a blessed May...

family photo 1 at M&A's house

family photo 2 at Boppa's farm

I remember thinking in April that we were ahead of the game for the spring and that May was going to be a pretty easy month. So easy in fact that we decided to plan a vacation for the end of the month! Little did we know that May ended up being crazy hectic. Here's what was going on:

• cleaning church (Our church assigns 2-3 families per month to clean the church every week. We grumbled at first because in April there were 3 big families assigned with children who could care for themselves or even help and we were assigned with a single and a couple who only the husband could help clean due to the wife's health problems. Plus there was an extra Sunday! But it ended up being a good month as we worked out a system and got to know 2 members of our church that we hadn't talked with much before a lot better. Imagine that - God knows what he is doing!)
  
• dentist appts for S and I
• Mother's Day trip to Willmar
  
• visit from good friend Merlin (thanks for coming over!! =)
• last few nature center classes for G
  
• an audit at work for S
• kindergarten testing and round-up for G
• dog-sat 3 days (thanks for coming to play, Pippin!)
• removed, relocated and replanted 2 dogwood bushes and a maple tree (not large, but big enough!)
  
• wedding shower that I helped plan, attended, and provided food
• Sunday School finished up at church with program and potluck
• And finally, our vacation to NE and MN (separate post on this!) from the 25th through the end of the month

Phew! May really flew by - we were happy to do everything listed, but the big plans we had for our yard, lawn and garden that in April we were thinking we had all the time in the world to complete did not get done at all. That's ok though...with 3 small ones our life ends up being a lot of started and unfinished projects. And we are alright with that for now!

Mayended up being cold and rainy most of the month. Our "normal" weather for April and May seemed to switch this year as April was warm and sunny! (Hey, I am from MN and feel the need to report on the weather!)


G notes:

• Crazy, but this girl aged a year in a month it felt like. She started doing a lot more things for herself and for S & I and her brothers unprompted. She normally is a big help, but this month she outdid herself many times. She also looks a year older as her bangs are growing out nicely. Yeah, she still has fits and issues, but I think I may have to conceed to the fact that she will be grown up enough to go to school in the fall!
• There were days where it felt like she had grown up too much and was going through puberty as she would cry at the drop of a hat and be devastated over her hair or clothes choices. Jr. High could be interesting if she acts like this already!
• Since May was cold and rainy, she did a lot of reading - to herself, to us, and to her brothers. It is so fun to hear her read stories that she knows to the boys as she really tells the story with the same expressions and inflections that we use to tell it to her.

W notes:

• Last full month of W being 2! We can do without a little of the 2 temperament swings, but are going to miss this sweet little-boy stage too.
  
• He is such a character. He loves to tell jokes and is really getting the concept of silly lately. He likes to tell us what we need to say to respond to his jokes or play, but lately he has been expanding that to regular life too. "Can I have a snack, momma? You say yes." He can be very cute when he does this, but we will have to nip it in the bud soon so we don't have problems down the road.
• W has been throwing things a lot. Mostly the football and baseball outside, but he has taken to tossing and throwing things inside too which leads to problems. He has such a great arm though! So we have let him "toss" not "throw" the soft balls we have from Auntie M downstairs as a compromise. It is fun to watch his coordination develop.
• He also likes to jump. He jumps on the ground, he jumps off the couch and steps, he jumps of beds, he jumps into our arms, always jumping, jumping, jumping. Told him we will have to give him a new nickname of kangaroo!
• Showing more of an interest in coloring which is fun, and also is starting to read books out loud to himself and anyone in range, retelling the stories that we have read to him.

C notes:

• C's world right now is copy-cat central. He loves to copy-cat everything that we do, but especially his big brother and sister. Including words and actions. I love this stage - it is so fun, and you can really see another dimension of their personality come out.
• C loves to give us kisses and hugs - so sweet to see him give them to G and W too!
  
• He is now starting to "talk" a lot more. You can't understand all of it, but you can tell he is trying to "talk" in sentences and phrases now. This along with signing really helps him communicate to us what he wants and is thinking
  
• new words (I did a bad job of keeping track this month so I may come back and add more as I think of them): giraffe, elephant, duck, bunny, "love you", names for W, G, and his cousins K & G, Boppa, help...
• C also started getting in all the rest of his teeth at once - 5 in all, and is still teething them. That has made for some very sad days and nights and also a drop in eating as it hurts to chew I am sure.