May Madness.
It's a new term I came up with.
Anyone with children would understand.
So much fun and craziness crammed into one month... it was hard to catch it all, but here goes nothin':
School Cuteness... LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
Spring Picture Day!
Miss thang loves a good reason to wear a dress, fancy shoes, and a bow to school- HA! She was twirling all the way out the door- LOVE the little girly girl she is;).
Pretend play exploded with this one the past couple months. Daddy was a model patient for Dr. Evelyn as she took vitals and gave him a couple shots- HA!
...and we enjoyed making cutout cookies together. I think every cookie was a different shape- HA and came with their own mountain of sprinkles, but she had fun and loved telling everyone the shape they were eating that night for dessert.
Birthday party fun together at a classmates house... she's getting older- we're actually going over to friends' houses all on our own... oh man- new phase!!
and speaking of new phases... we tried out a gymnastics class after she'd been begging for months. Consensus: LOVED IT!
She has no fear and shockingly, was a GREAT listener with her coach. Daddy enjoyed watching her moves and I think we are slowly learning Evelyn will be quite the little athlete of the bunch- hehe.
She plays HARD and never really wants to slow down or ever take a nap
... until she finally does slow down and this happens- out cold on her bedroom floor- HA! Evelyn is loving the warmer days, outside time, and running herself all the way down to E every single day. I pick her up from school sweaty, dirty, and beaming.... she's loving life for sure.
Ms. Maggie is also enjoying the warmer temps! Every other request is either "swing" or "walk". When her therapist, Ms. Rachel is with her, her heart is content. Rachel started working with Maggie in January, but you would have thought they were friends since birth. Rachel is an ABA therapist and works with autistic kiddos. She's a saint and I thank God every day our paths crossed! She has bonded with Maggie and helped her to tackle communication barriers I never thought possible. She has truly brought so much happiness to Maggie's life it leaves me speechless. We love "our Ms. Rachel" and will be so sad when she leaves us next month to continue her education in St. Louis. She gave my kiddo a voice and a way to speak her mind- ha- and man are we grateful!
Maggie is still working out like a champ... standing more every day! She's always been such a great little workout buddy!
Usually it's Daddy who does the trips to Kansas City when Maggie visits Dr. Gupta for botox injections. They have their routine down: hotel check-in, pre-op visit, dinner at Panera, and early bedtime. Mommy tossed up the plans a bit: we shopped till we dropped- Ikea style- haha!
I was nervous being there without Pete as she went into the procedure, but the staff and doctors were AMAZING- for both of us;). They were kind and even read to Maggie all the way to the operating room- lucky girl!!
I think it's fascinating how animals respond to Maggie. It's almost like they know she's "safe". There aren't any sudden movements, most of the time she hangs with them on the floor, and she loves reaching out to give lots of pets. Our friends' dog, Bella, is just the SWEETEST with Maggie. Always there to "clean up dinner" after Maggie finishes and the first one to cuddle her when she's playing on the ground- LOVE BELLA GRACE!!
I can't BELIEVE we are at the end of Harper's first grade year!! It has been an INCREDIBLE first year at Central Park. She seriously lucked out with the sweetest teacher and fantastic group of friends this year. I was so worried about her starting yet another new school, but this year proved to be not only great for her, but has boosted her confidence- proud Mommy!
{My fav Harper pose at the moment- ha!!}
I was able to sneak one last lunch in with her... love our grown up chats over Chick-fil-a!
And although I was HEARTBROKEN I couldn't be there to help with field day, my sweet friend snapped this pic of Harper and her buddy, Lemepe, living it up that day- LOVE!!
{Pioneer Day}
I remember like it was yesterday having Pioneer Day... I think I was equally exited for Harper to enjoy her day seeing how it all went down "back in the day"- haha! Although she got pretty toasty in that get-up, she loved going to school in the old-fashioned school house and eating her lunch from her pail;).
She has been waiting since she started kindergarten to do Running Club!! She practiced a couple mornings a week with her friends at school and then she and I ran the Gold Rush race with kiddos throughout the school district. Each school wore a different color; the rainbow of shirts came together and ran- SO MUCH FUN!!!!
Daddy even got to sneak in a Happy Meal with Harper...
...that just so happened to be on Pirate Day!! Nana made this girl's day with a Uma costume complete with a wig...although from the looks of the above lunch picture it seems the wig didn't make it far into the school day, she was feeling pretty awesome as she left for school that morning!
