Rain, Sun, More Rain

Our summer vacation has seemed pretty cool and rainy. I'm still living in my jeans (which I don't mind), and the girls have worn shorts a few times. Last Saturday was a day where it would be sunny for a bit, and then a rain shower would move through. Back and forth all day long. We took advantage of the time in the sun, and eventually the girls got out the umbrellas and played in the rain. Late in the afternoon we even saw a rainbow!

Sadie Lady Update

I figured since I updated on the other two girls, I should do one on Sadie. Though she has been three since March, I finally took her in for her three year check just a couple of weeks ago. I was avoiding the clinic during sick season. She did awesome!  She barely cried for the shot I promised she wouldn't be getting.

Here are her stats:

Ht: 37 3/4 inches (75%) And a side note, at age three she is my tallest of the girls at this age!

Wt: 27 1/2 lbs....drum roll please...25%

Developmentally....right on.

Sadie tried putting on her gauchos by herself.. :)

She decided she could get her own cereal above the fridge.

This was easier than pulling up her hood.

Do you sense a little silly in this girl?

We took Sadie for a developmental check/follow up this week. (Two hours away) Not only was she doing everything they were hoping she could be doing, but she flew through it all. The doctor told us that these appointments usually take longer.

She is talking up a storm. Not only does she repeat what she hears her sisters say, but she has plenty of her own things to say as well. She can be shy and quiet, but once she knows you, look out.

One of her phrases that I want to remember - when she wants to push the doorbell, she says,

"I want it to say ding dong."

A Mom?

Driving down the road this week, we had an interesting conversation in the van. It went something like this:

Maisie, "Mommy, I want to be a houser builder when I get older."
Me, "You want to be a houser builder?"
Maisie, "Yes, like daddy."
Me, "Well, daddy does build things, but not houses."
Analise, "Yeah Maisie, I want to be an engineer like daddy, too!"
Sadie, "Mommy, I want to be like you."
Me, "Ahhh... Sadie, you want to be a mom like me?"
Analise, "A mom? What does a mom do?"

So I pulled over and told Analise to walk home.

Just kidding. I simply said, "Analise if I stopped doing everything a mom does for a day, you'd learn quickly what I do."
It's just a good thing she didn't say this on Mother's Day. :)

Finished First Grade

Can someone tell me where this school year went? It seems like Analise just started first grade, and now she's finished! She had a great year. She loved her teacher and got along well with everyone in her class. It was fun to see her writing journal that she brought home on the last day. I enjoyed seeing how her writing improved, but I loved feeling like I got into her head a little bit by reading what she had written about. I wasn't surprised that she wrote about her dad a lot.

She finished the year reading several levels above what is the first grade standard. I am so glad she loves to read!  Her report card looked great and I told her that. However, she wasn't sure she could go to second grade next year. I told her she was, so she felt better knowing that.

Here she is with her school mascot on her cheek. She got it at field day.

 Analise was chosen again (seriously, where does she get her art skills?) to be hung at the art museum.

 Analise was super excited to get her t shirt from finishing a half marathon.

And even more excited when she got her medal for finishing a full marathon!

Analise, I wish I could keep you at this age forever. You are old enough to do things on your own, you love to learn and help with things, you laugh at the simple things, you have good friends, and yet you haven't been tarnished by all the ick and evil in this world. I wish we could hold on to this innocence.

However, I know this isn't possible. So I hope and pray that you will always feel like you can talk with me, but more importantly, talk with God about your struggles. And may you serve Him with the gifts He's given you!

An Analise funny:

Analise and I were sitting on the front porch painting our toe nails. All of a sudden she says, "Mom, look how big your panties are!" I was a little taken aback until I saw her pointing to my peonies. :)

Miss Maisie

Maisie has finished preschool She is pretty sad it's over. She keeps telling me that she misses her teachers. And I might add she has the best three teachers ever. :)

Maisie will go to preschool again next year. She doesn't turn five until August, and my own mother's heart (along with my "teacher's" heart) just knows it will be best for Maisie to be six when she starts kdg.

It was fun to watch Maisie grow and develop this year. At the beginning of the year she didn't care whether she had school that day. That changed to having a very sad girl the days there was no school. Sometime in late February, things began to click for Maisie. She could recognize letter sounds. Her fine motor skills were improving. Even with all this improvement, I am looking forward to her going again next year. And I know she will have a blast, too.

Here she is with Sadie at the top of the tower on her field trip to the park.

Singing her favorite song, "Ten Commandment Boogie"

Maisie helped me plant my flowers this spring.

Singing at her preschool program/graduation.

Maisie, we are so proud of you and love you lots! 

Mom's Day

After my delicious breakfast of peanut butter toast, minus the pickle, we headed to church. We came home from church and enjoyed a simple lunch at home. Going out at lunch with everyone else in town didn't appeal to me.

We had to snap a picture with the three girls who make me a mom!

 Instead of a relaxing day like I dreamt about, we finished all the planting and yard work. We had started on Saturday and enjoyed the beautiful weather while working outside. Analise was gone most of Sat., so Maisie helped me plant my flowers. She enjoyed it for awhile but declared it as hard work. Hah...I told her hard work was daddy emptying a trailer full of dirt. So Sunday we worked in my garden. I knew it needed to be done, but I really wanted a nap.

