April Birthday's....

We get to celebrate 2 birthday's in April.  Evan's and Addisons.  Evan turned 10 this year and Addie turned 6.  Hard to believe I have 2 kids in the double digits, sigh.  This year we didn't do a "friend party"...we alternate years on that.  So we spent a low-key weekend opening gifts and going to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner (kids choice).  Evan surprises me because I always fear he will be bitter about sharing a birthday with Addison but every time I suggest we do something separate for him, he gets upset and says he wants to share the day with Addie.  Here are a few facts about each of them and then pictures to follow:

My BFF Shannon and her kids came to the park for Evan and Addison bday.  We love them like family :)

Evan:  He still loves Sharks and dreams of becoming a Marine Biologist one day.  Really, he is an animal lover all the way around and that has not changed from day one.  Even though he is 10, he is still like a little boy in some ways and I love that about him.  Ian has always seemed a few years older for his age but Evan prefers to act his age :)  He loves stuffed animals, he loves anything that someone gives him and will keep it forever - even a rock - in other words....Pack Rat!  He enjoys playing outside, even with the little kids.  He is so good with the younger kids in our apartment.  He loves attention from mom.  He has a humongous appetite right now.  He is in the 4th grade and struggles with doing his homework.  He would much rather be outside playing.  We love him and his sense of humor!

Addison:  She still remains the house Diva.  But, she is starting to learn that sometimes she doesn't get what she wants.  She is losing teeth now and not looking like my little baby girl anymore.  She loves clothes and shoes and makeup...I often find her playing in mine.  She loves to sing and dance and play outside.  She is a little monkey, climbing anything she can.  She has thick callouses all over her palms from the monkey bars at school!  She is really into Barbies right now.  She begs me for fake nails all the time - which I don't understand since I never wear them!!  She definitely keeps us on our toes.  She is the messiest one in the house.  The front room is usually full of all her stuff and she hates putting it all away, lol.  She has been in Kindergarten this year and loves every minute of it!  I never have to beg her to go to school.  She loves her family and we love her!


I took Addie with me to get a mani/pedi for her birthday she was soooo excited until we got there.  The people that own this salon are Cambodian I think and they were all talking very fast and loud in their language.  She was wide eyed and got even more freaked out when they pulled out the massive cheese grater and started scrubbing my feet. Haha!  But, she finally relaxed and enjoyed every minute of it!  Especially by the time they got to her hands.

These are some example of their artwork.  Both of these kids are really artistic and LOVE drawing, painting and coloring!  I am always amazed at  their work...it was never something I was very good at.
This is Evans copy of the famous Salvador Dali painting.  He really likes Dali's work.

This is Evan's watercolor of the desert.

This is Addison's chameleon!  So cute.

She just lost her first front tooth.

We waited a week for warmer weather and had a BBQ at the park with my brothers and family for their birthdays.

Here is my nephew Soren :)

Nathan, being silly.

 Uncle Jeff

 Aunt Alisa with baby Jude

My other nephew, Jude...sweet baby.

Ian, being silly...runs in the family apparently.

 Pretty birthday girl Addison....

Musings....

I just got done browsing and boo-hooing over a bunch of blogs about kids with cancer. I know... seems like a strange thing to be doing but there is an acquaintance of mine here in the Village whose 7 month old baby was diagnosed with Leukemia last year. She has just come home and is finally in remission. She had a blog about the experience with links to other blogs of families that she met at the hospital during her daughters fight. It was sobering to say the least. Some of the kids didnt make it. Some did and are still fighting. It gives me such perspective to read things like this occasionally, even if it is difficult. I have 3 healthy, beautiful, children. Aside from some stitches and a couple of minor surgeries, my kids rarely see the inside of a hospital.

