Recital Weekend! and a surprise visit from Mau Mau!

Last week was a busy week and we ended it with Avalyn's first dance recital Sunday afternoon. Thur. morning my mom (Mau Mau) came in town to surprise the kids for the weekend. It was so much fun surprising them, they were pretty shocked. Avalyn's reaction was priceless, she was silent with a huge smile and just started giggling uncontrollably. It was truly a blessing to have my mom here for the weekend.

Sat. was the practice for the recital. It was all a little overwhelming for Avalyn and extremely stressful for me. She was not thrilled with the comfort level of her costume and refused to wear the flower in her hair (this would not have been so annoying, accept for she was the only one who felt this way). Avalyn didn't do the first dance at practice, she just sat on my lap and cried. Her class had quite a break before their turn to tumble came (they were the 1st dance group), so we sat in the audience and watched the rest of the groups practice. After about 30 min. of watching the other dancer, she asked for her tap shoes and was ready to go- of course this couldn't happen because her group had already gone. She did go up for tumbling, of course insisting her shirt stay on instead of the top of her costume that was down at her waste all day. This gave me hope that the actual recital would go a little better.

The best I did with pictures on practice day. She was not in the mood and I honestly wasn't either.

My mom and I talked up the recital and had her excited on Sun. She eagerly let Mau Mau do her make up and we left the house praying she would get on stage. When we got there my mom took her in and put her costume on while I parked the car with Gavin (Cambria was at a friends house). She put the tights on (she refused at practice) and my mom got the costume on, of course she refused to take her tank top off and so we put the costume over it. The tank top was a battle we decided wasn't worth fight and let her be, along with her white head band in her hair. She was not happy when it was time to go on, but with me carrying her on stage (the curtain down) and sitting there bribing her with the present that she saw wrapped in the back of the car she went on and I ran off in hopes that she would stay. It worked, she stayed! She didn't do much dancing, but a little wiggling and she made it through the rest of the recital including tumbling and the finale. We weren't allowed to video tape or take pictures at the actual recital- it was too dark in there for my camera to work and we can buy a dvd (of course). She was so proud at the end of it and said that it was so much fun! I am looking forward to watching her next year, hopefully it will be a little bit easier for her when she is 4! She has LOVED dance class this year and she can dance as long as she wants to!

Mau Mau and Avalyn before the big show- still not in the mood for pictures.

After the recital, we picked up Cambria and decided to pick up Chinese food and go home to celebrate Mau Mau's birthday and Avalyn's dancing debut! Avalyn was thrilled to get her medal- she had asked for one, since Gavin got one from soccer, and my mom brought one for her (she hasn't taken it off since). When we got home she opened her surprise (a.k.a. the bribery tool- hey it worked) and was thrilled to see her swimming baby. The swimming baby has been a huge hit and we were impressed to see that she actually swims. Mau Mau opened her present and then we ate- yummy China Road! For desert we had ice cream bars and sang to Mau Mau. Happy Birthday Mau Mau, we LOVE YOU!!!

After we ate we convinced Avalyn to put her costume back on for some pictures. It is amazing what a little ice cream could do, I even got her to take the tank top off (I know that costume wasn't that itchy, she wore it just fine while we took pictures).

Avalyn with her medal and swimming baby!

Gavin was so proud!

Gavin's Party!

Gavin's 5th Birthday party was on Sat. and we had a lot of fun. It was a busy day for most of our friends, but a few managed to make it and Gavin had a great time. The theme was super heroes and we used superman, batman, and spiderman. I didn't get very many pictures, but here are a few of the cupcakes. Gavin opened his presents all over the place, before I realized what he was doing (thanks to Avalyn who told him it was time- wish she would have let me known). Not much was planned, but I cut out capes for the kids and a few (Avalyn and Sidney) decided to paint them. The rest of the kids stayed busy running around and playing in the basement- I didn't even find time to paint faces or do tattoos. Gavin was so happy and said he never wanted it to end- that made me feel good and all that work was well worth it. Thanks to everyone who made it and for all your gifts, you made Gavin's Birthday extra special and we appreciate everything.

Gavin and his cupcakes- Thanks Aunt Patsy for the "twinkie" cupcake recipe (they were great). I topped the cupcakes with superhero rings that Gavin was so excited about- and the reason for not having a cake.

