Preschool program

I can't believe Eliza is done with preschool! Well, for this year. Because her birthday is in November she'll actually get two years of preschool. All her friends from primary will go into kindergarten this fall but her. She's a little sad about it but I'm not sure I'm ready for her be old enough to go to kindergarten yet! I'm sure she'll love being the oldest in the class next year.

Preschool has been the best experience for her. She has a wonderful teacher and has learned and grown up so much. Reading has been the biggest thing for her. She can now read about 20 sight words and is able to sound out many more. I am always finding her with a book somewhere picking out the words she knows.

Last Thursday she had her end of year program. Singing songs was one of her favorite things to do in preschool so she was VERY excited to show off all the songs she has learned. The weather was not ideal because of the wind but it was still a great program! I was so proud of her. I talked to her beforehand and told her to make sure and sing nice and loud so everyone can hear. She really took my words to heart! She sang her heart out up there and knew all her parts so well.

She was looking forward to her program SO much. For the last 6 weeks that is all she has talked about. Everyday she would ask me, "Mom, are you so excited for my program? Do you wish it was today?" After her official program, she came home and had me record her singing about 5 more songs that they didn't perform. I love that girl so much and I am so proud of how well she has done in school this year.

You Are My Sunshine

Mr. Golden Sun

Green Grass

Triceratops

My Mommy is a Baker

This is my Garden

Please, no...

This can't be happening! Jackson has not napped in 5 days. Unless you count 10 minute periods of silence in between crying for two hours, which I don't. He has never been the best napper or sleeper from the beginning but the last little while he has been doing great. I could put him down around 11:30 or 12:00 and he'd maybe cry for a minute or two but then he'd sleep for two hours. What is going on? One day he just stopped napping but it's not because he doesn't need one. The poor kid has dark circles under his eyes all afternoon. I REFUSE to believe that he is really outgrowing his nap. He's not even 2!

I love him. I love him so much but I don't think I can handle not having a break from him during the day. And he's too young to understand "quiet time." Basically, giving him a quiet time would be putting him in his crib anyway. So I'm going to keep trying for a nap until I win. :) I really, really, really hope that this is just a phase.

If you would all pray to the nap gods that my little monster will start napping again, I would appreciate it. :)

BBQ/Kickball game

Last weekend we had the 3rd annual McCann family BBQ/Kickball game. Matt outdid himself this year on the BBQ. He cooked 20 POUNDS of pork shoulder in our smoker. It turned out so good! Here is the prep the night before.

Those babies went in the smoker at 6:00 am and cooked all day. Between the yummy rub on the outside and the injections of Cherry Dr. Pepper, they were delicious! I forgot to take an after picture and by the time I remembered, this is all that was left.

After we ate, it was time for the game!

Eliza helped herself to the Dabo's trampoline. Sorry about that...

Don't ask who won, I have no idea. All I know is someone was supposed to either shave their head or dye their hair pink but a last minute race decided that it was a tie.

Then Matt held a trivia game to win fabulous prizes. If you know Matt, you know that he LOVES random trivia.

By this time, it had dropped about 20 degrees so everyone packed up and headed home.

Thank you to everyone who came and helped out! Kim, the snicker-doodle bundt cake was TO DIE FOR. My fault there were no leftovers of that. :)

Maybe next year it will actually feel like spring!

Makes me laugh

I used to keep a notebook with all the funny things that Eliza would say during the day. I need to start doing that again because she has had some gems lately.

Eliza: Mom, guess who I'm going to get married with when I'm older?

Me: Who?

Eliza: Jackson!

Me: Oh. Well, we don't really marry people who are in our family.

Eliza: Well, you married dad!

Me (at a restaurant battling with Jackson, as usual): Jackson! Why can't you just be content to sit there?

Eliza: Ugh...Jackson! Why can't you just be a tent?

Eliza also likes to play "pet" with Jackson. She has him hold onto a blanket or something and takes him for walks around our house. His name is Bingo and sometimes he's a boy and other times he's a girl dog. She asks if I want to pet him and tells me that he's a very nice dog and won't bite. Haha! I'm just glad when they play nice together, so I just let them be.

Most people don't get to see how funny Eliza really is because she tends to be a little shy around people. I love spending all day with her because she is always saying something that makes me laugh. I will try to remember to write all these things down...I don't ever want to forget her sense of humor!

Mother's day

I had a very happy Mother's day this year! I ate too much but what are you supposed to do when you get sugar cookies and donuts from church just for being a mom?

On Thursday Eliza had a gift for me that she made in preschool. I love things she does with her handprints on them because I always want to remember how she was at this age.

We went out to dinner with my parents and brother Saturday night to my favorite restaurant - The Cowboy Grub. YUM! And the kids weren't a complete nightmare so that was even better!

Sunday, Eliza surprised me with a homemade card and a candle that she picked out herself.

She must have liked my reaction to her first card so much because she ended up making about five more. She is the sweetest girl. Every time she surprised me with a new card she would say, "I just want you to know how much I love you!" Aww...

Matt and the kids also gave me a cute collage picture frame. I love it!

I am so thankful be a mom and for my own mother. I talk to her almost every day and there is no way I would have made it through pregnancy and raising my children to this point without her. I love being a mom despite the hard times. And days where the kids are extra sweet just remind me how much I love them.

I hope you all had a good mother's day also!

She's still 4

Yes, she turned 4 in November. Last weekend we FINALLY got Eliza's 4 year old pictures taken. But it worked out okay because I wanted her picture taken in the Easter dress I made for her anyway. So here are her 4 year old/Easter portraits.

How sweet is this girl? She is getting too big! Love her so much.

Who was yours?

I saw a post like this on another blog and I thought it was so funny because I had just been thinking about this exact same thing!

Is it just me or is Justin Bieber everywhere? Really, I can do a 360 degree turn in a store and see something with his face on it in every direction. Girls love him. I couldn't even tell you the name of one of his songs....BUT, that being said, I can COMPLETELY understand and relate to the girls who love him. What young girl didn't love and obsess over a celebrity when they were young?

Mine was Jordan Knight. I loved all five New Kids on the Block but I was always a Jordan girl. I was in 5th and 6th grade when they were at the height of their popularity. I remember my New Kids backpack that I got made fun of for wearing. Boys were so jealous of them... I had posters and t-shirts and puzzles and magazines and trading cards. I had the cassettes and tried to learn the dance moves. I was in the fan club but never got a letter back. But, still I loved them. I used to pretend that Jordan was singing "I'll be Loving You Forever" to me. I can't believe I just admitted that. Good times and very good memories.

Pretty sure I had this poster

You cannot look at these pictures and tell me that fashion and hair in the 80s and 90s were NOT awesome.

And do you know what the best part of my childhood obsession is? THEY'RE BACK!

Okay, that's not new news. They reunited three years ago but still... Can I tell you how fun reliving my childhood memories have been? They have new music and new moves but they are still the same and hearing the classics bring back the exact feelings I had in 1989. Jordan was the first boy I ever had a crush on. I remember I had a friend who loved Jon and we used to play and pretend that they were our boyfriends. Haha! And honestly, they all look better NOW than they did 20 years ago! Don't worry, Matt is well aware of all this...

One of my biggest regrets is not seeing them in concert when they came to SLC during their reunion tour. I can't believe I didn't go. I have no idea why I didn't!

Okay, that's the end of my fangirl moment. So, who was yours?