I have been planning our New York City trip coming up the first week of June. We picked and booked hotels, flights, tickets to shows (Wicked and Newsies!!) Some shows sell out and we don't want to risk missing them. We will get tickets to other shows when we are there. I planned out our itinerary for each of the six days. I have never been to NYC before and there is a lot I want to do and see. I have done a lot of research and planned out our time based on location to cut down on travel time. I have planned my outfits based on the activities for that day and would seriously be packed already except I suppose I do need to wear clothes in the intervening month! Needless to say, I am a little excited about this trip!
In order to keep my mind off of the impending New York trip, I have also been busy planning Rory's fourth birthday party. She turns four the week we get back from our trip and I want to have her party all planned and prepped ahead of time. Not to mention the invitations will have to go out before we leave. She picked the theme and between her specific instructions, my awesomeness and of course, my Pinterest addiction, I think we have a pretty fantastic fourth birthday party in the works! It's all very hush hush for now, as it is still over a month away, but lets just say, I will have one very excited four year old.
FOUR YEAR OLD!!! How has it been almost four years since I was handed my tiny little premie baby and declared a mother!! It is so crazy how fast time goes by. I know that is a total cliche, especially coming from a mother. Rory is getting taller, though compared to others she's still pretty tiny. We recently moved the vast majority of her clothes into Sophie's dresser (who is now wearing clothes just one size smaller than Rory!). She is still taking ballet and loving it. She has 6 classes left this year and then will have to wait until the fall to start her new four-year-old class, which encompasses ballet and tap. She starts a two week swimming class in July which is essential as summer approaches and our dear princess is terrified of water. Not entirely her fault, as she likes to remind us, but it's time to get over her fear!
Sophie is growing like a weed, the cute kind, not the smother all other forms of life in our poor little backyard kind. She took her first unassisted steps on April 10th, so she was technically still 13 months old. Go Soph! Since then, she has been slowly building up her strength and confidence and is really moving now. She can walk from one side of the house to the other, which is pretty impressive. Although she isn't in full control of her body or it's movements yet, she is getting pretty darn close! She can stand up unassisted by person or object and can get anywhere she wants to go. If she needs to go fast, she still crawls. She is a super speedy crawler, like a cockroach, a cute one. She is also getting really smart. She can answer questions with a yes or a no, blow kisses, point out facial features and tickle herself in the tummy (so stinkin' cute!!) She also likes to form sentences of sounds, like she is trying to talk and I swear sometimes I understand her. She will repeat phrases like "I love you" back to me and can say "mum" "dad" and "Rory" (without the Rs). Her favourite is still "hi" and she says it all the time and to everything she passes, animate or not. She loves baths and will crawl into the bathroom and stand at the tub yelling until I follow her in. She is very unimpressed when I tell her she has to wait until bedtime.
It's finally warm outside (yay!) and I took the girls out to play in the backyard last week. Sophie loved being outside but refused to touch the grass. She stayed on the blanket and screamed at me until I came over and helped her walk to the little playhouse. The next day we went out again and she was crawling, climbing and walking (more accurately stubbing) all over the place. I'm glad her aversion to grass only lasted 24 hours. Unfortunately, outdoor play has its consequences and our poor little baby had to have 2 splinters dug out of her little pudgy hand last night. It was very sad, but she was very brave and deserved her marshmallow prize at the end! Matt is currently in the process of demolishing our terrible, rotting deck, so hopefully we can avoid at least a large percentage of possible slivers in the future.
Our first lady bug of the season!
Despite the sheer awesomeness of our family, I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I have been feeling as though I really need to challenge myself. So I started up exercising again and have been crushing it! No weight loss yet, but I am breezing through what used to be a painfully difficult level three circuit! I am building strength and endurance so I can have energy to play with my kids, enjoy our summer trips and hopefully look a little leaner in my summer clothes. I also have been trying to focus on being a better, more attentive mother. I've cut back on technology and have spent more time reading, baking and playing with my kids. It's been really good.
Baking resurrection buns for General Conference
Mmmm chocolate!!
And still it has not been enough to get me out of my state. I've been strengthening my body and my relationships but I felt a strong need to strengthen my mind as well. And that led me to my most recent decision. I am going to learn to play the piano. I love music and though I took lessons as a kid, the passing years have not been good on me or my "talent". I write "talent" because I am not convinced I have any natural abilities. That being said, I have an amazing teacher and had a very successful first lesson! I am really excited that she is willing to help me. I hope that by studying piano and musical theory, I can keep my mind sharp and, eventually, fill my home with uplifting music. I want my children to have a love of music and what better way to teach them to love it!
So that pretty much covers our past month. Leaving for New York in a month and a day!! And never fear, I have a lot on my plate this month, so the time should fly by. Right? (Is it still too early to pack?!)
We love your blog - can't wait to see you guys on Mother's Day
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