5 week pre school=happy kids!!

I have to get over the fact that they are growing up! I have to say though I am SO happy that I didn't send Avery to pre K this year. I contemplated a lot but in the end decided to keep her home one more year before she is shipped to the wolves for the next 12 years. I have loved this year so much with Avery and Thomas here together. They have had a blast. I did however think it would be great for them to do a 5 week program through a high school here in Madison. It is the greatest program and the kids are having a blast together....

The first day they made T shirts and learned about germs etc. Today a fireman came and taught them fire safety amongst other things. It is a well structured program. Thomas can't wait for the petting farm(they bring animals to the school that the kids can pet) Anyways I guess it helps me cut a cord and is prepping me for the dreaded day when Avery head to Kindergarten. She will love it though. I will miss her a lot.

Only bad thing about school for Thomas was that he didn't get to ride the school bus. He kept asking me why I was taking him and not the school bus. As you can see in this picture...he got over it real quick:) Check out that happy face! What can I say...I love my kids!

Workout crew....

I couldn't imagine any better view while working than my little Brynnley. She has found her new favorite toy. She literally jumped on this little kids trampoline for 20 straight min. She giggles and jumps while I am on the treadmill. I love it!!

When Brynnley tired out, Thomas wanted to show me his workout moves! He was so cute. I love spending anytime with my kids so I am glad that we can make it fun together while I try and get some exercise.

Easter with a trick!!

So the day started with an Easter egg hunt. The kids were so excited that the Easter bunny came to visit our house. Avery wanted to know how big he was and had many questions about him/her. It is so fun to see the kids excitement.....I remember those days so well and now get to live them through my own children. I thought I would have some fun this year with the kids and play a little joke on them.........description below.....It is still April after all(the month of joking)!!

Can you believe it....the Easter bunny left a trail of bunny droppings on our kitchen floor. At last we have evidence that the Easter bunny came into our house. You should have seen the kids faces. I told them to get a closer look and with hesitation they scoped it out.

So I am the off spring of my mother and had to take it a little further by taking a bite of one the bunny droppings. I thought Thomas was going to die. He yelled, "mom that is not good for your body."(covering his face in disgust) His face is forever engraved in my head and I am still laughing about it. I quickly told them it was "coconut no bake cookies" and gave them one to eat. Avery was all about it but it took Thomas some coaxing to eat one. When he did he said they were really good. So much fun! Mom you would be proud. I know you would have laughed your head off at the kids reactions!

We had a lot of fun today but I can't wait to start some new traditions tomorrow as we celebrate the true meaning of Easter and talk with the kids about why we celebrate Easter and teach them about the life of our Savior Jesus Christ and that he lives!!

Happy Easter!!!

Moments at Costco....

Today I went to Costco...one of my favorite stores(warehouse I should say). Any whoo we were shopping and sampling when one of the sample ladies said, "You sure have well behaved, polite kids....I am very impressed....you are doing a great job with them." I may not always feel that way but it was nice to hear from a complete stranger. It was funny though because as we were walking out of Costco, people were smiling at us(mostly at the kids) and one lady said, "You sure have your hands full." She said it as though I had a herd of children behind me. It's like having three kids these days equals 5. I wanted to say, "actually I have two kids that are walking behind me(in a straight line I might add) and one sitting quietly in the cart and my hands are completely free." But I smiled instead and said, "yup." I haven't gotten the "you have your hands full" comment for awhile so I suppose it was time. It cracks me up more than anything. I take the 3 kids everywhere. Maybe I am crazy:). They for the most part do really well and I enjoy it.

I am off to eat some of the best looking strawberries from Costco that I've seen in awhile. I love that they are in season again!

"I am a man!"

So I was organizing and packing a few things that were in the basement today. I got occupied organizing my innovation station into my adorable new containers and jamming to some good tunes when I realized Thomas had been going up and down the stairs quite a bit. I went up stairs to find what you see in these pictures. He had brought up over 40 cans from my food storage and placed them into a box that he put together up stairs. I asked him what he was doing and he responded, "I am a man and I am packing." After a good laugh and some pics, I told him he needed to stop packing but kept telling me that he was a man and was so strong. Needless to say, after getting in the car an hour later to do some errands, he was fast asleep. I am glad to know that I will have and extra "man" around when we officially move in a few months.

I love...

