Mother's Day

I have been waiting to publish this post until I captured a picture of my children all together. Clearly this was a monumental feat, as Mother's Day was 2.5 weeks ago. 

I confess that I have not been a fan of Mother's Day for a while. Like my birthday, this holiday is a day of reflection for me. Another year has passed. What have I done? How have I improved? What is going well? What is not going well? I seem to get stuck on the first question and the last, focusing on the ways that I fall short, particularly as a mother. The list is lengthy. So this year, instead of having a bad attitude about not being the mother I want to be, I decided to make Mother's Day like my birthday, and make sure my kids were glad, for one day, that I am their mother.

So I bought each child a journal that I intend to write in. I'm thinking of letters on their birthdays, at milestone events, or when I think they might need a boost. I want them to know that they are loved. Even if they don't feel that right now, eventually they will. That little project made me feel better and I thoroughly enjoyed "my" day when I shifted the focus elsewhere.

On Mother's Day I spent some time with the kids, cleaned up the kitchen (hopelessly messy with the remnants of Tyler's "business" assignment for school), and let Garry sleep in. I taught sharing time. Garry fixed a fantastic meal for dinner (it's not often that a new recipe is a hit around here). The kids gave me a necklace and a set of earrings and, ironically, a journal where they all wrote notes to me instead of giving me cards. I love it!! What fun traditions we are starting!

I also celebrated Mother's Day with Gavin and Lexi at school. They both had little programs for the moms, as well as lunch! At Lexi's school, the teacher provided the food, and at Gavin's, I brought a picnic that we enjoyed together.  Both kids gave me sweet treasures, along with the memories of being with them at school.

Lexi's class and art work:

Gavin's class and art work:

I love my kids and sure hope that they know it!

Finally five!

Lexi Lou turned five on May 16th. What a cutie! She counted down the days for three months (since Tyler's birthday) and was amazingly happy when her birthday finally came. Being five is very exciting!



We started off the day, per tradition, with presents. She couldn't have been more thrilled with her simple gifts. She got lots of summer clothes (we have discovered the wonders of Goodwill and the used kids' clothing store...$20.00 goes a long way!), which she modeled for us. The other gift from Garry and me was curtains for her bunk bed. They turn her lower bunk into a fort. She got church and play dresses and sandals from Granny and Gramps, and an outdoor picnic table and some crafty things from Grandma and Grandpa.

Lexi went to school on her birthday, where the class had a little party, complete with the pink-stuffed Oreos she took as her birthday treat. She helped me finish the cake pops, which she chose in lieu of a cake, that I had started the day before.





Because the Fathers and Sons camp-out was that evening, we celebrated the night before with dinner (her choice was homemade pizza, with her favorite sugar snap peas) and treats. When the boys were gone, the girls enjoyed a bubble bath, a movie in my bed, and painting fingernails.







This week Lexi had her final dance performance with Miss Amy's class. The girls performed at a nearby rest home, much to the delight of the residents. Lexi is fun to watch! I need to find a new place for her to dance, as Miss Amy isn't teaching anymore (sad face).






I "interviewed" Lexi on camera today while we sat waiting for the boys after school. She was incredibly wiggly and distracted...I guess it has been a long day!  She made me laugh...the interview captures her cute personality, voice, and mannerisms perfectly, even if she was being a little crazy.



Some things I want to remember about Lexi at age five:

She loves/prefers to fix her own hair (usually "flat," which is code for "not styled or even brushed") and paint her own nails, wears skirts almost exclusively, loves to color and paint, BFFs are Lucy and Kaela, plays "family" (it was called "house" when I was little) quite often, can ride a two-wheeled bike but still prefers her scooter, enjoys picnics and parks and long walks/runs with me, sometimes gets in my bed at night, is a very expressive dancer and speaker, and is generally quite shy in public.

At her check-up this week, Lexi weighed 36.3 pounds (25%) and was 41.8 inches (36%). She's still a teeny little miss, but following her usual curve and developing normally. She is super excited to be grown-up enough for kindergarten in three months! I think she's ready, and I look forward to seeing her grow.

Kate speaks

My daughter is darling. I love the way she talks and what she has to say and her funny facial expressions. This is an impromptu interview with a two-year-old who has a lot of personality and just makes me laugh. That is all.

 Love you, Kate!

Videos of Kate

Kate was charming the other day, so I pulled out the camera.  Perhaps this is video only a mother (or grandmother) could love, but here it is anyway.  I love how her personality comes out in each one.

The first video is in our back yard. It gets a little more interesting after about two minutes.

The last three videos are in the van.  Kate and I were waiting for Zach's cross country practice to end.  She was babbling in the back seat and eventually landed on Pat-a-Cake and her rendition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear book.  With the camera on her, she got some performance anxiety, but I still think she's pretty cute.

Kate crawls!

Well, folks, Kate is officially a crawler!  Here's a cute video with her latest moves:

It's fun to watch Kate cover ground so quickly.  I'm trying savor the moment and enjoy this milestone...and not to get too panicked about how much she'll be into pretty soon.  If Kate's anything like her siblings (of course she is!), life is about to get a bit busier with her helping hands.

In other news, Kate and Garry made a hilarious duo during dessert tonight.  After being camera shy for a few seconds, Kate put on a nice show.  Enjoy.

Two bikes and a baby

Here are some fun videos...one for each boy.

First and foremost: Tyler ditched the training wheels a couple weeks ago! Woo-hoo! In the video he's counting laps around our cul-de-sac. I think he did 36 before taking a rest. Tyler is still working on starting and {gracefully} stopping, but the middle part is perfect!




In July, we visited a park that has a BMX racing track. A boy from our ward brought his bike and let Zachary have a go at the course. He was in heaven! Zach has been begging to go back ever since but somehow we haven't made it. My favorite part of this video is hearing Zach's buddy cheer him on.



And last but not least, this video is just of Gavin being cute. The video is about a month old, but it gives a good glimpse of the silly sounds he makes and how active he is. I love his cute little wave at the end.