Fifth Birthday

March 25, 2011 Dear Ava,

Today you turned five years old, and when I smiled at you as you bounded out of bed giggling, I caught a glimpse of the woman you will become. And it was a staggering, beautiful, blessed moment. My girl, my firstborn, my love.

You are five. You are brilliant.

Yes, I suppose it is a parent's prerogative to feel this way, as I do every single day with you. Yet it grows more pronounced each year as you joyfully add another finger to your age count. As you proclaim your mounting independence and take yet another step into the future. It warms my heart to see you embrace your own sense of self.

You love Barbies, Disney movies, and playing outside. When you grow up, you want to be a superhero, an artist, or a teacher. Perhaps you'll be all three.

This past year, you have grown in so many ways. Not just your height, your vocabulary, or your learning skills. Nope, so much more than that. You have such adultlike insight, a glimpse into other people that amazes me. As the world revolves, you soak it all in and analyze it in a way that makes sense to you. Surprisingly? It makes more sense to me, too, so much better your way.

You're learning to read. You've had your first boyfriend at preschool. You want to make friends, seek new experiences, and travel to the ocean. Your relationship with your brother is one of your most important. To Hudson, you are a sister, a mentor, and a friend.

God has become a central concept for you, and this perhaps pleases me the most. You have such a personal relationship with Him, such a blessing. You always say our prayer for us before each meal and at bedtime. You remind our family to strive to be better, to do the right thing, to make God a daily fixture.

Bless you, my five years of grace. My love. My daughter.

All my love,

Mommy

Spring Break Trip

Extra quality time. Impromptu overnight hotel stay. Steak & Shake. Indoor pool swimming. Barnes & Noble shopping spree. Chuck E. Cheese. Family fun.

To some, perhaps, a random smattering of activities. To us? SPRING BREAK, Smith family style!

Princess Adventure

Guess what? I almost have a five-year-old. Yes, you read that correctly. A FIVE-YEAR-OLD!

To celebrate this milestone birthday, I wanted to do something extra special for Ava, so I ordered tickets to Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes. As evidenced by the sheer amount of photos below, we were all (me, Ava, and Mamaw Karen) thrilled with our princess adventure. Indeed, it entailed dinner at Olive Garden, an entire bag of cotton candy for someone (I won't reveal her specific identity), an unspecified amount of money spent on Disney paraphernalia, and more fun than we'd had in a long time. A wish come true.....

Dry Erase Project

As many of you know, our house was "flipped" before we bought it by a rather talented couple who remodel houses for a living. Indeed, the transformations our house underwent before we bought it are amazing. Of course, that doesn't mean our house is perfect. Far from it! There are still many details we would like to improve upon, but neither me nor Erik is exactly handy around the house.

And yet....one thing that has always bothered me is our kitchen island. Yes, I love having an island, I love the cabinetry and hardware, and the space for a bar that we will one day utilize. So what am I complaining about? Actually, it's the sides of our island!

For some reason, the sides of our island have always been rather embarrassing to me. The original cheap "wood" panels from the 70's or 80's are still there, and they don't really match the rest of the kitchen. My first solution? Let Ava use them as art boards! For several years now, she's been hanging color pages, drawings, and other artistic endeavors on them with tape. Which was cute, but not necessarily the best solution.

Enter Dry Erase Paint.

Somehow, Ava and I were discussing this issue, how she thinks of the island sides as her art area and how I want something better to display in our kitchen. She has been in my classroom and enjoyed my giant erase board, and suggested she might like something similar. I knew there was chalkboard paint, so I did a bit of research and discovered there was actually something as dry erase board paint! Amazing!

Thus, last Saturday night, after Hudson went to bed, Ava and I tried our hand at sanding, taping, priming, and painting. The result? Success! Have a look at our new dry erase "boards" on the two sides of our kitchen island!

Before and After

Both kids LOVE-LOVE-LOVE these new toys, and they've already spent countless hours working on them. Now, I can cook supper, organize dishes, or even work on the computer while they stay occupied and engaged. Brilliant! Honestly, I cannot believe we didn't think of this before, but I am so happy with the results.

First Park Foray

This weekend, it finally worked out (temperature and schedule-wise) for us to visit the park. As spring nears, the kids have been getting antsy to get outside and play. Easier said than done! Despite a brisk, chilly wind, we braved the elements and took the whole family out for a quick jaunt. Mainly, we just let Ava and Hudson run around and "get their sillies out." But we made some extra time for the slide, too, before we called it a day.

