My little's aren't so little anymore...

Ethan is almost as tall as me now.  I don't think I like looking him square in the eyes just yet.  Along with height comes the pre-teen meltdowns and drama.  Girls, attitude, fighting with siblings- just to name a few.  Oh and I can't wait til summer because I can't keep these kids out of high waters.  I feel like I am buying a new pair of pants every week.  

Izzy has changed so much over the past few months.  She is running and jumping, talking in 3-4 words combinations.  She is counting and saying her ABCs, can tell you what color and shapes are.  Sister is smart! We are still working on the potty training but she definitely lets you know when she is wet- just a little too late to catch her.  We are ready so we are going to conquer this thing hard core soon.

Izzy is into trying new things and loves talking to everyone.  She will say "Hi" until she hears one in return. She doesn't like to be ignored.

Here she is on a swing at The Track.  She started off a little hesitate but then threw her hands in the air and let the wind blow through her hair.  Good times!!

Aiden is still the best big brother.  He dotes on Izzy and their bond is like no other- except when she gets into his stuff.  Then he likes to try and discipline.  This is always fun to watch...

Big brothers are fighting none stop.  When does this change?!?  It is over EVERYTHING!!  I think I found a few new gray hairs over the last few months due to this behavior.
Izzy loves to people watch and sometimes she is surprised but what people decide to leave the house in.  But it is all good... we all have our own style.

Recently, we went to the mountains with Nana and Papa.  We tried out Izzy's new #Buddytag.  She has become a runner and she doesn't like to hold hands.  For some reason, if you try to hold her hand her legs become like limp noodles.  Not sure what's up with that.  So now, she has a new tracking bracelet and an elephant backpack/leash.  Yep, I was one of those parents that said I would never put my kid on a leash. Well... I lied.
The #Buddytag is awesome.  I have an app on my phone that will start an alarm when she gets too far from me.  Plus, she can't get the bracelet off and no one else can get it off (at least easily) either. Bonus!! As you can see... she isn't a big fan though.

 These two... make my heart melt.

and this one... poor thing got his Mommy's eyes.  I was blind as a bat before my Lasik surgery.  We found out Ethan can't see very well even with his glasses on.  Might need to get in for an exam ASAP.

Well... I am pretty upset my Little's aren't very little anymore.  They need to stop growing up so fast.  I guess time flies when you are having fun or just extremely busy.

Photo overload

I have been MIA and my blog has been neglected these last few months.  I know it is ok because I started this blog as a type of scrapbook for my kids.  Lord knows, I am not crafty enough to actually do a scrapbook.  After finding out about Izzy, I took it to a more personal level.  Journaling became my therapy.  I figured it was cheaper than actual therapy.  But lately, I just didn't have it in me to write or share my feelings.  That is life for you!  Sometimes you get busy, sometimes you get down and sometimes you just have to focus on taking that next step on your journey to keep going.

But... life hasn't stopped or slowed down in the Holt household.  With three kids, I don't think I would be allowed to stop.

Here are some pictures of the kids doing their thing... having fun! 

My boys are growing up so fast.  Ethan just had a birthday- the big 11!  I can't believe it.  He is already acting more and more like a teenager everyday.  Lord help me!  Girls, attitude and developing his own sense of style.  He is growing up!

Aiden's birthday is coming up fast too.  He can't wait until October rolls around.  He will be 9.

All I know, is that I love these guys to pieces.  They give me gray hairs and heartache at times but they are all mine.

and then there is Izzy.  She is so full of personality.  This girl is into EVERYTHING. (not sure if this is a girl thing or just an Izzy thing) She has a nickname- Hurricane Izzy.  It fits her perfectly as she leaves a trail behind her wherever she goes.  This makes cleaning very difficult!  Which keeps Mommy stressed out and probably adds to the gray hairs.

Don't kids want to always be treated like grown ups until they are asked to walk around a fair or well any where??  Then, their legs hurt.  That would be Aiden...hence the ride in the stroller.

