Daddy Daughter Dance

After years of hosting a Daddy-Daughter Dance, our stake primary presidency declared this past Fall that they were not going to put one on this Spring for a variety of reasons that I did not agree with.  This was especially disappointing since it was going to be the last dance that Lia and Ella could go together with Ron since Lia would be too old when the stake primary presidency plans on hosting it again.  As a result, our own ward primary president decided to plan and host one at the ward level which I was really grateful for.  Although it was a much smaller event with a much smaller crowd, the girls were able to go with Ron tonight and have a good time.  Although I have bought our girls matching dresses the past two years, I was not planning on doing it this year since I was unsure if the daddy-daughter dance would actually happen.  However, after ordering Lia's seafoam dress for our photo shoot in Florida next month for a steal on clearance, I decided to buy Ella a matching one after seeing how adorable it was once it arrived in the mail.  So, just by chance, they were all set to go to this dance after the invitations were passed out a few weeks ago. 
The girls got all dolled up with curled hair and make-up before heading out with Ron to Chick-fil-A for dinner and then off to the church for some dancing and refreshments.  They had a great time dancing with their dad and a few of their friends on the dance floor.  And since I missed attending the Mother-Son Dance that our primary president had put on the previous week due to attending a sleep over with Lia's Girl Scout troop in Kent, I decided to sneak Logan out to dinner at Chick-fil-A, too, since we would have eaten there the week before if I had been in town.  The funny thing is that we tried to secretly pick up his food in the drive-thru and take it to a park to eat, but we were spotted by Ron as we drove by them eating inside the restaurant!  Oh well.  So much for being sneaky!

The two matching sisters ready to go!

The girls posing with their daddy.

Daddy hug!

And striking a pose with dad in the middle.

Logan enjoying his Chick-fil-A dinner in the park while pretending to feed Emmett a french fry.

Logan enjoying his dinner.

The Broken Tooth

Well, it all started with a sunny evening this past Sunday, June 9th, when the kids decided to go play in the backyard for a little while after dinner while I went upstairs to nurse Emmett.  Apparently, Logan was riding around on his skateboard in a sitting position and ran into a scooter that was laying down on the sport's court.  He hit the scooter with such an impact that it threw him over his skateboard and smacked right into it with his mouth.  Once Logan got up, he discovered a chunk of his BRAND NEW, ADULT tooth in his mouth!  Yes, that's right.  Logan accidentally broke off a large section of his top, front, adult tooth that he has only had in his mouth for less than four months.  Ugh.  If only he could have done this before his baby tooth fell out!  After he came running to Ron with tears in his eyes and a broken tooth in his hand, Ron came upstairs to break the bad news to me.  Logan was super upset about the entire thing and did not want me to look at him or talk to him about it.  Luckily, I was able to keep my cool (although I was freaking out inside) and called my brother, Chris, who is a dentist.  I actually was able to find him home and available to talk which isn't always the case with the busy life he lives.  After sending him a picture of Logan's mouth, Chris agreed that this was a pretty bad case of a broken tooth and immediately offered to fix it the next day.  I was so amazed as Chris always has a very full schedule at his dentist office which causes last minute appointments to be difficult to schedule.  After comparing our calendars, we decided that waiting two days and going in on Tuesday afternoon instead of Monday afternoon would be better for all of us.  In addition, Ron offered to take off work early to pick Logan up from school at 3 p.m. to drive him to Port Orchard by 4:30 p.m. in rush hour traffic.  I was so relieved as this meant that I didn't have to drag all four children off on a 5-hour adventure to a dentist office during rush hour traffic and the dinner hour!
So, we made the appointment with Chris on Sunday night and Ron was able to pick Logan up from school 15 minutes early yesterday (which involved finding him out on the field during their annual, Field Day event) and get to Port Orchard with a plenty of time to spare.  After getting Logan situated in the dental chair, Chris came in and worked on him for about 45 minutes with the help of his assistant.  He was able to create a filling that perfectly fit in the gap on his Logan's tooth in no time!  It looks so perfect that you can barely tell that it is a filling instead of the original tooth.  Ron said that Logan was a total champ in the chair and sat still for almost an hour without making a peep while Chris worked on his mouth.  Ron was so impressed with him.  After the tooth was fixed, they picked up McDonald's for dinner on their way out of town and were home by 7:30 p.m.  I am so grateful to my brother for his willingness to fix Logan's tooth so fast and for free of charge.  His generosity and kindness really touched me and I am so grateful that my little boy had his tooth fixed within 48 hours of the actual accident.  And, much to my relief, Logan has declared that he is boycotting skateboards for the rest of his life (or maybe just the rest of the summer)!  Either way, I'll take it!

Logan showing off his freshly broken tooth with the accompanying scratch on his face.  His mouth was a bit sore for a few days after the accident due to hitting the scooter with such an impact.

A close-up of his broken tooth.

