January so far

I've been so busy with school that I've been really bad at updating, so this post will be a big one 'cause it's all going in.  :)  Have fun with the overload of pictures!

Shane's niece's 1st birthday was January 5th!  They had a pink, pink, PINK party!  As you can guess, Lexi was IN. LOVE.

Cute girl

Kaden wasn't hating life, either, much to Shane's dismay...

Lovin' the pink 4-wheeler!

 There were tons of balloons that kept Ari busy:

So focused!

Upside down!

Shane's sister, Val, with her little birthday girl, Ryley!

Loving the huge cupcake!

Lexi loved lovin' on this little cutie.

 Since I'm taking night classes, Shane is in charge of the kids a lot more these days.  A couple of Saturdays ago, I had to go up to the school to do my "hub time" (required time (an hour and 40 minutes) in the math tutoring center every week).  When I got home, Ari was down for her first nap of the day.  I was glad that Shane had remembered, then he sheepishly confessed that he didn't.  This is why he put Ari in her crib:

Just let me sleep!

 haha  I love kids being on schedules!  :)

Kaden and Lexi get along best right before bedtime...

But, mom, we're playing nicely!

 Ari has been VERY into dress up lately (and Lexi has been such a good big sister to share all of her princess dresses).

Ari accessorized with the pink hat all on her own.  ;)

 Remember how I told you that our friends, Danny and Stephanie, moved away last August?  Well, that didn't stop Steph from buying the girls matching Christmas dresses!!  (And other outfits as well)

Ari loves her dress.

 The cutest old man in church came up to me when Ari was wearing this dress and said, "She looks like she's ready for the ball."  Shane had said the same thing about both the girls that morning.  :D

This is Lexi's new favorite dress.  It is SO POOFY!

And because I'm obsessed with all my kids matching, I bought Kaden a tie with red in it. ;)

Cutie patooties!  (Yes, Lexi is jumping.  No, I don't know why.)

One of my beautiful girls.

Here's one of the other matching outfits from Steph.  :)

Best friends!

 It's really hard for me to leave at night for school (even though Shane's home), because this is the face I see:

Don't go!

 And every. single. time. I leave, Kaden and Lexi ask, "Mom, are you coming home?"

Breaks my heart.

Kaden running...pretty decent form, right?

Lexi running....well, like a princess.  hahahaha  Look at her arm position!  Cracks me up.

 I knew was hoping Lexi could run like a normal person if given the chance, so I told them to race:

Much better!  ;)

 Lately, anytime I get the camera out, this little person wants to be front and center:

Last week, we went to the aquarium with some friends.  Shane had the camera the whole time, so I didn't get any pictures of Halle or Eli.  There were barely any of my own kids.  He really liked the penguins.  hahaha

Kaden watching the otters play.

Lexi with the penguins.

Ari just loved anything and everything with glass low enough for her to see.  ;)

 The first time we tried to watch the otters, we quickly got crowded out and shoved out of the way.  We headed back to see if the kids could see them again, but they were asleep.

Lazy...

I'll post the pictures of what we did yesterday later.  It's been a fun year so far!