Hanging WIth My Mini Coop!

Who would have ever thought that I'd be spending my days running the kids back and forth to school, working out like I've never been able to have the time for before, running to and from swimming lessons, Rainbows (girl scouts) and spending so much quality time with the kids???????? 

Not me, that's for sure.  I've always considered myself to be a career girl and retiring one day after years upon years spent in the legal profession.  While that still may very well be what my future holds, I will say that the months and pure quality time spent with the kids is something I will forever hold near and dear to my heart because at the end of the day, these kids are my life and everything Steve and I do is for THEM! 

With that said, this post is dedicated to my little mini Stella!  Stella surely is one of a kind!  Anyone who has ever met her always says the same, "She's been here before!"  She is so smart beyond her years and will always leave you in stitches!  She is clever, hilarious, most definitely mischievous and is constantly offending people!  I swear you can't take the girl anywhere! 

Here are a few examples.................

While walking through a parking lot after one of my mud races Stella yells, "HELLO" to a nice man.  He smiles and says, "HELLO" back.  She then proceeds to yell, "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to your DOG!"

While at a soft play (bouncy house/jungle gym place) Stella proceeded to ask a woman who to be honest wasn't exactly very womanly whether or not she was a boy.  When the woman told her that no, she was in fact a lady, Stella adamantly declared that NO, she was definitely a boy! 

While at the park, a little boy ran over to play with Stella.  After repeatedly telling him that she did not want to play with him and that she didn't like boys, he continued to try to play with her.  Fed up, Stella yelled at the top of her lungs, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS KID?  I TOLD HIM I DIDN'T WANT TO PLAY WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!"  Yep, everyone at the park heard that!

Finally, we were at another soft play facility when a little boy with long, beautiful, blonde curly hair wanted to play with her.  She ran over to both his mom and I saying that she did NOT want to play with that little girl.  I explained that he was in fact a boy and she proceeded to argue with his mom that NO, she was a girl.  Literally went on a rant about how boys don't have long hair and that was most definitely a girl. 

Talk about embarrassing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She is a constant people offender and while as horrifying as it is at the time, I can't help but be tickled by it.  The girl may very well be an actress or comedian one day!  Whatever she may be, she will always be my little star!!!!

Here are a few pics of our days out playing and picnicking in the park!  Man, I love this kid!

Stella's 3rd Birthday Party!

My baby (my last baby) turned 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is so hard to wrap my head around it!  Most days she acts like she is 3 going on 13!

I can't quite put into words what the last year has meant to me being able to spend all of this time with my baby.  Sure, most days, we want to strangle one another and if I have to clean up one more "accident", I might just lose it!  Having said that, all of the extra cuddles, kisses and pure fun we have with one another is something I will always remember! 

We celebrated Stella's 3rd birthday with a small party at our house.  We invited a few close friends and their kiddos to come by and help us celebrate! 

As you will see from the photos, I ended up reusing some of Lottie's 3rd birthday party decor.  Yes, before you say it, it somehow got put in that 40 foot shipping container we shipped from the states to England.  HA!  Steve about fell over when I busted these old party decorations from the garage.  We had a good chuckle about all the "crap" we brought over! 

Our friend let us have their "small" bouncy castle that their daughter used for years.  She is 10 now so can no longer use it.  It worked perfect in our small garden and we are so grateful they let us have it. 

Here's a quick look at Stella's birthday party...............

 

For food, we served little tea sandwiches (ham, cheese and tuna/cucumber), fruit, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, crisps, meat/cheese and mini cakes



Evie, Santino & Matthew

 

My mate Monica and her daughter Sophia

Lily, Charlotte, Stella, Owen & Lily

We bought a piñata for a little backyard fun.  These kids hacked and hacked at the piñata with little to no luck for a long time which made us parents laugh!  

Steve, Rachel, Gracie & Evie

Fit for a princess cake!

How cute is Stella's smile listening to everyone sing Happy Birthday to her??????

My hair looks a mess - it was down, but it was so warm out, I had to throw it up!  We really lucked out with the weather that day, being as you NEVER know what you are going to get here in England!

Stella made everyone laugh when she dove head first into her cake.  HA!!!!

 

I showed her a video of her at her 1st birthday party when she dove right in not too long ago and my guess is she thought it was totally normal and what you do after you blow out your candles.  

 

A big thank you to all our friends who came by to help celebrate our little one!  What a fun day! 

Lottie - 3 & 4 Year Growth

Lottie - 3 Years

Weight: 30 lb, 12.8 oz (50%)
Height: 3' (23%)
BMI: 16.72

We survived our first THREE years!  I sometimes can't believe we made it through the TWOs!  And from what I hear THREEs are much more, shall I say challenging????  WOOHOO!  :)

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HOLD UP!!!!!  I just saw the 3 year growth update in one of my draft folders!  I can't believe I never got around to posting Lottie's 3 year growth update!  On a side note, they weren't kidding about the THREEs!  :)

Oh well, now I will just get on with posting Lottie's 4 year growth update.  Drum roll please................................................ for the first time EVER, Lottie has finally gotten over the 50% hump in height!  She has always been around the 25% in height.  Steve and I could never understand why she was shaping up to be such a shorty considering neither of us are short.

Lottie - 4 Years

Weight: 37lb (67%)
Height: 3'4" (57%)
BMI: 16.26 (76%)

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I don't even know where to begin so I'll keep it short (if not, I will never finish this post).  This past year Lottie hit so many developmental milestones!  It has been such a gift to watch her breathe her first breath, take her first step, recognize her first object, write her name for the first time, etc.

I could go on for days about all of the things Lottie has learned to do - both mentally and physically this past year.  But, for today, I will just say how proud I am of the little girl she is growing into. She is polite, well-mannered and outgoing.  I truly can't imagine my life without this little person in it.  She makes me strive to be a better person every day.

Here's just a glance back from even before she was born................

I think I was right around 32 weeks pregnant with Lottie 

The day she was born - her BIRTH DAY 

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

Lottie & Stella 

Lottie - 4 years

Stella - 22 months

4 year photos

We love you Lottie!  Although, I would give anything to keep you at this age forever, I can't wait to watch you grow this next year!

3 Year Blog Anniversary

It is so hard to believe that 3 years ago The Waxhonian Chronicles started.  It has been such a wonderful experience being able to capture all of these precious moments with my little family.  I hope to be able to continue this through the years because who knows how long we have on this earth.  I just hope I'm around long enough to watch my kids grow and continue to share stories, photos, milestones and memories with them.