Little Things {Spring 2014}

As summer draws to a close, I find myself wondering what happened to it?  Surely, it was just spring and the kids were preparing for the end of the school year.  How could the months have possibly gone by so quickly?  And so I find myself sorting through the pictures on my phone and computer screen.  Photos that remind me of the months that have come and gone in a flash.  Photos that remind me of good moments and memories.  Photos that remind me that my children continue to grow.  Photos that remind me to continue documenting the lives of these little people.  Photos that need to be recorded here in this little space that I wish I had more time to visit.  So here they are... 

"Little Things"

 Spring 2014 Edition

*****

{New Smile}
It happened on March 12, 2014.  After being grossly wiggly for many, many days, her first  tooth fell out at school with little fanfare.  And she followed in her brother's footsteps and opted to save her first tooth.  So no tooth fairy visits for her yet!

{the wiggly tooth just days before it out}

{Singing Sweetie}
I get a lump in my throat almost every time I listen to the kids sing in their school music programs.  The majority of the songs they perform have a religious theme and their little voices are so incredibly sweet... the combination of those things, plus the overall cuteness of the kids dressed up, is what forms that lump every time.

{A New Look}
Noah decided early in the school year that he looked "stupid" and "weird" in glasses.  Poor kid... he is so critical of himself.  Despite my best efforts to convince him of the error in his assessment of himself, he was bound and determined to get rid of his glasses for good!  Although his eye doc said that he generally wouldn't try contacts on a child so young, he felt Noah was mature enough to give it a try.  The initial fitting was pretty frustrating as were the first few days.  After a few days of me helping him, he completely mastered the method and was happy to be glasses-free once and for all!

{Easter: Cute Clothes, Not Cute Pics}
It seems that I can never manage to get a Happy Easter picture (this was last year's!).  This year started out fairly well... until Emily spotted one of our college babysitters home for the holiday and ran to greet her, but instead tripped and hit her head on the edge of the podium.  And that was the end.  There was absolutely no way she was going to smile for a single picture.  In fact, I'm not sure she smiled for the majority of the day afterwards!  Could she look any more MISERABLE?!?!  Oh well... they looked cute!

{Student of the Week}
Finally... Emily got to be student of the week at the end of the school year!  I couldn't resist helping her with her poster.  But she completed her questionnaire all by herself!

{Hand Holding After Preschool: Pure Sweetness}
Molly was so sweet with Abby when we picked her up from preschool this year.  She always asked her teacher, Miss Ginger, if Abby could also have a stamp (something they get as they walk out the door) and she immediately asked Abby to hold her hand.  Everyday, these two cuties held hands as they walked to the car!

{Catfish Fishing}
Noah took quite an interest in catfish fishing this Spring.  The pond behind our house was filled with them... and they were quite large!  He and the neighbor kids routinely made their way to the pond after school and worked together to reel in some really big ones!

{Ear Bling}
Emily got her ears pierced on her 5th birthday (December 2012).  In Spring of 2013, on our trip to Disneyworld, one of her earrings fell out in the swimming pool.  As a result, her left ear hole closed up.  Despite my encouragement, she had been too scared to have it re-piereced and literally wore one earring in her right ear for over a year!  On Mother's Day this spring, as we were headed to Brunch, her right earring fell out got lost in the car.  She was petrified that her one remaining hole was going to close up too.  I finally just told her that I hoped it would close up so then she would at least have two matching ears!  That didn't make her happy.  At all.  Tears ensued.

BUT... something I said must have made her think because after Brunch (and many tears about the lost earring, hole closing saga) she announced, out of the blue, that she wanted to go to the store and get her other ear pierced.  I didn't waste time asking her if she was sure.  We just drove straight there and went in!  Much to my surprise, she didn't change her mind and finally has two pierced ears again!

AND... so does Molly!  Little sister was insistent on getting her ears pierced too.  Despite the fact that I had said "no ears pierced until age 5", I decided to take advantage of her enthusiasm and go for it.  She had to have the ears done independently and she handled it like a champ... she didn't even move a muscle!  

Both girls got to pick out new earrings and both wore big smiles and pretty ear bling home!

{Pigtails}
Abby's hair is a wreck!  She has a horribly awkward cowlick in the back and baby hair in the front that won't grow out!  As a result, she ends up in pigtails most of the time!  I have to say though, she wears them quite well!

{Branson Break}
We went on a last minute little vacation to Branson over Spring Break.  We took YaYa along with us and spent a few days at Silver Dollar City, going to a few shows, shopping, golfing and the highlight... swimming indoors!  It was a fun little get away and a nice break!

{Packed to the gills}

{Silver Dollar City...here we are!}

 

 

{Indoor Splashpad at the Resort}

{Boys Golf!}

{Girls Shop!}

{Tiny Dancers}
We spent a small fortune on dance costumes this year!  Molly had 2 dances and Emily had 3!  They both LOVE the dance recital and I LOVE watching them!  Molly even got a round of applause... when her group went on stage for their ballet routine, all of the little girls just stood still... except for Molly!  She was the ONLY one dancing; hence the round of applause!  It was precious.  Both of the girls enjoy this weekend immensely...being on stage and putting on make up are some of their favorite things to do!

{Small Genius... Steve Jobs}
Noah's class put on a Living Museum at the end of the school year in which they all researched an influential American person.  Noah chose Steve Jobs.  He had to make a poster with pictures and facts, write a speech and dress up as his chosen person.  The whole school, including parents, came to the Living Museum.  The kids had to give their speech each time a person "pushed" their "button" on their hand.  Being the anti-costume guy that he is, it took a lot of convincing on my part to get him to wear the glasses and let me spray his hair gray.  But in the end, he let me and he even secretly liked it!  He was nervous as could be when the first observers pushed his button, but as the day went on, he became much more comfortable and had his speech memorized perfectly!  I helped him with the props for his poster, but the speech was all him (he refused my help!).

{Little Girls to Grandma's}
The littles got to take their first vacation together to YaYa's house by themselves this Spring! They were super excited and had a fantastic time... until Molly got a stomach bug all over YaYa's bed and ended up coming home early!

{Golfing with his BFF}
Noah was thrilled when his BFF, Gabe, decided to try his hand at golf.  Noah accompanied Gabe on his inaugural 9 holes.  Much to Noah's delight, he loved it and the two of them began to spend after school days on the course together.  They are Mutt and Jeff... just like me and many of my BFF's from my school days!

{Last Days}
The last days of school represents the end of spring and the start of SUMMER!  So to end this Spring edition of "Little Things", I'll close with the pics of the three school goers on the last day of school!  Goodbye PreK-3, Goodbye Kindergarten, and Goodbye 3rd grade.  Hello Summer!