Phone Pictures

Claire is a "phase girl". She goes through lots of funny phases. She recently went through a fancy girl phase. Lipstick and heels were modeled every day. This particular day she wanted to wear these shoes to school. Somehow I was able to talk her out of it...but the lipstick stayed. Her phase currently is turquoise. All she wants to wear is turquoise. So random and funny!

It is finally time to break out the sidewalk chalk!! Our neighbor came out this day we were out playing, and he did traffic signs all over the circle for the neighbor kids. They loved it!

Lilly looooves to jump rope!

Anton and I decided to take the girls out on a date to dinner and to see Cinderella. It was SO fun! The girls were in heaven, and it was a darling movie. It is Lilly's new favorite movie, and I can completely understand why. I loved it!

We were hit with another round of pink eye. When I say we, I mean Claire. How she always ends up being the only one that gets it is a mystery. 

First Skating Show

Lilly has been in skating lessons for a while, now but participated in her first Ice Show a few weeks ago. It was so fun for her! I thought she would be really nervous because she doesn't like being in front of people, but she wasn't nervous one bit. I was shocked! She skated great, and it was fun to see her out there. 

She has almost graduated from her lessons, and has decided that even when her group lessons are done, she still wants to take her private lessons and even wants to participate in a competition. I was really anxious about entering this world I know nothing about it. I don't like the idea of being over scheduled and having a life where activities take priority, so I was really nervous (still am!) about our lives being determined by her skating. It is such a fine line between letting your child do something they are passionate about, and not letting it completely consume your life. So, I called her coach to talk to her about what to expect when we enter the skating world. It was a huge relief to hear that we get to determine how often she skates, and how often she enters competitions. We decided that she won't skate on a team, and will just skate on her own. That way no one depends on her, and she can skate just for herself. So, there is a competition next month, and we are going to let her try it to see if it is even something she wants to do. But, we have warned her if she likes them...only one or two competitions a year! 

She is a beautiful little skater, and it is so fun to watch her. I look forward to many more years of watching her skate!

St. Patricks

I think St. Patricks day is such a funny holiday. If it weren't for the kids, I don't think I would ever remember it. Lilly was especially excited because on St. Patrick's Day, she was getting an award at her school. She was insistent on wearing her striped skirt and she doesn't own a green shirt, so the only green she wore was a ribbon in her hair. She got the Spirit Award for self control. She was surprisingly nervous, and she does this funny thing where she puts her fingers by her mouth. She stood up there the whole time with her fingers in her mouth...well, until she had to shake the principles hand!

The naughty leprechaun messed up our house again this year. He went to the bathroom in our toilet, and left footprints on the toilet seat. He died our milk green and tipped over our kitchen chairs. But, he was a little bit nice because he left gold coins all over the kitchen! Oh man, the girls think that leprechaun is so funny! 

Field Trip

I have mentioned many times before how much I love my girls preschool. One of the things I love about it is all the fun field trips we go on. We go to so many fun places, get great discounts because we are with a group, and the kids love it! I feel really fortunate that I get to go with Claire on all her field trips. It is fun for her to have me there, and it is so fun for me to see her interact with her school friends. 

A few weeks ago we went to the Childrens Museum. We went at kind of an odd time, and it was perfect. There was one group there before us, but they left shortly after we got into the play area and it was just our little school there. It was awesome. We spent so long there, and when it was time to leave Claire was so upset. I thought she would be ready to leave because we had been there for so long, but I was wrong. It was such a fun day!!

Lilly Bug

Oh Lilly. Where do I even start? First off, I am still so proud of her. She is so kind to everyone around her, and is always so kind to the underdog. I get to volunteer every week in her classroom, and it is fun to see her amongst her peers. It is very telling to me that most of the kids...boys and girls...love to play with Lilly. She is always up for a fun time, and she loves to be silly. She has such a fun personality, I love watching her grow into her own little person. She still loves reading and is excellent at reading, but she struggles a bit in Math. But no surprise there when you look at who her mom is! Her beautiful little face is still covered in freckles, and so far she has lost 5 teeth! I have her signed up for Piano and Ice Skating right now. She is really liking piano, but her passion is still ice skating. She absolutely loves it. When she isn't skating, she is thinking about skating. When she is skating, she just wants to skate more! I have told her if she passes all the classes, then she will earn a pair of white ice skates. She is almost there! But, her Nana might be surprising her for her birthday with some. She is so graceful on the ice, and is clearly in her element. I signed her up for private lessons, and they are worth every single penny. She has improved drastically since being in them, and it is very rewarding and fun to watch! She has her first performance coming up in a few weeks, so that will be fun to watch. 

