Ballerina Girl

Summer has just begun, and so has all of the excitement. Pools, parks, scooter's bike rides...so many fun things to do. But today was extra special because it marked the first day of Sophia's ballet/tap class. She was so excited to put on her new leotard with tutu. It was a hot, humid day here today...so I tried to discourage her from wearing her new pink tights that went with her new outfit...but once her mind is set...there is no going back. So there she was...ready to go...tights and all....and I loved every bit of it!





And here she is in a pre-class ballerina pose:



Sophia was definitely excited about this new adventure, but told me many times throughout the morning that she was a bit nervous. I told her not to worry, and that I would be there watching her through the special window. I chuckled at her response, "Mommy, what if you are the only one at the window?" I said "Well, then I will get the whole window to myself to see you!" She replied, " But mommy, who will you talk to if you are the only one there?" I thought it was pretty funny that she was almost more concerned that I might be lonely! :) No worries in that department. Little J was there with me....and his random loud shrieks thoughout the class left myself and the other parents (who were very intently watching their little ones) in plenty of company. Oh my....what am I going to do with this little guy???? No matter what I pack in my Mary Poppins bag...nothing is engaging enough to capture his attention for more than 3 seconds before it lands on the floor with a whack! I LOVED watching Sophia dance and twirl in her little ballet shoes...but I must admit...I probably didn't get to see 75% of the class as Mister required so much attention to keep him entertained or should I say quiet! :) Well I guess we will have a summer to practice!

Needless to say...what I DID see of Sophia's dancing was SUPERB! And no I am certainly not biased am I??? I'm excited to watch her learn all of these fun things. She hasn't taught me any of the moves yet....but she was very anxious to report that her teacher loves chocolate ice cream almost as much as I do! She's so funny! Here is at least one picture I got of her in her class...just look for the one with the bow!



Her "after" class pictures are evidence that she enjoyed her very first class! She told me that the ballet part of the class was her favorite, though I thought those tap shoes were pretty darn cute!




And of course... I had to get a shot of Mr. Mischievous! He was smiling at the girls on the high beam in the gymnastics class!



And last but not least...here is the NEW me after our Vegas trip...



Ha, ha...it's a wig, if you can't tell! Is it me or what???? :)

Good-bye Preschool, Good-bye Twenties....Hello Summer, Hello Thirties!!

Well, we said good-bye in more ways than one today! Sophia said good-bye to her friends and teachers at preschool; and Brett said good-bye to a decade! I can remember sending the pictures of Sophia's last day of preschool last year like it was yesterday. Where oh where did the year go? I can't believe her preschool days are already over. It doesn't seem that long ago that I dropped her off for the very first time....and came back to the car and sat for 30 minutes "just in case" she needed me! She didn't need me though...she has always been my strong and brave girl.

I always like to post a picture of the first day of school and the last so we can see how she has grown. I am sickened that I don't have a picture of her first day ( we all remember the computer crash that occurred mid-year!!!). So I will have to settle with a "close to the beginning of the year" pic and a last day of school pic!





Tonight when I tucked her in... I said "I can't believe you are a kindergardener!" I guess her response made me feel a little better. She said, "Mommy, I am NOT a kindergardener until I GO to kindergarden next fall!" Whew....I guess she is right...we still have a few more months together before REAL school begins. Oh my....I think we will enjoy every minute this summer! :)

I loved Sophia's preschool and felt fortunate that she was surrounded by teachers who genuinely cared for her. My hope for her is that she will look to all of her future school days with the same eager anticipation she had for preschool. I hope she finds excitement in learning and friendships that bring her happiness. Her teachers handed me this sweet poem as I picked her up today...and I think it was a neat way to say good-bye!
Dearest Parents,
"It's time to say goodbye, our year has come to an end. We've made more cherished memories, And many more new friends.
We've watched your child learn and grow and change from day to day. We hope that all the things we've done have helped in some small way. So it is with happy memories, we send them out the door. With great hope and expectations for what next year holds in store."

