"haircute"...the "shriekqual"...

oh my word...

today...

was...

a...

precious...

day...

in...

the life...

of...

madeline meredith's...

hair.

the death of the mullet...

and i say that in the most loving way...because i am her mommy...and i love every square inch of her...even her tragic hair! but i had had enough...and certainly was tired of answering the question as to whether she had cut her own bangs...no, people - have you ever heard of a widow's peak...well, madeline was blessed with a rather large one...and several cow licks to boot!!!!!!
when i picked her up from school, the three little ladies and i headed straight to the salon...as walk-ins! i was desperate...

we needed a major makeover...and we just want the precious little hair to grow!

i think she looks absolutely adorable...and just when i thought it was impossible for this child to get any cuter...well, it happened...she did.

when she was given the mirror to look at her new "do"...she shrieked! she feels just like a princess...and thinks she looks like ella's american doll, kit.

i think she just looks darling...and i couldn't stop kissing her sweet cheeks...she just looks so grown up!

an average albany afternoon...

that is absolutely amazing!!!! how do you like that alliteration?!?!

i feel so truly blessed to live in such a wonderful neighborhood...with wonderful neighbors. our girls have the BEST time playing here...and as a mommy, i couldn't ask for anything better. we had the first few glimpses of spring last week and the girls and i were not going to miss out! we dusted the cobwebs off the barbie mustang...strapped ava into the baby bjorn...and took a spin (ok - lots of spins) around the block!

it just so happened that while we were out cruisin', we met some of those wonderful neighbors who were also outside enjoying the beautiful weather...not every day you get to hang out with a future miss america on the front lawn!!!! the girls were playing and then we heard that familiar sound that can inspire shrieks of epic proportions...the ice cream truck! i'm a sucker for it because i remember as a little girl how excited i would get when i would hear that same sound!!! maddie chose her token character popsicle...and ella chose her token bomb pop! what a fun way to end a super fun afternoon!

we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring around here...and spending lots more afternoons outside!

that was then...

this is now.
even when things don't seem to change...they do.

ava's 1st modeling gig...what a cutie!

sweet baby ava at 4 months...

this little one will make you fall in love with babies...even if you aren't normally a baby person! she is deliriously cute & beautiful all at the same time...has the most precious temperament...nurses like a gold medalist...and has a smile that could melt a polar ice cap!

she has been chewing on anything that comes in contact with her sweet lips, loves for you to "talk" to her, enjoys watching her sisters' antics, weighs 12 pounds 4 ounces and is almost 2 feet long, doesn't mind the least bit spitting up all over everything, has the bluest blue eyes of any price baby as of yet, thoroughly enjoys having her diaper changed, believes with all her heart that bath time must be just short of heaven, wears footed fleece sleepers almost exclusively because who has time for clothes when you have two fast moving older sisters...and is simply...adored.

if i could freeze time i certainly would...because then i wouldn't have to have a heavy heart over the fact that she is already 4 months old...and i wouldn't be able to forget how wonderfully easy ava has been to raise and love. it's not at all that our other sweet girls weren't equally as wonderful and adorable...because oh, they so were...it's just that ava has this captivating ability to make you need to love her...because the want part is already covered. get my drift? it's ok if you don't...you may just need to meet her!

stay tuned for pics from her first photo shoot...the camera must love this little lady too!!!!

mardi gras...mardi gras...and more mardi gras!

wow...this year, the prices surpassed a family record and celebrated mardi gras in a bit of an ongoing fashion!!!! believe it or not...below is a condensed version of all of our fun...in backwards order!

we started off heading out to the "krewe of centaur" parade here in shreveport with the big girls...and gran & poppy kept sweet ava for us! (have i mentioned i have the best neighbors in the world?) it would serve as an "appetizer" for us...just getting the girls primed and ready for the big stuff! we all had so much fun though...and ella & maddie caught on to the whole "throw me something mister" very quickly!!!!!

our next stop would be none other than new orleans! laissez les bons temps roulez!!!!! what an experience! our first parade was friday night and it was FREEZING! i was so worried about ava...but she stayed nice and cozy under lots of blankets...and as you'll see - even "caught" a pacifier!!!!! the akers are seasoned veterans and knew just where to set up...and the kiddos had a blast! however, after one parade...my troops were pooped...so we headed home to rest up for round 2!

saturday was so much fun! the weather was gorgeous and the beads were plentiful! we got to see our friends from D.C. which was a treat! ella really enjoyed catching all of the "stuff"...maddie did too...but they liked getting to sit in campbell's ladder the most!!!!! i believe that we will be adding that to our list of necessities for next year! after the morning parade, we met back up with the akers at the endymion parade...and that was a sight to behold! amazing beads, amazing floats, and amazing fun!!!!! maddie got pelted with a bunch of beads though...and that was it for the prices!!!!! at one point, she said "i don't want any more parades!!!"!

on sunday, we prepared for our final mardi gras celebration...the highland parade! once again, it was cold...but the girls had just enough in them to enjoy themselves yet again! however, after having just been in new orleans...i think they were a bit spoiled!

it was such a fun time being together...spending time with good friends...and celebrating! don't ask me what we are going to do with all of our beads...surely they'll come in handy for something!

enjoy the pics (in backwards order!)...but you may want to grab a snack...there's a bunch!!!!