Molly turns 4!

I can't believe I am writing a post about Molly's 4th birthday.  It feels like time is flying by.  She has been such a bright light in our lives these past 4 years.  She is definitely her mother's daughter in terms of her sensitivity and shyness.  She has a hard time being the center of attention in large groups, for example yesterday she got very upset anytime people wanted to sing happy birthday to her.  However, she loves to perform popstar concerts for us at home.  She is a very good big sister and loves to help her brother, when she is in the right mood.  She does great when she has a job or a task.  She can be very grumpy if you wake her up, but pops out of bed like a spring when she wakes up on her own.  She is really funny, but gets so easily embarrassed if you laugh at her.  She loves preschool and is very smart.  She likes to snuggle, especially when it is bed time.  She is getting better at playing with people as opposed to directing other's play, but also enjoys playing alone and will usually disappear to her room at least an hour a day to play with her doll house or Barbies by herself.  She is very concerned with other people's feelings (which makes her social worker Mommy proud).  She worries about other people feeling left out a lot.  She is soooo excited to have a baby sister and talks all about the things she wants to do to help with the baby.  She is also worried about how the baby will fit in, for example everyday after nap time Max and Molly each sit on my lap in the recliner and we watch Peppa Pig and have a snack and she is very concerned about where the baby will sit during that time, or who will get bumped from my lap.  She's gotten a lot less picky in her eating during the past year (with lots of encouragement).  I could go on and on about this funny girl, but I'll stop and show some of the pictures I took yesterday.   

 

 She waited (mostly) patiently all day for Daddy to get home from work so that she could open her presents.  The Brave toy is something she bought with her own birthday money. 

 

 Mini-Mike checking out Mommy's camera.

 

 Showing off some new books.

 

 All the loot.

 

 She chose spaghetti for her birthday dinner, probably her favorite food.  She was excited to have Gammy here to celebrate with her.

 

 Ice cream sundae for dessert.  Her egg allergy rules out most of the typical birthday treats.

 

 

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Estes Park 2013

We took our annual trip to Estes Park (aka our happy place) a little bit earlier this summer since traveling in early September might be frowned upon for Mommy!  The weather was beautiful and as usual we had a great trip.  The kids love it out there as much as we do and we have so much fun exploring the town and having lots of good family time.  We drove this year for the first time.  The trip out went really well but the trip back was a little rough for Max, but we survived!  For the first 4 days of our trip it was just the 4 of us and then my parents and Annie joined us for the last 3 days.  I am sad to say I took all of my pictures at the beginning of the trip, but I promise they were there and we had a great time.  Here are some pictures.

 

 Some before bedtime snuggles on the best couch ever!

 

 At the trailhead for the Alberta Falls trail.  This was Molly's first real hike (about 2 miles) and she did great!  She didn't have to be carried once and was so proud of herself (and tired).  We used one of the hiking carriers for Max.  He loved it, even falling asleep on the way up. 

 

 She was so proud of herself for getting to the top of the waterfall and loved climbing around the rocks at the top.  A girl after her Mom's own heart.  Daddy was safely on the ground at this point.

 

 Me and my girl.

 

 I managed to get Mike to climb up a little ways for a family picture.  He was not thrilled.

 

 And he was having a full on panic attack in this picture thinking I was going to drop Max right into the plunging waterfall.

 

 Relaxing on the porch after the long morning hike.

 

 There is a family fun park in town that Molly absolutely loves. It costs a fortune, but we always manage to squeeze in one trip.  The bumper cars are her favorite, she squeals the whole time.

 

 I thought taking both kids on the bumper boats was a good idea.  Wrong.

 

 This year for the first time we went out and explored Lake Estes.  We rented a pontoon.  The kids didn't last too long because they were annoyed with the life jackets they had to wear, but the scenery was beautiful.  I could have stayed out there all day!

 

 These pictures are from my favorite place in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Alluvial Fan.  I had so much fun here this year because Molly was so much more able to climb up on the boulders with me.  We had a great time.  Poor Daddy got stuck hanging out on the ground trying to keep Max from jumping in the water.

 

 We also did our annual pony ride at the Glacier Lodge next to our cabin.  Molly has ridden Duke the past few years, but he has since retired.  She was sad to miss him, but quickly made friends with Little Joe who gave her a great ride.

 

 

We feel so blessed to have this heavenly place to escape to each summer and love making memories there with our kids.  Until next year Estes Park!

Molly's Last Day as a Friendly Fish

Back in May Molly had her last day of preschool as a Friendly Fish.  She absolutely loved preschool and we were so happy with her experience.  She really blossomed and began to come out of her shell.  She is still pretty reserved and shy, but so much less than when she started last fall.  Her teachers were wonderful and she made some really sweet little friends.  On her last day they had an outdoor play day and here are some pictures I took.

 

 Before going inside for her last day.

 

 

 Mrs. O'Toole

 

 

 Mrs. Madden

 

 

 Molly and her spunky friend Marley.

 

 

 Getting a ride with Marley.  I love Molly's face in this picture.  Pure excitement!

 

 

 Marley, Elsie and Molly showing off their mad hopscotch skills.

 

 

 Mrs. O'Toole leading the kids in a game of "What Time Is It Mr. Fox?"

 

 

 Silly faces before snack time.

 

 

 The whole cute class.

 

 

The three amigos:  Molly, Marley and Elsie

 

We are enjoying our summer break, but Molly can't wait to get back to preschool in the fall. 

Phone pictures

As I was working on updating the blog today I realized that I have hardly used my actual camera at all since Max's birthday. These days I take almost all of my pictures on my phone. Here's what I got!