My awesome girl.

Awesome is her word of the day. It has never really been a word that she uses much (even though I do), but today, she has used it no less than 5 times.

As she finished her 3rd large piece of stromboli at dinner tonight, she said:

"Mmmm, these pizza fings are awesome!!"

I love that. Love her enthusiasm for food.

She's at such a fun, sweet, cute, caring, awesome age right now. I've said it throughout most of her life, but... 4 1/2 might be my favorite age.

About a month ago we said goodbye to naps. I'm thankful that they were with us for this long. She was always such a great napper. Her last nap was even a typical 2 hour nap. And then the next day: nothing. So we have adjusted and settled quite smoothly into "quiet time." Most days she does really well and has her time in her room playing quietly (and making a mess). She seems completely rested and happy so I suppose I can't complain. (Hush, matt).

She loves school. She's getting really good at writing her letters and enjoys doing it.

She cannot wait to turn 5 and talks about it multiple times a day. She talks about all of the things she will be able to do when she is 5. She talks about what her 5th birthday party will be like. She talks about going to Kindergarten next year (even though I have told her many times that she has 1 more year of preschool before Kindergarten she continues to talk about it).

She dances and sings (crazy made-up word songs) all day. (Hmm wonder where she gets this??)

She's an amazing big sister... in a very maternal sort of way.

She's excited that it is March and there is a holiday this month. She doesn't know a thing about St. Patrick's Day (except the color green is special and that is enough for her) but she is so thrilled, nonetheless. "I love holidays" she told me today. And she totally does. She loves decorating, crafting, celebrating. She's a chip off her momma's block, for sure.

She loves dessert and starts asking what we are having for dessert before dinner is even started. (Ok, she gets that from me, too).

She's just so easy to get along with. She's so easy to reason with. She's happy. She's funny. She's sweet. She is my girl and I am so thankful for her.

A boy, his dog, and an orange.

Gavie has been sick all week. I hate when my kiddos are sick. Thankfully, Gavin has been an extremely healthy little guy. Besides a little cold or two, he has never been sick. At 23 months, the cold monster has finally reached him. And it's a doozy. It seems that the worst is over; yesterday was definitely a rough day (and thank you to awesome grandma Pat for coming to watch the sick boy while mommy attended preschool with her "star of the day" KyKy).

These 2 pics were taken just before bath last night with my iphone.

After 2 days of barely eating my little dude looks like a string bean!

And does he look 7 feet tall in this first pic or is it just me?!

He had a little burst of energy and even flashed mommy a smile and a little dog pant. Gotta love him!

Special thanks to Carmen for always being a great model.

V-Day Edition.

Having a preschooler in the house means it was time to make valentines again. It was fun to see Kylie excited about this new activity. Little did she know, this was also a great time to practice writing her name. She usually doesn't like to sit and practice writing since she gets easily frustrated, but this time was different because there was a reason to do it.

We were so proud of how well she did.

She even wrote all 13 kids' names on their cards.

She was so proud of the finished product!

And, here are a couple outtakes from the Valentine's photo shoot (see new blog header)...

Mommy gets bored in the wintertime. Hello, cabin fever!

So pleased that they humored their mother for these shots!

One photo before we headed out to Kylie's preschool V-day party. They look cute but don't be fooled, they were actually mid-headbutt... apparently they both kept interfering with each other's "head space".

Gavie LOVES visiting preschool. He just makes himself at home and pretends that he is a preschooler for the day. He sits on the rug for storytime, lines up with the kids, sits at the table for snack (usually right next to sissy, too!). So funny!

(No pics of Kylie at school because they all had other kids in them and I didn't feel right posting photos of other kids. But, trust me, they were cute!)

Gav enjoying his v-day lunch... heart-shaped pb&j and some edamame. Delish!

For the daddy.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Flashback Friday.

Taking a look back at what we were up to on this day in...

2007:

2008:

2009:

2010:

Irresistible.

What girl wouldn't love a guy that cleans for her and looks adorable in his white tshirt?

This kid knows how to make his momma melt into a puddle. Check out that cheesy grin at the end... I knew that was coming. Such a little charmer.

52 months old.

What? I'm still allowed to refer to my firstborn in months. She's my baby.

Well, I thought that until I looked at these photos. Ay yi yi.

Getting too big. Too fast.

Sweet and sassy.. that's my girl. :)