Horseback Riding for My Birthday!

Back in May, I had my 35th birthday.  Because it fell on a Saturday and because I was not pregnant nor trying to become pregnant (first time since Gracie was 2) I decided I wanted to go horseback riding to celebrate!  My birthday is always right by Mother's Day, so this year, I scheduled our weekend dedicating all day Saturday to ME!

Our ride was scheduled for 4:00 pm at Wild Rose Equine Center in Camden Point, MO.  Because Stephanie was not at all interested in riding a horse, she kept Natalie and Hattie for nap time while my mom, John, Kyle, Kianna, Ryan, Gracie, and I headed out for a good time.  And let me tell you, it was so, so fun!

I'll let you see for yourself below!

Before the ride we explored around the property, looking at all the animals and
getting the kids' nerves out!

Silly kids!

I was the first rider on a horse, but Gracie was the second!
The Momma side of me was like, "Why are we putting my 4 year old on so soon?!"
She was like, "Yes!!!!"

She looked pretty awesome and confident up there on top of Reno!

Next up were Grandma and Kyle.
Kyle was right behind Grandma, but you can barely see him in this picture.
Kyle was the least excited for this adventure out of everyone in our family.
He said the only reason he came was because his mom made him.
His horse was tall and named Top Gun!

It seemed to take forever to get all the riders loaded onto the horses.
The guide was going to ride the horse with Kianna because she's so small,
so they told her to wait back here.
She was pretty nervous, too, so she just stood there for 15 minutes without moving.
It was pretty funny!
She looked so tiny from atop my horse!

Last one on!
Isn't she cute on top of Mystique?!

Kianna and the guide rode the lead horse and Gracie's was following closely on a rope.
At first, I was thinking they weren't going to hold onto Reno's rope
and I was about to have a nervous breakdown.... can you imagine?!

Kyle leading his horse down the hill.

Kyle and Top Gun winding through the trails.

Afterward!
All 3 kids thought it was AWESOME!
Gracie wants to have her next birthday party there!
Kyle's pretty sure he's a horse whisperer or something!
He developed a lot of confidence through the experience.
Go, Bubby!

The kids with our guides!
I asked the one in the middle how old she was.
When she replied with, "I'll be a freshman at Smithville High School next year!" I was thinking,
"I'm trusting an 8th grader with my niece and my daughter on these wild animals?!"
But both of the guides were great!  What a cool job!

After horseback riding, we met Steph and the little girls at Em Chamas for dinner.  Again, my sweet nephew doubted my decision-making skills.  Before my birthday, I told him I thought he'd love all the meat choices for dinner (he's definitely a little carnivore) but because they didn't have chicken nuggets, Kyle was sure the place would be terrible.  He and Gracie ended up tearing up the place!  It's like $5.99 for kids to eat there and those ate every bit of their $5.99!

It was definitely a fabulous way to spend my birthday!  Hopefully in the next few years, Hattie and Natalie can join in on the fun!  

Dinner with Grandma Jean

We've gotten into a good habit of going out to dinner with Great Grandma Jean (Ryan's Grandma) over the past several months!  Gracie likes playing silly games with her and Hattie is still trying to figure her out.  After dinner, we always sit inside Grandma Jean's house to chit chat for a bit.  Gracie's favorite part of the chit chatting is getting into Grandma Jean's candy dish.  She always asks politely and Grandma Jean always lets Gracie have more than she needs!  It's pretty cute between those two!

Busy Day in April

Back in April, while Daddy was on a guy's fishing weekend, Gracie and I had a super duper fun and busy day!  That's the way it usually goes around here.  Ryan takes a few fishing trips each year, usually 3-4 day weekends and it's just me and the girls here at home.  I don't mind the time being a single mommy during the day, and I kind of enjoy the quiet time alone after they've gone to bed.  But for some reason, his fishing weekends always end up being so, so busy!  Most of that is due to the fact that I like to stay busy when he's gone, otherwise the days drag on and we get cranky with each other.  But this particular April day was full of previously scheduled activities for Gracie!  Luckily my mom was available to hang out with Hattie most of the day because big sister and I were running all day long!

