First Horse Show!

 We had our first horse show last week!  What a fun experience!  Don't I look official?  Proper?  Except my turtleneck is LAST YEAR'S - hello, Mommy?  I'm a growing girl!

 Anna Jane got to ride first on the lead line!

 She won first place! (So did every other little nugget - it was too hard to choose the "best" when they were all so cute...)

 We know you're the best, Anna Jane!  Now don't get too comfortable on that horse - we're holding out for a different (*cough*cough* cheaper!) hobby?!?

 And here I am on Bullet!  I did an obstacle course (which I kinda sorta forgot about the first time I went around the ring - so I placed 5th in that event - d'oh!); and I did the Trot twice - once I placed 2nd and the other time I placed 1st!

 I loved it.  Loved every second of it.

Hope you like working nights, Daddy!
Love,
Lilly, Anna Jane, and Jack

I Got This...

 This is my Pre-K2 picture.  Isn't it adorable?  Mama didn't realize my SHOES would be in the picture.  Whoops.  S'okay 'cause I love these shoes, so in her opinion this picture couldn't be better - the shoes are ME, man.

So I've got some big news.  Wanna hear it?  Guess who uses the potty now?

That's right!  THIS guy!  And guess who TAUGHT me to use the potty?!?

Nope!  Not THIS guy! (This is the Garbage Man - he let me sit up on the truck with him.  He gave me a sucker.  Rockin')

How about THIS guy!  That's right!  A few weeks ago Mama went on a girls weekend, came back, and I was peepin' in the potty - upright.  Proper.  Only Daddy coulda taught me that.  We had a few week struggle with, ya know, the "other" thing...so Mama thought, "Hmmm...what would be a proper potty treat for poopin'?"  I got it!  CAR CARS!  So we went to the store, bought a bunch of Hotwheels and...

Whoops.  Sorry, Daddy.
Ha ha!
Just jokin'!  I got it!  I got this potty thing!  NO MORE DIAPERS FOR US!!!  SEVEN STRAIGHT YEARS (yes, you read that right - SEVEN STRAIGHT YEARS WITH NO BREAK) and NO MORE HUGGIES, NO MORE PAMPERS, NO MORE LUVS, NO MORE COSTCO BRAND -
NO. MORE. DIAPERS.
Whoot!  Whoot!
Love,
Lilly, Anna Jane, and Jack

Happy Haul-oween!

 Remember when you were a kid and you went trick-or-treating one time, and you had a pillowcase and you hoped you filled it?  These days we go trunk-or-treating, we have "Fall Festivals" where people hand us loads of candy, we have school parties - AND we go trick-or-treating.  It's super awesome.  I really don't know how you old people survived in the good old days with one lousy bag of candy.

 Here I am with my buddy, Jackson!  SOOOOOOOOO cute!  Mommy is going to love watching us grow up together!  This was our FIRST trunk-or-treat stop for the evening, our neighborhood church.

 Then we met up with my BFF Erin at HER church for a SUPER trunk-or-treat (incidentally - I lost a tooth while standing in line!  All that candy?  Do you see it?  It's on the bottom!)

 Captain Jack says, "CANDY, CANDY, CANDY!!!"

 "I want you..." TO GIVE ME MORE CANDY.

 We also went to ScanSource to hook up with Aunt Cotton Candy and Uncle Incredible!  This is Mommy's personal favorite trick-or-treat because it's indoors, it's safe and the ScSc people do it up every year (not to mention every single person lets you take handfuls of candy at once) - Mommy had to empty Jack's bucket twice while we walked around ScSc!)

Check it out!  Another record Haul-oween!
Love,
Lilly, Anna Jane, and Jack

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Happy birthday, Jack!
When I was pregnant with you, I told everyone if you were born on Halloween I was going to name you Jack O'Maurer.  Wouldn't that have been hilarious?  Fortunately for you, you came 5 days before Halloween (which was great, so your sisters still got to go Trick or Treating and we were home for it!)
I'm so grateful for you, Jack.  Every family should have a boy like you - snakes, snails and puppy dog tails.  Superheroes and cars.  Boy, boy, boy.  With the odds 2 to 3 against you, I'd have expected you to prefer Princesses to Iron Man but you are your own little man.  You are awesome.  Selfishly (and unfairly to your sisters) I'm so glad I get more of you to myself.  I treasure every little moment with you, every milestone - because it's the last "first" I will get to watch, and it's all totally different because you are a BOY!  (The one "first" I missed was this past weekend, when your Daddy surprised me by potty training you while I was out of town - naturally your Daddy should do that - it didn't quite give the same effect when I tried to show you how to pee standing up!)
I love watching you grow, learn and discover.  You are already such a good kid.  You are funny (but "it's NOT FUNNY!" - you do not like attention, you get embarrassed rather easily), you are sweet (your little friend Sully kissed you goodbye today at preschool - the girls love you already), you adore your sisters and they adore you right back.  I hope you three always stay close.  I hope you always know you are so, so loved.  Especially by Mommy and Daddy.  I know I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but you're totally my favorite boy!  You'll always be my favorite boy.  Always my best little man.
I love you more than the stars in the sky, JackMan.
I've loved you for a thousand years and I will love you for a thousand more.
(pssst...that's our song...I sang it to you when you were a baby, I still sing it to you)
I love you, JackMan.
Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday, Sweet Lilly Bean!

