Two Years Old

How has it been 2 years since this sweet girls joined our family!?! Time really is a thief. 

Happy birthday sweet girl! We love you more than you will ever know. 

Here's what McCall is up to at 2 years old:

• At her 2 year check up, she weighed 21 pounds 9.6 ounces (2nd percentile) and is 2 feet 9 inches (36th percentile). She is still a tiny little thing and following her own curve for growth but is still growing and is as healthy as can be.
• She is everyone's favorite. Her sisters adore her and will do anything for her. There is starting to be a few more tifts with Baylor since sometimes McCall wants something Baylor is playing with or Baylor takes something from McCall and they both can sure yell and screech. McCall loves to go in their bedroom and find all their little trinkets and toys and especially Paige's candy. 
• The twos are for sure hitting with a few more meltdowns in wanting her way. I know she is just testing boundaries and it's all part of growth but some days it sure is hard to deal with the screeching and emotions but then that sweet one sided dimple smile just melts me and it makes it all worth it.
• She is a talking machine and loves to copy all the phrases and words. Her favorite words are puppy, kitty, baby, and Pops. She will try and copy whatever you tell her to. She is amazing at saying thank you whenever you give her something and the way she talks is the cutest. She loves to sing and her favorite songs are "Jesus Want Me for a Sunbeam" (we sing it every family home evening!) and "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes".
• She knows where her eyes, nose, ears, mouth, chin, cheeks, tongue, teeth, fingers, toes, hair, and belly button are. She is very observant and picks up on things pretty quick.
• She is great at giving high fives and loves to wave at things especially at cars as they drive by. She is by far my least shy child and doesn't have as much stranger danger as the other two did at her age.
• She loves nursery and playing with the toys and friends. She loves to follow little kids around wherever we go and tries to talk with them and gives a little "come on". 
• She is a pretty good sleeper and goes down pretty easily most of the time for me (not so much for Nate). We will have days when she fights it but it's just on an occasion. She takes one nap a day for a couple of hours and that's when I try and get as much stuff done as possible. She still sleeps with a binky and needs it to help her fall asleep and of course her trusy blanket.
• She loves to help me in the kitchen and be my taste tester especially if I'm making chocolate chip cookies.
• She loves water and loves to be outside and if she gets to do both at the same time it's a major bonus. She will find any puddle or any water that is outisde and jump in it or put her hand in it and splash. She is always wanting to be outside and would be outisde all day if I let her. She loves to go on walks and especially loves to walk over to Nona and Pop's house.
• She is a great eater and not too picky at this point. She will eat whatever we are eating but her favorite by far is cheese and fruit. She is contantly asking for a "nack" (snack).
• She loves books. She loves to be read to and loves to look at books on her own.
• She is a climber and SO busy! She is constantly climbing on top of the table or always trying to get to a higher point in the house and it can be pretty sketchy at times and I feel like I'm on constant alert.
• She has the cutest little run and she puts her little fists facing up as she pumps her arms as fast as she can and it is seriously the cutest thing ever!
• She gets so excited when daddy comes home from work and will run to the window and gives sqeuals of delight and the biggest smiles. She rushes to the door anytime she hears a knock and is alwasy on the look out for daddy or Pops.
• She makes the funniest faces and will try and copy any funny face that you show her.
• I sure love this cute little miracle baby of mine! She brings me so much joy and I love having her as my constant sidekick. I will forever be grateful that Heavenly Father gave me this sweet girl. I love you so much McCall Haviland Smith!

We had a cute little birthday photo shoot and her older sisters were such a big help in getting her to smile.

Her cute little runs gets me every time!

We had a poppin' good time with McCall's birthday party and had a bubble theme. She loves bubbles SO much so we thought it was the perfect and easy thing to do to make it fun for her and easy for me since I got home from young women camp that day. 

We have this amazing bubble machine that we brought out and this girl was in bubble heaven!

