Lainey is 7 years old!

Last Friday, April 24th, Lainey turned seven years old. :) 

She ALWAYS sits like this - knees tucked inside her dress/shirt/skirt/whatever.

So happy to have a CloudPet. :) Ha!

She picked out this outfit to wear on this rainy day. Cowboy boots, navy blue leggings, her blue/black dress, and her gray sweater. As y'all know, I don't fight too many battles about clothing. As long as it's appropriate, I'm good. I have too many other battles to fight with her! :) 

AND, it's always wonderful when we run into Morgan before school.

Lainey wanted (and received) a giant Checkers set. :) 

And she had her party at CooCoos during a TERRIBLE Texas thunderstorm.

Sweet school friends...Noor and Payton.

Walker and Evan. Clearly not thrilled about me stopping them to take a picture.

dance friends (that explains the poses): Eva, Reid, Ally, and Emerson

My only regret is that I didn't get a lot of pictures of her sweet friends that attended; the storm got us all flustered and I didn't take many pictures after we ate cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday."

We are singing "Happy Birthday" to Lainey here (she debated about whether she wanted us to sing to her or not). She is covering her ears in this picture, but it looks like she's just happy. :) 

dance friends: Kali, Lauren, Ella, and Morgan

Cousin Ella. :) We love her!

Ali, Lainey, and Jeanne (more school friends)

dance friends: Anna, Eva, Lainey, Emerson, and Allyson

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, LAINEY! We just love you. Your sweet spirit, your honest heart, and your ability to find the silver lining in EVERY situation. Keep being you, sweet girl. We love you!

Teeth!

Apparently, if you like to dance, this is how you like to stand while brushing your teeth.

AND! Lainey lost her fifth tooth! This is her letter to the tooth fairy. Her tooth fell out during ballet class on Tuesday; it was the least dramatic of all of her lost-tooth experiences. (One: a fateful meeting with a slide; Two & Three: Walker's bottom on her face; Four: a fateful meeting with her own knee; and finally...this one...just "fell out" during ballet class!)

She has one tooth where three should be. Makes for a cute, slightly off-centered smile. :) 

Walker's "Cities," Lainey's Picture, and Week 16

Walker has been building "cities" lately on the couch for his Minecraft friends. And his blankies. The couch stays like this for the entire day -- and then we clean it up before bedtime. :) 

Lainey's blankie and froggy were invited to join this city. And Walker was so happy to "relax" amongst all the pillows in his city. :) 

Lainey's teacher sent me this from her journal. My daughter knows me well. :) 

***

Lainey // This week, the highlight has been being asked to be a flower girl in Uncle Matt and Aunt Whitney's wedding. You are SO excited. The wedding is in November. 

Walker // Two funny words that you say are "callapitter" (caterpillar) and "hos-tuh-bal"(hospital). :) I might ask you to say them at random times just so I can hear your cute little voice.

Week 15 (A Little Late)

Walker // You are counting everything these days. You constantly ask us "How many hours until ______" and "How many minutes has it been since ________?" and "How many hours in the day has it been?" and "How many minutes is 43 hours?" and "How many hours have I been awake this morning?" and so on... You like numbers, you like to announce the time to me, you like to count things, and you like to give us math problems to solve (like "What's 10 + 10?" or "What's 5 + 3?" or "How many seconds are in 38 minutes?"). I think you just like math. And are very curious about how numbers work. If this were the only interest you had, I might be a little concerned. ;)

Lainey // You like to be completely settled before I leave your room for the night. Your stuffed animals, your blankets, and your pillows have to be in place. You like your covers to be pulled up over your head (your dad calls this your "tent"). Your Dream Lite and your closet light have to be turned on...and your closet door has to be cracked open just a teensy bit. The door that leads from your room to Walker's room has to be left open...and vice versa. You like being able to see into Walker's room. You think he is braver than you. :)

Our Weekend in a Nutshell

For most of the day Friday, this was what we were dealing with. A little stomach virus. Thankfully, it was mild (in Lainey-terms, at least) and she perked up late in the afternoon. Thanks to Ibuprofen and Zofran. :)

a little silly string late in the day

See what I mean? Her energy had returned around dinnertime.

