beautiful....

I'll be back here in a few weeks.
Enjoy the beautiful.

Soo hot

Its over the top ridiculously flesh searing hot.

Time to seek out the cool.

Her Recital...

 

Ava worked hard in ballet this year.  She looked forward to the recital from the first day of class.  She was brilliant.  She was beautiful. She was brave.  She was graceful on stage.  She glowed. 

The evening was perfect.

Solstice....

 Ava's birthday image for Sol on the chalkboard...

 Cyrus's birthday image for Sol on the chalkboard... (baseball gloves, balls, symbols, and bats, and rocket ships)

 A bowl of rainbow fruit salad made out of pompoms... (cherry, orange, lemon, melon, blueberries, and eggplant)  Ava's concept of fruit salad often involves a few unexpected items.

 His very first birthday charm in his birthday ring...

 Watermelon for lunch...

 Obligatory  birthday crown photo op...  (before it gets torn off and thrown to the ground)

 Sprinkles cupcakes...  (if your not going to bake your own, why not go all out?)

 Cyrus made baby doll... (adorable, but so snuggled I couldn't get a good photo)

A set of baby books lovingly crafted by Ava.

This smaller scale birthday party is such an important part of who we are as a family.  Its small.  Its lovely.  And we all look forward to them every year, no matter how grand the big party is.

Happy first birthday my precious little sun.

The first big party...

Our little Sol turns one year old today.  A very special day.  Later on we'll gather as a family of 5 and honor our youngest with cupcakes, handmade cards, birthday rings, and crowns.  This weekend it was a larger affair.  Splash pad, fruit popsicles, grilling and ice cream cake!  Oh my.

 The popcicles were delicious...

 If not a little bit messy...

 There was a simple solution to clean up...

Lots of running...

 And laughing...

 And splashing...

 Having fun together as cousins, and friends.

 Then it was time to leave the splash pad...

 And then there was cake...

 Over the top, nothing healthy, first time ever, cake.

mmmmm.

 It was a good day.

Gratitude Mondays...

What I am loving today...

~A perfect first birthday party

~A perfect first recital...

~A little baby who's practically a toddler now..
(wondering around teeter tottering) 

~A little girl who makes an absolutely stunning ballerina...
(She really did an Amazing job!)

~A little boy who doesn't quite get knock knock jokes...
(but the ones he tells are still hilarious)

~A partner who made it through a busy weekend full of people, places, and messes and not only kept his cool, he helped me to keep mine...
(Thank you)

~Cake.

~A family who laughs together...


This week we'll enjoy our first days of "summer" ...  eh.  Bring it on!

End of year wrap up... The very first end...

We celebrated our official last day of school today!  Whoo Hoo!  We took photos, drew pictures and talked about what she's accomplished in just one year.   Oh my goodness, she has grown so much.

Ava 8.30.10  (our first day of school)

Ava 6.16.11 (our last day of school)

 

 I know I talk (A LOT) about how much I love homeschooling, but I really can't express how wonderful it has been to have my daughter home with us this year.  To watch her learn to read, count by 2s (and 5s and 10s and odds, and evens), to learn to tell time, and to write and spell.  The experiences that I was able to share with her (art, baking, science,) in our kitchen can not be measured.  I am so very grateful that we took this path. 

It has been with out question a fantastic year.  I look forward to everything that I have planned (for my blog, and my life) over the summer before we start our second year of homeshool in the early fall.  Thank you all, for sharing this journey with us!

I'd take him anywhere...

 Two weeks ago Ava had ballet photos done with her class.  Before we left Cyrus announced he was a fireman today.  I don't even think I payed attention.  Fireman, baseball man, construction man, rocket man, there are a lot of facets to this little son of mine on any given day.  It didn't even hit me why he was dressed up until we got there.  Crowds of little ballerinas with ribbons and sequins and tutus.  And Cyrus the Fireman.

 It was perfect.  He is perfect.  They are perfect.

The other way

We have some HUGE Diamondback fans in our home.  Matt and Cyrus just really love baseball.  Sol (at the tender age of 11 plus months) looks like he's headed that way too.  Obviously when it comes to getting tickets we can't just order them online.  There's always another way...

A trip to the box office.  A stop by the team shop for pompoms and cheering tools.  (to Cyrus this means a miniature wooden baseball bats to wave in lieu of clapping.  riiiight.)  A trip topped off with lunch at our favorite Indian food buffet. mmmmmm  So much better than buying the tickets online. 

Cycles...

A little over one year ago today I wrote this post here.  

This year so much has changed. 

~Those kittens that I spoke of were born 2 days later.

~That little boy with the curly locks now sports a fresh look with short hair.

~That little girl has grown into a real ballerina, and will have her first recital in just a few days.

~That big round belly of mine gave birth to a baby just 12 days later, and now he walks about laughing, and babbling.

And like so many parts of our lives we find ourselves cycling back to where we were.

~The apples are larger than last year, but not ready yet.

~The grapes are full and sweet, but not quite sweet enough.

But we know from experience that they will be.

Gratitude Mondays...

What I am loving today...

~A baby who takes so Many steps...

(And laughs the whole way down)

~A girl who reads...

(even if it's not what you think that means)

~A boy who insists on his innocence...

(with the yellow crayon in his hand) 

~A partner who is there...

(while your family is in town, 

and while you are too sick to clean)

~Small amounts of time with extended  family..

(and looking forward to a year of many more opportunities)

~Getting through the good times, and the bad with your family intact...

Reading too many teen fiction fantasy fiction novels...

(too many? Yep, I read A LOT)

Here's to a new week.  Can I keep up?  We'll see!