From Here to There

As we do most Sundays, we started our day at church.  When we arrived home I was determined to snap some picture of Betsy in a dress that once belonged to my mother and her sisters.

She was determined to keep on her pink flip flops.

I was persistent and got a couple of shots.

As the day went on we had a short lived rain shower that filled our gutter with water.  Our children and some of their neighborhood friends had a blast playing in the water and building dams.

I had to chuckle as I snapped this picture because just a few hours earlier she looked so different.

While this post really is about my baby girl, I would be sad if I didn't share this sweet face with you.

I also have to share this muddy face!

A Pink Eye

We have been sickly this week.  Walker and Betsy have both had pink eye.  As you might remember from your own childhood, this ailment is extremely contagious so the mother in me is just waiting for the next one to fall.

Betsy woke up Thursday and Friday unable to open an eye.  She was pretty precious about it, and we quickly made that part better.  Medicine can be an amazing thing.  One dose of eye drops in the affected eye and it was better.  Don't worry, we will continue the course of treatment because we don't want it to come back.

Our neighbors had their fourth birthday party on Thursday afternoon.  Because Betsy's eyes weren't clear, she wasn't able to go.  I anticipated a meltdown on her part.  Not the case.  After taking Mary Frances next door, Betsy and I came home to prepare supper.  I thought she might want to be my sous chef.  She had a different agenda.  She asked if she could put on her princess costume and dance.

 We put on the costume and I found the Frozen soundtrack on my phone and she danced.

 Truly, she entertained herself for over an hour dancing.

She never complained once that she couldn't go to the party.  Instead, she kept telling me that she wasn't able to go because of "a pink eye".

Wonders never cease!  My baby is growing up!

The Graduate

On Wednesday, Walker had his Graduation Program from St. Luke's Day School.  We almost didn't make it, but that is another story.

Walker loves a performance.  We were sitting on the back row and could hear his sweet voice singing Jesus Loves Me and each additional song.

Sometimes my camera captures the perfect moment.  This teacher loves her students.

To make the day a bit more special, I checked Mary Frances and Stephen out of school.

Ms. Nan has taught each of my children 4K.  She is a wonderful person and an awesome teacher.  My older two children have summer birthdays, and in this community that seems to be automatic grounds for holding your children back.  Not me!  And especially not with the guidance of Ms. Nan.  They were ready to enter kindergarten and excel at Crestline.  Walker is also ready.  He has grown up so much this year, and the transition to elementary school should be a good one.

Not only did Walker have Ms. Nan, but he had Ms. Diane with her.  You may remember I dubbed them the "Dynamic Duo", and it was an accurate prediction of the year to come.

These two ladies are both retiring at the end of this school year.  It makes me sad that my sweet Betsy will not get to experience their love in the classroom, but I am so thankful that my others knew them and learned from them.

There were some parents who were really sad at graduation.  They were sad as they watched an oldest or a youngest close a chapter in their lives.  I really wasn't sad.  I shed a few tears as the director talked about Ms. Nan and Ms. Diane, but I am not sad that Walker is moving on.  Moving on is a good thing. It is what I want as a parent.  I realize that each stage has its own struggles, but moving on is fun.  As our children get older we are able to have more and more fun together.

As I review these pictures, I have a few tears in my eyes though again those are not sad tears.  Instead, they are tears of joy and happiness.  I am so thankful for the family I have and the memories we make together.  I am thankful that I checked my older two out of school so that I have these pictures of all of them together.  That is a gift for me!  I am thankful that three of my four will be in school together next year.  Another gift!

Walker you have become such a big boy!

I love that smile!

Play Dough, Scissors, Markers, Glue...

Those are all things that this mama allows in this house that my husband would rather not have.

This image encapsulates why those items are allowed in our house.  

It was a rare rainy evening!  It was 5:45.  Bathes were taken. Pajamas were on.  Supper was simmering'.  Mary Frances and I were playing a game.  Walker and Stephen were playing upstairs.

Betsy found some materials that Walker had forgotten (or more likely chosen not) to put away, and she occupied herself making pictures for her teachers - Ms. Rushton and Ms. Marleisha.  As we were cleaning the kitchen, Mary Frances noticed the pictures and with surprise asked if Betsy created them.  Yes, she did - with no help or direction from anyone else!

The image is also indicative of the week we have had.  I've kept my pediatrician's office in business!  We have had two cases of pink eye.   We've had one infected wound that had to be drained, and we have one camp form that needs to be returned yet I can't get in to see the doc until mid June!  

Brotherly Love

This post has been in the works for weeks.  My boys are having so much fun together these days.  

I finally relented and decided playing in the creek was a right of passage when living in Crestline so off they went on a brotherly adventure.

They share a room and sometimes a bed.

It is going to be nice for Walker to have a big brother at Crestline in the fall.

They went to Father-Son Camp at Alpine with Frank.  (I need to do a separate post on that.)

They thought it was cool that they were both on the White Sox baseball team.  Stephen even wrote to his "White Sox Brother" in his conversation journal one Friday.

Among other things, they went on adventures in the woods while Mary Frances played softball.

I think they are going to have a blast together while Mary Frances is at camp this summer.

Roar

May is here.  School is winding down.  Activities are coming to an end.  For anyone with a dancer in the house, that means it is recital time.  Mary Frances just completed her first year with Dance with Lauren, and she has loved every minute of it.  Last night was the recital and the culmination of many weeks of hard work and fun.  

Mary Frances truly loves to dance.  Often she asks me for my phone so she can roll back the living room rug, play music, and dance.

She has a gift for music and with that comes a natural ability to dance well.

As I was watching the performance, I was amazed that I danced for as many years as I did because I don't have a gift for music and therefore have no rhythm and was no doubt a terrible dancer.  Seriously, you gotta have rhythm to be a dancer.  I owe my parents a huge thank you for sitting through countless dance recitals.  It must have been painful!

Watching Mary Frances was not painful.  Though determined, she was having fun and danced well.

It is fun to watch someone do something they are good at.  This sentiment has been expressed many times about varying contexts in our house this year.  It was fun to watch Mary Frances dance with her friends last night.

I owe Mary Frances' softball coach a huge thank your for these images.  I took one with my camera but my seat was in the upper deck.  These pictures were a gift that I found in my inbox upon waking up this morning.  Thank you, Coach Brown!  

A Princess Parade

One of the benefits of a neighborhood!

An impromptu dress up party turns into a royal affair allowing three mamas to get a few things done!

Thank you Mary Frances!