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

January Fun...

 Lindsay at a birthday party at Fly Studios...

she loved it.

Trapezes and swinging from long clothes...

just like a fairy.

 Lindsay and baby Brooke

 Ears are pierced...

 the sparkle on her ears tells it all.

She was brave and had the moral support of her BFF Sofie...

The anxiety leading up to it was

enough to make her want to chicken out...

but she was brave and very pleased

with herself at the end...

I think she surprised herself...

 A girl and her dog...

Kendal and Terra

 Checking out the scenery before our lunch date,

Lindsay and Kendal enjoying the water and rocks.

 Seussical the Musical...Sofie and Kendal

 Pedicures...Mom, Jennifer, Sofie, Lindsay and Kendal

Lindsay, Kendal and Brookie Cookie...adorable!

Hanging with her friends from Taper...

Lindsay, Kendal, Sammi, Riley and Sofie

at the Iacono's house for some crafts and

cupcake decorating...

oh and some shimmer tattooing...

which was out of control...

this was the before photo...

Lindsay ended up with 17 shimmer tattoos...

17 that I had to painstakingly remove...

we now have a 2 shimmer policy...

woe...is all I can say about that experience.

Christmas Eve 2012

Ready to go to Poppy and Grandma's for a traditional

croatian/italian seafood holiday dinner.

 Family Photo

 Grandma Kathy

 Popster

 Lindsay and Kendal

 Merry Christmas!

Disneyland Holiday Adventure

After an amazing Nutcracker weekend of performances the girls were surprised with a trip

to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Surprise number two was the appearance of their favorite Auntie in the whole world.

Surprise number three was a special lunch with the princesses

at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure.

A surprise for me was the sighting of my current student Lily

and her family, at the table next to us during our lunch with

the princesses. They too were playing hookie! :)

There was face painting...

 bear hugging holiday fun...

 at the place we love best!

Nutcracker 2012

 

What an amazing experience for both girls.

Three performances in two days

(well, minus Kendal's stomach flu episode that knocked her out of two performances,

will spare the gory details).

They loved it so much that we listen to the Nutcracker music in our house each day...

both girls having visions of being the sugar plum fairy some day.