Maggie Turns Six!

Maggie turned six.  It seems odd to have a six year old.

In the morning we opened family gifts.  She had been begging for this charm bracelet for a good long while:

She has also become obsessed with perfume.  I can't have her using my expensive stuff so her own perfume seemed like a good idea.  Um, yes, it was:

 She chose to do a party at a paint-your-own pottery place here in town.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves: 

I'm not sure how I forgot to get a pic of the cake.  It was Sponge Bob.  Maggie picked the piece with her name on it: 

 Caroline and Daddy painting her bowl:

 Opening the gifts:

I keep staring at my lanky, big girl and wonder when it all happened.  I blinked and she grew up.  She's SUCH an easy kid!  She is helpful, thoughtful, incredibly imaginative, and beyond patient and kind to her little sister.  My favorite new trait of Maggie is that she is a sleeper!  The girl loves to sleep in, just like her mom.  Caroline's best friend is her sis Maggie.  Maggie loves all things pink and girly.  Fairies are everywhere in our house.  Scooby-Do and Frogger are her favorite video games which she plays mostly with her dad.  She loves her daddy most of all.  Most.Of.All. 

Kinder Graduation

This girl graduated from Kindergarten. 



With her teacher, Mrs Sundt:

Waiting for the whole thing to start:

 They sang a lot, showed a little slideshow.  Very cute.

We sure are proud of our girl (who I still think of as my baby!).

Misc Pic

Playing around with my phone:

Caroline so badly wants to take dance/gymnastics classes.  She stares into Maggie's class longingly.  It's adorable.  Now that she's (finally) potty trained we can sign her up!

We regularly make homemade pizza.  The girls always help.  This time Caroline decided to help a bit too much and right after her dad told her NOT to touch the hot pan...she touched the pan.  She had three big blisters on three of her tiny little fingers.  It was so sad!  She cried and cried.

I have told myself since moving to Colorado that I'd run the Bolder Boulder.  It took way too long to make that happen.  I finally did it.  Barely.  My dear friend AJ ran as well (with the REAL runners, finishing long before my wave even hit the starting line).  She and her whole family waited...and waited...and waited for me to start, run, and finish that darn race.

My family waited as well.  They basically gave their Memorial Day to me:

Park:

Maggie had her dance/gymnastics year-end performance.  She loved it.  And she was beyond darling out there.

I bought some workbooks for the girls in order to keep the mind rolling during the summer months.  So far we've done a decent job of keeping up on them!

 Random pic of Maggie in her dance class:

Misc Pics

Caroline finds our very old plastic princess castle interesting.  For one day.

Maggie caught a fly.  She bugged me like crazy to Google "what flies eat" so she could keep him forever.  That was an interesting conversation. 

Cheap sunglasses fall apart but are still pretty darn cute on: 

More laps around the block: 

I hope one day I kick the Whole Foods sugar cookie habbit.  We love them! 

 Julie sent the girls' birthday presents in the same package.  It was Maggie's job to figure out the exact middle day of the two birthdays--the official day to open the box.  We counted on a calendar and made a note on the exact day.  And then waited.  None to patiently I might add.  These dresses are so cute!  We get compliments everywhere we go.

 My lady-girls:

Movie time with Dad.  Caroline is wearing my lip gloss-from cheek to cheek: 

 She's a ham:

We really are making progress on the bike.  We might possibly attempt a removal of the training wheels...possibly. 

Caroline Turns 3!

This little girl turned 3 on the first of May.  Boy, was she excited!

Gift opening time: 

Cupcakes instead of cake (at least for the actual birthday): 

I couldn't figure out what to do about a party for her.  She doesn't really have many friends her exact age so I borrowed some of Maggie's.  I used the fact that I was hosting Maggie's kinder playdate to turn it into a faux party for Caroline.  She was so happy! 

She got her much anticipated Dora cake:

We played pin the bracelet on Dora then headed into the yard for bubble time.  Everyone seemed to have a great time:

Caroline is a darling little three year old.  She is full of life.  First to laugh, first to cry.  She loves her big sister with a passion and follows her around (sometimes to intentionally aggravate her!).  Her daddy is her hero.  And I get to enjoy the regular morning "mommy cuddle" as she describes it--she is so tender hearted!  She completes our family and we adore her.

Spring Time Part 2

The little outdoor play area at Whole Foods makes it very tempting to eat lunch there...a lot.  And we do...a lot.  I love this shot because it shows Caroline in her true form--singing.  All.The.Time.

 She was crying big fat tears for no reason right before this picture was taken:

 I took the girls to buy new summer jammies.  I was a little sad to see the change Maggie was going through.  She wanted nothing to do with any character but gravitated instead toward what I considered to be "teenager" styles.  So sad.  One of her choices, a sleep shirt with jewels, funky patterns, and a cat with glasses on it, came with a sleep mask which was promptly put on for the drive home. I did note the older gentleman in the car next to us watching us load up was laughing as we drove away.

 Another trip around the block.  We are doing our best to get on our bikes as much as possible.  Caroline enjoys it quite a bit:

 This was Maggie's first time around the block with zero help.  I was SO proud!  Normally she gets terribly nervous and goes so slow her tiny, skinny legs aren't strong enough to make it up the (very) slight inclines.  We've done this little block ride a couple of times since this picture was taken and she said to me "I LOVE riding my bike now".  Music to my ears.

 With Patrick in California for business I let the girls watch a DVD in my bed before heading off to sleep.  They love it!!

Spring Time Part 1

As the weather starts to warm and our first school years comes to a close we have spent plenty of time just hanging out and relaxing as a family.

Patrick took Maggie on her first fishing adventure.  According to him she spent more time throwing rocks, exploring, and asking incessant questions than actually fishing.  But they did catch some fish and, overall, it was a big success... 

 ...until it came to eating those things.  She would have nothing to do with even tasting them.  Caroline and I also politely declined.  Patrick was happy to have them to himself.

 Caroline in her dad's shoes:

 Maggie is in some sort of pajama phase.  She wears them all the time--several pairs a day:

 Just a fun shot of Caroline who is usually VERY close to me at all times.

 Maggie and Caroline like to help cook.  I usually shoo them out while Patrick lets them "help":