She is such a sweet big sister. The girls fight like siblings do, but for the most part the girls are the best of friends. She is patient with Claire, and still thinks Claire is the funniest person in the family. I tend to agree!

I love my Lilly Bug more than life itself! I can't believe she is going to be 7 soon!

Claire Bear

It seems like Claire all the sudden turned from a little toddler, to a big girl. Anton and I have noticed a lot lately how much she is changing. My mom and I were talking about Claire's upcoming birthday, and she said something like she couldn't believe Claire was going to be 4...wrong! When I told her she was about to turn 5, she could hardly believe it. I am sure it is because she is my baby, but she doesn't seem like she is going to be 5...until recently. She is still the funniest, quirkiest, most adorable little thing in the world! We love our Claire Bear!

The number one thing on Claire's Christmas list was a "big batman". Unfortunately Santa couldn't make that toy, and mom & dad couldn't find it ANYWHERE. That was, until about 2 weeks after Christmas. We were at Target looking at the toys for a birthday party, and we stumbled upon him. She screamed with excited, and I couldn't tell her no. She didn't put him down for about a week solid. 

We have had the most incredibly easy winter. It was gorgeous one day, and our cute neighbors invited us to go to the zoo with them. It felt like we were the only ones there, and the animals were really active. It has felt so good to get out and about, rather than being cooped up all winter!

I love the fun field trips that Claire's preschool gets to take. This particular one, we went to the Thanksgiving Point dinosaur museum. We loved it!!

Claire really really really wanted some sunglasses because she gets tired of the sun getting in her eyes. So, before we went down to St. George we went to the store and bought some sun glasses. She loves them, and thinks she looks so awesome with them on. She is right!!

Gratitude

 I got in bed with my laptop and opened it up to do some work. I decided it was too quiet, so I turned on my iTunes. Before I knew it, Disney songs started playing...and I left it on for a few songs because it just made me smile. I sat for a few minutes thinking about my darling daughters, and literally I had a smile on my face. The joy they bring into my life is so beautiful. The feeling is so hard to explain...I say to them and to Anton often..."I love you so much, I could burst!". That is truly the only way I can describe my love for them. The fear of losing them is also there. Only a parent could understand that fear of "what if". Claire gave us a health scare a few weeks ago, and I was heartsick while we had to wait for results on her blood work. I kept thinking to myself, "I will die if something is wrong with her". During this time, a friend from college lost her beautiful little darling to the flu. Horrific. Devastating. Unfair. Heartbreaking. I haven't been able to get them off my mind since it happened. Since then, I have been squeezing my girls a little tighter and trying to soak in those "everyday moments". A while ago, I decided I wanted to start taking more pictures of my life with them, things like their toys and they funny way they set them up and just more of our everyday moments. I am so glad I do that, because I know when I am old and grey it will be so fun to look back and remember these sweet times. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for my beautiful little miracles. I am grateful and thankful that I get to hold them, squeeze them, kiss them, read with them, watch them play, bathe them, laugh with them...and my heart is so heavy for those sweet parents who have to endure the painful trial of losing a child or having a child with major health problems. Why some people have those trials is a question I often ask myself. It has been on my mind lately for me to write down my feelings and my thoughts on being a mom....but truly, I can't put into words the immense love and joy I feel for my little family. The only word that comes to mind is Gratitude. I have so much of it. Life is so precious, and so beautiful. I am blessed. Blessed beyond measure. And the most beautiful part of all of this, is our little family is eternal. They are forever mine. Lilly often says about Claire, "I am so glad she is in our family". I think that about all three of them every single day.