Tanner’s Preschool Spring Show

 

Oh my holy cuteness.  If I already wasn't in LOVE with Tanner's preschool, this definitely sealed the deal.

Tanner's preschool class hosted a Spring Show and we got a little glimpse into some of the things they had learned during the year:

Haitian Alphabet Song

There were a few other adorable parts that I didn’t video tape – like counting by fives and counting by tens.   They would do it in different voices – and Tanner especially enjoyed the cowboy version. 

Sign Language Alphabet

 

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” Bell Song

And the grand finale was a play.  Tanner had been so excited about this – he’d come home telling me the ENTIRE plot every day – and just thought it was so fun to dress up like a monster and throw mud pies…at least until…ok…you’ll just have to watch the show :) 

“A Preschool Fairy Tale” Play

We were so proud of my lil preschool graduate!!  He has a tendency to be shy, but he didn't let it show.  He sang all the songs and knew all his parts. 

He has enjoyed being a part of Little Learner's Preschool this year.  He ALWAYS comes home with the cutest projects, like paper cup rocket launchers, Santa Christmas count-down, handmade dinosaur fossils, and no matter the unit, Ms. Bonnie went ALL out to make it fun and educational.

Tanner is right on track academically to start Kindergarten – he can identify almost numbers up to 20 and knows/recognizes each of the letters of the alphabet.  He likes to write his name and other words, but will sometimes start from the bottom rather than the top, although if you ask him where letters should start, he’ll always say the top.  He’s beginning to sound out words and loves to just look through books, and is always asking what words mean.  He also know basic math addition and subtraction, and the other day he was doodling with a small white board he started “practicing” on a piece of blank paper and writing/talking  2+2 = 4. 

The only hard part is deciding whether he should start Kindergarten next year.  Since he has a July birthday, it’s always been something at the back of my mind.  But there’s no blatantly obvious reason on why he should be held back.  And I’m sure he would do great if he started Kindergarten – he would love it.  But then I think about the the teenager years, leaving for college or a mission one year earlier, and I can’t help but think how much EXTRA good one more year can be.  And how I’ll have one extra year with him before he leaves home.   So I’m totally on the fence about it, and will be making a decision soon, but I’ll be honest if I wasn’t completely torn.  

But anyhow, back to Tanner’s Preschool.  This was such a breath air for us -- Tanner LOVED every minute of it!! In the fall, he struggled at another preschool environment where he would could home in tears because of one kid.  I dismissed it as first thinking he was still "adjusting" to moving to Kansas, where previously in Dallas, in his old preschool class -- 3 out of the 5 were close friends from church he had grown up with and he was surrounded by kids that just LOVED Tanner.  But when I dropped him off at school, the student would routinely yell out, "I don't like you Tanner!" in front of everyone.   We talked to the teacher and waited for it to get better -- but this kid was just a hard one to control and it didn't really get better.  And some days he’d come home telling me how he was his best friend, but then it would switch back the next.  And I know kids will eventually have to deal with this sort of thing, but not this young.  Preschool should be fun and exciting - not something you dread.

Then I found about Ms Bonnie's preschool --and after one lesson -- fell in LOVE.  She taught Kindergarten for years, but eventually decided to have one out of her home, and her WHOLE first level was all decked out for preschool.  She's a member of our church, along with most of the children, and we could feel the love and warmth emulated by her and other students.

Teachers will always hold a special place in my heart. We LOVED Ms Kennedy last year at Ridgewood Park in Dallas, and LOVED Ms Bonnie this year. There's just no words to explain the gratitude I feel for their individual efforts to teach with love and patience. I hope this trend continues as he starts elementary school, cause so far, we've been so BLESSED to have truly wonderful teachers.  Thanks Bonnie!!!

Brooke’s One Year Photo Shoot!!

Lil Ms. Brooke is ONE!  We had these indoor pics taken, and since you only turn ONE once, we had these outdoor pics too.

And I absolutely love, love how they BOTH turned out.

These pics bring out her girl-li-ness,  her sweet, sweet smile with the lil round cheeks!!  And what’s not to love about SPRING with all the grass and flowers in full bloom! I just happen to LOVE this lil Spring Blessing!!!

It's hard to have a tea party by yourself...wouldn't she love a lil playmate? Well -- we thought so. The best gift my parents ever gave me was sisters. Brooke's bday present (part 2) will be arriving in Oct 2013!

And of course she was all smiles when she was PLAYing

I couldn’t resist this cute cute hat!  Brooke wasn’t a huge fan…but appeased us for a few fun shots!

And she wasn’t really sure if she was ready to be in a good mood.  I had to wake her up from her nap (it was past 5:00pm), and she had a major blow-out in the car, and was not in the mood for playing.  But, with a lil persuasion and magic, she began to do her thang, smiling so perfectly!!

 

And Ms Brooke being so playful!  Peek-a-boo!!

She kept trying to run right towards me!

