MAY

Swimming lessons continued into May.  Phin and Millie were motivated to get to the pool early so that they would have some time to play on the rock climbing wall.

I actually loved having the swim lessons in the "big" pool.  For Millie's group they had these platforms that the kids could stand on as they waited for their turn with the instructor.

Millie is an awesome floater.  Here she is showing off her starfish moves.

Phin had his Let's Play Music recital and he looked so handsome.

Here he is showing off some of his dance skills before the recital.

He played the song "Goodbye Old Paint" on the bells.

 It was so fun to watch him sing and perform...he doesn't lack in enthusiasm.

For the Grand Finale he also got to play Do-Re-Me on the bells.  Then his teacher handed out 1st year certificates.

We loved Miss Lynette.  This program was AMAZING.  I attended with Phin twice a month and I felt like I learned so much more about music too.

After Phin's program we went out for a ice cream to celebrate all of Phin's hard work.

One day Millie brought home an little nest that she made at school. She was so excited to show off her school project.

It is moments like this that keep me going as a Mom.

We took our first trip to Lagoon at the beginning of May.  

How is my baby this big?

We sent Silas on the helicopters with Millie and Phin and I immediately regretted the decision.  He turned around and was facing backwards the entire ride.

We had cousins over for a Cinco de Mayo taco party.  They loved playing in the sandbox together.

One day Millie hung out in the basement with a little blanket veil on her head.

We also made a trip down to Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival.  It was so gorgeous.

There were also some pretty cool photo ops around the gardens.

The kids LOVED feeding the fish.

We also looked for klompens (wooden shoes) all over the gardens.

The kids loved making a wish.

The last time we went to the festival they had umbrellas hanging in this spot...this year they had water cans.

The I Am the Light of the World Garden was by far my favorite spot.  We walked to all of the statues and discussed the New Testament stories that these beautiful statues portrayed.  It was especially sweet as we have been studying the New Testament as a family with Come Follow Me.

We also found the secret garden.

I also competed in the Splash and Sprint Triathlon at our local Rec Center on Mother's Day weekend.

My Chip Time was 1:36 (swim time 9:07, bike 47:23 and run 34:38).  The  bike course changed the day before the race...which added several uphill sections.  It was tough on my legs and they started to cramp up. I pushed through and was proud to earn my medal at the end.  I am trying so hard to keep up with these three kiddos that call me Mom.

Grandma Jo had a Mother/Daughter Tea Party planned the same day as the race.  Millie was so excited to get all dressed up for a party.  She even brought her baby doll along.

Millie found one of Grandma Jo's toy purses and filled it with all of her treasures.

She also made a candy necklace which was delicious.

After the party the kids played games with their cousins.

Phin also got a big kid bike in May.  We are kind of late to the his whole riding your bike thing...so we have some work to do.

The Chalk Art Festival was rainy as always.  We loved all of the drawings that survived.

We took some of our sidewalk chalk down and created our own art.

Introducing Millie the Mermaid...

and Phin the Merman.

We spent sometime at one of the work houses helping Nona and Papa.  Millie and Phin always know how to have fun and on this trip that involved the shop vac.

Millie and Silas went on one last field trip to the park.  Their teacher texted me these pictures of them enjoying their cold day at the park.

 Millie had her last day of preschool for the year.

On Memorial Day, Grandma Jo and Grandad invited us to lunch at Pizza Pie Cafe.  The kids loved eating with their cousins.

Silas loved the olives from the salad bar.

After pizza we all went bowling.

Seth taught the kids to break out into dance as their bowling balls headed down the lane.

Silas got pretty sleepy and Grandma Jo was able to rock him to sleep.

Phin's last week of school was filled with Field Trips, Field Day and lots of fun.

We also started preparing for his birthday party...which he had been talking about since Millie's birthday in September.

 Phin had two really good friends in Kindergarten...Talon (pictured below) and Andrew.

This year was quite the adventure with Phin coming to my school.  It meant I always had a little buddy before and after school.
 

 

Phin also loved his teacher Mrs. Smith.  He got an award for being the best class dancer.  He loved doing yoga on Fridays.  He learned so much throughout the year and has grown up so much.  

I got news on my last day of work that I was going to be transferred to our neighborhood school the following school year.  I have never had more mixed feelings about anything in my life.  I had been praying that we could get Phin to the neighborhood school but it was so hard to leave the school that has been my home for the last six years.  Once I received the news I drove to the UHAUL store to buy some boxes and spent my last day boxing up all of my supplies.  This is the closet in my room that Phin spent quite a bit of time hanging out in while I had meetings with parents or finished working with students at the end of the day.  He literally said hello to the principal everyday while we walked through the office for me to check my box.  Change is hard...but change is also good.  We are both excited and nervous for our first day of school at the new school in the Fall.

Cousin Belle babysit Silas and Millie on the last day of school.  We took her out to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream to celebrate the end of school.

After dropping her off at the Front Runner station we headed to a family bike ride for Seth's work.  This was Silas' first time in the bike trailer.

The event also had a bouncy house which was a hit with our kiddos.

13 MONTHS

Silas hit 13 months in April.  He remains toothless.  Crawling continues to be his primary mode of movement.  He pulls himself up next to the couch and on chairs.  He is working so hard to keep up with his older siblings.

He looked so handsome in his Easter bow-tie.   He continues to wear 12 month clothing and his is just itty bitty around the waist.

He is down to one nap a day.  Usually in the afternoon.  He prefers to be in his own bed for naps...but can also take a quick cat-nap just about anywhere.

He loves to play with his siblings and with cousins.  He also loves exploring new toys.

He is a pretty good sport with Millie who acts like his second mother and is constantly trying to keep him out of danger.

He is officially over baby food and prefers to feed himself.  He seemed to have some tummy troubles when we started exposing him to more cow's milk so we have backed off a little and it has helped.

He loves to people watch.

He is a master cruiser...

a master emptier...

and a master climber.

Happy 13 months to Silas!