7

Our sweet girl turned 7 on June 7th. We just so happened to be at the Happiest Place on Earth that day. She, Emily, and Andon had such a great day. They are still talking about it. So in honor of her 7th birthday here are just 7 things that I love about her.

*Her sweet disposition with her brother. I can only pray that this relationship stays the same.

*Her adorable, toothless smile

*The way her face lights up when a favorite song comes on (currently Justin Bieber & Lemonade Mouth).

*Her laugh.

*I love that she loves to read and write stories for us all the time.

*Her love for her family.

*Everything else. She is just the sweetest girl a parent could ask for.

I was and am a lucky mama to have been blessed with such a bright, happy girl. I love you Sierra Cadence!

6

This summer has been a blur so far. Hard to believe Sierra has been out of school for nearly a month. We have been busy, busy, busy.

We started out with Sierra's dance recital. She says she is done with dance, so I volunteered to be backstage with the kids for her last one. Never again. We are so blessed to have a well behaved child. What 6 year old needs a freaking cell phone? It was ridiculous.

Sierra turned 6 and I completely slacked and didn't post a thing for her birthday. Not from lack of love, but we just were busy celebrating that day. The birthday girl requested breakfast out and Shrek Forever After just as a family. So that's what we did. Andon is NOT a good movie kid right now, but we figure out how to get him to sit still. It involved sticky, sticky suckers. But it worked. We had a great day. But it is so hard to believe our little chick is 6 already. She's growing up to fast. She also had an outing with her BFF from school this past week. We went to Build A Bear and Red Robin then back here for a playdate. So she got to celebrate her big day for 3 weeks. Lucky girl!

Mama ran to the store on Saturday evening and was gone a whole 15 minutes. I came back and was greeted at the front door to a missing top tooth. It seems she and Gunner had a little facial contact and out popped her tooth. She was pretty upset for a bit but she dug that she woke up to money from the tooth fairy. I was not prepared for this at all. Her teeth are not really that loose, so now I have to adjust to a toothless smile. I have to admit she's pretty darn cute!

Look for another post very soon. I can finally talk about our big news!

Congrats Grad!

Sierra "graduated" from kindergarten yesterday. They wore caps and got "diplomas." Even walked in during Pomp and Circumstance. Mama cried of course. It's been a busy, fast, lots of sick days filled year. She missed a lot of school and I can only hope her immune system is better in 1st grade. She even missed 2 days this week. We did manage to make it back Wednesday for their water day. Andon even got in on the fun.

Sierra is in the white hat.

We had early birthday treats for Sierra when we were all done in the water. Andon was more than happy to be one of the big kids.

First day of Kindergarten

Last day of Kindergarten

She leaves Kindergarten a little taller, with a little more confidence, lots of blisters from the monkey bars, and a great foundation for 1st grade and beyond. We are so proud of our chick!

Turned a corner

Maybe. I think.

Sierra has been tear free at drop off this week. That's not to say she isn't still pouty. But she is making more friends and that is a great thing. Not only does it make her more comfortable in the mornings, but she is a happier chick in the afternoons. That makes for a happier mama too!

Kindergarten

Today was Sierra's first day of Kindergarten. I don't know where the past five years have gone, today snuck up on us fast! She was a little nervous & scared (so were mom & dad). When we got to school she was dragging her feet until we saw her teacher. Mrs. Johnson told her where to put her bag then introduced her to a new friend named Summer. They headed off to play, after a quick hug from us, until the bell rang. It was a little hard, but also made me smile, watching her walk into the building. Poor Mark had a really hard time walking back to the car. He's super protective of the girl and worries about her being out of our sight. I was okay until I saw her empty car seat, but I got through the tears pretty quickly. We counted down the hours until it was time to go pick her up. Waited in the heat and got big smiles seeing her come out of the building.

She said, "I really liked school." "We read the Kissing Hand (which we had coincidentally bought and read yesterday on a recommend from my friend Michelle) and went on an adventure following Chester's paw prints and he left us hershey bars." She doesn't remember who she sat by in class or lunch. Or what they did in music class or on the playground, but she liked it. Made my day! I'm a little sad she's growing up so fast, but I really want her to like school and I'd say we are off to a great start!

The lunchbox

Her backpack (red of course!)

Off we go!

After school, all smiles

All the kindergartners had Chester mask's on their heads

Early dinner and ice cream at DQ

(We are stealing this little tradition from a friend. Thanks Angie!)

Swimming

Sierra completed her swimming lessons for the summer today. She has been going twice a week since the beginning of June. I am extremely proud to say that she is water safe. She has gone from being clingy and timid to saying let go of me to Miss Shawna, her instructor. She swam across the pool for the first time on her own 2 weeks ago. She may never love it enough to compete, but at least I know she will have some fun summers ahead of her in the pool.

Next up we have Andon's 1st birthday, meet the teacher night, and the 1st day of Kindergarten. Mama's going on an emotional roller coaster for the next couple of weeks.

5 year check up

Sierra had her 5 year well check today. She was very happy no vaccinations were involved because we did 4 last year. She is 35.6 pounds and 42 inches tall. Right in the 50th percantile. She passed her vision and hearing screening too. The doctor would like her to sleep more, but there is only so much we can do to make her sleep more. All in all a healthy, happy 5 year old ready for Kindergarten.

A Girl and her cat

Bella has had a bond with Sierra since she was in my belly. Bella constantly laid on my stomach when I was pregnant. Through all of Sierras kicks and flips Bella remained. The cat loves this girl. She will let Sierra pick her up and carry her where ever Sierra wants to go. She runs down the hall in the morning when she hears Sierras door open so that she can be petted. Clearly the adoration is mutual.

5 years old

It's so hard to believe you are 5 today. For the past five years you have filled our lives with smiles, giggles, and joy. You make me smile everytime I hear you repeat everything you say, see you reading to your babies, or hug & kiss your brother. Happy Birthday little chick!

Love you with all your heart,
mama, daddy and Andon

Superstar

Sierra has been taking a tap/ballet/tumbling class since the beginning of January. Saturday she had her recital. It was to dark in the auditorium to take pictures while they were on stage. But I did manage to make her stand still beforehand so I could snag one in all her pink and purple glory.

They did "Mickey Mouse's Birthday" in tap shoes first. Then they changed into ballet shoes and did "I Just Can't Wait to be King." It was an all Disney themed show. It was great. There were no tears on her part just lots of shaking of her hips. She had a great time. Daddy and Mama were super proud and both of us cried. Way to go Sierra!

That can't be comfortable

I'm a little behind. Mark and Sierra have been having "sleepovers" in the family room. These pictures are from last weekends sleepover. Mark stayed up to play a game while Sierra went to sleep. He looked up after he turned the game off and found this:

See the cat on the red blanket, even Bella was turned around and sound asleep.

I hope you can see the drool.

Sierra had no recollection of this which just proves she really does sleep soundly once she finally goes to sleep.