Family/Maternity

Last weekend, my friend Brandy took some family/maternity portraits for us. She is starting a photography business and wanted some fresh photos to add to her portfolio...and we were MORE than happy to be her models. The pictures are amazing and you can view them at http://bforwardphotography.zenfolio.com/p587537481. If it asks for a password, it is "baby."

Fashion Plates

Cassidy and Lily wanted to put on a fashion show for us. Here are their designer originals...

All dolled up in their matching Belle costumes

Two Peas in a Pod...seriously, these two are BEST FRIENDS!

Now some in the fashion world may say this look is "over the top," but around our house it's all the vogue! :)

LOVE the glasses...missing their lenses! Are those necklaces heavy, Lily?

Cassidy was literarlly wearing about 20 bracelets and rings on each and every finger! :)

Cassidy's 4th Birthday, Part 2

Last Saturday we celebrated Cassidy's birthday with a special lunch of her choice (tacos), birthday cupcakes, and, of course, PRESENTS!

We gave her 2 Reader Rabbit computer programs, a reading program and a Kindergarten skills program. The reading program is her favorite and we have been surprised at how many words that she can read by sight.

Thrilled over her Rosetta Fairy Shoes, a gift from PeePaw and Nana.

Rosetta and Tinkerbell all dressed up...they have been fairies all week! :)

The wings didn't quite stand up on their own, but she didn't care! :) She and Lily plan to be fairies for Halloween!

Cassidy's 4-Year Portraits

I took Cassidy to have her 4-Year portraits made. She was an excellent subject and was thrilled to pose for the camera. And, as usual, I had a REALLY hard time deciding which poses order!

Look at those eyes...this one's going in our living room!

She LOVEd having the pink flower in her hair!

I love this one with her hands over her heart!

Love the flower between her feet!

A look from above

This is the Cassidy I know...SILLY!

CUTE!!!

LOOOOONG LASHES!

She has gotten SO tall!

Pretty girl

This is a gorgeous enhancement...the sales guy was making a BIG push for me to order this one! :)

Beautiful!

I love this one, not only because of the lighting, but because she was looking at me and I was saying "I love you" when it was taken!

Cassidy's 4th Birthday

Just a few pictures from the birthday festivities today. We are not opening presents until Saturday because Joey has late nights all this week. On Saturday morning I am taking Cassidy to have her 4-year portraits made while Joey and Lily stay home to make her a special birthday lunch. Her choice? Tacos! Then we'll decorate - and EAT - cupcakes and open presents...stay tuned for more pics!

Cassidy's Fairy Cake

Yes, I realize that it's a butterfly cake. We added a Rosetta figurine to the top to make it an official Fairy Cake!

Joey surprised Cassidy this morning with a big birthday balloon...

...12 pink roses...

... and a special Tinkerbell musical birthday card. She was thrilled! She has been asking for pink roses for her birthday ever since Joey brought Lily flowers on HER birthday!

Joey reading Cassidy her birthday card...and getting a little teary. OK, so maybe I was teary too! Why do I always get a little sad on their birthdays?!?! Maybe it's not sadness, but overwhelming love. :)

Cassidy's preschool class singing Happy Birthday! Lily LOVED getting to sit next to Cassidy at the big kid table and Cassidy was the model big sister, sharing her lunch with Lily and taking care of her the whole time. :)

Blowing out her candles while wearing the Birthday Crown Mrs. Colburn let her make this morning!

Me and My Favorite Girls

Our Family

We were so glad Joey could sneak away from school at the last minute to surprise Cassidy during her preschool party!

Happy 4th Birthday, Cassidy Grace!

My Darling Cassidy,

Four years ago today at 5:53 p.m. my life changed forever. Daddy and I often wonder what we did for fun before you came along. That's a hard question to answer because today it is impossible to imagine our lives without your sweet smile, your great big hugs and large loud kisses, your loving prayers at meals, bedtime, and fellowship, your silly jokes, your contagious laughter, your voice floating from the back of the van as you passionately belt out a song, your insightful questions, and your requests of "just one more story" before bed. I love that you dance around our living room, swirling and twirling in your favorite princess costume, that you are Mommy's Super Helper in every way, often even taking Lily to the bathroom without being asked, that you love with your whole heart, that you adore nature (even slugs and worms), that you have an imagination that can take you - and anyone that's with you - anywhere to do anything, that you praise me for my efforts as much as I praise you for yours, the way you "read" to Lily by reciting books from memory, your elephant's memory (you never forget ANYTHING!), your love for snuggling, and the sound of your voice saying, "I love you, Mommy!" many times a day.

Four years ago today at 5:53 p.m. my life changed forever...and I am incredibly thankful that it did! You have brought more joy into my world than I could ever fully explain. Happy Birthday, Cassidy Grace! I love you, my sweet girl! You are God's best!

Love,

Mommy

Good News on the Baby Front!

