Archive for the ‘Children’ Category

My baby girl turned 6 this month. She’s growing so fast. Everyday she is changing from the little girl I know into a big girl who seems to want to break free of the little girl mold and be oh so independent. She doesn’t follow the crowd or try to copy her friends. In fact she gets frustrated if they don’t want to do it her way. She wholeheartedly believes that is the best way after all.

She loves Kindergarten, gymnastics, her DSi, dancing and singing. I cannot get enough of the way her eyes crinkle and shine when she smiles, or her infectious laugh. I love that she will still sit and snuggle with me while we read a book together, or just talk about her day. Last night she was having a hard time, and I took some extra time to tuck her in. I told her I loved her, and she looked up at me and said, “I love you so much more than you love me.” Of course I told her that is just not possible.  She just giggled, turned to her side and went to sleep.

We did a mini photo session one day a week or so ago. She chose how she wanted her hair and what she was going to wear. I decided to let go of what I wanted, and just let her be herself messy hair and all.

My oldest child just turned 11. Eleven is close to 13, and 13 is considered a teenager. I’m not afraid to admit that the thought scares me just a little. Is it wrong to want your daughter to stay young and innocent forever?

One day after school we had a couple of free hours. We decided to do a birthday photo session with some of her favorite things. Actually, it was my idea, but I think she would admit it was a lot of fun. I took her just as she was. No hair styling, dressing up or anything. It will be fun to look back on these photos when she’s older and remember our afternoon when she turned 11.

This girl LOVES to read. She reads every chance she can get. For the past 2 1/2 years she’s been obsessed with Harry Potter. I don’t know how many times she’s read the entire series, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have enough fingers to count.

This is not an unusual scene.

She loves her music too. Taylor Swift is her absolute favorite right now.

I have no doubt this child is the pickiest eater on the planet. She’s not really a fan of food in general, but she will eat just about anything that is lemon flavored. She picks the lemons off of our tree in the backyard, and begs me to make lemonade. Her birthday cake was lemon, and she makes lemon cookies with her grandma.

I love her!

Today it is 80 degrees outside. I volunteered in my daughter’s class this morning and all the kids came in from recess hot and sweaty. Can it really be January? While the rest of the country is buried in snow and cold we are in shorts and flip flops. Such is life in Southern California.

Back in December during the holiday break from school we had record breaking rain. We splashed and played in the glorious wet stuff.

Thirteen months old, and  full of spice. It must be the red hair.

Halloween 2010 came and went, and this is what we have to show for it. There was a witch, who insisted her costume have orange in it (thank you Costco). We were protected by a member of the S.W.A.T. team. He was serious about his job…very serious. Then we had a ghost from Harry Potter. She was Hermoine last year, but this year she decided to be one of the ghosts from the story which was inspired by a friend’s idea.

You might notice one child is missing. He was with us the whole time, but I did not get one decent photo of him in his dragon costume because he was miserably sick. My poor baby was crying the ENTIRE weekend non-stop. Today is the first day he has been better in nearly a week. He did not let us put him down or do anything but pay attention to him the whole time. I was really worried something was seriously wrong with him because of the way he was acting. Now that it is passed I am eternally grateful for my children’s health. I am so blessed.

Sometimes, after a long day at school and too much homework, it’s good to get outside and enjoy time with a friend. The simple things in life are the best aren’t they?