May 2013 was a great month! And, I'm happy to report that I am officially caught up on posting photos to the blog now. So, May isn't a stretch in terms of remembering what happened during the month. :)
Aria is 21 months now, and Avalon is approaching 4.5 years. Aria has four new teeth coming in (yes, four!). She likes to play with Avalon and likes to feed Bronte by hand. Our dog has never had it so good! Avalon is doing great. She is one smart cookie. She loves to "read" her favorite books to Aria and me at bedtime. She knows several by memory (since I've read them to her so much) and so she "reads" them to us now. Afterwards, Aria usually tries to do it, as well! Aria mimics the sound intonation that I make. It is beyond cute.
We celebrated Mother's Day in May, which was fun. Of course, while I love being mama to Avalon and Aria, and had fun being celebrated on Mother's Day, I would be remiss if I didn't send a big shout-out to my Mom. Thank you Mom for providing me with so much love and support, and for showing me what a loving mother to her children is. You have always been, and continue to be a loving guide for me and the girls. Also, to John's mom: thank you for all that you have done for John! Your good qualities have shaped who he is and the type of father that he is. Thank you for creating and shaping a great man.
Our Mother's Day celebration:
Avalon made me a special Mother's Day gift at Sand Tots.....so sweet. She was so excited to give it to me. :)
Inside the bag were these silk flowers that she painted. After she held them in the photo, Aria insisted on posing with them, too. Adorable!!!
More May fun came when we went to Disneyland!! Avalon has been asking about going back to Disneyland all year, so John took a day off work and we went. It was a great day. There is just something magical about Disneyland, especially with the kids.
Avalon wore a little bag of glitter around her neck, which she called 'fairy dust' - and she was tossing it around everywhere. Disney workers said "wow, fairy dust! You are a fairy?" But Avalon told them all "no, I'm really just a girl, but I love glitter". :)
Avalon met FOUR of the Disney princesses. Aria was a bit scared of them, but Avalon got her photos taken with them all and was ridiculously excited.
Good rides: Dumbo, the carousel (no crying on this one), It's a Small World (the favorite of both girls hands-down), Toon Town Rollercoaster (just Avalon and I went on this one - - not sure Avalon liked it too much, actually - but I did!), the Storybook Cruise.
Not so good: Alice in Wonderland, the Haunted House - - - both were still too scary for Avalon.
At some point, Aria was exhausted and took a great nap in her stroller. Later, we capped the day off with some ice cream. And in a not-too-surprising turn of events, both girls passed out in the car on the drive home. I'd call that a pretty successful day!
Finally, here are some Sand Tots preschool May photos. On one of the days at school, a lady with lots of reptiles came to visit. Avalon got to see/touch a tortoise, snakes, and lots of other creepy-crawlies! And yes, she is wearing a veil in the photos! Ha!
This tortoise was chasing me around trying to eat my shoes! Apparently it liked the color of my gym shoes.
It's hard to believe that Avalon's year of preschool is finishing up already. One more year at Sand Tots, and then she will be a kindergartner! Wow. Time goes so fast.
Aria is going to get a taste of Sand Tots Preschool next year too. She will go to class one day a week for 2.5 hours. I'll work in her classroom, as well. She is so excited to be able to have her own class. Whenever I tell her about it, she claps her hands and says "me me me!". :)
First, we will have a sibling Mommy and Me class this summer. It is the same class that we did last summer where both girls and I can participate. Aria mostly slept last time though - - this year she is ready to have fun, too!
All our love, xo
J, J + A and a