Logan all ready to go in the dental chair!

Logan opening up his mouth nice and wide for Dr. Chris/Uncle Tip.

Uncle Tip giving Ron a 'thumbs-up.'

Chris working away on Logan's mouth.

One more shot of Chris hard at work.

Logan showing off his brand new tooth after arriving back home last night!

Logan's Award Assembly

I received an email from Logan's teacher last week informing us that he had been chosen to receive a student recognition award for demonstrating considerate behavior in class during the third trimester.  Since we are always asked to keep it a secret, Logan had no idea that we would be seeing him in an assembly a few minutes after I dropped him off at school today.  I told him that I was going to 'volunteer' in Lia's class which allowed me to just drop him off alone before returning to the parking lot to park our car and walk in with Lia and Emmett (while Ella was at preschool).  We were able to get seats on the front row before Ron joined us a few minutes later before the assembly began at 9:10.  Ron isn't always available to slip away from work for an hour or two in the middle of the school day, but luckily, he was able to come join us today.  A few minutes later, Logan walked in with the rest of the students were were to be recognized looking a little confused and unsure.  Once he sat on the steps of the stage and looked out at the crowd, we were able to get his attention and let him know what we were here to cheer him on.  After the assembly started, Logan received his award and then a few minutes later we were able to meet him in the lobby behind the gymnasium to congratulate him, give him some hugs, and take his picture.  I am so proud of this little boy of mine.  He has grown up soooo much since his tantrum-throwing, toddler days.  He is such an obedient, respectful, focused, and hard working student who really enjoys going to school each day.  One of the highlights of my morning is dropping him off and watching him run/skip/hop across the field in that cute way of his.  I wonder every morning when he will outgrow this and start 'running like a big kid.'  Until then, I will soak it in every day.  We love you Logan and are so proud of the wonderful boy you have become!

Logan walking into the gymnasium before realizing we were there.

Sitting on the stage with his classmates and looking at us sitting in the back of the room.

Logan receiving his award from Ms. Ryan who is one of the other 1st grade teachers and also his reading teacher.

Logan walking to join the rest of the students who had already received their certificates.

Logan showing off his award.

Leaving the room at the end of the assembly while flashing his family a big smile.

Our proud boy showing off his award!

5 Months Old Today!

Well, this little guy officially turned 5 months old today!  It's all starting to go by so fast!  Emmett has really turned into such a happy, smiley baby.  If he is rested and fed, he will give everyone and anyone the hugest grin if they start talking and interacting with him.  Emmett loves to smile and coo and will even laugh if we work hard enough!  He has also started touching everything within his reach and picking things up and putting them in his mouth.  It really is quite funny to watch him grabbing and throwing things like the diapers on his changing table while he is laying there.  He is really starting to interact with toys and other objects which is just the cutest thing.  Emmett is also really doing a good job at staying happy when he is laying on the floor or the bouncy chair and really does not need to be held by someone unless he is hungry or tired.  He is thoroughly entertained by this three, older siblings and really enjoys them singing, talking, or playing with him.  Emmett is also starting to roll onto his side whenever he is laying on the floor, so he should be rolling over in a matter of weeks.  He is also doing a great job sleeping at night which is such a blessing in my life.  I bathe him and feed him every night between 9 and 10 p.m. and he sleeps most mornings until 7 a.m. now.  I never have to nurse him in the middle of the night anymore, but some times have to put his pacifier back in his mouth several times to get him to fall back asleep, but I will take that any day!  He also is taking a morning, afternoon, and evening nap each day.  His afternoon nap is usually the longest and his evening nap is usually the shortest of the three, but I just love that he is settling into a routine.  Overall, Emmett is the sweetest, cutest baby and we all just love him to pieces and are so grateful that he is a part of our family!

A close-up of our cutie.

And just like I said, he now picks up everything around him these days including the little "frame" that came with this monthly, milestone blanket...

and putting it in his mouth!  Such a silly boy!

