Musical Talents and New Moves

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We've been enjoying the lazy days of summer and have been spending lots of low key days visiting with friends and enjoying the pool.
We have a video post for you today. Included in this batch of recent videos is Caroline singing "Happy Birthday" to herself, Julia showing off some impressive musical talents and some serious "no, no, nos" to bedtime, and Margaret on the move, being her happy-go-lucky self. Check it out...

Julia dancing to Raffi...

Caroline singing "Happy Birthday" to herself for Claire....

                                                 Margaret catching a ride from Caroline...

Margaret on the move...

Julia says "No!"...

Happy Father's Day!

We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend! We enjoyed a really fun birthday party on Saturday that blew our Birthday-Palooza party out of the water. Think pool party with a bounce house and a Mr. Softee ice cream truck and you have an idea of just some of the fun that happened at Miss Sylvia's party!
On Sunday we had brunch at Westwood and then sent Daddy packing for a round of golf with friends. Mommy and the girls stayed home and enjoyed some down time and then some play time with our neighborhood friends. We finished the day with early bed times for the girls and a tasty dinner for the adults. It was a great weekend!
I only have a few pictures to share from my phone...Mommy was lazy and didn't feel like toting her camera around this weekend!

Julia looking cool at the birthday party.

Wingrove and Caroline enjoying Mr. Softee ice cream. Yum!

Caroline sporting her floaties and a princess ring in the pool.

Daddy hanging poolside with Miss Margaret.

Loving some chocolate cake at Westwood.

Margaret face jamming a cookie.

3 Year and 1 Year Stats

As soon as we caught our breath from the birthday festivities last week, it was time to head to the doctor's office for each girl's well-child check-up. We knocked all three out in one day, just for fun. Here are each girl's latest stats...

Caroline
At 3, Caroline is spunky, imaginative, stubborn, curious, and happy. She loves anything that involves running, jumping, or climbing, adores all things princess, and is one heck of an artist. Caroline is very reserved when in a group setting, but with her close friends and at home she is a goofy chatterbox. She continues to love dress up and imaginary play and will spend quite a bit of time wrapped up in her complex play schemes.
Weight: 33 pounds
Height: 37.5 inches

Caroline doing on the things she loves most: running!

Julia
At 1, Julia is a mama's girl who loves music (and is a pretty good dancer!), roughhousing with her big sister, and being just a little bit of a drama queen. ;) She loves examining how things work, is starting to use things with a purpose (i.e. stirring a spoon in a bowl, (tries) putting shoes on a baby doll), and is really interested in walking...with the help of Mommy or Daddy. Julia is a great eater, but sometimes needs to be reminded to eat the food on her own tray, and not off of Margaret's. Her favorite foods are any kind of fruit, peas, yogurt, and veggie burgers.

Weight: 19 pounds, 12 ounces (25th percentile)
Height: 28.75 inches (50th percentile)
Teeth: 5, two on bottom, three on top. Dr. Nelson thinks some molars may be showing up soon!

Julia helps tip the scale.

Check-up complete! Let's get out of here!

Margaret
At 1, Margaret is our tender heart; she is sweet and sensitive. Margaret always wants to be a part of the action surrounding Caroline and enjoys adding some chaos and shrieks to the fun.  Margaret loves to walk behind her baby doll stroller and especially likes being praised for doing a "good job." She loves greeting Daddy with a hearty "Dada!!" when he walks through the door. Margaret has a voracious appetite and manages to pack back quite a bit of food when Julia isn't stealing it all off her tray. Margaret loves cheese, pasta, any kind of fruit, and eggs.

Weight: 18 pounds, 7 ounces (15-25th percentile)
Height: 28.25 inches (25th percentile)
Teeth: None! Dr. Nelson says Margaret is still within the realm of what's normal and is sure that some pearly whites will be surfacing soon.

Margaret snacks on a cracker while she waits for her turn with Dr. Nelson.

Back home, bathed, and ready to snuggle!

Birthday-Palooza 2012

Caroline enjoying the very last cupcake of the birthday-palooza sugar stash.

Whew! Last week was a whirlwind of presents, cake, cookies, and partying for the Hepper family! I don't know how I am going to handle three birthdays in one week year in and year out. We decided to throw a 3-for-1 birthday party at our house this year with the hopes that none of the girls would notice that they were sharing a celebration. It worked like a charm, but I'm envisioning years ahead when I'll be hearing, "I want my own party!" We'll cross that bridge when we get it to, I guess.
Anyways, aside from being approximately a billion degrees outside, I am happy to report that the party was a success! We had a frog bounce house, a face painter, Chick-fil-A nuggets, and of course, cake. What more could you want?? We were blessed with a great group of guests which included friends, neighbors, and even a couple out of towners.
Without further adieu, here are a slew of pictures from all the birthday festivities last week...

Caroline in front of her stash of birthday presents.

Birthday manicure before her birthday lunch with friends.

Caroline chose purple with polka dots.

LOVING her new princess shoes. 

Margaret showing off her new baby doll stroller. 

Julia giving one of her new baby dolls a ride in her car seat.

 

Julia and Margaret licking the birthday cake icing off the beaters.

Julia and Margaret playing with their birthday balloon.

Behold! The birthday frog bounce house!

Our party favors: frog cookies, of course!

Margaret ready to party with a water bottle and a golf ball.

Mommy and Julia 

Happy girl

Bounce house fun

Thomas

Wingrove and "Big Caroline"

Margaret excited about her smash cake.

Mmmmm.....delicious!

This pretty much sums up every meal. Julia finds Margaret's food much more interesting, even though it's the same as her own.

Family pic minus Caroline. She could not be convinced to leave the bounce house.

Now that I'm one, I can stand all by myself!

So can I (and I did it first!)

This picture sums up how Mommy is getting through the week after the birthday-palooza festivities (lots of coffee!)

An Amazing Year

Margaret and Julia, one day old

With Caroline's 3rd birthday and Julia and Margaret's 1st birthday in the books and our backyard birthday-palooza party complete and deemed a great success, I'm looking forward to a quiet and present and cake-less week ahead. Check back in a few days for a party post :)
It's hard to imagine that a year ago today I had a newly minted 2 year old, two tiny and precious newborns, and a whole lot of uncertainty about how I was going to manage it all. Since that day I've experienced so many wonderful, joyous, and yes, difficult moments as I adjusted to becoming the mother of three small girls. And as I look back over the year, I can't help but feel incredibly proud of myself, my husband, and my daughters for making it through with flying colors. I think we all found more strength, patience, resourcefulness, and love than we ever imagined possible.
 Of course, there were a lot of tears, temper tantrums, and time-outs (for all) along the way, but the most important thing is that we all survived with more than a few shreds of our sanity in tact and with a whole lot of amazing memories to hold on to.
Watching the twins turn one is very bittersweet for me. I cherish the "baby days" and having to experience my second and third babies at the same time often left me feeling anxious that I was missing out on each girl's individual milestones and development.  But I'm trying to find peace in knowing that there is so much more to come. First steps, first teeth (come on, Margaret!), and first words. I'm excited to continue to watch the bonds of sisterhood unfold between all three of my girls.
This has been a truly amazing year for our family and I just know the best is yet to come!

Margaret, one year old

Julia, one year old

Caroline, 3 years old

Sisters, M, J and C

Happy 3rd Birthday, Caroline!

Happy Birthday to Caroline, our spunky, silly, and fun-loving three year old who makes us laugh each and every day. We are blessed to be the parents of such an amazing little girl. We love you, Caroline!