Mama's Memories for M: Hoppy Easter!

Maliana ~

This week has largely been about friends and family, what two better things to celebrate and cherish during this week before Easter. I’m also so pleased to see you have a core group of buds at school; your three musketeers include you, Kaitlyn (best bud), and Gavin. You are quite the crew at La Petite, with you running up to Kaitlyn each morning, smiling and squealing, comparing and complimenting each others’ clothes and accessories. You barely notice as Daddy leaves (well, almost barely).

I had to take you to the grocery store after school a few times this week and you were a huge (and hysterical) help…scanning all of my groceries and bagging them for me! You should have seen the swag you had going as we walked to the car. Then once we had made it slowly and safely through the parking lot, you looked up at me and said, “Thanks for keeping me safe Mom.”

my personal assistant

You played outside with the neighborhood kids on at least one day this week, however we’ve been pretty busy the other nights. Unfortunately, there was a bit of drama on this particular night, and Mama Bear had to make a brief appearance on your behalf, but all’s well that ends well. The jury is out on whether this will be a long summer or not. We'll see!

the girls ~ Brooklyn, you, and Addison

You used your first Szwabinsky free dinner coupon (they gave you four passes to have dinner at their house for your birthday) this week. You LOVED it, and I got to run out (sans kid) and totally scored in getting you more spring and summer shoes at Once Upon a Child. Thankfully, they all got your stamp of approval as you tried on every pair once I got home. We came home and you opened the fridge on your own and helped yourself to a snack of Capri Sun and Gogurt. What? My big kid is getting her own snacks now!? How are you growing up so fast?

We had another appointment with Dr. Hallenthal on Wednesday and got to share how well we are all three doing with the new routines we’ve put into place. Daddy is spending more quality time with you (and you are loving it), which makes you so much more receptive to him in all kinds of other areas, which is a win for all of us! It was nice to share good news with her. Before this appointment, we had some time to kill after school so you and I headed over to Tim Horton’s where you chose an Easter egg donut and we got a chance to chat. For some reason, the song “Never Grow Up” popped into your head and when we got to the part about her being “mortified your mom’s dropping you off”, you wanted to know what mortify means. When I explained it to you, then said that someday when you’re a teenager you would probably be embarrassed of me too, you replied, “No, I not!” Hmmm…maybe I should pull out this blog post when you’re about 13 and we’ll see who was right? Ha ha.

Another day, in the midst of running errands after school, we had dinner at Dairy Queen (since it was within walking distance from the library where we picked out yet more books for you which you proudly strutted up to the desk to scan all by yourself ). In spite of my feeling guilty for feeding you DQ for dinner, I was pleasantly surprised to see you, all on your own, pick out the grilled cheese, banana, and side salad for your meal, never even once mentioning the ice cream all over the menu! Wow…so proud of your little taste buds and savvy nutritional intuition!

We decorated Easter eggs after school this week too and had so much fun. Your hands didn’t turn nearly as green (or any other color) as they did last year…and you were excited to not only color the eggs, but eat some as well. Great source of protein for our growing munchkin!

you made me wear your cowboy hat because just before
dyeing eggs, we had been playing Toy Story with you
dressed in your Buzz costume and me as Jessie

ta dah!

notice your fingers are only slightly colored
like easter eggs this year

mmmm

So, this week we’ve been trying a couple new classes in your tang soo do, changing up the days of the week to see if there is a particular class that is smaller so you can get a bit more attention. I’ve noticed that when the class is just a bit bigger, or there is more than one child that is distracting the other students; you have more difficulty getting in the groove. It all moves very fast and I think I’d even have trouble catching on and keeping up. We wrapped up the week with a class on Friday, which was smaller and quieter. You were able to grasp it all a bit better, which was nice. You were even the only kid who put away your sparring gear when asked, and then adorably remembered to bow as you exited and entered the dojang (albeit facing the wrong way at times and bowing to nothing in particular). But you did it, and watching you get just that little bit more of the routine there brought a tear to my eye. So proud of you!

