Andrew's birthday interview

How old are you? 6

How tall are you? 100

How much do you weigh? 40

What is your favorite toy? Power Ranger toys

Favorite book? The Book with No Pictures

Favorite movie? The Lego Batman

Favorite TV show? Power Rangers

Favorite food? Ska-betty aka spaghetti

Favorite fruit? strawberries

Favorite vegetable? none of them 

Favorite snack? chocolate bars/chewy bars

Favorite drink? powerades

Favorite activity? doing nothing

Favorite color? very, very, very, very dark red

Favorite sport? Soccer?

Favorite song? The Blood of Jesus

Favorite animal? sabertooth tiger

Favorite game? lego star wars on Wii

Favorite outfit? soccer outfit

Favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you need in bed when it's time to go to sleep? jammies, blankie and toys

Best Friend? Mayer. Rex. 

When I grow up I want to be? air force with Rex.

Nicknames? Ju-ju is what Elise starting calling him and it has stuck.  We mainly call him Andrew or Boo.

Thing I am really good at? tug-o-war.

By Andrew Reid McBride, age 6

Pink Dance Party!

Elise asked very persistently for a "pink dance party" for her birthday.  She has been waiting {not} so patiently for this day to come!  It's so hard to believe my girl is THREE! She is such a treasure to us, to me.  She was my easiest delivery, our strongest willed child and the most girly little princess!

Elise is kind and compassionate.  She is feisty and opinionated.  She is vibrant and expressive. She will talk constantly if you give her the opportunity {and sometimes even when you don't}. She loves to sing and dance and play with dolls. She likes to snuggle on the couch and run errands to Target or Trader Joe's.  She likes to help, but also likes her own way.  She can be so sassy and then be so sweet.  We often say that this is Elise's world and we are just living in it :)  And that's a fairly true statement.

Elise loves to take care of Caleb. Sometimes it works out great for both of them and most of the time Caleb ends up crying because she squeezes a little too tight or tells him "NO" a little too loud.  Elise loves Benjamin and admires him so.  She and Andrew enjoy/tolerate one another.  They fight the most between all the kids.  Yet, Andrew is a safe place for her and he loves her well.

Elise is still a daddy's girl through and through.  It's been so sweet to have her develop a desire to spend time with me lately, though.  She loves to wear makeup and dress up.  Elise wears a ballerina dress most days and rarely wears pants these days. Her currents goals are to go to school and take a dance class -- she asks for both daily. 

Elise lights up our days.  She is a treasure and a delight.  She is so different than the boys and I say that a lot, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  She is who she is and it is fabulous! Even on hard days and tantrums and meltdowns and when she is absolutely inconsolable, she is our girl and she is such a gift to our family.

Here are some pictures from her party!!!!

Elise was a little scared/dramatic about the candles. 

friends + cake!

Elise's favorites!

Me and my girl and her girl.

Talking.

Twirling.

Dancing to "Let it go"!

Such a {short} fun dance party! All these kiddos has some great moves!

Pink decorations and pink presents. 

The very pink cookie cake Elise requested.

Snacks and treats! and pink.

Opening presents was a slow and thoughtful process for Ellie!

AND here are some random pictures of our sweet girl! Everyday is a fantastic adventure with Elise!

Elise is THREE!!

Here is Elise's three year old questionnaire:
I have added my own comments about what she likes.  Her answers give you NO idea about who Elise is or what she likes ;) I loved asking her these questions and waiting for the answers.  She always makes me laugh.

How old are you? 1-2-3!

How tall are you? ummm. i'm 5. (She's TALL! I'm pretty sure she was 36 inches at her last appt)

How much do you weigh? 3. (about 35 pounds)

What is your favorite toy? my pink toy. (baby mary and all of her accessories.)

Favorite book? my pink book. (Elise loves the baby lit books --Jane, Alice, Pride & Prejudice)

Favorite movie? my pink movie. (Elise rarely watches movies.)

Favorite TV show? Einstein's! 

Favorite food? pink food. cake! (Elise loves yogurt and fruit, PB sandwiches, mac & cheese)

Favorite fruit? pink banana (I would say her favorite fruit is starwberries or grapes.)

Favorite vegetable? snap peas

Favorite snack? pink snack. (fruit snacks, zbars.)

Favorite drink? juice. i want juice.

Favorite activity? talk about my birthday.

Favorite color? ummm..some colors. (pink)

Favorite sport? dance party.

Favorite song? Jesus. (Elise loves to sing! She can sing Amazing Grace, Be Thou my vision, Jesus loves me and so many more)

Favorite animal? pink animal. (monkeys? horses? My Little Ponies? ahhaa)

Favorite game? Halleluia (She calls "Let it go" Halleluia. She's never seen frozen, but we dance to let it go a lot.)

Favorite outfit? pink ballerina dress.

Favorite holiday? some cake. um, my birthday.

