Tying, Fancy Hair, and A Dolly Named Baby Livia

We are loving this season of summer vacation!  Here is a little of our week---

William has been wanting to master shoe-tying for awhile.  Our Mimi bought him a book to help him get the hang of it.  Last week, he and I sat down, I showed him once, and then he did it!  It must have been the right timing, or the explanation just clicked.  Now he is a shoe-tying machine!

Yea!!

My Audrey Girl loves all things pretty.  One day she wanted to make her hair extra special, but her hair is very fine and doesn't hold curl. We decided to braid her hair after showers in the evening, and then we 'release' them in the morning. Voila'!  Audrey has 'fancy' hair that she is so proud of!  

Here is Audrey with her braids, her Nutcracker sweater, and one of her favorite 'fancy' winter dresses.

My little beauty.

Nora has a baby she is over the moon about.  She has named her 'Baby Livia' after her cousin, Livia.  This baby doll has made appearances at WeeCare at the Y, Target, Cub, and never misses dinner, sitting next to Nora's plate!  Nora rocks her baby, and has a special song she sings to Baby Livia.  It goes, "Rock-a-bye Baby, DON'T SAY MAYBE!!!!"

At night, Baby Livia gets tucked in, just like Nora!

Now, if only I could bottle up these wonderful, jovial days spent with my babies....

Fishing Contest 2012

Our lake had its annual fishing contest on Saturday.  We look forward to it every year!  It's very family-friendly, and always nice to catch up with our neighbors.  Radio and snacks in hand, we were were ready for a morning of fishing.  We did not catch anything big, but the bass were biting, and we all had fun catching fish!

We caught a big one!

William is very serious about fishing contests.  He won second place last year, and was hoping to take home another trophy.

 

 Little Audrey with her big catch.

William and Audrey flagging down the officials to weigh our fish.

Martha enjoys her time on the water.  Check out her haircut, courtesy of the husband!

We did take home an award---Audrey won the Guppy Award (for the smallest fish, a 1 ounce sunfish)!

William Lost His First Tooth!

William has had a wiggly tooth for over a month.  His permanent tooth had already erupted, so we set a goal to get the baby tooth out by Saturday (yesterday).  He was not excited about touching the tooth at all, so I had been wiggling it all week.  William made himself breakfast yesterday morning--a banana and granola bar.  After breakfast, he felt in his mouth and the tooth was gone!  We looked everywhere, but he is pretty sure he ate the tooth with his banana....

Toothless Wonder!

Checking out the new space, a perfect fit for a straw.

Since we didn't have a tooth for under the pillow, we hoped the Tooth Fairy would find a letter acceptable.

We are really into celebrating in our house.  We had banana splits to celebrate the loss of William's tooth!

The letter must have been ok...the tooth fairy left money and a sucker!

Friends

A week ago our my friend E made an 8-hour drive with her 2 young children to spend the weekend with us.  Both of our husbands were scheduled to work/be on call, so it was 2 moms + 5 children (with one on the way--her, not me!).  The kids played hard all day, and once they went to bed, the moms were able to catch up, watch movies, and even do a sewing project and work a little on baby books!  It was perfect!!

The husband came home one evening, so we took advantage and went fishing.  

 We enjoyed some beautiful weather, and the sunnies were biting!

E and all the kids...William (5), Audrey (3.5), Ellie (3.5), Noah (2), and Nora (2).

A group shot while they watched The Backyardigans.

Ellie and Audrey enjoyed each other's company so much!  They had tea parties, painted nails, and dressed alike!

We played a little baseball.

And built some forts and houses.

The 5 in the fort they made.

Ellie is such a sweet girl!

Noah LOVED Martha!

William was sad to see Ellie go.  

We can't wait to see you again soon, E, Ellie, and Noah!  Thanks for coming!

Memorial Day Weekend: Rained Out

Memorial Day is our unofficial start to summer.  I hope summer proves to be more tropical than this weekend was.  We spend most of the weekend looking out the windows in awe of the cold wind and rain, reading, and playing games.  My sister and future brother-in-law stayed with us and my parents and Grandma Iris came for a BBQ on Saturday afternoon.  

Grandma Iris, my dad, my sister, my 3 babies, and me.  Isn't my Grandma ageless?  (I have more gray hair AND wrinkles than she does!!)

My sister, Mother, and me.

My father and 3 silly children!

We went fishing between storms.

Ominous sky behind Audrey and Grant.

Auntie and Nora.

A very serious fisherman and his patient dog.

My lovely little sister.

Another serious fisherman.

The wind shifted and it got cold!  

Then the wind shifted again, the sun came out, and it got hot!

Audrey and a bass.

The bass were biting!

William with 'a fighter'!

William Graduates

William has completed 2 years of Preschool and is off to Kindergarten in the fall.  It has been an amazing and transformative 2 years in his little life.  He has learned so much!  

Preschool has been a positive experience for us.  We stumbled upon the most wonderful, nurturing, preschool; staffed by artistic, loving, patient teachers and a caring and fun pastor.  We love Little Lambs Preschool and the dedicated teachers and pastor that staff it!!!

 "Hi, Mom!" 

Waiting with Mrs. Jurvelin to do the official march.

 Commencement begins.

 Auntie Marjia and Baby Livia came to see William's big day.  Here Nora was loving on Marjia and Livia!

 William with his 'homeroom' teachers, Mrs. Beighley and Mrs. Dixon.

 William with Mrs. Derby and Mrs. Jurvelin.  

Audrey, William, and Pastor Gorshe.  

 A family shot of those in attendance.  Thanks for coming Mimi, Grandpa Jeff, Auntie Marjia, and Baby Livia!  

 Friends!  

My dear friend Kelly's boys, Will and Lucas (minus Baby Clark), and my 3.

Each child was presented with an award, specific to him or her.  This was so fun!  Some awards were The Outdoorsman, The Fashionista, and The Technologist.  William was awarded the Presidential Award, in recognition of "his educational growth, his desire to achieve greatness, his academic success and excellence."  

 We are so proud of our William.  He has grown by leaps and bounds, academically, socially, and physically.  We love you, William, and we are so excited for your next adventure!