It started with Gracie's first swim lesson at the Liberty Community Center.   She, Kyle, and Kianna were in the same class, along with our friend Oliver!  It was fun for the cousins to learn together and practice together, too!  Miss Lauren was their coach and Gracie loved Miss Lauren right away!  It doesn't take much for Gracie to get attached to her teachers.  I love that about her!  They worked hard on the basics and all the kids listened and gave 100% effort!  Such good kids!  It was new for Gracie to swim "freestyle".  Moving her arms, kicking her legs, breathing... it was all pretty clunky (and still is) but she's learning and getting back.  Not bad for a 4 year old (at the time).  

After swim lessons, we headed home to change clothes and eat a bite of lunch, then headed out for our first birthday party of the day.  One of Gracie's neighborhood friends has his party at The Orange Easel and it was one of the coolest birthday parties we've been to!  The party focused on color and creativity with art.  They started by having the kids take off their shoes and socks (we were told to put them in old clothes) and they let the kids dip cotton balls into vibrant paint colors and throw them at the wall.  They had lined the wall with butcher paper and there was a canvas mounted in the center.  This experience was actually a birthday gift for the birthday boy, made by all of his friends.  It was so much fun for the kids!  

After making the canvas, the kids got divided into 3 groups for a color experience.  Each group lined up and the owner squirted one of the primary colors onto their hands and told them to rub it in like lotion.  Gracie's first color was yellow, one of her favorites!  Then she followed it up with a second primary color and the kids had to guess what would happen when they rubbed that color on top of the other color.  Gracie's second color was blue.  Can you guess what color she made?!  It was a great concrete experience for learning secondary colors!  Way fun!

Before the cake and gifts, the kids had one more experience.  It was pretty simple, yet really fun after their secondary color learning.  Each child was given a canvas and a palette.  On the palette they had red, yellow, blue, white, and black.  The owner taught the kids how to use those 3 colors to make any color they wanted.  Then when they finished their masterpiece, she hung them to dry for everyone to see!  It was a great and creative party!  I'm definitely keeping that one on my idea list!  

After the party we headed home to chill for a few hours before heading to Natalie's 3rd birthday party.  This is what happened to the girl who NEVER takes naps!  Sweet Gracie asleep on Daddy's pillow with her chocolate cake face!

Somehow I didn't end up getting any pictures of Natalie's birthday party.  I must've been pretty tired myself.  Besides, Hattie came with me to the party and it was a gymnastics party, so I was just enjoying living in the moment!

Kindergarten is Coming...

Several months ago, we made the decision to send Gracie to Gashland for Kindergarten in the fall.  It was not an easy decision for us to make.  I was torn between sending her to a Lutheran School, like I'd done as a child, or to public school.  We toured both options multiple times and prayed about which school God was leading us toward.

Throughout this process, I learned some things about myself.  One thing I learned was about making big decisions.  I trust my gut.  At times, I can be an indecisive person.  I really found myself seeking the advice of friends and family throughout the process, but I really couldn't make the choice.  The pros of sending her to public school were different, but equally heavy as the pros of sending her to Lutheran school.  In the end though, I learned that my gut will tell me what's right.  At first, I wasn't comfortable with sending her to public school because I didn't want her to miss out on the religious education and I didn't want her to get lost in the shuffle of so many kids.  But in the end, we've made changes to our daily routines at home to where I feel comfortable doing most of her religious education here at home.  Additionally, I realized that Gracie isn't a "get lost in the shuffle" kind of girl.  She's outspoken and confident, so I know she will make a name for herself amongst all the kids at her school.  The final 

Another thing I really solidified was my own beliefs about education.  When we toured Gashland, I saw so many great things happening that I knew Gracie would love to be a part of.  When we toured MLA, I also saw so many great things that I knew Gracie would love to be a part of.  Ultimately, when we made the decision, I based it on the educational needs of Gracie.  As a learner, I knew she would thrive in an environment like the one I saw at Gashland, without any trouble.  I felt like she would be missing out on some of the things they have to offer (because of taxpayer money!) that MLA just can't provide. 

