Happy Birthday America!

 American Legion Babe!

 Cole is nearly impossible to photograph these days!

 Restrained by big sis!

 Happy campers!

 Gram & the girls at the Fowler parade!

 Look at all that candy!

 Mommy & Taryn at the fireworks.

 Sitting with Grandma Elaine @ the fireworks. 

 Fun at the Lake with cousins!

 Sparklers!

Dancing with Daddy!

 

We had a busy but fun 4th of July.  Lee was working nights, so he didn't get to hang with us that much.  Fowler does holidays right.  Very small town of them!  We went to the Legion and watched the parade go by.  Then we went home for a cookout with my uncle and his girls.  We went to the park and listened to the band and played on the kids' stuff.  My mom and I took turns in the beer garden.  Then we took Cole & Grandma Mary home and Taryn and I went off to watch the fireworks with Grandma Elaine and her family.  Finally, that Saturday Lee was off work and we took a trip up to Lee's brother's lakehouse.  Lots of fun was had for Taryn as well as some adult beverages after the kids were asleep!  And, as a special 4th of July surprise, Lee admitted to having a hangover the following day!  

Summer 2013!

What has Taryn been up to on summer break?

 Riding her big girl bike...  In between tantrums of crying because she is so scared.

 Learning to pee outdoors.  "You want me to pee where?"  Yeah, someone needs to work on not waiting until the last minute to go potty! 

 The Sound of Music at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. 

 Anyone for tennis?

 The water fairy that doesn't like water.  Sworn to protect people wearing clothes from getting wet!

 Fowler Park Playground!

 Kitten helper.  Two outdoor strays that kind of moved into our yard had kittens.  I have seen enough kittens to last me awhile. 

 Sorted by color.  This kind of anal retentive behavior is how I know she's mine. 

 Gymnastics!

 Inflatable pool in the back yard.  We were forced to call it "the beach" all day. 

Taking a breather with the iPad.  

Siblings!

I have never fully understood siblings.  I have a half sister, but she is 8 years younger than me and grew up in NJ, so we really didn't spend much time together.  I was nervous to see how Taryn would adapt to being a big sister and it has been really fun to watch how these two interact.  Taryn adores her little brother, but she can be a little rambunctious and loves to pick him up and take his toys and tell him NO.  Generally just show her age and dominance over him.  Cole adores his big sister, but you can already see him formulating ideas of how to annoy her. 

 "I don't want Cole to sit with me.  Him smell like pee." 

 Playing with our new garage sale purchase, Cole's chair. 

 I really have to thank Cole.  Sometimes he takes some heat off of me by just being the one his sister talks to.  She can talk pretty much all day long and sometimes my brain needs a break. 

 Big sis in the backseat.  Very handy! 

 These pictures sum it up...  Sometimes it's a kiss, sometimes it's a face rake. 

 On this day, according to Taryn, they both had imaginary friends with them.  So thoughtful of her to even imagine a friend for Cole. 

 I can't remember if they were in a car or a boat here...

Grumpy Taryn just wants to watch her show and Cole can't take his eyes off the remote control!  

Taryn is FOUR!

Taryn's birthday week was an EXTREMELY busy one.  Perhaps that is why it has taken me nearly a month to blog about it...  Recovering. 

 

Monday was Taryn's actual birthday.  4 years ago...  How is that possible?  For breakfast Taryn got pancakes in the shape of a 4.  

 Tuesday was Taryn's preschool graduation!  Next year she will be at the same place, but next year is considered "Pre-K".  Taryn's preschool program is at the high school in our area.  In addition to two adult teachers, she has a handful of high school students that work in the classroom that are also teachers.  Taryn loves to watch the big girls teach and tell my all the things that they do.  Like "The teachers at my school walk backwards in the hallway."  "The teachers in my school hold their hair like this when they get a drink."  Etc. 

 Each child got an award at graduation.  We were all waiting to see what Taryn's would be and kind of contemplated some ideas.  Chattiest...  Dramatic...  What would it be? 

 The answer:  MOST IMAGINATIVE.  Yep, that definitely sums up our girl.  :)  Sometimes her games of pretend are so in depth and change with such frequency that I can barely keep up.  Below is a pic of Taryn and her preschool BFF, Brielle.  Taryn can't quite pronounce Brielle's name yet, and she calls her Gee-elle.  (Brielle doesn't seem to mind.) 

 As an art project, all the kids made little graduates and wrote their name on them.  Below, one of the teachers wrote what they said they wanted to be when they grew up.  Taryn's said that she wanted to be "a little kid teacher".  As I browsed a lot of the kids' projects, a lot of the girls wanted to be teachers and the boys wanted to be cops.  Who knew Lee and I were living the dream!  (Brielle's was hilarious.  She said that she wanted to be "a mommy and a princess".)

 Then on Saturday, Taryn had her 4th birthday party.  It was a Barbie theme, complete with a Barbie cake, a Barbie dress, and lots and lots of Barbie gifts! 

 Waiting to blow out all FOUR of those candles! 

 Cake is eaten & presents are open...  Time to PLAY! 

 Taryn, you are my chatty, sweet, dramatic girl.  You are a social butterfly who loves to play.  You have a lot of mommy's personality traits that are sometimes hard for me to see, but then sometimes I am just in awe of the sparkle in your eye and your infectious silly laughter.  This year held so many big firsts for you and you handled them with grace.  Your first experience with school and you loved it.  Becoming a big sister...  And you love him.  Almost as much as he adores you.  You learned to share your mom & dad (and you're working on learning to share grandma).  You are quick to put on a show, whether it is singing & guitar or slapstick comedy.  You love knock-knock jokes, but they make no sense.  You enjoy musicals and will sing your renditions of the songs for months after seeing one.  You have a huge heart and worry about those that you love.  After seeing the musical The Sound of Music recently, you spent many hours worrying about the VonTrapp family that "had to go to another country because a war was starting and they didn't want to fight."  Just tonight you mentioned that you would be turning 5 next.  Boy is this momma glad we have 11 months until that.  Though I am not ready for 5 and kindergarten and school buses, I know you will welcome all those firsts with open arms and a bright outlook.  I hope you always keep this happy demeanor and zest for life.  You shine so brightly that you light up those around you.  I love you my sweet pea. 

I can write my name!

At Taryn's preschool, they dot the students name and then the kids trace over it.  At home, I pushed Taryn a little more, writing her name and then having her write it below.  No dots.  The other day, while playing with her whiteboard, she told me she could do it herself.  No dots, no example.  And she did! 

(At first I was like "Oh crap, how am I going to keep this for her scrapbook?  It's on a whiteboard."  Thus, the pictures.)

Angels... When they're sleeping.

I feel like I have gotten an inordinate amount of "sleep pictures" lately.  Perhaps because this is the main time that I actually have time to run and get the camera and snap a few shots. 

 

 Taryn has been avoiding naps.  The result...  She zonks out in the car and will barely wake up for dinner!

 Lee enjoying her sleeping in his arms for the first time in a loooooooong time. 

 How do you sleep like that?  She must have had a sore neck in the morning. 

Another nap in the car carries over into the house. 

 He makes sleeping look good. 

 Snuggley soft!

 Sleep thinking. 

 Sleep vogue-ing. 

Sleeping with the remote control.  Must have learned that one from Lee!