Minnette and Aurelle (and I!) are participating in a very small community preschool co-op this year. It has been a lot of fun for the girls to get to spend time with their friends a couple of times a week, and fun (slash stressful) for me to have several turns planning the lessons and activities. Though, it is not nearly as easy planning educational activities for a crowd of same-aged kids (there are 7 in our group!), as it is for my own children at home. Props to public school teachers- homeschooling is waaaay easier!
Every Friday is field trip day, and one week we were able to head over to our local fire station and talk to the firefighters and see the firetrucks up close. I never had the opportunity to go to the fire station as a child (at least not that I can remember...) so this was a fun new experience for all of us!
The girls were extremely excited to go, but decided against getting a picture taken in the firetruck's driver seat (maybe next time!).
The fire fighters who were on duty told us all about the trucks, their different jobs when they get called to a fire, and even showed us how some of the equipment worked. Did you know that each truck costs over a million dollars before it even has any of the special equipment and tools on board? Blew me away.
Kyle has Fridays off of school and gets off of work early, so we were extremely fortunate to get to have him come with us. Being the only Dad in the crowd, he was quickly volunteered to be the one to try on the firefighter uniform, which weighs over 75 pounds!
Definitely getting a little hot and sweaty at this point! Though protecting you from flames and intense heat, these uniforms don't do much in the cooling department. Kyle had a lot of fun getting to try all the equipment on, though!
The girls as they watched Daddy:
Waits, just hanging out, as usual :)
Almost done.... I don't know how they are able to get all of this equipment on so fast!
The final product:
A few minutes later, they received a call to put out a house fire, and we had to leave in a rush. Though it is extremely unfortunate that someone was experiencing a fire, it was still really cool to get to see the firemen in action. As we were leaving, we got to see the huge garage doors open and watch the trucks drive off with their sirens on. We sure are grateful for these men and women who help protect us. It was such a neat experience, and one I hope to repeat in the future with our kids.
Our kids really look forward to getting to pick out their special birthday breakfast. We eat really healthy around here- oatmeal is our standard breakfast fare- so junk cereal, Costco muffins and bacon are highly anticipated birthday meals. Minnette requested milk and donuts!
Oh, Jovi... haha!
I went with the theme of zebra print and hot pink for Minnette's birthday because that is what was on clearance at Walmart a few months before. I think it turned out super cute. We didn't even get a picture of the homemade zebra print "5" pinata that Kyle and I made, darn! It was super awesome, and the kids had a blast breaking it open.
Minnette had only a few requests for her birthday. She wanted to eat pizza in the softball field. and she wanted to invite a family from our ward (who also lives in our apartment quad. You could say she was rather fond of their oldest boy!) How can you possibly deny such sweet and simple desires? So that is exactly what we did! She had a lot of fun, and it was fun visiting with Raquel and Sam and our friends.
I even came up with a pin-the-tail-on-the-zebra game- and the kids were so busy running around and playing with bikes and wiggle cars that we never even got around to playing it- Oh well.
Singing Happy Birthday
Opening presents:
I just thought this was funny. Aurelle snuck off with the camera, and she ends up stuffing it Minnette's bike bag while it is still on. Oh, the gems you find after your kids play with your camera!
One (unsurprisingly) messy Jovi:
5 year Well Check Stats:
(I lost my sheet, so I will fill these in next I head to the pediatrician and can get a new print-out!)
Height:
Weght:
BMI:
On the day of Minnette's birthday, we went to have her birthday pictures taken, and then stayed out for our tradition of a Mommy-daughter birthday lunch date. She originally picked Olive Garden (because Gramma Murphy took us there once, and they have Mac n cheese there!), but since Waits is still nursing and I left him at home with Daddy, I didn't think we had enough time, so I convinced her to eat at a burger place instead by telling her that they had chocolate shakes AND soda. She was sold.
I can't believe how old she is starting to look!
So beautiful!
The photographer told her to point at the 5:
My kids often need a little encouragement to cooperate happily for picture-taking. FYI: When you pull out the dress-up, they melt into submission
The photographer had a certain idea of the kinds of poses she wanted to take pictures of, and tried getting Minnette to gently place her balled fists under her chin for probably a good 5 minutes. This is as close as she could manage- and I like this pose waaay better, anyway! :)
Some things about Minnette at 5 years old:
•I thought the boy-crazy years didn't begin until late elementary to middle school years, but BOY was I wrong. Minnette has already decided to marry at least three boys in our ward. All at separate times. Without any encouragement from us. She will play with one of them on the playground or in the sand box, and next we'll be hearing about "how nice" so-and-so is, and that he is her friend and he loves her and she loves him. Young children love so easily, it is so sweet to see. I am also quite proud to say that she has great taste! So far, they have all been outstanding, super sweet and very cute boys that come from amazing families. Minnette, please feel free to keep this up after you turn 16, thank you!. ;)
•Her favorite movie is still Tangled and her favorite book is
•Minnette loves to sing! She sings all time, and she will sing along to anything. But usually you will know if she really likes a song id she starts singing along with it. We will often hear her practicing in her bed before falling asleep. She will actually practice the same line over and over until she gets complicated melodies down, or can sing an entire song through without messing up any of the words. I think we may be looking into a future with voice lessons with this one!
•This 5 year old still takes naps. She doesn't fall asleep every time, but she will at least 75% of the time and she at least needs the quiet time. We have tried weaning her from naps with disastrous results- our most difficult two weeks of parenthood so far!
•Minnette loves to color, draw and paint, and asks almost every day, and more than once most days!