Avery:
I love how Avery tells me she loves me 20 times a day
I love that she cleans up her room without being asked
I love the she will eat almost anything I give her
I love her sensitivity
I love how she is always willing to help and rarely complains about it
I love her desire to make friends
I love how she watches out and takes care of her brother and sister
I love the she loves PINK
I love that you will never find her with at least one necklace but most of the time it's at least 3(most of which she made)
I love how if I yawn she quickly asks me if I am crying and is so concerned(every time)
I love when she is super chatty and says,"Mom, let's talk"
I love when she talks like she is 10
I love that she asks me every night what we are going to do the next day
I love that she is so easy to take anywhere
I love how she always finds a way to brighten up my day

Thomas:
I love his imagination
I love how he loves to figure things out and explore
I love how his smile melts me
I love how when he does something wrong he quickly says,"I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean too"
I love how easily he makes friends
I love how he can't live without his sisters
I love how excited he is for school(I just don't want him to go)
I love how protective he is of Brynnley and often tells her he loves her
I love how much he idolizes his Dad
I love how he tells me he is going outside to find dinosaur eggs(hasn't found one yet, but he is convinced)
I love how he is convinced he is turning 5 and not 4
I love how he tries to convince me why he should stay up longer some nights
I love that he does certain things because that is how stegosaurus does it
I love how when he accomplishes a physical task he tells me how big and strong he is
I love that today he told me his body wants to have a stomach ache and gas so he needs candy(I tell him he will get a stomach ache if he eats too much and well the gas part comes from the male species) I have realized his body talks to him a lot.
I love this boy!!

Brynnley:
I love how Brynnley bows her head when I am getting her out of her highchair so I can take her bib off.
I love that she bounces in her crib every time I put her to bed like it's a trampoline
I love how when the kids get her out of trouble and onto the couches she bounces away and stays there(sometimes being annoyed)
I love her big bright blue eyes
I love when she smiles and scrunches her nose
I love her fake laugh and adore her real one
I love when her face lights up when she sees her mom
I love that she says "Da Da" when the garage door opens
I love that she doesn't have stranger anxiety(well not yet anyways)
I love that she has hair that I can put clips in:)
I love how much she loves Avery
I love how she already loves to play with Avery and Thomas(in fact she was laughing when she and Thomas were wrestling the other day)
I love when some of the simplest things make her laugh really hard
I love how she reaches out her hand when she wants you to come get her
I love her hand motions when I sing patty cake
I love that I get to raise this sweet little girl

Just a few reason why I love my children as I think of them today. I am so blessed and try not to take a day for granted that I have them. Being a mother is a full time job. It's a job I don't take lightly. It's not always easy but the good days out weigh the bad and make it all worth it. I sometime wish they could stay little but I also am enjoying them grow up. I will never understand how some mothers can abuse this right and privilege. Children are precious. I think children show what true unconditional love is. I love my children and am grateful to be their mom.

So is it Christmas or Easter...I'm confused!

Today's weather was crazy here in Madison. I think we got everything that mother nature can throw at you except sunshine. We had rain, snow, hail, sleet, and thunder. Spring come back!

A few kid quotes from the past few days.....

Avery: "Dad, will you be a jungle gym?"(as soon as he gets home he pretty much is)

Avery: "Thomas I have helped you so much today that your giving me a headache"

Avery: "Oh, Brynnley is crying for me.....darn, she just said ma ma"(she was so excited that Brynnley might be wanting her and not me)

Avery: "Mom if your making enchilada's for dinner, I will choke because I am allergic to them"(this is my girl that eats everything but has decided she doesn't like anything wrapped with a corn or flour tortilla...she does end up eating it and somehow manages to get past those allergies!!)

Thomas: "Did Jesus make our car out of bones?"

Thomas: "Mom, my body is telling me I need some yogurt"

Thomas: "Mom if my tooth breaks then the tooth fairy will just bring me some money"(he did crack one of his teeth on a hard candy so I told him he can't have hard candy anymore. Well he wanted a sucker and told me the above quote thinking I would tell say,"great idea Thomas, go ahead and chomp that sucker!") He also told me the his dinosaurs chomp their candy too.

Just a few that I can remember from the mouth of my babes in the past few days. Thought I would jot them down before I forget. They say so many funny things throughout the day and I wish I could remember them all! I love the innocence and conviction in the things kids say.

Rubbing alcohol or deodorant??

So I read somewhere(a fairly reputable place) that rubbing alcohol was a good replacement for deodorant. Weird right!? I thought the same. However you know me, I am all about experimenting. I chose a day where I would not be around people(but my kids...and well, they love me no matter how I smell). But it actually sorta worked! I mean not perfectly but I was surprised. I don't think it will be my regular regime, but I may use it from time to time. I dislike the residue deodorant leaves! Just an FYI I thought I'd share.

