The ballerina

A few weeks ago, as Brielle's summer gymnastics class was winding down, I asked her if she would like to take a ballet class instead. There was no question in her mind, ballet wins over gymnastics. She told me a few days later that she was so excited to go to ballet and get up and talk in the microphone and sing. Um....ok?

I decided it would probably be a good idea to take her to watch a class and make sure it was everything she was hoping. She was so excited to go watch the ballerinas that morning, she asked me to please curl her hair and she had to wear a ballet tutu that she got from a cousin. She loved watching the class. I mean, there was a grown-up ballerina dressed as Rapunzel, does it get any better? She's been pretty excited to start.

This morning was her first class and she loved it. She's been talking about ballet ever since that class, so I was hoping it wouldn't be a let down. When we got there she quickly took off her cover-ups, changed her shoes, ran into the studio and sat in the circle next to her teacher. I followed her back and waved to her teacher who commented that Brielle knew just what to do! She didn't even hesitate. I don't think I've ever seen her so ready or confident. As we were walking out of the studio after class she told her teacher thank you, then turned to me and said, "Thank you for letting me go to bawaway, mommy." All those girls prancing around in their pink leotards with their hair pulled into a bun - and then a polite bit of sweetness to top it off! Oh can a mama's heart even take it? No. It's too much cuteness.

Here are a ton of pictures to prove it.

Since the last time I wrote

The weather has been so often cool and rainy this month that it feels like summer ended sometime in July, and we are currently enjoying Autumn. I am so excited for Fall this year. That is the first time I have ever said that in my life. It will probably be the last. It has been a wonderful summer,  but I am very pregnant, and I am ready for a wonderful Fall. And all the more concealing clothing that comes with it!

I've been terrible at taking pictures of all the fun things we've been doing. We went up the canyon with friends for foil dinners, s'mores, and bear hunts. We've gone to lots of parks and the splash pad and swimming pool. We've had play dates with new friends. We've jumped on the trampoline downstairs quite a bit when it was too hot to play outside. We drive by the lot we purchased in West Haven often. There have been BBQ's and family parties. Next week we will be going for a few days to Bear Lake to wind up the summer before school starts.

Last week we went for an overnight camp trip to Mirror Lake with Tim's parents, his brother John, and our nephews Taylor, Cole, and Cam. Ava had been sick all week, so we let her stay the night with Nana - which she loved and was actually a blessing because a brave 18-month-old and a lake wouldn't mix well. We bought little fishing poles for Mason and Brielle the week before we went and they couldn't wait to try them out.

Brielle got one fish on her line, but it got away because her mom couldn't figure out how to tighten the bale. They got to reel in a lot of fish on their cousins' lines. Mason loved that. He really just loved hanging out with his cousins and they are always so good with him. Both Mason and Brielle said that the fire was their favorite part. So easy to please! It was a great time.

Ava at 18 months

On July 14, Ava turned 18 months old. I have very few pictures of Ava because they always come out blurry. That about sums her up!

She has always been a busy baby. I thought Brielle was a busy baby and I thought I could totally sympathize with the moms who have boys that they just cannot get a handle on. But now I KNOW I can sympathize because I have a boy that I just cannot get a handle on, except she's a girl that wants her toes painted while she takes all the books off that shelf and also runs a marathon.

In the morning I get Ava out of bed and she sits on my lap on the couch for a few minutes giving me a precious cuddle and sometimes some kisses and always lots of smiles. Then after about five minutes of that, she is off to the races. She literally does not stop RUNNING until it is time for her nap after lunch. That wasn't true a couple of weeks ago because I could put her in her highchair and as long as she was eating, she was happy. She'll eat anything, and all of it. (Up from the 3rd to the 6th percentile at her check-up!) But now that highchair is just too restraining. She wants to sit in a big person chair while she eats but she actually wants to crawl all over all the chairs and the table while she eats. Plus, that gives her the freedom to get down and do a couple laps between bites.

She is a bright little thing. She follows instructions just perfectly and will take her clothes from her bedroom to the laundry basket on the other side of the house with a happy, "Kay!" She has quite a few words but she is very good at communicating with the few she uses most. Please, thank you, that, kay, oh, bye, binky, love you daddy. And of course, Brielle's constant renditions of the song have taught her "let it go." Since posting this a few days ago, two people have mentioned that I forgot to add "hey!" Which I can't believe I forgot because it is her favorite, catch-all word.

She decided this month that she is ready be potty-trained, so that's been funny.

She is a happy girl. Always so happy. And she is so fun. She gets more fun and more hilarious every day. It has been such a joy being her mama. And now I hear her calling me from her crib. So, game on.

Mason turns 5 years old

My little Mason just turned five. Five years old. Yesterday they cut this perfect, handsome baby out of me and today he is half a decade old.

I asked him a couple days before his birthday what he wanted to do to celebrate and he had the best idea. "After I go to bed, you will put up decorations, and then when I wake up in the morning, I will be so surprised!" THAT, I can do. He couldn't think of a single actual activity he wanted to do, but he was very concerned about what kind of party he was going to have. Theme-wise.

So, the night before his birthday, Tim and I went to the store and bought him a couple of small gifts and some Ninja Turtles birthday things. Then we decorated a little! Sadly, I slept through his reaction in the morning, but Tim said it was great. We let the day be all about Mason and just had fun as a family and then had the whole crew over for cake and ice cream that evening. That was the best part. Mason's heaven is playing with all of his cousins and he was out-of-his-mind happy all evening. A couple of times he came in to where the adults were chatting to announce a new game and we would all get up and look for him while he hid, or watch him use a flashlight in the dark suspended garage, or something like that.

When Mason is happy, all the world is happy. Some days I get more "I love you, Mommy," 's than I can fit my heart around. Some days he just wants to sit so close to me as often as he can. Some days he comes up with so many great traps and games and Lego houses to show me and I am just amazed at how curious and smart and adorable he is. Sure, he likes to pester his sisters and sometimes his world is so confusing or hard that he has to scream. But he also loves to play with and comfort his sisters and instead of screaming, he goes and sits quietly in his room to regroup.

So far, I'm impressed. I'm sure it is only going to get better.

BOY!

Our Dr. told us for two appointments in a row (at 13 and 17 weeks) that we were "definitely" having a girl. I was completely expecting the baby to be a boy.

Now, I also thought Brielle was a boy. I mean, I was sure. When he told me that my second would be a girl it was a shock, but it was a happy shock. And I was so excited to have a little lady! I just got behind that %100.

I had no idea what to expect with Ava, but I kind of suspected she would be a girl, so I was happy to be right and to have two little girls.

This one has been a boy from day one. I only thought of boy names. My symptoms felt very similar to how I felt with Mason. Plus, I just felt like there was a little baby boy waiting to join us. So when the doctor told us it was a girl, I was very surprised. I have learned, however, that you can't exactly change these things, so you get happy. And I did! Kind of.

I still had this lingering feeling one more boy belonged in the this family and the thought would not leave. I had to talk Tim into going for a fourth kid in the first place, and I knew a 5th wasn't happening. The peaceful, finally-I-will-never-be-pregnant-again feeling that I had been hoping for just wasn't there. (Tim has since said that he kind of felt the same, but never would have said anything.) While telling myself that three girls and one boy would be the perfect family for us, I was also (secretly in the deep recesses of my brain) hoping that the doctor had been wrong, that it was too early to tell.

Well guess what?! It was! You should have seen our reactions when the ultrasound tech told us, or showed us, that we were really having a boy. Giant smiles. Laughs. I think we may have high-five'd. So...good thing this kid is a boy. I feel much better about this.