Catch Up!

I haven't been on here in awhile....we are keeping busy with end of the school year things and beginning of summer projects! Dance Recital mode is in full force! We had pictures 2 weeks ago and they have been practicing hard at their Monkey dance. The recital is in 2 weeks and Molly is very excited to dance on stage! Even more exciting is that the Tuesday after the recital, she gets to pick up her Uncle Andy at the airport. He has been serving in Afghanistan since November and she is very excited to see him and give him a big hug! She has some other surprises up her sleeve for his arrival, but I can't say too much in case he is reading this! I'll make sure to have a post up here on his welcome home day!

The other big event is our landscaping projects we have tackled already this year. I must say I am very proud of my husband and all of his hard work and ambition. Despite trying to prepare his students for the AP exam, he completed a HUGE project in the front yard. Our landscape around the walkway, the mailbox, and in front of the windows look awesome and it is so nice to see when we come home! Molly and I helped dig out all the river rock and pour fresh dirt. The final product was amazing and I love it. We also poured an addition to our small patio in the backyard. It started off just being a small amount we wanted poured, but ended up, of course, being a lot bigger. Again, I'm very happy with the end results. Molly now has a place to ride her bikes and our grill and patio table have a home! It's nice to sit and watch Molly play on her playground.

I have 3 more days left of school and Keith has 8. We are so very much looking forward to this summer and doing nothing but hanging out as a family and enjoying our life together.
Practicing posing for her dance pictures
Hard at work

Ta-Da!
Finally Done!

All tired after a long weekend of work!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

The weekend Molly has waited for finally arrived this past Saturday. She woke up at 6:45am and began asking if it was time for the Daddy/Daughter dance! She was very excited to get going. However, she had a long time to wait. So I decided that we were going to have a little mommy/daughter time before she left for the dance. We went to the nail salon and got our nails done and then had lunch over at Panera. Our plan was for her to get home from lunch and take a nap....that of course, didn't happen. So we started getting her ready about 3:30 and we were out the door at 4:45 after some picture taking outside. I really felt like she was getting ready for prom! Once we got to the middle school where the dance was held, she got very very excited and giddy about everything going on. Her and Daddy got their tickets and then began following the princess stars that led through the auditorium to the gym where the activities were held. I, of course, did not get to go beyond the auditorium, but Molly gave me a big kiss and went on her way. Keith said that there were easily 250 kids there. They got professional pictures taken, ate a little dinner, played games, Molly bounced in the jumpy castle, she got her hair spray painted with glitter and hot pink color, and she colored some pictures. I got the phone call to pick them up at about 7pm. Molly came out without shoes on, cotton candy in her hand, and the biggest smile on her face! Keith had just as big of a smile, but looked a little more tired. Molly informed me it was the best day of her life. We layed her down for bed at 7:30 and she was out at 7:35. They had so much fun together and hope to make it an annual thing they do together!

Getting Ready

Princess


Ready to Go!

Girls Weekend

Keith was away this past weekend in South Dakota, so Molly and I had some quality M&M time (Molly & Mommy Time). We had quite the weekend and actually got a lot accomplished. On Friday, we went to Burnsville Center to see the Easter Bunny. Molly got all dressed up and got her pictures taken with him. On Saturday we work up to 2 inches of SNOW....very dissapointing. However, it didn't stop us from running errands and having fun indoors. Sunday we went to get her nails done, had lunch at Subway, and then headed up to Saint Paul for a bridal shower with family. Molly had a blast playing with my cousins' kids and with her cousin Callie. I asked her if she had a fun weekend, she said "Of course!" I told her I was going to miss our M&M days when she gets older, but she told me not to worry because she is going to build her house right next to our house so she is always close by.....I hope she remembers that when she is ready to move out! We had a fun weekend, but are very glad to have Daddy back!
Waiting in line
Molly & the Easter Bunny
Being Silly
M&M
Getting her nails done
Lunch at Subway

Molly-isms

Molly is a hilarious, serious, stubborn, sensitive little girl. She is always saying and doing the craziest things. So I thought I would use this post to share some of the things that make Molly....Molly.

1. She is very active and creative! Her latest thing is doing Art Projects. She loves to paint and draw Mommy and Daddy pictures. Usually the pictures are of our family, which she has gotten very good at drawing. Pretty impressive for a 3 year old. She also loves to sing,dance, and cheer! She makes up songs on the fly and always likes to give us concerts and put on plays.

2. She loves to give reasons or explanations for things. Conversation 1 Mommy: "Come sit on my lap so I can hold and snuggle you"

Molly: "Why mama?"

Mommy: "Because you are growing up too fast and I want to snuggle"

Molly: "You know mama, that is what little girls do, they grow up, but don't worry it's going to be ok, I promise."

Conversation 2

Mommy: "Molly what are you doing in the bathroom?"

Molly: "I'm washing my hands mommy, it's under control. Don't worry about it. You know, you're driving me crazy."

