Dance Pics

Macie's dance studio does spring professional photo shoots of each of the dancers in their costume.  Macie's turned out pretty cute.  It was hard deciding on just a few poses.  These were my favorites, though.

Macie's Spring Dance Recital

Macie had her spring dance recital last week.  They danced to "Let's Go Fly A Kite" and Macie did such a great job.  She actually knew it so well that she kind of rushed it a little, but she did really good.  I am so proud of her!  I have to say, one of the best parts of having a girl is getting to watch dance recitals...I really enjoy them.  I look forward to watching her grow as a dancer!

Macie is on the left end.

Macie's Preschool Graduation

Macie officially graduated from preschool!  It has been such great weather this spring and of course the one day we really needed good (or just non-rainy) weather it downpours all morning!  So we had to move it inside...which was a little crammed.  But the kids did a great job in their program.  I was lucky and got a seat on the floor right in front, Mom stood a few people behind me, and Tony got stuck up on the stairs and couldn't see anything so he eventually just left and went to work.  Each of the kids were assigned a poem from the school year that they had to recite with a partner.  Macie and Tyler did the "Easter Bunny" and did awesome.  Macie knew every word.  She is so good at memorizing things!  The part that got me choked up was when they played the graduation song and put on their cute little graduate hats.  And Miss Lorie said really nice things and got choked up herself.

Paxton was a little stinker (should have left him with a sitter)...so between trying to entertain him and keep him quiet, take pictures, take video, and try to actually enjoy the whole thing, it was a little overwhelming!

Oh, and when we went outside afterwards for refreshments and pictures it was back to being beautiful weather!  :)

Macie receiving her "diploma"

That little monster on the left is Pax...most of the time he's a sweetheart...but not that morning!  His face says exactly how his attitude was!

Teacher/Grandpa Avery, Macie, and Miss Lorie

Turns out Tyler AND Dallas are planning on marrying Macie!  Cute little preschool crushes!

Macie and Dallas

All the kids made pictures of themselves for the wall.  So cute!

I have been amazed at how much Macie has learned over the last 2 years in preschool.  She is so smart and has learned things that I would have never thought to teach her at home.  Preschool is really so important...she is so prepared for Kindergarten.  I can't wait to see how much she continues to learn and grow throughout her school years ahead.  I know I'm going to be blogging about her high school and college graduations before I know it! 

Pet Day

This week Macie had "Pet Day" at preschool.  I hesitated to take our dog Moose because he is so "energetic" to put it nicely!  But I decided that since he is our only pet we should probably just take him.  Macie was SO excited to take him, too.  I put his e-collar on to make sure he would be a good listener and he ended up doing GREAT!  I even had parents complimenting on how good of a dog he is and how well he listens to commands!  I NEVER thought I'd hear someone comment on how good of a dog he is!  I guess our training investment was all worth it?

Anyway, there were a few other dogs and one of the girls brought her pet turtle.  Macie held Moose's leash while she talked about him.  She told everyone how old he was, his name, what kind of dog he is and that he's crazy.  She told them about the time we bought a brand new blow-up pool and only a few hours after we had bought it and swam in it he chewed a hole in in and ruined it...apparently she hasn't forgotten about it! (It was 2 summers ago)

The rest of the kids who didn't bring live animals brought stuffed animals...it was so cute to see how excited they were about even the pretend animals!

Pax forgets that Moose isn't a horse! 

Moose is so patient with the kids...that's the great thing about labs I guess.  I have to say a year ago I wondered if I would ever be able to like my dog because he was SO out of control...but he really proved what a good dog he can be and has settled down a lot...even if he is still kind of crazy!  We love our Moosey!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had such a nice Mothers Day this year.  On Sunday morning we went out to Ryan & Mackensie's house for brunch.  I had volunteered to do it but they volunteered their house so I tried to do most of the food since I appreciated not having to clean my house and prepare for it!  Ever since we took it off the market I have been on kind of a cleaning strike...after keeping it spotless for 6 months straight I just need a break!

Anyway, brunch was delicious!  My mom and dad came along with my grandma and my aunt Nancy who was in town for the weekend.  And thankfully the weather was beautiful so the kids spent most of the time playing outside while the adults hung out and talked!  It was a nice morning!

Afterwards we stopped by Tony's parents' house to visit for a little while.  Then later on we went out to my aunt Charli's for a BBQ.  It was a fun day!

I'm sure I say this every year but I am so lucky to have such amazing mothers in my life.  I have the best mom who would drive 10000 miles if I needed her to do bring me something and would do almost anything for me and my kids (and anyone else!)  Sometimes I worry that people take advantage of her kindness!  She is like my best friend and we talk daily...everytime my phone rings Tony says "What does your mom want?!"  I also have an AMAZING grandmother who I am so thankful to be so close to.  I was lucky enough to grow up a couple houses away and she has always been one the people I can call or talk to when I just need someone to talk to.  She is such an amazing example, too.  She and Macie are like soulmates as well...they are the best of friends and love each other so much.  Their relationship is priceless.

