Unusual Milestone

Today we had an unusual milestone for Colin--the making of his plate!

Each child has now had their hand and foot pressed into a stone pottery plate, all at 11 months of age. It all started 7 1/2 years ago when I received my cable bill--inside was a paper ad for Sunset Hill Pottery , and an ad about the baby plates you can have made. I instantly thought "What a great idea!" and made an appointment to have one made for Ellie. Little did I realize, that I'd be returning to the pottery place 3 more times, to have the SAME man create my kids' plates.

Today, when I was driving to the shop, my mind wandered back so many years ago and I started remembering the significance of these plates. The biggest memory was actually related to Jayna's 1st Christmas. We were traveling to Andy's Grandma's house, and we had not even made it out of the Valley and yet, we had already stopped 4 times because of Jayna's crying (Remember? Jayna used to cry all the time, especially in the carseat.) I remembered the burden I felt thinking "HOW are we doing to make it to Christmas? How are we doing to make it home? Why does she cry all the time?"....and that is when I started the month/milestone markers in my head--I figured that she was 4 1/2 months...we could get to 5 months because it was the holiday season....then I had 6 months to look forward to because she'd learn to sit...then 9 months to look forward to because she'd stop taking that 3rd nap and we'd have more freedom to get out of the house....then, at 11 months, we'd make "the plate" and that would be so close to the 1 year mark, we could make it. (My thought pattern was that surely by the time she walked and took less naps, she'd be a happier child! And for those that don't know Jayna, she did stop crying....around 9 months of age!)

At any rate, the "plate milestone" has always been huge for me ever since that hard Christmas trip we took. It was a bittersweet milestone for little Ava...and it was really bittersweet for me to take Colin in today. Jayna and Ava were VERY interested in the making of the pottery, and it was neat to see Noah, the plate maker and have him recognize us. Of course, I forgot my camera...but one of the workers did use my cell phone to capture 2 pictures for me.

Now....where to put all 4 plates? That is the current question!

Good job, Dad!

It's not too often that Andy gets the press on the blog...but I thought this was note-worthy!

His new position at Kimberly Clark requires him to travel much more than he ever has...and years ago, we started something--Ellie got a gift everyday that he was gone. (See how many years ago that was? We just had 1 child!) Now, however, with 4 kiddos and him traveling a lot, a gift everyday for each child has just gotten too much. Either you get little junk gifts from the dollar store (who needs 20 more pieces of $1 junk each week that Andy's gone anyway?!) or you get disappointment from the girls who thought they'd get something HUGE (like an American Girl?!).

So, we started something new this trip--the girls woke up to a note from Andy as well as a little cup of Starburst candy. The note reads: "To my dear, sweet, loving, caring, filled with joy, amazing daughters-- I love you all sooooo much and can't wait to talk to you every night this week. Thank you for the fun special time we each got on Sunday. I loved the time I got to spend with each of you! Ellie--thank you for the special reading and fun piano lessons (with that crazy piano teacher Borak! :) ). Jayna--thank you for the fun game you played with me and the story and book time. :) Ava--thank you for the great puzzle time. It was so special to see how good you are at puzzles. This week for your speical gift, I am leaving you with Starburst. There is one for each of you for every morning and every evening. I am also bringing Starburst with me! Whenever you eat one, think of me and whenever I eat one I will think of each of you! :) I will miss you this week but will be thinking of you 3, Mommy and Colin a lot! Have a great time and remember I love you. You are my three Starburst! Lots of love, Dad :)

Awww...good job, Andy!

And, as a side note, here is something interesting---we bought 3 sticks of Starburst. If the girls eat one each morning (5) and each evening (4), they each need 9. In each stick of Starburst, there were 12 little pieces of candy. With each girl only needing 9, that left 3 pieces from each stick...a total of 9 Starburst left for Andy, just like the girls! How perfectly that worked out!