3. Her independance and stubborness is beginning to become more and more noticeable. She always wants to do things herself (get dressed, open her string cheese, get in her carseat alone). Which is great that she likes to that and is confident she can get things done. However, if you try to tell her otherwise, she becomes sassy and refuses help. She also always says "I know that!" Her latest thing: If she gets in trouble, she yells "You're not my best friend anymore Mommy!" and storms off. Sometimes when she says that, it is hard not to laugh and cry at the same time.

4. Her vocabulary and memory is amazing! She remembers words from her Fancy Nancy books and from conversations she hears us having. The words that come out of her mouth make me stop and think: Where do they come up with this stuff? I recently brought home a new pair of spring time PJ's for her. Her response: "Oh my gosh, these are so elegant mama!" WHAT?!?! Last weekend, Keith told her we were going to the zoo, she squeled as she shouted out "You have got to be kidding me? Are you serious?" She is so funny sometimes and yet can be very serious. We were eating dinner one night and she told us that Jesus lives in our hearts and that her family is always in her heart. Keith and I both almost cried at that one!

I guess the point of this post is not only to share with everyone what Molly is up to, but also to remember how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing daughter, especially as she is going through her "sassy/terrible 3" stage. She is growing up so fast and becoming more of a little young lady and less of my "baby" girl. It's a way for me to remember all the sayings and mannerisms she has and will continue to have. How she loves to snuggle at bedtime, pat my back when she gives me a hug, run through the house in just her undies, how serious she gets when she is painting, and all of her out of nowwhere "I love you mama's". My biggest fear when I got pregnant was that I was going to mess up somehow with raising a child. I have learned that all you can do is your best and hope you make the right decisions. Bumps in the road are certain and I'm sure I have and will make some wrong decisions with parenting, but I'll tell you, watching Molly succeed and grow into such a great and wonderful little girl makes me think we're doing something right.

Declaring Spring Sprung

We had record snowfalls this year and missed out on our usual January thaw. It was a very, very long winter. We finally had a straight week of temperatures above freezing and most of the snow is gone. Fortunately, it stayed cold enough to slow the rising flood waters and it looks like we are out of the woods in terms of flooding (knock on wood).

So, we decided this weekend to officially declare winter over and spring here. Another trip to the zoo to meet the "farm babies" kicked the weekend off. After that, we ventured into the backyard and, despite the snow still clinging to the ground, we played baseball, pirate and on the slide. We ended the weekend with a trip to the "big park" where there were about 20 kids and their parents apparently trying to declare winter over as well.

It was a nice, relaxing weekend. WIth the good weather and melting snow comes the beginning of the end of the school year and it becomes a very hectic time for all of us. New courses, grades, AP testing, yearbook distribution all bring an increased intensity at work. But weekends like this make it easy to remember what is really important and that makes the stresses easy to handle.

Sunday Funday

We took Molly to the MN Zoo today. A serious case of cabin fever has hit the Reynolds' household so we decided to go out and do something fun! Molly loves the zoo and has since she was a baby. We have had a membership there since she was one. She hadn't been to the zoo since last summer, so she was very excited to see all the animals. She insisted we bring Lucy, her doll, to the zoo with us as well, because of course "Lucy has never seen a zoo before, she would be very sad if she didn't come." So we brought Lucy so she could enjoy the day as well. We didn't see the outside exhibits, but we did hit up all the ones indoors. Molly would squeal "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it" to every animal she saw. She also thanked us MULTIPLE times for bringing her to the zoo, such a polite little girl. We even took Molly to her first IMAX Theater experience and watched "Into the Deep Sea" in 3D. We had such a good time. When we were leaving and getting her into her car seat she grabbed my neck and gave me a hug as she whispered in my ear "My wish just came true mama...I wanted to go to the zoo today and you and Daddy made my wish true." Anytime Molly.....anytime.

Checking out Star Fish

Molly and Lucy

Molly & Daddy



Enjoying her ice cream cone

Molly's IMAX Theater Experience

Dance time and cousin bonding

Molly is taking Ballet and Tap this year at Jan's School of Dance here in Hastings. They have begun learning their routine for their Spring Recital. They are dancing to a medley of "Hey Hey We're the Monkey's" and "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." Their costumes are of course Monkeys....too cute for words! She absolutely loves it and gets so excited on Wednesday nights, which is when she has class....as you can see from the photo below.


On Friday night we drove down to Rochester so see Uncle Dan, Auntie Becky and Callie at my parent's house. Callie and Molly are about 2 years apart and are absolutely hilarious together now. They love to play with each other, tickle each other, and occasionally argue over toys together. This visit they were more interactive with each other and had a blast playing on the air mattress tickling each other and wrestling. These two are definitely going to be best friends and cause a lot of trouble together as they grow up!

Riding Home From Daycare


Silly Cousins

Watching Dora