Fall is in the Air

It's finally cooling down and we were able to enjoy a family trip to the Pumpkin Patch! Last year was sweltering so it was a welcome change. Claire slept the whole time but Addison and Brianna had no problem picking out her pumpkin!

I found my pumpkin!

Me too!

The Irish Pumpkin Family

Lights out

World's Worst Mom

They say you have tons of pictures of your first born and then not so many of the second little one. No one warned me how much smaller the number of pictures would be for the third baby! I just turned on my camera and I don't have ANY pictures on the memory card right now. You will just have to take my word for it when I say she is just as adorable as the other little princesses. She has started smiling and cooing although I think the hours logged crying still outweigh the smiles! She is sleeping from about 9-10 until about 4-5 pretty much every night. Mommy can't complain about that too much. Addie and Brianna are doing great in school. Addison is very eager to go over sight words and work on math worksheets. It's so fun to watch start to learn to read. Brianna loves to paint. As long as painting is on the agenda in preschool, the teacher is able to keep her happy. Thankfully, the paint is washable. I'm not sure much ends up on the paper!! We have also started potty training. This house stays pretty busy!!

Here are a few shots from our newborn photo shoot with Andrea Keller Photography. She did a fabulous job AGAIN and made an adorable birth announcement that I can't wait to get out in the mail! Enjoy!

First Day of School- Round 2

Well, Brianna's first day didn't go QUITE as smoothly as Addison's. She was very excited to pack her backpack and walked right into the classroom. However, when mommy said good bye, the drama began!! According to the teachers she would cry for a bit and then calm down until she realized she wasn't where she wanted to be and then started up again. She eventually found a chair and moved it right in front of the window by the door so she could watch everyone that walked by. She would cry as each person passed that wasn't me. The teachers figured out that she was happiest being left alone. If one of the teachers walked over and tried to engage her, she started screaming again. She eventually started to like Miss Sheryl that works in the office and around 11:00, fell asleep in her arms. She wore herself right out from all the crying! She only slept for about 10 minutes and woke up fairly happy. She continued the process of cry and stopping until I came to get her at about 11:50. She had started to warm up to her teacher and wouldn't cry as long as she was holding her. Poor teacher, Brianna isn't light! I was getting play by play updates because the parents had an orientation meeting after we dropped the kids off. I was at the school until about 10:20. I left to have brunch with a friend for my birthday (thanks again Nicole!) and got the phone call she had fallen asleep. It was quite a morning. Tomorrow is her second day. Wish me luck! Here are some pictures before she realized I wasn't going to school with her. She looks happy, huh?

In the hall, waiting for the teacher. She always says Cheese and gets these silly grins!

Playing with babies in the class

First Day of School

I feel like I blinked and 5 years disappeared. I'm looking at these pictures I'm about to post and can't believe that is my little baby. She did great, I'm so proud of her. A complete 180 from her first day of '3 yr old school' as she called it. She loved her new teacher and made a friend in class during Kinder Camp. Didn't really seem to get why mommy and daddy were making such a big deal of saying good bye! I hung in there, got a little choked up during our good byes but held back the tears because I didn't want her to see me cry. Her first day is ALMOST done as I type this. I'm wondering how to juggle getting Claire fed and waking Brianna up just to sit in a car line that I've been told can take up to an hour to get through the first week. Stay tuned... Brianna's first day of preschool is tomorrow!

Baby Bump

A few weeks before Claire was born we decided to do a 'baby bump' photo session with the family. Special thanks to Andrea Keller who came out to Lake Mary and took a shot or two (or a hundred!) for us. She did a fabulous job, I'm so happy with them. And I'd like to toot my own horn a little... the girls are wearing little dresses that I actually sewed myself! Probably the last sewing project I'll be able to tackle for a while! Here are a couple of the favorites.

And Baby Makes...FIVE!!

