Dance Pictures

Whoa. I need to catch my breath. The past couple of weeks have been C-R-A-Z-Y with recitals, programs, parties, projects, field trips, etc. I have so much to blog about and feel so far behind! So let's get started!

Makenna and Addison both took dance this year and loved it! Being a dancer myself, I just adore watching my girls dance and discover a love for it. I hope (fingers crossed) that my girls want to dance for many more years! The studio they dance for had their recital last week and both girls did great. I will post videos of their performances when I get the professional DVD I ordered. My videos were terrible because of the low light in the auditorium. The weekend before the recital I decided to do my own pictures of the girls in their costumes.

Addison's class danced to "Spoon Full of Sugar" from Mary Poppins. Her costume included a giant lollipop prop that I didn't have for the shoot.








Addie's little friend was there during the shoot so she was pretty distracted and I had a hard time getting her to cooperate. However, going through these pictures I am reminded that you only really need to get 1 good shot to make it worth it. I probably took 200 pics on this day and only a handful of them turned out, but that's all you really need!



Kenna's class danced to "9-5" from the musical/movie 9-5. Man, she rocked it on performance night and we are so proud of how hard she has worked this year. She has improved a ton and has expressed an interest in dancing on the competitive team. We'll see next year how she feels about it.








Her friend from our ward, whose name is also Makenna (yes, spelled the exact same way even) was in her class with her so we took a few pictures of the girls together. They are two peas in a pod right down to that crazy, gorgeous, long blond hair.









Finally, a picture of my girlies together!

They are both going to ballet camp this summer and I can't wait to see how much they love it!

3 Months!

Wow! This has been a big month for Miss Emery. She is at such a fun age and we all love that she interacts with us more than ever. Ems is SUPER smiley all of the time and likes to have earnest "conversations" with anyone who will listen and react to her. It's the best. She is reaching for toys all the time now and absolutely loves her Bumbo seat. Seriously, I have no idea how I functioned without that thing with the rest of my kids. I put her in it most nights while I cook dinner and she loves to watch me.

Emery is already very attached to me. She gets upset when I leave her line of sight and cries immediately. It's cute (for now) that she loves me so much. She is STILL sleeping in her carseat and loves to snuggle her face into the side. She refuses to sleep anywhere else. She's still doing about a 9 hour stretch at night which has been pretty dreamy. On the days that I can stay home for a decent stretch of time she will take good naps. It's the days when I'm constantly running that she struggles. We will have to be making some adjustments for the summer!

She is obviously still super juicy and chubby. It's stinking adorable. I'm guessing she weighs around 16 lbs. and is well into 6-12 month clothes. I can squeeze her in 3-6 months for now but those outfits won't last much longer. She is able to sit up for a few seconds on her own already. I'm sure it's because she has such a low center of gravity but she is doing really well already!

Every day I wonder how I thought my life was complete without this baby in it. She is such a joy in our family. I love how her arrival has made me slow down and reprioritize my life. She has given me a renewed love of mothering. We are so grateful she came to our family!

Welcome Summer!

Ok, not really. It feels anything but summery here today and the weather this week is supposed to get even more cold, rainy and windy (such a weird spring weather-wise). Anyway, I always feel like there is a weird decorating lull between Easter and the 4th of July and decided to do something about it this year! It's a bit early to have summer decor up but I know the next couple weeks are CRAZY with end of year activities and then the kids will be home so I decided to get it done while I can.

To me nothing says summer like bright and citrusy colors. I've been crafting like crazy this week. On my front door:



{The wreath is straight on my door, I promise. Somehow I didn't manage to get my camera straight though}


Summer banner:

Apothecary jars:

{I glittered the turquoise and orange balls and they didn't quite go according to plan but it is DONE enough for me. The small jar has gummy sour watermelon candy!}

We have a busy summer this year. On the schedule is piano lesson and swimteam for both C&M, Swim lessons for Addie, Dance camp for the girls, Star wars camp for Carter, 10 day trip to Denver, 1 week trip to Florida for the Frost family reunion and hopefully lots of relaxing, days by the pool and good times. I have some fun ideas up my sleeve for this summer so stay tuned!

Mother's Day 2011

I had a nice Mother's Day this year. Before church things were a bit hectic and it wasn't what Allen had hoped for. We woke up late and then ended up scrambling to get to church on time. Allen made me a nice breakfast that I ended up eating in the car on the way to church. Ah well, such is life with 4 kiddos.

