Outfits

Another fun couple of shots...

Back in 2007, my mom bought these outfits for Hadley and Eissa. We waited a little late with this most recent little photo op, but finally the other night put Eissa and Cass in them and took some pictures (before they couldn't fit into them anymore :) ). Too cute. Enjoy...

May 2007. Hadley (2 years 3 months) and Eissa (7 months).
November 2009. Eissa (3 years) and Cass (19 months)...yes, Cass is still able to wear some size 9 months clothes...and Eissa is in a size 18-month. ;)

19 Months

Just thought this was fun. Cass is 19 months old right now. So I thought I'd take a peek the other day at the others at this age and thought I'd share what I found.

I really didn't have many great pictures of Hadley at this age. Eissa was born when she was 19 months old...maybe that explains it. ;) Also, she is definitely the one that looks the most different, isn't she? Eissa and Cass resemble the most in these pictures (Grady pretty close in these though), but I'm telling you...we have a picture of Grady hanging on his door that looks just like Cass. It's pretty amazing. They are the 2 that look most alike I think.

The realization of being in a new phase just keeps coming. Grady was 13 months when Hadley was born, Hadley was 19 months when Eissa was born, and Eissa was 17 months when Cass was born. So, 19 months has been the longest we've gone before gaining a newborn. Here we are...19 months...no newborn. ;) Fun and sad at the same time. Don't get me wrong...totally at peace and know this is what He has for us right now. But, it's just a little weird too, you know? It's so exciting, though...the different phases of life.

Anyhoo, enjoy the fun 19-month shots.

Eissa's Birthday Celebration - Part 3

To wrap up our birthday celebration for 3-year old Eissa, we headed to 2 more places. I'll just let the pictures and videos tell the story.

The kids expressing their excitement about their surprise for Eissa's 3rd birthday. Listen closely...Grady gasps just as the recording begins. The birthday girl was stuck in the back seat, but she was also very excited. ;)

Yes, the circus!

I've only been to a circus twice. Once when I was pretty little...don't remember much about it. But, I'm sure it was fairly nice...not sure of the name of the circus company that we saw, but probably a pretty big show. The 2nd time was when we were newly married and I decided to take at least a little bit of an advantage of living in Phoenix...so many things to do there downtown...so many shows and special events pass through there. So, the first thing we did was go to the circus...Ringling Bros. SOOO impressive! Non-stop action.

I have to say, though, that I LOVED this circus. It was so very well done, but also so very old-fashioned it seemed. The literal big tent (instead of a stadium), hay on the floor, everyone in the show doing multiple things (including walking around in the crowd selling things during the intermission)...I just loved it. I fully expected Dumbo himself to walk out with the elephants. ;) It was that kind of feel.

It's so interesting to think of the way of life for these circus performers. They live in run-down small RVs (think vintage tin-can type) and travel from city to city constantly. There were at least 2 small children in the show...I just wonder what their lives are like, how many families are involved, what the atmosphere is like, etc. So interesting to me. Anyway...

On with the pictures and videos to tell you the rest of the story. It was a really great day!

The circus started later than we were told. We were going to go to Cows (what the kids call McDonald's) after the circus, but decided just to switch the two, going to Cows first. So, here we are pulling up at Cows. Again, Eissa was in the back seat, but was just as excited as everyone else about her birthday treat. Well, except Cass who was obliviously exhausted.

Cows!!
Very excitedly talking about how we were eating at 'Cows.' ;)

I have no idea who these 'characters' are, but our kids loved their little cats/dogs that they got in their Happy Meal.
Cass infatuated with ketchup, as her brother and sisters before her.
And, as is typical (in our family anyway), she didn't want the french fry to eat...just to dip it in and then suck the ketchup off of it. Lovely.



Now back to the circus.
This bench was right in front of where we parked for the circus, so we had to get a picture. Cass wasn't feeling it! ;) But, she got her 2nd wind shortly after this and was good to go the rest of the night.
On our way...woohoo.
There it is!!
About to buy tickets.
About to go through the entrance, to the big tent.
The entrance to the big tent. LOVE Eissa here.

Waiting excitedly.
Under the big tent.
Waiting for the circus to start. I know the video is dark, but it's still cute and worth posting.
A little dancing before the circus began.




And the circus begins!


I just love it when they put their little hands on your leg like this. ;)
From my perspective. Ahhh...love that.
Loving the show.
They were pretty quick with their transitions between acts, but Hadley wanted a little 2 second hair-rubbing at one point.
All muscle I tell you. I totally missed filming her do the really impressive stuff, but it was good.


Again, all muscle...and she did some really impressive things (way more than this)...I just didn't get it on camera.
This was pretty impressive. I just assumed that this was a father and son team (although I have no proof of that). SO strong though. And the boy couldn't have been any older than 10 years old. Very interesting life they must have.
The camels were only escorted through, but they had lots of dances and such like this. It was a really great show. Also, about the camels, every time we passed by on this street, we'd see the camels out roaming in the grass, eating. So, that was fun too...seeing them other than in the circus. ;)
This was their version of a Bellagio-type musical fountain (in Las Vegas), right there in the stage. I was impressed.
Hadley playing in a game onstage.

