Look Alikes

As I was looking through pics to post for Q's birthday post, I remembered this sweet face from a few months ago.  They could quite possibly be the same kid, with the exception of the blue vs. brown eyes.

Sweet P enjoying her bath...

Q-man enjoyed his baths, too...

Back to School Blues

Well, we survived our first two days of school and we may have actually enjoyed it! All three Schmidty's were so brave entering their first day of Interfaith (Sweet P), Kinder (Ri) and 1st grade (Q-man). To celebrate, we stopped by McDonald's on our afternoon route for a chocolate dipped ice-cream cone for Mama & Ri and a vanilla cone for Q-man & Sweet P.

our Kindergartner...

enjoying a snack at Mama's school 

after riding the bus over from their own campus...

An Explosion of PINK

 On Saturday, Ri was invited to a birthday bash at "Sweet & Sassy".  Neither of us had ever been and when we entered, we were a little overwhelmed.  Lots of screaming girls, a lot of glitter, all things pink, loud music, etc...  My sweet girl quickly got into the pampering groove and proved she could be just as sassy. 

getting dolled up... 

peeking out of the limo...

"party on the go"...

The limo took the girls on a 15 minute ride around Market Street.  

As they drove past the salon, the girls would hang their heads out the window and squeal.

on the runway...

girly girls galore...

Birthday Hibachi

The kids would love to dine on a delicious hibachi dinner each week, but with such a hefty price tag, we are only able to splurge on special occasions.  Since I was in bed with a stomach bug on Q's actual birthday, we made up for it on Friday evening.  Our chef charmed us with all things fun -- the smoking volcano, the moving choo-choo train, throwing rice into our mouths, etc...  Q even got a special "cake", carved out of half a pineapple & an orange.  It was a lovely evening in celebration of my boy!

S E V E N

Who would have known that I would have blinked my eyes and my sweet Q-man would have grown into a seven year old.  Seven?!  This little cherub will be starting 1st grade on Monday.  I don't know which scares me more -- that he is growing up so quickly or that I am getting older.

1 day old...

4 months old...

3 months old...

7 months old...

11 months old...

11 months old...

9 months old...

10 months old... 

4 months old...

1st birthday...

Making Memories

As many of you know, I am not ready to give up my summer. I feel very lucky to have had the last 79 days with my littles. It has been so nice. So special. Some days were busy, some lazy. We had adventurous ones, hot ones, rainy ones and hard ones. We shared dance parties and sing-alongs, late nights, easy breakfasts & meltdowns. Summer brings its ease and we all surrender to the softness of the routine and the pace. As I write this, the kids are in bed, clothes laid out, dog walked, laundry done and house clean. How long will it last? Probably only until tomorrow. We say good-bye to summer, but not to the moments like this....

Sweaty Days

Even through the humidity & sweat, my three angels continue to strike a pose for their Mama.

Cooling Down

After visiting the museum on Wednesday, we needed a cool down at the pool.

Butterfly Museum

Today we went downtown to the Cockrell Butterfly Center. We anticipated lots of activity, and made certain to wear our brightest of colors.  Ri was heart broken that a butterfly did not want to land on her.

the view above us...

P checking out the butterflies...

sitting patiently...

YUCK!  

Sweet P was fascinated with the Hissing Cockroach exhibit...

the Q-man...

Mama Schmidt & her crew... 

Q & Gandhi...

still on a mission...

Splashing

On Friday, we picked up Sutton from "school" and took her to the nearby splash pad with us. The cold water was a nice reprieve on the hot & muggy day.

I Am King/Queen, Hear Me Roar

After exploring at Town Green Park, the kids stumbled upon a labyrinth of sorts and these over sized books of Aesop's Fables. Pretty cool.