We decided it was time for another family photo shoot and asked, you guessed it, Marcie to take our pictures. She got it done in 20 minutes–so great when you’re working with kids!

I love Easton in this one. We really do adore him.

I think Easton wins the prize in this one, too. Actually, they're all pretty darn cute. I love these kids!

Cheese! Unless you're Amelie who's complaining that she's cold. Or Easton, who just knows how to pull a classic face.

This is actually my favorite--shows just how crazy and fun and dynamic life with kids can be!

Thank you, Marcie! We will treasure these. And let me know if anyone figures out a way to keep kids little, okay?

What a darling baby, my sweet Easton is. I just can’t get enough of him. Guess that’s a good thing, huh? He’s quite verbal now and makes me laugh with how solemn he can be sometimes. He’s definitely a mama’s boy at the moment.

He falls asleep in the funniest places.

When do we lose the ability to comfortably sleep in this position?

And in his play saucer...

Again...He had marks on his forehead from this one.

Hello, cute boy! One of those times when I had to put him down en route to the bathtub.

This Sing-a-ma-jig is one of his best friends.

Concerned Easton. His favorite solid food at the moment--bananas.

I am so glad to have this little guy in our family.

Today Calder is 3 years old! Hooray for my darling boy! Here’s his little birthday survey that I conducted this morning while he was taking a bath:

Favorite Food: Bamanas (that’s Calder-speak for bananas) and cheese tortillas and cheese sandwiches

Favorite Show: Curious George

Favorite Movie: Peter Pan

Favorite Thing to Do: Take a bath (a lot of his answers were very in-the-moment)

What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up: A Fireman

Favorite Color: Orange (and has been since day one it seems)

Grin! This is actually pretty subdued for this energetic boy.

That's more like it! He gets a kick out of almost everything. And really really wanted to play in the water rather than pose for pictures.

See what I mean? Life is full of joy for this little guy--I need to take my cue from him more often. And those rocks behind him? They went up really (really) high and he was up and down the wall many (many) times.

Love this boy!

So, Happy Birthday, my friend! Thank you for your curiosity, your enthusiasm, your joy, and your playfulness. We love you!

Today is Amelie’s 5th birthday! This morning, I sat down with her to conduct one of those little birthday surveys that I’ve seen on other people’s blogs. Here are the results:

Favorite Food: Cereal, bananas, grapes, olives, and strawberries and blueberries, lemonade, and orange juice.

Favorite T.V. Show: Imagination Movers.

Favorite Movie: Rango. (That made me laugh.)

Favorite Game: Starfall. (This is a website with lots of fun reading games.)

What she wants to be when she grows up: A doctor.

And that’s all I got. She got tired of it much quicker than I thought she would. So, on to the pictures! Once again, my friend Marcie did a simply amazing job. I was blown away by her ability to make every shot count. She knew how to get their attention, get them to smile a real smile (usually by doing something silly to make them laugh), and get a great picture. Thank you for sharing your talent with us, Marcie!

Oh, and make sure you let me know which one you’d like me to print for you, grandmas!

My sweet little girl.

Shy smile.

Big hugs.

What a sweetheart.

Smile!

I am so tremendously grateful to have Amelie is my life and to be her mother. Her excitement over the little things, her joy in giving hugs and kisses, her tender spirit, and her endless curiosity have brought so much happiness into my life. Watching her grow from baby to toddler to little lady has been wonderful. Happy birthday, my little one!

Today, we had a major milestone in our family. Amelie’s first day of kindergarten! She’s on the young side. Her birthday actually falls on the cut-off date here in Utah, September 1st. I think that basically means she’ll be the very youngest person in her class.

A view of her school--Walden School of Liberal Arts in Provo. It looks kind of like an hacienda.

Walden is a really cool Montessori charter school. What does this mean? It’s publicly funded, we had to put her name in a lottery to get in, classes (especially in the elementary grades) are taught using the Montessori model (the model that I favor and talk about on my blog), classes are also multi-age (Amelie is in a Kindergarten/1st grade class), there are no buses so we have to drive her to and from school, and class size is smaller than the average public school. Her first day went great and we’re hoping this school turns out to be a good fit for Amelie and for our family.

My baby girl--growing up so fast!

She was so very excited about starting kindergarten. Though I do think she was a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be riding a bus.

Her classroom. I was trying to be sneaky about taking pictures (didn't want to disturb the kids in class), but you can see the open shelves of work for the children. That activity at the entrance is a cool bell activity.

This is some of the Practical Life work--you can see the little sink for washing hands and dishes, some dress-up clothes, and some other fun work.

I’m just so thrilled that we happen to live close enough to the only Montessori kindergarten through 12th grade charter school in the state. And that we got in! Exciting times.