Blowing out the candles!

Avalyn and Sidney painting capes

Cambria in the laundry and takes a few steps...

That's right, Cambria finally took a few steps. It happened last night after Gavin and Avalyn went to bed. I have been trying to get her to walk to me for the past couple of weeks, but besides one step nothing until last night. She was standing up against the tv (it was off) and she turned to me and I held my arms out, to my surprise she took 4 or 5 steps to get to me instead of her usual one step and drop to the ground. I was quite shocked and I didn't have the camera ready and of course she didn't do it again, but it was still exciting- she is so close. Hopefully I will have the camera ready next time! Go Cambria!!!

I did catch her the other day playing in the laundry basket. One of her favorite places to be is alone in my bedroom, bathroom and closet. She usually crawls in there and just explores, so happy, so content. I off course go check on her after half an hour of silence (sometimes longer) and she is always just playing happily by herself. Well the other day I walk in there and she was sitting in her laundry basket so proud of herself! She doesn't have a dresser for her clothes, so I keep them in a laundry basket- I am glad someone is enjoying the way her clothes are kept in the corner of my room.

Cambria's new glasses

Cambria's glasses came in on Tues. and I was so happy to pick them up. They are the same frames as her old ones, but they must have ordered them a little bit bigger (they didn't charge me, so that is just fine with me). They gave me the old lenses (have no clue what I do with those) and when I put them up against the new ones they are definitely a bit smaller. It is kind of nice they are a bit bigger, because I know they will fit her face for the next year! It is nice to have such clean, non scratched glasses. So far so good, she hasn't tried to chew on them at all, she does pull them off still when she is tired, hungry, or just fussy. She still looks so precious in them and I am hoping the new prescription helps her see a little better (the prescription isn't much different, since there hasn't been much change in her vision). It will be fun to watch her grow into the new pair, but it still makes me sad about how fast my baby's growing- she is actually still really short and only 19 pounds, but my baby will soon not be the baby anymore and that is a little sad.

My Baby Boy is 5!

It is hard to believe that our baby boy, Gavin, is now 5! Time has gone so fast and we couldn't be more proud of him. He has always been such a good boy and I am happy to say that he is still such a good boy. He is a wonderful big brother and absolutely adored by both his sisters. He is so excited about kindergarten this fall and we look forward to watching him learn. Thanks to Leapster, he has already discovered a love for math- we will see how long that last, but he is expecting to learn multiplication in Kindergarten (despite me telling him it probably will not happen, I guess that's one for Daddy to tackle with him). We couldn't fit baseball in the schedule this year- because of our trip to Texas, but he is excited about swim lessons when we return and soccer in the fall. He is definitely our big boy now.

It was a crazy day, but I did my best to make it special. I made cookies for his class, while the kids watched Wall-E in the basements- one of Gavin's favorite movies right now. He was so proud to take his friends a treat and to be at school on his Birthday. After school he went home with his best friend Elijah- they take him home on Wed. so he doesn't have to go with me and Avalyn to dance, he loves Wed. I promised him a special dinner, his pick. Of course he picked McDonald's, I wish I could have actually taken the kids in, but Cambria was ready to be home. He enjoyed his Happy Meal and talking to family who called to say Happy Birthday. Gavin has enjoyed all the gifts that have come in the mail- thanks so much! It was sad not to have Daddy here, but hopefully this will be one of the last birthdays he will miss. He is so excited about his Birthday party this Sat. There will be more pictures to come, but this is all I have for today. We got Gavin a new sleeping bag for his birthday- I was avoiding more toys (I know he prefers them, but there are sure to be enough on Sat. at his Birthday party). He loved his new big boy sleeping bag- Cambria gets his old puppy sleeping bag from Pottery Barn. He is actually sleeping in it in his room tonight and looking forward to using it on our road trip to Texas this summer.

A special little Easter Angel!

I couldn't help myself, she just looked to cute and didn't seem to mind me taking pictures. Still trying to catch her sweet smile- it is still unpredictable. During this she actually crawled into the middle of the room and stood up by herself, of course the camera wasn't ready and by the time I got it ready she was back on the floor. She is getting so close to walking, but still very unsteady. Walking would have helped a lot today in her dress, but it didn't seem to bother her and she just crawled around with her legs completely straight.