I got a picture with the kids after church. This pic cracks me up because of Addie. Such a ham. It was the only pic with Emery looking at the camera.


Allen took care of everything all day and let me take a nap, read my book, relax and hang out with the kids while he fixed all of the food and took care of my every need. For dinner I requested the Jamie Oliver Asian Noodle Salad. It my FAVORITE and a ton of work and he did it all. We also grilled some yummy chicken sausages from Trader Joe's. Delish!

The kids showered me with adorable cards, homemade gifts and a potted plant. Allen bought me roses and a mother's necklace.

I've wanted one for years but wanted to wait until we were done having kids. Finding something I loved that could fit 4 names was a bit challenging but I adore what I ended up with. I've worn it every day since!

I am so grateful every day for my 4 blessings and that I get to be their mom! It's the best and hardest thing I've ever done and I am trying to love every minute of it. I know the stage we are in will not last long and I am appreciating it for what it is. I thank the Lord every day for my healthy, beautiful children!

Consistency

I found this quote the other day and am so inspired by it. The longer I live, the more I realize that success in life is not dependent on one grandiose act. Success comes by small, consistent, daily efforts. I've spent the last couple months trying to reinstill my simple daily habits that somehow got lost during 9 awful months of pregnancy. So this month my goal is simple CONSISTENCY.

For the next 30 days I will:

Drink 100 oz. of water every day

Move for 30 minutes a day

Take my vitamin

Floss

Do school work with Addison daily

Eat within my points

Have meaningful daily Scripture Study

Balance my checkbook weekly

I know it's not a lot and some of it I'm doing well at already, but it is enough to keep me challenged. I'm needing to up my game again with my weight loss so hopefully making it a public goal will keep me on track! Wish me luck!!

Easter Weekend

We had a dreamy 3 day Easter weekend due to Allen being off on Good Friday. The weather was spectacular and we just enjoyed our time together so much.

Friday started with an early morning bike ride. It's so nice to have 2 kids riding proficiently so we can do more family bike rides. The kids always have Fridays off from the charter school we attend so we joined the other families in our ward who go to the school for a potluck and egg hunt. It was a blast. I think there were about 50 kids there! It was such a fun time!
One friend brought her pet bunnies for the kids to play with and Makenna loooooved those things to death. I was impressed with how nice the bunnies did with the constant attention from 50 kids.











Saturday morning we took another bike ride and then came home to color our eggs. I bought the tie dye glitter egg kit thinking it would be fun and different for the kids. It was awful! We scrambled at the last second and make homemade dye from food coloring and the colors turned out awesome - much more vibrant than with regular egg dye. It was only a tiny bit of extra work and totally worth it!







After eggs we went to lunch and to see a movie. We had all gotten a bit too much sun the day before at the egg hunt and decided to spend the afternoon inside. Allen took the big kids out on a couple errands while I took Emery home with me. When the kids got home the Easter bunny had mysteriously shown up! (We've decided we want Easter to be more focused on the resurrection of the Savior and less on the commercial aspects of Easter).







{Everyone got new sunglasses, a kite, bubbles, a church book, a few treats and one toy}





Sunday morning we had a visiting General Authority and had a special stake meeting. Allen had to be at the church very early to help usher but I proudly got all of us to church 10 minutes before the meeting began. It was a wonderful meeting and so special to have a General Authority speak on Easter. We took some pictures of the kids in their Easter finery afterwards:





The rest of the afternoon was low key and nice. We had a fabulous dinner together as a family, did some egg hunts, watched Lamb of God and did one last Easter FHE. It was really such a lovely weekend together that we hated to see end. We are grateful for the resurrection of the Savior this time of year and the blessing to be able to celebrate it as a family and community!

Fresh {plus a winner}

I love spring! I love how fresh and new everything feels. I was about to type that I love how clean everything feels in the spring. However, spring in ABQ means the wind blows constantly and it is really dusty here.

Anyway, along with spring cleaning, I've had an itch to freshen up the house a bit and add some more soft, springy colors. These are the throw pillows I've had in my living all fall and winter:

And these are what I've swapped them out with for the spring and summer:

I really wanted some greens and blues and this is what I chose using my limited shopping resources. I picked the fabric and my wonderful mom did the sewing (bless you mother!!). Reason # 1 billion why I love having neutral furniture - if I get bored, I switch up my pillows, add a throw and have an entirely new look. I'm also in the market for a new LR rug but have yet to find what I'm looking for. The orange pillows will be making a comeback sometime in the fall{because I still love them}.

