Molly turns four

Okay, so Molly turned four last month...September 15th to be exact. It didn't quite work out to have one party with grandparents so Molly got a few days of celebrating. We started a couple days early, a party in Plain City. I was in town to get the kid's pictures taken so we threw together a party for the cousins and grandma and grandpa. Molly opened a bazillion of presents from my mom and dad (clothes, books, toys, dance stuff, etc.) but her favorite by far was the pillow pet.She named it Alyssa.

We had cupcakes. Molly wanted purple and princess. I went with easy and she was delighted.Fast forward two days to her actual birthday. She went to school first. I took the leftover cupcakes after and the kids managed to finish them off.

We let her open her presents after school. She got a camera.She hadn't shown any interest in having a friend party, so we decided to wait one more year. Instead, Justin took the day off and we took her swimming to the indoor pool in Lehi. It was fun, not crowded at all, and such a nice day that they even opened up the outside part and we spent some time outside.Molly chose her birthday dinner. She wanted French Toast. I've used this recipe for years and we all love it...just don't forget the buttermilk syrup and I like it with bananas and strawberries on top.

It was just us that night but I felt like she had to have a birthday cake. I thought I'd get really ambitious and make a fancy cake, but instead I just used the leftover purple frosting and put some princesses on top. It's a good thing I didn't go all out...as soon as she blew out the candles she was off playing with the princesses. No one even had a piece of cake! Maybe next year.Molly's birthday continued the next day. When grandkids turn 4, they get a special date with Grandma Kay to Build-A-Bear and out to eat. Molly was so excited for this. She picked out an iCarly bear, not because she has any clue who iCarly is (neither do I) but because it was sparkly purple. She picked out two outfits and named her Carly.That night Justin's parents took us bowling and treated us to dinner. Before we started, Molly opened her presents. Everyone knows our Molly so well, and just what she likes...This was a perfect birthday activity for Molly. She really loved every minute of it. She'd roll her ball down the lane and then jump and cheer no matter how many pins she knocked down.Stockton was equally happy running all over the bowling alley, playing with the balls, and hanging from the ramp thing that Molly used.Molly really got spoiled all around. How lucky she is to have so many people who love her! We love her too. A lot.

On a side note, Molly was hoping to get a new cousin for her birthday. Although he didn't arrive on her actual birthday, a day late was okay. Welcome to the family, baby Grant!And it just two weeks, I'll be holding that sweet babe. Can't wait!

Firsts

Since Molly has a September birthday, she is the oldest in everything we sign her up for...I don't mind. She has been asking to take dance lessons for a whole year (her cousin Chloe who is only 3 months older started last year). So I searched around and finally found a place in Payson that was reasonably priced and didn't make the little ones be part of a competitive team (I'm amazed at how little they start getting competitive). She has been going now for almost 2 months and she loves every minute of it. She won't let me stay and watch (if I do she won't dance) so I really don't know how she does in class, but she comes home and tells me all about the things she is learning...first and second position, tondue, etc. She is not one to perform in front of anyone but her teacher assured me that she does participate and dance in class. We'll see how she does when the first recital comes along...she says she'll dance on the big stage in front of lots of people, but she doesn't want to dance at home for Justin and I.This is technically not a "first" since we did it last year, but this is her first day of school:Yup, we're doing the joy school thing again. Molly loves her "school" and the friends that she is making. She's a smarty pants and from what I hear from the other moms, she is the storyteller of the bunch. Molly is always wanting to make crafts and write words. She can write all the letters and is constantly asking me how to spell something. She's always making letters and cards for cousins, grandparents, friends, teachers, and neighbors.

This is probably the first time that we've been able to get Molly to really sing for the camera. She really, really doesn't like to do anything in front of other people. It's a bit long, and some of the words are wrong, but so sweet and who can really resist that smile?

I've mentioned before how Molly loves to take pictures...well, she found the video camera one afternoon while I was putting Stockton down for a nap. So, here is her first (and second) video. Try not to laugh...I dare you.

The end of summer posting

Since summer is officially over, I guess I will finish up the rest of our summer...mid-July through August was much slower and relaxed for us, although we still managed to fill it up with some pretty fun things.

Another month and another trip to the zoo. We went with the Goodrich cousins this time. It was hot but the zoo is always a hit with the kids. The highlights on this trip were the elephants (always a highlight, but this time the trainer was working with the animals and had the mother elephant fill up her trunk with water and squirt it right at Molly, Tiana, Stockton, and I) and the bird show (Molly got to give a dollar to a bird).All the kids enjoyed playing in the water, but the babies especially enjoyed it.We signed Molly up for swim lessons this summer. When I signed her up in March or April, she was scared of water getting in her eyes in the tub, so I was hoping that swim lessons would help her get over that. Well, something clicked this summer and she wasn't scared at all. She was by far the bravest kid in her class...the teacher would say "Okay, everyone look at Molly and watch how she does it." She was very proud of herself.Having swim lessons every morning for two weeks was exhausting-I was so relieved when it was over!

My mom took us to the Children's Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. I didn't even know it was there...there was a splash pad with a big Noah's ark, a small maze in the hegdes, a bear cave, a lighthouse, and a sand box, along with few other places to explore. Not to mention the beautiful flowers. It wasn't super crowded, which makes me wonder if it's not well known.Justin went fishing/canoeing with Eric to the Green River. The only pictures I have on our camera are of Eric. Apparently, Eric took pictures of Justin and Justin of Eric but they never switched. Go figure. The kids and I had two nights to ourselves...I really can't remember what we did so it must have not been too exciting.

We had our Jeep in the shop three times this summer. We finally got tired of pouring all our money into an old car with tons of miles so we decided it was time for a switch. We found a good deal on this 2005 Honda Pilot and have been very happy with it so far.We were able to attend little Jake's sealing to his family in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. What a special day!

The next day we drove to Plain City to celebrate my Grandma's 85th birthday. I think everyone was there except for two grandkids...not bad. My grandma has had a rough go this summer and fall. A stroke and two heart attacks have scared all of us, but she is one tough cookie and has far exceeded what the doctors told us. She is definitely not strong, but she is still going. I feel grateful that I lived down the street from her all my life, and am feeling bad that I don't see her as much now and that my kids aren't getting to know her as much as I would like. She is a funny lady who will always tell you exactly what she's thinking.

Justin worked three Saturday's in a row in August. Bleh. I had to take the kids to my soccer games (hard) and we tried to stay busy the rest of the day. I talked my neighbor into going to the Utah County Fair with me one night. It's in Spanish Fork and free, so why not? It's not the greatest of fairs, but it has animals and I had leftover carnival tickets so Molly got to do a ride or two. Molly had also earned some money (from my mom, I think) so she got to pick out a treat. I was thinking a scone or something sounded yummy; she chose cotton candy, of course.

As we were walking out a couple came up to me and said that they had just had their engagement pictures taken and can they please give their balloons to my daughter? I thought they were just going to give her one, but they tied all dozen to her little arm. Her face lit up...the balloons were so heavy, she walked with her arm in the air the rest of the way to the car.Well, that's a wrap, although it looks as though I only took pictures of Molly. Stocky came with us everywhere and was such a trooper all summer, missing naps and eating on the run.

Goodbye summer! We look forward to some fall, and even some winter, but will be happy when you come back again...