And as for the above picture...Andy bought his girls flowers the week before Easter and they lived beautifully until last night. Andy cut off the carnations and the girls thought it was cool that all of the 'girls' of the family could wear them in our ears! The picture on the right is what the girls woke up to this morning, the Starburst treat!

Spring Break...with SPRING weather!

The big girls have been on spring break this week and it has been so beautiful! We have cherished spending more time as a family this week!

With Ava's birthday gifts and everyone's Easter treats, it has been a bit like Christmas with new toys and activities! We have been on numerous bike rides/walks, played at parks, played in the gymnastics' room at the YMCA, been to swimming lessons, visited an old neighbor, had a playdate...and most of all, enjoyed not having to rush out the door in the morning or make a lunch the night before for Ellie! Every night, Ava would say "Ellie...do you HAVE to go to school tomorrow?!" It was just precious, she really enjoyed the girls being here all day.

Here are some new pictures--pictures of Colin in the baby swing that is once again being put to use on our swingset, pictures of each of the girls today playing outside in the warm weather, pictures of Ellie and Jayna with their new favorite craft "Sticky Mosaics", a picture of Ellie with a bead mermaid creation, and pictures of Colin exploring the little baby playhouse we have outside. (As usual, click on the collage to enlarge the photos!)

Springtime fun with the IL Glynns

Andy's family came up Saturday for Easter and with the nice weather, the visit was extra special!!!! The girls have been VERY into the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and we had checked out the piano music from the library. I don't even think Andy's dad was in the door to our house before the girls attacked him with the music asking him to play the songs for them!

We had much fun playing outside, catching up, worshiping together on Easter, and the boys of the home really enjoyed that Easter afternoon nap! In addition, we had a blast from the past, watching old videos of the girls--and discovered how fitting this youtube video of the girls was for Easter. (If you have a minute and need a smile, click on the word "youtube" and you will see them sing 2 songs--this is back in 2006 and both songs are from a favorite video of The Donutman.)

Enjoy the photos....And the video too! (For all photos, to enlarge them, click on the photo. To see the video, click on the highlighted word(s).)

Kite Flying

Here is video of Grandpa sightreading the Joseph music:
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4

Grandpa playing Ava's suggestion: Hosanna!

Ellie and Grandpa playing one of Ellie's recital songs together!

Colin....11 months

Colin will be 11 months on the 19th and boy, has he taken off. He is standing at everything and has heightened our concern over what areas of the house are safe for him!

Last week, at swimming lessons, I had just placed him in the stroller to hang up the girls coats/clothing. In a matter of seconds, he had turned around and stood up in the stroller, only to find himself stuck in the canopy of the stroller! Note to self: COLIN must always be buckled into everything!

The other day, he crawled over to his highchair, stood up and pushed it all the way to the wall before turning 90 degrees without holding onto anything and then lowering himself down to crawl away. (Just a matter of time, I know....and he'll be walking!)

That same day, he stood up at a laundry basket, did a forward roll into the basket and then proceeded to try to figure out how to climb out of the basket and up onto the chair that the basket was against. When that did not work, he proceeded to unfold the clothes and throw them out of the basket!

And finally, today, we were at a store and he was buckled into the cart. He managed to twist around (despite being buckled) and started to stand up. The clerk was very concerned until she saw he was buckled in. I told her that he was quite the Houdini...quite fitting that Appleton has a Houdini museum--perhaps Colin will work there someday! ;)

Jellybean Blessings

Every year, at all of the 'major' holidays, I always have good intentions of blessing our neighbors in some unique way...and every year, the hustle of the holiday overtakes my desires! But this year, we accomplished our goal! Thanks, Jessica, for the idea of the Jellybean Poem!! (The girls later pointed out to me that the poem is actually included in the book "The Color Of Love"! Such memories the girls have!)