This is the face she makes whenever she’s doing something she’s not suppose to be doing.  Totally CAUGHT!

And here, she shows ALL her many smiles!

Her bashful smile!

Her “I’m a perfect lil angel” look

Her “I’m read-to-go play!” look

And these last few, might just be my favorite.  Love how her whole face radiates when she smiles!!!

And of course, those 7 lil teeth popping through!

It’s so crazy to think that a year has already gone by!  And with selling our house in Dallas and moving to KC, it’s been such a crazy year that I don’t think I ever got to just sit, relax, and hold my lil newborn baby girl!!!

But then there were many days and nights, where the only thing we could do to get her to sleep was to rock her asleep, holding her tight in my arms.  How I LOVE those memories, and how I HOPE they never fade! 

And now with #3 on the way, she’s not going to stay a baby for long.  Sometimes, I wonder how I can give each one of my precious children enough love and attention, how  they will know our eternal joy they bring to our lives, and how much I cherish their sweet smiles!!! 

And while there’s going to be less of “me” to go around, I remember my own experience in my family, being one of seven other siblings.  And I never doubted my parent’s love for me.  And while there was “less of them” to go around all of us eight kids, there was other siblings were are my bestest friends, even still today.  

Then I see Tanner play with Brooke, and his ability to make her utter the loudest, whole body laughter with one silly face and one lil hug.  And then I remember – while they’ll be less of me – they’ll always have each other.  And that’s the greatest gift I can give them!!!

Ms. Brooke Turns ONE!

So many things to say about the lil misses. 

First, she’s a princess.  She’s got lots of sass and attitude to go around.  And ever since she’s learned to talk, she hasn’t stopped.

She can say several words, like Mom and Dad (not Momma or Dadda), Up, Hi, Uhhh oohhhh, Ball, Ba-Ba (for bottle) and her favorite word “No!” uttered million times daily.  But she makes up for by using her manners all day long.  Hand her anything, do anything she likes, and she’ll say “Tank To!” 
And here’s a few more she’s so close to perfecting: ma-aah (more), Katie (she can say it perfectly, just not consistently).  And anytime there’s a bark or dog it sight – “Da-ah”.  She gets so excited, unless it’s a big dog, and the excitement quickly turns to fear.

People oftentimes mistake her for being 18 months or older.  Maybe it’s cause she’s already wearing 2T clothes, and is in the 90% for height and 97% for weight. There’s A LOT to love about her - ALL those 25lbs!


If you could ask her, Brooke thinks she's already 2 or 3.  She’s always trying to do everything everyone else is—and easily holds her own in a group of kids.   Maybe it’s cause she’s a girl, or the second child, or that she’s just incredibly smart – but she’s so quick to grasp everything that’s happening the in world around her.

Like one day she just folded her arms and prayed with us.  And now, when she gets a plate full of food, she instantly folds her arms and get’s ready to pray, oftentimes reminding us.  Shamefully, this isn’t anything we really ever taught her to do…but she still figured it out on her own.  And it’s like that with EVERYTHING!

And there’s very rarely any walking, mostly just running these days.  She's always got a little jive to her step, shaking her head in a half dancing, half running sort of way.  And now, she learned how to spin in circles and loves to twirl herself around. She always finds a way to crack herself up!

She also loves to back her THING up!  Whether it’s sitting on her bean bag chair, the first step leading upstairs in the kitchen (helping herself to a snack from the pantry), or making her way to the couch pillows [she insists on sitting on pillows, not just the couch].  And one day, even the sofa table!

Her pink chair is her FAVORITE!  She loves to back-it-up and chill on her chair.  What’s the funniest is when she’s not paying close attention and totally misses the chair!

And these two are SO cute together.  When Brooke sees cousin Scarlett, her whole face LIGHTS up.  She came running over to her, waves and says Hi!, and then plops herself down, and from there, nothin but giggles coming from BOTH of them. 
Earlier that day, same exact thing.  Besties for sure!!

Anything that can be climbed up, will!!  I had to hide my set toddler chairs/tables, cause she LOVED to stand on the chairs, and then make her way up to the table. 
Just the other day at the park - guess who booked it up the ladder to the top of the playground!!  She was so proud, while we were terrorized.  She couldn’t wait to go down the HUGE slide.  

She still has a shoe fetish – and LOVES to have her shoes put on.  She’ll usually insist upon it, cause she knows it means one thing, going OUTSIDE to play!
And the SWING!  When we first go outside, she screams if I try to put her down.  We have to go STRAIGHT to the swing first.  And she’s just as chill as can be when she’s outside.  Just a whole new baby, with this passive, soaking it ALL in kinda look.

Inside, it’s the I’M THE BOSS kinda attitude we get ALL the time.  We’re still working on breaking her stubborn streak, but she just might just have more will-power than me.

