May milestones

Lucy had a kindergarten celebration that we were invited to come watch on May 17. She and her classmates performed several songs for their fans in Memorial Hall. GrandJan and Grandpa were even able to come! Lucy did so well and looked adorable up there...but afterward, she wasn't too interested in mingling with her fan club. We did manage to snap a few decent pics, though.

My birthday was May 22 but we still had so much cake leftover from Max's party the night before, we decided not to make another one...the kids just stuck a bunch of candles in the Mickey remains:

We also went out to dinner that night and then for a nice scooter ride:

Hard to believe but the next day was Lucy's last day of kindergarten! She had a great year and loves her school and adored her teacher. She says she's nervous about 1st grade but I think she's actually excited about wearing a uniform.

At the beginning of the school year, she had plans to become a veterinarian...but 8 months later she had her sights set on a career as a Pop Star! 

She seemed pretty proud to earn this Perfect Attendance ribbon from school. I remember getting one every year in elementary & middle school, too - probably most/all years of high school too. I was surprised when she said there were only 2 kindergartners to get one.

Her soccer season also came to an end. She had a couple of rain-outs but had her final game on May 24 (the first day of Summer Break). It had rained downtown all afternoon but Campbell County was dry at game time. They played about half of a game before the skies opened up and the game was called. She and her teammates huddled under Coach Amy's open hatch and collected their trophies...our cute little soccer star couldn't have been any happier - until we suggested a trip to DQ to celebrate the season! Thanks to everyone who came to see for themselves that she actually played soccer this season!

Max continues to love t-ball. He's not very good at fielding the ball - he just kind of holds his gloved-hand out and waits for the ball to land in it. When it doesn't, he just stands there and watches it roll away. He's still pretty young, though - if not the youngest on the team, he's gotta be the next youngest - and he sure looks forward to the games and talks about it a lot!

Backyard fun...sometimes these two play together so nicely! She likes to be the boss and he likes to just do his own thing...he's oblivious to her half the time but when he lets her boss him around or tries to do what she does (like lay out a towel in the front yard to sunbathe!), it's pretty funny and cute!

Wrapping up the May posts with a few final pics:

Love my girl!

Maxy is such a good shopping partner! I had to reward him for being such a sweetie on a recent mall trip with a ride on the carousel. I think Daddy & Lucy were at gymnastics but when she saw these pics on my phone at some point after, she was not too pleased with me...

Pretty hair!

Bouncing fools! Two silly redheads - Max & Alex - at A's graduation party

Last summer, Lucy started getting very confident in her lacking swimming abilities. I was afraid she was getting too far ahead of herself so I signed her up for swim lessons at Town & Country for a few weeks before our beach vacation. She did great (though still not ready to swim on her own) and she loved it!

Her first piece of school uniform wear!

Maxy is 3!

Last night as a 2-year-old!

Also one of his last nights with his "B."

We told him after his Mickey party, he'd be all done with the pacifier but he actually gave it up one night early - he & Lucy stayed with GranJan & Grandpa the night before his party while Dave and I went to get rained on at the Dierks concert with Jason & Jessica.

Lucy told GranJan he doesn't use one anymore now that he's 3 and he didn't ask for it so we knew breaking him of it would be a breeze!

Such a cute little baker!

He had school on his actual birthday - Tuesday, May 16. He got to bring a treat in for his friends and I asked him what he wanted to take - before I could give him some suggestions, he said, "Me want take cotton candy!" I thought it was a funny enough suggestion that I went with it and bought individual cotton candy tubs for him to take to school. Dave took him in that day and said the teacher told him it was a great idea (he was afraid they were going to hate us!).

He liked the birthday banner and balloons waiting for him!

After school, we decorated the cake we made and then went to cheer Lucy on in her soccer game. After the game, we headed home to sing to our guy and give him a couple of gifts.

Big 3 year-old cut and served his cake!

The next day, he and I had our birthday date. When he turned 1, we went to Totter's Otterville. When he turned 2, we went to the Cincinnati Museum Center. For his 3rd birthday date, we went to Recreations Outlet and he loved it!
Before that, though, we went to Busken for a birthday treat and to the library to get his little gift from them (a paint set).

Max loves climbing and running. He loves jumping, hanging, swinging...he's a very brave and adventurous boy. He had so much fun on the playground equipment. He surprised me at one point when he picked up a scooter and just took off - I know it's not exactly a complicated activity but I'd never seen him ride one before and he did it expertly. 

 

Such a big guy - so independent! His school - Walnut Hills Academy - really helped us out with potty training. He was hit or miss at home and I know we weren't giving it enough focus but they had him start with Pull-Ups at school and quickly had him switch to real underpants. They even had him napping in underpants with no accidents! We're still working on going #2 on the potty but he's pretty much good to go on #1 - he loves standing up to pee "like Daddy!"

This bravery and skill level is something we'd never have seen from Lucy at this age - heck, sometimes she won't even do stuff he'll do now at 3 years older! A few weeks after his birthday, she and Dave had a Daddy/daughter date at Recreations Outlet and she would not climb to the top of this structure to go down the blue tube slide...something Max did several times on his outing.

He loves soft pretzels!

We played all afternoon and even ate lunch there but then headed home for a nap. Afterward, he had fun playing in the backyard with his water table. That night we took Lucy to gymnastics and stopped at WalMart on the way home where he found a Chase pup from Paw Patrol who apparently looked very huggable! He asked, "Me take this home?" but I said no, and maybe he could ask for one for his birthday...

Finally, the weekend arrived and it was time to celebrate with family - Mickey style! He used to be completely one-track-mind obsessed with Mickey but has since broadened his horizons to other friends, namely the Paw Patrol. But we stuck with his first love for his party theme. 

I got a bunch of decorations from a friend and her son - leftover from his party which was also Mickey-themed and they worked perfectly to transform the bottom floor of Lucy's kindergarten building into a mouskaparty!

Max had just woken up from his nap before heading over to the party so he wasn't very charismatic at the beginning of the party...I got his party shirt online and loved it!

He was very pleased with the Mickey cake GranJan made for him! 

Mission Impossible: Getting a good pic of the four fools

I told a couple of people about the big Chase he'd seen and loved at WalMart but they couldn't find him and went with other fun gift ideas. Ironically, I did not tell Aunt Terri & Uncle John and they were the big birthday winners in picking this out on their own and getting Maxy his favorite gift...it was time for hugs and snuggles as soon as he was free from his wrappings!

After seeing how well he rode one at Recreations Outlet, I was extra glad I'd picked this scooter up for him on clearance at Target months earlier and saved as a birthday gift...he loved scooting around his party!

Happy 3rd birthday, baby guy!!!

Three year old stats:

37.8 inches tall - 57%

38 pounds, 8 ounces - 95%