And last but definitely not least....today was also about Brett. Congratulations on joining the 30's club! I can't believe the boy I once knew as a 5th grader is now a successful builder and a daddy to two (oops..three...sorry, Willie). You may be a little older...., you may have a few less hairs :), but some things never change...you are still a best friend to me. Sophia and Joseph adore you...and I LOVE to see them run to the door when they hear you come home each night. Even though Sophia was up before 6AM this morning... I secretly LOVED that she did it to surprise you for your birthday so that you could see the dress she picked out to wear for you! I LOVE how Joseph screams "Daddyyyyyy" every time he hears a lawn mower or sees a white truck! Your selflessness always amazes me. It was your day today, but at the end of the day... I caught you re-mopping the floors....because you knew how hard I worked to clean them earlier before Sophia tracked sidewalk chalk through the kitchen. You couldn't say thank you enough for the simple things we did for you today. It's our turn to say thank you! Thanks for all you do for us each and every day. I couldn't do it without you!

Here are some pics from your day!
Here is Sophia wearing her special red dress (it fit perfectly with our chick-fil-A birthday theme) when you had your birthday breakfast!


Here is the birthday boy ready for his day



And finally the birthday boy gets some cake!




And of course just a few pics of the party theme. Sophia decided a chick-fil-a party was in order...being that you eat lunch there almost EVERY day. Kinda funny that you chose pizza instead for your birthday dinner tonight. Anyway..hope you enjoyed the chick-fil-a cookies!




So, congratulations to two of my most favorite people! Happy Summer!

Multi-tasking!

"Oh my feeding TWO babies can be sooo much work!"


"My babies need to eat...but I want to play with Joseph! I think I have an idea..."



Now this is much more fun...



Besides feeding babies around here...we have been celebrating mother's day, birthdays, graduations and more birthdays! Tis the season! Here are some other pics from this past week! I forgot my camera to Auntie E's graduation....but Congrats to Nurse Eryn! We are so proud of you... and thrilled to have a nurse in the family :)

We celebrated Mother's day with dinner at our house for our mothers. Sophia gave me a card that turned into a crown to wear for the day! Here are the birdies (brownie pops) that we made for the centerpiece/favors. Too bad they didn't taste as good as they looked!





And... it's kind of silly...but I had to get a picture of this...the first time I ever made a true "lattice" topped cherry pie. Thank you Brett for helping me cut the strips sooooooo straight! Can we start a business together???



Also momentous this week... we decided it was time to make binky a "naptime" /"bedtime" only companion. And I think I am hearing Joseph say some more words as a result...whew..... He has finally added "bye-bye" and "nigh-nigh" to his vocabulary...and I'm pretty sure I heard him approximate "bubble" when he saw some soap suds in the tub tonight. Hooray!

And last but not least....here is little Joe trying to console his sister. She was in the corner for swiping a toy out of HIS hands that he was playing with (even after I told her numerous times to let him play with his toys).... I guess he forgave her pretty quickly!

Growing Pains

It sure is fun to see these little ones grow...but boy is it ever hard to see them hurt! We had lots of doctor's/dentists appointments this week. And though the week is not quite over yet....I guess it is safe to say that we have made it over the hump. The week began with a trip to the doctor hoping to find a cure for Joseph's lengthy battle with what we thought was a nasty cold. The verdict...probably allergies....the prescription....just a spoonful of zyrtec. Poor little guy... so little and already stuck with these nasty Kansas allergies (I'm not admitting that his Willie may be to blame as well). So far, the zyrtec seems to be giving him some relief...and giving Brett and myself some sleep at night. :)

Tuesday was our lucky day... no doctor's appointments that day. We took a trip to the park in our neighborhood to feed the ducks ( I was so happy with myself for remembering to save the bread crusts I normally throw down the drain when I make the kids sandwiches). After we packed the stroller with all of the necessities (you'd think we were taking a week long trip) we arrived at the lake to find no ducks in sight. But a fun time was had at the park anyway! Miss Sophia was pretty tuckered out after riding her bike and playing on the play equipment. She decided a nap in her new sleeping bag was in order!