Side note the next day....

After trying it again I put a tiny bit of deodorant, it was perfection! The only thing I didn't like about it the first day was that it didn't prevent you from sweating the whole day. It did eliminate any odor though. So adding a dab of deodorant with it the next day(even when working out) it worked so good. My girls will never sweat or smell:). Ha! Yeah right.

Car smoothie anyone???

I came downstairs to see Thomas making me a car smoothie. It's quite simple really....add two cars and a full cup of cold water and voila.....

a delicious car smoothie made by his truly!

FYI....motor to the blender was not in reach so no cars or hands for that matter were harmed!!

Asparagus....how I love you...and now Thomas does too!!!

So this is what we had for dinner...good 'ole spaghetti and asparagus. So I looked at Thomas's bowl to see where he was with his dinner as the rest of us where about finished. I noticed two delicious sprigs of asparagus. I kindly told him he had to eat those if he wanted some dessert. He told me he didn't like them. It has been awhile since he had scene asparagus as I typically buy produce in it's season(and I am so glad to have it back....YUM). Anyways we don't force food down the kids throats that they really don't like, we just make them try it or threaten them with no dessert(the later works most of the time). I decided to play a game with him. He has a great love for dinosaurs so I thought I would tell him that it was dinosaur food(he knows that some of them eat"greens") so he grabbed the sprigs and started calling himself some dinosaur(I don't remember which one as he knows most of their names and I don't) and he gobbled them down like it was an ice cream sandwich. That's not all, he asked for more and continued to eat 5 more. Ha! Just had to document where he gets his love for vegetables(a tricky mom). One of his favorites is broccoli and lettuce. Oh I am proud to call him his mothers boy!

See he LOVES his dinosaurs. I got him a book that is for bigger kids that can read but thought he would love the pictures. It's cute because he likes me to read it to him and loves to listen even though he may not fully understand the bigger words. I also know that I demolish their names. How did they come up with some of the tongue twisting names that they give each dinosaur anyways?? As I write I have a live dinosaur in my house growling at Avery and giving me a headache!!

President Gordon B. Hinkley....what in impact he left on this earth!!

I was thinking about this dear man this morning and was reading some of the many words of wisdom that he left for us read and ponder. He was an inspiration to who crossed his path. He truly made a difference on this earth and wanted us to make a difference too. Here are just a few of the many inspiring words he left for us to continually follow....

"Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Mediocricy will never do. You are capable of something better."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"God has brought us together as families to bring to pass His eternal purposes. We are part of this plan in this marriage relationship. let us love and respect and honor one another. We can do it, and we will be the better for it."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"There are four pillars to a happy marriage: respect one another as individuals; (give) soft answers; (practice)financial honesty; (conduct) family prayer."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Forget yourself and get to work."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Knowledge without labor is profitless. Knowledge with labor is genius."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"I have now been an officer in this Church for a very long time. I am an old man who cannot deny the calendar. I have lived long enough and served in enough different capacities to have removed from my mind, if such were necessary, any doubt of the divinity of this, the work of God. We respect those of other churches. We desire their friendship and hope to render meaningful service with them. We know they all do good, but we unabashedly state—and this frequently brings criticism upon us—that this is the true and living Church of our Father in Heaven and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"In all of living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed not just endured."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

Okay I better stop now. I love this man!! He was a great influence in my life. I miss his sense of humor and positive outlook even after his sweet wife and companion left his side. He never skipped a beat. He was a true man of God!!

Also wanted to post some quotes from Harold B. Lee. A man I would have loved to know!

“Parents, remember that now is your opportunity. You may feel yourself harassed as you struggle through the days with children, but you are living the happiest and most golden years of your life. As you tuck them into their beds at night, please be kind to them. Let them hear a kind voice amid all the angry, vile voices that they will hear throughout life. Let there be an anchor to which these little ones can turn when all else fails. The Lord help you do so…” ~Harold B. Lee

The most important work you will do for the Church will be within the walls of your own home.~President Harold B. Lee

I am grateful to be able to be strengthened by a living prophet and prophets that have passed on. It truly is a guide for me as a mother, wife, daughter, and friend and inspires me to be a better person. When I listen to or read the words of these great men, I feel like I can tackle life and the trials that can come along with it. Without the gospel in my life I know I would fear more as a mother raising these beautiful children in such an evil world. I know that it is through the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that I can go forward in raising my children in faith and happiness.

