Happy 6th Birthday Olivia Ann!

It's hard to believe that it's almost been a month since we celebrated Olivia's 6th birthday!  Where have the last few weeks gone...actually where have the last six years gone?  How is our little peanut a six-year old already?  We certainly had a fun time celebrating 6 fantastic years with Olivia!  She got to have a few friends over for some tie-dyeing and fun a few days before her birthday, and then we celebrated a little more as a family on her actual birthday by heading to the fair!

Here are a few pictures of her birthday celebrations...

And, here's a little letter from me to you, Miss Olivia:

Dear Livy,

On your birthday, I wrote on Facebook:  "Sweet, shy, silly, sassy, super - can you really be all these at once?  Of course!"  And, that's a true statement.  You truly are one super girl, and we love you so much!  It has been so fun for me to watch you grow and mature this past year.  While you still possess your shy smile and hesitant nature, your self-confidence has grown tremendously, and I'm so glad I see your determination and belief in yourself shining through.  You are a fantastic sister and friend, and I know it makes me sound like an overly proud mama, but people really enjoy being around you.

As a sister, you are endlessly patient (sometime too patient), nearly always willing to help (with both Grace and Grady), and very cooperative.  You are also a negotiator and compromiser - good skills to have! You sometimes get a little too confident with Grady liking to carry him around, bounce him, etc. like I do, but Grady doesn't seem to mind although we get worried about his safety sometimes!  Grady adores you and the fact that you let him pull your hair, bite your chin, and climb on you.  With Grace, you are often too nice and do what she wants even when I don't think you should give in.  You let her wear your clothes and go downstairs with her when she's "afraid" (I'm putting that in quotes because I think she's making her fear up).

 

While, you're are always looking out for both Grace and Grady, you also like to separate yourself as well.  You love the fact that you don't have to take naps any more though you often fall asleep anyways as I have you do at least 30 minutes of "quiet time" and that you've lost some teeth (you just lost your 3rd one today, and I have a picture of this but can't get it to download onto my computer for some reason), and you and I often share glances when Grace is being ridiculous about something or just trying to be bigger than she really is.  I don't know exactly how big you are (we have your 6-year-old check next week), but you're wearing size 11.5 shoes, size 5/6 pants (and some 6, though they're too big) and size 5/6 and some 6/7 shirts.

I think your growth in your self-confidence and independence coincides with all the things that you've done this past year - let's see if I can make a list of all you've learned: to tie your shoes and double knot them (apparently this is quite a big deal), to ride the bus to school, to read (though we're definitely still working on this) and write/spell, to do basic math, to hula hoop, to do the monkey bars like a speed demon backwards, sideways, skipping, etc., to ride your bike without training wheels (thank you Aunt Beth!), and to ride a 2-wheeled scooter.  I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot, but those are some big accomplishments.  In addition to doing these things, you love hanging out with the neighbor girls, going to the swimming pool, riding your bike around the block by yourself, watching TV (not my favorite pastime), playing tennis - especially with your new racquet, running around outside (the other day you asked me to take you for an actual 5 mile run - we may have to do this sometime though probably not for 5 miles!), and cuddling.  Speaking of - you are the best cuddler, and it makes both your dad and me so happy to snuggle you...though we do both certainly wish you'd stop sucking your thumb and carrying that darn blanket around!

You are very excited for school to start again.  You love Ms. Utoff who will be your first grade teacher, and can't wait to see Ms. Kuennen now that she's gotten married...apparently that makes you look different?  You say you'd like to be a mom and maybe a teacher when you grow up which makes me smile, of course.  Your best friend at school is Stella, but as we talk on a weekly basis about going to Canada to visit the Hodens, I know that Mya holds a very special part of your heart.  Maybe because of school or maybe just because, you've gotten very inquisitive.  I find myself trying to explain things to you that are hard for me to explain...like why is it dark where Tara lives when it's daytime where we live, why we don't have to be afraid of sharks - why sharks don't live in lakes - why sharks sometimes eat people (I have no idea where this shark thing started by the way), why God made a "bad (middle)" finger (this must have come from school?), and whether certain characters are "real" is Disney World.  You also like to know whether a book is fiction or nonfiction and who the illustrator is - I love that you use this word.

