As a family in the past year, we attended 3 weddings.
My best friend Kasie got married July of 2011 in Pocatello, ID, and we were lucky enough to attend. We combined the trip into seeing Brian's aging grandparents who live in Idaho Falls, ID.
My big brother Sam got married September of 2011 to Erin Bergstrom in Maryland. We were fortunate enough to have very generous people in our lives and were flown out to see my parents for a few days in Rogersville, TN. Then hopped in the car with them and drove up to MD. It was fabulous going to their wedding. Lily was their flower girl, and Brian was one of Sam's groomsmen. It was great to have the whole entire family (of mine) were together for Sam and Erin's big day!
An old and dear friend, Dave-o Atkisson got married also in September 2011 and we were able to attend. Dave-o played at my wedding, and his family holds a special place in our hearts.
Lily is growing up and changing so fast! She had a fabulous 5th birthday. Brian and I thought I was time for her to have a birthday party, since she had never had one before. 5 is a big age. She had her party at the Riverdale park splash pad complete with pizza and cupcakes. She had an awesome day. Lily is also attending Royal Tots Preschool for another year. We decided against her going to kindergarten which had a number of reasons. She blossomed beautifully for another year at preschool and I am completely confident in her attending kindergarten next year. She will be attending full day kindergarten at North Park Elementary Fall of 2012. Lily's a very sweet girl. She is happy and kind to everyone she meets. She is also a tremendous help to her mommy and daddy and a wonderful big sister. She loves to learn. I am always impressed by things she says and learns. She tells me things such as, "Mommy, did you know that racoons are nocturnal, that means they sleep all day and stay awake all night." Or, "Mommy, did you know that caterpillars make a chrysalis and then they turn into a butterfly." She is on the verge of reading now, she knows almost all her letter sounds and is also learning basic math like addition and subtraction. I am amazed at how inquisitive and bright she is. She is quite the little creative genius as well. She draws and paints beautiful pictures. She sings sweet made up songs to us about wonderful things. She thinks of wonderful stories and ideas. She loves playing games, whether made up ones, like "Runaway horsie," or real ones such as Candyland, Memory, Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Cootie, and Break the Ice. She is an active little girl, dancing, running, jumping, and playing. She loves to play tag, go to the park, jump on the trampoline, ride her bike, and do workouts with Mommy. She will be starting T-ball next week and swim lessons this summer. I am in awe of my little girl and I love her so much.
Benny has grown up and changed the most in the past year. But the younger you are, the faster you change. Last time I wrote about him, he was an itty bitty 15 month old. Now he's a rambunctious, crazy awesome, tender hearted 2 year old. Benny can do just about anything his sister can. He runs, jumps, climbs, makes gigantic messes, and dances. He speaks in full sentences and truly puts across what he wants to say. He is obsessed with things that go! He loves cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, and motorcycles. While riding in the car with him you will hear him mention "Choo choo," at the sight of anything that has to do with trains, train tracks, real trains, something that resembles a train. He also points to sky anytime a plane goes by and he sits there to watch it until it is completely out of sight. He is a much different child than Lily was. He is always looking for ways to wander from me, while Lily at his age clung to my side. He's figured out scary things like how to escape from the house (unless I keep the door locked). He is curious and loves to explore. He's not easily scared and loves to try new things. He wants to be just like his Daddy and pretends to "fix" things with Daddy's tools. He loves puppies. He has become attached to his favorite stuffed dog, which he named, "Rawr rawr." He carries him around with him almost everywhere he goes. He adores his big sister and misses her when she's gone at school. He will be in some part time day care this fall while I attend classes. I think he will love being around other kids especially with his best friend away at kindergarten all day. He's growing so fast, and with him being my last child, it is especially nostalgic watching him grow up and change so fast. I love that sweet boy and he has me wrapped around his finger.
We have done a few improvements to our house. We got bunk beds for the kids room. They have so much more room and the crib is gone. It looks fabulous!
Brian is an amazing daddy. Even more so today, in my opinion than ever before. I can tell he cares so deeply for our kids. He doesn't want to miss a thing, not the first day of school, birthday, or any important thing that they do. I love when I hear him teaching our kids about how things work, how to fix things, about trains, and how to take care of the house. He does such a great job providing for us and making sure everything works correctly. He also loves to have fun. We take our yearly trip up to Snowbird to the Oktoberfest, where Brian and his dad get their favorite beer called, Black Bier. He even entered into the stein holding contest, and almost won! Oh yeah! He was one of Sam's groomsmen for the wedding and did an amazing job helping out Sam with whatever he needed. That's what is so great about Brian, he is always ready and willing to help. I love that man of mine!
I have been so busy. Being mommy to my amazing kids, helping them learn and grow, be awesome loving people. I love how I have had the opportunity to stay home with them and witness all of their amazing stages of life and accomplishments. I've been in school, taking classes on campus for the first time since having kids. I've taken 2 of the hardest classes yet since starting my college career, statistics and research methods. But I have never learned so much. I really enjoy school. It really leaves me feeling fulfilled and happy. In fact I will be attending school full time in the fall because I got a psychology departmental scholarship. That combined with my Pell grants will give me more than enough funding for school. I have continued to work on my fitness and health. I have lost 54 pounds since having Benny. While I would still like to lose about 5-10 more pounds, I'm not in a huge hurry to get there. I have run 2 more 5k races. A zombie 5k - which was hilarious and so fun! I ran the Roy Cops and Robbers 5k just last month and beat my record with a 27:58 time. I am running another one this month. I enjoy running so much. Life is good.
Our family is growing and changing so fast! I love our little life! :D
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