Normally it is very difficult to get this little girl to smile for things, but you'll see she is so excited!!! She has been riding a tricycle and this was the first time she got to ride a big girl bike. She did great!!! She had so much fun and was happy to be out with her sisters. She was quite proud of herself for figuring out a U turn :) She also decided it was fun to run mommy over!!! This was her first attempt...and she was all giggles!!
So, despite my kids being pretty physical, we've had a block when it comes to riding a bike without training wheels. Despite many attempts it still wasn't happening. Last week we decided it was time to try again and mentioned it to M and she agreed. A few days later we were playing outside after school and I casually mentioned to M that she should go grab the small bike without training wheels and try it. She thought about it for a second and decided to give it a try. I refuse to run around holding onto a bike (and keep track of a crawling infant!) so I help it for her and took a few steps and let her go. After 10 minutes she had riding down! YEA!!! E got on and after a few minutes had it too!!! HOORAY!!! The next day Daddy took the training wheels off of the girls big bikes and put training wheels onto the little bike for Mg. We practiced that a little bit and the next day after dinner we took them to a bike path right behind our house. It is great - it is a nice wide straight paved bike path about 3 blocks long...perfect! I've spent most of the spare time this week on that path with the girls (sweet A just smiles and eats snacks!) . On Saturday Daddy was at an all day conference so I walked A and hte big girls rode their bikes to a park close by and they did great! When Daddy got home he was very impressed with their progress and we he hitched up the bike trailer for A and Mg and we headed out on a big family bike ride to a different park (it was too far for Mg on her small bike)! I'm so proud of all the girls and they're doing so well!
These videos are from that first day on the bike path - the girls are really excited to share them!
So a few minutes after M started riding a bike without training wheels E asked if she could try too. Of course! She hopped on and did fabulous! She had a tougher time getting onto her big bike because it is made of a really heavy metal and was hard to adjust to. Of course it didn't help that she had a bag full of rocks in a bag on the front of her bike that threw her balance off, too!!! I've been really impressed this whole week with how hard E has worked to learn to ride this bike. She never gave up even when she kept falling and she was always asking if we could go riding. She would work hard on different things...first she wanted to work on starting, later she wanted to work on turning and by the end of the week she looked great! Daddy had only seen her early in the week when she was still struggling and was really impressed with how well she's doing now. She worked hard and I'm very proud of my little girl!
This is A's new sound...it is so sweet! When she's getting attention she'll do it nice and loud and when she's quietly playing with toys you can hear her sweet little sounds...I love this kid!
Thank you daddy for getting these up here! Our ward had a talent show last Friday and our girls did the dances they are learning in their dance class. They weren't planning to perform until May but they quickly learned the end of the dances for the talent show. They also only had one rehearsal on the stage (they're used to a family room) but I think they did fantastic! I wish you could have seen their smiles!!! M absolutely loved being on stage (she did NOT get that from me!!!!!) and although E was nervous that day she did great when the time came and even had a beautiful smile on! I was so proud of them!!! M is on the left in pink (not the end one...the next one over) and E is in a green skirt right next to her.
This was adorable....sweet Mg knew the dances without any help from her teacher but it was her very first time on stage. As long as she didn't look up she would do the moves as small as she could (but she was doing them!). If she looked up she hesitated. Even though her head was down it was adorable and I was proud of her for getting up there and for knowing the dances! I should put the dress rehearsal up here - normally she is squealing as they run in a circle and has so much fun! There are 2 dances...enjoy!
I wish you could see the girls smiles - they definately seemed to enjoy being on stage! It was fun to watch. This is E's favorite dance...it's to a song from the movie "enchanted." M and E are on the right - a friend is the furthest right in purple then E (in blue and pink) then M (in pink)
Here are some random recent pictures to catch up on...
The girls still love their "tea parties." We spent the afternoon making treats and getting dressed up (complete with makeup of course!). Fun fun! Here they are using a tea pot from my little brother and tea cups that their great grandma Marie made for them!
I'll admit it...I was proud! I've been having lots of fun baking lately, just something I've been experimenting with. So for an enrichment meeting I tried something I've been wanting to do for awhile...this is just a white bread recipe but M helped me braid it and I love how it came out! To make it golden I brushed it with egg before it went in the oven (ir raises a little more after it gets in the oven) and then the crust was harder than I wanted when it came out (due to the egg) so I quickly brushed it with melted butter which gave it shine and helped it taste yummy. I even experimented with making honey butter and was so happy (and proud...I admit it!!)
We love Legos!!!! At church several weeks ago we had a swap meet - we all brought stuff we didn't want anymore to the church and the next day we went and brought home stuff we wanted. The kids had fun - they each got to pick two things. E of course got a dress up dress and crown and M got a stuffed horse and a porcelin doll. We brought home some dress up shoes and a doll for Mg (who stayed at home to help Daddy fix my bike). But the BEST part was bringing home 2 boxes of legos!!! E has been having a lot of fun with legos at school so Daddy got a few lego things for Christmas (including lego star wars stuff of course!!) but we've been wanting to get a plain set to just build with (not one that was specific to make a helicopter or something). But they're expensive so we were SO grateful for these!!! They are perfect and we have spent SO many evenings together building (I think Daddy forgets he's the Daddy he's having so much fun!!!). I love things that the girls and Daddy both enjoy!
This is what happens when I eat lunch. I thought Mg was quietly playing in the playroom while I ate. I should have know that quiet was bad. She move the table to the bookshelf where the paints are, got the box down (I don't think she knew it was there but while exploring she happily found it!) and painted. Thankfully this is an extra shelf we have, not something special!!!
Watch out for the huge attack bird!!!! Tweety loves to be out of the cage and the girls (and daddy) love to have him around! During the last hour of conference we got the legos out and he climbed onto the castle that the girls were helping Daddy build!
Here are a few pictures from spring break...
After they were assembled we got to paint...yea!!! I don't have pictures of the completed projects, but making them was the best part!
At the end of the week we were watching "Alice in Wonderland" and decided to have an "unbirthday party" which turned into a backwards and silly party...it was fun!
I was sad to send the girls back to school but we did have a nice break together! A few weeks ago I helped teach someone from church about conducting a choir. We had a great time and I learned that she worked at the horse breeding center on campus and she invited us to come see their horses! You can bet we were there quickly!!! We got a tour of the place and fed some hay to the horses (they even got to go in the Palomino's stall to pet it - Lisa...these should have been your kids!!!). Then we took a walk out to the fields where the babies and mommy horses were (that field past the Mondavi center as you make a right to get onto I80 or 113). The horses were so friendly!!! And little...it was awesome!
E and Mg were a little nervous at first so this one laying down was a great place to start. It's mommy (the white one) was E's favorite horse.
M and this horse were great buddies - it followered her all around and M just loved it!!! It was fun to watch them together!
Here's MG...eventually she really warmed up to them :)
I was surprised at how much A liked the horses. She just laughed and giggled at them (she doesn't do that much!). It was a lot of fun to take her and fun to watch her grow up. She really liked them and it was nice to have a quiet horse to show her!
