Summer Cuts

As a very proud mommy, I just had to show off the very cute summer cuts my two big girls got today. It just doesn't get any prettier than this!!! :)

Dance Recital

Avery had her dance recital on Friday and Saturday of this past weekend. Can I just say, it was cute, and exhausting, and cute...! In fact, perhaps I should titled this post as the Week of Dance! It seemed to be all consuming last week, with group pictures at the studio on Tuesday, dress rehearsal on Thursday and the recital on Friday night and Saturday. One thing I will say about The Pointe Dance Studio that she goes to, is it's very professionally run and operated. As if all these children are being reared up to be professional dancers. And maybe they will be - who knows!!? They put on a great performance. While I was there volunteering back stage on Friday night, one of the other mom's told me, "Ms. Katherine (the owner) doesn't put on a recital, she puts on a show!!" And so she did. Anyway, here are a few pictures of Avery in her costume.

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And as a side note (if you haven't had enough cute for the day), our neighbor invited us over this weekend to pick our fill of homegrown tomatoes. The kids LOVED it, especially because our tomato plants have yet to flower for some reason!! We've known for a while that Cambria is a lover of tomatoes and will eat them until we take them away! She got a hold of one and munched on it for the entire wagon ride back to our house until it was totally gone! Gotta love summer gardens!

Birthdays and Such

This past week has been packed full of activity. I will try to summarize...
March 6th: Avery had her tonsils out. She surprised us all by being totally resilient. The worst day, as you would expect, was the day of her surgery. However even that day, by evening she was asking to go to Parent's Night Out at church with her siblings and wanting to eat Bean and Cheese soft tacos from Taco Cabana! Crazy girl! The only real tears she shed were when we had to tell her no to things she wanted to do like jump on the trampoline! I'm glad we got the tonsils out before she starts Kindergarten in the Fall and we hope she will be healthier for it! She was a great little patient!
March 9th: We got to celebrate Daddy's birthday! Unfortunately, I had to work all day, but I brought home Carino's for dinner and we had angel food cake and strawberries (his favorite!) for dessert. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart! We love you!
March 14th: Valie's first "Valie's friend" birthday party. Don't get me wrong - Valie has been to many a birthday party! But this was her first party that it was her friend only - a little girl in her class at Mother's Day Out. She was sooooo excited! In fact, she was in the car waiting, gift in hand, a good 10 minutes before it was time to go. Really cute, how excited she was!
She didn't get to go entirely on her own, though! Mommy and Cambria went along for the ride, too. So, Cambria got to experience the excitement of a jumpy castle for the first time as well.And that is our week in a nutshell. Which brings us to today, the first day of Spring Break! Even though I have to work several days this week, I've made it my mission to try to post several times this week. So, check back!

The Tooth Fairy Came

for my sweet little Avery's first lost tooth! Even though this excitement happened over a week ago, I couldn't miss sharing her good news. Luckily, her big brother (who is a pro at losing teeth) showed her the ropes. She was gifted with a nice shiny new gold $1 coin. Apparently the Tooth Fairy is handing them out these days.

I'm not sure why this loss took me so much by surprise. She is 5 afterall. But, I just couldn't believe we were at that point with her! Sometimes I wish I could hold my kids so tight that the days will slow down....

The Collector

Every family has one. You know, the one who can't throw anything away. The one who wants to save everything, just in case...! In my family there are at least 2 - so far. And it drives me nuts. Tom and Avery are two peas in a pod when it comes to "collecting" things. Avery is the child I have to hide trash from. If I throw something away that she once owned (or touched, for that matter) it must be hidden at the bottom of the trash can. Otherwise, I will either find it again the next day somewhere else or I will be faced with the heartfelt, "Who threw this away???!!!" question while looking into large anguished eyes. "But, Mommy, I wanted this!"

So, tonight, after pulling out new toothbrushes for everyone and tossing the old ones into the trash can, I could see the look in Avery's eyes.
Avery: Why do we have to throw toothbrushes away?
Me: Because they are old and it's good to get new ones sometimes.
Avery: But why can't we save them?
Me: Because we don't need them anymore.
Avery: (thinking.....) Well, don't they have a toothbrush recycle?
Me: (LOL) Ewww! I don't think anyone would want a recycled toothbrush!
Avery: (smiles)

At least she's thinking "green"! :)