Claire Elizabeth Irish was born July 13 at 11:45 PM, 7 lbs 10 ozs, 20 1/4 inches. Mommy and baby are doing great and working on getting adjusted to our new life. Alabama Grandma is here helping me out TONS... not sure what I'll do without her here! Here are a few shots of Claire courtesy of our great friend Andrea who came to visit. 

Summer Fun

It's officially summer! Enter swim lessons, lots of junk food, and sunny days by the pool! Here are a few pictures of the adventures we have been on so far...

On the swing at Brenden and Kellan's Birthday Party

Pool's Open!

Taking a snack break at the Splash Park

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Here are a few pictures from a UCF baseball game we went to a while back. We watched the game for a while in the stands but the girls had a lot more fun out in the field watching from behind the fence. We even got a call as we were leaving the game from a friend who saw Addison on TV hanging out by the fence while he was watching from home! It was her TV debut!!

It was freezing cold in the shade?!?!

Happy Mother's Day!

Our day started with a splash and ended with a pop! After a crazy Kentucky Derby party, hanging out by the pool was a great way to spend the afternoon. Nana, Aunt Kimmy, and Haylee came over to help us get through some of our leftover BBQ, catch a few rays, and celebrate Mother's Day. As the night was coming to a close and it was time to head to bed, Daddy picked Brianna up by her forearms to try to cheer her up and pop went the elbow! We weren't quite sure that had happened and I even thought she might be being a bit of a drama queen because she was so sleepy. But after waking up and still not moving her arm, we headed to the pediatrician. It was nursemaid's elbow and the doc was able to pop it right back into socket without much effort and you would never know anything ever happened to her! She is running around like crazy and doing everything she was doing yesterday. So here is my Public Service Announcement to all you out there... don't pick toddlers up by their arms!!

Do you think I would have sank this float if I tried to hop on?!!?

And They're Off!

We hosted our annual Kentucky Derby Party again this year and I'm pretty sure the kids and babies are starting to take over! We had a fabulous time though despite the chaos. We had friends in from Chicago all the way down to south Florida and so appreciate everyone being there that could be. The big winners of the night were the Gentiles. Ryan got first place with Animal Kingdom and his wife Nicole came in third with Mucho Macho Man!! Sweet little Landon, Paul and Kristen Kennedy's son, was the second place winner. We had some super yummy food from Keller's BBQ that seems to be a hit because people remembered it from last year. I'm ALMOST sick of eating pulled pork and beans a few days later!

My favorite part of the party was the cupcake table!! Not only was it SO tasty, look how cute it is!! 

Super special thanks to Andrea, Alaina, and Caryn for making such awesome cupcakes 

Addie in her party dress.... we had Cheetos, she doesn't normally have orange teeth and lips!

Poor Brianna woke up to a house full of people... she didn't like that too much!

Mother's Day Fashion Show

Addison's class put on the cutest Mothers Day Celebration! Each mom had her own special place set with a handmade #1 Mom ribbon, a decorated plate, a beaded necklace, a neck roll, and a picture flower pot. These kids must have been crafting up a storm for weeks to get all this done! 

Then there was a wall where each kid drew a picture of their mom and us mom's had to guess which one we were! So cute!! I did guess correctly on my first try... but I think I was a dead giveaway with the big ol' round belly!!

Then, each kid dressed in mom's or dad's clothes and was introduced on the red carpet as couples complete with a fun story describing what they were wearing, and where they going after the party. The teachers really put alot into it! It was great!! Addison checked out my maternity clothes and with the saddest look on her face said, "I don't like any of this." Fortunately we were able to find the perfect red dress in my non-materity wear!

The kids then serenaded us with the most adorable "I love mommy" songs and joined us for lunch. It was fantastic, very special. I know all the mom's just loved it. And that was just the beginning of a wonderful Mothers Day weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing mom's and mom's-to-be out there!

