Summer is in full swing our way + I am never one to wish it away, but we get equally as excited for back to school prep as we do for summer prep over here, I have been this way since I was a little girl and my girls get that from their mama. 🙂 This is a big year for our Remie Rue who will start kindergarten!  It’s hard to believe we are already here with her, she will be a young kindergartener as she will start the school year at just four, but she is so very ready.  Remie has been watching her big sisters at the elementary school for years + is so excited to officially be there, and it always makes me feel better when they have a big sister to look out for them and this time around it’s Avalon’s turn to take care of Remie — it’s the perfect job for her.

Remie has been having so much fun picking out her bookbag, lunch box, + school supplies.  Of all my girls she loves school the most, her favorite thing to do is color or read and she wants to be a teacher when she grow up!  We have been using Name Bubbles labels for years, they are the perfect solution for labeling all the things + I knew Remie would be so excited to put her name on all her new school gear.  We started with her new water bottle, bento box + the box she will be using for her markers/glue at school — they are so easy to put on that she was able to do it herself.  I love the color + font options, we chose a simple font and of course pink, they will match everything in our house full of girls!!!

Name Bubbles labels are dishwasher safe, microwave safe, freezer safe, laundry safe, and are waterproof so they will definitely last.  We used them on Delilah’s bottles for her day care last year and they were perfect all year long!  We also used them on her little lunch box, bag for school, and even her clothes.  My big girls also use them on their water bottles (which are a big thing for the middle schoolers these days, Waverly chose a Stanley + all her friends have the same, so a label is a must!).  And I also put them on their dance shoes, all three of my big girls dance and have at least two pairs of dance shoes each, so it’s so hard to track and a label makes them so much easier!  Basically my mom mantra is label everything, and Name Bubbles makes that so much easier! 🙂 Shop Name Bubbles here + use the code Ashley10 for 10% off.

We start school earlier over here this year (the first time I have ever seen VB go back before Labor Day!) so we will be spending the next few weeks soaking in all the summer things before it’s back to school for all five of us girls!  We hope you are enjoying summer your way and are staying cool! XO

Our Avalon Elle is EIGHT!!!!  Her birthday was earlier this week, she was so excited to go to school in her “birthday girl” button + ice cream cones to share with her class at lunch, and we will continue the celebration this weekend with a trip to the climbing wall, dinner at the pool, and a sleepover with a couple of her friends.  I know she will read this post 🙂 so I had to be sure to share some of my favorite photos of her from this year + some of the things I never want to forget about her from this age.

Avalon is our sweet, sporty, sassy sister — she can sometimes make me the craziest but also always knows when the the train is falling right off the tracks and will be the one to bring it all back in.  This year she continued with her Spanish Immersion classes at school, swim team, dance twice a week (hip-hop and her traditional classes), and started softball.  Our once shy little second child is no longer, she is super outgoing and her teachers always tell us how much of a leader she is.  She loves sweets, short sleeve t-shirts, + spends every single day after school reading chapter books in front of the window.  Our curly haired middle sister with a few freckles just on her nose — I cannot imagine a life without her.

Happy birthday Avalon Elle, we love, love, LOVE you!!!! XO

We had Delilah’s “berry first birthday” party a couple weekends back, it was the sweetest afternoon with family + friends and it brought me all the joy to celebrate our girl.  Honestly ten years into motherhood and lots of birthdays later, I am WAY more laid-back with celebrations than I used to be and almost just did a morning with immediate family — but then decided that we needed a big celebration for her l since we didn’t do one while she was in my belly with all the uncertainty of my pregnancy.  I am so happy we did, she was the first of all four girls to not cry during the birthday song (so funny that they do this!), loved trying her cake, and was in heaven crawling around the floor and looking at all of her new toys.  Celebrating her is so easy, she is such a gift to our family.

A special thank you to my sister in law for making her cookies, these might just have been my favorite yet!  The theme was adorable and perfect for Delilah who loves strawberries 🙂 A few photos from her day, I could have taken a hundred of her sitting on top of the table loving her cookies while we sang the birthday song to her so many times in a row.

And now onto the next special day as our birthday season continues — Avalon Elle on June 6th!  XO

Our Delilah June turned ONE on Mother’s Day this past weekend!  Her very first birthday falling on what is already such a special day for me felt so sweet + so incredibly perfect, she is truly my little dream come true.  For years I could not shake the feeling that there was one more person waiting to join our family and it turns out it was her all along.  Our tiny miracle, our cherry on top, our happily ever after.  We just all love her so much.

A few things about our Delilah girl at ONE YEAR OLD!!!  She loves her people.  She probably has the most stranger danger of all my girls and always wants to be close to someone she knows well, especially her mama.  She is my first true mama’s girl through + through, I like to think it’s because we went through so much together during my pregnancy 🙂 We spend a lot of time with her in the carrier or with me just carrying her close, I think that would have felt overwhelming with my first baby but this time I know how fast it goes.  She adores her sisters, they make her laugh the hardest + she always is watching them to see everything they are doing.  And one of the very best parts of this year with her has been how much her sister adore her too.  Remie is obsessed with her and was made to be a big sister, and Waverly + Avalon are forever just the sweetest big sissies and are even more little “mother hens” this time around than they even were before.

Delilah is FOUR times the size she was at birth, I look back on pictures of her at just four pounds the week we brought her home and I can’t even remember her being so small.  She has done so much better on the outside than in (an answered prayer), and is 100% perfectly healthy.  She is crawling like crazy, pulling up, says mama + dada, and has the cutest little laugh in the world.  Most days I think she looks like Avalon the most but I also see all of her sisters in her, and her bright blue eyes might just be the bluest of all four girls.  I could stare at her forever, I still cannot believe she is real + that we get to keep her.

Some favorites from this past year.

Not sure how we got to May already, but it’s here + we are living for all the spring things!  I always love this time of year so much, getting to get outside again after a long winter of parenting (mostly) indoors is always much welcomed.  Our three big girls are currently very busy with dance, Avalon is doing softball for the first time (+ is loving it), and Delilah June is getting ready to celebrate her very first birthday!!  The days are long but the years are short, it feels more true than ever right now.

Waverly + Avalon love to look at photos on this site during their lunch/recess now, so I figured it was time to jump on and share a few from 2023 so far.  Highlights so far include lots of sister time, finally moving into our master addition, and watching Delilah (the current house favorite) grow so very much! 🙂  So thankful.

This weekend we are celebrating Delilah’s birthday with a strawberry party, we cannot wait!  XO