I guess I should be glad she's only lost a tooth......

Avery wanted some meat and cheese today for her afternoon snack. I cut some up for her and me, then headed upstairs to collect laundry from the girls' rooms.

Here is what I found when I came back downstairs.

Oh, that Avery!

(PS. I did make sure she didn't cut herself while I grabbed my phone, that was sitting right there on the counter!)

Wow! What a day!

When it comes to motherhood, some days are harder than others.

Today was just one of those days.

This afternoon, after a long and fun time at the St. Patty Parade, Avery decided to climb out of her crib, all by herself! One minute she's in bed, the next minute she's in the kitchen saying, "it's morning time Mommy! I get up now!"

I was completely shocked. I didn't hear a sound. I have never had a kid climb out of her crib before and I'm not all that thrilled to have one now. Looks like we'll be shopping for big girl bedroom furniture this weekend! (a small tear rolls down my face as I post this. I am not ready for my last baby to grow up so quickly. How do I make time slow down?)

So, since she was up, I decided to take her to the park for our first "spring" outing. We arrived at the park. She took her first step onto the playset, then missed the second step. Fell down, smacked her mouth and chipped her front tooth! The chunk of tooth was stuck to her top lip! It was awful, for me! Avery cried for a few minutes then ran off to continue playing. I, on the other hand, had a harder time pulling it together.

I was devastated that this happened to her. For one thing, I've been through this before. Claire chipped the exact same tooth when she was a toddler and eventually had to have it pulled and the permanent tooth is having trouble finding it's way home as a result. Claire is 8 1/2 years old and still without that front tooth!

The other reason I'm so upset; I loved that kids big, toothy grin! It was one of my favorite things about my baby. She has the best belly laugh and toothy grin of anyone I know.

As quickly as Avery is growing, I was hoping to hold on to that smile for as long as possible.

Now, as the evening has rolled on, and Avery has managed to play and eat pizza, I realize that she is going to be fine and she still has the best little smile around, even if it is a little lopsided!

Snow and snuggles

It's been a long, cold, snowy winter in Iowa! With the snow finally starting to melt, I thought I'd celebrate my favorite snowy moments.......



It takes team work to move all this snow. Ella took it upon herself one day after school to clear away the latest batch. Thanks Ella!



Nothing like the pride of a
hard day's work!


"It was this high!" That's what we'll all be telling our grandkids about the winter of '09-'10!



Nothing left to do now but snuggle
up together and stay warm.

Congrats to all my Iowa friends for surviving this winter.
To all my friends and family out west; you don't know what your missing!

"It's a miracle swimming cure!"

When Claire was little she was shy. I mean, very shy.

When she was in Kindergarten she didn't want to participate.

She was too shy to raise her hand, too shy to join in, too shy to have fun.

When Claire was little she didn't want to stand out.

She didn't think she was brave or strong.

Well, look at her now!

Swimming has been a blessing for our family.

It has given Claire something that neither I or anyone else could give her... Confidence.

Today, this kid is proud. She is brave. She is outgoing. She is daring.

She has found something she loves.

She has found friends and camaraderie.

She has found her place.

I am so proud of my little swimmer. Not because she's good, but because she works hard at something she loves.

Thank you to the Walnut Creek Dolphin swimmers and coaches!

Oh that Avery.....

Avery has decided that the American Girl Doll Hairstyling Chair

is the perfect reading chair for a cute little 2 year old!

Claire's school concert

Claire recently had her 2nd grade music show.
Her music teacher this year is great and really had a "lively" show happening.
A good time was had by all!


Claire and one of her BFFs, Lexie




Avery jumping off the stage before the show. That kid!




The Walnut Hills 2nd grade class warming up




Claire's group solo. The show was about Saturdays,
and her group did the "Chore song". If only I could
get her to sweep the floor at home!

Reason #27 not to have another baby.....

Skiing! We had the great opportunity to go skiing with Grandpa and Grandma Johnson and Aunt Jamie and Uncle Kyle a couple of weekends ago. A great time was had by all!


Avery took to skiing right away. As she was flying down the hill between our legs she'd scream, "faster, faster!"







Claire, while hesitant at first, became quite the snow bunny within an hour. By the end of the day she could go up the rope pull and down the bunny hill all by herself!

She even managed to ski down the big hill by herself. Uncle Kyle was skiing ahead of her, "just to be safe."







Ella, our proud and determined one. That kid did not give up. She would fall and get right back up again. She tried over and over again to get down that mountain. Thanks to a very loving (and patient) grandpa, she managed to have a pretty good time. She is certainly an inspiration to us all in never giving up!

At the end of the day, we were tired but happy!

The best part for me, besides having a great time and watching my kids get to experience something new, the realization that I am ready to "grow up". By that I mean, I'm ready to start experiencing things that I can't do with a baby sling on. I'm ready to forge ahead into the school years. I'm ready to do all the fun stuff that comes with big kids and afternoons of activity and not napping. I'm ready to pack the trail mix instead of the bottles.

Thank you God for showing me how much fun being a big kid can be!

And thank you Jamie, for organizing this and getting us all "on the slopes" again!