I know they will succeed.

Busy little bee!!

If there a drawer, bin, or trash can that needs emptying.....Brynnley is on the job. Who needs toys!! This little girl figures out everything. She has conquered the drawer locks and even the garbage can lid is no job too difficult to tackle for Brynn(I even struggle to open the trash can when it's on off mode). These are just a few of many pics of Brynnley's playtime. It cracks me up as the kids now have figured it is their duty to pull her away from the "no,no" areas. They always seem to pull her away and place her on the couch(jail), where she jumps and squeals. Oh how we love this little girl! We can't get enough of her even if she does add a bit more to my daily to do list!! We love you Brynny!!

Isabella....

Sunday was a beautiful spring day so we took the kids on a stroll around the block. As we got outside there was a little girl named Isabella(who is 4) and the kids started talking to her. Wouldn't you know that as soon as we are leaving we get a cute little neighbor girl that the kids can play with. Anyways, We said goodbye and left for our walk. When we got back she was asking if they could play. We nicely told her that Sunday was our family day and that the kids needed to eat dinner and were soon going to be going to bed. So the next day that is all the kids talked about. Asking me constantly if they could go over and play with Isabella. I let them ring the door bell as I wanted to meet them as well but they weren't home. I told the kids we would make cookies and bring them over the next day but again no one was there. Well as soon as Eric got home tonight, we ate dinner and took the kids to the park. There was a mom and daughter sitting at a picnic table a little ways from us. Avery told me she wanted to go talk to them and see if the little girl wanted to play with her. She said,"mom, it's Isabella" I told her it wasn't but that she could go over and talk to them....to my dismay it actually was the infamous Isabells...how could I ever doubt my daughter;). Avery went over there and talked her and her mom and then they were all off playing. The kids were so excited that they found Isabella. Thomas kept saying,"we rang your door bell and you weren't home." We introduced ourselves to Isabellas mom(who is super nice) and found out they were recently divorced and Isabella is at her Dad's house 2 days a week. She is a cute little girl and the kids are so excited to have a little friend nearby. My kids LOVE making new friends and do so very easily. Avery is not shy at all(which surprises me sometimes) and will walk up to kids all the time and they are off playing. She reminds me a lot of how I was as a kid. I think she is going to be very social like I was. I sometimes go to a mall here in Madison where there is a big play area and always kids to play with. I just love to watch the kids interact with other kids. It cracks me up. As soon as we arrive they have someone picked out to play with. Most of the time they all play together with a group of kids they have pulled together but there are times when Avery finds a girl to play with by herself and Thomas has found a little boy to play with. He cracks me up because he just calls them friend so he'll yell,"friend come get me over here," It is fun watching them grow up and see their personalities develop even more. I am glad they now have a new little friend next door to play in the pool and sandbox this summer until we leave. I am definitely going to have to make sure they don't knock on her door ever time they go outside. Bring on Summer!! I am enjoying the warmer weather and most likely made my last batch of soup the other night until winter appears again(let's not go there). I had to make Avery favorite "apple soup" to end our soup days. Oh you should have seen her face when I told her that is what we were having. It is an Indian soup that is actually my new favorite too. I may have to make it one more time though...after all, it is suppose to rain all weekend:0

Don't mess with me!!!

So we sent this out to some of our family members knowing they would get a good laugh. What they all don't know is that Thomas and Avery were playing with the cardboard tube part of the an empty paper towel and as they were playing around I asked Thomas to smile for a picture and that is what I got. Yup....all boy!! After I took the picture he looked at it and said,"Mom, do I look like super man." He used to use the these phrases a lot when he was 2, "you make me happy" or "you make me sad." Thomas you make me happy!!

Best Buds!!!

These two amaze me with how they can be together all day without getting sick of each other. Of course they have their days(what kid or adult for that matter doesn't) but they really do have a special bond. I could have never imagined how wonderful life would be having these two so close together. That's why I always say Heavenly father knows best! I love hearing their "pretend play" on a daily bases. Often times I heard them say,"Mom" and I will ask them what they need and they say,"mom, we are just pretending." They both have an amazing imagination and feed off each other. They make life so much fun. They are pretty much twins. They weight the same and are about the same height so I get asked from time to time if they are twins. Anyways, I am so glad that I kept Avery home this year instead of sending her to pre school. It has been a great year having the two of them home together before Avery heads off to Kindergarten in the fall. I will many stories to tell them when they get older of their sweet friendship. I hope this friendship continues. I have a feeling it will! Their personalities are such that I don't see it any other way. Either way I am enjoying it now!

