Preschool Graduation

We were thrilled to celebrate Olivia's preschool graduation on May 19.

She and her friends had been practicing for weeks and each night we got an update on the songs, dances and activities they were preparing for the big day.  And, as expected this pregnant mamma was a bucket of tears and emotions!

We started the day with a few presents for the graduate - some nail polish and a bath bomb (her latest obsession) plus a monogrammed shirt of a cheerleader in the Kinkaid colors 

Olivia and her friend Tierney were the flag holders for the ceremony, an honor they took VERY seriously!

It was such a sweet little program filled with songs and dances.  All the kids did so great!

We were all so proud of our little graduate!

After the ceremony we all went up to the Kindergarten class for some cake and got to meet Olivia's teachers and friends.

Olivia and Sloane

Ms. Sherri

Ms. Yessica and Ms. Tamisha

Ms. Terri

I love these 2 pictures her teachers took.  Olivia's natural position during the 9 months of my pregnancy was arms around my belly, hugging on me and baby.  It makes for a cute pic.  But I really love us in the background of the second picture, not planned, not staged, same hugging pose.  Moments like this kinda take my breath away with how lucky I am to be her mom and be loved by this girl.

And afterwards, Popo, Tutu, Matt and I took the little graduate to The Aquarium (her request) for lunch and some rides.

On graduation day, you can order the $10 slushy for lunch that you will only take a few sips of!

She wasn't quite brave enough to touch a stingray, but was pretty interested in watching them.

So glad this big girl still loves a carousel as much as she always has!

And, proving to mamma once again that she's not *that* big, this was her about 5 seconds after we left the Aquarium parking lot.

I can't really put into words how much our time at Cathedral House has meant to Matt and I.  We got into the school based really on some connections I had at Exxon Mobil.  I knew it was a good school but had no idea how integral and important it would become to our family.  From the first teary day that we dropped Olivia off and proceeded to call and check on her 3x a day for the first week, these teachers and staff have loved on Olivia and us in every way.  They called me when she was sick, sent presents before she had tubes in her ears, texted or emailed to check on me when she told them I was sick or hurt, and continuously and constantly helped us raise this precious girl of ours.  From teaching her to use a fork and a spoon, to how to be a friend, and now reading and math, this school has been there every step of the way.  And, I hope we've made it a little better along the way as well.  When we were at our lowest on the journey with infertility and unsure whether we would have another little one, I remember standing at Olivia's Easter parade with tears streaming down my face, sad that we may never have another little one experience this school.  So the fact that we get to do it all again with Eric, but this time with the knowledge of how special a place Cathedral House is, makes my heart swell.  

Dance Recital and Mothers Day

We had another busy weekend at Casa Dean.

First up on Friday night was Olivia's ballet recital.  Her teachers requested "stage makeup" which apparently means mascara, eye shadow, blush and red lipstick.  I have never seen Olivia with mascara on.  I couldn't really get over how old and pretty she looked.  And...neither could she.  Unsurprisingly, she LOVED it and has pretty much spent the past few days begging for mascara and red lips!

The theme of the recital was "Going to the Circus" and Olivia's class were pieces of "popcorn."  It was a pretty cute little performance!

After the recital we greeted the little stars with flowers and their adoring fans!

  

Then on Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day.  Olivia was SO excited and woke up at 1 am yelling for Matt to ask him if it was Mother's Day yet.  Thankfully he was able to get her back to bed and then they let me sleep in until about 8:30 -- a real treat for me!

I was then treated to breakfast in bed.

Unfortunately, the past few weeks of this pregnancy have been filled with nauseous days, so I pretty much stayed in bed all day.  But this little one makes a pretty great snuggle partner so I can't really complain.  Thankfully, by mid-afternoon I was feeling better and we enjoyed a DELICIOUS dinner at a new greek restaurant that just opened up.

I was so thankful to be able to spend lots of time with this little one who made me a mamma!

Weekend Fun

We had a fun little weekend!

On Thursday evening we went with Yazzie to watch Grant's 6th grade choir do a show of all Disney songs.  It was only about 30 minutes long and all the kids were dressed as Disney characters.  Olivia loved it!

On Friday morning, we closed on our new house.  Unfortunately we did not get any pics but for the memory book, I want to always remember Olivia at this closing.  As I mentioned before, this whole real estate process has been really interesting to her.  So she was really excited for the closing.  At 5:30 am on Friday morning, she woke us up by screaming from her room "Let's go buy a house today!!  Let's go buy a house today!"  She was very particular about her outfit (because you have to look nice on the day you buy a new house).  And at the closing, she was totally "on."  She was chatting up the banker, realtor and representative from the title company on everything you can imagine from how she was going to decorate her room, to how she is excited about going to Kinkaid, to all the things she is going to help with as a big sister.  In fact, after the closing the representative from the title company sent us an email saying that her daughter babysits and if we ever need a babysitter for Olivia, she knows her daughter would love her!

That day was Cinco de Mayo, so we went to a party at Westside and then headed to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  I've been loving some virgin pina coladas this pregnancy and so has Olivia!

On Saturday morning we went to Sibling Class.  Olivia learned how to swaddle her baby and put on a diaper.  She watched a little video about how to help as a Big Sister.  It was a sweet little class that I know made her feel special.  I will admit I got a little emotional watching her in the class.  I know her little world is about to be rocked and I know the sibling relationship can be a difficult one to navigate.  I'm also sure that there will be plenty of love to go around and that she is tough and fierce and feisty and will hold her own and make sure she's seen.  But still, my heart hurts a little for her as I'm guessing there will be jealous and sad feelings mixed in with excited and happy ones in the coming months.  So...when the silly little video began to talk about you may feel sad or jealous when your parents bring home your new sibling, there were definitely some tears rolling down these puffy cheeks of  mine!

When we got home, Matt's  best friend from growing up, Jon, was in town with his new daughter so they ended up coming over for a bit and Miss O got to try out all the skills she just learned in class!

That night we went to see Seussical with my parents.  Its a great show!

And then on Sunday, my mom hosted a little luncheon for me at B&B Butchers.  It was a small and quiet little luncheon that was lovely and thoughtful and so fun.  Another great reminder of the sweet little village we have!

  

  

And after the luncheon we were having an open house, so we went to the pool and then for sno cones!