Happy 4th Birthday Kylie

 Today my beautiful baby girl turned four, something that she's been counting down to all week.  She started the day by calling Grandma Pugmire to tell her "It's my birthday, it's my birthday, it's my birthday, it's my birthday!  Good-bye!"  We had a fun day making blue cupcakes with "snow" sprinkles to go with her mini Olaf cake.  Then we grilled "hangebers" at my mom and dad's and let her open presents before heading to the Garden City pool for movie night, which is the only thing she asked for (other than an Olaf cake and a dollhouse).  My parents and Terry, Jana, and Amanda came along with Jared, Lisa, and Gabe and Vern and Aden.  Kylie was excited to have some of her favorite people there to celebrate her birthday, but she was the most excited about her dad coming and getting in the pool with her-something that rarely happens.  She hardly left his side all night!  We all had a lot of fun playing in the water and eating mini cupcakes before heading home for the night.  Both kids were happy about the next surprise, which was the movie "Frozen".  We saw it when it was in the theater and they have been dying to get their own copy of it since then.  Kylie was one happy little girl cuddled up on the couch in her favorite blankie from grandma with her purple unicorn from Amanda and her pig "pet"cake from Uncle Curtis watching her favorite movie.  Words can't express how much I love her and how blessed I am to be her mom.  She makes me smile every day.  I wish time would slow down so she could stay little longer, but I also enjoy every new stage of her life and watching her learn and grow.

I would do just about anything for my children as is manifest in these pictures.  I am not a fan of selfies, but Kylie loves them and talked me into it. I have to admit that it was a little bit fun.

Even Better than a Science Experiment

It seems that Brandt's behaviors are more in check when he is able to spend quality time with his dad often, something that is not easily accomplished because of how much Bryce works and how hard it is for him to be patient with the kids.  This week when we attended Brandt's counseling session with him, Bryce recommitted to taking time out for buddy in hopes that we can create more peace in our home.  Brandt was super excited to start things off with a science experiment to grow crystals from a little kit he and I found at Family Dollar.  The instructions said that the crystals should form within a few hours, but it took much longer than that-like almost a week.  For buddy it was worth patiently waiting for because he enjoyed checking for progress each day and was so happy to see the end result.  He was so proud that he and his dad had done it together.  For me it seemed symbolic of the relationship I'm trying to encourage between the two of them.  It isn't something that happens quickly after completing one project together or reading one bedtime story together.  It is going to take a lot of patience, love, and time, but in the end it will be a lot more valuable than dollar store crystals.