Officially a First Grader...

So my Laura Lou finished kindergarten last week.  Her class had a graduation and it was adorable.  The kids sang to us and showed off some of their new skills from this year.  They had graduation "caps" (made from paper) and Mrs. Dixon gave them each a special gift.

This is a photo of Laura surrounded by several of her good buddies.

I'm so glad that she made so many friends at school. 

During the last month or so of school Laura kept talking about her new best friend, Evelyn.  Turns out Evelyn's dad transferred up to the youth center from Las Vegas and she was the new kid.  I met Evelyn's mom and she's a really nice lady.  She adores Laura, which makes me feel good.  She said that Laura was the only girl who made Evelyn feel welcome at school.  I'm thankful that Laura's a good example.  This is Evelyn and Laura. 

The kindergarten performed for the entire school at the awards assembly and I never cease to be amazed at how small my Laura Lou is.  She is tiny!  But, she makes up for it in attitude (believe me, she does).

Finally, this is Laura with Mrs. Dixon (now Keen).  Next year Kaitlyn will have her for preschool and probably the following year for kindergarten.  She has been a great teacher and we have been so happy with her interaction with Laura.  She is definitely tuned in to her students.  I still can't believe that Laura is six years old and ready to begin first grade.  She is definitely ready.

Done...

May 11th was Kaitlyn's last day of preschool for this year.  At first she was really upset and didn't want to be done, but now she seems to enjoy just staying home.  She has been missing her friends, and she is having a hard time keeping herself entertained while Laura is at school.  I really hope that she'll be able to deal with that a little bit better next year since she will be in preschool for another year while Laura begins first grade.  I guess we shall see.

Kaitlyn has grown so much this year.  Obviously she turned four and has grown physically.  She has outweighed Laura for quite some time and she is a little bit taller now as well.  Intellectually she has grown by leaps and bounds.  She is such a smart girl. 

Next year her preschool teacher will be Mrs. Keen (Dixon), who was Laura's kindergarten teacher this year.  Kaitlyn loved her teacher this year, Mrs. Peterson, and the aid, Mrs. Dunning.  Kaitlyn actually does quite well with change, so I'm sure she'll do just fine. 
I was so proud of myself for getting a photo of Kaitlyn with Mrs. Peterson.  Usually I feel too cheesy to ask, but I decided that was ridiculous.  I'm so proud of how well Kaitlyn has done this year.  We sure have been blessed with three smart cookies. 

Avery Noelle...

My little Avery girl turned two this past Saturday.  She is such a joy to be around, though she has a bit of a temper at times.  We've been working on NOT pulling her sisters' hair when she's mad at them.

Avery was by far our chubbiest baby... man did she have rolls on her legs.  She could have been the child of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  She was born with red hair but it soon turned blonde. 

Curse my husband's strong genes! 

I feel so blessed to have Avery.  She is such a happy girl and is constantly making us laugh.

Right now Avery...

*loves to dance.  Just mention the word and her little bum starts shaking.

*loves animals and is quite good at acting like a puppy.

*is super cuddly.

*gives the best kisses... and they aren't even wide mouth frog kisses!  She puckers up!

*is learning new words almost daily.  She still won't say much, but she's getting there.

*adores her big sisters and has to try everything they do.

*likes to brush her teeth, unlike Laura who we fight with daily.

*points at my tummy every time the words "baby" or "brother" are spoken.

*loves to play outside.

*has mastered all of the slides at our parks.

I love my baby girl... and yes, she's still my baby. 

Achievements...

Laura's school has this thing called the "Golden Cougar."  Basically it's a list of goals for each grade and the children who meet these goals get to go on a special field trip at the end of the year.  On the kindergartners' list there were things like "counting to 100" or "learning how to tie your own shoes."  One day Laura came home from school with a certificate and a golden pawprint pin acknowledging that she had checked everything off her list.  The field trip was May 6th and we went to the Washington City (UT) Recreation Center where they had this:

I was really impressed.  It was great to see so many kids that were able to go and the parents that went to help out.  Laura had a blast.

Love...

Love =

my girlies.