Mother's Day, and school's out for summer!

The daily grind is officially behind us! Rushed mornings trying to get all three ready for the day to drop Sully off for 2.5 hours are gone! Lazy mornings in our jammies with cartoons sounds amazing, until today, the second day of summer, the weather is cold and rainy and this crew has a major case of cabin fever. In all seriousness, it was a great year, and we are definitely looking forward to the summer ahead.

Summer brings Miss Jaspers, speech therapy, camps, and lots of travel fun... stay tuned!

Mother's Day with Grandma Helen, Lauren, and baby Stella.

My crew on Mother's Day, luckiest mama (IMO). 

Sullivan- school photo.

First day of school (Sept, 2016)

Last day of school! (May, 2017)

First day.

Last day, such a big boy! 

Photo with Miss Heather and Miss Trina. 

Greta gets in on the fun as she is also a 'big kid'
and will start preschool in the fall! Yay! 

School celebration (chaos!).

Fun with mud, eek! 

Dave, multitasking.

Big girl strolling her baby. 

The three amigos. 

Arts Night 2017

Arts Night comes once a year and is easily our favorite outing. We get to dress up and mingle with some of our favorite friends while benefitting the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion, which is also where Sully goes to school, so it comes full circle. We put the night on the calendar and book a sitter way too far in advance in anticipation of the event. The main art pieces are auctioned off in a live auction. Dave and I have fun previewing the art and then finding the perfect spot, down to measurements, which is actually the least strategic way to do it as our hearts are set, making it hard to loose. As an added bonus, my mom annually contributes a piece of art, so I get to anxiously and proudly watch as people bid over her work. I also worked on the committee this year with friends, so it made the evening extra special. I'm sad its over, but I already have the calendar cleared for next years event ;).

Arts Night 2017

Our newest piece, Greta and Piper approved :).

A little update on each of our three.

We are eagerly anticipating warm weather around here. It seems like as soon as we get some good days, mother nature jerks us back to winter with a nasty cold rainy windy day or a snowstorm on May 1st (3.5 inches, all of which was melted by the end of the day as temps reached 55 by dusk). We did have fun making one last snowman in snow boots and shorts and t-shirts.

I've been meaning to post a blog entry dedicated to where we are right now in life with each child, so thats what this is all about. Enjoy their updates!

Sully, my big helper, is almost 5 and is so excited about that. While he would rather be catered to, he is capable of so many things. He loves to play with his sisters and friends and is getting really good at his letters and numbers. Sully responds best to positive reinforcement. He loves the 'buy store' aka app store on his iPad, he is a master scooter, professional pumper on the swing (finally!!), and has a really great imagination. He is the sensitive one of the three and is very routine oriented (he has his 'spot' on the couch and at the table and defends them with much determination). It is so fun to see him grow and mature into a big boy.

The tree swing was a hit, and great for pumping practice. 

Boots and shorts, what!

Greta- 3 1/2 officially. She buckles herself, dresses herself, and prefers to do everything on her own. She loves to go 'under the sea' (under the water in the bath tub) and to brush her teeth (by herself). She is the best partner to Sully when it comes to 'fighting the bad guys,' playing 'puppy's house,' or playing 'Isaac and Anna's house' (Piper gets to be one of the dogs). She wakes the earliest with a smile on her face as she is the best morning person among all of us. She challenges us, but is always fast to back down and remind us how much she loves us. Greta is the kind of snugger who will cuddle in with Dave but will throw and arm or leg around me to let me know I am loved, too. She is phasing naps out, which we are actually welcoming as I enjoy my time with both Sully and Greta while Piper sleeps (and it makes bedtime so much more pleasant for Dave). Greta is both silly and sweet and adds so much spice to our family.

Sully pushing Greta.

Filling the dump truck with snow (55 degrees).