I had my monthly OB appointment this morning and was finally able to hear some good news regarding my placenta. At 28 weeks (when my last ultrasound was done), my placenta was exactly 2 cm away from my cervix, the minimum distance allowed for a vaginal delivery.

Lucy, my midwife, felt really good about this, and although they have scheduled a follow-up ultrasound at 32 weeks just to be safe, I am relieved and fully confident that this baby will enter the world in a similar fashion to its sisters...safely and VERY quickly once the pushing starts! As Joey always tries to tell the Labor and Delivery Nurses, "I don't think you want to have her do a "practice push." She's a REALLY good pusher!" :) They never listen, so I always end up doing 1/2 a push before they start yelling, "Stop pushing! We need to get your midwife in here and get the room ready for delivery!" Told ya so! :)

It's usually very frustrating to be stopped mid-push ("You know that feeling when you're trying to blow a St. Bernard out of your ass?!?!"), but I have a feeling this time I won't mind quite as much! I'm just so thankful to be back on track for a natural delivery! Praise God!!!

In other praise-worthy news, not only was Lily able to get into a Ready to Learn class for this school year (we were unsure for awhile if we were still eligible), but her teacher was able to make a last-minute assignment change so that we could attend on Monday mornings when the class starts at 9:30. Her original class assignment, Wednesday, starts at 9:15 and we would have been unable to attend because I cannot drop off Cassidy and Bennett any earlier than 9:15.

Cassidy is thriving at preschool and I am so pleased with the level of instruction she is receiving. They are working diligently on handwriting and any activities she brings home - whether they are writing-based or not - has Cassidy's handwriting practice of her name on the back in different colored crayons. We are gearing up to celebrate her 4th birthday next week and she has asked me to bring her Rosetta cake to school on Wednesday so that she can share it with her classmates.

Joey is surviving the first weeks back at school and has impressed me with his organization...not one of his strong suits, but he really seems to be on top of everything (no small feat for a man that wears so many hats) and I am thrilled for him! He has restarted his exercise program and is endeavoring to make HIMSELF a top priority...something that is hard for him (he's such a giver), but it's time to put himself first for a change! I am very proud of him and am always so thankful for how well he cares for our family.

I, too, am doing well...practicing yoga daily to combat pregnancy aches and pains and glad to be hitting the final stretch of this journey with only 10 weeks left to go...perhaps fewer if the baby takes pity on me! :)

Probably the biggest blessing (aside from the good news from my doctors this morning) of the week is that we were able to get the manufacturer of our defective HVAC coil to replace it for free even though it was not under warranty. This is the 3rd coil we have had leak in the last 8 months, so although we will have to pay for the labor to have it installed, we are very thankful to get the part for free.

Let's Go Pirates!!!

Our family spent part of the afternoon today at Buffalo Wild Wings cheering the Pirates to victory over the ASU Mountaineers. In the end, the game was too close for comfort, but a win's a win and we'll take it! GO PIRATES!!!

Me and the Girls before the game

Lily is the most energetic and enthusiastic Pirate cheerleader I know! She was singing the fight song and screaming GO PIRATES!!! over and over again in the resturant! :)

Cassidy is SO proud to be a Pirate Princess and had only one disappointment in the day...they never showed the ECU cheerleaders on TV! :)

Our Family
(How often do you get everyone smiling and looking at the camera at the same time while using the automatic flash?!?! Pretty awesome!)

Baby's 1st Pirate Gear

Aunt Jennifer joined us at Buffalo Wild Wings and Cassidy had to give her LOTS of love!!!

Lily squealing in delight as she gets a tickle for Aunt Jennifer.

Cassidy working in her Princess coloring book. We have learned to bring extra entertainment with us to break out when we've exhausted our food supply and used up our ice cream bribe! :)

Lily painting a lovely picture of Donald Duck!

Dress-Up Fun

The girls wanted to play dress-up this morning and, of course, Bennett wanted to get in on the action. All we have is GIRL dress-ups, so here's what he chose to wear:

I sent these to his mom with in an e-mail entitled "I thought you could use these as blackmail when he's 16!"

I can just hear the conversation now, "Bennett Gaskins, if you are late for curfew again, not only will you be grounded for a month, but I will personally invite your friends AND your girlfriend over and show them the pictures of you dressed like Tinkerbell!"

Putting on his matching lavendar Ariel heels.

Cassidy dressed as Barbie Ballerina

(Lily, behind her, refused to be photographed, but FYI she was wearing a Tinkerbell skirt, fairy wings, flower crown...and nothing else! Apparently she was going for the X-rated version of Pixie Hollow!)

Once she saw me snapping pictures of Bennett, she had to get in on the action.

This is not the first time we've had a little boy visit and want to join in the dress-up fun...but it cracks me up every time!

Look out Vogue...Bennett knows how to pose with the best of them! Check out that pointed toe in perfect position!