What do you need in bed when it's time to go to sleep? blankie. baby mary. thumb.

Best Friend? Lorelei is my friend.

When I grow up I want to be? a ballerina.

Nicknames? Ellie. Ellenator. Sissy.

Thing I am really good at? Being a mommy to Mary and Caleb. Helping mommy. Dancing.

Caleb is ONE!

How can it be that our sweet Caleb is already ONE?! You can read his birth story here, if you want! He is a delight to our family and we all enjoy him.  He never lacks attention or help or whatever he wants, really.

Caleb is 20.5 pounds and 28 3/4 long -- by far our smallest baby by this time. BUT he's growing normally and super cute. He crawls everywhere and climbs when he can. He really enjoys stairs when he has the chance. He pulls himself up and is so pleased with himself each time.

He smiles at almost anyone.  He waves and points and claps.  He has four teeth and two that are on the way. He eats just about anything and likes snacks and water. His favorite things to eat are fig bars, meat and fruit. That seems pretty well rounded to me!

He loves his paci and blankets.  He likes being held and really loves me a lot. Not complaining at all. Because the feeling is mutual. He enjoys seeing daddy and snuggling with him.  Caleb loves having big brothers and they are super great to him and with him. Benjamin and Andrew always ask to hold him! Elise thinks she is the best momma and that I'm disposable. She didn't come out and say that, but her actions speak louder than words. {I'm laughing so much right now, but I'm also being completely honest!} She loves to care for Caleb and, truly, she does it well.

Here are some pictures to mark year ONE! We love this boy and are so very grateful that he is ours. The Lord was kinder than we deserve to give us this gift!!!

Side view of that restructured noggin! 

Andrew's five-year questionnaire

How old are you? 5.

How tall are you? Big. 

How much do you weigh? 48 pounds. {but really like 42}

What is your favorite toy? the knight castle, legos

Favorite book? 

Favorite movie? Star Wars

Favorite TV show? The Little Drummer Boy {but I would say Lego shows on  Netflix}

Favorite food? Ska-betty aka spaghetti

Favorite fruit? watermelon

Favorite vegetable? carrots 

Favorite snack? veggie straws

Favorite drink? juice

Favorite activity? ride my bike and play with the neighbors

Favorite color? dark black.

Favorite sport? Thunder. And when I asked what kind of ball the Thunder plays he said "smooth, no medium!" We clearly are a sporty family.

Favorite song? We three kings.

Favorite animal? dragon. and a lion.

Favorite game? tag. no, no, no. tag bad guys!

Favorite outfit? basketball shorts and a t shirt. 

Favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you need in bed when it's time to go to sleep? darth vader. and blankie.

Best Friend? Grant and Ben and Grace.

When I grow up I want to be? A basketball player.

Nicknames? Ju-ju is what Elise starting calling him and it has stuck.  We mainly call him Andrew or Boo.

Thing I am really good at? fighting, I guess. running so fast. I like to play with friends. I like to do the color/drawing game on your phone. 

By Andrew Reid McBride, age 5 

Weekly recap -- SPRING BREAK!

This past week was really nice. We didn't go anywhere and we didn't over expend ourselves.  With four kids, we have to choose our battles wisely.  Plus, lets be honest, there isn't really such a thing as "vacation" when you have small children.  It's basically doing life and getting out of your normal routine in a new place! Ha!

*We celebrated Benjamin's birthday by having our neighbors over for donuts and playing outside all morning.  We truly love our neighbors and they have all become dear friends in the small amount of time we have all lived near one another. Benjamin loved being made much of and especially every time we sang "Happy Birthday" to him! 

*Patrick took half of Monday off so we could all be together and have fun.  We went to Target to spend a gift card that B got and to Hideaway for dinner! We ended the night playing at the park and enjoying the beautiful day!

*Tuesday we went to Myriad Gardens with some friends.  It was so windy -- but the boys had fun playing and running around.

*Patrick took off Wednesday through Friday so we were looking forward to being all together.  Patrick and the boys got packed up to go camping.  They headed to Lake Arcadia around nap time and set up camp while the littles napped.  After Elise and Caleb woke up, we went out to have dinner with the boys and enjoy some family time.  Elise reached a max a little earlier than I thought she would, so we headed back home and went to bed! The boys had a great time and enjoyed camping -- again!

*Thursday and Friday we just laid low and did some things around the house. Patrick took Benjamin and Andrew to see Zooptopia and they ALL enjoyed it! We got McDonald's for lunch one day {which is super rare for us!} and headed to our favorite park to eat and play. And I think we went out to dinner one night. It's a blur. ;) But we enjoyed being together.

And all good things must come to an end... BUT Spring Break left me super excited for summer with my kiddos.  I can't wait to enjoy and do things and not be pregnant in that mix.  I really love that these are my people.  The Lord is so kind to know just what we all needed -- each other!