When did they grow up so fast! Thomas is Mr. independent and has been for a long time. I love this picture of him making his sandwich. You can't see it unless you click on the picture but is sticks his tongue out when he is concentrating. So cute! Yesterday he was a stinker though and wouldn't listen but I figured out what would really pull those heart stings with discipline as he isn't taking the stairs too serious. I needed something new to let him know I am not messing around. I sometimes wonder if I am too hard on him for his age(I often think he should act like an older kid because he is big for his age...3 almost 4 but not 5, even though he tells everyone he will be 5 like Avery). I wonder if he always feels like he is the one getting in trouble because I really don't have to discipline Avery. Not sure why hasn't picked up on her example:) I also know he is capable of responsibility and should learn it young before I really can't get through to him. Anyways today I threatened and FOLLOWED through with taking toys away(this kid adores every toy he owns...he literally plays with all of them during the week, leaving out non of them). So I asked him put his toys away in his room a time or two or three. He seemed to not "hear" me each time so I took away his REX from toy story that he also loves and you would have thought I ripped out his heart. I talked to him about what the consequences would be if he didn't do as I asked. I tell you, so far so good. Sometimes I pray to know how to handle each child with their unique personality and needs. I don't like to raise my voice or show anger(which I will admit happens...I thought I was a very patient person until kids came along)needless to say, I am trying new ways of discipline and trying to do it in a more positive way. After explaining to him that this would happen every time if he did something that was worthy of discipline. He has turned up his hearing senses up and seems to be hearing what I say now. We shall see what the days to come bring. I just know he will be a great influence to many in his life and I want him to be the best he can be. I love him too much to not. He is such a boy though and a sweet one at that. I love him and am grateful for all that he teaches me. It's amazing how much we can learn from our little ones. Being a mom is not always easy, but it comes with so many rewards. I love how you can always leave yesterday behind and start new today. Today is a good day:)

I have not forgotten about my Thomas!!!

Most of the blogging thus far is about my girlies because it has been all about them the past few weeks with their birthdays but Thomas is a Big part of our family. He is all boy but at the same time is a sensitive little guy. The other day he came downstairs and said, "Mom, Mom, you are beautiful." I thought he was going to ask for a snack or something so that was a pleasant surprise and we'll after saying that, he could have had whatever he wanted;). He tells us all individually and out of the blue that the loves us and he always says, "Mom, Brynnley is so cute." He makes me smile and I love him so much! These pics are of Thomas after smoothie night. I know it looks like tar, but it was a berry/spinach smoothie and Thomas thought it made the best mustaches. So here he is with all his morning hair glory!! Some mornings I call him alfalfa!!

Disgusting!!

Okay, so you see that adorable face....we'll Dad took the kids to get some chocolate eclair custard from Culvers(so yummy and should not be apart of this story), while I stayed back to get Brynn bathed and in bed so she would be rested for church in the morning. Well, as she was playing and jabbering in the bath tub, I went to get her jammies. After what seemed like seconds I was back and she was eating/spitting something out. I got closer and realized it was a little piece of #2 that must have slipped out in the relaxing warm water. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought, do I wash her mouth out with soap??...I love kissing that mouth...so I did. Just a tiny bit of baby wash around her mouth and lot's of CLEAN water for the inside of her mouth. This is a first with my kids. Despite being totally grossed out, I somehow still managed to eat the custard that Dad and the kids brought home for me and it was sooooo good!!

Brynnley's 1 year old pictures....

I am actually pretty excited to finally join the blogging world. I have felt like it was something I should and wanted to do. I was having problems with downloading. The pictures were downloading ginormous and I just didn't have the time to put all together. I finally made it a priority and when that happens, things get done. I feel it will be great for my kids to have someday(and it is safer here than on written journals if something were ever to happen) and I want our family and friends to be able to see the kids grow up as we don't live close to most of them. Hopefully you enjoy taking a gander here and there into our lives. Life is good. The Lord has been so good to us. We look forward to all our future adventures and hope to capture most of them so you can join too:). My goal is to post weekly. I think that is doable right. Ya never know it may even be more frequent now that I have this whole blogging thing down. Stay tuned!! I think I can actually publish them as books in the future too! I am hoping to start a recipe blog so I can compile all my favorite recipes and creations into published cookbook too in the end. So I am hoping that is true.