Lia's First District Track Meet

Although Lia has been participating in team sports since the second grade, her greatest athletic strength that we have noticed so far is running.  Although we have suspected that she is a strong runner, we really had no evidence of this until 4th grade when she started P.E. class at school.  As a result, Lia was able to easily see that she was the fastest girl runner in her class and was also faster than most of the boys.  However, since her school only allows 5th and 6th grade runners to compete in the Spring track season, Lia still had one more school year to wait to really put her running skills to the test.  After months of anticipation, Lia excitedly came home with the track info sheet in March.  I quickly filled out the form and sent it back to school with her.  When school started back up after Spring Break, track practices began once a week for the first two weeks and then two times a week until the district track meet in June.  Several of Lia's friends and classmates signed up to participate and Lia was so excited for the first practice! 
However, everything came crashing down when I picked her up from her second practice during the second week of the season and learned that she had injured her ankle trying out the long jump for the first time.  Being a busy, overwhelmed mom with a daughter that can have a tendency to be a bit dramatic when it comes to bumps and bruises, I brushed it off and told her that she would be okay.  Fast forward a week to the next Thursday when, just by coincidence, Lia had to skip track practice to go to her annual physical that I had scheduled weeks earlier.  While we were sitting in the waiting room, Lia casually mentioned that her ankle still hurt and asked if the doctor could look at it.  I was totally surprised to hear her say this as she hadn't mentioned her ankle hurting at all over the past week.  Once we got into the exam room and she took off her shoes, I noticed that Lia's ankle was swollen and bruised.  Needless to say, I felt so bad at that moment!  When the doctor looked at her ankle a few minutes later, she announced that Lia's ankle was indeed sprained.  Ugh.  She then said that Lia needed to take the next two weeks off from track which meant missing four practices.  If it no longer hurt once she started running on it, Lia could resume the track season, but if it continued to hurt, Lia needed to take another week off and go from there.  Lia and I were so disappointed to hear this news.  We couldn't believe that after waiting years to participate in track, Lia sprained her ankle during her second practice of the season! 
After two weeks of elevating and icing her ankle once or twice a day, Lia returned to track practice on May 13th and said that it felt okay.  She continued to attend her practices twice a week and was doing fine until the week before the track meet when it really started hurting again.  I was so worried that she would not be able to compete in the meet.  After having her sit out of P.E. class and skip her school's annual walk-a-thon that week (which was a major disappointment to her), Lia headed off to her track meet today with a hopeful heart.  Luckily, Ron was able to slip away from work to be there with me which was a huge help since I had Ella and the baby with me.  In addition, we were blessed with beautiful, Spring weather that was perfect for a track meet--sunny, but not too hot.  Lia was able to travel to the district stadium on a bus with the rest of her teammates where we met her 45 minutes after the track meet began at 1 p.m.  I was surprised at what a huge deal this meet is as it involves every elementary school in the district.  The stadium was packed and excited students were everywhere--sitting in the stands with their teammates or competing on the track in their events.  It was fun to watch Lia demonstrate school spirit and pride and to participate in a school sport for the first time.  Unfortunately, Lia's two events (the 4x100 relay and the 800 meter) were the last two events of the track meet and 5th grade girls were the last group to compete in these two events.  So, needless to say, it was a very long afternoon, but luckily both Ella and Emmett hung in there with little complaining and having Ron there to help with them made such a difference!  We were able to sit in the stands right where Lia received the baton for her relay and ran her 100 yards.  It was so exciting to watch her run and to cheer her on.  Out of all of the teams that competed in this event, Lia's team came in fourth place which meant she got a ribbon as the top 10 teams in each event got ribbons.  Lia also ran her heart out in the 800 meters, but unfortunately, she said that her ankle was really bothering her by this point.  Out of exactly 50 girls who raced in her heat, she came in 22nd.  Although she was really disappointed in performance, I was impressed that she beat over 50% of the girls running in this race.  Overall, Lia's first track meet was a really positive experience.  She really seemed to enjoy competing in the events and being with her teammates and I was just grateful that she was even able to run in the meet in the first place.  Here's to hoping that her ankle will heal quickly and allow her to give future track seasons her all!

Lia waiting in the stands for her events to begin with two of her friends, Allison and Sienna.

Lia getting ready to receive the baton in the 4x100 relay.

Allison running around the bend to Lia.

Lia starting to run,

grabbing the baton,

and taking off!

Lia looking right at me as she ran her first lap around the track in the 800 meter race.

Lia running in the pack.

Another shot of Lia as she passed me.

Continuing down the straight away.

Lia running her second lap around the track with the group of runners who had definitely thinned out from the first lap of the race.

Lia running hard!

Lia showing off her 4th place ribbon at the end of the meet.  Good job, Lia!  We're so proud of you for pushing through the pain and giving it your all!

Emmett's First Haircut

Baby Emmett is starting to go through that awkward phase of "new growth" hair growing in while the some of the "old growth" hair that he was born with is still hanging on for dear life.  As a result, he has been sporting some strange, long, side strands of hair for the past few weeks that can literally be tucked behind his ears.  It reminds me a bit of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies which is just not a flattering hair style for anyone.  As a result, Ron and I finally found the time this morning to work together as a team to cut off these long strands of hair.  I did the holding of the baby and Ron did the cutting while Lia captured the entire event on video and Logan and Ella excitedly jumped around the bathroom.  It was quite the family affair!  Luckily, Emmett was cooperative and did not cry or fuss allowing us to get the job done in just a few minutes.  Here is a before and after picture of our baby boy.  I must say that this little hair cut is a vast improvement on Emmett's hairstyle.

Before.

And after.

Preschool Graduate Twins!

Can you tell which one is Lia and which one is Ella?  My goodness, these two girls sure look alike when comparing pictures of them at the same age!