April 2017

Best quotes this month:
"Woah, it was just a little bit woopsies."
"Since you woke up from your nap, would you manage to play with me?"
"I'm trying to dreidel it."  (spin a top) 

Your new best friend from school is Shea.  You talk about her every day and have been begging me to schedule a play date.  You are going to live with Shea when you grow up.  You and Shea are going to be astronauts together.  You would like a road that no one else is allowed to drive on, just you and Shea.

You have taken to calling Daddy and I "Bubs."  We have no idea where this came from.

Making a doll for Grandma Tami's birthday.  Your idea.

And cupcakes for her of course.

It took some effort but we got you enrolled in gymnastics and you are loving it (rainbow leotard, back row, far right).

Clay fairy.

Grandma was here!  We took her to the tram, of course.

After dropping Grandma at the airport:
"I want Grandma more than everything.  I want her more than the Earth."

Making a list of fairy facts.

Play date with Micah.  We've sure been low on play dates since we moved so we're extra excited to have been able to play with Micah a few times recently.

Fairy village.

More gymnastics.

Lots of time swimming in the pool lately.  It's been HOT!

We went out to celebrate our anniversary and they even wrote your name on your plate in chocolate!  Very fancy!

Toys can be useful.  This dripping irrigation system has had me feeling guilty for months so one day I just decided we were going to outsmart it.  We were very proud.

I remember this afternoon, sitting across from you, watching you snack and thinking that sometimes I just can't believe how perfect you are.  💙💚💛💜

You carefully laid out all of your fairies to take pictures of them.

Lessons in corn shucking.

Out scoping wildflowers.

Cookie baking.

Monkey pizza.

Charlotte and Jack came to see us too!  What a treat!

You were so sad when they had to leave.  It broke my heart.

Coloring Easter eggs.

Easter basket loot.

Easter breakfast picnic.

Hunting for eggs.

Zoo trip with Grandma.  We've stopped by the animal hospital on several prior visits but have never been able to see an exam in process before so it was a real treat to see this little fox getting a checkup.

Meerkat!

Feeding the giraffes.  Grandma thought this was pretty cool.  Me too.

This time you decided you wanted to try the camel ride so that was something new for us.

There has been an art exhibit going on called Desert X with pieces of art on display all throughout the area for free public viewing.  We didn't know much about it or even which pieces we were going to see but we just took off and went looking for a few.  This wavy wall was fun.

Your enthusiasm for this picture is overwhelming.

The next stop led us to the Sunnylands Gardens, which we were previously unaware of.  It was a really pretty place and they happened to be having a family day so we wondered around a little and enjoyed the area.

The actual Desert X display at the Sunnylands was not exactly my style, but hey, I'll take it anyway.  You just wanted to play in the sand.  There were a couple of men nearby laughing as I had to stop you from walking in it, then sitting in it, and eventually just shuffled you on to a new location.

We enjoyed the gardens much more.

I asked if you wanted to take a picture of us since it was our anniversary (8 years!) and I'd say you did a fantastic job.  There were several good ones, then a whole series of pictures of us laughing while I am reaching out trying to get you to give me the camera back.  It's not often that I let you hold my fancy camera so you were eating it up.

You have become quite the little negotiator.  At swimming lessons when you are doing something you don't necessarily like you try to tell Tessa how many more times you think you should have to do it and negotiate her down whenever possible.

One day she was telling you what she wanted you to do and you started sticking your leg out to show that you understood, then told her, "this is an example."

The last Desert X exhibit we saw was called Mirage.  This was probably the most popular one, and the only one we intentionally set out to find.  A full size house made of mirrors, inside and out.

Fun for kids, for sure.

Most visitors were drawn to the exterior rooms with windows so that left one big room in the middle of the house that was mostly empty the whole time we were there.  It obviously became your favorite room where you could dance and spin and watch yourself from every angle.

Windmills!