I also have such a great mother-in-law.  So many people have crazy mother-in-laws and I feel so blessed to have mine.  She is so respectful of my parenting style and doesn't ever try to step on my toes or tell me how to do things...even though I'm not even close to perfect. She is always willing to help out and is so great with my kids.  She is such a sweet person.

And of course all of the women in my life who are mothers who inspire me to be a better mother and person!

Motherhood is by far the best job there is.  I am constantly worrying that I'm not good enough and always trying to do better.  There are days that are so crazy & tiring that I just can't wait for bedtime, but at the end of the day it comes down to the fact that I am completely in love with my kids.  I miss them when I'm not with them and I worry about them constantly.  I set a lot of goals when I was younger and I've accomplished a lot of them, but motherhood was always at the top of the list.  There is no job that is more important.  I am so blessed that I have been given the opportunity to raise these sweet spirits...I literally don't know what I would do without them!

Mackensie, Mom, Me

4 generations...my grandma was so mad that I made her take this picture because she hasn't dyed her hair recently...but she's beautiful anyway!

Cute Joey and Mack.  They are getting too big.  I have babysat these boys since they were born and it makes me feel really old to look at them as TEENAGERS!  What sweet boys they are, though.  They have had such a good mother (my aunt Charli) who has raised them with good values, respect, manners, etc. 



Tony's Alumni Baseball Game

On Saturday Tony played in a MHS Baseball Alumni game for all of the old players.  And by old, I mean, back to guys who graduated in 1975!  There were 3 games and the teams were divided by year graduated, Tony being on the 2nd youngest team.  He played in the first game against guys who graduated between 2000-2009, his team was 1999-1996. 

Can I just start by saying how excited he was for this game!  We played catch all week and on Friday night we went on a date to the batting cages.  It was funny to see how giddy he was to relive a moment of high school!

Tony did pretty well, he had one base hit and struck out 3 times but he played 1st base, catcher, and right field really well.  His brother Casey was on his team as well.  They didn't win the game, but it was fun to watch.  I think they are going to start doing this yearly...they do it as a fundraiser for the current team so it benefits everyone.  And I don't mean to be cheesy but I have to add that watching Tony get out and play baseball in his baseball pants/uniform and seeing how into it he was...it was just plain sexy!  :)

Anyway, Tony was pretty upset that he didn't hit a homerun but I'm sure he'll work on it for next year!  We ran home and he showered and we grabbed lunch then went back for the 2nd game which Tony's other brother Kip played in.  By the time the 3rd game started we'd watched 5 hours of baseball and the kids were done so we left.  But it was the oldest 2 teams and would have been fun to watch!  What a fun day, getting together with people we don't usually see.  Oh yeah, and for the record, Tony was really sore the next day!  Haha!

Goodnight Routine

I just wanted to document our nighttime routine.  Of course we do the brush the teeth and go potty/change diaper thing first.  Sometimes Tony and I split the kids up and tuck one in but sometimes we do it together.  When we tell them it's bedtime sometimes Pax will run and jump in Macie's bed and pull the covers over him and say "I sleepin"...it's too cute!

Seriously?  Could they be any cuter?!
(P.S.  That giant stuffed dog is Macie's newest thing that she has to sleep with...along with her blue bear "Bluie", pillowpets, and a few blankets!)

My kids LOVE books which makes me happy.  We have to read a story before bedtime every night. Macie is learning to read so she helps out a lot.  And Pax will finally sit and listen to a book without losing interest.  His current favorite is "The Potty Book for Boys"....he requests it EVERY night!
Macie's favorite right now is "Green Eggs and Ham."

And of course we say our prayers.  Macie is getting really good at saying them on her own and Pax will say "Heavy Fodder, mank you for dis day" then as one of us continues on with the prayer he'll kind of copy words here and there.  If we try to leave his room without a prayer at naptime or bedtime he yells "Fold Arms" until we go back.

Both the kids have to sleep with humidifiers to drown out noises and Macie has a butterfly nightlight.  Pax has to have his puppy, binky (still), monkey, and a blanky over him.  Nothing is sweeter than checking on them while they are asleep and seeing their sweet little sleeping faces.  We have enforced a strict "no kids in our bed" rule during the night but on the weekends they will come in in the mornings and snuggle with us in our bed and watch "Bubble Guppies" so we can get a little more sleep!

Pax usually goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes up between 7:45-8:15am.  Macie usually goes to bed around 9:00 and wakes up around 7:15-7:30am. 

Love those two!  :)