This week is going to be a hard one for Avery.  She recently found out one of her best friends is moving to South Carolina.  She leaves on Saturday.  Avery doesn't quite understand why Kiley has to move.  She doesn't understand that all of her friends are not moving.  And she really doesn't understand how they can stay friends even though they won't live a few houses away from each other.  I have enjoyed watching these two girls' friendship develop.  Not only were they in the same kindergarten class, they were in Girl Scouts together, one the same cheer squad and played soccer together (although not on the same team).  They have been two peas in a pod this summer.  Kiley will be greatly missed in our lives, but most of all by Avery who wishes and prays that Kiley could stay close always.  Something tells me my cell phone bill is going to increase here soon.  And my need for postage stamps.  And some little girl stalking my Facebook account to see pictures of her friend. 

I would be remiss if I didn't share with you all another part of our garden this year.  It is a new addition and it is gloriously ugly. 

Yep, a compost pile.  I remember my dad having a large rectangular compost and I thought it was kind of cool that we could throw food scraps in it.  I didn't really understand it, other than my dad convincing me it would make good soil someday.  I can remember him uncovering it and scooping some into our large garden and wondering if he had gone a little crazy.  I love that my dad was teaching me wonderful "earthy" things without either of us knowing it  Ok, he probably knew it but I was a child and I was at the age where parents knew nothing.  I mean the nothing-about-anything stage.  He's to you Dad - a big pile of rotting trash!

Chris and I have had a garden since our first year of marriage, but with the addition of children, it has definitely had it's ups and down.  Mostly downs that have included weeds, disease, weeds, poor dirt and weeds.  But each year we get a little better.  And each year our love grows.  Every day we take a little stroll along our garden, looking, dreaming and tasting.  It's family fun at it's best.  And this year is off to a good start, I must say.  This morning the sun was hitting everything and the  sky was a perfect blue and I couldn't help myself.  I had to run inside and grab the camera and snap some shots of our beautiful suburban garden.  It may be small, but mighty.
 
     
Our garden runs the length of our fence.  It's what us suburbanites do  Here you have strawberries and rhubarb.

     
Romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes and green peppers.

     
Tomatoes, little corn sprouts, and the girls' sunflower garden (containing three varieties!)

     
Grapevine followed by some spontaneous sunflowers.  Last year the girls had a blast picking out the seeds from the sunflower heads, but magically this year we are finding sunflowers popping up in the weirdest places!  We've decided to let them be.  If you look closely at the middle picture, there is a tomato plant in the background.  We have no idea how it got there.

     
We put flower seed packets in the girls' Easter baskets this year.  These Zinnia's have turned into gorgeous flowers and we've all loved watching them grow all spring.  The Black-eyed Susan's are mine.  All mine.

Not pictured: Hot peppers, carrots, basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, peas, cucumbers. 

This past weekend we celebrated Olivia's 2nd birthday party with family, friends, berries,water balloons and a little mud.  It was everything Olivia loves!  Thinking back over the last two years, I cannot believe it was two years ago she was born.  I can't help but get a bit sentimental.  It seems like it was only yesterday that I was sitting in a hospital, praying our little girl would arrive in this world safe, feeling like the world was passing me by while I watched the Food Network.  Someone told me that someday I would long for just one of those days back in the hospital bored out of my mind.  And although I have never wished that exactly, I have dreamed of a little more boredom in our lives 

Happy Birthday, Livie Sue!  We love you with all our hearts.


The Birthday Girl!


Her favorite foods: Blueberry bread, berry salsa with cinnamon chips, honey wheat pretzels
and of course her cake - chocolate ganche raspberry cake with berries on top.


The mob of children watching Olivia open her gifts.


We moved to a chair to control the crowd


Olivia holding Bullseye and checking out her presents.


A new bike!!


The party then headed outdoors.  We got her the Makin Mud Pies set and let the kids go to town...yep, with mud. 
What a mess!  We also had water balloons for the older kids and adults.


Blowing out her candles on her cake.

Last night Mia had her dance recital!  She's been waiting all winter and spring for this big show.  She was more than excited for her big performance (and so were we!).  The studio put on a ballet production of Lady and the Tramp, and then did a Night at the Grammy's for the their tap/jazz pieces.  Mia loved getting dressed up, putting on make-up and dancing with her friends.  We are so proud of our Tiny Dancer!

Mia all ready for her recital!


Let the show begin...


Waiting for their turn to dance.

Ready Little Bunnies?

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Saturday Night Fever!!

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Mia and her sweet friend, Alayna.


Mia with her dance instructor and friends after the show.

Last week Avery played her last soccer game of the Spring season.  With each practice and game, she seems to be loving the sport more and more.  Watching her skills develop has been so much fun.  And her personality definitely shows on the field - she cheers, yells, talks and jabbers during the entire game.  She is known as the team "cheerleader."  She is already looking forward to the fall season!  Congrats Avery on a another season in the books!


Avery throwing in the ball during her game.


"Go Banana!"  Here's to another great season!!


Look at that bling!

It took Avery about 5 minutes after taking off her training wheels to start riding around the cul-de-sac. 
She was so excited!

I have had a severe case of blogitis lately.  I think about blogging.  I add it to my To Do list.  I take pictures to go along with blogs.  And yet, when the time comes.... Ok, there's the problem.  I can't find the stinkin' time to blog!!!  So much has been going on, so I thought I would do a quick snapshot of the last month.

