Penny's Princess Party

Penny turned 2! Can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I started watching this little thang...my girls always look forward to having her over and ask daily if it's a Penny day.

Reese and Penny are pretty hilarious together. They play like sisters and get on each other's nerves like only sisters do. They are both sassy so it's pretty fun to watch. Reese better watch out, Penny is catching up in size!

Bria is SUCH a mom to Penny. From the minute she comes home from school, to the minute Penny goes home, Bria is taking care of her. She follows her around, plays with her, gets her food, takes her potty, puts her down for a "nap" and generally dotes on her. 

When I take them to the park Bria doesn't go off and play, she stays right by Penny's side. I try to encourage Bria to go run around and be a kid but she prefers to mother Penny. She is a natural nurturer. Say that 10 times fast ;)

I got some cheap fall decor at Target and was pretty happy with my little mantel. Funny how 2 pumpkins and a cute little banner makes me all sorts of happy. 

Bria had a pretty exciting little accomplishment, she started learning to ride a bike. This girl is stubborn beyond stubborn and can let her fears get the better of her. She has been adamant that she will not learn to ride a bike until she is a grown up, no matter how much I explain that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. 

But Bria is also internally competitive and when she saw Reese on the Skuut, attempting to master the pedal-less bike, she decided she would give bike riding a shot. She did great and rode by herself a few times for 10 seconds or so. We celebrated and celebrated and she was very proud of herself. 

Here is a little video, although I'm realizing that my videos never seem to display and I don't know why. Giving it a shot anyway...

Unfortunately she hasn't returned to the bike riding. I don't want to push it, but I don't want her to lose the courage and momentum either. I have all these envisions of me pushing Reese in the stroller and Bria riding her bike next to us, and unfortunately when I get an idea like that in my head I can't get it out and I become cranky until that idea becomes a reality. I think Brian HATES is confused by my singular focus on random things...just another one of my incredible personality traits :)

And then my baby was 4

4 years ago today, our family was completed with this little ball of joy...

 It has been an absolute blast watching her grow into the smart and sassy 4 year old she is today. As a baby she wanted to be held constantly. She preferred to "snack" nurse as opposed to do big feedings. It took her awhile to sleep through the night but once she did, she was a consistently good sleeper! She was happy and entertained easily.

Her bald head stayed bald for quite awhile and her blue eyes just kept getting bluer. She has always been such a cuddler, even now she will wrap her arms and legs around you and hold on tight, it is such a comforting feeling.

This girl can be laid back and her number one priority has always been fun. And snacking. Seriously, this girl doesn't eat a complete meal still. Just wants to snack all day long...so that's super fun!

One of the things I love about Reese is that she marches to the beat of her own drum. You would think with a big sister she would always be trying to keep up and follow her, but honestly, Reese will do her own thing when she wants. Even if all the kids are doing one thing, she will go off alone and be content to play by herself. I do love this about her and pray she is always so confident and content to be her true self.

It's easy to get nostalgic when going back and looking at all these fun pictures, it reminds me what a sweet and hilarious little person she is.

Also though? 3's rocked my world. The 2's were difficult but the 3's nearly killed me. The tantrums and ornery attitude were constant at points and exhausting. But as the 4's neared we started seeing a glimpse into less tantrums and more of a cognitive understanding of the world and how things worked. 

At times, she loves to tease her big sister and get on her nerves. There were days this past summer I lost hope of them ever being nice to each other. But they always proved me wrong and just when I thought I was going to lose my mind (ok, maybe after I lost my mind at times), they would love on each other and play so well together.

Reese will always have her big sister looking out for her, no matter what kind of fighting they might do.

So now I look at this sweet blond haired little girl, who puts her shoes on the wrong feet, rarely naps anymore, and has the cutest laugh ever...and I think back on the infamous morning she was born. The morning I woke up at 3 am, arrived at the hospital at 5:45 am, and delivered her at 6:13 am...and I think how blessed I am that she is here and how grateful I am for all the lessons she teaches me as a mother and a person.

I love this little girl so much and cannot believe that my baby is 4 years old.

Time is flying by.
Reese, may you always cuddle so tight I can barely breath. May you always wake me in the morning with a kiss. May you always look to your sister for comfort. May you always laugh with your Dad until you can hardly breath. And may you always know the love your family has for you and that no matter what happens in life, good or bad, we will be here.
Love you Reese's Pieces peanut butter ball!!!!

