Welcome, baby Landon!

We have a new cousin! Aunt Helen and Uncle Matt have been trying to have a baby for a long time but when Aunt Helen was younger, she had leukemia and because of all of the chemo and radiation, they've had problems having a baby of their own. Well, their good friends offered to help and were the surrogate for them and guess who joined our family today? Baby Landon Matthew Vaughn! Welcome to the family, baby Landon. We can't wait to meet you!

Ahh......pampering

Daddy and Bubba went to the Texas Aggie game today and so mommy and I had to entertain ourselves. What should we do? Why, a mani/pedi of course! (Levi contently watched us from his stroller)

The budding photographer

Tripp loves the camera and loves taking pictures. Check out the pictures mommy found while downloading to the computer. I guess Bubba was having a mini photo session of his own. We'll title this exhibit, 'My favorite things'. Yes,Bubba took this picture of Levi

Before the parachute guy goes airborne.....

And, after

And of course the alarm clock that Bubba had to have although he never wakes up when the alarm goes off

Happy Birthday, Miller Miller!

Miller's birthday was earlier this month but today was his birthday party at the Dino Park. It was so scarrrrrrry but so much fun! We got to go on a hunt for dinosaurs, dig for dino bones and have dino grub, including dino cake. I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with my best buddy. Happy Birthday to Miller!

Homework

I'm not sure what all of the fuss is about homework. I hear people complain about it but Bubba brings some of his home for us to see and it sure looks like a lot of fun to me! Here are some of his recent creations with the rest of his class.

Letter to Tripp

Little guy -
I'm way overdue in this letter update. The days are flying by and I'm finding that I have to force myself to slow down and savor every bit of you. You've grown and matured so much and seem so big to me but when I saw you get off the bus the other day, I had to smile realizing you're still my little boy who still calls me mommy and runs up to me with lots of hugs and kisses. I just adore you and love every minute with you. There is so much to catch up on so I'll do my best while trying not to ramble on.

Kindergarten definitely agrees with you and you're so excited to tell me all that you're learning each day. I miss having you home but am so excited to watch that little brain of yours figure things out in the world around you. Your vocabulary has continued to expand and sometimes you really surprise me with the words that come out of your mouth. You still have the biggest heart and are super protective of your little sister and little brother. They are so blessed to have you as their big brother and years down the road when you think you're too big to hang around them, please remember that from day one, they've always loved and adored you and look up to you in every way.

I'm not sure of your height and weight but you're big. I notice that you're taller than a lot of the kids in your class and I think you'll end up being tall like daddy. You eat well - and I may have to take a second mortgage out of the house because of it. I can't imagine what my grocery bill will look like in your teenage years. You're a good eater and enjoy 'healthy' things (again, thank you kindergarten). It's not unusual for your lunch to consist of a sandwich, cottage cheese, a mushroom or 2 and a handful of grape tomatoes. Now, if we can just get your sister to try more than just cheese. Work on that with me, will ya?

Legos are your 'thing' now and you could probably put them together with your eyes closed. Not too long ago, you'd wait until daddy was home so that he could help you with your latest lego project but now you get such joy and satisfaction by putting them together so you can show daddy when he gets home. You have quite the collection and whenever possible, you're always asking for the next set. You're also still into art and the creative side of things. You did not get this from me as I'm not creative at all but you love to draw, paint, act, cook and dance, among other things. In fact, you've been begging me to let you take Hip Hop and we finally found a class for 5 year olds. You love it!! Even when the teacher takes a break or the music stops, you're still dancing. Your excitement is infectious.

I may be biased but you're an incredible little boy and people enjoy being around you. I pray that you will continue to grow and share that big heart of yours and bring joy to the people you encounter. I am beyond blessed to have you as my son and I love you with all of my heart.

With an abundance of love and adoration,
Mommy

Levi is 4 months!

Sweet Boy -
What a fun 4 months it's been! I have to say, this has to be one of my favorite stages - you interact, smile and coo all while staying in one place. I don't think that will last long though because you're starting to squirm a bit and want to stand up often. You're such a happy boy and have really started to giggle and laugh when talked to. You're still not sure of Tate but you've warmed up a bit more to Tripp. You're sleeping like a champ and go to bed at 8pm and wake at 7am. I'm fortunate because with Tripp's bus schedule and Tate's whatever schedule, if you didn't cooperate like you do, our mornings would not be as easy going as they seem to be so far. As soon as I get Tripp on the bus, I come in to see you smiling and looking around and ready to start your day. You're still sleeping in out room but I plan to move you to yours in the next few weeks....hopefully. My hesitation? Your sister. I don't know what she'll do to you if I leave you up there and she knows you're there! I didn't think I'd need it but I may need to go invest in a video monitor just to keep an eye out on her. You're right on schedule at 15.1 lbs (80th percentile) and 25.5 inches (75th percentile) and love to eat every 3 hours. I haven't started you on formula or cereal yet but that's not too far down the road. I have a feeling you're going to love food! You're very alert and love to be sung to. We sing 'Wheels on the Bus' and 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' all of the time. You're just so stinkin' sweet and lovable - and I'm sorry but I'm not going to apologize for kissing all over you like I do. You'd better get used to it because it's not going to stop! I love my sweet boy and look forward to watching you grow and develop even more in the days to come.

