Open House 2013

Life of a Butterfly

 Winslow Homer Art

 Self Portraits and Poems

 Aquarium Scenes

 Math Machines

 Flowers and Mother's Day pictures from

Morning with Mom

 Diary of a First Grader Writing

 Tooth Fairy Letters and Pictures

 Door Display

Grandma Kathy and Poppy came to Open House...

proud grandparents...

 

Next year I need to take pictures of the projects close up.

A lot of work...but one of my favorite experiences each year!

Play Date with Pop

Mike came to school in June for a morning of fun.

Students and their dads played games on the field,

then enjoyed a treat in the classroom.

Such a fun day for all the dads and kids.

Here are Mike and Lindsay at the scoop activity.

They had a blast!!

Dancers

Sleeping Beauty Recital

Both girls were in two dances

at their ballet school's annual spring recital.

We had plenty of fans in the audience.

They were both fantastic.

We were so proud.

 

Erin, Kate and Lindsay

 Posing outside the theater

 Preschool buddies-Jenna, Delilah, Kendal and Ava

 Poppy, Grandma and the girls

 

Sisterhood

 My girls often ask me...

"Mom, did you want two daughters?"

My standard answer is that I wanted two healthy babies

more than anything.

Then I get...

"Do you like having two girls?" or

"Do you wish you had a boy?"

And of course I say I am

delighted with what I have.

I did not have a sister.

I had many in my life who were like sisters,

including my god sisters Tina and Stefanie

and my cousins Laura and Adriana.

I marvel at the bond my girls share.

I love hearing them giggling and telling secrets.

I love watching them dance, play, sing, laugh,

and all that comes in between.

My brother and I did not share that bond growing up.

We are closer now as adults, then we were growing up.

At our house...

it's like the both of them

having a play date every day.

My hope is that their bond remains,

and that they are able to support each other

in the many years ahead.

I know there will be bumps in the road,

and that the teenage years

will pose some challenges.

I pray their love for each other

will get them through it all.

I am blessed with two beautiful girls.

I am forever grateful for that.

I hope they will feel equally blessed

in the future.

Spring Photo Shoot with Kelly Huljev Photography

 Kelly does an amazing job

capturing each girls' personality.

She took their pictures

exactly one year ago.

It was a windy day

for this shoot!

The girls enjoyed posing

and being silly.

Here are a few of

my favorites.

Lindsay 6 years 9 months

Kendal 5 years



Looking into their Future

Lindsay and Kendal both love watching

the big girls dance at our Ballet School.

This is often where you'll find them

before their classes begin.

I love that they like dancing.

Both take ballet, tap and jazz.

I'm not sure what the future holds...

but none the less it's

a wonderful experience for them.

Selling Cookies

Lindsay was able to experience selling girl scout cookies

with the girls from a Brownie troop at our school.

Her Daisy troop decided they would partner up

with the big girls for their first experience in selling cookies.

She loved it!

This is a photo of Lindsay and Emily.

Emily was one of my students last year.

They spent one afternoon successfully selling

cookies together.

Kendal even joined in the fun...

for future practice of course.

Happiest Place on Earth x2

 More adventures for us at the

Happiest Place on Earth.

March brought us a rainy day

at our favorite destination.

Fortunately for us,

it rained all of ten minutes.

There were no crowds.

We whizzed in and out of lines.

We also got to preview the

new Princess Fantasy Faire area.

It was great!

The biggest moment of the day was

when Kendal decided to

brave the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

She was hooked...

we went on seven times.

Her favorite part...

"the slides" hills...

We also found the best face painter ever!

Great day!!!

 Spring Break at the Happiest Place on Earth

was another story...

Way too crowded...

long waits,

tons of people,

technical problems on many rides

(we got stuck on the hill going out of

the Pirates of the Caribbean for 20 minutes).

We made the best of it.

Easter 2013

 We spent Easter at Grandma and Poppy's house.