I am so grateful for that fact. Cancer is no joke. It has devastating affects both on the person who has it as well as on their families who fight along side them. I pray that I dont have to go through anything like that with my children. Also, yesterday and old high school acquaintance had quite a scare. She got a call informing her that her 15 year old son was lost in the high Uintah mountains. He was there for scout camp. That mountain has claimed the lives of many a scout who found himself lost. It is not a place you want to get lost in. I was so worried for her and thought it must be a mom's worst nightmare. Of course there are many events that could qualify as "moms worst nightmare". We cannot keep our kids sheltered and within our loving grasp at all times, unfortunately. All we can do is hope that they are watched over by a power stronger than a Mother's love and that we teach them what they need to survive in the big bad world. Thankfully, they did find my friends son, unharmed although probably a little shaken. He had hiked 20 miles out of the way after taking a wrong turn on the trail. Yikes....but what a relief that all is well.

So what else? I had lunch with my hermanos the other day. We went to Ruth's Diner up in Emigration Canyon. Great place to eat if you are in the area. I only got a picture of Nathan though...sorry Jeff!

Addie was excited to get "bigger" earrings. Apparently the teeny tiny (fake) diamond studs just werent cutting it anymore so with her birthday money from Mawmaw she bought an assorted variety of "bigger" earrings. Haha...here she is in her hoops ;)

Friday, Ian had to go to the dermatologist to get a massive wart removed from his knee. He wanted me to promise that it wouldnt hurt but I told him I had no clue what they were even going to do to remove it. The wart was very large and thick and therefore required freezing, a shot of anesthetic (or two), burning, and then finally cutting it off. Wow. I could have never predicted that he would have to have all of it done. Poor thing. If you know my son then you know the kind of noise he made over it. VERY melodramatic...the doctor was laughing and saying "we know who to call if we ever need a set of lungs to scare off bad customers".... haha.

Let's just say Ian does not tolerate needles and pain very well....I tried my best not to laugh. Really I did. But the whole thing was rather comical. In the end I apologized by taking him to see Harry Potter for the second time. He also has a wart on his elbow but the doctor opted to just freeze it and put a little acid on it rather than repeat the fiasco he had just experienced. Unfortunately, if the wart doesnt go away from that treatment, Ian will have to come back and repeat the bad way....let's hope it goes away!

Addison has decided she wants long hair. I was hoping to keep it shorter for a couple more years so it could get a little thicker and not have as many tangles. But, if she wants it long then thats fine too. She got some headbands today and I thought she looked cute. Wonder how long it will take for her hair to grow? If its like my hair...forever!

Addison's 5th Birthday Party....

Two of our kids celebrate birthdays within 3 days of each other. Up until now this hasn't been an issue because Addison was too young to care much whether or not she had her own party so we usually just lumped her's in with Evan's. This year however, she was planning her "own" party months in advance. Friday night we had her first official 'friend party'. She invited 7 girls from her pre-school and her cousin Soren. We held the party at the community center here in our apartment complex.It was a Hello Kitty themed party and Addison was dead set on having cupcakes. My time is so limited these days that I opted to get cupcakes from Sam's Club rather than make my own....this was really hard for me to do but what a life saver it was!!

For activities at her party we had craft tables set up and on one table we decorated t-shirts

with paint and glitter...it was messy but they all turned out so cute.

At another table we had beads and colored elastic string to make necklaces or bracelets and Evan helped the boys, and eventually some of the girls, make magic wands. Addie was thrilled and played the part of birthday girl perfectly.

Soren was the only boy there but he had fun too. Im not sure he knew what to do with all those girls running around and screaming. But, he sure knew what to do with his cupcake which seemed to disappear in one bite :)

Here are some pictures of her and her cute friends.

Here are some pictures of the fun presents she received.

Here she is on the present Denver and I gave her. He flew into town Thursday night for the birthdays and thank heavens. I dont think I could have survived without his help!

I think the party turned out to be a great success...I know she was happy and that is really all that matters!!

Miss Addison Jayne....

Our little 6.4 pound preemie turned 5 on the 12th!! It is so hard for me to believe that I no longer have any "babies" at home anymore. I am stunned that she is starting Kindergarten this year since I could have sworn she was born just yesterday.Well there is so much to say about this funny, sweet girl of ours.

