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Last night the boys had their spring concert at school. Before we left, Matt told the boys that Grandpa said to at least move their lips. Aiden said he wasn't going to sing and that he MIGHT move his lips. Well he moved more than his lips! The whole group was just singing along when they started to dance - and Aiden stole the show! I don't know where he gets his moves. I really don't think he's ever seen Saturday Night Fever!

The Big Show

Friday night we had Ava's first dance recital. It consisted of 2 1/2 hours of girls from the age of 3 to 18 doing different routines. While I thought it was adorable, the dads and brothers were not as impressed. Ava and I traveled to the recital with our neighbors Ella and Reagan and their moms. The 3 dads and 5 brothers followed shortly after. I think the men/boys sat in the audience and complained the whole time. The moms, however, were behind the scenes keeping the girls entertained during the whole show (minus the 7 minutes they were actually on stage). It hit 8pm (Ava's normal bedtime) and she still had 2 dances to do! She was a trooper and super cute the whole time. At the end, there was a grand finale with all 100+ dancers on the stage and all the parents watching with flowers-in-hand for their dancer. I grabbed Ava from the stage and took her up to her brothers, who were holding her flowers. It brought a flood of memories back to me from my dancing days and was truely more emotional for me than I had expected. Now we are done until September, which isn't so bad either!

The Senator

I bought my kids cute litte outfits for Easter. Ava got a dress, hat, gloves, purse - the works. I happened by some little shirt/tie combos for the boys one day at Kohls. Since I brought home the shirts and ties, Aiden has been dying to wear it! Every Sunday he would ask if he could wear it to church. He didn't get that I didn't want him to spoil it on just any Sunday - it had to be EASTER! So the big day came - and he couldn't wait to get dressed for church (he did manage to do an egg hunt and eat some of his goodies first). As I was ironing his shirt, he asked if he could wear his black or blue jacket. I thought he meant his spring jacket instead of his winter one (even though it was 30 degrees and there was snow on the ground!). No, he meant the one with the gold buttons. Last summer, my neighbor brought over a litte navy blue suit that one of her kids had worn. Aiden spotted it and has been looking for a reason to wear it ever since! He wore it to a family wedding last summer and as soon as my brother asked him to be in his upcoming wedding Aiden said, "I have the perfect thing to wear!". So he was grinning from ear to ear when he finally got to wear his shirt, tie and sportcoat for church!

Love Night

My kids are obsessed with stuffed animals. People used to think we had a real dog because Cael told everyone about Lou, the stuffed beagle. When he was in Kindergarten, I think Lou went to school nearly as much as he did - D week (dog), F week (friend), L week (Lou), P week (pet), etc. Lou doesn't have any fur left and is nearly worn through in spots. Aiden likes to dress his dogs up in funny clothes. He likes t-shirts, hats, necklaces and little pants. He undresses whichever victim he has chosen for the day and hangs his little clothes up on a hook (that we had to install to hold the damn clothes!). These animals go everywhere with us and we are always adding to the brood. Last week, when we were tucking in Cael (who just turned 8!), he announced to us that Wednesday was "Love Night". He had piled up roughly 15 animals by his pillow and was laying on top of them. I'm not sure if they were feeling the love. Turns out, love nights lasts until Saturday night.

Tiny Dancer

So when I was little, starting at age 3, I took dance lessons. I quit when I was in seventh grade. I always took from the same lady. I didn't grow up where we live now, but my dance teacher has also moved, and teaches in the same town we live in. So in August, I signed my then 2 1/2 year old daughter up for dance lessons. It brought back a flood of memories for me! I hadn't seen this dance teacher since I quit 18 years ago! She used the same little name tags and had the same t-shirts that she did when I was little. Ava has to wear the same little pink tights and black leotard that I wore (well, not the same one). It may be the cutest thing I have ever seen! And her little shoes! Ava loves dance, and she loves my teacher. Her first recital is next month.

(She's the little one in the picture with her friend and our neighbor Ella)

I should have done this sooner!

People always say to me, "You should write down all the cute things your kids say and do." Who has time for that? And I've never had a place to write them down anyway. I was pretty good about a baby book for Cael and had good intentions with the other two. I'm sure I bought one for Ava, but I have no idea where it is! I still have a wedding book that I've been meaning to do and we'll be married 10 years in September! So maybe this is my perfect place to keep all those cute things that my kids say and do!