When it comes to food, she's very opinionated.  She typically likes most things, but there's certain foods she'll go crazy for.  Like avocados.  I put one in the cart -- and next time I turn around -- Brooke's mouth is gushing green full of avocado.  Yup, she found that lil ripe avocado and had no problem biting right through the skin.  The sales clerk tried to tell me I picked out a bad avocado...but turns out it was so delish she couldn't wait :)  And she also has a strawberry addiction.  She won't stop until see sees the container good and gone.  Until then, she'll beg and insist on more, and would happily eat a whole container, if I let her, all by herself. 

And she's also very particular how she eats.  She tries to convince me she's big enough to eat at the table like the rest of us, but we still insists she eats in the high chair, and for good reason.  But one battle we've let her win is eating with a spoon.  She loves to scoop up yogurt or oatmeal with it -- and for some things, I still have to help her with.  It's a very messy endeavor, but she LOVEs it!!

She also loves to get dressed.  Or "play" in my closet.  She'll take down one of my shirts hanging up and try to put it on.  Quite hilarious.   And necklaces/purses -- she'll find any and all accessories to get herself all dolled up.  And she never complains when Tanner wants her to pretend play with her -- the cowboy hat is a recent favorite :)

But she also LOVES to give hugs and kisses.  She’s so cute and cuddly, especially when she’s tired.  She no longer has to be coaxed to sleep.  She drinks her bottle (a HUGE fan of whole milk – no more of that “poison” formula that she strongly detested), and then simply wants to lay in her bed with her paci.  She has a new love affair with her paci now that I’m not nursing her…I’ve been replaced :(
And since turning one, she’s also sleeps 100% through the night, no more waking up at 5:00am for a snack, but is WIDE AWAKE for the world before 7:00 am each day.  And while there’s not much cuddling going on in the morning, her smile radiates the room and it’s still the best way to wake up. 

Brooke’s Cake Smash

This may be my all-time favorite picture of Brooke.  It captures all her sass and attitude without having to say a word!

But don’t get me wrong, she’s still as sweet as they come.  She loves to give hugs and kisses!  Be on the look out, she’ll come running with her MOUTH open.

Look at those round lil cheeks?  She’s so pretty!! 

And if you look closely, you’ll be able to see those 7 lil teeth popping through. 

We pulled this outfit together at the last minute…I had another dress and tutu in mind…but changed my mind at the last second. 

I LOVE that Brooke FINALLY let me put in a cute headband – and love how the brown lace romper compliments her soft golden chocolate eyes!  I see so many baby pics where the clothes stand-out more than the baby.  But we couldn’t have any for Ms. Brooke.

This is Brooke’s lil bashful smile.  She usually tilts her head a lil to the left for extra added effect, but she decided to pass this time around:)

And this is where it starts to get messy!!!

She just was licking the frosting – so I thought I’d help speed it along by offering her a BIG GIRL bite.  And she didn’t refuse!!!

But after that, she was pretty much done.  Just a few more smiles!!!

We also had a few more pics in the tutu & tiara.  Much to my surprise, they didn’t allow her tummy rolls to show [some rule about being fully clothed after the age of 1] so we had to use the lil cardigan instead :)

I just can’t get enough of that SMILE!

Brooke’s Birthday Bash

If there’s one thing everyone knows about Brooke, it’s that she LOVES music.  And when it’s on, she loves to DANCE.  To celebrate her special day, we joined forces with cousin Quincy whose birthday is just ONE year and a few days apart.  Q loves music equally as much – just give her a microphone and sit back and enjoy.

The birthday girl!

And despite the fact that she’s very much a princess, she only wanted to wear her tiara long enough for me to snap a few pics.  Despite the paparazzi of girls trying to “help” her put it on.
We invited family and a few close friends…and we had so much fun chatting and eating food – we almost ran out of time for all the singing and dancing.

Brooke had her own plate full in her high chair – but still insisted on having a lil rondevue just helping herself to others like it was no big deal.  It was her BIRTHDAY after all!  Luckily, Q didn’t mind either.  That’s what cousins are for!!

When it came to the cake, Brooke got a lil excited.  So much that she tried to grab the burning candle all by herself. 

But the excitement was short lived…after a few small tastes of the frosting…she was DONE!

Who wants a piece of me now???


But there's always room for ice cream!!!  These lil microphones (aka mini ice cream cones) whee a huge hit!

Brooke had a grand ole time opening the presents – with the lil help from some friends.  She loved the fun books, clothes, toys, and especially the baby doll and stroller/car seat combo from Mom and Dad.  Now she can practice for next Fall when baby #3 comes along! 

And last but not least, we sang and dance to our hearts content.  There was tons of music to be made and boogying-woogying going on.  Unfortunately, you can't hear the original song playing, so it looks like we're all being completely ridiculous.


And cuz I couldn’t decide on which one was the best, here’s a few for your viewing pleasure:

Katelynn getting her groove on:

And then everyone else. 

Happy Birthday Brooke and Quincy!!! Our world wouldn't be complete with you in it!!!