Looking special on Easter!

Taking pictures before church didn't happen, but I did my best after. Too cold to take them outside and Avalyn took the flower out of her hair and put her slippers on, but I did the best I could. They sure looked cute! Maybe it will be easier to take pictures, once the 4th one comes around- I am so thankful for my photographer friends (I LOVE YOU)!

Sisterly cuteness!

Cambria's favorite thing to do and only thing she does on command is clap. Gavin and Avalyn have enjoyed this little trick.

Easter morning!

He is Risen! Let's celebrate! The kids had a wonderful morning. I didn't get too many pictures, trying to surprise them, take pictures, make egg shaped pancakes, and get them ready for church. We made it to church and it was a wonderful day!

Not too much candy, but plenty of special surprises!

Avalyn with her mermaid doll, but her favorite was probably her tweety bird bunny. Gavin loved his new leapster game, he played batman as much as I'd let him today.

Avalyn showing Cambria her dancing duck. Cambria woke up after the kids got their baskets, so we took hers to her in her bed. She was very excited with her new little Elmo, I don't think it will replace the old one, but this one does fit in the diaper bag better.

Avalyn in her new house slippers. She absolutely loves them, now we just have to keep them in the house (she didn't want to take them off).

Early Easter fun!

"Daddy" sent clothes for the kids Daddy bears. Okay, so I did, but the kids saw a package on the porch when the door bell rang (I did it when they were playing in the basement) and they were thrilled to see that Daddy had sent them something. Gavin was thrilled with his spiderman outfit, Avalyn thought it was scary but Gavin said "my Daddy sent it to me and I love it". Avalyn was so excited about her pink ballerina outfit, for a few minutes (enough time to take a picture) until she saw the t-shirt for Cambria's bear- it was soon on her bear and I was repacking up the ballerina outfit to hopefully be returned for a t-shirt for Cambria's bear. This frustrated me quite a bit- I know have to find my way back to build-a-bear (not close) without the kids (I don't want any more changed minds). Thanks Daddy for clothing our naked bears.

Thanks Mau Mau for the cascarones. The kids loved them, definitely will need more than one dozen next year.

A fun week

It's been a busy and very fun week so far and it isn't even Easter morning. I have had an ultrasound, OB appointment and Cambria had a eye appointment. All appointments went well. It is still unknown how bad Cambria's vision is, but he said there is slight improvement in her far-sightedness in one eye, but her near sightedness no improvement. He was speaking ophthomology language much of the time and I was trying to calm Cambria down (from having her eyes pried open so he could look at them), so I am sure I missed some of it or miss-understood some of what he said. Her new glasses will be in on Mon. and I can't wait to see her in them, they will not be scratched and hopefully she will be able to see better (so much that she will not want to eat them, of course she started teething again, so we will see how that goes). We were able to keep the same frames (saving us $140) There is still another year on the warranty for the frames, plus I like them on her- she finally has grown into them and since we can adjust the sides at no cost for another year, they will hopefully last longer. She will return in 6 months and hopefully Daddy can join us for that one and I can explain things better- he does a lot better at doctor appointments than I do. It is amazing that it was just a year ago we found out how special our little Cambria is, it was a blessing to know she can see and another world to learn about when it comes to Albinism. It is not something we think about all the time, when I look at her I wouldn't change a thing about her- this is only going to make her stronger. It is good to feel at peace with everything and more prepared for the 1 in 4 chance for our next little one may have albinism.

Yesterday I joined playgroup at Pump it Up (along with a lot of Spring breakers). Oh well, despite it being busy the kids had a great time and we look forward to returning.

Gavin and his best friend Elijah!

Avalyn was so happy! She was exhausted and very red-cheeked when we left.

Gavin loved the challenge of the climbing wall. Could have used some help from Daddy- maybe another time.

Cambria did pretty well. She was so tired, but sat in the stroller pretty well (as long as I wasn't too close). A much better trip out, compared to the last 2 trips to the zoo (if only we could do the zoo in an hour and a half).

Today we had a wonderful time dying eggs with our friends from church. It was so nice to get out and let the kids play with others and not have to dye eggs alone at home. I am sad we will not be with family this Easter and that Kyle will not be here, but I look forward to the special day. The kids have special outfits and I can't wait for them to see there special Easter surprises.