Happy Belated Father's Day!

Okay, I know I am a week late, but I'm still going to post it! Happy Father's Day, Dave! I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing man. Aside from his husbandly (is that a word? If not, it is now!) duties, he is such a great daddy. All 3 of our kids adore him. He has a very special and different relationship with each of them. He is playful and fun and always has time to clown around with them. He's also a great daddy because of the quiet time he takes with them to explain something to them or to just talk. He loves the scriptures and loves sharing and relating stories for our kids. I love that he teaches them the importance of respecting one another, especially their mom! I love that he loves kids. When we got married he told me he wanted a dozen! He works hard for our family and we love him soooo much! I'm so glad he's my babies' daddy!

Big Boy!

It's been much too long since I've posted any kind of update on Drews. He is 9 1/2 months old and this darling little guy is ALL OVER THE PLACE! It's so fun to watch him discover his world around him. And after just a couple of weeks of crawling, he's now standing. He'll pull himself up on furniture, but luckily he hasn't started to cruise yet. I have a feeling that's just around the corner though. His newest trick? He stands without holding onto anything. You can see the wheels turning in his head as he very methodically gets himself up. I don't have any pictures of it because I don't encourage it and I usually push him down if I see it happen. It's MUCH too early for that! He cut his first tooth a few weeks ago and is working on that second tooth. He drools like none of my other babies ever did! He squeals with delight at his sisters and loves to watch their every move. He's just now starting to want to get in on the action with them. I love that he crawls to me as fast as his little legs will take him and pulls himself up on my leg for me to pick him up. I especially love that he doesn't do that to anyone else! He sure loves his daddy too though and if I am feeding him and Dad walks in, my time with him is over. He turns his head until he finds him, then flips that little body over and starts smiling and talking. He is very calm natured, easy going and happy. He is at the center of our hearts with a smile that I go ga-ga for. I'll say it again...I just can't get enough of my boy!!

Other than a dimple in a cute little chin, what's more adorable than a toothless grin?

After months and months of watching her friends lose teeth, Ella was thrilled to finally lose her first one! It was quite the ordeal! It was barely hanging there and her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandpa, mom and dad all tried to convince her to let them pull it. She was too scared though. Until finally last Tuesday, she let me at it. It was so ready that it didn't even bleed! She was bouncin' off the walls excited. And she left this note for the toothfairy...

Just more proof that my baby isn't such a baby anymore. It's funny how losing a tooth can change her look so much. She's got one more on the bottom that'll be out in the next few days, and her top 2 front teeth are loose too! Maybe she really will be able to sing "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth." Cute girl.

Dance, Dance, Dance

Ella's 4th annual dance recital was at the end of May. It's so fun to watch her on that stage. She shines ever so brightly. I think she is most beautiful when she is full of happiness just being herself and doing the things she enjoys. She glows. I can't believe this is the same girl that 4 years ago at her first dance performance, stood on the side and cried because she was so shy. My, have we come a LONG ways!

This was at dress rehearsal the day before with her teacher, Ms. Jennifer.


Just before going on stage...


The tap routine this year was to the Cinderella work song. It was darling!


One of these days I'll figure out the right settings on my camera for the lighting in that performance hall. So while these pictures are totally dark, you get the idea! Luckily we have the video too.


Ella's the one in the middle.




Ella and Natalia have played together since they were babies. Ella was so excited that they were in dance together this year.


My energizer dancer...she just keeps going and going...

Crazy May

The end of the school year is officially the busiest time of year. And funny enough, the exact time I got behind on my blog last year. Since I'm so far behind, I am going to wrap up the end of the school year festivities in one post.

But first, I have to say how much I enjoyed watching Ella learn and grow this past year. My baby is just not my little baby anymore, and barely even seems like my little girl anymore. I feel like I fight every day to keep her little. Maybe even to a fault sometimes; but I think every child deserves to be just that and enjoy all that comes with it. It just doesn't last very long. So you all know how much I am against the idea of full day kindergarten. If my baby was going to be there that much every day (which I was not ready for), then I was going to make every effort to be there as much as possible. And I did. I signed up to be room mom (which was more frustrating than I ever would have imagined, but nonetheless will probably do it again). And I went to the school once a week to help out in her classroom and do things for her teacher. Sometimes I went more than once a week. I made sure to be there for all the parades (100th day, book character day, cowgirl day) and can't even count how many times I had lunch with her. I am so glad I made the effort. When I was younger and imagined having kids, I never imagined having babies. That may seem wierd, but I always dreamed about the school years and the fun things we could do together. So I love that I am getting to live that dream right now. I loved that the kids called me "Ella's mom" and not Mrs. MacKillop! I love that I got to know her teacher really well; but mostly I love that Ella was always excited to see me there. So here's to my big girl...and to first grade!

Our end of the year party was an all day splash day. The kids got to come in swim suits and play water games all day long.

Do you remember Field Day when you were in school?! I remember it always being something I looked forward to. Ella LOVED it!

The yellow team rocked it!

Victory!!

And because I am usually so busy being the one to take pictures, I had to post this; see, I was really there!


And finally...kindergarten graduation. Yes, I cried. But it was the teachers' fault for reading this poem about sending our babies to them and trusting them in their care, and them now leaving them as much bigger, smarter kids.

Ella and Mrs. Lake

Mary, Emilee, Daisy, Ella

Cora, Ella, Lillian

We were so excited for school to be out!! On the last day of school, we picked Ella up and had our own little family celebration. We headed to Rainforest Cafe and then played at the mall for a couple of hours. Then we went for our first summer swim. We grabbed dinner and a movie, went home, and enjoyed the rest of the evening together. It was such a fun day/night!

Yes, the coolest dessert ever - The Volcano!

I'll have a cold one on the rocks please! No, we were just taking pictures in the fun bar stools!

A little friend along the way...

I'm soooooo soooooo happy for summer vacation and that I get to have my girl with me all the time! Helllooooo summer!!!

Terrific Two's!

For the record, I don't think two is terrible (three is WAY worse!) Ages 18 months through 2 years is my favorite time. And that's where my sweet Ava is. She turned 2 on May 2nd. We had a fun little family party for her and she was thrilled.

We waited a long time for Ava to join our family. I cannot imagine my life without her. Ava Joy, you could not have been named more appropriately. You are the happiest little girl and so easy to please. You make us laugh every day with your goofy personality; you definitely have one strong silly streak! From the time you were just starting to walk, we have called you Happy Feet because of the cute little dances you do when you get excited! You are just starting to really talk and you chatter all the time. I always wondered what your voice would sound like, and it is just so cute. We are constantly amazed at how much you understand. I particularly love what a snuggler you are! My days just aren't the same without my morning Ava snuggles. You give the best hugs and the sweetest kisses. You are tender and even at such a young age, worry about other people. You are full of life and remind me regularly what life is all about. You love to follow your big sister around and want to do everything that she does. You and Drews "talk" back and forth smiling and giggling at each other in a way that noone else understands. You love shoes and never pass up an opportunity to try a pair on when you come across them. You love books and quite frequently I find you sitting there flipping through the pages yourself. You get excited to watch The Wiggles and start dancing before I even turn it on. You also love watching "Momo!" (Elmo!) You have a strong will and know just want you want. You're pretty good about getting what you want too! Thank you for being my baby girl. You have filled our hearts to a capacity we didn't know existed. We love you so so much!