While we love you so much, neither your dad nor I will say you're perfect...could you please stop taking baby talk?  I have no idea why you started doing this, but seriously Liv...thankfully this seems to be stopping now that we've started calling you out about it.  You and I still have our battles in the morning about clothes too - you're as picky as ever about the way things feel, and I have a feeling we'll begin having some arguments again when it's time to get back into the school uniforms and socks/shoes.  We've also had quite a few discussions about wearing clean clothes...if you had your way, you'd wear your favorite outfits every.single.day.  You also like to see if we really mean it about not wearing your flip flops to bike...does it make me a bad person that I was secretly glad when you scrapped your toes after not listening a few weeks ago?  I think you got it because you didn't fuss much when usually a scrap is kind of a big deal in your world.

Despite these few "complaints," we certainly think you're a keeper!  My favorite part of your birthday this year was witnessing first-hand what a dare-devil you can be.  If someone would have told me two or three years ago, that our little Liv would be a ride-queen at the fair, I would have laughed!  But, dare-devil you certainly were and are!  While Grace watched, you went on the carousal (boring), the Tilt-o-whirl (fun), the Ferris wheel (exciting), bumper cars (awesome), and....the....Galaxy?  Shoot...I forgot the name of the ride, but whatever it was, it was for kids 48 inches tall (you're 43, 44 at most), and was a serious tummy turner!  And - you thought it was THE BEST EVER!  We waited in line for almost a 1/2 hour, and thankfully they let us on (and, yes, you were very safe!) because you cried when I told you we might not be able to! Your smile was a mile wide when we got going (though you did have a mini-panic when the shoulder harness didn't come down the very second you sat in your seat), and half-way through the ride, when I wasn't sure if I was going to handle it, you shouted "I love it!"  So awesome.  We went on it twice. You would have gone on it again, but I told you that we couldn't or I was going to puke.  :)  You did NOT want to leave the fair, and cried as we walked to the car...and, even though you were crying, I took it as a sign that you had had a great birthday (and were over-tired as it was almost 10 at night!).

Oh, Livy Ann, I know I could write so much more about you, but it'd all come back to one simple fact - you are a great girl, and we are so proud of you!

Love,
Mommy (or Mom as you almost always say)

Grady - 7 and 8 Months

Grady is growing up way too fast for my liking!  I can't believe he's already 8 months old.  Our little man can certainly bring a smile to anyone's face, and I think he getting sweeter by the day.  Here's a few new facts:

 

* Sitting up...finally!  This milestone occurred pretty much at 7 months.  He took his sweet time with this skill preferring to roll around or lounge instead.  I didn't really like to work with him on it because doing so turned Grady into a spit-up machine, but, such is life with Grady.  Grady went from needing support to being very steady quickly.  I love watching him sit with his back so straight - wish my posture was that good!

 

* Turning in circles and mastering the superman or parachuting stance (see blurry picture below).  I'm assuming these poses are helping with muscle development of some kind???  Otherwise, I've noticed Grady's started getting a knee under him on occasion, and if I help him get into crawling position he can hold it for a bit.  I wouldn't be surprised if crawling doesn't happen till 10 months or so though - why bother when you have two sisters who entertain you and bring you anything you need!  Grady also likes to stand up; I'm thinking that crawling and pulling up on anything and everything will be very close accomplishments.

* Grady's temperament is amazing.  He's just a sweetheart all around.  He's very smiley and doesn't really show much "stranger anxiety" at all.  Grady's a happy little guy and is generally easily entertained.  The only time he gets really sassy is when he's hungry, and even then, it's only if I set him down without feeding him first!  I think it's safe to say that Grady is a bit of a momma's boy, and I will also say that I like that!  Nothing makes me happier than to see his face light up and to see his arms lift up to me!

* Grady LOVES his sisters!  I can get a true giggle and an occasional giggling fit, but the girls can get them all the time!  I'm amazed at how much Grady seems to like getting carted around by his sisters - sometimes I catch myself telling them to give him some space when he's actually just loving it.  Grady likes to show his affection toward Liv and Grace with slobbery kisses, squeals, and hair pulls.

* Is really starting to babble a lot.  Our main sounds are squeals of happiness, squacks of annoyance when he's not getting attention the way he wants it, da-da, ba-ba, na-na, and maybe ma-ma (but this may be wishful thinking).  Grady also likes to blow bubbles...frequently when he's eating his baby food which gets rather messy as you can imagine.

* Speaking of food, Grady pretty much does every kind of baby food - though he does turn up his nose at some kinds.  His favorites are fruits and anything orange.  He's also showing a ton of interest in real food and will grab at anything.  He's gotten really good at picking up cheerios, puffs, and yogurt bites and getting them successfully into his mouth.  I imagine this month will mark more "real" food.