After Sadie was awake, we went to a local park to take a walk/hike. Silly me, I had envisioned the girls exploring ahead while Brandon and I walked hand in hand, carrying on deep conversation. Like I said, silly me.

When we got to the park, the girls loved getting close to the geese and swan. The swan wasn't too sure about them...

 So our walk looked more like Analise and Brandon up ahead while I hung back with the other two. Though I had to encourage them to keep up, not one girl ever complained about walking! Brandon joked later that we didn't go for a walk but rather stops and breaks. Oh well, we all had fun.

 After the walk we went over to our favorite playground. The girls had lots of fun on the tire swing. Brandon pushed them all over, and I sat back and enjoyed the laughter. It was a moment I wanted to treasure in my heart.

 We went straight to the dinner of my choice: Q'Doba. Everyone is happy to ear there, and there is minimal food help for the girls. We came home and enjoyed the last bit of the wind by flying kites. It was quite comical, but the girls had lots of fun!

I am blessed with a wonderful mom, who showed me what it was like to spend quality time with my girls; a mother in law who raised such a wonderful son; and a husband who is a hands on daddy and helps this mama out.

Mother's Day - Analise style

On Saturday, Analise asked me if she could make toast for me on Mother's Day. I was so touched that she was planning ahead and wanted to make me breakfast. What a sweetie!  So Sunday morning when I came into the kitchen, I wasn't surprised to see Analise at the counter making my toast, along with daddy's help.

They had made me two pieces of toast. One with crunchy PB and one with creamy. The first thing I noticed was that there was a really thick layer of crunchy PB. As much as I love PB toast, I wasn't so sure I could handle a thick layer of it. Not to hurt Analise's feelings, I asked her if she had put the PB on my toast. Nope, daddy did. So now I didn't feel so bad....I asked for a knife so I could scrape some off. But she nor Brandon would let me do that. They just kept saying, "Eat another bite...." So I did, with some minor hesitation...

 And low and behold, that little stinker had hidden a pickle (eeewww!) under the PB. She thought it was SO funny!

I still feel loved....I think. 

Thank goodness for that toast with creamy PB on it. :)

Mother's Day from Maisie

Maisie came out of preschool last week with a beaming smile. She had my Mother's day gift in her hands. She had painted a clay pot and planted two flowers. So pretty! And since it was Maisie's work, I wasn't surprised to see some bling on it.

 The other gift she had made me smile to the core. She had colored a book and answered questions about me. It was priceless!

So on this page, she got a couple of things correct. My favorite hobby is reading books. (And I frequently remind Brandon that  it's a free hobby. :)) My favorite food....I don't know why she picked oranges. I never eat them!

And from this page, I guess she likes my shirts. :) And I will remember to play Hungry Hungry Hippos with her more often. 

Sweetness

I thought this was too cute...

 Talk about a carpool!

 Analise was so excited to get her half marathon shirt. (Side note...the other day after run club, she hops in the van and the first thing she says is, "Well...I ran into a pole." My response was laughter. Some mom I am. :)

 Enjoying some free ice cream cones after a night at the track walking and riding bikes.

 Out of all the toys in our house, they probably play with Little People the most. I love hearing them use their imagination.

 And then the living room looks like this. (And it's not even all the Little People things!)

Resurrection Eggs...

...our version.

The girls love doing the Resurrection Eggs. We try to go through them each night before bed. This year Analise looked up some passages in the Bible and read them to us.  Each daughter took a turn opening an egg and explaining what was in it. I wish I had the their entire version, but this is all I have.

According to Sadie, these are the three pennies (but it sounded like panties every time.)

 According to Maisie, this is the cup because Jesus gave them more food.

 Maisie called this a sling shot, and Sadie called it a hairband.

 Sadie always called these nails, "porcupines."

 And this spear was commonly called a paintbrush by Sadie.

The best part of it all was when we opened the last (empty) egg, Maisie would raise her hands in the air and  pronounce, "Jesus is Alive!"

Of all the eggs to get correct, this was it.

Easter Celebration

He is Risen; He is Risen, indeed!

We started off the morning with donuts and baskets.

Sadie got some new Play Doh. She loves Play Doh!

Analise found a new pair of shoes from the bunny. They are gold, her fave color. (That Easter bunny knows her well. :))

 Maisie also got a new pair of shoes; these are for running and playing outside. (Since she wore her new sparkly shoes outside and ruined them...)

(A total side not here...Saturday before Easter was crazy busy for me, egg hunts, coloring eggs, and baking lots in the kitchen. Finally after the girls were in bed (late) I finally got things collected to put in their baskets. As Brandon relaxed (and I was glad he was) I said to him, "Whoever said the Easter Bunny was a 'he' is mistaken; the mom does all the work."

The next morning, Analise saw a package of Peeps on Brandon's place mat, along with a note from me. She asked me what he got me for Easter. I told her 'nothing' but I was okay with that. Her reply, "But YOU do all the work!"  As Brandon said later, that comment was my gift. :)

I love how Maisie is standing...

And then there is Sadie...

Cute girls with their handsome cousins

After a great church service, we came home quick to finish our portion of the meal, and then we went over to Brandon's parents. We enjoyed all day together. The meal was delicious, the company was great, and the reason to celebrate was the focus of our time together.

Sadie looking for her basket in Grandma's yard

Maisie got a new boat hat. As she ate her goody, Uncle D. said, "Say chubby bunny!"

Family Photo