Happy Birthday Aurora Rose

We went to Columbus last weekend to celebrate Aurora's first birthday. She is a happy and totally adorable little girl. Last year I was blessed to see her on the day she was born. She has changed so much in a year. We were happy to have the opportunity to share her special day with her. Aurora is a reminder to us how precious life is and what a gift children are. Her presence makes our lives all the more special. The kids played so well together. Dominic has really taken to Madison and wherever she is, he wants to be there too. It's adorable and Madison really eats it up. Mallory decided to roll a toy, metal shopping cart down the stairs while Aurora was opening her gifts. That gave us all a fright! I feel a little responsible for her doing this. I have a bad habit of tossing things down the stairs. Otherwise I would spend most of the day going up and down the stairs. It's easier to toss things and put them away later all at once. Apparently she has picked up on my habit. Unfortunately, Duane had to stay home and work on the year. We missed having him there that day. We had a great food and truly enjoyed spending the afternoon with family!

Spring Break

Everyone had spring break the same week this year. Madison and Molly went to my parents house for a few days. We met in Columbus and had dinner together. They got the royal treatment. While they were there the got to go to a museum with Aunt Susan. They also went to see the movie Monsters verses Aliens, had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Scott and spent an afternoon at the indoor pool at the rec center. It was three days jam packed full of fun. Mallory got to see what it's like to be an only child for the first time in her life. We were back from dropping the girls off with my parents for less than 10 minutes and Mallory wanted to pretend the she and I were Madison and Molly. I thought that was pretty funny. It was amazing how quiet the house was! I took advantage of the time by getting some spring cleaning done. Mallory and I went swimming one afternoon. She is such a little water bug like her sisters. She loves to jump into the the big pool with her vest on now. Duane and I took her out to dinner and went to the same movie with her. It was her first movie. She did fantastic! The day after the girls got home we had a tea party. Duane surprised us all and took the day Friday off. We headed to Cincinnati to have lunch at Johnny Rockets and visit the Newport Aquarium. It was very crowded so we decided to go the the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. The kids love the children's museum there, especially the tree house area. They had a great time. We all enjoyed the break and were sad to see it end. But now we can start the countdown to summer break. It's just around the corner!

Busy Little Bee

Molly is a busy girl! We decided to take a break from gymnastics so that Molly could play soccer. We had high hopes that she would like soccer as much as Madison. She scored two goals at the first game and we were really proud of how well she kept up. She is so tall for her age. It is going to take some time for her coordination to catch up with her size. She enjoys interacting with the other kids more than actually playing soccer. But at this point at her ripe old age of 5, socialization is the most important thing. I am trying to keep that in mind when I watch her roll around and giggle with another child on the side lines or chase a team mate around the field during practice. I'm also trying to keep in mind that Madison was the same way at that age.

Every Wednesday after preschool, Molly meets with her Godly Play group for a half hour. She enjoys hearing the interactive bible stories and often retells them. We have found that she is a pretty spiritual kid. She talks a lot about the bible and God. We will miss Godly Play next year. It has been a wonderful experience for her.

We went to a spaghetti dinner at Molly's school a few weeks ago. We got to see her perform on stage. Her class sang "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Oh, What a Miracle". They also got to say the blessing before the meal. We were very happy that the Ackleys were able to be there with us on Molly's special night. We are blessed to have them in our lives.

I registered Molly for Kindergarten and in a few weeks she goes for Kindergarten screening. We have been working hard on learning letters and numbers to get her all set for Kindergarten. It's so hard to believe that she is already 5 years old. She is getting more and more independent every day. I have been looking at pictures from when she was a baby and toddler. She has the most angelic face with her blue eyes and toe-head blond hair. She is truly thrilled to be old enough to play with the "big kids" and go to some of the neighbors houses to play. It's going to be a great summer for her this year!

Here Comes Peter Cottentail!

We did a whirlwind tour of northeastern Ohio on Easter Sunday, but it was well worth it. We were happy to wake up to a sunny and mild morning. We got everybody up, dressed and made over, then it was time to hunt for those baskets of goodies. The girls looked so adorable! It was amazing the the Easter Bunny knew to deliver the baskets to Mammaw and Pappaw's house! He's pretty sharp! The girls were thrilled to find arts and craft stuff, a new DVD and loads of candy in their baskets. After that we had to rush off to church. Everything we do involves rushing. It doesn't matter how early you start, there is never enough time! We spent most of the time in the cry room with Mallory and Molly. Mallory is not ready or able to handle sitting in church. Madison sat with my parents and Grandpa Scott. Then her and Molly switched after communion. We missed not having Grandma Scott there with us. She was recovering from a double knee replacement in an extended care facility. That was our next stop after church. It was a quick visit, but we were happy to see her none the less. We dropped off some flowers the day before to help put her in the Easter spirit. Our next stop was at Dale and Janet's for our first Easter dinner. Janet is a fantastic cook. We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed the time with Dale, Janet, Megan, Logan and Grandpa Scott. The kids always love to be together and made the most of their time together. Our last stop was Aunt Susan's house and another delicious meal. We were so stuffed! All the kids had an Easter egg hunt after dinner and were thrilled to get even more treats. They are blessed to have a wonderful family who thinks of them often and does so many things to make them feel loved and special. Easter Sunday is a day to be surrounded by family and love. It is a day to remember the sacrifice that God made in order for us to have all of our blessings and eternal peace.

Many Milestones for Mallory

Mallory continues to change so quickly! Many big things have happened for her lately. In February she was invited to her first birthday party. Her little friend Kennedy had a birthday tea party. She got all dressed up in a pretty dress and had a great time. She looked like such a big girl!

Several months ago we put her potty chair out just to get her familiar with it. Every now and then we would put her on it. A few times she even went to the bathroom and we were thrilled. While Duane and I were in Gaitlynburge, my Aunt Susan spent a lot of time working on potty training with Mallory. When we came home from our trip we were thrilled to find out she was nearly potty trained. She is doing a wonderful job with it! Now that spring is here and she is playing outside more often, she's had a few set backs. But it's just a matter of us reminding her more often to take a break and go to the bathroom when she is so engaged with outdoor play.

A few weeks ago we took down her crib and put up the toddler bed. She never really tried to climb out of her crib. But this summer she is going to bunk with Molly so that Madison can have her own room. So we wanted to give her plenty of time to adjust. When she switches rooms she'll be in a twin bed. It was a bitter sweet day! She took very well to her new bed. She is still great with naps, but often visits our room at night now that she can come and go as she pleases. We finally have Molly trained to stay in her bed for the most part and now we have a little one coming in for a visit.

The kids in the neighborhood have been spending a lot more time in our yard now that the weather is improving. Mallory just fits right into the mix. She is not always directly involved in what they are all playing, but she is totally content to just be in the midst of it all. Al big challenge this summer will be teaching her to stay away from the street. I'll be relieved when she gets that one. The next milestone we are hoping for is to get rid of the paccie this summer. I saved that one for last because it is not going to be easy. But it's time! She is a big girl now!