Happy 5th Birthday sweet Nadia!

birthday crop
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Happy 5th Birthday sweet Nadia! You have been excited about turning 5 since you turned 4! The number 5 has been your favorite number for as long as I can remember so this birthday is a big deal to you. We have watched you grow and mature so much in the last year. I have been in awe the last month or so at how ‘big girl’ you seem.  Here is a quick look at the last year – and what a year it’s been with the addition of Amelie to our family and you becoming a big sister. We love you Nadia!

5 yr post

October 2010 – 4 years old

5 yr post

November 2010

5 yr post

December 2010

5 yr post

January 2011

5 yr post

February 2011

5 yr post

March 2011

5 yr post

April 2011

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May 2011

5 yr post

June 2011

5 yr post

July 2011

5 yr post

August 2011

5 yr post

September 2011

Monarch Butterflies

We studied Monarch Butterflies in our Autumn unit study. A couple of weeks ago when we were leaving church I saw some on the bushes near our car. Mike was able to capture some photos that I thought turned out awesome. I told Nadia that it was like a little gift from God to be able to see them in real life right before we did our study.

Monarch 2011
Click on the photo to see album

Monarch 2011

Monarch 2011

Here are some things we learned that I found interesting.

  • The orange coloring on the Monarch’s wings makes animals and birds throw up if they are eaten. So many birds have learned to avoid them.
  • Monarchs come out with huge abdomens filled with liquid. They move all the liquid into their wings to make them larger then sit still for a few hours for their wings to harden. Then they are able to fly.
  • Monarchs born in the spring only live 3 months.
  • Monarchs born in the summer live 9 months and they are the ones that migrate in the fall and spend the winter in Mexico and other protected southern areas.

Hello October!

After the record setting hot Texas summer we experienced this year its been nice for the weather to be down in the 80’s. These dresses were hand me downs from my dear friend Jessica’s girls and Amelie is about to outgrow hers so I wanted to try and get some photos of the girls. For the record, I narrowed the 58 shots Mike took down to 6. I think that there is something fun about each of these shots.

October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

And we end with Nadia’s “Are we done yet?” face.