Marvelous May

Events of note in the month of May:

Our stake held a special stake conference meeting in which one of the twelve Apostles, Quentin L. Cook, came to speak to us.  I almost talked myself out of going because Brent was out of town and I was worried about packing/hauling/parking/entertaining the girls for the occasion that I was sure would have a larger-than-normal turnout.  I went because I couldn't stand the thought that I might be the cause of them missing a [possibly] once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in the same room with a divinely inspired apostle of the Lord. I made them pose for a picture to document the moment.  Haha.  We sat in the very back of a large room, and the girls played with a bag full of tricks, rather than listening.  But the spirit was incredible, and hopefully someday they'll look back and think it was cool that we were there.

We stole a rare moment when Brent was actually around this spring, and had a family day out.  We went to an elementary school where there was plenty of grass, multiple playgrounds, and few people.  The girls got a one-on-one lesson from daddy about holding and swinging a baseball bat.  Tylie was impressively coordinated.  She didn't want to use the tee that we had, so Brent pitched to her.  She made solid contact with half a dozen pitches.  We better get that girl signed up for a team next year!

Kae was entertained for a minute by the baseball, and for much longer than that with the bugs, flowers, birds, airplanes...

Then we flew kites!  I, personally, had so much fun.  There was very little wind to work with, so the girls just RAN.  It was such a fun way to have their first kite-flying experience.  They burned a lot of energy, and had a really good time. 

Brent wrapped up the season with UTA in the WAC championship.  They held the tournament here in the DFW area, so we were able to make it to a game. I took a few pictures so that Brent would have the memory.  Depending on what happens over the next few months, it may be his last game with the Mavericks.

Makiyah is growing up way too fast, as most little babies do.  She decided a while ago that she was determined to turn over onto her stomach, and would work SO HARD at it!  There were multiple times that we would find her laying on the floor like this, just straining with all her might to make the last inch.  This little one has a very determined spirit!  So by 4 months old, she was an absolute natural at rolling from her back onto her stomach to get a better view of things going on around her.  She has yet to prove that she can go from stomach to back (the typically easier/earlier of the two tasks).

I was happy that we were able to catch it on video....go, baby, go!

She also starting being a little more vocal, and I caught a bit of it on tape.  As we've heard her more, we've noticed that she has a very soft, almost raspy sounding voice.  I wonder if it will stick...

My other two are happy and healthy!  They bring me so much joy, especially when their faces brighten with these radiant smiles.  Man, I'm the luckiest mom in the world!

Another great month gone by!  May was a lot of fun, and there is lots more to look forward to in the next couple months of our summer!

April....almost caught up!

Our month of April looked a little like this---

Tylie being a sweet big sister, comforting Kaelisse when she was sad.

Watching General Conference.  Tylie watched a LOT of it, but she also fell asleep during a chunk of it.  :)

We blessed Makiyah in March, but I didn't get around to taking pictures of her in the blessing dress until April....slacker, I know.

Tylie tripped when she was running around inside the house.  She landed eye-first on one of her toys and got a nice shiner from it.

Kaelisse hamming it up for the cameras.  She loves being in pictures.

Makiyah smiling before bath time.  It didn't last long because she spent the first 3-4 months of her life HATING bath time.  She would scream the entire time I washed her.  Glad she was happy leading up to it, though!

The girls each got a new church shirt with matching headband one day, and they loved getting their pictures taken with it all on.

Her hair continued to crack me up, even at two-months-old.

Her two-month pictures.

Don't you just love the wicked comb over!?

The girls were being helpful, as always.  (Well, as usual...."always" is a bit strong)

Love when I don't have to do the dishes!

We went to a ton of baseball games!  The girls loved visiting dad at work, and the games/bleachers/food entertained them enough to give me a bit of a break from the monotony.  

Makiyah usually stayed in her car seat, and would often fall asleep.  She was a very well-behaved little baby during the season.

The girls would occasionally ditch mama for a better, more up-close look at the game.  Those two are independent and fearless!

During this game, they got to see daddy out on the field.  As exciting as that was, they may have been equally thrilled to see his co-workers, Jed and Phil.  We've been so happy that Brent has had such a great staff to work with

March Madness

During the month of March, Makiyah was still largely the highlight of all our lives.  The girls were still a bit infatuated, and the baby still required enough attention to keep Brent and I busy with her. Look how loved this little one has been:

A few interesting pictures:

The girls both got haircuts. 

Kaelisse found a new, more comfortable bed to sleep in.

 The girls BOTH, for the first time in the history of our family, took a nap---and fell asleep watching a movie (they NEVER do that).

We celebrated Kaelisse's 2nd birthday.  It was fun to have my parents here to join in the fun.

 Unfortunately, Kae spent the majority of her day feeling like this:

 She did perk up for about a half hour, during which we were able to do presents and cake.

Girl of the hour!  Happy birthday sweet girl!  

We had the wonderful experience of blessing baby Makiyah while my parents were in town.  It was a short-lived moment, because child number two was still sick, but it was special anyway.  I am always excited to see Brent use his Priesthood, and it's so priceless for me to have my dad be a part of it as well.  

Easter was a spoiling-of-the-girls fiasco!  We did an egg hunt with the primary...

...enjoying their spoils from that morning....

...then I did a hunt for them in our house (Brent was out of town)...

...found baskets on Easter morning...

...then our next door neighbor thought he would spoil them a little (or a LOT--more than I did)...

...but they LOVED their bunnies!

It was a crazy month, as most of them are these days.  I started back to work, our babysitter resumed her daily visits to our house, Brent had plenty of trips for baseball games with UTA, the list goes on.  So great!  We had lots to do, and plenty to be grateful for.