The last few weeks have been full of birthday celebration. I must say I love having spring birthdays. Brynnley Jean was born a year ago at 5am on the 26th of March. Where did the year go?? She has been such a joy to have in our home. She is definitely not hurting for love around here. From day one her older sister and brother loved her, smothered her, and wanted to protect her. Just the other day she and Thomas were wrestling and she was actually laughing instead of crying for help from the big brother squeezes. It was a fun sight. Brynnley is the happiest little girl(esp. with those front teeth inn now), she is full of life, loves to babble(she has the greatest laugh in the world) and she is into EVERYTHING. If there is something to be emptied, she on the task. I will post pics of the already large collection of pictures we have of the messes she has created from emptying drawers, garbage cans, and books etc. In fact ever time she is at the garbage can she says "no,no." It is already fun to see the bond she and Avery have too. Avery is always looking out for her. In fact the other day Avery was so distraught that she couldn't find a lego piece that fell into the shag rug and she as afraid that Brynnley would find it and choke. I often find the kids in Avery's room(Brynn and Avery share a room) in the morning playing with toys together as they hand them to Brynnley in her crib. We are so blessed to have this beautiful little girl in our family. We love you Brynn Brynn!! Oh and the last picture was of Brynnley crying. She had a rough day on her birthday so we all sang,"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to"...she did and that was fine:). I was her day after all. I love how focused Avery is in the last picture. That is so her. Staying on key...cool as a cucumber!

Brynnley's first birthday. It's hard to believe my baby is one.

By the way...the picture with all three kids in it where Thomas looks like he is going to bawl his eyes out...well, he is a big time picture poser and is always making expressive faces when I say smile. Just a little FYI as you will see many pictures like that of Thomas. He was actually laughing right before I took the photo and when I said to smile, that is what I got.

More detail are below on Avery's birthday but here on some pictures of our princess Avery's Golden birthday. She was born on 4-5-6 coming into the world 10 days early. What a blessing to have her start our family. She is such a great example to her two younger siblings(even though she and her younger brother Thomas weight the exact same, she is still older), she is the best helper, and is just a happy little girl. There are so many things I love about this girl. I love her smile, her relationship with her best friend Thomas, her imagination, her sensitivity to others, her hugs, and much much more....We love you Avery!!

Avery

I am still cracking up at the conversation I had with my daughter this evening. We sang the song,"I love to see the temple," after which she told me she didn't want to get married because she doesn't ever want to have to kiss anyone other than mom and dad. We talked about it and then she said,"I do want to have children but they will tell me that I am old". The conversation went on and I left her room laughing. She is growing up so fast. Where do they come up with these things?? She is now 5 and so proud of it. She is already talking about turning 6. Ease up!! I am not ready for my little girl to grow up. Now on to her birthday festivities.....I must say she had quite the "golden" birthday. I took for a "mini" manicure and pedicure(you should have seen her glowing). I loved every minute of our little date together as well. She is so much fun to be with and would be. She kept saying,"now where should we go." Eric and I have decided to make it a tradition to have one of us take the birthday child on a special "birthday date"(Thomas has his already planned with Dad in June). It doesn't have to be anything grand, it is just taking out the time to be with that child to talk, laugh, and well, make them feel special. Avery was so appreciative of her day out with me and kept thanking me for it. On her actual birthday I made her a castle cake that I was hoping would translate to life as good as it looked in my head. She loved it and that's all that matters. We then took her to Red Robbin when Dad got home from work. The big red bird was there in person and the kids loved him or her(I'm going to call it a she). Avery wanted to take her home so I said that would be great if it slept with her and she told me that wouldn't great because it's eyes don't close and it would stare at her all night. The grand finally of the birthday festivities was her friend party two days after her real birthday. It was filled with cupcake decorating, and an ice cream cone pinata that would have taken hours for the candy to burst out had we not torn the thing apart by hand:). All her best buddies were there and they all had a blast and she was worth all the effort to make her golden birthday a good one. She is such an amazing little girl with so much love. She is so sensitive to my needs and pretty much always helps me out without complaining...no joke. I must say though...I don't want to see any cake until June!

I am giving blogging another shot! I feel like I need to document my kids while they are little. I write in their journals every week or two or three, but the more they have on their childhood the better. I also have it on my to do list and I am bumping it up and ready to cross it out:). I typically don't like to do lists anymore because I try to do it in a day(and there are only 24 hours in a day) so I try to stay realistic and I think keeping up a blog can add to my load:)