May

The month of May is always very eventful at our house...be advised that this will be a lenthy post. I will take you back to the beginning of the month.....

We started out the month with my birthday...the kids ended up being off of school that day because of the floods, so it was me and the kids at home all day while Daniel worked a 24 hour shift. The kids were great playing together, I was able to relax. A few friends surprisedd me by taking me out to lunch. I was able to leave Tristan and Alicia at home, and Addi and Avery went to a babysitter. It was fabulous! I ordered in pizza for dinner, because I wasn't about to cook. I didn't have a cake, and Addi was so upset when it was bedtime and I hadn't blown out my candles yet. I told her no one made me a cake, and she said I should make my own...yeah right...so Daniel made me a brownie cake the following day.

The kids wrote with sidewalk chalk on the driveway...Tristan's contributions was the smiley face inside the "O"....

Alicia and Addi made me beaded bookmarks...priceless.

Blowing out the candles on my brownie cake a day late....I have no idea what is going on with the look on Avery's face...

The next big event was Mitchell's wedding in Houston. Can I just say it is very strange to see your younger brother getting married.... He and Emily had a beautiful wedding...although it was super hot and humid. Avery and I were the only ones that made the trek. I was highly irritated when we got to the hotel at 11pm, and they had run out of pack 'n plays. So, we improvised and Avery slept inbetween Cari and I in the king size bed. Did I mention I never sleep well when there is a baby sleeping in my bed? Whatever.... I was so grateful that my other 2 brothers were also able to attend. Martin's little girl, Kate, was still in the hospital, but he and his son, Ryan, drove down with my parents. Wes was supposed to be playing baseball, but had injured his shoulder a few weeks prior to the wedding, and had it operated on the week before the wedding. Needless to say, he wasn't playing baseball, so he was able to attend. We had lots of extended family make the trip as well. It was super fun, but way too short. I flew in on Thursday night and left Saturday morning. The wedding was the first opportunity for me to meet Emily. She is a great girl and an excellent match for Mitch.

Martin, me, and Avery

Ryan LOVED hanging out with cousin LaNae who came all the way from Edmonton, Alberta.

Uncle Rob (Charlotte, NC), Jill (Norman, OK), and Wes (Provo, UT). Poor Wes and his sling.... It didn't help that I totally knocked his shoulder on accident a couple of times. Yep, I'm awesome....

Avery and Opa (who came all the way from Lethbridge, Alberta)

The wedding party....

The Guenther side....L-R

Wes, me, Avery, Martin, Dad, Grandma Alta, Mom, Emily, Mitch, Opa, Germaine, Meagan, LaNae, Aunt Darlene, Cari, Jill, Aunt Ingrid, Uncle Rob, and Ryan

It always amazes me to look at photos of me and my sibs all grown up...seems like yesterday when we were building forts with my Mom's nice couch cushions when she wasn't home.....

Hello??? Don't be alarmed...he's just looking for the garter.....

The reception was at an outdoor pavillion. It was beautifully decorated. I loved the bright colors and flowers.....but did I mention how HOT it was?

I was able to bring Grandma Alta back to Nashville with me after the wedding. Daniel's mother, Cindy, and been with the kids while I was gone and Daniel was at work. It was such a blessing to have her stay. We then celebrated Mother's Day. It was really special for us to have Grandma Cindy and Grandma Alta with us. I gave Grandma Alta a bouquet of flowers, which she loved and thought was so special. Daniel got Cindy and I some Polish Pottery pieces which are quite beautiful with their pretty colors and designs.

Polish Pottery

The kids with Grandma Alta and her flowers and card.

Grandma Alta, Alicia, and Grandma Cindy

A little secret....I don't really like Mother's Day. It feels very much like a "Hallmark holiday" to me....but then I see a photo like this and think, "Maybe it's not so bad."