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter this year! Things were crazy as usual over here but we had a great time. The girls woke up and found their Easter baskets chock full o' goodies, mostly toys because the Easter Bunny said Mommy might eat too much of their candy! After checking out their baskets, the girls headed out to the porch for a Easter Egg hunt!! They searched high and low and Brianna was able to find her fair share of eggs... such a big girl. After that, we loaded up and went to church for yet another Easter Egg hunt! Mommy forgot her camera though. Woops. We had a very yummy Easter dinner with Nana and Aunt Kimmy who helped me TREMENDOUSLY in the kitchen, as usual! Couldn't have done it without you guys! Happy Easter everyone!!

Dying eggs! I accidentally deleted the picture of Brianna helping but she was there!

Whose idea were eggs covered in glitter??

The Easter Bunny sent the girls out on the porch for a mini egg hunt! Go Brianna!

Yeah Addison!!

Notice the blue lips on Brianna? Darn blue Ring Pop!!

What a difference a year makes

At the beginning of the school year I signed up to help with the Easter party in Addison's class. I was room mother last year so I thought, how hard could it be? and didn't give it a second thought. Well, let me tell you, there is a big difference in the activities between 3 and 4 year olds! I helped the kids dye their Easter eggs...wow! I have a new found appreciation for Addison's teachers. Mrs. Crutchfield, in the red sweater, is amazing. Addison refers to her as 'Crutchfield' as much as I try to tell her to add the Mrs., she won't. She promised me that all the kids did it but when I asked the teacher, she said, "Nope, just Addison, but I don't mind!" Geesh. Mrs. Joan, in the pink, has been Addison's helper teacher for the last two years. Mrs. Joan is great and keeps the 'organized' in organized chaos. Those kids don't get away with anything with Mrs. Joan keeping a watch on them! 

In the past few days, Addison has started showing me her reading skills! It's so amazing to see how far she has come since she started at her school. From recognizing letters, to writing them, to now putting the sounds together to READ! Last year, she didn't participate in circle time and didn't want much to do with anyone besides her teacher. This year, she has come right out of that shell! She rode the pony when the petting zoo came to school. Last year, she wouldn't even stand next to it to take a picture! Which leads me to these pictures... if you skipped ahead, you would see Addison standing with the Easter Bunny! This is the first time she has ever gotten close to the Easter Bunny/Santa!! I guess I've gone on long enough... here are some pictures from my experience in Addison's class.

The organized chaos that is a preschool class!

Brianna enjoying a special treat she made with Addison

Whose scared of the Easter Bunny? Not me!

I found one! I found one!

I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself!

Firehouse Playdate

First off, I want to apologize for not keeping more up-to-date with this blog. I went on a blogging spree recently to catch up a few months and got lots of "Thank You's"! I didn't know we had so many fans!! I will try to be more diligent about posting pictures up here as often as possible. I can't promise much once Baby Girl Irish #3 makes her debut though! Speaking of, I decided to change the title of this blog (again!) for the final time. This covers all my bases although you can rest assure we will be at maximum capacity for this house come July!!
Now, on to the pictures...
Last week, I took Brianna to the Altamonte Springs Fire Department with our playgroup. I thought she would be a bit timid but to my surprise, she pushed through the hesitating older kids with me running behind her to be the first kid up in the truck! Not scared in the least to talk to the firemen and hop up in their chairs! It was great to see her so excited!! Of course, the afternoon was topped off with a grilled cheese at Firehouse Subs!

Ok, she looks scared but trust me, she wasn't!! She was so happy to be up in the fireman's seat!!



Hopped right up to get her stickers and hat from the fireman



Loving her hat!

Happy Birthday, Brianna!

Wow, my baby is two years old. I can't believe it. I also can't believe that she will be a big sister in just a few months! We had her Dora birthday party this weekend and she had a GREAT time!! She got lots of Dora babies and loves each and every one of them.

The traditional Birthday banner... doing my part to keep all Etsy shops in business!

Cupcakes provided by Winter Haven Grandma and Backpack goody bags

Big girl blowing her candle out

Cupcake time FINALLY!

Dig in!!