Delaney's 6th Birthday

How have Kenny and I been parents for 6 YEARS!?!?! Time has flown by, but every day has been an amazing journey with our little Delaney!  She weights 50lb and is 45 3/4" tall.  Her vision is 20/20 and she has lost 6 teeth so far! We just went to the dentist and he is suggesting a retainer for her lower teeth when she nears 8 years old since they are all so crowded in! We didn't expect to hear the word "orthodontist" for a longer while, but those bottom teeth need help!

Delaney completed a wonderful Kindergarten year with Mrs. Gilbert.  We could not have been happier with her teacher and classroom!  Mrs. Gilbert was so loving and tender to Delaney when she needed it most!  Delaney is now full-out reading! When the school year started, we knew she could read and sound things out that were familiar, but now she is getting books out of the library and reading them like crazy! Kenny and I can't believe it! She made a great best friend, Elizabeth Clark, in that class, and our families have really clicked and I consider her mom one of my good friends now.  We have even decided to head up the Fall Festival at school together next year! Delaney even had her first real sleepover at Elizabeth's house!

We had Delaney tested for gifted and she did VERY well so she will start the 1st grade school year in a gifted classroom.  We are so excited for her to have the extra challenges and opportunities! There is a strong focus on technology and projects that I know she will enjoy! Two of her friends will also be in the classroom with her!

Delaney played in the Under 8 soccer league for the city, and did so well!  She really liked playing goalie and even scored her first real goal this year off a pass from Elizabeth. I was too busy screaming my head off to get a picture of it! A little 5 year old playing against big girls!  We loved her team and her coach- such a great experience!

She continued to take swim lessons with Paige, and has really improved in her backstroke, which Paige says she is a natural at. She took gymnastics classes 2x per week this year as well.  She really improved and loved cartwheeling and doing her splits all over the house.  She has a little gymnasts' body! She was even asked to join the competition team at the gym, but it was too much of a commitment for our family at this point!  Two practices a week, for 2 hours each plus traveling to weekend competitions out of town was a bit much with a toddler! She has enjoyed watching the Olympic swimming and gymnastics. She is really a great little athlete with cute muscular arms and ZERO body fat!  I want to eat her up!  She is riding her two wheel bike all over now- Jacob basically taught her.  She took one look at a younger boy riding his bike and got on right away and just did it!  Dan has just started teaching Delaney how to surf, and she popped up easily!  Kenny and I are on the lookout for a soft foam surfboard for our family, since Lucy wants to learn, too.

Delaney is really becoming a jokester!  She loves laughing and pranking people, especially Papa and her daddy!  When we were in MA, we bought fake poop and have enjoyed getting people with it! She continues to smother Finn with affection, to the point where he screams a high-pitch shriek when she is bugging him.  At this point, the only thing Delaney gets in trouble for is being too overbearing to Finn.  She still wants to feed him, carry him around, and do things for him, and as a 18 month old, he wants to do it ALL for himself!  She continues to be so well-behaved and respectful (although the eye rolls have been starting...), I never have to worry about Delaney getting in trouble or not keeping herself in check.  I constantly get compliments on how good my kids are! And Delaney sets a great example as the big sister!  She and Lucy play so well together most of the time.  As Lucy gets older, she isn't letting Delaney run the show as much, but they could play "school" or "family" or put on shows for us all day!  For her birthday, I actually made Delaney pink velvet curtains to hang in the doorway of the playroom for a stage! She also got an American Girl doll which she named Lipsey for her birthday from Nana and Papa.  We visited the store in Boston and it was a crazy experience!  The girls loved it and are now obsessed! They already have quite a collection of clothes are little sunglasses!  So cute!

Delaney continues to amaze us everyday!  We can't believe we have been so lucky to be her parents for 6 years! I can't wait to see what her future holds!

16 Months of Finn Fun!

Finn is beginning to show some spirit!!!  He had his first tantrum this month, complete with foot stomping, screaming!  I got it on video...Kenny and I say all the time "I wish he could just tell us what he wants!"  He continues to point and make his grunting sounds, and we know what he wants most of the time.  He is still a great eater, loving his meats, pulled pork, grapes, and strawberries. He wears 18 month clothes and got a cute new pair of camo shoes.  He wears size 4 diapers and is beginning to notice his poops coming and is tending to hide or walk away and stay still...the beginning of the potty training is in our future!  He has all 4 molars in and his 3rd tooth on the bottom broke through!  

This month we were busy with trips to Orlando for Memorial Day and Delaney's early birthday celebration, Navarare to visit the LeBeaus, and Fort Lauderdale for Gabby's engagement party.  Finn did great, rolling with the total lack of schedule, and always seeming to catch a snooze in the car.  He met Kelly's 20 month old son, Luke, who tended to like to push or hit Finn, so by the end of the weekend, Finn would cry whenever Luke came near him!  (I also have that on video!)  

Finn had another trip to the ER this month...He had gotten a cold the day before and had a runny nose, but I didn't like the way he was breathing.  He was wheezing and breathing VERY rapidly with his stomach muscles moving instead of his chest.  I ended up taking him to an urgent care on Father's Day afternoon and they sent me right to the ER because they said he was in respiratory distress.  He had nebulizer treatments and steroids, and a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia.  He was d/c with a diagnosis of bronchitis.  Never a dull moment!  

Delaney's Un-Birthday Celebration at School

Mrs. Gilbert had a celebration today for the six kids in her class that have summer birthdays! Delaney was so excited to have a class party! We had cupcakes, trix treats, fruit, chips, and juice! Delaney got to make a birthday drawing and get up on front of her class and tell them about it! Lucy even got to join in with the kindergarteners!

Oh Lucy!

Lucy came out today for her swim lesson dressed like this!

What I Came Home To:

I had gone out for a girls' night and came home to a sleeping household us this sign left for me by Delaney:






"Did you have a good time?"

He's A Floater!

After __ weeks of swim lessons, Finn finally learned to float! He passed her last test which is floating on their back fully clothes, shoes, diaper, and all!  She even would flip him around to disorient him, and he is able to flip over quickly and hold his float!  I am so proud of our little man!  He graduated on the day he turned 16 months! He still cried most of the lesson, but would readily walk to Miss Trish crying!

Mother's Day 2012

My Mother's day started out with Delaney admonishing me to stay in bed and lay there! In walked the kids and Kenny with a brown paper bag and homemade cards. Delaney had made a project at school which was breakfast in bed and included an apple, breakfast bar, and tea bag. The kids added chocolate chip pancakes and bacon in ziploc baggies! We all sat in bed while I ate and it was wonderful! Then we headed to the beach for about an hour and a half. We got home around lunchtime, Finn went down for a map, and we headed out to the pool. Then all of a sudden, in walks the Clark family! Kenny and Lewis had collaborated on a surprise lunch! We got frozen drinks in the pool, followed by shrimp cocktail! Then bacon-wrapped scallops, followed by steak, crab claws, corn, and roasted potatoes! The kids ate hot dogs, corn, and chips. It was all delicious and priceless! I love that the guys got together and planned so much! One of the best parts was the dads saying "leave your Mothers alone...no complaining to them! If you need anything, ask a dad!" I don't know what was better, the surprises for Erin and I, the food, or the company!