Skylie at Four-and-a-Half and Her Summer Bucket List

About a week ago Skylie finished up her last day of preschool for the year. It's been a fantastic experience for her, and one she will repeat next year--with a different teacher. Most of her friends  head to kindergarten in August, but Skylie misses the cut off by a few weeks.

Below are some pics from her past year of preschool that teachers compiled for parents. Skylie and I adore her preschool teachers, and I'm thrilled Kaitlyn will get to know them this upcoming year.

Skylie and her preschool BFF

I recently asked Skylie what she wanted to do this summer. Here's what she said. Thankfully, I think I can make most of her wishes come true. 

Skylie's Summer Bucket List

1. Hiking lots and lots
2. Camp out
3. Go to Grandma's and Nana's house
4. Go fishing at Utah and see the dinosaur museum
5. Sleep in our tent in our backyard
6. Potty train Kaitlyn
7. Swim at the pool and invite our friends
8. Go to two beaches at Indiana Beach
9. Hang out lots and lots with Dad

Things I want to remember about Skylie at 4 1/2 years old:

• She is still fascinated with all living creatures and is daily (sometimes hourly) asking if she can make a bug a home in a container.
• She is so full of ENERGY! Sometimes I feel like she's sucking all the energy out of me and bottling it for her use. Matt's described it well: "Skylie's so full of life. Kaitlyn's so full of attitude."
• She loves babies, and her adoration for Ava hasn't worn off.
• She always wants to have a buddy to play with.
• She tends to make one best friend at preschool or church, and they stick together like glue.
• She loves being silly, making people laugh, and wearing pajamas. 
• She gushes with expressions of her love for me and Matt. It's pretty cute.
• She's recently begun doing chores (setting the table, emptying garbages, folding laundry) to earn a little money. She's excited about it but is certain we should only do chores we like.
• Like all four-year-olds, she's far from perfect. But I love talking to her and better understanding how she perceives her world. She's so animated and communicates her thoughts well.
• I look at her and can't believe my baby is almost five! She's grown so fast. It makes me a little sad sometimes, and I feel like I need be better at cherishing every minute. Even so, I'm excited to watch how my spunky little girl grows and develops.
• I love my Skylie Bug and am so proud to be her mama. 

Lately...

Here's a few pictures and updates of the past few months:

• We are adjusting well to being a family of five. Now that Ava's sleeping through the night it seems like we're getting into a groove again. I'm learning to simplify, say "no", and carefully prioritize so that I can give the best to the people who matter most to me. Like my wise friend Sara once mentioned, "I don't have to be the best at everything or even to everyone. I just have to be the best mom and the best me I can be."

• Lately I've been trying to give each of my children 15 minutes of one-on-one, undivided attention, twice daily.  Sounds easy, right? But I'm finding I really have to work to make it happen.

• Matt's in the final stretch of his third year of residency. He's been busy with work, chief responsibilities, moonlighting, auditing classes, fulfilling church responsibilities, and preparing to apply to fellowship programs. We'll all be glad when things slow down a bit for him.

St. Patrick's Day

Ava in her festive green. Skylie was very concerned about getting pinched on St. Patty's Day.

Matt's Birthday
Matt was at a conference all day and night of his birthday. We met up for lunch downtown, though, and afterward the girls and I decked out Matt's car. Skylie and Kaitlyn seemed ecstatic to keep a secret and surprise Daddy.


My memory is fading, but I'm pretty sure Matt and I (and Ava) had a date night in March to celebrate his birthday and get him some dress clothes.

Easter Highlights
Youth temple trip (for me)
YMCA Egg Hunt on Saturday (Matt took the girls, solo)
Finding Easter baskets and eggs on Sunday
Sunday dinner with Dave and Jenny's family

Painting, Painting, Painting...

While Matt was out of town one weekend our bedroom transformed in the wee hours of the night from this:

...to this. 

It took me months to find bedding I liked and even longer to nail down the shade of gray I envisioned. Our bed is the first new piece of furniture we've bought in 8 1/2 years of marriage. And it is oh so comfy! Good things are definitely worth the wait, in my book. When Matt says "I love you" at night I often reply with "I love this bed." 

