End of Year Report Cards

Here are the end of the year report cards for Gabby and Lilly. Gabby did an excellent job this year. We are very proud of her. We are also very proud of Lilly. She has had a lot of transitions all at once and is doing well. She started school, got potty trained (most of the time), learned all her ABC's, and had to learn to leave "Pink" at the house. She is sleeping in her own bed (until at about 5:30am when she sneaks up the stairs and wakes me up and wants to cuddle) and is learning to share. Lilly is a rough one and is very different than Gabby. In many ways, we are learning things for the first time. She catches on very quickly and is very independent. She is her own person. She has tantrums that are outragous and can be trying at times but is also a very loving child. She needs to learn to stay in her seat (which sounds easier than it actually is) and to not bite her sister when they are playing but overall, she is doing a great job. She started school and potty training 6 mos before Gabby did and so when I think about how far she has come and how young she still is, I am amazed by her. She has the best smile, beautiful curly red/blonde hair and is the kid that loves anything green! Both of our girls enjoy going to school each morning and I know they are getting a good education, quality care and are loved by their teachers.

The Official Graduation Photos

I know this is a lot of Graduation all at once...but the school graduation photos did not turn out so well. So....we had a few taken at our home. These turned out pretty good (thanks Jocelyn) and so I thought I'd share the official pics.

Love our Gabby

We are very proud of Gabby. She has overcome so much in her short 5 years and approaches life with such spunk and spirit. She is smart, witty, funny and very articulate. She loves to listed to stories, create stories with her barbies and swing. She loves to put on her cape and transform into Queen Elsa and most of all, she is a truly loving and sweet girl. Congrats Gabby and we are very proud of you. She is excited for 1st grade (room 6) because they get to do arts and crafts every day!

Graduation Day

Can I just say...one proud mama today. Gabby graduated from Little Red School House this morning and quite a celebration was had. She wore her favorite white dress (1st picture was leaving the house). Then she put on her cap and gown and was ready to go. The 1st grade class puts on show before the graduation and that was very cute - patriotic theme this year. Anyways, Gabby got to sit by her good friend Sina and did a great job when they called her name. Lots of pics afterward with grandparents and friends. Best part of all was the giant chocolate cake! Ann brought a picture of Gordon when he graduated from the SAME school 40 years ago!!!! The sign has been updated a little :)

One of the Animals at our House

A few fun pics from the weekend. Maddy and I were playing with our animal collection and she decided it was funny to sit in the box with the animals - I guess she is used to living amongst them :) Madeline got a water table for her birthday but all the kids are enjoying it. Lilly was playing out in it the other day and a it was too funny to watch her fight with a bee. The bee kept buzzing around her and the table and she was trying to gt him with a plastic straw. The pictures don't show it as well but it was hillarious. Last picture is of Maddy eating dinner yesterday. She is small but eats pretty good food. She is really enjoying her brocoli and avocadoes. She eats a lot of strawberries and blueberries as well. She us getting pretty good with the fork and tries to use it to pick up her food.  She is practicing standing without holding onto anything and thinks it is fun to roll around on the bed and couch.

Friday Night Tradition

We have started a Friday night tradition of "Movie Night". The girls and I get blankets, pillows, Pink, Old and some booty and lay on the floor adn watch a fun movie. We have watched Frozen 2 times in a row! Time for a new movie....but the girls really enjoy it. It's a fun way to detox after a long week and all be together. Maddy loves the booty and loves to climb all over her sisters and play with them.

Cowgirl #2

LRSH has pony pictures every year. I couldn't resist this picture. How cute it Lilly? She loves horses and is very comfortable on them. The pictures are really good and the shadow is only when I took the picture with my phone in my car :) Anyways...She is turning into a kid who loves school and actually runs to Ms. Isabelle now and leaves me behind at the door. I think she is getting more and more comfortable with everything. Potty training is going well...except for a hiccup last week but that's why they keep us on our toes!