We then moved right on to celebrate Tristan's 14th birthday. Is anyone else baffled that I am the mother of a 14 year old? I love it!!! Once again, Daniel was working a 24 hour shift, so he missed out on all the festivities. Another secret....I never even see Tristan before he goes off to school, 'cause I'm typically still in bed. So bad, I know, but he is so good and responsible, he really doesn't need me to get up with him. BUT, on his birthday, I was up at 5:30 getting his birthday breakfast of bacon and french toast made before he had to catch the bus. We celebrated later that evening as a family (minus Daniel) with Jet's Pizza, cake, and presents.

A new Nike soccer ball. We are constantly buying soccer balls for Tristan. He has even bought a few of his own. He spends so much time outside kicking his soccer ball around, that he ends up putting holes in them.

Tristan is all about the name brand athletic clothing. Luckily I can always find sweet deals at TJ Maxx or Ross.

Another "Mom of the Year" moment. I only had 7 candles in the house...which I discovered right when it was time to do cake...sooooo, we lit the candles twice....'cause 7+7 = 14, right??? Tristan was a really good sport about it.

After Tristan's birthday, was our anniversary! 9 years!! I can hardly believe it. We've had amazing highs, and incredible lows, but it has all made us stronger. I have to say I got very lucky, and I am so grateful! Daniel was post-call that day, so we didn't really do much celebrating....although he did get me a very beautiful silver-ball necklace and bracelet.

And then on to the next event!!! I drove Grandma Alta, Avery and I up to Kansas City to attend Mitchell's 2nd wedding reception, and to watch Ryan for 2 days while Martin worked, and Mari was at the hospital with Kate. It was a fun weekend with family fun, games, good food, and good company. Unfortunately, I took ZERO pictures...I need to get them from Seth, who was the official, unofficial photographer....

While I was gone, Alicia had her BIG 4th grade project. Each student researches a famous historical figure, takes notes, makes a poster, writes a speech, and memorizes the speech. They present to their class, and then they have what they call a "Wax Museum," where they dress up as the person they researched and give their speech to the guests (parents, friends, grandparents, etc). I was REALLY sad that I missed it, but Grandma Cindy was able to help Alicia get ready for it and to attend. It was good that Grandma was there, because she got way more into the costume than I would have. Alicia's historical figure was Sacagawea. I found her a Pocahontis costume, and called it good, but GRANDMA, made a baby back carrier out of a pizza box, found an old skirt in my closet to go over top, and braided up Alicia's hair. She looked great!!! Alicia was so excited to tell me all about it...I was really, truly sad to miss it.

A few days after I got back from Kansas City, it was Alicia's 10th birthday. My kids are growing up SO fast!!! The girl is so tall and has grown so much, that she out grew her bike....in fact she probably out grew it a few years ago, so I felt it was high time we got her a new one. It was a good buy....she loved it. Unfortunately she hasn't had much opportunity to ride it much, but she has ALL summer.... Alicia had pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast, and then wanted breakfast burritos for dinner....that girl LOVES breakfast food....just like Daniel!

I thought the blue was fabulous!

Since we had a chocolate cake for Tristan's birthday, I made Alicia a white one.

And somewhere along the way, my baby turned 6 months!!! I took her to her 6 month check up, and got her stats....she is very porportionate.

25 1/2 inches---50%

15 lb 15 oz----50%

And of course she got her shots....so sad.

This is often what you will find Avery doing....sitting in her exer-saucer, chewing on toys. She is a happy baby...smiles for everyone. Everyone always feels so special to get smiles from her....sometimes I don't have the heart to tell them she does it for everyone. She also loves to roll around on a blanket on the floor. Every once in a while she gets up on her hands and knees and rocks a little bit...I guess it won't be long before she's crawling!! She's gotten much better about eating solids, although I've discovered she doesn't like bananas or green beans....but she can't get enough pears and sweet potato. She practically sucks it off the spoon. She's a great baby, and we like her a lot!

Soooo, this brings us to the end of May. The kids finished school last Friday, so we hopped in the car and drove to Kansas City. We are staying with Martin and Mari....helping out as Mari and Kate have a short stay at the hospital.....I'll save the rest of the details of this trip for another post!!! I think I've made this one long enough!!!