Izzy came with Mommy to find a dress for a wedding we were attending.  I haven't put a dress on in a very long time and now I remember why.  She thought the process was hilarious!!  Me... not so much!

and here we are at the beautiful wedding.  We all had a blast and were thankful to be apart of Jordan's big day.

Izzy loves taking selfies.  I figured I could use these pictures one day to track how we have both aged.  Silly faces are always fun, though.

Have I ever mentioned that Izzy loves chips?!?  She wakes up requesting chips.  She goes to sleep requesting chips.  I mean... I love chips but really??

Izzy started her new PreK program and we all participated in a Fun Run/Walk to raise money for their new playground.  It is getting set up right now and I know she is excited to play on it.

Like everyone else, I use my phone as my go to camera.  So now, whenever I am looking at my phone, Izzy automatically says "cheese".  Even her babies are saying cheese.

Milo, our dog, ran into the street and was hit by a car a few months back.  Don't worry... he is ok.  We thought it might knock some sense into him but it didn't.  He did get this nice care package from our neighbor though.

Izzy trying to get a tan.  We did make a few trips to the beach and our local water park this summer. This year was so much easier since Izzy is walking.

I don't think I ever posted pictures from Izzy's birthday party.  Sister was spoiled and ate lots of sugar.  No one offered to take her home with them that night so we stayed up late partying.

Our  little fish taking a break...

Izzy got some new DAFO's.  As you can see, she was very excited about it.

Milos' favorite place, the dog park.  The kids enjoy it too since they get to chase other dogs.

Anyone want to play fetch???

More pictures to come...

Beach day

Sometimes I forget how blessed we are to live near the beaches of Destin.  People come from all over to vacation here and I can literally drive 10 minutes and be at the most beautiful beaches ever.  So far, I haven't found any beaches as pretty as ours- in my opinion.

Izzy was a little unsure of the sand at first but once she realized we weren't going to carry her all over, she figured it out.  Bonus... this is some great PT for her.  She is getting good at walking on uneven surfaces. The beach sand is great practice for her.

The boys were not afraid of the cold water.  Ryan braved the water up to his knees and I stayed dry up on the sand.  I don't like to get in the water until mid summer.

Ethan and Aiden were great with Izzy.  She could have played for the entire day in the sand.

Ethan taunted the birds with his sandwich.  They were hovering over head in case he dropped anything.

Our happy girl...

This could take hours... Izzy trying to bury Ethan in the sand.

It was also a great day to fly kites.  We all took turns and the kids had a blast!

We have already made another trip to the beach which is a record for us.  Surprisingly, we normally don't get out to the beach as often as we would like.  Now that Daddy is off most weekends, we will have to make this a regular event this summer or at least until Big Kahunas opens up.

FSU pregame

We took a road trip to Tallahassee for the Garnet and Gold pre-season game.  Other than it being really hot... we had a lot of fun! And... FSU won so all the men were happy.
Everyone got dressed in their FSU gear.  Thankfully, I kept some of the boy's jerseys that they had outgrown for Izzy.  We added some girly touches to make it work. 

We tried to get Izzy to rest up since it was going to be a long day.  This nap lasted all of 5 minutes because her brothers turned on some music and Sister woke up dancing.

 The boys carried some footballs in just in case they found someone for autographs.  More on this later...

Sweating but not complaining...

Izzy did great and loved watching all the people around her.

After the game, the boys insisted on finding someone to sign their footballs.  The only problem... we had to run to the other side of the field to catch a few players.  Not an easy task but you do whay you have to do for your kids, right?!?  I also realized that I am that Mom... the boys were very timid and kept backing away to let others in.  Well, I was the one yelling at them to "get in there".  Yep, Mama needed to take a chill pill and get out of the sun for the day.

They did it!!  Being patient paid off.  They got Devante Freeman's signature on their football.  They were super proud!

Our little FSU family leaving the game. 

Not too cool to steal Mama's sunglasses.

We love that Daddy isn't working on the weekends much anymore and we are definitely taking advantage of some family outings.