* Grady's still nursing, too.  He's a speed eater which is convenient, and both of us don't mind having time to sit and cuddle together.  I have offered Grady some formula just to see if he'd take it...but he won't...even when I mixed 4 ounces of breast milk with 1 ounce of formula.  I'm not sure how this will all work when I go back to work - we'll just have to be flexible, and I'll have to trust that he'll eat when he's hungry.

* As of today, I can feel two more teeth coming in.  Grady has all four of his top teeth coming in right now.  And, while I can tell they have bothered him at points and we've had a couple of rougher nights, overall, he's been great.  As my mom said this weekend, "He's the only baby I know who teeths happy."

 

* As far as nights go, Grady's doing pretty well.  He still often gets up around 10:30, but then usually does a 5-hour stretch.  He's doing better at self-comforting too, so I have to remind myself to wait before heading in to his room because sometimes he'll just settle down without me which I know I need to encourage.  Grady likes to sleep on his side now, although he's probably just as often on his tummy or back.  Overall, I'm content with where we're at right now and can imagine doing this with school in the future...although I fully admit that I hope he'll transition into getting up just once at night before long!

 

* Grady's a great napper - he usually takes 2 hour and a half naps a day with one of them often being longer.  He's pretty much given up his evening snooze which is fine because it was becoming more effort than it was worth to get him to go down for this.  Because of this though, bedtime is definitely at or before 7 (though he's a tropper about staying up later if necessary).

* What else...I'll cram all the odds and end in one last paragraph.  I'm guessing Grady is about 17 pounds (basing this off a clothes/diaper on weigh-in at the doctor's when he came down with a double ear infection).  He enjoys sitting in the stroller and in the grass, has tried the pool three times without any complaints, has suffered through a few bouts of constipation solved with a little apple juice/water mixture, likes playing hide-and-seek, waves at people by shaking his entire arm and upper body, loves his baths and now likes to sit up during them, and will put anything and everything in his mouth.

I think that about does it!  I can't tell you how much I love our little Grady - I don't even remember what life was like without him and am so grateful for all the joy he's brought into our entire family's life!

Welcome Baby Quinn

As of July 1st, Grady was no longer the youngest cousin on the Huinker/Hoden/Brown side of the family.  We are all so excited and pleased to welcome Quinn Rosen Brown the family!  She's pretty adorable that's for sure!

 

In just a few more short weeks, we'll get to meet little Quinn in person - Quinn was born in Okinawa, Japan, where Tony, Tara's husband is stationed for the marines.  Quinn's arrival came just a little short of Tara and Tony's one-year anniversary - a pretty nice gift, I think, for a couple who surely deserves it!

We can't wait to get to meet Quinn in a few short weeks, and, as it's been nearly a year since we've seen Tara and Tony too, we're really looking forward to the extended visit they've got planned.  As Tony will be doing an off-base mission (that's definitely not the right term) for a month, he'll only stay for a few weeks, but Tara and Quinn will stay till the middle of September which will give us a lot of time to cuddle that cute little girl and watch her grow too!

Oh, and Grady's pretty excited to get some hugs from the Brown family as he hasn't gotten to meet them in person yet!  Boy is he going to look huge next to Quinn!  :)

Spring Pictures

Many thanks to Auny Pole for taking pictures of the kiddos this spring!  Many of you will be getting these pictures in the mail soon, but here's a sneak peak and some of my favorites of the kids all together along with a silly solo one of Grady and two family pictures!  (I'm saving their individual pictures for later posts...well hopefully not too much later!)

 

These last two were rather impromptu as we showed up to the house to do a few pictures of Grady out in the yard and caught Brian who was headed out to do some mowing.  I thought the picture turned out pretty decent considering Brian is wearing athletic shorts and tennis shoes!  Love the second one too...look closely at Olivia's face - hilarious!  Guess Mom and Dad kissing is rather embarrassing even at age 6!

Visiting the Farm

Good buddies:  Lauren, Olivia, Kate, and Grace

Waaaay back in May, we went for a visit at one of our friend's dad's farm.  It was great timing to do this because some other friends of our were in town for a wedding reception and they have two girls as well nearly the same ages as Olivia and Grace, so we all got to go together.  Olivia and Grace enjoyed this visit just as they did a couple of years ago, but Grady took the cake when it came to loving the animals!  I wish the pictures showed his face a bit more because he was all smiles and giggles at the little lambs.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure he laughed the entire time I fed the lamb in front of him, and he continuously reached for the fence to try to get closer.  So sweet.  The girls were a little shy about feeding the lambs, but they did get brave and pet the piglets though I don't have any pictures of that.  By far, the favorite activity of all the girls was going for a ride on the 4-wheeler.  If we hadn't had to get back so we could get ready for the reception, I'm sure they would have ridden around on it for another hour.  Olivia surprised me by requesting a bumpy ride, and it was so cute watching the girls (and Grady) smile and laugh together.  A happy day!

