Aaron had his very first taste of food. By food I mean 1 tablespoon of rice cereal in 4 tablespoons of breast milk. So, in reality, he was just being spoon-fed breast milk. But, he really seemed to enjoy the mode of transportation that his milk was taking to his mouth.
I feel like a horrible mother. In all of the craziness of the last month (losing teeth, becoming a first grader, camping, sister’s birthday, etc…), I forgot to blog about Lauren turning 6 years old! She had a sleep-over with 3 of her best friends complete with a make-your-own-pizza party, face painting, and movies galore. Then, she swam all day with her friends. Tired and happy girls……I call that a success!
Lauren, you keep growing and changing so fast. I had to post this picture of you when you were 6 weeks old to remind myself just how much you’ve grown over the course of 6 years. You just finished kindergarten and did an amazing job throughout the year in Miss Bell’s class. You will do great in 1st grade. You are so ready! You are like a sponge and you love to learn new things. One of your favorite things to do right now is to ask Siri questions on my iPhone. You also like to do your “times” (multiplication) that Daddy taught you one night at the dinner table.
This past year for you has been a very busy one. You’ve moved to a new house, started a new school, your baby brother was born, you learned to read, do math, etc in school, and you lost your first two teeth.
You are great with your little sister and brother. You like to tell Molly what to do. But, you are always there for her when she needs you. And, you are always being very sweet with Aaron. They are both so lucky to have you as their sister. You have and will continue to teach them so much!
We couldn’t ask for a more amazing 6-year-old! You are sweet and thoughtful and smart and strong and funny and surprising! We love you more than you know!!
We decided to brave it and go camping with all three kids this Memorial Day weekend. We went with our good friends, Andy and Sarah and their little baby Madeline and Sarah’s cousin and her family. Saturday morning we took the trek up to Whitehorse Lake, which is south of Williams, AZ. Aside from the wind during the day and the frigid temperatures at night, we had a great time. We took a walk down to the lake on Sunday and the kids got to see more frogs than they ever cared to. Let’s just say Lauren’s favorite animal USED TO BE a frog.
There was a lot of great campfire conversations with our friends and amazing cookout food. Andy and Sarah were more than prepared for this camping trip with every camping cooking gadget and food imaginable. Which was good, because it took all of the room in our truck just to pack for the family of five and our drinks and snacks.
Here are a few pictures from our mini-adventure!
Lauren playing bartender in the back of Andy’s truck
“Hey, Mommy! You want a cold one?”
Baby Madeline
Andy taking a break from cooking up some amazing food!
My happy lil’ camper!
Auntie Sarah helping Molly with her shoes. She also volunteered to take Molly to the bathroom multiple times, which is quite the task with the level of funk those bathrooms have. Thank you Sarah!
Molly attempting to hold baby Madeline! Molly’s face in this picture is actually clean compared to what it was most of the weekend.
We were watching our friends dog for the weekend, so Sam got to come camping with us. She LOVED it! And, she is the best. dog. ever!
Getting packed up.
Daddy’s helpers.
Mommy is usually not in the pictures because I’m always taking them. Which, in this situation would have been quite alright. But, I thought this was a cute picture of my girls. Aaron is snuggled in the Ergo.
The deconstruction process.
The ride home was very quiet. Wreck-it-Ralph was on…
On May 8, 2013, my big girl Lauren lost her very first tooth. It was already very wiggly and it started bleeding at school so Miss Bell, her kindergarten teacher pulled it out. This marks such a big milestone in her nearly 6 years of life. I feel like she was JUST a baby. And, now she's 4 more school days away from being a first grader and she's lost her first tooth. She's such a big girl and I'm so proud of her.
P.S. She lost her 2nd tooth on May 19th.
The day after Molly turned 3, Aaron turned 5 months old. I love watching him grow. But, and I know I have said it over and over, they grow way too fast. He’s putting everything in his mouth these days. But, prefers his own fingers. He’s not a huge fan of the pacifier like the girls were. He loves to just sit back and observe. He focuses on things like he’s trying to figure them out. But, faces are his favorite thing to look at. He could stare and smile at people all day long. He loves to grab at faces and noses and mouths too. But, his fingernails, even freshly trimmed, are like sharp talons!
He’s sleeping in his crib for a little while at night. Even though it is way easier just to keep him in bed with us (I still sneak him in bed with me in the middle of the night). When I pick him up in the middle of the night from his crib, his little arms wrap around my neck and he snuggles his face into my neck. It totally melts my heart.
He adores his sisters and does well at daycare. He makes “ba-ba” and growling sounds and has started mimicking our mouth movements. He’s still only getting fed breast milk. And, he is a great eater (his thighs and cheeks are proof of that).
We love you, Little Man!!
It’s amazing how fast the years pass us by. I was looking at pictures of just 3 years ago when she was just born. And, I remember how I wondered what she would be like when I held her for the first time. Would she walk in the same footsteps as her big sister, Lauren? Or, would she have a completely different personality and do her own thing?
Well, Molly, you are a surprising little girl. So full of happiness and humor and excitement and kindness. You are your own little person. You have a smile that lights up a room. And, your laughter is contagious. You love playing with your sister and friends. But, are also content with playing alone and having your own personal quiet time. You make us laugh everyday with the surprising things you do and say. And, our lives would not be complete without hearing your little Molly voice everyday!
We love you so much!
Happy 3rd Birthday, Molly Shea!
This is the first time Molly would get in the pool this summer.
She ended the summer with no floaties, swimming on her own.