1. She loves anything 'girlie'. This has not changed since she was 2.

2. She love music, singing, and dancing...she is always moving either her body or her mouth...sometimes both.

3. She loves school and her friends...she just cant wait to have sleepovers.

4. She loves herself...seriously. Pull out a camera or a mirror and you'll see what I mean :)

5. Even though she was 5 weeks premature, she is taller than all of her friends at pre-school.

6. She adores her brothers...most of the time ;)

7. We think, of course, that she is the most beautiful girl in the world and we tell her any chance we get.

Addison is such a light in our family. You cant help but smile when you watch her play. She is a smarty pants too: counts to 29; writes both names very neatly; is beginning to read words; draws beautiful, detailed rainbows and flowers. She takes dance with Miss Julie and loves it. We cant wait for her recital in June. She cannot wait to start Kindergarten and go to school with Evan. She acts like it is her lifelong dream come true. What would we do without her.... Happy Birthday Addie!

Dancing Queen....

Ok, so the last 2 attempts at a dance recital that we have made with Addison have resulted in major meltdowns, screaming, crying.....and yes, disappointment. So, this year when Addison said she wanted to dance again with Miss Julie (we just love Miss Julie, pictured with Addie below)
I decided ahead of time that she would go to classes but not participate in the recitals. It was just too traumatic for her and for me! Fast forward to this month and it's all Addison has talked about: my dance recital, my dance recital! I asked her if she was going to be able to do it and she announced that she would be going up on stage with her friend Abby....pictured with her below

Ok...well, I guess we will try it again I said. I am happy to report that this time, Addie did it!!! I am so proud of her for overcoming her fear of being on stage. The first number was the tap dance and she started to get watery eyed and was just staring at me the whole time. She really didnt dance a step of the whole dance but she managed to stay on stage and not have a meltdown. I was ecstatic for that. Toward the end we even managed to get some smiles out of her and a little toe tapping. Next was the ballet number and by this time she was ready to go. She danced the entire number from start to finish!!! Yay!!! It was a big day in the Shannon house today. Her brothers were some of her biggest supporters and could be heard yelling for her when she finished....she was so excited to hug them when she got off stage.

It was a great morning. Ballet West here she comes! Here is the video of her ballet number..be sure to turn off music player at bottom of blog so you can hear the video:

The Diva Went Shopping....

I am in awe of my little daughter. I have no idea where she came from....truly, I dont. Not that it matters, because she is incredibly fun. Such a personality.... I dont even know what to do with her. Old Navy is having a big sale this weekend so I thought I would pop in and buy the kids some desperately needed summer clothing. We took each child at a time into the dressing room because 3 at once is too much for me to handle. Ian went first and Im soooooo sad to report that he is officially into men's clothing at Old Navy. He is only 9 and Im a little mad that I dont get more time in the 'boys' section with him. Oh well, Evan is right behind him. Next year it will be the same for him.... Boo hoo. So, onto Addison....she is easy to buy for. She LOVES everything. Everything she see's is "SOOOO CUTE MOM!".... I never imagined a 4 year old would be so excited about shopping for clothes. I picked out a few outfits and some shoes and she insisted on trying them on in the big dressing rooms. Everytime she put something on she twirled and flipped her hair. It was all I could do not to bust up laughing. Seriously! Where did she come from!!! I could hear the dressing room attendant laughing too...it was hilarious. The last outfit she tried on was a one piece short/tank thingamajig....totally 80's style....it was so cute on her and she squealed (literally) "oh my gosh, Dana is going to LOVE this!".... Who the heck is Dana?! This girl.....what am I going to do with her except love her to pieces :)

My Little Dancer....Sometimes....