It was so cute watching her with her cupcake. She was a little unsure about the flames and got help from her big sister in blowing them out.

She was a pro at opening her presents and was so inquisite about each one and wanting to open each gift and play with them all. I kept on having to tell Baylor to let McCall open the presents. I think Baylor was just so excited for McCall and wanted her to open them faster.

She got reusable water balloons from Nona and Pops and they were a big hit.

Happy Birthday McCall!!!

June Little & Big Moments

June has been busy, busy with the end of school year happenings and young women camp. The month flew by and we are SO happy that it is finally summer break. Bring on summer!

Paige had her last orchestra concert of the year. Orchestra was her favorite class of the year and she learned so much. Her class voted her most improved for the year so she got a fancy certificate, plaque, and her name will be on a board in the orchestra room.

Baylor had her first offical end of school year carnival and enjoyed it, but I feel she could have participated more. She is still a little hesitant with things that involve a lot of people, but has improved so much this school year. At the carnival she enjoyed a lot of the bouncy/obstacle course blow usps and the petting zoo.

For my Ladies of the Lake gathering for the month of June, we went to a former member of our ward and saw her farm. She told us all about her animals and what she uses them for and her large garden. She answered all of our questions and it was a really fun and informative outing.

McCall was our little sidekick and loved the kitten and walking through the garden, though I had to keep a constant eye on her to make sure she wasn't picking anything.

Then Baylor graduated from kindergarten! She loved her teacher SO much and made so many friends. She is my little social one who loves to be with kids and have a playmate. She did amazing academically and was an excellent student and example. She loved school though I do feel she is ready for summer and a little break. Way to go Baylor!

We ended the school year on the 14th! One in middle school and one in elementary school is busy and a lot of back and forth, but they both adjusted well and had a great school year. Paige really enjoyed switching classes, made new friends, loved track and gymnastics, and really enjoyed some of her teachers. She struggled with friends some but was incredibly brave and stayed true to herself. 

We celebrated the end of another school year and went to a Mariner's game with Anna and Scott's family and Nona and Pops. We rode the tram to and from and McCall loved that experience and we were at the very top of the stadium which I loved. It was an incredible view of the game and the Sound and there was no one behind us so we could stand up whenever we wanted and didn't have to worry about it. The Mariner's pulled off the win and it was so much fun!

The girls got free hats and they all looked SO cute!

The City of Covington puts on some really fun events in the summer and their first pop up was a bubble one and the girls loved it. We were there for about an hour. Paige loved trying to make the biggest bubble possible and the other two were happy to run around trying to pop them all.

Some playground fun in between bubble fun!

We are deep in toddler fun and McCall sure is a busy one! The top two pictures were a day after wearing pigtails and she had the best hair and thought it was the funniest thing ever when she saw herself in the camera. The other two pictures is just a typical day around her. :)

Baylor and McCall had lots of extra time with Eliza this past week while I was gone to young women camp with Paige.

We ended the month with a few outings which were so fun. 

First off, Paige started piano lessons which is awesome for her and she's really excited about it. Her piano teacher lives next to Clark Lake and McCall, Baylor, and I walked around and got some nature therapy for 45 minutes which was wonderful.

Then right after the lessons were done we went to Covington Community Park for a fun city event of a Princess and Superhero Meet and Greet. We stood in line for Cinderella and but didn't want to wait in the long line for the other princesses so Paige and Baylor got a picture from afar.

Then today I am continuing my Ladies of the Lake gathering for the summer but am now doing kid friendly things and doing it once a week as long as we are in town. We had our first one today and went to the gnome trail. It was a bit rainy but still so much fun and all the kids loved it. We had a wondreful time together and I look forward to more times like this.

Another month filled with so many fun times and we are excited for everything this summer will bring us!

The Things I Learned Teaching Kindergarteners Art

I had the opportunity to volunteer in Baylor's kindergarten class this school year once a month teaching art. I had done 4th and 5th grades with Paige in previous years, but this was my first year doing kindergarten and boy it was a whole new experience! It had it's learning curves, but I loved it so much. They were a very energetic class that had so much love and excitement for learning and life. It was such a sweet year and I grew to love those kids!