Look at that intensity! ;) Love it.
This girl is NOT shy. Oh my gosh...she cracks us up. The man asked for 3 girls and 3 boys. He was in the middle of picking them out of the crowd. Once some started going down, Hadley just took off. I think that maybe he'd picked one of the 2 girls he'd already picked and Hadley thought he was pointing at her. Anyway, I wish we'd gotten this on tape, but when she got down there and he was about to point out another girl, he counted the girls and you could see the wheels turning and his thoughts of 'where did she come from?' But, he went with it and there she was...playing the game. I don't think that she knew exactly what was going on. Have we ever even played musical chairs...I don't think so. She told me that she was trying to run as fast as she could. ;) But, add on to that someone screaming in a microphone and in a language that you aren't completely fluent in, and it can be confusing. I remember going on stage for different things growing up and not being able to understand the man/woman through the sound system at all...and that was in my first language (and only at the time) of English. :) Anyway, I so enjoy this little bold girl. Hilarious.
Did you see it? She was going for the chair and he yelled at her, stopping her dead in her tracks. ;) Poor thing. I wondered if she'd be upset. This video shows Hadley being escorted out of the spotlight. I was down there to meet her and she was far from upset. She was beaming. ;) Of course I was smiling and saying "that was awesome" when she met me. But, she just LOVES the spotlight, that kid. Even just a moment in it, no matter the circumstances...she beams. So, so funny!!
This was the dance that led up to the elephants coming in.
The elephants making their entrance.
Elephants.
Elephants' tricks.
Motorcycles.
I was impressed with this...3 motorcyles riding around in that sphere. But...look at the next video after you see this.
They added 3 more motorcycles to the cage...total of 6! I was impressed.
The bow.

Taken in front of the exciting bright lights of the circus. The birthday girl is officially worn out. ;)
Thank you, Portugal Circus. What a great way to end the day.

Happy Birthday again, Eissa! Love you, fun girl!

Eissa's Birthday Celebration - Part 2

Alright, so here is finally a continuation of the last post. Just pictures today. Next time, the conclusion of our super fun day for Eissa's 3rd birthday.

Enjoy...

We spent a couple of hours just hanging out with our church family at the retreat center after lunch. So fun...games, swimming, relaxing.
She was bringing a flower to me. ;)

Cass playing with our friend, Natalia.
And now just lots of shots of the birthday girl. What a pretty little 3 year old, if I do say so myself. ;)

Hee hee hee.





Hilarious.
Ha ha ha...love that girl!
:)
And a little dancing. She really should have a huge sombrero on the ground beside her in this picture, don't you think? ;)
I love this shot.
They spotted some statue things that they had to pose with for a few shots. ;)
The sun is so bright!



I just love the little outfit Cass has on...shoes and all.
Thanks so much, Wendy!!
Eissa with the Facebook pouty profile pic pose. ;)

Sisters.
Grady wanted a picture with the birds and his dinosaur. ;)
Another sweet sister shot.
What a fun day! And it's not even almost over. ;)

Eissa's Birthday Celebration - Part 1

We had SUCH A WONDERFUL day with Eissa a couple of weeks ago on her birthday. First of all, our church was having a weekend retreat. We had already planned to go out there to join them on Saturday, so it worked out great to add in a little birthday celebration with them all while there. Fun!! Our church is so loving and adores our kiddos. We are so blessed by them always. They have totally welcomed us in and been our family away from home.

We had lunch with our church peeps and played around with them at the retreat center place...swimming, games, hanging out. Then it was back to town we went. For...

Oh, I'll tell you all about the rest of the day next time. ;)

For now, lots of fun videos and pictures of part of our fun Eissa day...LOTS. So, here goes...

Cass with Stefanie, one of our pastor's daughters (he has 3)...great, great girls!
Chatting with friends.
Just total 3-year old cuteness.
Totally surprised that they all started singing Happy Birthday to her after the prayer for lunch. This picture doesn't show it, but she was really smiling and liking it.
Our little table at lunch.
Lunchtime.
Posing.
We had brought ice cream for everyone to join in a little party with us after lunch.


Parabens pra voce!
Listening to everybody sing to her. :) Love her cute little grin here.

She had just blown it out...I missed it.
Our pastor, Pastor Ismael.
The other October babies that were there, our friends Natalia and Neemias, and Eissa getting prayed for.
I was so glad to use up all of our party hats that we've collected over the past couple of years. ;) Some little kids won't use them, but teenagers will always throw one on. ;)
:)





Cass with our pastor's wife, Ester...one of the most caring ladies you'll ever meet. Love her.
Mmmmmm!
They had such a great spot for the kids to play and swim. A great little simple kiddie pool. They loved it!!





Some diving instruction. Although don't worry...we had a good talk about how he couldn't really dive a big dive in that shallow water (I had MANY paralyzed people as patients in my very short career as a nurse).