Piper is 18 mos and is growing up so fast. She is up and down the stairs independently (hard to believe baby gates are almost a thing of the past around here). She is a daredevil at the park, taking on all slides independently. Piper insists on doing all of the big kid things on her own (brushing teeth, riding on toys), etc. although she is a toddler in every sense of the word, tantrums and all. She is willing to take on both Sully and Greta in order to get her way. She will stand on her high chair and 'spout out orders' to the rest of us (it doesn't make much sense, but she is definitely heard). Piper is a professional snuggler and literally melts onto my shoulder during sleep prep which feels awesome. She loves to cradle her stuffed animals, always the white ones, which for some reason I find really sweet, and her cozy. She had her 18 month appointment this week and is 20lbs 12oz (25th percentile) and 31.25 inches (50th percentile), so sort of a string bean :). I love the peace she brings to my heart and soul.

Piper takes a (short) turn on the big kid swing.

Look at this big girl! 

While they are super busy, they are the light of our lives and we feel so lucky to have each of them.  The combination of their individual characteristics is what makes our family work.

Prenap rocking. 

Sweetest duo.

Bedtime snuggles and Peppa Pig. 

Sisters.

Strolling home from the park. 

Springtime snowstorm.

Pretending to sleep together in Piper's crib :).

Easter fun on the farm.

We continued our family tradition of celebrating Easter on the Willard farm near Colton. The weather was gorgeous, moods were up; it was a great day. The only thing missing was Dave as he had to work (we did our own egg hunt at our house the previous morning so Dave could be involved in the fun). We definitely felt his void on Easter Sunday. We had good food and a fun egg hunt. We feel so lucky to be a part of the Willard Family celebration, the farm is the best place to be on Easter.

The Easter bunny is a favorite around here, the kids are already asking when he will be back.

Easter Egg hunt on Easter Eve. 

Easter morning ghost scare.

Me and my crew. 

Another quick photo op.

Piper feeling the farm vibes. 

Sweet Sully, almost 5! 

And love from Greta. 

Egg hunting help from his big cousin, Owen.  

Sully and Anna. 

A soccer game with grandpa Paul. 

Oh, and we snuck in a Peppa Pig outing the evening before, too!
What a weekend! 

Twin cities x2.

Dave was lucky enough to get another boy's weekend in the books, and he snuck it in just before my annual get away with Maggie, which made for two busy weekends in a row.

Dave and two of his friends went to St. Paul to see Green Day. They made it an overnight trip as it worked best with everyone's schedule. They had lots of fun driving, eating, concert going, socializing, eating, and more driving, they had a great time.

The kids and I had a mellow (besides loosing Sully) weekend here with perfect weather. We headed to the park for a picnic on Saturday for lunch and I ran into a neighbor and briefly chatted while Sully went ahead (to the park, I assumed). When the girls and I arrived he was nowhere to be found. I briefly panicked and sent some neighbors in one direction while I went the other with Piper and Greta. As I approached our 'usual' route home, I spotted him scooting in front of a neighbor's house, his little red helmet bobbing up and down with each scoot. My neighbor popped her head out and assured me she has been watching him most of his way down the boulevard as she knew something was amiss since I was nowhere in sight. Yikes, that was more than I had bargained for. The little trooper even crossed a sort of busy street with no issues. We have had a few important conversations since then and he has been better about sticking close.

Maggie and I took off the following Thursday for an extended get away (80 hours, Dave was sure to remind me ;)). We hit up all of the usual spots and were able to even get in some bonus things, like a walk around Lake Harriet in my old neighborhood. We shopped at the MOA, 50th and France, The Galleria, and tried some new restaurants as well. My best friend, Leanne, was able to join us for 24 hours of fun. It was great to shop and converse for almost 24 hours straight. With all of this wonderful technology, real FaceTime is still the best. As usual, Mag and I are perfect shopping/travel partners. Although we have some different priorities, we are always able to find the time to get it all in and make sure we are both heading home happy. Can't wait until next year's, although I hope it's not a whole year away.

Dave was busy at home with the daily grind and was more than happy to see us pull in the driveway on Sunday.

Green Day fun. 

Scooter/stroller squad. 

Sweet Piper, getting so big.

Lake Harriet Stroll. 

Pick up truck master- parking and city driving.
We are obv serious about shopping when the pick-up is involved. 

Shopping with Leanne- yes, we all bought the same top. 

Piper showing off her new shoes. 

Sully is quoted in his school newsletter.

National Siblings Day. 

Greta's current bathtub obsession. 

Helping daddy pull in the garage. 

"Sully, how did you smile for pictures today?"