She's Done!

With preschool! We had Hailey's graduation this week. Her class had their own, special graduation ceremony and luncheon. And, yes, I cried. Seems like yesterday I took her, as a two year old, to preschool. She use to hang on her two year old teachers' legs everyday during recess and only wanted to hang out with them. Now, she's a free spirited, happy girl that runs all over that playground sprinting from the boys in her class while squealing. She's come so far and I am so proud of her.

The ceremony was full of entertainment. There were songs, the kids recited the 10 commandments, said the Lord's Prayer, performed a Spanish play (she was the bunny in it and had her lines memorized!), and walked across the stage! Great job Hailey! We love you!

Waiting for the ceremony to begin!

Here comes the graduate!

Saying her lines in the play.

With her teachers, Ms. Paula and Ms. Susan

At the luncheon with her daddy!

Hailey was helping entertain Landry with me.

Hailes and her proud parents.

And....her graduation gifts. Her daddy brought her a flower to give her at her graduation (she absolutely lit up when she found out it was for her....it was precious). And Granny and Dan sent her an awesome cookie bouquet and balloons. One of the cookies was a bunny (for her role in her play) that said, "way to go Hailey!" The rest were the cutest flowers. Needless to say, she felt very special and loved.

All I can think about is how people say that once they start school, time flies and they graduate high school in the blink of an eye. Well....we're going to do our best to make lots of memories, enjoy each day, and raise these girls to be confident and know how much they are loved by us and God....and I'm going to pray that all those people that said time flies are big liars.

The Happenings

Not much to report here, just a house of growing girls!

Landry is officially walking!! She has been since 14 months. Up until 14 months, she was the master army crawler. She drug that belly on the ground all over this house (too bad I didn't think about putting a Swiffer sheet on her stomach....could have gotten some extra cleaning done). She still likes to use her baby walker because she can basically run when using it without falling over. It's pretty funny because she will pick it up and swing it in the direction she wants to walk and then she'll find a target (ie. her sisters) and ram it into them and start cracking up. She's also highly intrigued with the cabinets, or really, what's inside our cabinets. A few months ago I organized all of them.....I should have known better. Her favorite person is Hailey, no question. She thinks she's the funniest thing ever. If H is sitting still, she will squeal loudly and run into her (she thinks she's tickling her) and Hailey will go right along with it.

Reese is just as enthusiastic as ever. Last week, her preschool teachers sent home her 2 year old progress report. I am happy to announce that she basically got all G's (for good). It included things like fine motor skills--puzzles, painting, drawing a circle, etc, gross motor skills--walking, jumping, hopping, etc. She did, however, receive two W's (meaning "working on" a particular skill). Those would be for: 1. Accepting and responding to my teacher's authority. 2. Learning to control my feelings. UMMMM....HELLO MINI TREY! Trey and I both got a good laugh out of that one. It's true, she's either all in or all out and will let you know her view many times over :). Love her for that!

And Hailey is getting ready to graduate from her Transitional Kindergarten class next week. She's ready. I am not. She moved up in her gymnastics program to a new level and is very excited about it. And, we finish up her 2nd soccer season this weekend and she's really gotten the hang of it. Oh....she also has been helping me clean lately. Like last night, when we were putting the girls to bed and she was taking FOREVER. Trey went to find her (she had been brushing her teeth) and discovered that our bathroom sinks were spotless. After we praised her and thanked her for the task, she said, "you're welcome. I just used my toothbrush all over the sink and it got really clean!" Needless to say, Hailey just got a new toothbrush :).

We are looking forward to summer around here! Hailey and Reese talk about swimming non-stop, so it should be lots of fun!

What A Day!

So, today I was showered with love! I had two Mother's Day parties. One with Reese's class and one with Hailey's. Reesie and I got to have muffins together this morning and she gave me a present. She made me a washcloth with her handprint on it and other cute stamps and she made me a big card with a picture of the both of us on it. Very cute.

And for Hailey's party, all the mom's had to wear bathrobes. When we arrived, I got a big blue, heart shaped ring and flip flops that she made for me. We had a spa themed Mother's Day party in her class! After she gave me some presents she made (all with lots of sparkly glitter....to fit right into our house), she put lotion on my hands. And then she told me she was going to give me a manicure and that she was going to do it ALL BY HERSELF! She picked out the color and everything. And she also brought me the spray that helps your nails to dry and set quickly....it was just fabulous.

Then, the teacher read aloud forms that the students filled out about their moms. She wrote it out as best as she could. I'll interpret here. "My mom's name is Katie. My mom is 20 years old (brownie points for her). My mom can do many things! I think she is best at....cartwheels (it's true, I am talented, even at 20). My mom has a pretty smile! I like to make her smile by....giving flowers. My mom is smart! She even knows....bugs don't bite (well....if she knew the truth, we'd never get outside....forgive me.).

And then, the mothers had to go and try to pick out the picture that their child drew of them without the kids telling us. This was not hard. 1. Hailey loves to have smiling suns and clouds. 2. Jake....we all know my love for him. 3. I'd know that long, fabulous hair anywhere (I wish everyone viewed my hair as Hailey does). 4. When you have a 5 1/2 year old that draws at least 10 pictures a day and hangs them up all over the house, you tend to know their art style :).

It was so much fun to go to the parties. And....I did tear up at Hailey's....can't help it. She's just so pure and cute sometimes and getting so big so fast. When I arrived and she gave me my ring, she immediately said, "Here Mom! This ring is for you because.....I love you very much!" Can't ask for more than that! Jewelry + Sweet Children = Great Mother's Day Party!

Food

Oh Reese....I just love her. When she gets in trouble, she immediately wants to hug. When she's in our bedroom, she can't help but look at all the pillows on our bed and throw them in every direction possible. When there's no adult looking, she loves to strip down and run around.....naked, whether it be inside or out. When we sit down to relax, she just knows that means we want to play rounds and rounds of Zingo....her all time favorite game. And today, when we went out to eat after church and we were all munching on chips and queso before the meal arrived, she turned bright red and started crying (obviously in pain) because....she decided that she wanted to shove a chip all the way into.....her.....EAR. I do, I just love her. She is a riot.

And also today, Trey got busted by Hailey. When the two little girls went down for a nap, I needed to do some shopping, so Hailey came with me. She was great....as always, the girl loves to shop. She even picked out what clothes she thought I should wear. Hint, most were purplely with flowers because that's what she loves! However, she said she was really hungry and needed something to eat or drink. So, when we finished, I stopped and got her a chocolate milkshake. If you know Hailey, then you'd know that it takes her FOREVER to finish any type of food. So, when she got home, she had only had about half of it. She set it down on the counter and went to another room for a few minutes. When she came back, she said:

H: Where's my milkshake?

Me: Where'd you put it?

H: Right here and it's gone.

Trey: Ohhhhhh....your milkshake is gone Hailey.

H: *Immediately starts crying....she's tired, so it's the loud, dramatic cry, not the "my feelings are hurt" cry*

Me: What happened?

H: DADDY DRANK MY MILKSHAKE!!!!

Trey: Nuh-uh....it wasn't just me, Reese drank it too!!!

And that's when I started cracking up. Trey....was....busted. No worries, Hailey and I had made chocolate cake and when I reminded her that we still had some, the tears immediately dried up and she was one happy girl again because as she told me yesterday, "You know what Mom, we make the BEST cakes together." Yes we do Hailey and someday, you'll be able to read the directions on the cake box mix and realize why it is so easy :).