Here are the things I learned from kindergarteners and doing art with them (along with their beautiful artwork and the pictures of the close up ones are Baylor's):

~Preparation and resources are your friend. I often looked to Pinterest and the Internet for ideas and then would tweak them to make them my own and fit the time I had. We have an endless supply of resources at our fingertips. Utilize them to best fit you and help you!

~Showing up and being consistent are simple but mean the most to people.~

~Showing love and kindness always brightens someone's day. Every time I showed up in the classroom, I was swarmed with hugs and they were so joyous to see me every single time. Their hugs and smiles would make my day and I felt so much love from them. I can do this in my own life by being so happy to see people, meeting them where they are as they and loving them in that place.~

~A helping hand goes a long way. During art, I would see frustration, tears at times, comparison, and sayings of "Oh I keep messing up!" or "I'm not very good at this!". We can help each other through these things. We can always keep trying and when you see someone in need, reach out. Share kind words, lift and encourage, and help others keep trying because life is hard enough without us tearing each other down.~

~Do your best and give it your best effort.Some days your best effort is the bare basics and that's great and other days your best effort is the most you have ever given. All of this and everything in between is all worth the effort and can be appreciated.~

~Following directions can help you be successful.~

~We have people in life that know more than us and can teach us and mentor us. Learning things from others takes humility, but you will be the better for it. You don't know everything and that is okay!~

~A little chaos never hurt anyone. Learn to live in the chaos and find joy in it because honestly alot of life is chaotic. ~

~Live in the moment and enjoy the progression and where you are at right now. I know there will come a time when these sweet kindergarteners will look back as 5th graders and think their writing or artwork was not that great or sloppy. But the joy I have seeen this year on their faces with what they have accomplished and the pride they feel when they show me a completed art project is a truly beautiful thing. When you find joy in the right now, you will have so much more contentment and peace in your life. You will progress in every stage of life and as you look back, you will be amazed at how far you have come. ~

~It's going to get messy and that's okay. Embrace the mess and then work together to clean it up. A little mess never hurt anyone and it is okay to let go of some of the control.~

~You can find some of the best ideas from nature. God has created a world of beauty and learning from Him and His creativity is inspiring. We are all creators in our own way.~

~The way you do things is going to be different than others and that's okay. Embrace our differences and celebrate each other's uniqueness. We each have strengths and good things to offer.~

~Love and creativity have no limits.~

I can't wait for next year and for the lessons I will learn.

Titlow Park

Another warm Saturday means another outdoor adventure for our little family. For this one, we decided to go to Titlow Park. We've been here before, but it's been a few years. It is the perfect park for some Sound/beach exploring and a really fun playground and splash pad.

First stop was to try out the playground.

Then we walked on this really pretty tree covered trail to head to the water. While we were walking, a group of bird watchers were all looking at something and one of them pointed out to us an owl and her two babies (more like teenager owls). It was pretty cool to see and it was nice of the group to point it out to our family.

You have to cross over a bridge to get over the railroad tracks to get to the beach and we happened to get to the bridge right as a train was going under us. The conductor even waved to us and it was fun to watch.

Then it was beach combing, finding it all sorts of hermit crabs, poking sea anemone, Paige making a jump rope out of bullwhip kelp, throwing rocks in the water, and rock and seashell hunting.

The view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is incredible from this beach!

Then we walked back over the bridge, pointed the owl out to a couple who saw us looking for it again (she even had bincoluars that she let us borrow so we got a great view of the owl), and made it back to the park for a picnic.

After lunch, the girls changed into their swim suits and played in the water. McCall loved it the most and was constantly squealing, running around from puddle to puddle, and putting her hands and feet in any water she could.

Toddlers and puppies..... very similar. :)

 

Another fun outing in the books!