Happy Father's Day (A little late)

To the best daddy we could have ever asked for.  If there was ever a dad meant to have four girls, well. . . really five (I probably add to the girl drama in the house from time to time), it was you!  We love you to the moon and back.

Piano Recital

Savannah and Lila had a piano recital at the end of the school year.  Lila had only been playing for a few months and was very excited.  Savannah was equally excited as she decided to tackle Fur Elise!

Lila did great!  Her song was well above her level but she didn't shy away from it.  She memorized it bit by bit and got it down.  I was very proud of her.  She was such a mature little girl!
Savannah had spent months on her song.  She knew it front to back, back to front.  Savannah was more than ready for her recital.  Sadly, it was one of those days.  She just got stuck.  Really stuck.  I could physically feel my heart breaking into pieces as she kept trying to dig herself out.  I was so disappointed for her.  I have heard her play this song flawlessly so many times that I am sick of Fur Elise.  It just wasn't meant to be.  I was proud that she held her head high and gave it her all even though the song was choppy.  She smiled and bowed like she was pleased.  However, she was a fountain of tears the minute we left.  Savannah wanted a re-do and sometimes life doesn't have one to offer.

Fourth Grader At Last!

Savannah is officially a 4th grader!  I surprised her with a special trip to Chuck E. Cheese after her last day of school.  We met friends there and everyone had a great time. 

Fourth Grade!?  Seriously. . . Stop the clock!!!

Last Day of Kindergarten

All dressed up for their performance at the 5th grade graduation. 

The last day of school was the a huge party for the twins.  When we drove up, the teachers looked like they were headed to a tropical island!  T. John was playing his guitar and singing.  Kids were dancing.  It was good ol' fashion, West Chester Friends fun.  To top it off, it was Jump Up Day!  Since the 5th graders don't come to school that day (they graduated the day before), all the other grades "jump up" to their new line!  Here is a quick video of my girls jumping into 1st grade!  I can't believe it. 




Dancing before school!

 First Graders!!!!!!

A special lunch with Mommy as First Graders!

Two Months Old and the Center of Attention

Evelyn is just the sweetest baby.  She would spend all day sleeping on your chest if you would let her.  In fact, the first two months of her life, she was sleeping on me more than anywhere else.  I perfected letting her sleep on top of me at night while at the same time ensuring she wouldn't slide off me and suffocate.  At two and a half months, we hit the jackpot and tried putting her to bed in the crib for the first time.  Someone likes her crib!  Evelyn also likes a tight swaddle and lots of things pushed up beside her.  I know, not safe.  I can tell you she survived it since she is actually 4 months going on 5 months old as I type this.  Here is a typical sleeping position.

  
The Big E is still the center of attention.  This is what I had to deal with when trying to get the girls out the door for school.  It's like pulling gum off the bottom of your sneaker.  It just doesn't come loose. 

Evelyn is discovering her voice and is making all sorts of cooing sounds.  The girls eat it up.  They even twist the sounds into words sometimes.  My favorite sound is her horse noise.  She makes the snorting sound of a horse many times a day.  It's quite cute.

They like to dress her up in all of her cute summer clothes.  Summer clothes are cuter than winter clothes!

 (please excuse the crazy hair.  They were fresh out of bed.

This baby has a smile that doesn't stop.  It is in full force now.  We love it.  I think the girls even feel it is a door to her soul.  The have the affirmation that she loves them and enjoys their silly faces in her face, constantly!

Girls On the Run

I am trying to hit the high points in order to catch up on this blog.  I have included many running activities because we seem to be turning into a running family.  I say that while I sit here trying to heal my stress fracture from RUNNING!!  We seem to come together as a family when we go to a run.  We cheer hard for our runner, whether it be daddy or a sister.  We all know what it is like to work hard to get to the finish line. 

This spring was full of runs.  With each run, times got a little better and more fun was had.  Miss Evelyn was a dream during each and every run.  It was like it was her way of cheering us on.

One of the biggest runs Savannah has ever done was this last Girls On the Run 5k.  She officially joined the program even though she could only attend one our of the two weekly practices due to gymnastics.  The program works hard to develop strong girls with a goal of running a 5k together (lots of emphasis on teamwork).  Thousands of girls grades 3-5 do this all over the country.  It is a great program.

Come race day, they pump up thousands of runners - this years count was just over 2,300!!  They had super girl capes, chalk for the girls' hair, face paint and blaring music.  The girls were pumped.  It was a good thing because it was H-O-T.  HOT!!  Each girl is supposed to run with an adult.  Naturally, Savannah ran with Alex.

Here is what makes this a high point of our spring.  Out of 2,300 runners, Savannah was the SECOND Girls On the Run participant to cross the finish line!!!  Holy smokes.  I was shocked.  The races includes the boys program, Stride which placed some runners ahead of her.  However, there was only one GOTR girl that beat her to the finish line.  This girl has some serious running legs.  She finished just a hair over 25 minutes.  I was one proud Mama!

The proper running hair!

The runners. . .

The cheering section which included Savannah's principal.  Out of thousands of people, we bumped into her!

Four Months Old

One sweet and smiley baby is four months old (and then some).  I am head over heels for this girl and so thankful she made her way into our lives!