•She is always looking forward to the next awesome thing that we will be doing. Even in the middle of the current awesome thing we are doing, she just wants to know what we're doing next. It is kind of funny, but boy, it sure can be exhausting! Sometimes she will actually miss out on what is happening because she is so worried about what is next. We are often trying to teach her to focus and be happy with what is happening rightnow.
•One of Minnette's new ways of expressing herself has manifested in drawing pictures in the air with her pointer finger in order to describe to you an object she might have a hard time explaining or just doesn't know the word for. Ridiculously cute.
•She likes to ask A LOT of questions. As far as I know this is super typical for her age, especially for girls her age. We try to always answer every question she asks as honestly and completely as we can, but I often find myself telling her "Ummm... I don't actually know..." and having to look up the answer. It's great, because we learn together!
•She loves to have her back scratched, and has ever since she was a baby. I remember Kyle's mom sitting 1 year old Minnette on her lap and scratching her back during church and Minnette would fall right asleep. Now she wants her back scratched before nap, before bed time, in sacrament meeting, you name it.
We started off Jovi's birthday celebrations with a crib-side serenade.
And enjoyed a plethora of junk cereal. Even with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cocoa Pebbles (or the generic version, at least) Jovi chose Apple Jacks? Whatever, it's her birthday!
No cake? No problem... candles actually fit perfectly in individual Apple Jacks, in case you wondering.
Her second Happy Birthday of the day:
Kyle's sister, Aftin, and her husband and kids were in town for the weekend following Jovi's birthday, so we were able to have a fun family barbecue party and enjoy a beautiful Provo summer afternoon with them. The next three pictures were taken by my brother-in-law, Bill, who caught some cute moments, the first being a classic I will forever be grateful to be in the possession of:
The cousins had so much fun playing together. Minnette and Aurelle have always looked up to their cousin, Aliyah. They always play so cute together.
Our apartment complex has a huge grass field literally right next to our apartment building, which is almost never used, and is encircled by a sidewalk which makes for perfect picnicking and barbecuing while the kids ride bikes, scooters and wiggle cars around in circles.
Sssshhhhhhh.... Sidewalk chalk isn't technically allowed on BYU campus (and we live on campus), but what fun is that?
There are seven kids, age six and under, between our two families, which makes for a fun and active crowd
And a third round of "Happy Birthday" and more candles (on a cake this time!). Don't mind our filthy child... a perfect example of how Jovi often (usually) looks after eating... and this was only watermelon!*
*See third bullet under 2 year stats
2 Year Stats:
Height: 32.75 in (30.34th %)
Weight: 24.07 lbs (16.98th %)
BMI: 15.78 (31.67th %)
•Jovi has recently learned to climb out of her crib, which has brought nap-time logistics with 4 kids to an all-time "interesting" high for me. Morning start earlier.
•Loves to copy her sisters in all they do. She will join in just about any imaginative play even without having a CLUE as to what is going on. Minnette and Aurelle are barking and spinning in circles, pretending to be dancing doggies? So is Jovi. Her closest interpretational version of it, at least!
•We call Jovi our little foodie. Jovi likes to "experience" her food. A two foot radius of meal remains and spilled beverages can usually be found around Jovi following any meal or snack, along with oatmeal in her hair, syrup on her forehead and smoothie covering her clothes. Out of the three girls, she, by far, eats the most (and considering her weight, I have no idea where she puts it!), and will eat most things offered to her. If she sees you put something (anything!) on your plate- she MUST HAVE IT, and will immediately and urgently (and at full volume) let you know that she wants some too! Doesn't even matter what she's eating. She could be eating PB&J and see you pouring salad dressing on your plate. Doesn't matter. She will insist she gets some on her plate too. And in case you are wondering, she will dip her sandwich in it!
•For a span of time, Kyle and I were slightly worried that she might have a hearing problem. This girl is focused. You can say her name fifty times in increasing volume each time, and she won't respond in the slightest. Then we learned that if you say her name in any combination alongside the word "food", she will not only immediately snap her attention in your direction, but will come running!
•Jovi is much less adverse to new people or situations than her big sisters. She is will walk right up to and join in with a group of 10 year old boys all running around screaming and playing just because it looks like fun. Doesn't even seem to notice or care that they are twice her size, three times her age and playing crazy. It's awesome. This little girl is not easily intimidated, which, as the girls are all getting older, is a great blessing because she has been able to influence Minnette and Aurelle at times, to try new things and be more cooperative (with things like, ahem, doctors appointments). Honestly, it has been a bit of a relief to know that it's not something Kyle and I are doing to scare or influence them into being shy, but that they are just being who they are.
•Jovi is a Daddy's girl. She is always asking where Kyle is whenever he is gone, and on days when Kyle is gone and I do something she's not happy about (like help her take a nap, or ask her to get dressed or some other ridiculous request ;) ) she will start crying and asking for Daddy.
•Jovi has the best and most loud, contagious, maniacal laugh ever. You can not hear it and not start laughing yourself. Every single time. It is impossible. While Kyle and I attend Sunday School, Jovi participates in a nursery class. While walking between our Sunday meetings, Kyle and I have often overheard crazed-maniacal laughter emanating from the room where Jovi's class is held- from around a corner and a good 50 feet away, even- and without a doubt we know that it is Jovi. There is no mistaking that cackle of hers.
We headed out on the morning of Jovi's birthday for our traditional birthday date, and she had birthday pictures taken:
Loves putting those fingers in her mouth!
We love you so much, Jovi Povi Hovi! You make us laugh every single day and you bring such a fun and spunky spirit into our home. We are so grateful you are in our family! Happy Birthday, Tupper!
