Aloha!

Friday Molly's class had "Hawaiian" Day. I didn't have any kind of hula-girl costumes so Molly looked more like a Hawaiian tourist... all she was missing was a fanny-pack and a shopping bag of souvenirs!

Molly and one of her teachers, Ms. Ellen

Pizza!

Molly loves making pizza for dinner. These pictures are from last week's pizza night...

Swim Team

Molly started swim team about 3 weeks ago and absolutely loves it. After her first practice she told us, "Swim team is AWESOME!" Neither of us can remember her ever using the word "awesome" before so she must really be having a great time! Her little buddy, Caden, is also on the team with her and they have a blast at practices together. They have their first meet next Saturday and I am very excited to see 4 year-olds swim competitively! Should be pretty entertaining!We had team pictures yesterday and Danielle brought along her camera and awesome new portrait lens and got some great shots of the kids!

This is Meggie, she's Molly's teacher's daughter who lives in our neighborhood and is also on swim team. She's also Molly's new babysitter. She watched Molly Saturday night and Molly just loved her. Yesterday she told me "Meggie is SO COOL!" Once again, an adjective she's never used before. (She must have been holding "awesome" and "cool" in reserve for just the right occasions.)

Mother's Day Program

The Thursday before Mother's Day Molly's class put on a Fashion Show and Mother's Day performance. PawPaw was able to come into town for the special event and we were all very impressed with the kids! They did a great job - especially Molly, not that we're biased or anything! :o)

Molly wanted to be an Aggie cheerleader in the fashion show and she walked in with her little friend who was dressed in his karate outfit.
During the show... the kids are all signing "mother"

Happy Mother's Day!

I woke up this morning to a bunch of wonderful Mother's Day surprises!! Paul got up early and brought me coffee and cinnamon rolls and while I ate breakfast Molly presented me with all my beautiful cards and presents!!

My favorite gift is a gorgeous hand-painted ceramic heart-shaped box that Molly made all by herself. I am very impressed that Daddy planned and executed a trip to the pottery place and was able to get Molly to keep it a secret! I also received a beautiful James Avery butterfly for my charm bracelet, a gift certificate for two pedicures and a wonderful card and letter from my unborn son!!

Paul's most thoughtful gift is a handmade chest that he ordered a few weeks ago. I wanted a trunk to keep at the foot of our bed where we could put all of Julia's keepsakes and belongings. It will be much nicer to have a beautiful box full of her memories rather than having them in a plastic storage container.

My beautiful present from Molly
She painted it all by herself, but the lady at the pottery place wrote on the inside for her.The card Molly made at school with the help of her teachers:Letter from baby Quin
*You should be able to double-click this picture to enlarge it*
I think I really do have the best kids and the most thoughtful husband in the world!! :o)

Molly's Tomatoes

Molly and I planted a small tomato and herb garden in the backyard back in February. Molly has had lots of fun tending to it and watching it grow. The tomato plant was less than a foot tall when we planted it and it's grown like crazy! It's now taller than Molly and has some big, beautiful tomatoes growing on it. We're super excited to eat our first home-grown tomato one day soon!

This is what the garden looked like 3 months ago...

Molly likes to take pictures next to the tomato plant as it grows taller and taller!

Dinner Conversation...

The other night at dinner Paul was quizzing Molly on which meats come from which animals (my absolute least favorite dinner topic.) When he asked her where she thought pork chops came from she looked at him with the biggest smile on her face and replied "Porcupines!"

Makes perfect sense to me.