A's Annual Ballet Performance

...lasted about one minute, during which time the camera AND video camera ran out of memory. So, while Clint & I frantically fumbled to delete unnecessary pictures & videos, we were still able to notice how much she has grown since last year's performance. She was very poised and graceful; don't know where she got that from, but it was very sweet to watch. What made the experience sweeter still was the fact that her three brothers were in the audience, captivated during the performance and cheering her on afterward...before being whisked away to arrive a little late to J's soccer game. This girl is definitely loved!

Father/Son Campout

Every year, Clint and the boys go on an overnight camp-out with the other men/boys we go to church with. Gabe was once again left behind...maybe he'll be out of diapers next year! If dirt is any indicator of the good times enjoyed by my boys, I think they had a blast!!

In their absence, the girls set up a tent, too. Ours was conveniently located in the living room.

Gabe & Autumn enjoyed a couple movies tent-side, before G was whisked away to his crib.

That left time for me and my baby girl to snuggle and watch another show.

In the morning, we ate and bathed, then hurried off to a Pioneer monument dedication. The President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of our Church, Boyd K. Packer, came to dedicate it. It was a nice ceremony.

Autumn captured how at least half of the meeting really went down for me, chasing G who thinks it is hilarious to bolt away (the giggling only increases when he heads for the street.)


(As a side note, we were sitting pretty close, and there were only 100 or 200 people there. Anyway, Sister Packer was sitting on the front row watching and I saw her look over at me and smile a couple of times. She has 10 children, so she must understand... that's what I perceived, anyway. I love being around seasoned, virtuous mothers. I can only hope their strength and goodness is just a little bit contagious!!)

My Baby Girl is 5!

Happy birthday to the best May Day present i could ever hope for!! i can't believe it's been 5 years already since you were born!


Autumn asked that her brothers buy her a Playmobil knight, and she enjoyed playing "fighting guys" with Micah the next day. (I don't think she's touched it since, but it was cute watching him pick it out at the store, then pay for it with his own $.)


The candles began to melt while we sang, much to Autumn's amusement.


We decorated the kitty cat birthday cake together earlier in the day. I stole 2 ideas from blogging friend/family... the cute cake (thanks, Jen!) & decorating it together (thanks, Wendy!). :)

No photo session is complete without some funny faces!

Cousins

Thanks for coming to visit, Isaac & Tyler. We had a blast!!!

Guys' Night Out

On Wednesday, the boys arrived home in a flurry of excitement. They waved blue fliers in my face, jointly announcing a school-sponsored "Guys' Night Out." Clint has been absolutely swamped lately (he's taking a 3-week online course as the final requirement for his teaching credential), but he's a soft-hearted Daddy and agreed to take his boys. The evening of movie, food & games was last night and an apparent blast was had (by the boys, at least.)

While they were away, Autumn and I dragged Clint's laptop upstairs to enjoy some snuggle time in her room watching "The Little Mermaid." Then, I came downstairs to finish making the ruffled skirt I've been working on for her (truthfully, I had no interest in her next movie selection, and she was eager for me to finish the skirt). I think she likes it. While she was trying it on in the bathroom this morning, I overheard her telling herself how pretty it was and how much she liked it... in a very dramatic, princessy little voice. It was pretty simple to make, using this tutorial, and since I've got extra fabric I might just make another one or two for her birthday.

On a lighter note...

Autumn has been begging to take a dance class for about a year and a half. Frankly, the idea of my little girl in skin-tight outfits shaking her bum and wearing gobs of make-up held no appeal for me. But ballet seemed like a good compromise (still skin-tight, but tasteful, outfits; eventually make-up; no bum-shaking). This fall, I finally registered her for ballet. She was so excited when we picked out the leotard and tights. (She just wears dress-up ballet shoes for now. Does it really make a difference at this age?) The first class was a lot of fun; she was asking all week long when it was time for ballet again. After the second class, the excitement waned. This was more disciplined and structured than she had planned on, and she felt repentant. She said she wanted to go back to music class, bagging the whole dance class idea. Well, I had already registered her for the complete semester; besides, i think she's a little young to start a pattern of quitting. So I tried to build it up all week, we trudged through that class, and she's been fine (enjoying it immensely, actually) ever since.



All this background to say that Parent Observation class was a little while ago. Normally, I sit in the hall (or quickly take advantage of 45 precious "alone" minutes to run errands...alone). This time, we were invited into the inner sanctum of giggly preschool ballet class. Here is more of what I saw...

Happy Birthday F.N.A.M!!

Her 4th birthday cake...made-to-order. Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, rainbow sprinkles and princesses. She was, however, a little miffed that the cake-toppers were her own toys.



Make a wish!! (Didn't Clint do an AWESOME job with these pictures, by the way!? I think they're my all-time favorite b-day cake snapshots!!)


The good news? These dresses had a whole bunch of chocolate frosting underneath. Yummy!! (Didn't you just love licking the candles when you were little??)


And on to the present-opening frenzy. I nearly cried as I watched Autumn start ripping open gift after gift, with her brothers' helping by handing them over as soon as the wrapping came off one. I didn't cry, though...instead, I sat them down and strongly encouraged Autumn to take her time with each gift, as we all sat and politely watched. I hated having to be the one to enforce order, but it was so much nicer!! They've got to learn somehow, right??

Mommy-in-training

Autumn has developed a new habit. Every time she notices me sitting down to nurse Gabriel, she runs to fetch a baby doll so that she can feed her baby, too. Normally, it's a doll Nana gave her last Christmas, named Sara. Occasionally, she gives a token feeding to one of her dozen or so other starving dollies. I asked Clint to grab the camera the other night, so we could document her cuteness. Give thanks that she decided to grab a bottle that time. (Half the time, she feeds the babies au natural.)

Autumn & Joya

Autumn has rediscovered my favorite doll from childhood, Joy. Only she's adament that her name is Joya, a small but significant change which is allowing the doll a second life. And since her first life involved three different wigs, a second one is no small thing (she started out with brown ringlets, then had gray ones...kinda weird for a baby doll if you ask me, and finally ending up with this short brown cut).

The horse with the freaky-looking eyes, by the way, was a present from her older bro Micah. He's been saving up his hard-earned money and when I took him to the store yesterday, he decided to use it to buy Hot Wheels cars for himself & Jonah, and this horse for his sister. So it's a little weird-looking, but is packing a whole lotta love. And it hasn't left her side since we came home from the store. (This could have been a peace offering for dumping her on her head while "pushing her stroller" the other day. If you look at her forehead, you'll see the mark. Woops!)