"I don't think so, Mama. Not today."
Playing footsie with Daddy.

Cute little feet. ;)
He can walk on water! ;)

She loves the water. She even loves to be dunked...head all the way under. She comes up laughing. ;) Funny.

Beautiful 3 year old.
No Brazilian outing is complete without a little soccer thrown in.

Eissa getting some alone time in the pool with her friends.
Hadley was catching some rays, getting a little Vitamin D. Mmmm. I think she might be a little bit like her Mama...she loves to lay in the sun.
The cute little chapel there on the grounds. Everyone gathered there to play some games.

The smiles got bigger and bigger. ;)

Ahh...she's so much fun.
Cass dancing to some music being played.
This girl can get down and crazy. ;) Ha ha ha.

Our celebration with friends from church. Here, Eissa is sung to, some other friends who have October birthdays come up, and Pastor Ismael prays for them all.

Swimming with friends.

Swimming with friends some more. ;)

Cass loves to dance. If music is playing, she is moving. It's so funny and cute.

More of Cass's little jig.

A 5-Year Old and a 4-Year Old

The other day Hadley said to me that she was going to play 'Indians.' I thought how fun...some good ole imaginary play with Indians involved (of course I thought of American Indians like we used to play when I was growing up; in fact, my brother and cousin had imaginary 'Indian girls' for what seems like several years...in fact, one day apparently my cousin got a little irritated at my brother about something and told him that he had shot and killed his Indian girl...my poor little tenderhearted brother ran in my Granny's house sobbing, telling her that his little Indian girl was dead...ha ha ha; but, that's another story...back to Hadley...).

She got all ready and then announced as she walked out the door, "I'm going to the Indians now."

Grady heard her and said, "Oooh, to tell them about Jesus?!?"

It made me smile so big.

What a different world my kiddos are growing up in. It's so fun to hear them playing and talking about eternal things all the time. They're so great!

As I typed this, this was the conversation going on at the kids' activity table as they were drawing. I'm not sure what sparked this little discussion, but this is what I heard of it...

Hadley: "Grady, you want to go to heaven when you die?"

Grady: "I sure do...I want to go to heaven and see God."

Hadley: "But first you have to be killed...the soldiers have to kill you."

Grady: "No, you have to just die by yourself. Not soldiers. You can just die by yourself."

I love that so many of their thoughts come out and I get to hear them. And they are definitely thinking, aren't they?

So fun to be a parent.

NYC

I am working on the Eissa birthday posts (yes, there will be more than one) and they will be up in a few days. But, until then...

I need your help!!

Me and the hubs are going on a quick little getaway the first part of December (Dec. 4th-6th or 7th to be more precise...it's a weekend). We are pretty dadgum excited. I'm so so so excited about going that time of year.

I've never been to New York City. In fact, I never even had any desire to go until about a year before we left the states. I'm not sure why, but I just all the sudden wanted to go. It didn't work out for us to go there before we left for Brazil, but it looks like it's a go this time.

Another reason I'm excited...this is our first little vacation getaway we are taking without at least one child in tow since before Grady was born. We've traveled alot, but oftentimes when you travel with small children, it feels more like stressful work than any type of vacation. So...it will be SO nice to just go and only have to worry about us two...dressing, bathing, and feeding ourselves and that's all. Ha ha ha.

We will miss our kids, but unfortunately it only works out for us to stay 3-4 days. Fortunately in that we'll probably be really ready to see our kids by the end of that (I'm not at all looking forward to leaving them...I hate missing out on even a few days of their lives). Unfortunately in that I know there will be way more things that we will want to do in NYC that we just won't have time for.

So...we need help. We know nothing about NYC. Joel's been there, but is not at all an expert on all the touristy, fun city things to do.

This may sound completely superficial and shallow of me, but I have no interest in any of the historical things...not what I want to fill my 3-4 days with. I can see the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty on TV. ;) I would be interested in that if I had more time, but I don't. I want to just have LOTS OF FUN! So...I was thinking...

--Central Park stuff - that place is huge, right?
--all the Christmas attractions (ice skating, the big tree, etc.)
--a Broadway show - which one do we absolutely have to see...somebody, please tell us
--lots of good food - I hear that wherever you go in NYC is good, but does anyone have any definite suggestions of where we just HAVE to go to eat
--fun but reasonable shopping - even if it's just window shopping. ;) we would like to be able to purchase too if we want or can, so nothing that's just ridiculously priced, you know?

And of course we need a place to stay. Any suggestions for a hotel/nice motel somewhere centrally located? I have no idea where we need to try to stay or what areas we need to plan on visiting. Maybe with out limited time we should just concentrate on one specific area. Yeah...obviously clueless about NYC.

So, someone, anyone, all of you...give suggestions and your expert advice, please. I am on the edge of my seat to hear all the help you will give us. ;)

Lots of comments I want on this post...go...now...tell us what to do!! ;)

Thanks so much!!