princesses. they have not stopped talking about this trip since we told them over a month ago.

so, that's my excuse, that's why i have been such a bad blogger. but i promise to do better and keep you all informed of what we are doing. a post wouldn't be a post without some pictures of my little cuties!

"Mommy, I Help you?"

since my sisters are in school in the mornings, it's just me and mommy. we always try to do something fun because i know one day i will be in school too and mommy will be home all by herself. she will be so sad then....
this morning we made rice crispy treats. here's how we did it.

first you get some marshmallows and count them out or eat them.....



put them in the pan



stir them



make sure you dribble some on the countertop



now it's time to put the rice krispies in. if you spill two or three cups that's ok too



when they are all mixed up, smoosh them in the pan



sneak yourself a bite. no one will notice



hurry. put as much in your mouth as you can before mommy tells you to stop.



waa-laa, it's as easy as that!



mommy says that even though her freshly cleaned kitchen is now a mess



that's ok, because my help was totally worth it!

Your First Day of Pre-school

dear preslee and mason,

in just a few short hours, you start preschool. it feels like your daddy and i have been counting down to this moment since you were born: “can you believe in three years they’ll go to school?” “next year at this time they’ll be in school.” “only two more months until school.” but now, looking back it's felt less like a marathon and more like a 50-yard sprint. today we are buying princess backpacks and packing lunches.

as with every other step along this parenting journey, friends, family, even strangers have offered opinions on how i’ll feel tomorrow. i haven’t a clue but i do know that when the door closes and i get that last glimpse of you for 3 1/2 hours, you’ll crowd my thoughts: what you’re doing, what you’re thinking, if you’re ok, if you’re eating your lunch and using your manners, if you miss me and your baby sister and your daddy.

being a parent has been interesting, frightening, rewarding, and frustrating, sometimes all at once. your daddy and i prayed so hard for you. on the day you were born, you were babies so welcomed and wondered over. a perfect set of twins, the first girls in the beynon family. you were so tiny and ready to meet the world. from the first time i held you both in my arms and saw those little fists balled up and your sweet little red faces when you cried, i knew that you would be something big. look out world, here come my girls!

i was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with you and spend every second marveling in your development. like so many parents of our generation, we tried to give you those “must-haves” the experts insisted on: breastfeeding: Check. lots of books: Check. minimal TV: Check. early preschool: Check. [mostly] healthy meals: Check. your whole life, you’ve had options and choices, a fortunate distinction from most of the rest of the world.

while i have given you advantages and can buy those school supplies and pack your lunch, you’ll have to go it alone. that’s why as the days draw nearer to the start of school, you test the waters, asking questions, imitating imagined conversations, thinking aloud what this strange new world will be like. mason, you have always been cautious, watching and learning before jumping in. it's a trait that comes with some limitations, but it also has its advantages. preslee, always sporting a bruise or a cut, will be cliff diving while you are checking the ropes for her.

once i expressed my own hesitations about school to a teacher friend. her advice stuck with me: the hardest part of releasing you to preschool — or any new experience — is realizing that i must give you up to the less-than-perfect world that awaits you.

while the world has been and always will be imperfect, i too have been an imperfect parent. but i was always willing to learn, to say i was sorry, to try harder the next time. and now i’m willing to release you, with the knowledge that school, like parenting, will be rewarding and frustrating and i cannot change that. despite all those fortunes in your early life, you will have sad days and lonely days and days when you just don’t want to go, when your teacher doesn’t notice you or your best friend won’t play with you or another kid is mean to you. and those days, my girls, will break my heart.

if there are a few thoughts that carry you through, let them be this: while your daddy and i have to let you go, no matter what you think or do or become we will always be there for you and listen. dive off that cliff occasionally (check the rope first). and know that in our imperfect world, with all my imperfect ways, i have been given you and your baby sister, the three most perfect gifts that any parent could ever hope for.

preslee and mason, i love you and am so proud of you!

mommy

Busy, Busy Summer

we have been so busy this summer that i just haven't had the chance to update about any of the fun things that we have been doing. with three kids under 4, gone are the lazy days of summer. we have been running almost everyday from sun up until sun down and we have been having so much fun.

