First Tap Recital

Last fall we started Mia in a ballet/tap combo class.  If you know Mia, you know that it was inevitable that she would be in some kind of dance class.  She's learned so much this year from her dance teacher.  Tonight was her very first tap recital.  The girls in her class were dressed as little wooden soldiers.  She looked so beautiful!  Wesley's mom came down to go to her recital.  Unfortunately, Quinn was throwing up, so we couldn't take him.  Nana sweetly offered to stay home with him so that Wes and I could go.  There was never even a hint of stage fright from Mia despite the completely packed auditorium.  Our girl just went out there and did her thing!  She did an amazing job, and I could tell that she enjoyed performing for the audience.  Each class just danced to one song. That meant her part of the performance only lasted a couple of minutes, but it was so worth months of taking her to dance classes to see her enjoy herself so much.  We ordered a DVD of the performance so that Nana could see it.  Next up is summer dance class!

Dress Rehearsal

Mia had the dress rehearsal for her tap recital tonight.  I'm going to have to work on my bun skills.  Mia's hair looked a little crazy, but it will work.  I wish I had brought a camera instead of my phone.  The stage lights made all of my pictures look weird.  She was so adorable!  She was really concentrating on getting the steps right.  She's going to do great!

This was our first visit to the SMU campus.  It's gorgeous!

Roaring Quinn

Quinn's impression of a lion.  :)

Zoo Trip

We went to the Dallas Zoo with Nana today.  The kids always love going there.  I don't think Quinn appreciated having to stay in his stroller, but he liked looking at the animals.  Mia just wanted to eat ice cream while we were there.  She had ice cream three times (first her own, then some of mine, then some of Nana's).  I also took their picture by a new Dallas Zoo sign.  Hopefully, it will be there for many years so that we can take more pictures by it as they grow.  The lions always seem to be far away in their exhibit when we go by.  This time, however, they were lying very close to where we were.  I couldn't get over the size of their paws.  They were huge!  Quinn did his most ferocious impression of a lion.  It was adorable.

Bikes, Scooters, and Rootbeer Floats

Each year, Mia's school promotes riding bikes or scooters to school for a week.  They encourage living green and getting exercise.  If we lived closer to the school and I had the time to do so, I would love to walk Mia to school.  However, we just try to get out the door on time most mornings as I expect other families do.  During this particular week, though, they reward the kids for riding to school by giving them a coupon for a free root beer float from a neighborhood restaurant on Friday.  My friend, Julie, was sweet enough to offer to walk Mia, Pearson, and Riley to school this week from her house.  Mia opted to ride her scooter because she can go faster on it than her bike.  Julie took the three kids to get their root beer floats this afternoon.  Mia asked if she could ride her scooter to school every day.  She loved it!

Fairy Dress Up

I took Mia to do a photo shoot earlier this week.  It was for a fundraiser a photography business does each year.  By giving a donation, Mia had her hair and makeup done, got to pick out a fairy costume to wear, and posed for pictures.  She loves to dress up and "be fashionable" as she likes to say.  She loved every second of the process of getting ready as well as the pictures themselves.  I took a few pictures of her coming out of the dressing room before the photo shoot.  They had a little staging area for parents to snap a few photos.  We'll have to wait several weeks before we get the finished professional photos, but you can tell that she had fun!  For now, I just have my phone pictures.

Wordless Wednesday: Sibling Love

Mother's Day Weekend

We played outside a lot this weekend.  Mia and Quinn love to play with chalk, so our porch and sidewalk are all decorated now.  We got out the bubbles, too. On Sunday morning, Mia woke me up by bringing in her princess tray with a Mother's Day breakfast in bed.  She did this all by herself, and it just melted my heart.  She is such a precious girl.  She even added flowers!  Being a mommy has been the greatest joy of my life.  I love taking care of my babies.  I tend to be susceptible to mommy guilt way more than I should.  I feel guilty about working full time instead of being home with them, but I try to remind myself that it's a sacrifice I make to help provide for them.  I love being Mommy to these two!  Also, I'm excited about my Mother's Day gift from my sweet husband.  My new porch swing is on the way!  I've wanted one for years, and I can't wait for it to find a permanent place on our porch.

Mom's Day Festivities

Yesterday was the Mommy and Me Tea Party at Quinn's daycare to celebrate Mother's Day.  I love that they do it every year.  It was something I enjoyed with Mia when she was little, too.  They do it first thing in the morning, so Q was still a bit sleepy-eyed.  Then, today was the Mother's Day breakfast at Mia's school.  She was so excited for me to stay for breakfast instead of just dropping her off this morning.  I'm grateful to all of the people at both of the kids' schools who go out of their way to make Mother's Day a real celebration. 

Music and Street Tacos

After t-ball this morning, Mia and I dropped Quinn off with a babysitter and headed downtown.  My cousin Shayna's high school band was playing in a concert competition at The Majestic, so Mia and I went to hear them.  The whole thing was being recorded, and I had to explain to Mia to be very quiet.  That's why we didn't bring little Q with us.  They played great, and we got to visit with Shayna for a few minutes afterward.  Then, they all left for Six Flags, so Mia and I walked around the corner to the Main Street Garden.  We ate street tacos, and Mia played in the park's water feature while I took pictures.

At the Ol' Ballgame

Mia has been enjoying t-ball.  She's beginning to understand the basics of the game.  I think she enjoys it most of all because of her friends that she gets to play with on the team.  It's challenging to watch the game at times because Quinn is constantly wandering around.  I have to watch him pretty close.  Between ballet/tap class and t-ball practices and games, we're busy right now.  It seems that most nights we have something going on.  When Quinn gets a little older and both of them are in activities, scheduling everything will be interesting.  I'm so glad I have a great husband who helps me tag team all of it!  He's the best!

It's so sweet that Mia never excludes Quinn when she's with her friends.

 Based on what she's doing with her hands, I know exactly what she's saying here.  She loves to introduce her little brother to everyone and say, "Isn't he so cute?"

Why yes, yes he is.

 Mia at the plate...

 ...and a hit!

Little brother loves the dugout.

 High-fivin' Coach Diego at home plate