After returning from Napa, we decided to add to our family... kind of.  I started babysitting three days a week for a little 2-year-old boy.  Yes, you read that last word right - boy!  I am out of my league in so many ways, and it took several week to adjust but everyone is starting to get used to the new schedule and life with a boy.  He keeps me on my toes, and his personality is so different from any of our girls.  His bright blue eyes and white-blonde hair make him fit right in though, and most people think him and Livie are twins.  They are only three months apart.  And goodness, two 2-year-olds in the house is ... interesting to say the least.  God bless all you mother's of multiples.

So now that you all think I am totally crazy, let me tell you the rest of this babysitting story.  Come September I will be watching brand-new baby brother as well.  Yep, mom is pregnant with another boy due June 25th.  After maternity leave I am taking on two boys! 

Along with my new job, the girls finished their school year at the end of March.  Both girls had wonderful years.  Avery is now reading way above her age-level, and she made it the entire year without loosing a Behavior Stick (the classroom's form of discipline).  We are so very proud of her hard work this year.  Watching her grow and mature has made this mother's heart skip a few beats.  She is officially a first-grader now. 

Mia graduated from morning preschool into afternoon preschool.  Unlike kindergarten, the timing of these classes actually do make a difference.  The afternoon class is more of a pre-kindergarten classroom and is by invitation only.  Mia's teachers continue to tell me she is a very bright child and will most definitely be ready for kindergarten when she is old enough.  She is staying at the developmental preschool due to her physical delays, but we continue to see improvements in her gross motor skills.  She is starting to read a bit and impresses me daily with her modest intelligents.

Because I like to live on the edge, we decided to have Avery's tonsils and adenoids removed the day after school got out.  She was referred for the surgery at the beginning of May and I wanted to get it over with.  She had six cases of strep in six months, and life was getting to be one endless round of antibiotics.  The surgery and first few days went very well, but like we were warned, days 3 - 10 were not so pretty.  Avery started refusing her pain medicine and would wake up screaming in the middle of the night.  I won't go into a lot of details because it would embarrass her (and us!), but we have felt like we have been living with a teenage zombie.  And I don't mean that in a nice way.  If this has been a taste of what's to come, I am afraid.  I am very afraid.  She is doing much better now and it's nice to have my Avery back.

And my little Livie has endured with us through all of these changes.  She loves having her sisters home now, but I can tell she misses our one-on-one time too.  (And so do I!)  She's my baby and I feel that through and through.  I always thought it was weird when people talked about how their last child always stayed a baby, and I totally get it now.  With Avery and Mia, they became "big girls" after about the age of one, but my little Livie is still my baby in my heart.  She is talking a lot more now, but continues to do speech therapy to help her along.  We are starting to hear two and three-word phrases now and she can name most things in her environment.  She is a lively child, and has an extreme zest for life.  She's our screamer (I'm told every family has one) and she keeps me on my toes and on Advil. 

And there you have it.  Chaos at it's best.  Day-to-day life that continues to change.  And three beautiful daughters that keep me smiling, laughing and seeking God's wisdom.  And somewhere in the middle of all this, I think about blogging.

If you've been wondering where I have been lately, I have been quite busy... getting old.  Yep, I celebrated my 30th birthday, much to the chagrin of those around me.  I never intended to get this old.  I could never picture myself 30 and yet here it is in all it's glory.

I guess like most anyone, big birthdays causing big reflection, and to be honest, I couldn't be more happy with where God has lead me.  He has blessed me with an amazing husband, three beautiful daughters, and a community of caring and loving friends and family.  I have added a few wrinkles, a few pounds (that I am still blaming on babies) and some wisdom (I hope!), but I truly can't wait to see what my 30s will bring.  It just better not be more wrinkles or weight!

And speaking of that amazing husband... He took me on a vacation for my birthday!  I had almost forgotten what that word even meant and yet suddenly I was given the chance to not only have one, but to pick out where we would go.  After wrestling with many options, I settled on Napa Valley.  And I am so glad I did!  Wine country offered wine (duh!), relaxation, breath-taking scenery, lazy days, hiking, hand-holding, music, and more wine.  I loved every minute of it, and although I missed the girls, the vacation fulfilled all the longings of a tired mother's soul.  I came back refreshed and with a new lust for motherhood.  I also came back with a six-pack of wine

Here are the pictures from our trip.  These do not do the scenery justice.  It may just have to be one of those things you experience on your own...

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Today when I picked up Avery from kindergarten, she asked the same question she asks everyday: "Mommy, can we go out to lunch?"  And everyday I say "Nope."  We usually go back and forth on why we are not going out to lunch (it's unhealthy and it's expensive, blah, blah, blah), but today she followed up with "Can I make lunch today?"  Hmm, now there's an idea. 

I decided I would see where this would go, so we talked about what she could make.  She decided on macaroni and cheese with hot dogs and "some sort of fruit or something healthy."  Ok, well, at least I know my message is being received, right?

I let her do absolutely everything, with the exception on draining the pasta.  I even had her serve me and her sisters.  She did awesome and loved it.  I can still remember my first pot of mac and cheese I made.  The satisfaction I felt.  The quick dip of my finger into the powdered cheese.  The regret I felt afterward when I realized that powdered stuff ain't nothing without the milk and butter.

I told you we celebrate all kinds of firsts in this house.  Today it was Mac & Cheese Hot Dog Stuff.  And yes, I ate every last drop she served me, along with my apples, so that I can get big and strong.


Avery being extra careful cutting up the hot dogs.


"I think I'll line these two up and do it Mommy-style." 
Can you see her confidence soaring?


She has a passion to stir.  I don't think a noodle ever touched the bottom.


"Hey, Mia, I'm kind of an expert at this, so let me pass along my great wisdom."


Success.