Update!

Okay, here's the rundown from April and May's highlights. :) 

All the cousins from Easter Sunday. 

Ryan and Olivia,

Ava, Katie, Lucy.

They love each other, and are getting to grow up buddies. 

What a blessing!

Baby #5 is on the way!!!

They are due when Baby #2 was. 

It's rather sweet to have heaven baby share timing with this baby. :)

Olivia in pigtails. 

And playing dress up.

Cuteness overload!

Ava lost her first tooth!

All 3 girls playing dress up together. 

They love being princesses!

Lucy reading a book to Olivia and Seeley. 

We've had the privilege of watching this little boy for 2 school years (his mom is a teacher).

I've reached the point where it is time to be done with daycare, and so it's been bittersweet to be done caring for Seeley every day.

My brother graduated with his Bachelor's, and my sister with a one-year Bible degree.

I'm so proud of them, and it was such an honor to be there for their special day!

Mother's Day! 

My sweetest little loves ever!

Happy summer, everyone!

Five

 You all know how much I love celebrating birthdays. 

(If you don't know, I LOVE celebrating birthdays!)

My oldest child had a birthday recently. 

She turned 5. 

FIVE.

(How did she get so old?!)

Her birthday was on Sunday this year, so we planned some special treats before church:

Her requested vanilla cake with chocolate frosting:

 

Cake for breakfast is the BEST.

After church (where the very thrilled birthday girl received many happy birthday wishes), we surprised her with a trip to the zoo.

Our friends joined us, much to Ava's delight.

Included was a trip on the train. Not a huge train, but the first ride ever for the girls, and Ava got to blow the whistle since it was her birthday. That made her day!!!

It was a very special day! 

We finished up at Wendy's (nothing too fancy, but time commitments back in town didn't allow for an extended meal). 

A couple days later, we went to Pizza Ranch with my side of the family and celebrated a few family birthdays that evening.

The following weekend, we were visiting Mr. Wonderful's family, and had another special birthday celebration with them.

Each celebration was special for Ava, and she felt very loved and enjoyed. :) 

................................................................................

Ava is in Kindergarten, and learning reading, writing, math, spelling, science, history, and all about her world. She loves school, and always begs to do her workbooks!

She prays well, and I know she prays with a clear faith-it is remarkable to see her prayers answered so evidently. One example is that on nights she prays for good dreams, she has them. This is a huge answer for a girl who struggles with scary dreams.

As Ava continues her fifth year, our prayer for her is that she continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of her Lord Jesus Christ. She has professed faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we see her growing in Him. Every day she makes choices to honor God, to respect her parents, to put others first, to be a helper, to use kind words, and to encourage her sisters. This is an enormous blessing and encouragement!

Ava....I love you forever.

June Photo Dump

Hey, everyone! I've been really bad at posting! We've had a lot happening, so this is a quick photo dump from the last month or so.
Enjoy!

Lucy's first haircut!

My dad and I on Father's Day

Working on advanced puzzles.

Lucy and Riley's favorite way to share the bike.

Olivia is climbing (and now walking!!). Look out, world! 

Some days are like this. 

The picture was to look back and laugh... And I do. :-)

Have a great summer! 

Lucy, Three!

We parents always decorate, at least a little. 

Good morning, Birthday Girl!!!

Lucy is all about hand-on, messy play. 

(Her mommy is trying to let her make more messes...)

She got sidewalk chalk paint, a bubble gun, a sparkly tutu, binoculars, a preschool workbook, and birthday money (used to buy a new doll bed and doll clothes).

As I'm sure you can imagine, these were incredible for my dance-loving, creative 3-year-old. 

My silly, sweet, creative girl loved having a birthday! 

We went to Pizza Ranch for supper a day early, and she was sung to by the girls' softball team who were doing Tip Night that evening. 

Lucy turned bright red and crawled onto my lap! She was happily overwhelmed by the attention!

The evening of her birthday, we had tacos while we watched Frozen.

We ended her birthday with chocolate cake! The candles were blown out faster than I can blink. I think it was a most anticipated moment!!

 Lucy is a friend to all, but naturally shy. It is a huge step out of her comfort zone to talk to strangers. She pushes Ava to be more daring and explorative, and Ava encourages her to obey boundaries, and do "big girl" things such as drinking from a lidless cup or emptying the dishwasher.

She is so sweet with Olivia, but definitely can be bossy big sister. If Olivia does something that Lucy disapproves of, she will grab Olivia's heels and pull her away from a situation. I can always count on Lucy protecting Olivia, but it will always make Olivia angry. :-)

Lucy recently had her first ride on an escalator, and also got her first big bike.

She knows most of the alphabet, can count to 20, name most shapes and colors, and is learning her numbers. This fall she will be ready to jump into full preschool work.

She says "restaining" wall, "sank you", and is only just starting to say a proper "L" sound. (It's still usually replaced with a "w" sound.) 

I love my May Day baby! She lights up our home with her singing and silly antics, and keeps us on her toes with adventurous, and naughty, decisions. 

Happy Birthday, my darling Lu-Lu!