The girls chose to wear matching dresses...

I love that they still like to match.

They loved hunting for eggs in our backyard.

Lindsay made sure she and her sister

 found the same number of eggs.

The Easter bunny also left

new pjs, puzzles, summer dresses

and glowing bouncy balls.

It was a beautiful sunny spring day.

Growing Up

 A few months to go before this young lady turns seven.

She wanted a new hair style.

So I took her to the salon.

She actually wanted shorter hair...

but I had to make sure it was long enough

to put in a bun for ballet.

Lindsay was proud of her new doo.

She couldn't wait to show her friends at school.

It does make her look more mature.

She'll always be my first baby though...

Kendal Turns 5

Our Kendal turned five last weekend.

Where did the time go?

We celebrated with her "girl" friends and family,

with a party of her choice

at her favorite kids gym.

She enjoyed her special day,

her presents,

her princess cake,

her balloons...

Her quote from that day...

"Mom, I'm sure going to miss being four".

We sure love this girl.

But we know she loves being a kid...

silly, carefree, funny, playful...

I think she understands she's going to have

to be a bit more serious when kindergarten

starts in August...

key words: a bit.

Good thing she has

a few months

to prepare herself.

5

 

My girl is five tomorrow!

My baby girl.

Time has flown.

She's spunky.

She has energy, a lot of energy.

She is silly and crazy.

She loves to laugh and say odd things.

She adores her big sis.

She's patient.

She has an amazing memory.

She still has her blankie, and cannot sleep without it.

She's messy, we often refer to her as "Marv".

She cannot eat a meal without

spilling or wearing some of it.

She's all about play and no work.

She's loving and snuggly.

She says kind things all the time.

Sometimes she's brutally honest,

as any five year old can be.

She loves her friends at school.

She has an amazing imagination.

She's just what we always wanted.

We wouldn't have her any other way.

We adore her.

Her exact words yesterday...

with the most innocent look in her eyes...

"Mom, I'm really going to miss being four".

She melts my heart.

I'm proud to be her mom.

On the eve of her fifth birthday...

We love you Moosey Moo!

Happy, Happy 5th Birthday Kendal Christine!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

February Flew By....

February was fast and furious.

I'd like to think it was because it only had 28 days this year.

We started the month with the flu.

We celebrated my 45th birthday (can't believe that).

We had a week off mid-month.

The next thing I knew it was March.

Currently...

Both girls are dancing 2x a week at SPCB.

They are preparing for a "Sleeping Beauty"

recital in June.

Kendal is now in school five days a week.

Getting ready for kindergarten.

She has nightly homework...and likes it.

Lindsay loves school,

though she is not a fan of waking up early.

Mornings can be torturous

(especially for me).

We have an incentive plan going,

it worked this week.

There's an allowance involved.

Took the girls to Benihana for dinner.

It was my birthday pick.

That is quite an entertaining place.

After all the bells and whistles...and dinner,

Kendal announced she most definitely will order

the mac n cheese next time

(after having shrimp and chicken).

Wonder how they cook that on the

tepan table.

We spent time at Disneyland

during our winter break.

First time without a stroller.

All went well.

We had fun!

Looking forward to heading there again soon.

Big changes...

Estela is no longer with us.

A HUGE adjustment for our family.

She was able to start working for a friend of mine

who just had a baby in October.

Life without her is...

well

rough!

She did so much for our family.

She was family.

We will still see her and have her babysit.

I couldn't bring myself to say good-bye to her...

nor was I emotionally ready to write her a letter.

The depth of gratitude and feeling of loss

were both too overwhelming.

Still are.

We love her and she will always

be family to us.

As I navigate my way through life without her,

I am fully able to see

the blessing she was to our family.

For that I am so grateful.

That's it for now...

hoping to post during March...

more than once.

 

 Winter Break Fun at Disneyland

The many faces of Kendal

 The many faces of Lindsay

Princesses Lola and Kendal