Happy Birthday Meg! Another "M" Child Turns 24!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Megan! She is the second of the "M" children....what's an "M" child you ask? Well, let me tell ya! My family named Melissa (my sis) and Meg the "M" children because when they were younger they both had the exact same personality traits...these became known as M children traits. So because it's Meg's birthday I thought I'd do a tribute to the M children! To be an M child you must meet the following criteria:

1. Your name must begin with the letter M, of course.

2. They must get everything you want down to the last detail! If they don't get what they want the first time, they can cry, scream, and manipulate to win.

3. If #2 is not fulfilled the world is a dark and scary place for those surrounding the M child.

4 . The world actually orbits around each of the M children simultaneously. (This is a scientific phenomenon. No one knows how this works)

5. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE CRITERIA!! They are the only people in the world that have an entire birthday MONTH, not just day. The M children expect extra presents, favors, lunch dates, etc.. this entire month! So BEWARE of the M children during their month!

6. Attitude, Attitude, Attitude.

7. Their favorite words are MINE, ME, and BIRTHDAY PRESENT...so it was no surprise when I checked my email this morning and read "hey it's my birthday, aren't you going to write about me on your blog?" Yes, Meg, here ya go! LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

When naming my children I was warned several times never to name them starting with an "M" in fear that this curse would be continued.....unfortunately I'm not that bright and named both my children M names. Let's all pray for them!

Learning to Feed Herself

So Maddie is now to the point where she won't let anyone feed her. I made her oatmeal for breakfast, and had no choice but to watch her feed herself! She was doing real well, and learned that it was much more efficient to pick up handfuls and put it in her mouth than to actually use a spoon. The downside to that is that she has an older sister that thought it'd be so funny to make her pat herself on the head during breakfast! Kenzie would pat her head, and Maddie would copy Kenzie (oatmeal flying everywhere!)...they repeated this process for about ten minutes laughing their heads off. I just sat there waiting for my cleaning to begin! I sometimes feel like whenever I make food, only about 1/3 of it gets to their mouths, the other 2/3 goes on the counters, floors, tables, chairs, and everywhere on their bodies except in their mouth where it should go!

After our breakfast, I had to wash her off in the sink and throw her in the bath, but all day I felt like I was always stepping on tiny bits of oatmeal all over the floor....it drove me crazy! Needless to say, we have switched to Rice Chex...a little easier to clean up!

Kenzie's Preschool Graduation!

Today Kenzie graduated from preschool! She has had a good year, and now knows how to spell her name, and write most of her letters! She really had no idea what "graduation" meant, but her teacher told her that there would be cake there and that's all she needed to know! She has been talking about eating graduation cake for days now! My mom and Jen came with me to watch her walk and get her diploma, it was really cute! She was also really excited to wear a "graduation hat".

Kenzie on graduation day (cute little girl!)

Singin songs for the crowd

Why do all my children insist upon eating cake like dogs? (see maddie below)

Kenz and mom

Family Photo

I don't know why but this is my favorite picture of our family.

Kenzie's Ballet Recital

Kenz had her first Ballet recital last month! She has been practicing since January for this, and did so well! My Parents and Dave's Grandparents came to watch the show - those girls had the audience cracking up! They did all these cute little moves like "hallelujah arms" and the Twist. It was really cute to watch. Maddie sat on my moms lap and danced the entire time. After the recital, my Dad said to her that she was the best dancer out there, and she said "I know!" At least we don't have to worry about her self-esteem!

THE ONLY ONE WITH HER ARMS IN THE AIR!

Happy 1st Birthday, Maddie!

Ok, so her first birthday was a month ago, but I figured if I'm going to do this, I might as well put her birthday on! We had so many people over to celebrate her first birthday (my grandpa even flew out from SLC to be there!), and had lots of fun! We had a pinata (Kenzie's idea, of course) and ate dinner. Maddie dove right into her cake with no problems, and managed to get it everywhere! She opened a ton of presents (well, Kenzie helped with all of them) and I feel like she was sufficiently spoiled by both my family and Dave's.

EATING HER CAKE LIKE A DOG

ALL DONE!!

Why am I doing this?????

Ok, so my good friend, Katie is moving to Texas, and wants all her friends to create a blog so she can keep in touch. I have since found out that I'm pretty much the only one that doesn't have one (Gina, you sneaky girl!). So I have been talked into it! I don't know if I'm any good at this, but I realize that it would be a good way to remember all the hilarious (and not so hilarious) things my kids do, so here we go!

By the way, I finally got up the nerve to tell Kenzie that Ashely (Katie's daughter) is moving to Texas, and guess what response I get? "That's ok, I'll just move to Texas with her!" Nice, huh? She didn't even hesitate one second on that! Love you too, Kenz!

Yesterday I set up one last playdate with them, and they had tons of fun! We are so sad to see them go.....and they better move back fast!