The biggest news for this month is: Annie lost her first tooth! It was hanging by a thread and she could almost whistle through the little hole in her smile. She was so worried about it falling out and getting lost in her bed during the night that she asked Lily to help write this note to the Tooth Fairy.
The Tooth Fairy doesn't pull teeth, so Annie had to wait until morning. It quickly and painlessly fell out just before she left for school. And the next night Annie was awarded $1 for hitting this milestone. I love the drawing she did of herself at with the tooth falling out. All those teeth look a little scary.
We had some gorgeous warm spring weather - almost 80 degrees - so for a date night we went out to dinner and then walked a few miles on the greenbelt next to the temple. I have sure missed having our temple open. The open house will start soon and I am excited to bring our children here. They can't wait to go inside.
Every year we have a problem with grass growing up under our trees. The ground cover cloth and rocks just weren't keeping them down. Jeremy decided to pull up all the rocks and do a good weeding. It looks so much better. And the little boys loved throwing rocks into the wheelbarrow.
Lily and Annie had their final recital of the year. They have both grown so much as dancers. Lily loves clogging and does it everywhere she goes. Annie likes it too (and also clogs everywhere she goes) but wants to do ballet in addition to clogging. We just don't have the time for school, piano, and two different dance classes so we made a deal. We asked Annie to do one more year of clogging and then she can try another kind of dance.
The girls each got their own bouquet and loved getting to wear bright red lipstick. Daddy had to leave before the show was over with the boys because it was too noisy for Tommy and he wanted everyone to know it. Boys just don't appreciate these things!
Nothing like a soak in the tub with your goggles on to melt off the stress of being 4 years old!
Annie's kindergarten class has started an ABC countdown to the last day of school. Letter C day was "Crazy Hair Day". Annie really wanted to look like Poppy from the Trolls movie.
How in the world was Mommy supposed to make her hair do that? Internet to the rescue! I found a few pictures and videos that helped me feel brave enough to attempt troll hair.
It wasn't what it could have been, but for only having 20 minutes, I think it turned out fine. What's most important is...Annie loved it and said all of her friends thought it was so cool. Her teacher even sent me a text to tell me how cute Annie looked in her troll hair. By the end of the day it had shifted a bit, but was still almost upright. Annie kept it in until bath time. She loved being Poppy for a day.
Joey was having a rough morning. He just wasn't happy about anything. I needed to work on my sharing time for Sunday, so I put on a movie, set him on the couch with his blanket, a drink, and the heater, and let him cry it out. A few minutes later he was quiet. I went to check on him and found him passed out on the floor in front of the heater - and he had wedged himself between the couch and the coffee table. I covered him with his blanket and left him there to rest. He slept like that for two hours. He never naps at 9 am. I guess he needed to catch up on some sleep.
The boys have their little recital for their music class soon. This was our dress rehearsal of the elephant walk. Tommy and Joey refused to wear the cute elephant hats and wouldn't dance. Wish us luck for the real performance. I don't care if they don't dance, I just don't want them throwing a fit and ruining it for everyone else.
Joey has discovered sprinkles. He likes to have them on his yogurt in the morning. And then he likes to try and sneak out of the kitchen with a messy face. Little stinker.
Daddy has been working on finishing my birthday present. We ordered prints of the family pictures we took last fall. It is so nice to finally have a picture with all six of us. Daddy encouraged the mis-matched style of frames. It was a little scary for me at first, but now I love it. Happy birthday to me.
No reason for this picture....Joey is just cute, and babies don't keep. He won't always follow me around all day long wearing his blanket like a cape. I hope I will remember things like this when the kids are older. I feel like I've already forgotten so much of Lily and Annie as babies.
The last weekend in April we got a visit from Grammy and Grampy - plus Justin and Julie and their four kids. We had a house full and it was totally fun. The kids love playing with their older cousins. Spencer was so good with the boys. We woke up early Saturday morning and got in to the first tour of the temple that day. Tommy was very upset about having to wear covers on his shoes. But for the most part, we had a wonderful experience in the temple. Joey wanted to stop at all the paintings of Jesus to talk to "Jee-zee". Lily and Annie liked the baptismal font and all the beautiful crystal chandeliers.
We love to see the temple!
We are so happy Grammy and Grampy could come with us too. Having my whole little family together in the temple was a sweet moment for me. I don't know if the kids will remember it, but I hope the feelings they felt will help their testimonies to grow.
Lily's Activity Days group put on a brunch for mothers and the girls. After the temple, we came home, changed our clothes and made our way to the church. It was sunshine themed. All the foods were yellow or sunny colors.
We played a how well do you know each other game. And then each girl gave their mom a little book. Each page of the book has something they love about their mom written on each page. I teared up a little trying to read it. I decided to save it and finish it at home. Such a cute idea. It was a beautiful little brunch.
After the brunch we had to get the girls ready for their Spanish immersion parade. This was a crazy busy day!
Annie with her best friend Livia
Annie and her buddies Olivia and Livia
I was asked to chaperone Annie's class so I got to see her and take lots of photos with her group. I hardly saw Lily that day and I didn't get to see any of her dance. Daddy tried to get pictures but he was juggling the boys.
Annie was tired after walking the parade route. She looks like a sad little clown.
Lily looked sassy in her outfit. She said it was fun. Her teacher let her keep the big paper flower from her hair. It is hanging on the lamp in her bedroom.
Great job on your parade performances girls!
We finished off the month by saying goodbye to our cousins and grandparents. Sunday afternoon we sent the kids out to fly a kite. It went great until Tommy got his kite stuck on the roof and Annie's kept crashing to the ground. We abandoned the kites for bikes and wiggle cars instead.
Annie is getting better at riding two wheels, but she doesn't trust herself. All her friends are on two wheels so we're hoping she'll get the hang of it by summer time so she can keep up with everybody.
That's all for April. We have a busy May ahead of us. Wish us luck!