Happy Mother's Day

We had a fun filled weekend. The girls had a birthday party on Saturday and then Sunday - the older 2 girls hung with mom all morning. We went and got the car washed (which is actually a favorite thing to do because they get lollipops), went to the store to get Aunt Susan a gift, went to the park and finished the morning off with a trip to Costco. The girls really like going to costco for the samples. Yes, I am one of those moms....but they really like it and they get to try things that we don't usually have at home. It's amazing, Lilly ate more green salad yesterday with seaseme salad dressing than I thought she would and Gabby ate a spinach and cheese ravioli. We made it home just in time for a good nap. Then we had family and friends over for a wonderful Mother's Day BBQ. It was perfect weather and it was a wonderful evening. As you can see in this picture - Gabby is really into Frozen and her blanket is her cape as she is Elsa :) It is fun to watch her imagination develop and for her to explore that side of her personality. The best part of it all is that she made me a special Mother's Day book in which she colored every page. She reads me the story before bed and it's all about love. I am truly a lucky mom!

This picture was what I came home to on Saturday. I had to go to a funeral and right before the service was to start, I got word that Lilly couldn't locate pink. Anyone that knows Lilly knows that she LOVES that pink blanket. She is OK with not taking it in the car or to school but when it's nap time or bed time - pink needs to be there. Well, on Saturday - there was NO pink. Gordon tried giving her a substitute but nothing would do so she proceede to scream for 2 hours. I walked in the door and the first thing she did was start crying that she couldn't find pink. Gordon raced out the door to try to go buy another pink blanket. I walked around the house and was lucky enough to locate pink...in the ottoman in the office! Gabby later said "I should have remembered where pink was because I hid her there". Oh, the joys of parenthood. BUT in Gabby's defense, she was not in any state to think about pink. As Gordon was bringing the girls home from the birthday party, Gabby got out of the car and closed the car door hard.....right on her thumb! I don't have a picture of it but I am not convinced it is not broken. She cannot bend it and it looks painful. A big cut, lots of blood and lots of tears. No wonder she didn't recall that she had hidden pink, and where it was! So once Lilly had pink, she was quiet but the look on her face in this picture says a lot, she was NOT happy.  Parent blogs always say to have 2 of the favorite thing a kid gets attached to - and I would say they are right.  Maddy was a trooper through all of this but now I think she is either fighting a summer cold that is working its way through my house and/or she has 2 teeth popping through. I look forward to the end of the teething process! She is getting more and more confident with her standing and is now letting go. She will stand up, let go and then fall and then squeal with delight. She loves it, especially as she is playing on the couch. She will be walking soon - but whenever it happens it will be just fine with me!

Maddy Turned 1!

Maddy is 1 year old! Amazing.... It is hard to believe a year ago she popped out of my stomach - literally. We had a wonderful party on Saturday with lots of family and friends and kids to honor Madeline. She did a great job of hanging in there with no nap. She was great the whole party and then she started to fade, Gordon said we better do whatever celebration we were going to do as she was falling asleep in his arms. So we plopped her in her highchair and gave her an ice cream sundae - stuck 3 candles in it (but only was able to get 1 lit) and sang happy birthday. She had a couple bites of ice cream and she perked right back up! She lasted until 7pm that night :) She had a blast making a total mess with her ice cream. It was a fun filled evening with lots of laughter and kids were even swimming in the pool!

Madeline is a true joy and has always gone with the flow. She is a happy baby that is full of smiles. She has 5 teeth, is close to walking but is cruising well, eats great and is learning to play with her sisters more every day. I am so lucky to have her and love her dearly.

A Fun Trip to San Diego

We had a mid-week trip to San Diego and had a great time. Gabby saw Dr. Granet and Maddy had a doctor appointment as well. We then hit the zoo and the beach... These are the only pictures I snapped but it was so nice. It was hot - well into the 90's which is not common for San Diego but we still had a blast. The girls enjoyed the zoo, the sand, the waves and the pool at the hotel. They eat their "Rainbow cereal" and think it is a real treat. We had dinner at Whole Foods in Hillcrest and enjoyed a urban experience. It was a fun trip and now we are getting ready for Maddy's birthday party tomorrow!