Mother-daughter moment

This pretty little thing said to me today that when she is a mom, she will be nice to her kids by not making them clean their rooms.  I did have some wise come-backs, but the sad truth is that she will not change her mind until she has kids of her own.  Until then I will be the mean mom who makes her kids work... I don't have a problem with that, and she can still wear my shoes around the house...

Samuel's "Award Ceremony" and Esther's last school day

This was basically Samuel's graduation from first grade.  We were all confused what an "award ceremony" exactly meant, especially Samuel. He thought that he would actually receive an award and a new bike was what he had in mind.   The ceremony turned out to be an aknowledgment in front of the parents for their children's accomplishments during the year. Samuel received an achievement notation for everything on the list, which was not the case for every child.  He was recognized for achievement in academics, young writers, reading, buddy and a few other things.  I need to dig out the paper out of the big pile of school work still covering my desk to list the rest.  I wanted to have this picture of him with his classmates and teacher -Miss Staes, whom he loved.

Here is Esther's last day from pre-school.  She had a great year in school, learned a lot, and made many friends.  If you ask her what is her favorite thing to do, she would say with a big smile:  "Going to school." At this school they don't only learn their ABC's and 123's, at which they do a great job, but they also pray before every meal, learn stories from the bible, and of course are treated kindly and fairly.  We are so excited that she will be going there again next year.  This is a small school and is very hard to get into.  Once you are in, your other children will get a preference for enrollment.  Every one else has to try their luck at the lottery.  I was not as lucky with Samuel and still feel bad...  I wish I could start a private school where the standards of our LDS Church would be enforced and of course children can get a better shot at education than they currently do in the public schools.  It would be place where there will be no free time to show movies, a place where the teachers will be paid better, a place where they can eat lunch which did not come from a package...  The dreams....

15 Braids

This is what 15 braids do to Esther's hair.  She loves having it curly for a day or so.  We all love what we don't have.  Curly hair is in our gene pool (since my dad, sister ,and I have curly hair) but none of our children got the gene.  They all have straight, light brown, thick, but not coarse, hair.  I wonder if that will change...

A few things

Summer started, and we are so excited!  Except, that I tripped and sprained my foot, so our plans have been put on hold for a couple of weeks.  Fortunately, we have wonderful thoughtful friends who have made this experience a lot easier to bear.

Here is a little update on the kids:

Little Maggie can clap which is the cutest thing to watch.  She is also close to crawling - lifting up her tummy off the floor.
This past Saturday Esther had her first ballet recital and did an outstanding job.  She was so serious and focused, which is not an easy thing for any four year old, especially for someone who thinks ballet has only social purposes.
Samuel finished first grade and was almost suffocated with hugs from his school friends on the last day of school.  He had a successful year at school and piano and has made us very proud.

Samuel has a couple camps coming up, Esther will try gymnastics again, and both are going to swim lessons once a week.  There will be also the beach, pool, and museum trips. Should be a good summer as long as there are no more accidents.  We hope the same for you!

Maggie

Our little baby is not so much a baby anymore.  At seven and a half months, Maggie can sit up, reach for toys, eat solids, and once in a while get a little upset when something she considers a toy is taken away from her.  She is still very calm and easy going.  With one tooth on the lower gum, she is surely approaching toddlerhood.  She is good with buttons. She can find and turn on and off the music on her play mat, which is a first.  I don't remember the other kids doing it.

According to her extremely disappointed daddy, she is a mommy's girl.  I am not holding my breath, though.  I'll give her a few more months, and then I will be reaching for my earplugs against the high-pitched sounds that will be coming from this baby when her daddy shows up at the door at the end of the day.  At least that is what Esther did.  And it has been going on for four years now.  Esther loves mommy, but daddy is special.  And I would not have it any other way...

Time away

We needed to switch gears, and so we took a two hour flight to the Caribbean.  In spite of the short stay, we were able to recharge by turning off our phones and soaking up the breathtaking water views.  I hope the memory of the unbelievably blue and crystal clear water of the Carribbean ocean does not  spoil our summer trips to the Galveston Gulf. :)

Pearland BMX

Last week Samuel and Richard went to do some BMX racing.  We have friends from our church ward, who have been doing this for a while and really enjoy it - dads and sons alike.  Before they went, I made sure that Samuel had pads and a helmet,  gave them an egg salad sandwich and sent them off.  Richard was saying that he should not eat before he goes but ate anyway.  He said afterwards that he lost that sandwich after a few rounds around the track.  Samuel on the other hand, as picky as he is, slipped away without touching his.  For once not finishing his dinner was a good thing.  

Apparently I had no idea what I was sending them to.  Samuel had a blast and could not stop talking how he made so many jumps and rode on a wall!  That raised my mommy red flags.  What?  Richard explained, and they both asked that we go with them next time and see for ourselves how perfectly fun and safe it was.  So the girls and I went on Wednesday.  I was nicely surprised.  This track is run well, and I think completely by volunteers.  What a great way to get dads and boys involved in something fun together.  What a great way to engage boys in a high energy sport for very little money and thus keep them out of trouble.  Richard and Samuel rent their bikes and helmets for an incredibly low price.  It was fun to watch them. The late afternoon sun light and the colorful helmets and outfits contributed to some fun pictures.  One of our friends kept a close eye on Samuel and rode behind him on every round.  Daddy's legs are not up to par yet with Samuel's quick and skinny legs that can just keep going.  Samuel did very well, but still needs to learn to get off the seat.  I am sure with time that will come.  

Esther always enjoys watching her brother playing a sport, as long as she has some snacks and drinks.  There was also a playground on which other little girls were killing time while their brothers were racing.  As for Maggie, she had a nice long nap before I took her out of her seat to enjoy the cool and dry April evening.  We have been so lucky to get a true spring, and not jump straight from fall into summer. 

This season we missed the sign up for baseball, which Samuel has played for two years now, and were incredibly disappointed.  But as the wisdom goes, when one door closes another opens.  If we had not missed the deadline, we probably would not have had time to introduce Samuel to BMX racing.  Once baseball season starts, there is little time to do anything else.  

Here is more info on the track if you would like to check it out: http://www.pearlandbmx.com/.  I just read on the website that the THE TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR 2012 WILL be at PEARLAND BMX!!!

Moments to remember

So many moments in our children's lives get forgotten way too soon.  Especially in their first year of life when they change so rapidly.  I can't have enough of the little simple moments of their day to day living.  Like the way they travel around their bassinet when they sleep.

Or the way they chose to dress for pre-school and leave me speechless.

Or that they did this.

Or that they couldn't have enough of their toes even when covered with pantyhose.  

"Neglect a Chair"

As a third child Maggie is going to use and wear many hand-me-downs.  I love hand-me-downs, and I will never turn them down.  We wanted to splurge just a little though and give her one thing that was only hers.  So here it is.  A friend of ours calls it "The Neglect a Chair".  I have to admit that will probably happen on occasion in our family too.  Luckily for now the ExerSaucer has been curios enough for Esther and Samuel too.  As soon as I put Maggie in it, they descend upon it showing her how everything works.  We have had it for a month, and they still do it.  So much for doing her own discoveries as a third child...

Much love to go around

Samuel's and Esther's favorite pastime these days is resting and cuddling with Maggie.