They played with this awesome bubble mix...

and they played with some "Magic Nuudles" (I'm pretty sure Walker is picking his nose in this picture...sorry).

On Saturday morning, Lainey and I headed to Arlington where she competed her solo for the second time. She got first place overall for 8 & Under girls. And first place in the 6 & Under Jazz Category. We were so happy for her!

I am grateful for her humble heart. She is always concerned for those who "didn't win anything" and really doesn't get too focused about winning. This could be because she's only six years old, but I am grateful for her attitude. She knows that once she steps onstage, it's just about her - no one else. :)

She has a loose tooth right now. She holds her mouth in this funny little smile (see the picture above) because I think the tooth bugs her. :) Ha!

She also received this Power Pack Award; this is an invitation to participate in a summer intensive in Florida (or Maryland) this summer. We are not going. :) But she received it because she showed the judges that she "really enjoys dancing." :) True! :) When we got home, I had to close my eyes for a minute. I was exhausted. Lainey continued to dance around our house. I think the competitions are harder on us, as parents, than they are on the kids!

sweet friends

Aaannnddd, our weekend ended with an unfortunate relapse of fever and more vomit. :( We're staying home from school tomorrow to hopefully kick this thing! Today we missed Brooke's confirmation at church (so sad about that) and a Rangers Game. :( Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

Week 14

So both kids have been curious about babies and how babies get out of their mommy's tummies. Walker asked me on Friday night, "Who did you lay first?"
Me: (All confused.) "What do you mean?"
Walker: "Me or Lainey. Who did you lay first?"
Me: "Oh! Lainey."
Walker: "Is that why she's older?"
Me: "Yes."

To him, I must be a chicken.

Lainey's also very curious and I'm not totally sure she's mature enough to handle the answer. So I'll think about that one for a bit longer. However, she did confess to me this week that she's talking to a boy at school about marriage.
Lainey: "I want to live in Oklahoma when I grow up."
Me: "Hmm. Okay. Cool. That's close to Texas."
Lainey: "Kaden Miller says he wants to marry me and live in New York."
Me: "Really?"
Lainey: "Yes. And I told him we don't need to worry about that right now. We can worry about it when we're maybe...15 or something."

Ok. So I have about 8 more years until I have to worry about this again. :)

Easter Weekend and Such

On Friday morning, Lainey was recognized at her school's assembly for her Reflections submission in the category of "Dance Choreography." After being judged at the school level, her submission went to the district level. She received a ribbon and a certificate! She choreographed her dance to Taylor Swift's song "Shake it Off." :) One of the requirements was that adults cannot help the student in any way, shape, or form. That's a good thing. She doesn't need to ask me for advice when it comes to dancing.

Lainey's Kindergarten teacher took these pictures for me. She had a front-row spot!

Way to go, Lainey! :) We are proud of you!

And, I can't really stress enough how much these kids love our trampoline. They play this game called "Meteor" where they bounce around with a variety of balls and if they step on a ball, they are out. I played with them for a while and I'm just glad I didn't break an ankle! :)

Emmy and Tuck came over for dinner last night.

The weather was perfect. 

I'm looking forward to summer!

Walker has some mad skills. :) This is his toe touch.

Walker thinks this picture is hilarious because it's of his booty.

And again. Hilarious.

Walker kept photobombing pictures of Lainey. 

And he thought it was hilarious.

This is Lainey's toe touch. She's flexible!

I didn't get any pictures of Easter! I'm not totally sure why. I think I just wanted to enjoy the day. AND, we had a great day - egg hunting, breakfast, church, lunch, naps (for the adults), and a wonderful Easter dinner at Aunt Allyson and Uncle Chris' house. Happy Easter, everyone!