MAY
at the end of may we took a 3 week vacation to pensacola, atlanta and then to brevard, nc to spend time with my parents. drew was with us for a week and then he headed back to baltimore for work.

our trip to pensacola was amazing! i hadn't been home in almost 5 years and it was wonderful to see friends and family that i have missed so much. we took the girls to the beach and showed them the house where i grew up. they got to see their mamaw, lots of aunts, uncles and cousins and their granny who they had never met before!





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18 month Stats

forgot to post finley's 18 month stats. she was 20 pounds 12.8 ozs (3%) and 30 1/2 inches tall (25%). still a peanut, but oh so spunky!

Happy 18 months Finley!

finley,

today you are 18 months old. really, how can you be 1 1/2 years old?

while we know it is unavoidable…i mourn how quickly you are growing up. you morphed from my tiny baby girl to a full blown toddler in the blink of an eye. as much i want to believe you will be the first to defy the hands of time, i am powerless against the clock. it just keeps ticking with no regard to my heart…and each day you grow up a bit more.

you are generous in every way. you love deeply and express tenderness in a million ways… a shy, yet flirtatious smile from across the room, gentle pats on my back while you say "mommy", soft kisses anywhere you can plant them. you give and you give freely. no possession is so prized that you are unwilling to share it with others, except for bun-bun. oh how you love bun-bun.

finley, your charm, determination and intelligence amaze us. i love to watch you try to put on your sisters dress up clothes. you struggle, with your little tongue stuck out, working so hard, until you either get it or you fall over in a heap, in tears. no task is too big for you. you are a treasure and i cherish our special relationship.

you are and have always been an amazing sleeper. you sleep all night and still nap sometimes twice a day. i used to hate the days when you wouldn't nap at the same time as your sisters. sometimes mommy needs just a little "by herself" time. but lately, as i watch you grow so fast, i treasure that hour that you wake up early. it's just the two of us, walking around outside or sitting on the front porch, drinking "juicy" (juice) and chatting like girlfriends.

you are quite the conversationalist. i know before long, you will be talking even more than your sisters. i don't even know how many words you can say because there are so many. some of the cute things you say are, see-da (see ya), side (outside), nuff (enough), cake cakes (pancakes), pessy(preslee), mae-mae (mason), tutt (touch), muck (milk).

you have the sweetest spirit. you are tenacious and determined but tender through and through. you love life and you especially love to laugh and sometimes you even snort when you laugh. one of the sweetest sounds i know is your giddy laughter ringing through the house when your sisters are chasing you.

no one makes you laugh like your sisters. just today, i videotaped you just bursting into laughter over cereal. i didn't see the humor, but you three did. you just laughed and laughed. it is so heartwarming to see my three girls together and so in love with each other. i know as the years pass, you will have your share of fights and not always get along, but i pray that the bond you have now always is as tight as it is today. that you three will always be the best of friends, just like your aunt amy and i.

you commanded respect when you became this little person with your own intelligence and temperament. and most of all, you remind me of the grace that you are, everyday of your life. you are so special finley and you complete our family. we love you so much. happy 18 months sweet girl!

i love you,
mommy

Happy Father's Day

we feel blessed and grateful to have a wonderful, caring, involved daddy in our lives! he has so many great qualities but the one that stands out above the others is the way he shows his love to our girls. they love him right back in their own ways, and it just seems to be something so much more than luck. the relationship between drew and our girls is a gift that goes both ways. i am sure he would say he is the luckiest daddy in the world, but the girls would all say they wouldn't want any other daddy than him.

drew has stolen each of their hearts as only he can. we just want to tell him that he is loved and adored and appreciated each and everyday by our whole family. we're so glad to be the ones to hug and kiss you and laugh and play with you every day. thanks for being such a devoted daddy!! happy father's day from your beautiful baby girls, preslee, mason and finley. we love you so much!