We sorted the jellybeans; we determined that each girl got to stuff 4 baggies and help tie them with ribbon. Ellie punched all the holes in the paper and I attached the notes . We then went to the 12 homes on our block and blessed them with an Easter greeting.

What we discovered was interesting....1) Amounts of jellybeans in a bag are not created equal (see photo of jellybeans in the bowls!).
2) The girls LOVED surprising the neighbors with a little treat!
3) The NEIGHBORS loved having a familiar face ring their bell and actually have a conversation with them!
4) That these little ways of blessing touched our lives just as much as the neighbors that received a sweet treat.

And as with most experiences that we all have, there is a "ps"....the day after we delivered the bags, I was running errands with Ava and we were leaving Wal Mart. Suddenly I heard someone say "hello....HELLO!" and I turned--it was the man on the very end of our street. He said to me "Say....thank you so much for the jellybeans and note...I really appreciate that...thank you!" We don't even know this man's name--he knows what our van looks like, he knows we have a little baby, and the girls refer to him as "the man who walks the dog that is afraid of children"!

Happy Easter!

How great it is to worship the risen Lord! Happy Easter to everyone, what an amazing gift it is to celebrate Jesus' victory over death and to have Jesus living within us! We celebrated Easter with Andy's family visiting us this year--it was quite the task Sunday morning to walk into church and put the girls to their test: to find a row in which all 10 of us could fit!

The girls are on spring break this week and already, we've had lots of fun....you'll just have to check back later in the week for more pictures and details!

Ava's Birthday, part 2

Ava with her little friend Eden--she came over this morning for a Princess Playdate Party...and right away, the dress up box was put to use! Eden thought the blue haired wig was great!

Eden, Ava, and "Senior Princess Playdate Party Helper" Jayna--she took her role VERY seriously, she will be a good hostess someday!! The girls made crowns with their names on them--the other "Senior Princess Playdate Party Helper" (Ellie) helped organize the party preparations. Prince Colin took a nap and gazed at the balloons around the dining room table!

Ava loves to help bake and cook. She got a new apron and her own "glove" and baker's hat. She informed me that I can wear it when I make dinner! :)

Our 'close-as-family' friends, the Lynchs in Des Moines sent Ava this game--we are excited to play it!!!

Here's our Ava! Such a silly goose....this is her right after her 3 hour nap today--I'm guessing that she is not fully recovered from whatever knocked her down last week, as she fizzled out about 1 hour later.

Wow-this was the shocker gift....to the girls! WE knew she was getting an American Girl from Andy's parents! The screaming when the box was opened rivaled our other AG gift opening experience last Christmas Eve! She is happily sleeping with "Sarah" aka Kaylie...and I am *hoping* that she doesn't pull those beautiful braids out! Next stop, Mall of America to have the ears pierced!

Every princess needs a Cinderella castle right? Our friends, the Popps, gave us this castle for Ava! I thought we had all the princess stuff out there from Ellie and Jayna....but no, NOW we are stocked! Cinderella castle and princess Polly Pockets--who could ask for anything else?!

Ava and her birthday pie. Some have asked WHAT the other cake is...it's a cherry crisp, aka cherry "pie". Ava LOVES pie and does NOT love cake. But, she loves the look of cake! She asked for a castle cake....but kept talking about a cherry pie...so she got the cherry pie and the big girls will happily devour the castle cake this week. Of course, these were provided courtesy of the "Cake Fairy" :)

Thanks for all the gifts, emails, phone calls and love for Princess Ava! As she went to bed tonight, she was talking about when she will not be 4...and was happy to know that she will be 4 for the entire YEAR :)

Happy Birthday Ava!

Ava turns 4 today!

Here is a snippet of our morning--discovering the balloons and cake(s), the traditional "bed head" photo, Ava in her birthday shirt (Thanks, Uncle Tony!), and all 4 children before Ellie went off to school this morning.

Princess Ava is very excited to be 4...and is feeling much better after having a fever for 8 days!