In April I painted the master bedroom and bathroom, Ava's room, and I repainted the upstairs bath. Pretty sure I was a little crazy to take that on with a two month old. :) But I think* I'm finally done with all the painting projects in our house. Matt, I'm pretty sure, is just glad he's not being woken up at 3 a.m. to the sounds of me taping and painting.

Ava's Blessing in Kansas City
Our niece, Addy got baptized in May so we made the trip to Kansas City for her special day. While there, Matt blessed Ava. My dad, Matt's dad, and Matt's brother, Layne, participated in the blessing.

Ava was blessed that she will:

• Be a conduit for the Spirit for our family
• Learn from her sisters and help them be the best they can be
• Have the Spirit with her
• Grow spiritually, physically, and be mentally strong
• Have a testimony of the Gospel 
• Work toward making covenants, being sealed in the temple as an eternal family, and returning to her Heavenly Father
• Be an example to others

Visitors

We've loved getting to see lots of family and a few long-time friends this past month: Layne and Becky's family; Matt's parents; my parents; my brother, Lee; and we even saw one of my friends from high school (Peter) and his family. It was great to see everyone, but it does make me wish we could be closer to "home"--family and all things familiar. Maybe someday... For now I'm excited to be in Utah for a bit this summer. :)

When A Four-Year-Old Potty Trains Her Little Sis

Skylie: "Mom, I'll do potty training with Kaitlyn.  So you can go take a nap if you want."

Without hesitation, I agreed. (I haven't made any attempts in that arena, yet.)

That was last week.

Today I found Skylie, Kaitlyn, and Skylie's friend in our backyard. Pants off. Going to the bathroom. I guess that's what happens when I relinquish potty training rights to a four-year-old!

Ava's Two Month Stats

This picture says it all, I think. Baby Ava is dearly loved.

Like both Skylie and Kaitlyn, she is super small.

Ava and Skylie on April 17th

Length: 21 and 7/8th inches; 5th percentile

Weight: 8 pounds, 6.4 ounces; below 5th percentile

Head Circumference: 14 and 3/8th inches; below 5th percentile

Mother's Day Interviews 2014

Happy Mother's Day Weekend! I feel so fortunate to have great women in my life who've shown me what it means to be a mother.

May 3rd with my mom and Matt's mom after Ava's blessing.

My children stretch me, teach me patience, and undoubtedly are sucking years off my life and adding wrinkles to my skin! :) But when all is said and done, they are my everything. I'm filled with gratitude to be entrusted to care for these three crazies.

Above: The one picture of all three of them that's half decent.
It took weeks of trying and hundreds of pictures.
Most of them were more like the one below.

Mother’s Day Interview 2014

I spent some time yesterday asking Skylie and Kaitlyn questions about myself. My favorite is Kaitlyn's response to why she knows that I love her.

Skylie:

My mom is 70 years old and weighs 100 pounds. Her hair is blonde and her eyes are blue. She is 100 feet tall and looks like that you’re pretty and look like a baby. Her favorite color is blue.

My mom spends most of her day with me. She likes to eat healthy stuff. Her favorite movie is Mommy and Daddy movies. Her favorite thing to wear is clothes. If my mom had more money she would buy stuff. If my mom had more time she would jump on the trampoline with me. I know my mom loves me because I love her. My mom always laughs when I be funny. If I could give my mom anything it would be some food.

My mom makes the best mac and cheese. She is so good at giving us baths. I think my mom is the best mom in the world because she does everything and she is really nice and the best mom ever.  She could be an even better mommy by taking us to the beach every day and letting us live at the beach.

Kaitlyn:

My mom is 3 years old and weighs derr pounds. Her hair is brown and her eyes are brown. She is big feet tall and looks like Mommy. Her favorite color is ummm…yellow is my favorite color.

My mom spends most of her day in her dress. She likes to eat cereal. Her favorite movie is no I don’t wanna talk. Her favorite thing to wear is There’s Skylie! If mommy had more money No way, Mom. I don’t wanna talk. If mommy had more time she would No way! I know my mom loves me because Stop it. No. I don’t like you. My mom always laughs when I No way, Mom. I wanna color with this. If I could give my mom anything it would be pretzels.

This clip includes segments from one of my favorite talks about motherhood.