Last Day of Mini-4s

Trevor's last day of mini-4s at La Casa was on Friday.  He says he's a little sad that he won't have school this summer and he'll miss his friends and teachers but he his excited about all of our upcoming trips! 

And to think this picture was taken just 9 months prior! 

His lead teacher Mrs. Mac needed to head down to Tuscon for her son's graduation so we said our goodbyes at the beginning of class instead of the end.  Before the Mommies and Daddies left, we all sang the good morning song!

A little before the normal pick-up time we all got to enjoy an end of the year ice cream social!  So much fun!

Trevor's class!

And before we knew it it was time for the good-bye song.  

We will miss our school routine but we are looking forward to a summer of fun and togetherness!  The kids have some summer activities lined up along with some trips and before we know it, Trevor will be back at La Casa in the 5s class.  We are kinda thankful that his birthday is in November so we didn't have to make a choice about sending him to Kindergarten this upcoming year.  We get one more year at home and in preschool with our little buddy!

Ashley's 18 Month Well Visit

Ashley had her 18 month appointment today and she did great!  Trevor was once again disappointed that he wasn't getting a shot today (seriously - who knows a 4 year old that begs the doctor for a shot??) and Ashley cried more about getting her weight taken than the shot!  LOL  Afterward she kept checking out her two bandaids like 'Hey look where they poked me.  Are you seeing these?'

Her stats:
Height - 32.5" (75th percentile)
Weight - 22.14 lbs (26th percentile!!!!!!!)
Head Circumference: 49cm (97th percentile)

So the greatest news is that she gained 2.5lbs in 3 months!  The doctor would have expected a pound and a half so Ashley is doing awesome gaining weight putting on an additional pound!  Yay!  No more 9th percentile!!  It's probably all of that oil and peanut butter that Mommy loads her up with to make up for the fat that she isn't getting from dairy.  The doctor isn't concerned about her not drinking dairy because she more than makes up the fat from meat, oils and other sources.  She does have a coconut milk pouch or yogurt every day so she is getting some calcium from that as well as from greens that Mommy sneaks in her smoothies.  And she will have cheese on pizza or other things but she just toots away after eating any real dairy so he said there is a fine balance of not giving her too much dairy because she is clearly intolerant to it and can lead to health issues later in life.  So Mommy will continue to play food detective for her little baby and all will be fine. 

Dr. Siegel noticed that she has a very very small umbilical hernia that will most likely close on its own because it is so small but if not it's something that we may have to operate on when she is four.  Her fontanelle (soft spot) is still a little open but he isn't concerned about that because they usually are fully closed by two.  That combined with her head size always being large, there is nothing to worry about.  If her head size was small at birth and grew larger then we might have to explore further but our kids are just born with big brains :)  She got her first fluoride treatment on her teeth and she loved that.  She'll be ready to go to the dentist in 6 months to a year, no problem.  All in all a great visit.  Fortunate to be blessed with two happy and healthy kids!!

Dentist time for Trevor

Trevor was SO excited to go to the Dentist.  Well who can blame him when your dentist office is a space shuttle control tower thing!  Even Ashley thought it was neato!

He rocked his appointment! 

 Ashley got practice brushing teeth too!

So glad (knock on wood) that our kids don't mind going to the dentist or doctor!  We had to wait quite a bit to get in because another child protested seeing the dentist and threw quite a fit.  So far so good though with ours....we'll see how Ashley does with her 18 month appointment later this week!

Great Grandma Hillins is now in Heaven

Great Grandma Hillins had been non-responsive and in comfort care since suffering a stroke Friday morning.  Grandma Pauline and Papa John got there Saturday to see her and Daddy got there Monday morning.  So glad they got there...Great Grandma Hillins passed on in her sleep at 1:25 Tuesday morning.  She was 105 and lived a very full life.  We are all blessed to have her in our lives and she will be missed.  We wish more than anything that she could have met Ashley but she is now her special angel watching over us all.  We love and miss you Great Grandma Hillins!

Here is a poem that Brian wrote upon waking on Tuesday morning and hearing the news.

My parting words to grandma – by me

I am glad I got to see grandma one last time and say my goodbye

It seems like life is too short the time seems to just fly by

I learned so much from grandma, mother, granny

You best behave, be appreciative or she’ll hit you on your fanny

She taught us hard work, don’t complain, and take care of the ones we love

Eat well, say your prayers, and give thanks to God above

I am thankful of the time I had with granny and all my parents grand

I wish I had even more to thank, love, and kiss before God’s great plan

As I look ahead and think of things I want to do differently to remember

I think first about my wife and kids and every Hillins’ family member

I will strive to live a life like Grandma and do everything that she would have wanted

You bet I am afraid that if I don’t she will let me know and forever will I be haunted

There are so many ways I will remember her and the great memories we shared

Her choc chip cookies, her apple pie, her limericks and all the stories she passed on with care  

I will miss seeing her, hearing her and but will think of her a lot

And thank her for the life she led, for without her and who she was we would be not

So to a special woman we toast her great life and raise our glasses tall

And drink a special drink she would have wanted – one last high ball

Princess Ashley

Princess Ashley is still figuring out the tiara thing!  Cutie!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day weekend started Friday night for Sara with a girls night out.  One of her friends (Connor and Kennedy's Mom Sharon) asked her if she'd be interested in going to Thunder Down Under with a group of her friends.  Why not?  Sara had never been to such a show and who doesn't need a fun night out?  So she went....

