Giveaway!!

Real quick I just wanted to mention that I am having a Giveaway 

on my Shoepiddy Doos Facebook Page!  

It's just a quick one... ends on May 31st!  If you're interested, 

I'd love for you to check it out!  

Here is a picture of the shoes I'm giving away!  

Go HERE to enter!!

You don't have to "like" my page to enter... 

but I'd be thrilled if you did! :)

A Little of Our Spring

We have been blessed with some lovely weather the past several days. 

 A few light sprinkles of rain, but nothing that

 doesn't dry up fairly quickly.  It has been wonderful to 

take the girls outside to play, a blanket and some toys 

for me and Audra.  Some friends of ours recently gifted us

some outside toys which the girls are just absolutely loving.  

I can't say I'm a huge fan of having giant plastic toys 

in my yard... but hey, it brings my girls joy, which brings me joy!

Not sure what you're supposed to do with a doll 

house outside (I don't like the idea of bringing dolls outside!)...

so Eloise decided it could be bunk beds!  

I thought that was pretty clever, 

and thankfully it holds up when they climb in!  

Just have to make sure it's clear of spiders first! ;)

This little kitchen has been getting a lot of use... 

we've had "mac-n-cheese", "blueberry pie", "pizza", "salad", 

and a plethora of other "delicious meals".

We were able to have a little picnic outside over the weekend.  

Cory was inside with Audra, so the girls and I sat outside 

and talked about what to get him for his birthday.

(Not an easy task, I might add!) 

Several years ago, I had bought some plants to try getting 

a little flower garden started in front of our (hideous) front porch. 

My choice of flowers didn't pan out too well... 

so this weekend Cory dug most of it out 

(except the Rose of Sharon and some iris) and did a little "cleaning up". 

I think it looks pretty nice and simple, considering the 

porch/block in the background.  My mom brought a few 

more hanging baskets, but I took this picture before we got them placed!

And look! 

Hooray!

6 Months!

Our sweet little Audra turns 6 Months old today!

She is very much a mama's girl... 

almost to the point of testing my sanity some days.  

But I do admit, it makes me feel good to be so loved!

 

She sits up on her own and loves to play with her 

toys while watching her sisters.

She gets up about once a night to eat, but thankfully goes 

back to sleep without issue (should I knock on wood?). ;)

She has recently discovered her feet and

 enjoys chewing on her big toe.  

She also has discovered her tongue and likes to 

stick it out at us!

We have her 6 month check up next week,

so we'll see what she weighs and measures for height!

She definitely is no light weight! :)

Having 3 kids has been a challenge for this mama...

but I wouldn't change the past 6 months for anything.

I sure do love them so!

I am not sure if winter knows whether it's coming or going here in PA!  One day it's 85*, the next it's 50*!  Jack Frost stopped by this weekend... but luckily we were able to cover our little garden and everything made it through the night unscathed!  

 

We started some tomato and pepper plants 

indoors this past week and are already seeing some sprouts!

We are all enjoying watching the plants grow and are looking forward to harvest!

Visitors!

One morning last year, I looked out the window to the tree where we hang our bird feeder.... and... it wasn't there.  Baffled, Cory went outside to look for it.  After some searching, he found it quite a ways off of the ground in a pine tree between the neighbors' and our house.  Having heard reports of seeing a bear in previous weeks.. the only explanation we had was that the bear must have gotten it and dragged it up the tree!  We don't live in a very tight neighborhood... there aren't people passing by on the sidewalk or cutting through yards.  So it is unlikely that this was a prank, though I suppose it is possible!  In any case, in an effort to not encourage the bear to stop right next to our house... we decided to put the bird feeder away for the rest of the summer.

Fast forward to this year...

We decided to get the feeder out and once again attempt to hang it on the tree.  The girls were very excited to go out and help Cory fill it with sunflower seeds and watch him hook it to the branch.  Then they came back inside and stared out the window for quite awhile, hoping to catch a glimpse of a bird.

It wasn't until the next day that we started noticing goldfinches.  And I don't mean just a few.  We counted EIGHTEEN goldfinches!  Male and female... but of course, the bright yellow males were more exciting because they are "Mommy's favorite color"!

Then we started noticing some other creatures hanging around (especially at the seeds that dropped to the ground)... so I started taking pictures!

 

Unfortunately, that great big SCARY squirrel seems to be keeping the birds away lately.  But he is still fun to watch hanging upside down from the branch to reach the feeder.  The girls like him, so we continue to fill the feeder.  And thankfully, so far no bears!

Do you put out feeders?  

Have you had any other creatures enjoying the feast?

A Garden to Keep

Cory and the girls went out last Sunday morning before church and put our tiny garden together!

We opted for a kit as opposed to buying the boards and cutting them, etc.  Cory is a math guy and figured out it would be cheaper in the long run.  I trust his judgement!  

So far we have Broccoli, Carrots, Radishes, Beets and Peas!  I'm praying they actually grow... at least some of them.  None of us here have a green thumb... at all!  (Our cabbage already bit the dust... oops!)

5 Months!

We've been MIA as we were all sick for awhile.... but we are finally back to normal!  Well, guess that depends on your definition of what "normal" is - ha!  But I didn't want to go too long with posting about this little sweetie! 

Audra turned 5 months old!

She loves to sit up (still with a little help) and play with her toys.

She absolutely loves Eloise and all of her crazy antics! 
No one can get her to giggle like El!

She recently started taking a pacifier.  We mostly only give it to her when we are going out of the house.  It's a comfort thing and sure helps when I need her to fall asleep at church without a fuss!

At her last appointment (we had her in when she was sick), she weighed 14 lbs, 15 oz. - so I'm sure she weighs more than that now!

Still a mama's girl... :)

You may start noticing that I am going to tag my photos with my blog name.  I know I've posted a TON of photos in the previous years that aren't marked... but I wanted to start marking them.  I honestly wish I would have marked them from day one.  Not that anyone else will take them, but you just never know.  I did actually have a company contact me last year about using a picture of my nephew that they saw on my blog.  They ended up NOT using it... but I appreciated that they asked!

Anyway... so that's that!