Look Who’s Seven!!

 

Our sweet girl is growing up so fast.  She has made so many strides towards being an independent, confident and happy girl.  She is loved by her family, adored by her friends , and appreciated by her teachers.  I am so pleased with her progress in school.  She is a great reader and works hard every night to finish her homework.  Zana is an amazing speller.  She can spells most simple words correctly and gets 100% on all her tests without ever having to study.  She just finished taking a pre-piano music class and loved it.  She has a wonderful ear for music so I think she will be ready to start lessons soon.  Susanna has always been a stylish girl and lately her fashion sense has come into full bloom. It has been lots of fun shopping with her at our local second hand kids store for clothes that match her personality. JJ’s hand- me- downs are a little blue for her.  I don’t mind spending money on clothes for her because she takes such good care of them.  She folds them so they fit perfectly in her drawers and every night she lays out the outfit she wants to wear the next day.  My heart just melts every time she comes and gives me a hug or joins me in singing good night songs.  Happy Birthday! 

For her family birthday adventure we spent Saturday afternoon at Young’s Dairy Farm.  They milk their own jersey cows and make homemade ice cream and cheese. They have turned their farm into quite the tourist spot and we enjoyed every bit of the fun.

She wanted to open one present at the farm and I knew the gift from Grandma and Papa was the perfect one to make her dreams of a LaLa Loopsy birthday come true. 

 

On her Birthday we celebrated with our Ohio Framily.  She opened lots of fun presents and cards from family near and far.  The theme of La La Loopsy toys continued and she was thrilled. 

I made her a cupcake cake in the spitting image of her new favorite La La Loopsy dol Harmony.  She loved it and I was pleased at how cute it turned out. 

Spring in Ohio

One thing we really missed while living in TX was the changing of the seasons.  I especially love spring. In anticipation of a beautiful spring we planted bulbs in our flower bed last Fall. Once the snow melted we began waiting eagerly for the new blooms to to open.  The weather warmed up overnight and when the girls left for school one morning they were greeted by beautiful daffodils. Zana was dressed in her new spring outfit we found at the second hand store.  She looked so springy I had to snap a shot of her too.

 

The joy of seeing the fruits of our labors inspired us to do more gardening.  We have always been hesitant to garden in a temporary place but since we should be here for at least two more summers we decided it was worth it.  Burke made us a garden box and we planted it with a few of our favorite vegetables.  Two tomato plants, a cucumber, green pepper, lettuce, spinach, zucchini and two pumpkin plants.  We plan on adding another box along the fence to grow some beans and strawberries.  The girls had a great time going to the nursery to pick out the plants and help plant them in the garden.

 

Planting our garden went right along with our family night theme this month of service.  As we planted we talked about self reliance and the command from our Latter Day Prophets to plant a garden.   Over the summer our income is going to be cut and we will be on a tight budget.  Our garden will help us cut our grocery budget and we can share the harvest with our neighbors and other families effected by the furlough.  The girls really got in the spirit and gained an understanding of why we work so hard to be self reliant.    

10 Months Old

The Bellie is growing up!! Our little girl has learned some new tricks like clapping, opening cupboards, copying sounds like dada and baba,  blowing raspberries. . . lots of raspberries, and walking with her stroller.  She also has 4 teeth and more are coming.  She continues to be the happiest baby I have ever met.  She is content to crawl and play but just as happy chilling in the car seat for hours while we run errands.  She is fun to chase and tickle but she still lets you snuggle her and rock her to sleep.  I love how she smiles and laughs for everyone who says hello.  She is living up to her name. She is our “shinning light”.   

 

You know how babies love to pull all the wipes out of the wipe tub and make a huge mess!  I saw a cute idea to make a toy version.  I used modge-podged the tub with cute paper and used up a lot of scrap fabric for the “wipes”.  She loves her new toy.

 

Spring Break

We had a few days of sun and warmer temperatures over spring break so we spent them exploring Dayton’s network of Metro Parks. These beautiful parks had lots to offer. . .

A Willow Branch Maze,

a Botanical Garden,

Woodland Trails,

a Kids Discovery Garden,

a Historic Farm,

and even an Indoor Playhouse.

 

We were thrilled to find such wonderful places to explore right in our own backyard!