Happy 8th Anniversary to Us!

It's been a fun, interesting, and wonderful 8 years of marriage for Paul and me. We've managed to pack in a lot in less than a decade - some of it planned, some of it not so planned. But so far, everything has turned out just as it was meant to. We feel blessed by all that has happened (well, expect for the rabies mess and maybe a few other bumps along the road :) and look forward to what is to come!

Ready for our anniversary dinner!

Someone snuck out of bed for the photo op! 

Fourth of July 2013

We had a great Fourth of July holiday this year. I was a little nervous that it was going to be lame, as pretty much all of our friends abandoned us for various beaches along the East Coast, but it turned out to be perfect.
Paul took most of the week off work, we enjoyed lots of pool time together (especially Caroline, who is swimming like a pro these days) and we went to a fun party at Westwood on the 4th. Add in an early anniversary dinner on Saturday night, and it was a great way to spend a holiday.
Prepare yourself for a picture overload. This Mommy was especially snap happy last week!

Our holiday week started off a little wet. This is our side yard after three days of rain at the beginning of the week. Luckily our drain system was up to the challenge and this water was gone in less than an hour.

Not before the girls got into the water though...

Splashing through the driveway.

Sheer joy.

While our across the street neighbors were out of town, we kept their backyard busy by playing with their toys and swimming in their pool. Don't worry - they said it was okay :-)

Margaret riding in Mary Kate's car.

Caroline playing in the playhouse 

Little monkey Margaret

Swingin' sister Julia

Daddy pulling double-duty in the Bain's pool.

The girls watching Daddy work outside. 

We also kept the plastic pool in our back yard busy. We modified with an "after market" slide.

Lookout below!

Julia wearing her (adult-sized) "oggles."

That was awesome!

Margaret wasn't interested in the slide, but had just as much fun poolside with Mommy.

Our third pool for the week: Westwood!

One happy Julia: fresh from a long swim, with a clean diaper and a cone of water from the cooler. Ready to go home and take a nap!

One happy Margaret: poolside with a bag of Cheetos.

Three happy girls

Caroline swimming like a little fish. Since this video, she's added diving to her skill set!

Sunshine and Rain

This summer has been an interesting mix of sunshine and rain - there's been lots of both, and they seem to trade places quite frequently, sometimes without any warning. We've been enjoying a ton of time at the pool when the sun is shining and have been exploring some great indoor destinations when it rains.
All of our pool time has helped Caroline reach a big milestone....she's swimming! We're not talking freestyle or anything yet, but she's finally made the leap from walking around the pool or using a floatie to putting her head down and swimming. We are so proud of her, and she is so proud of herself!

Caroline looking very stylish at the Children's Museum

Julia loved the carousel!

3 happy girls

Double trouble on the slide

In the lookout tower 

Margaret enjoying a tasty lunch out after the museum. 

Group coloring on a rainy day.

One of our favorite birthday gifts - a Gazillion Bubble machine!

Post-bath popsicle party on the front porch.

Caroline's 4 Year Old Well Check

Caroline's 4 year old well check-up was this last week, and to be honest I was really dreading it. I'd heard from friends that the 4 year old check-up is "shot heavy." With all that Caroline has had to endure in the past few weeks, I worried that more shots just might put her (and me) over the edge. Thankfully, it turned out that she only got 2, and she actually handled them like a pro (gee, I wonder why??!!)
The remainder of the visit went perfectly. Caroline is in great health and is right on track in all areas of development. Here are her stats and a little bit about Miss Caroline at age 4...

Measuring up at the doctor's office.

Height: 40.25 inches (50-75th percentile)
Weight: 38 pounds (50-75th percentile)

  Caroline is becoming quite the little lady! She is leaps and bounds better at using her manners than she used to be, is a good friend to everyone she meets, and is very interested in learning all about the world around her. She is constantly wondering "why...?" or "how...?" (sometimes to the point of frustration with her Mommy, who does not know all the answers to the questions she asks!!)
  Caroline continues to love dress-up, pretend play, and art projects. She talks frequently about marrying her "prince" and all the babies she will have :) She loves to get "fancied up" every morning and is not shy about telling everyone how "beautiful" and "stylish" she looks.
  Caroline also loves to enjoy the outdoors: digging in the mud, exploring the woods in her backyard, and helping Mommy with the gardening are some of her favorite things to do.
   Caroline is happy to play in a group, happy to play alone and she is getting better every day at playing nicely with her often meddlesome twin sisters. She is a Daddy's girl for sure but loves spending one-on-one time with Mommy too.
  Caroline takes great pride in learning to write her name and short words. She can draw a person with every detail you might imagine and loves making special cards for her friends and family members. Caroline is a self-starter. For better or for worse, she is generally not motivated by others to do anything or learn anything. She does things on her own time, when she is ready.
  Although we certainly have an overwhelming amount of things to love about our sweet Caroline, we are working through some not-so-fun phases too!
  Caroline is the queen of drama when injured. Whether it be the tiniest scratch or a full blown skinned knee, the whole world (or at least the whole block) is going to hear about it. Unless her blanket and a cup of ice water are handed over immediately, the drama and tears will continue without end.
Caroline has also been showing a little bit of sass lately and is not shy about stamping her foot and saying, "But Mommy, I'm trying to tell you something!!" when she feels she has something important to say but is not being heard.
Overall, Caroline is a joy, and we are so proud of her! She is SO excited to be four and is ready to see what this year will bring!

Birthday-Palooza 2013

June is an unusually busy month around the Hepper household. We have a total of NINE family birthdays. That includes THREE sets of twins. That makes for a lot of cake, presents, cards, and partying!
Our own girls had their three-for-one birthday party earlier in June. The "Hepper Birthday-Palooza" was held at Caroline's gymnastics studio and was a big hit!

Pre-party group picture attempt (fail).