I think we are finally coming to accept that Addison has a deep fear of being in front of crowds. It is hard to understand because most of the time she is a little performer and cant get enough singing and dancing. Put her in front of people though, and she falls apart. I'm not talking just acting shy or freezing up....I'm talking meltdown city! We were so excited for her Spring Recital....even she was. The morning of, she jumped out of bed and said "is it time for my recital mom"? All was well until we actually put on her costume. Meltdown #1. Once we finally got it on and bribed her with Laffy Taffy, we were on our way to the school. Once we got there and she remembered what is was she was going to do, Meltdown #2. Once we found our seats and sat down and other dancers began their performance...she calmed down and let me take a picture...sort-of. Still not thrilled as you can see.

Then it was her turn....we made to the stage, and Meltdown #3 took place. I hadn't planned on being part of the performance but as you can see in the video, there I was!! We were right in the middle of the group so I did my best to hide so as not to appear on everyone's home videos. Oh well....perhaps she will grow out of it? I hope so because when no one is looking, she is so very talented :)

Our Little Songbird....

Addison LOVES to sing...sometimes she will just sing what she wants to say and makes up words as she goes along. I get a kick out of listening to her especially when she doesnt know that I am listening! However, the other day she was quite the little showgirl and was happy to let me record some of the songs she has learned in school. All 3 songs are the same tune...just different words. She is so entertaining.....

Birthday Fun....

We had a great time on Saturday celebrating Evan & Addisons birthday. Of course I think this will officially be the last year we are able to have a 'joint' party for the two of them now that Addie is very aware of what it means to have a Birthday. She kept insisting that this was HER party and not Evan's. I went ahead and made them both a cake...they turned out alright and the kids loved them. Thats really all that matters right?

We kept it simple this year and just got a pavilion at Sugarhouse Park so we could eat and let the kids play. We brought Croissants with sandwich fixings and invited Nathan, Alisa & Soren and Jeff & Nicola to join us.

They each brought some fruit and chips....it was a perfect light lunch and the weather was unbelievable!

It felt so good to sit in the grass and watch the boys play soccer. We even got Jeff to treat us to a standing backflip.... Im so upset I didnt get a picture of it! Or any pictures of Jeff for that matter....how did that happen?! Nicola took the kids and walked through the river and Soren really got into the spirit and just sat right down in the river!

It was such a fun time and we thank everyone for coming and sharing the day with us. Addison adores every one of her gifts

Later that afternoon we took Evan to the store to purchase his new Nintendo thanks to all the monetary contributions he received. So thank you thank you! I hope this weather continues....it feels so good to walk outside and not be cold! Yay for Spring.....

Here is a picture of Uncle Nate and Aunt Alisa...they are due in July with my 2nd nephew :) They are going to name him Jude...we are excited to meet him.

Happy Birthday Prissy Pants....

April 12th was Addison Jayne's 4th birthday. She has been anticipating this day for months now. It's always fun when the kids first really become aware of what it means to have a birthday. Every time we go to the store she makes sure to let me know what she wants for her 'party'....and its different every time. Barbie one day, Strawberry "tuptake" the next....today its a princess party. I dont need to say just how much this little girl has brought to our family....we just love her to pieces even when she is a bit precocious. Here is a little bit about Miss Addie:

1. She is 110% girl. There is no 'tom boy' in her at all....I dont think there ever will be.
2. She got her ears pierced and thinks it aged her by 5 years.
3. She loves pink, pink, pink....we passed a display at a store that had stuff for breast cancer awareness (all pink stuff) and she was convinced that everything on the table was for her simply because it was pink.
4. I think her favorite things are, in order: Disney Princesses, Hello Kitty, Strawberry Shortcake, and Barbie.
5. She loves her brothers and waits rather impatiently for them each day to return from school.
6. She calls me her mommy prince and Denver is her daddy prince and she is the 'big girl princess'....
7. She refuses to stay dressed once we get in the house. Everything but her underwear come off immediately. We are working on this with little progress
8. She makes me cry when she tells me "I love you straight to my heart mommy"...

Happy Birthday to my Big Girl Princess!!!