2 weeks in

We are about 2 weeks into this school thing and so far it's not too shabby. Bria has days where she doesn't want to get up but so far her attitude is not bad. I've been waking up about half hour before everyone else so I can drink my coffee in peace and prepare for the day, hopefully I can stay motivated to keep doing that because it really does help. I'm much more pleasant once I have a cup of coffee in me :)

Reese wishes her school was longer and more often. Tuesday morning she ate one bite of cereal and then wanted to get dressed and ready. She got her backpack and shoes on and was all set to go...30 minutes early :) Love this girl.

Penny and Reese waiting for preschool to start

Hopefully Reese stays this motivated and excited about school! She is currently in the 3's class and I think it's fine, however, they informed me that I'm welcome to put her in 4's at any time since her birthday falls in September. Something to consider if she does seem to need/want a little more. It does feel a little like daycare when I drop her off, there isn't a set schedule and her sweet teacher is so nice but quite a bit more laid back than myself...aka she doesn't have a ton of structure to the class.

It's currently 60 degrees and cloudy, but last week we had some hot hot days and we got outside to soak it up!

Penny is getting so big and she loves to do big girl things. I don't even have to push the kids on the swing or stroller with her around ;)

Water bead fun

A few weeks ago we went to an estate sale and Brian found a heavy duty rope. The awesome Dad that he is turned it into a little rope swing for the girls and they have been LOVING it. It's been an everyday activity so far and I love that it gets the girls outside. 

We're in a bowling league

I know what you're thinking, wha? Come again?

But you heard that right, Brian and I joined a bowling league. Scott and Randi asked us a couple weeks ago and at the time we were like, "Yeah! Count us in, fun!"

And then we talked about funny team names and matching uniforms and all the important stuff. Then it got real and they were like, "We're signed up!"

I was like, "Oh, I'm not good at bowling...is that a problem?"

But guess what? It was pretty dang fun and also? I didn't suck!! In fact, I played my best game ever during game 2...148!!! Crazy. I was ecstatic. 

The kids played on the indoor structure, got all hot and sweaty, and would come to cheer us on every few minutes whilst chugging water. 

Red lipstick!

Keeping it classy at the bowling alley!

Team pic (pretend I'm in there too)

Brian in his determined stance...he has the best legs

Randi about to bowl a spare

Inukai high five!

So, our team name? Red Hots. Colors: White and Red

Also, we are the youngest and I'm just going to throw humble out the window and say we're the best looking too. It's not bragging if it's a fact right? ;)

I'm looking forward to our weekly bowling game. 

Just call her Bria Hamm

Soccer season started and for the first time we have a little Holcomb in it!

Bria was very excited to start and be a part of a team. She has attended lots of other games for her cousins and friends, so the fact that she is on the field now thrills her to death. 

First practice was adorable and she had a smile on her face the whole time. She did a great job paying attention which was awesome. She tends to get caught up in her daydreams (such a mini me) and I thought for sure she would be picking flowers and making headbands on the field, but nope, she was running fast and kicking hard. Loved it.

Second one in from the right, purple shirt

Her first game was this last weekend and unfortunately Daddy was out of town, hiking. So it was just me, Reese, and 1,002 things crammed into the jogging stroller. I didn't want to be unprepared so I packed the whole garage. Also, it was nearly 100 degrees outside so that was fun. I was sweating, before we even got in the car. 

We parked at Lark's house since Cooper had a soccer game at the same time and we walked down together. Once there I set up our Costco tent to give me and Reese some shade and then unpacked enough food for a camping trip. There was no way Bria was going to be hangry (hungry + angry)! 

The water was cold, we had shade, only thing missing was a beer ;)

Cheering on her team from the sidelines!

 Bria did awesome. She wasn't afraid of the ball at all and was pretty dang fast. She had some great kicks and even better blocks. I was beaming with pride, she had so much fun and I loved watching her out there.

Getting ready to run out on the field as a team!

I can always spot her out on the field!

 

Team stretching

Pre-game huddle

She would smile and wave every few minutes, loved it!

Focus and determination

At some point during the game, Reese got ahold of my phone and I have quite a few random pictures, mainly looking like this:

Bria is definitely a little cheerleader as her and another teammate were cheering Go Penguins! the whole time. That's their team name by the way, the Gray Penguins. Love.
After their victory (but I didn't keep score) we jumped in Lark's neighborhood pool and cooled off. It was perfect, except 179 people had the same idea so the pool was a little crazy. The kids didn't care though, they were in heaven.
After we tired them out I headed home to plop them in a bath and crack open that beer...just in time for Brian to come home.