 Good morning, sweet girl!  Happy 7th birthday!
You are so special sweet Lilly bean, I love you so much.
Every year I look forward to writing my little love letter to you each of you on your birthday, but this year yours feels so different - because you feel so grown up now.  I love to tell you about the sweet things you do, the funny things you say - I love to tell you so I won't forget, and to remind you when you are all grown up that when you were little you were so very loved, so very treasured by so very many people.  It used to be when I looked in your dark blue eyes I saw this baby, or this little girl and now I see that and I see little flickers of the woman I think you will become.  You are so kind, you are so loving, so generous, meticulous, and thoughtful.  And, you are very funny.  That is important.  It's hard to tell which parent you get your funny from - because Daddy is funny, but Mama is HILARIOUS.  Ha!

 Do you know you are the center of their world, Lilly?  Do you know you are the center of ours?  I hope you always know, I hope you always feel that way.

Mommy and Daddy love you more than words can say, more than all the stars in the sky, more than all the water in the sea - more than you love horses!  I pray we raise you right, girl - and so far, so good.  You are love, Lilly.  You are kindness, and you are grace.  We love you so, so much.  I love you so, so much.  Seven down! Many, many more to go!  Happy birthday, Lilly Bean!
Love,
Mommy

My Most Epic 7th Birthday Part 3

 I can't even!  You see that behind us?  Yes, yes it is!  It's an AIRPLANE and Grampa and Grammy got us a ride in it over Greenville!  AWESOME SAUCE!!!

 Anna Jane says - "Hey Tower, y'all there?  You've got this plane on the radar, right?  RIGHT?!"  It's a great day for flying.  Roger that!

 Guess who got to ride shotgun?  YES!  YES!  YES!  ME! ME! MEEEEE!!!!

Off we go!
We got to fly all over our beautiful city!  The pilot (who was a lady, too!) showed us our HOUSE!  Our school!  All of our favorite places to go and play.  Daddy said we did not stop smiling the entire time.  What an amazing experience!  What an awesome memory!  Thank you so much, Grampa and Grammy!  The whole weekend was great but the plane ride was the cherry on top!
Lots of love,
Lilly, Anna J, and Jack

My Most Epic 7th Birthday Part 2

Well a birthday just isn't a birthday without a party - with horses.  Because I'm a 7 year old girl.

Friends!

Jack did not love riding the horse!  Go figure.  I guess because it's not dressed like Spiderman?

Our sweet Anna Jane loved it.  Crazy pants and all.

Mama had to throw this picture in - because it's like the sweetest ever.

I got some great gifts - but the best gift of all -

Was having my friends there (boys not pictured - where were they?!)

Thank you, friends for making my party awesome!
Love,
Lilly, Anna Jane and Jack

My Most Epic 7th Birthday - Part 1

With a birthday as epic as my 7th (sorry, Jack - you're totally shafted this year) - well anyway, we are going to have to do this wondrous occasion in separate "Parts"!  First up - American Girl store in Charlotte!  Babi wasted NO time getting us there - it hasn't even been open a week!  This past weekend was our Fall break so we got to go on Thursday.  Perfect.  There were no crowds, no lines - just us and the American Girl mmmmmexperience.

As you can see, Jack is thrilled.  ("Mawmy!  Where are the superheroes!?")

Atta girl, Anna Jane - roll up them sleeves.  Put your negotiating face on.  You're 'bout to get you some American Girl booty!

The first thing we did (after looking around in awe and wonder) was eat at the American Girl Bistro.  Mommy and Jack had to find ways to stay busy because it was a long, long, long, super long, very long, long, and then long some more wait.  Mercy.  Napkin hat, anyone?

Selfie time, anyone?

Cheeeese!  We got to celebrate with a little cake, our dollies got their own highchairs (can you see them?) and a little tea set.  Very sweet!

After the bistro - it was GO TIME.  For weeks I've been asking for the Kitty.  And a bed.  And her matching leash and collar.  And an outfit for Caroline (oh, and did you happen to see she got her hair did, too?)

And do you see the look of triumph on Anna Jane's sweet face?  That's a new doll right there (and a cat, and an outfit...)   Thank you, thank you, thank you soooooo much, Babi!  That's a memory we will treasure forever!  A very special day with us girls (and our little Jacky, too) eating, shopping, laughing!  The BEST!

I named my doll, Teti.  And my kitty, Garp.

No, Babi didn't forget about me!  I got me a new rocket (which I left in the powder room at Neiman Marcus.  What can I say, I was distracted by the free candy?)
Thank you so much, Babi!  You kicked off like the best, most epic birthday weekend ever.  How will I ever turn 8?!  What could possibly compare?  Maybe Anna Jane's 6th birthday?  (Certainly not Jack's 3rd - so sorry, little dude - we'll make it up to you next year - pinky promise!)
Lotsa love,
Lilly, Anna Jane, and Jack