I also did a new centerpiece for my dining room table:

I am in LOVE with the wheat grass in my white bowl. So easy, so fresh, so cheap and pretty much impossible to screw up!

Giveaway Winner: Thanks so much for playing along with my giveaway. I have a whole bunch of new things to try and I'm excited! I had Allen draw the winner and he chose #9 - my cutie, patootie friend and former mission companion, Lizzy!

Also, I'll be doing another favorite things post soon and will highlight a few recipes that I've tried lately!

Stuff I like - Spring Edition

I love recommendations from other bloggers for just about anything - recipes, entertainment, books, products,etc. I decided to put together a post about what I'm loving this spring. There's also a giveaway at the end of this post!

Books:

I'm finally back to reading! Yay! I've read a couple great books this month:

Loved this book! It's a fun, light read with a great storyline. Thanks for the recommendation Kristi!

This is a biography but it reads like a novel. It's a fascinating look at medical ethics in America.

Entertainment:

I watched this series shortly after I had Emery and was spending a lot of time at home recovering. It is a PBS series that previewed last fall. I watched it on Netflix streaming after a college friend recommended it on Facebook. Seriously FABULOUS!!! I was hooked and watched all 7 episodes in one weekend. Watch it, I promise you won't regret it!

Exercise:

So I know Zumba is all the rage right now. I LOVE it but usually can't make it to the classes in my area during the times offered. Someone suggested I try the Wii game and I was skeptical because I haven't enjoyed the other Wii workouts I have tried. THIS ONE ROCKS!!! It is a GREAT workout and tons of fun. My kids will do it with me and think we're playing a game instead of working out (sneaky!)

Other Products (aka giveaway time!):

I love a good accessory and am always on the hunt for cute pieces. I haven't been too interested in Target's jewelry offering for the past couple years but have hit the jackpot there this spring. I thought this necklace was adorable and versatile:

This has been my go-to lip balm this winter. I LOVE it. It has a slight citrus scent and is super shiny but not sticky. I can only find it at Wal-Mart and usually at the check out stand. It's cheap at about $3.50 a tube!

Favorite Easter Candy (I'd take these over Cadbury Mini Eggs ANY day):

Favorite Scent:

If you know me well at all you know I'm obsessed with my house smelling great. I have tons of candles and Scentsy scents that I'm always rotating through. I have also loved the Bath and Body Works plug-ins for years. I'm including a warmer plus my favorite Spring/Summer scent Island Margarita.

To enter leave a comment with something you're loving this spring! I'll pick a winner next Wednesday (April 20) so I can get it to you before the Easter weekend.

Emery at 2 Months!

{sporting a tiny smile} {what double chin?} {see those leg rolls? There's about 4 more per leg under there}

Ack! How is she already 2 months old?!

Emery's stats at 2 months:

Weight: 13 lb. 8 oz. (off the charts)

Height: 23.5 inches (90th percentile)

Head: 39.0 cm. (50th percentile)

Ironically, she weighs exactly half as much as Addison. They might be sharing clothes soon ;) She is solidly in size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers!

It's so amazing how quickly babies change at this age. Emery has spent the last month waking up a lot. She has quite a bit of awake time every day and loves to interact with all of us. She is smiling, cooing and "talking" a ton. It's adorable! She is still sleeping well at night except for the past few nights when she wants to stay awake for 1-2 hours after she's eaten. Good thing she's stinking cute! We thought she was going to be a tummy sleeper because she did well for a couple days on her tummy but now she hates it. We still make her have tummy time and she has started pushing up on her arms to look around. She is still snoozing in her carseat every night!

Ems still loves to nurse a lot and is the biggest spitter of all my kids. Obviously she is gaining weight so it is more annoying than detrimental. She gets more baths than any of my babies since she always smells like spit up (yucky!!). She hates her baths, getting her diaper changed and having her clothes changed. She also HATES the play-yard with the dangling toys. They must scare her or something because she cries any time I lay her under it. Hopefully she grows to like it!

Emery is super patient with all the loves/touching/smothering she gets from her siblings. I sometimes have to ban the kids from touching her since I can tell she sometimes gets overwhelmed with all the attention.

We clearly all love her to pieces. I feel like I'm starting to get into a groove being the mom of 4 kids. There are still definitely moments when I wonder how in the world I will survive this but I think those times will continue to diminish as she gets older and on a better schedule.