 They didn't want to get off the 4-wheeler!

 Grady lovin' the lambs.

These two were pretty inseparable the entire weekend!

The Last Day of School!

Each of the kids had fun end-of-the year celebrations.  It was so fun watching them - seeing how they've grown, how they're similar, and how they're different is always fascinating to me.  I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to conferences next year for Grace (they don't do them for the 3-4 year preschool program); I can't wait to hear what the teachers have to say about what is similar and different between the two from their perspective.  On that note, however, I also constantly remind myself, that just because Olivia and Grace are sisters doesn't mean I should be over-comparing or expecting one to do what the other does - because, as we all know, Grace definitely her own personality and will want to make her own mark! 

Last day of school silly pic...Grace had NO interest in smiling nicely!

Kindergarten Graduation!  Seriously, I have a 1st grader - WHAT!  Throughout the year, Brian and I felt increasingly sure that we made the right decision deciding to send Olivia to kindergarten.  I was so pleased with her spring conferences.  While Olivia's right on tract academically - especially since reading seemed to click toward the end of the year - and that's important to me, what made me so proud of Olivia was what her teacher said about her socially...always kind, helpful, cooperative, and sweet.  She said she can always count on Olivia to help any one of her classmates (boys and girls) once she herself is done with a project, and that Olivia works well with everyone.  She said Olivia has lots of friends and is a big hit with the older kiddos she gets to spend time with during certain activities, mass, lunch, and recess.  I'd witnessed this before so wasn't totally surprised at the comment, but if you'd told me that was going to be the case at the beginning of the year, I would have laughed.  So glad to see Olivia shining and sharing her sweet, silly, and sassy personality, and to know this is happening because her confidence is growing.  Yea!  While I admit to stressing about the reading stuff, I know that'll come in due time, and her reading test scores showed great growth.  We've been working on our reading rather sporadically this summer, but I'm happy to go at Olivia's pace and not push it too much too because that's a sure turn-off for her...too much pressure generally equals un-enthusiam (I don't think that's a word, but you get my meaning).  Olivia's academic strength as of right now is math!  I must credit Brian for this!  Olivia's teacher also talked about Olivia's increasing willingness and confidence with sharing in class which was great to hear as well.  Overall, I think it's safe to say that Olivia had a fantastic year filled with an excellent teacher and lots of great friends!

 

This picture is of Olivia waiting to say her lines of the ABC poem.  They followed this up with a few songs and a great slideshow during which they each read telling about their favorite parts of school and kindergarten.  Later, we got to have punch and cookies is next year's 1st grade classroom!

 

Olivia and her teacher, Ms. Kuennen - love this picture.

On to preschool!  Grace gets to say this for one more year as next year's she'll enter the 4-5 year old preschool program at St. Ben's.  So, she'll continue with her wonderful teachers, Mrs. Bohr and Mrs. Kane - unfortunately I don't have a picture of Grace with her teachers, but my friend does, and this is a good reminder for me to get it from her!  I loved watching Grace's preschool program (which was coupled with preschool graduation - hence the kids in caps and gowns you see in the pictures).  It was so fun watching the kiddos parade through the gym - oh my, did Grace have quite the confident little strut up to the front!  I did mention her personality before, right?  The songs were cute as usual, and Grace was super excited to show us her preschool scrapbook filled with pictures and other memorabilia.  I'm assuming - since we didn't get any notes or emails home saying otherwise - that Grace did what she needed to do in preschool.   She's great at writing her name, still can't remember to say 13 or 15 when she counts to 20, needs to work on her shape recognition thought she's got the basics, and has amazing coloring and drawing skills!  My impression is that Grace has lots of friends and plays with a number of kids - I also have a feeling that she's a bit of a ringleader, and as long as she doesn't get too bossy, I'm good with that (and not surprised by it).  Her best pal is, without a doubt, Maggie Gavle.  Next year Grace will go to school Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays all day - I think she's ready and excited for it!

 Walking in with her classmates

 Smiling at Grady and making him laugh

Having a blast singing songs!