Once home we went for a walk/bike ride. I realized how long your legs are getting as you speedily pedaled down the sidewalk. Looks like we’ll have to either move your seat back or get you a new bike with training wheels already!

stopping to smell the flowers

After spending some time outside, we came in where Daddy was ripping apart the kitchen to be prepped for our remodel that begins on Monday. It was a bit stressful seeing everything from the kitchen landing in the living room, but there was a “silver lining”. With all of the chaos, I had to move some items into a safe to make sure they weren’t lost, and in that same safe are many items from our trip to China (and beyond) that I am saving for you. Since you have been asking about China SO much more lately, we pulled out the journal that I kept about our trip and all of the “firsts” with you from the very beginning. You curled into my lap with your silkie and I read it to you. You soaked it up. Spending this time with you snuggled into the crook of my lap and reliving these experiences through the pages of the journal made me appreciate what a blessing my ~~anal and OCD like~~ meticulous journaling and blogging are and hopefully will be, as you grow older. I realized that all of these little details I am writing down now, that would surely be forgotten next month or even next week, can instead be preserved and treasured. I have no idea how you’ll feel about it all, but I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I love writing them.

The weekend was beautiful and brought Easter celebrations, which are fortunately full of friends and family. Saturday morning we went to the Bunny Hop 5K and while I ran the course, you, Lao Lao, and Daddy walked it, with you riding nearly the whole way on Daddy’s shoulders. It was a great workout for Daddy and allowed you to rest up for your big 100 yd Kids’ Dash! After all of the races were finished, the big egg hunt began. In spite of the official rule that parents were not allowed on the field to help you kids, most of the parents (except us) had ventured out to scoop up as much as they could for their children. Daddy and I's competitive streaks began to get the better of us, but fortunately you weren't disturbed in the least. You are such a sweet kid,and weren’t the least bit concerned about getting the most or the best eggs. You just liked being out there with everyone, had fun, and appreciated whatever you got.

two bunnies, ready to race!

go Mali go!

that's one BIG bunny!

bunny ears craft

and there she goes!

found one!

the loot

After the early festivities, Saturday was mostly spent at home, painting the kitchen and then hanging out with Audrey Ayi who came by for a visit.

playing with Audrey Ayi...I think this was just after you gave her 5
kisses on the cheek and made her day

static head

enjoying using your paint roller

look at that technique

Easter Sunday you woke up early, in spite of going to bed late, and immediately wanted to hear about China. As I told you pieces of the story, you’d fill in any of my slight pauses with, “Keep talking…” You are too funny. We came downstairs and you were absolutely thrilled to see the Easter Bunny’s footprints all through the family room and even on the coffee table. You found all of your eggs and loved your basket, especially your new outdoor explorer vest, binoculars, and 360 degree magnifying bug box. I can’t even imagine what kinds of critters I’ll be pulling from all of your pockets this summer! As you ate more of your Easter candy, I got more and more messy, sticky-lipped kisses, one right after another...and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

following the footprints until you spotted you basket

silly bunny was all over our coffee table!

After our quiet family celebration, we headed over to Aunt Connie and Uncle Pat’s for the Wilkinson family festivities. You were SO excited to see your cousins, and vice versa. You squealed and laughed so much that you had lost your voice by the time we went home. As Joey, Alex, and Sammy were buckled into the car, you went out to say goodbye to them, calling over your shoulder as you walked back into the garage, “Bye! I love you!” You are all so adorable! No matter how we all found each other, nothing beats family!

love that smile!

Happy Easter!

cousin love

Uncle Pat and Papaw fixing you girls some Easter dinner

mmm, Easter ham!

just before Connie's egg hunt

aha!

you are so lady-like...ha ha

the girls hangin' with Uncle Shawn/Daddy

no idea what kind of smile that is but you are adorable!

family picture...L to R (back row)...Uncle Kevin, Aunt Beth, Kelly,
Brian, Uncle Pat, Connie, Papaw, you, me, and Daddy...then L to R (front
row)...Sammy, Memaw, Joey, Timmy, and Alex