Kylie loves anything that has to do with fancy hair, dresses, make-up, ruffles, and dancing, so it's no wonder that she talked us into letting her take a dance class.  Her teacher is Kami Williamson and I've been impressed so far that she has chosen age appropriate material.  Kylie dances her little heart out at home, but is more shy about it in class and absolutely does NOT want to ever dance in front of people. I'm hoping that this will give her some confidence and that eventually she will be brave enough to get up on the stage for her recital.  For now, I'm just happy that she is socializing and having fun moving and grooving.

Brandt is not a big fan of going to dance and watching his sister, so today he was happy to be puppy sitting for grandma.  It was actually a great way for him to socialize as people would come up to him and ask about his dog.

Best. Dog. Ever.

Junie B has become the perfect addition to our family.  She is calm and SUPER patient with my kids.  They cuddle with her, sleep with her, fight over her, pack her around, bathe her, try to brush her teeth, spray her with doggy cologne, and so on and so on, and she never makes a complaint!  She has especially added a calmness to bedtime as she typically curls up with whoever lays down to try to go to sleep first. For the most part that has been Brandt.  It is a miracle that he's been the first one to sleep almost every night lately-WITHOUT having to be asked a million times, and it all started with Junie B.

Princess Potty Mouth

I never in a million years would have thought that I would have ended up with a girly girl for a daughter, but she sure is-sometimes.  Other times it is obvious that she is being raised with her dad and brother as well as a total Tom boy for a mom.  She is obsessed with having fancy hair and makeup and wearing dresses and lots of jewelry, but on the other hand she is rough, tough, and athletic.  She gets a big kick out of saying things like "pull my finger" and either burping or farting-usually at the dinner table no less-thank you Bryce for that one!  I even caught her doing that at the preschool lunch table one day-oh goodness!  She is also the first one of our kids to pick up on and repeat any cuss words that she may hear.  Just the other day she told me, "Mom, when dad and Brandt get home, I'm going to say, 'where in the he#* have you been?'"  Of course, we laugh at her, so she keeps saying naughty things.  She is very quick witted and unafraid of speaking her mind.  I recently cooked Brussell Sprouts and she took one look at them and then while holding her nose and dramatically gagging, she said, "ew, mom, that's even stinkier than dad!"  Although I hope to teach her appropriate manners, for right now I wouldn't trade her for anything!

First Fire

We recently bought a higher efficiency wood burning stove in hopes that it wouldn't bother the kids and their allergies/asthma as much.  Bryce also prefers stoves that have clear doors so that he can keep a close eye on the fire.  He decided to give the whole fireplace area a makeover and came up with the idea to use pebbles and wood trim.  It isn't quite finished, but it's done enough that he was able to start a fire and enjoy sitting in front of it this evening.

Brandt and Kylie were so excited to spend a little time with Rylie and Mckenzie tonight at grandma and grandpa's.  They were especially excited when we were invited to soak in the hot tub with grandpa for the first time since his back surgery on the 10th of last month.  It's been amazing to see how well he has recovered.  He didn't do nearly so well after his first back surgery.  This time he hasn't even needed any pain medications for the past couple weeks and he is walking around better than he has in months.  It's such a relief for him to know that he made the right choice to have surgery again.

The kids had so much fun playing together, and the only hiccup came when it was time for my kids and I to go home for the night.  They were so sad to have to leave, but even Brandt was able to get himself under control without having a huge meltdown.  We love it when we get to see cousins and always hope that we can get together again soon.