Kisses from mommy always.

Independent Woman

Preface: Mommy could not make this up!

I went to my friend's 3rd birthday party at the Children's Museum today and if you've ever been there, you understand the chaos. Of course in my princess Tate fashion, I ran off and had mommy looking for me from time to time. At one point, mommy couldn't find me for awhile until one of the museum workers asked if her 'name was Elizabeth and if she had a daughter named Tate', to which mommy replied, 'What did she do'? Come on mom! Give me more credit than that. Geesh. Anyway, he told her I was playing upstairs in the 'Tinker Room' and when repeatedly asked where mommy was, I finally turned around with hands on hips and said............

'My mommy KNOWS where I am. I'm an independent woman!'

It's soccer time!

This is Bubba's second year to play soccer and Emmylou, Sofia, Tom, Ali and Charlie are on his team. They're the tornadoes and get ready for some fancy foot work on the field!

The New Do

If a brush comes near my head, I scream. I am a bit dramatic, after all. I don't care that my favorite Rapunzel brushes her long, beautiful hair.....I don't like my hair brushed and I make sure everyone knows it. Except for Miss Connie. I let her brush and braid my hair. Go figure. My hair gets in my way when I'm eating, gets lots of knots when I twist it to death at night and no amount of detangler seems to help. So, mommy had enough today and after school, took me to see Miss Leti.

Before

After. As you can see, I didn't want to really cooperate with the 'after' photo either but it's pretty cute when it's fixed. Mommy wants to go shorter but daddy may have a heart attack if she does.

If you take a bear to school..........

Look who went to Kindergarten today! Mrs. Olson told everyone in Tripp's class to bring their favorite bear to school. The bears enjoyed circle time, recess and even a teddy bear picnic.

Ballet

I had so much fun in ballet camp this summer that I wanted to take ballet class this fall. Since mommy thought I looked so cute in my ballet outfit, she went ahead and signed me up. My sweet friends, Kate and Bela, are also in my class! Today was our first class and we'll start learning all of the numbers for our recital in May. Can you imagine the fun (or according to mommy, the chaos with a room full of 3 year old ballerinas)?

Tate and Kate (Bela was sick for our first class)

Tate's First Day of School

Today is my first official day of preschool. Last year I was in Children's Morning Out but that doesn't really count. You may remember I was supposed to be in the Cherry 2s Room but after some switching around - a very very long story - I'm now in the purple 2s room with Ms. Marci and Ms. Karen again! Of course, Miller will be right along side of me. Not happy about something

Home grown manicure

This morning while everyone was sleeping, I found my way into a bottle of Mama's pink nail polish and decided to give myself a manicure and pedicure. Considering I did this all by myself, mommy doesn't think I did half bad!

Look out Below!

All 3 of us were nestled in bed sleeping sweetly until mommy and daddy heard Bubba yell, "Daddy!". They waited but then went back to what they were doing realizing Bubba was just dreaming. A few minutes later, mommy heard water running and looked up to see Bubba, with pants down, tee-teeing from the top floor down to bottom. When he was done, he pulled up his pants and went back to bed. Mommy and Daddy had quite a mess to clean up and Bubba never knew a thing about it.

First Texas A&M Game

This weekend we went to College Station for the first Gig 'Em Aggie game of the season. We played SMU and won....of course! Bubba and I are old pros, but this was Levi's first Aggie game. He wasn't sure what to think of the crowds and all of the cheering but I really think he liked the band. We had lots of fun with our friends at the game and can't wait to help cheer on the Aggies to a winning season in the Big 12. In fact, it might be our last year in the Big 12 because rumor has it, we're heading to the SEC.

Passing of the Blog Torch

Since I'm so big now and in kindergarten, I think I'm 'just too busy to keep up with this 'blog stuff'. I'm not around much during the day to accurately report on what my sister and brother are doing so, with that being said, I'm now passing the blog torch to my little sister, Amelia Tate. I know she will do a great job keeping every one posted on our day to day activities!

Meet the teachers

Tatie starts school soon and is going to be in the Cherry room 2 days a week. Today was 'Meet the teachers' day and she got to go check out her new classroom while mommy talked with the teachers about the upcoming school year. Her teachers this year are Ms. Arline and Ms. Becca and she felt right at home and didn't even want to leave after the 15 minute meeting was over. She'll get to go back soon enough and I hope her new teachers are ready for the tornado!

Ms. Arline, Tatie and Ms. Becca

In LOVE with the pink kitchen