 ...and laughed the whole way through.  It really was funny!  Here's the group...Sharon is on the left.

On Saturday we hung out as a family and after a park pizza party with some friends we came home, gave the kids baths and had our first sunset watch from our front balcony.  We all thought that was really fun!

On Sunday we went to 8:30 mass and afterward Trevor gallivanted us around the church grounds taking pictures.  Yes, Trevor!  'Let's take a picture over there' 'okay, now over here' .... we've trained him well!

Ashley was done after a few...well, based on the photos she was never really into it so Mommy got one with just her son!

When we got home we tried to take another pic with fussy pants but the light in the house wasn't so good.

So we went outside!

And it was good enough!  Back inside Mommy opened presents!  First up was a tiara!

Trevor helped opened the cards!  He did such a great job picking out his card and Daddy always knows just what to write!

Trevor was very excited to help Mommy open her gifts!  He kept saying Happy Mother's Day!!  (And not only to Mommy but to any female he ran into the whole weekend.  It was really precious!).  Mommy got a new water bottle and some sandals that she'd been lusting over but never thought in a million years Daddy would buy for her!!

After that we had the most delicious brunch of caramel french toast and feta omelets.  Mommy's favorite!  Not sure if we mentioned but Brian's Grandma had a stroke this past Friday so he spent the rest of the day searching out flights and other travel arrangements to get to Syracuse to see her.  So instead of having a day by the pool (it was windy anyway) and a casual dinner at home we went to Red Robin.  The kids got a big kick out of eating Daddy's orange from his beer!

And Ashley enjoyed being a race car driver at the video games.

It was a wonderful Mother's Day weekend even if it didn't all go as planned.  That's what being a Mommy is all about.  Going with the flow and putting others' needs in front of your own.  This Mommy wouldn't change it for the world.  We are praying for Grandma Hillins and glad that Daddy Brian got out on Sunday night to see her Monday morning. 

Silly Ashley

Miss Ashley is constantly taking her bib off while eating so we found a kind that snaps on and boy was she not happy when she realized she couldn't take it off!

Auntie Chandra sent Ashley a new pair of sparkly purple shoes after seeing how much Ashley loves her shoes.  Well no surprise here, Ashley had to put them on with in minutes of receiving them!

It's getting hot here so we are experimenting with Ashley's hair and she got her first real ponytail in the back of her head!

 She looked so old! She knew she looked stylin' and smiled everywhere she went!

Zoo with Connor and Kennedy

It was a cooler day on Thursday so we headed to the zoo for a playdate with our friends Connor and Kennedy.  Connor loves babies and is always wanting to be right by her side.  That doesn't always bode well for big brother who is trying to take Ashley away from Connor. 

Trevor's legs were tired so we found a way to make our single stroller a double!  And a way for Trevor to hang on to his sister which keeps Connor away.  Sneaky.

Trevor had a rough morning which resulted in a few timeouts on the zoo benches but he rallied after lunch and even got to choose between petting the sting rays or riding the carousel.  He chose the carousel.

We left the zoo a little before two which was well past nap time for Ashley so she was asleep before we even pulled away from our parking spot.  Mr. I'm Not Tired even fell asleep before we left the parking lot!!  Now that was a successful play date!

Wacky Wednesday

Trevor's school is always doing fun events.  Yesterday was Wacky Wednesday so Trevor found the craziest, mismatched shirt and shorts then flipped his shirt around so that it was backwards.  He thought it was hilarious and told everyone he came in contact with that day about Wacky Wednesday!  Next year he'd like us to spray his hair the color purple :)

Make New Friends but Keep the Old!

Our very good friends Chandra, Matt and their daughter Sophia (from MN who now live in Chicago) came for a visit this past weekend.  They were here from early Thursday afternoon through late Saturday afternoon and boy was it so so good to see them.  When we were getting Sophia's bed ready for her stay Miss Ashley thought it was for her!  The girl wouldn't move!  She did look pretty cute in it but it will be at least a year before she gets this bed!

 We hardly took any pictures of our time together but boy did we make a lot of memories to keep in our hearts.  On Thursday night we enjoyed a yummy Mexican meal for dinner and on Friday after Trevor's school we headed to the clubhouse to go swimming.  Chandra and Mommy joke that this picture will be in their wedding photo montage. 

 Friday was Chandra's birthday so we celebrated with a steak dinner and cake!  

 We even stayed up way too late hanging out in the hot tub drinking wine!  It was just like old times which made their departure Saturday even harder.   But we filled the day with a visit to the park to do stomp rockets, swam in our pool and grilled burgers for lunch.  Our time together went by way too fast but we will see each other again soon!!