I've never laughed harder...

On Saturday Lily had her first experience with a gymnastics invitational.

Their coaches told them that if they did really good, they would get a medal.

And honestly, the medal ceremony was the best part of the whole thing.

This first picture is Lily, on the podium with her first medal.

She was only expecting one.

Lily ended up placing in each event (bars, beam, floor and vault),

and so the progression of photos from the ceremony is a riot.

Now she's won two. You can tell she's pretty pumped about them.

And well, it just kept going.

Four medals!

Spectators began to chuckle at her reaction each time.

I don't know where she gets it (not from me!)

but she's not shy in front of a crowd.

Somewhere along the way, it went to her head....

quite literally went to her head.

She began to throw her face into the sky when it was time for the salute.

I was dying.

And so was David, my parents and my sister Anna.

We were cry/laughing, wiping tears from our eyes,

it was so hilarious to see her like that.

And then, she ended up with the coveted all around trophy.

She won 1st place all around in her division.

There was more jumping and head flinging.

She's looking a little tired (it was a 4 hour event!),

but pleased.

Oh Lily.

She is a ball of energy and confidence.

With a healthy dose of independence (help me).

Perhaps the next lesson...humility.

Spring Soccer...and too many pictures from an adoring mama

(A scoring kick!)

I didn't know the end of kindergarten would be just as emotional as the beginning.

But here we are, nonetheless.

Last week I watched Zach in his kindergarten graduation ceremony.

He had a speaking part...and was so handsome and composed,

so sure of himself in front of all those people.

There are a million things I want to say about him.

I love that kind, blonde-haired boy.

These photos are from the last soccer game of the season.

It all came together for him on this specific day.

Zach hadn't scored a goal all season, but wanted to so badly.

Something clicked, he was aggressive.

He ended up scoring twice.

For me, it was the effort and progress that had me shouting enthusiastically.

(ok, I was screaming and jumping up and down)

I suppose that sums up this whole year.

That might be the best part of parenthood,

cheering for effort and progress.

Lily was right all along

We are having a girl!

Lily came with us to the ultrasound appointment

...and gasped out loud when they announced "girl".

It really was sweet.

Having a sister is such a gift.

I have to admit, I am really excited as well, I was hoping girl too.

Besides, we're short on female emotion in this house....

(what happened when I asked if I could take one more picture because my exposure was off:)

Mother's Day

Yes indeed, I felt "predee" and special all day long.

Sure do love this holiday.

My children drew sweet cards, and made certain to hug me once an hour.

The men in my life (husband, dad and brothers) went the extra mile too.

We ate quiche, pastries, fruit, and cheesecake. oy!

I gave my mother some little pretties to pamper herself,

and finished off the day by reading Sheri Dew, "Are We Not All Mothers?".

She gave this address when I was in college.

I remember walking to the Marriot Center with my roommates,

and listening to this amazing message.

She said,

"Motherhood is more than bearing children...It is the essence of who we are as women."

I feel that deeply.

But speaking of bearing children, one more day until we find out if painter #4 is a boy or girl!!

(and in case you think my motherhood experience is all peonies and cheesecake, you might enjoy the fact that 30 minutes ago I changed a leaky diaper full of unspeakable grossness

...that got on me, carpet and clothes...

belonging to a screaming two year old. I'm taking it all in stride.)

Take Your Child to Work Day

Zach could hardly contain his excitement to be going to work with his dad.

And when he finally climbed up into the truck and buckled himself in that morning,

he turned to his father and said,

"Dad, if we are working really hard, and maybe we get tired or thirsty...

do you think we could stop by Quick Trip and get a donut and a soda?"

Amazing how fast they get the hang of things.

An Easter Celebration...personally.

A 6:40 am Easter Bunny wake up call

Zach started right in on his new legos,

Roman on his new train,

and Lily ignored her gifts for a while and started right in on the candy.

After church we had an Easter Dinner and egg hunt where Zachary ditched his church clothes for some of Auntie Anna's clothes.

(he will kill me in about 8 years for posting this picture)

We gave Anna a hard time because her shorts were even short on a 6 year old...haha.

Roman was a patient egg gatherer,

And Lily (per usual) wins the prize for most enthusiastic egg finder!

It was a great weekend.

I love preparing for all the festivities.

Shopping for Easter basket goodies and new Easter clothes,

making casseroles and pies for Easter Dinner, it's fun.

And always worth the effort it takes.

Despite all the time spent in preparations,

two separate experiences the week prior really helped me feel ready for an Easter celebration.

The first one happened while waiting in a long line for the restroom.

Two ladies behind me struck up a conversation about looking forward to their respective Easter services.

One woman explained that her favorite part from last year was when her preacher,

at a pivotal moment during his speech,

began to pour blood over all of the white lilies.

That was all I heard, because it was my turn for the bathroom.

Second, David came home one day and told me he had seen quite a sight on the highway.

While driving down Hwy 152 on Friday, there was a man walking down the shoulder of the road

carrying a huge wooden cross (with a wheel on the back end...haha).

Wow. Can you imagine? (does this stuff only happen in Missouri?:)

Without getting too personal, I will say this...

I couldn't stop thinking about how drastically different those sorts of

visual stunts are from my own experiences with Easter.

I really do respect their desire to worship how they see fit,

and in fact, seeing how obviously moved some people are with that part of the story

(the blood, the cross, the death)

it helped me formulate more clearly what part of Easter is really personal to me.

Namely, the reality of an empty tomb and the resurrection.

Birthday Boy

Last weekend was Roman's birthday!

We invited the cousins over to celebrate...and other than Lily, that means all boys.

Roman's favorite things are trains and balloons.

He loves to sit with David's phone and watch youtube videos of train cars.

Not cartoon trains, but real trains that people (who?) film and post to the internet. haha.

So when he woke from his nap, and saw all those train cupcakes,

and the gigantic #2 balloon, a huuuuge smile spread across his face.

Two is such a great birthday age, he has attended enough parties to really get it.

Roman sat in his chair so proudly when we prepared to sing happy birthday.

I couldn't help but snap a thousand pictures because to me, his faces were priceless.

Roman started out all business watching Dave light the candles,

but as soon as everyone began singing to him, he couldn't stop smiling.

Then he got real serious again and no one had to tell him to blow out his candles.

He knew the drill.

The last two pictures are great.

Lily made that face each time she peeked in at one of Roman's gifts.

Both Zachary and Lily did a great job of hyping up the birthday traditions.

The last photo shows Roman's fist pump reaction to a new scooter. :)

He's always trying to ride Zachary's razor, and finally, Roman got his own 3-wheeled version.

Roman is one coordinated little dude zooming all over the sidewalks.

It's hard to believe my sweet little Ro-baby is two.

Happy Happy Birthday.