Spring, you can't get here quickly enough! ;)

Sweet Silhouettes

This week, I got a wild hair for creating silhouette profiles of the kids. I've wanted to do this for awhile, and I finally just decided to try it. By some miracle, I actually found profile pics of them both on this blog. They weren't ideally posed, but I went forward with the project anyway and was fairly pleased with the results!

All I did was print the photos, staple them to black contruction paper, and then cut out the profiles. Amazingly, I managed to size both of them to fit within 5X7 frames. Add a white background and VOILA! Adorable silhouette profiles!

Erik is still laughing at me (he's not sure these actually look like our kiddos), but from a distance they look pretty good! At least I think so! Later, I might actually try and pose the kids for better shots, but in the meantime I'm searching for the perfect place to display these. :)

Monday Night Blessings

She nearly knocked him over with this affectionate hug.

His mouth was still covered with spaghetti from supper.

I quickly snapped this moment in time.......

Because, to me, this is perfection.

I am so thankful for my Monday night blessings!

Wherein I talk about poop....

One day last week, I decided to make brownies. Why? Because they're delicious. Because they're chocolaty and gooey and sumptuous. Because they were on sale and everyone knows I can't resist a sugary bargain. Plus, I had a helper. Two if you count the one that clung to my legs and tried to crawl up my body to get a peek at the batter that Ava and I joyfully stirred.

Since Hudson couldn't maturely manage the wait, I scooped him up, loved on him a bit, and then plopped him in his highchair for the remainder of our prep time. He happily watched us while playing with an assortment of kitchen utensils and Yo Gabba Gabba toys.

Did I mention he'd had blueberries for lunch? Lots and lots of blueberries? Oh, yeah, and he hadn't had a bowel movement yet either. See where this is going?

Ava and I whipped up the brownie batter, set the timer, and considered licking the bowl. Then Erik arrived on the scene and pretty much wiped out the bowl. My husband likes brownies, but he loves the raw batter from the bowl. Let's just say, all of us were covered with random bits of brownie batter. It happens.

Hudson was so content in his highchair that I just let him play on. After washing her hands, Ava disappeared into the playroom. Then Erik sat with the Bub while I cleaned the kitchen up a bit. At one point, I left the room. In my absence, Erik apparently decided highchair time was over, and removed Hudson from captivity.

This is where it gets interesting.

Minutes passed. I was in the bathroom, where I had washed my hands and changed my messy shirt. Out of nowhere, I heard a high-pitched shriek, followed closely by the desperate appearance of my daughter. Near tears, she held her hands out to me.

Ava: Look at my hands! What is this?

I looked. They were covered in brown gooey stuff.

Me: I thought you washed your hands! That's brownie batter.

Ava: I did! It's not!

Me: Just lick it off, Ava, it's batter.

Ava: No! Smell it!

Still clueless, I took a whiff (thankfully not a lick!) of this foreign substance and immediately realized my mistake. Now I shifted seamlessly into disaster mode.

Me: Where did you get this?

Ava: I was playing with Hudson! In the playroom!

Me: ERIK!!!

Turns out Hudson had done more than play in his highchair, and since Erik had been dealing with sinus issues, he had failed to notice—er, smell—the results. So he let Hudson happily traipse all through the house. Which would've been fine, if his diaper hadn't utterly failed him. We weren't really prepared, because this never happens. I don't think Hudson even had a blow-out when he was a baby. Plus, we didn't account for those blueberries.

We powwowed in the living room and discovered a sieve of “batter” pouring from Hudson's pant leg. Unfortunately, he had already done much damage to his clothing and our floors. Luckily, we work well under pressure.

Ava washed her hands. Again.

I carried an uncooperative Hudson into the bathroom and deposited him in the tub, where he took an impromptu bath.

Erik gathered cleaning supplies and went on a disinfecting safari.

Minutes later, the oven timer went off. Our brownies were ready! Of course, after taking them out to cool, studying their familiar color and texture, I just couldn't do it. None of us could. We stared at those otherwise perfect brownies and ruminated. Maybe next time. Tonight, we had a total and utter brownie fail.

It happens.

First Haircut

He did it! And I've fallen in love all over again! From a haircut!

Before and After

I could tell you about the shocked crowd at Fantastic Sams that witnessed the screaming, the writhing, the kicking, and the parental humiliation that accompanied them. But why bother? I'd rather just enjoy the gorgeous results. Wouldn't you? ;)