Have I mentioned my twin nieces?

'Cause they're really quite worth mentioning.

They recently hit the one-month-milemark.  Aren't they stinking adorable?

{The Pres}

{Mad Hadder}

I have mentioned many a'times that I am not a photographer.  And these pics prove it.  But it was fun to pretend for an hour or so... even if I did get more than a little frustrated with the results.

But really, these little Lish ladies couldn't take a bad picture if they tried.

Oh, Miss Presley and Miss Hadley- you are so loved.

Back to school...

All good things must come to an end, and so must all drive-your-mom-insane-day-in-and-day-out-with-your-neverending-fighting things. 

But hey: we survived!  We made it!  No one broke a bone or had to get stitches- so I'm calling this summer a success!  Let's forget about Porter's head being super-glued back together, shall we?

Onto the main event:  the students!

Oh snap.  I have a fifth grader.  Pretty sure that I'm not old enough to have a child this age.  But, alas, here we are.  She is super excited because she is on the second floor of the brand new school (she's moving up in the world, people).  She tried to talk me into letter her play the drums in the school band, but (luckily for me) she also wants to ask for a guitar for her birthday and she really wouldn't have time to learn both.  Again: thankfully.

I asked little miss Adi-tude to tell me about herself.  She said that her best friend is Savana, her favorite color is purple, she likes Taylor Swift and doing gymnastics, and accessorizing is her passion.  No lie, people.  It's a passion.

 Next up:

This lil' cutie has now entered fourth grade.  She is completely giddy that she is now old enough to join orchestra (hello screechy violin in my very near future).  Piper is also over-the-moon that she doesn't have to wear uniforms this year.  Now she really gets to flex her clothes-designing muscles.

I tried asking her about herself, and she just said the exact same thing as her big sis (her fav color is pink, best friend is Naomi, she likes Miss Swift, Teen Beach Movie, singing, and dancing).  I must add that she is the family hide-and-seek champion.

The Porter Pot:

Oh, Porter Pot.  First grade?  A full day at school?  Wyatt and I will be lost without you! 

I asked PG to tell me about himself and he said, "You already know me, Mom."  That's true.  How about we pretend like I don't know you?  "I don't like to tell strangers about myself."  Sigh.  OK.  Then you know me, but I don't know you.  "This is weird, Mom."

I think that conversation sums him up pretty darn well.  Although, I should document that his best friend is Logan, he loves playing soccer at recess, he's a trickster on his bike, and he knows how to anger his mother in 1.2 seconds and then have her melting in less than that.

And last, but never least:

Playschool.  That's easy right?  I drop him off for an hour and fifteen minutes, which is just about the perfect amount of time to get my Fry's couponing done (did I mention that the school is conveniently located next to Frys?).  I won't even have time to miss the kid, really.

And then I dropped him off for the first time.  And I cried like a baby.

Yes I did.  Shamelessly.

This kid kept photobombing his siblings.

And then, when I wanted him in the picture...

Stinker.

Bring it on, 2013-2014 school year!

This girl.

This girl just turned nine.  Nine, I tell you!  And what an amazing, sweet, loving, caring, beautiful little angel she is.

Some things about my Practically Perfect Piper:

-She rocks pink about 90% of the time.  I am not exaggerating.  

-She can say every single line of Teen Beach movie.  And can do all of the dance moves.

-Piper really,  really loves these shoes.

-About to totally brag here: this little lady is s-m-a-r-t.  Smart!  Not only did she earn Principal's Pride every quarter last year (all A's people), but her aim's scores were out of sight.  Did you kind of throw up there from all the horn-tooting?  Good. 

-Piper is very in tune with other people's feelings.  She can sense when someone is sad, or mad, and she immediately is trying to fix the situation.  Usually this is her baby brother.  And she is usually refilling a sippy cup, getting cereal, or yelling at Porter to give Wyatt a toy.

-She saved up over $200 for very own iPod touch.  Which she has now lost.  

-She wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up.  And a dance teacher.  And a fashion designer.  And a mommy.  And a farmer in her free time.

-Pipes loves to cook.  Recently she made Kraft mac & cheese by adding the raw noodles, butter, milk, and cheese powder into the cold water and set it on the stove to boil.  It didn't really turn out.

 

-She is extremely photogenic.

-She dances her way through life.  Literally.  She dances when she wakes up, she dances down the aisles of the grocery store, she dances in the bathtub.  She's always grooving.

-I look forward to seeing her every single morning.  Mostly because of her outfits.  Piper's flair and enthusiasm always leaks into her clothing.  She never just wears a shirt and jeans, even when she is told to.  There is always a ribbon tied somewhere, a neon colored belt, a homemade bow pinned... something that just screams Piper.

-And her smile?  It's my most favorite thing about her.  She doesn't just grin with her mouth, never.  She smiles with her whole body.  It fills a room, brightens a cloudy day, makes you smile through tears... When Piper smiles, the world smiles back.  Always.

She is my saving grace, my tender mercy.  Piper is always trying to help, trying to better.  And yes, even this sweetheart has quite a temper (I'm talking red-faced screaming, stomping around, rolling eyes, and angry looks), but it is so rarely seen that when it rear's it's ugly face, it's more humorous than upsetting. 

It is a privilege to be your mom, Miss Pips.  And I cannot wait to watch you blossom into the beautiful woman that I know you will be.