And Nana has been writing frequent letters to Harper. I remember my grandmother writing to me at Harper's age: telling me about her day, telling me stories, and asking me questions. I would of course write her right back to get those questions answered and we were like pen-pals- I LOVED it and still have all those letters from years of being my pen-pal. Harper LOVES getting mail and is laughing through most of them as she reads them aloud to me. Of course I'm usually all teary-eyed as I know how much these letters mean: she will no doubt read them over and over in years to come and I cherish the bond they have;).
Thank you, Mom, for being so present in my children's love despite the distance- it means the world.
Gardening time!!!!
Our baby seedlings were ready to be planted! The girls and their Daddy had so much fun placing all the "babies" in the garden boxes, and then I- of course- came by and labeled them all... ALWAYS organizing;)!! Can't wait to watch these puppies grow: corn, green beans, melons, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash.... oh man, it'll be fun!!
You know summer is upon us when you brush the dog and this happens.
G. R. O. S. S.
Ugh.. no wonder I was vacuuming every day... ugh. He and the furminator have become quite close these past couple months. We do love the warmth of Arkansas, but the CONSTANTLY shedding dog is a different issue all itself- ha!
These two... Harper and Pete are TWO PEAS IN A POD. 90% of the time they're a great influence on each other, but sometimes... they get these looks between them, and I see them doing pure silliness together....
like Harper driving Pete around on the plasma car as he holds onto the plastic bumper. He loved when she would take the turns super quick and he would spin out- oh dear- these two....
Race for the Cure 2018!
Something we've done every year we've lived in Arkansas. A special race we do altogether and one that means so much to me since my mom fought her own breast cancer battle 6 years ago.
My mama... she's a fighter- no doubt. Love you and thought of you the whole time;).
{Sweetest Moment Award}
Evelyn ran almost the whole mile... never sat in the stroller. Most of the race she ran hand-in-hand with her sister encouraging Harper to keep going;).
THE. SWEETEST.
In keeping with tradition, we threw some change in the pink fountain and showed down on watermelon!
First Milkshakes!!
We tried a new restaurant called Big Orange which is known for its burgers and milkshakes so of COURSE we had to get milkshakes while we waited on the burgers....
and yep, you guessed it: the burgers went home in to-go boxes for later. Little bellies were FULL of yummy shakes!
{Horses}
Harper is obsessed. Hands down her favorite animal. Probably one of the only things she and I have in common- ha... I grew up wanting my own horse, riding as much as I could, and truly loving them- heck I even had my room wallpapered in horses- HA!
Regardless, any chance she gets to be around them- she's there... comfortable and confident on the ranch. We went to a fundraiser at Maggie's hioppotherapy ranch, Hoffin' It, and the girls were in Heaven. Harper was right up there watching the show the Arkansas Rounders put on and went home dreaming of being one some day (girl on horseback doing a synchronized show to music in a group;)- amazing!!!
{Arkansas Film Festival}
I think their favorite moment was a tie between meeting Miss Arkansas...
...and playing with the police car/motorcycle... HA!
I was able to sneak in one last girls night before summer began with the babes at home...
...and Pete headed to Nashville for a weekend to celebrate my brother's bachelor party!!
But most importantly, he and I celebrated 9 YEARS MARRIED on May 2!!!
What a wild and crazy ride it has been, but there is no one else I'd rather do it with....
...especially when I get my first EVER full-length mirror to celebrate! The man knows me well... been asking for one since we got married, and when I walked into my bathroom (after I screamed thinking my reflection was someone in the bathroom) I was SO PUMPED!!! No more propping myself up on my tiptoes on the ledge of the bathtub to see my outfit in the mirror- ha!
Love you, babe
Sweet moments, fun family outings, and end of the year craziness has me like "what am I WEARING on my feet?!?!" I legit showed up to a Maggie IEP meeting with my house shoes on- geez louise. I had nice clothes on, hair and make up done, and flip flops on- OOPS!!!
...and I even powered through one CAN'T-SEEM-TO-COOL-DOWN-IN-THE-CAR-ALL-DAY kinda day with a McFlurry- ahh!!!!!
But these babes make this time of year so DANG FUN!!!! It may be May Madness around here, but I do it all for them. I honestly love the hustle and bustle. The family outings, school programs, and sweet project they do. Love for my babies runs deep... and so does caffeine and chocolate most days- HA!