As the days of summer quickly fade and the school supplies start taking over all the stores, I feel sad that Kindergarten is coming to steal my firstborn sweetheart in just a few short weeks. But hidden under that sadness is also excitement for the whole new community that she's about to become a part of. I'm doing my best to get involved in that community, but I also know that it's time for her to begin to establish herself apart from me, too. In some ways, I feel like this is the beginning of a very steep hill and at the bottom is moving her into a college dorm. But then I remind myself not to be so dramatic and to just embrace each phase as it comes. I'm trying. I know she wil be cared for. I know she's ready to stand on her own two feet. And I know she's ready to learn all she can. Since I can't stop it from happening, I'm going to choose to get on board and enjoy this new phase of life with my girl. Because even though Kindergarten is stealing her soon, she'll always be mine!

At Kindergarten Roundup at Ashland

She made her own name tag!

After we met her K2K (Kindergarten Summer School) teacher, we went out for dinner!

First day of Kindergarten Summer School!

Daddy wrote her a note each morning before K2K since we was already gone to work when she woke up.
She held onto these notes and asked me to read them over and over again before we headed out the door.
So sweet!

A Few Hattie Firsts...

Even though I've been way behind on blogging, I haven't been way behind on snapping pictures of this little sweetheart.  Hattie is growing so quickly and experiencing so many new things!  It's always so fun watching a little tiny baby grow and change.  Hattie's been exposed to new things at this young age that Gracie was never exposed to, mostly because we bring her along to most of the family fun!  Sometimes I'll leave her home, when I have someone to watch her, but she never seems to mind all the activity.  Below are a few firsts for Little Bug!

March 23
First time swimming!
We were on Spring Break and had no other plans!
Why not swim?!
Hattie LOVED the water... and still does!

March 24
First movie!
Again... we were on Spring Break... why not?!
We saw Zootopia!

We didn't see Angry Birds... just a good photo opportunity!

March 27
First time in her bath seat!
We only did it a few nights before switching back to her tub because she wasn't quite ready at this point.
But now she's in the seat full time and loves the ability to splash and play!

April 28
First time in a high chair!
At Jason's Deli!
She felt like she was BIG STUFF that day!

April 29
First pickle!
She LOVED it!
This baby is like the rest of us... we love our groceries!

May 16
First time playing in the kitchen (fridge and cabinets)!
She was finally good enough at sitting up that I could trust her on the hardwood floors.
She still prefers to be near the action, which is oftentimes the kitchen!

Cutie pie!

May 25
First time riding in a shopping cart!
This day was life changing for me!
Being able to leave the carseat in the car is so, so nice!
Similarly to the high chair, she felt like a teenage at this moment!

Big sister was right next to her to keep her company!
#sweetsisters

May 26
First time playing in a blanket fort!
These two played this way for over an hour!
It's just the beginning for them!

May 26
First time taking cover for a tornado warning!
I had to get her up from her nap and rush downstairs, which is why she was still in her sleep sack!
Luckily we weren't hit by the tornado and the girls got some good Little People Princess Time!

May 26
First time playing IN A BOX!
This was just the first time.... Hattie has found she likes boxes!

May 31
First time she was able to STAND up in her crib!
When I went in to get her up from her nap, this is what I found!
Her face was like, "Look at me, Momma!"
Needless to say, we lowered the mattress that night.

June 9
First REAL baby doll!
Gracie gave Hattie this baby doll on her own birthday the night before.
Hattie crawled over to get the doll the next day to play with her.
She's still in love with that dolly!

June 11
First wedding!
Miss Rachel and Mr. Joe got married!
We partied hard until we couldn't party any more!

This is what we turned into before it was time to go home!
Even though it's a blurry picture, I think you can see why we left!

This is what she looked like 2 minutes after bath time that night!

And as soon as I laid her down in bed.
Sweet baby!
Weddings wear me out, too!

July 4
First 4th of July!
First Annual Weaver BBQ!
Cuties pies!

Sweet Hattie,

Just because there are fewer blog posts of your first year, does not mean that I love you less!  It simply means that I was too busy enjoying the moments with you and your sister to stop and take the time to document them in a timely fashion!  I've loved every second of the last 9.5 months with you and I so look forward to everything we have ahead of us!  

Love,

Momma