That brings us to Wednesday. I had been dreading this day for months. Sophia was scheduled to finally receive (after many previous trips for separaters, impressions, etc) her new dental appliance (palate extender) to help correct her apparent cross bite. She was not a happy camper....but who can blame her. There were tears shed and refusals to open her mouth...but in the end, she survived. Poor little girl. We've had lots of ice cream, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and a special treat to her...salmon! Here she is leaving the dentist office. She was even willing to open wide one more time for the camera....hope the picture doesn't frighten you too much!




It's almost over....today both Sophia and Joseph headed back to the pediatrician's office for well-checks. Sophia had her 5 year appointment and Joseph had his (month overdue) 15 month appointment. Well-checks are supposed to be good things right...well, unless you have to get shots. Poor, poor Sophia. This little girl has had a rough week..but she is such a TROOPER! She had to get FOUR shots today. Now I understand why my mother always said "Sometimes life is just not fair." Because getting four shots (two at the same time...one in each arm...by the way) is in my mind inhumane and definitely UNFAIR! She handled it better than I did, though! I'm sure she will have both an achy mouth and an achy arm (from the Tetanus) this weekend! Now.. on a better note....Sophia got a report of good health and here are her stats:
40 lbs (53rd% for weight)
3 feet 6 inches (36th% for height)
And more beautiful than ever!!!



Joseph got the better end of the deal today... if you call getting just one shot better! Here are the little guy's stats:
21 lbs; 12 ounces (10th% for weight)
30 inches (10% for height)
18.25 inches (22% for head circumference)
and of course a handsome little beau!



Whew...hopefully no more doctor's visits for a while! Now let's end on a good note... Here are my two favorite cuties... and the last pic....well thanks to MY mama who taught me how to be a mama to my babies. Love you mama! Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Blossoms

Things have been blossoming around here in more ways than one! It's been a busy week.....I think I may be more excited for summer's arrival than Sophia! Those lazy days of summer sound awfully appealing to me right now!

Sophia celebrated her "real" birthday on Tuesday....no fancy cakes on this day, though...just a plain ole bagel (with cream cheese of course) topped with 5 birthday candles! May all of your wishes come true!



Her day was a pretty busy one...school in the morning and her spring program/preschool graduation in the evening. Oh my.... I'm not sure 4 and 5 year olds are quite ready for "graduation," but I must admit...she was a pretty cute graduate! Here are some pics from the night.



She looks pretty "at ease" here!



Joseph was so excited to see his big sister on stage...and he had a great time waving at her....you can't even tell that he still was not feeling up to par!



And finally... here is the Brave Bear graduate getting ready to hug her teachers and show off her "diploma!"




The week ended with Kindergarten Round-Up! I can't believe this girl is already almost a kindergartener! She was pretty excited about her visit to her new school and happy to show off the new prayer book she received as well as the craft she got to do!



Friday also happened to be May Day...so of course we had a coordinating themed craft planned. Rather than making baskets or May crowns... I thought it would be fun to try making tissue paper flowers! Well, there was no modge podge involved in this craft... so I guess that made it somewhat less appealing for Miss Sophia ( I must admit... it was more of an adult's task), but she sure enjoyed the finished project! She used two of them for "centerpieces" on her tea table in her room!





Finally, our weekend ended with a special photo shoot of Joseph and Sophia. The photographer http://www.jcooperphotography.com/index2.php happened to be one of Sophia's teachers in the Kindermusik classes she participated in a few years back.... She is such a sweet person....she is also an amazing mother, musician, and seamstress. Though the kids weren't as cooperative as I would have hoped (my poor little guy....is still battling the sniffles, and well, Miss P. hmmm...sometimes she can just be stubborn!), they looked adorable in their clothes... and I loved the setting!

I tried to snap a few pictures during the shoot as well... Here are some of Sophia in her sweet white sundress:







And here is the little man...He was determined to figure out how this cute little buggy moved. He gave us some smiles...but we got some tears too!







And...I think we got at least of few of the two of them together! Oh my...what a job! Thanks so much Jenn!