Look at those locks...

Our little lady had her first haircut today. Since Aubrin has never had her haircut she still had baby fine hair on her ends. I decided it was time to get all the baby cut off-weep, weep. Aubrin has been excited but a little nervous to get her locks cut. I took her to see Dave that does my hair (for the past 13 years). Of course grandma came to share the experience of the "first". When we got there Aubrin was very shy. She dug her face into my shoulder and would not look up. Well, that wasn't going to work out so well if we wanted even hair. Eventually she got a bit more comfortable. She sat on my lab, because sitting by herself didn't seem to be an option in her eyes. Once Dave got started she did great. When he was all done, Aubrin looked like such a big girl with her new hair.

Grandma had a special gift for her to open after we were finished. What girl doesn't love new hair accessories for her new hair? Aubrin loved them! She kept say, "Oh thank you Grandma, I love them." Then we went our for a girls lunch. We love our girl time!

Happy Birthday Mom

Earlier this month was my moms birthday. This was a big birthday for her and not one she was taking easily- she turned 60! We waited to celebrate her birthday until Erin and her family were able to come home for the weekend. Although my mom was not too excited about celebrating it, she couldn't imagine doing it without the whole family together. Everyone including my grandma came over to our house for dinner. It nice to have the kids play for a while since they don't see each other that often.
I attempted to make cake pops instead of a cake. There is definitely an art to making them. The cake part turned out great, but frosting them was another story. I followed the directions and made the frosting to dip them in. As I was dipping them and twirling them, Jackson says, "Mom, that doesn't look right. I think you should try doing it again." So we tried doing another one and it didn't look any better. So I got out a good old can of frosting and did it that way-beautiful! I need to learn the right way, but for that moment it was fine. Jackson and Aubrin helped me frost and sprinkle- fun for all.

We sang happy birthday with all of the kids sitting on my mom. She was in heaven with all of her babes on her. Trying to get a great picture with all of the kids smiling was tough, but we got a few funny ones trying! It was funny watching the kids eat the cake pops. Will and Jackson ate one in seconds. Aubrin was very careful trying to eat hers on the stick so it wouldn't fall off and Emerson licked hers like a sucker. Loved the frosting, but never ate the cake. Then we opened presents to finish up the evening. As always, I hate when these evenings come to an end. It means we have to say good bye to Erin and her family until next time one of us has a planned trip.
It was a wonderful evening celebrating the best mom in the world!

Valentine's Day

We have been preparing for Valentine's Day for weeks. I gave Jackson and Aubrin many options that they could do for their Valentine's. They both decided to peel crayons and melt them into the shape of hearts. So cute, but a lot more work than I thought it would be. I told the kids that they needed to be a part of it, so we peeled crayons for DAYS!!! Then I decided to make them for my class as well. That added on many more DAYS of peeling. They turned out very cute. Jackson signed his quickly, but it took my little lovely a few days to sign all 20 of hers. We broke it up into a few days so she didn't get frustrated.
I laugh because I couldn't find a Valentine's Day shirt for Jackson to wear that was what I think is appropriate for a five year old to wear. So I had one made for him. Then Jackson comes home and tells me it's pajama day at school. Of course it would be after I spent how long searching for a shirt? So I made it work and found PJ pants to match his shirt.
On Valentine's Day we woke up early and had a yummy love day breakfast.
Jackson was excited for the day. It was a big day in kindergarten. Not only was it his valentines party, but it was also his 100th day of school. Parents weren't invited in, but Jackson tells us it was a great day.
Aubrin was excited to go to her Happy Hearts party. Todd and I couldn't go, so she took grandma with her. They had fun doing crafts and eating treats. Aubrin was so excited to hand out her Valentine's. She was also excited to receive.
That night at dinner we were talking about their day. Jackson said that he had a surprise for Aubrin. He had decorated a cookie for her at school and brought it home for her. Aubrin said, "I have something for you too!" She also decorated a cookie for Jackson at school and brought it home for him. I love that they think about each other when they are not together. Of course 5 minutes later they were dragging each other across the floor, but for that brief moment I love the thoughtfulness that they shared with each other.

Jump Rope for Heart

For the first time Jackson participated in Jump Rope for Heart. Todd and I talk to our kids so much about helping people, giving our time and trying to make a difference. When Jackson brought home the paperwork for Jump Rope for Heart, I looked at it as a wonderful opportunity for Jackson to give back. He called family members and told them why he needed them to donate money and what he would be doing.
Jackson spent two hours at the high school jump roping on a team with kids from his school. He was pretty excited that his teacher ended up being on his team. It was so well organized. His school had to wear red. They jumped in pairs for a while. Then they played different games while jumping rope. The ropes were a bit long, so Jackson was not having a great luck with his jumping, but he was having fun. At one time I noticed he put his rope down and he was just dancing to the music playing. That's my kid!
At the end of the afternoon, all of the kids sat on the floor (over 300 kids). Kids that were born with heart issues were brought up with their families and said thank you to all of the jumpers. When we were driving home Jackson talked a lot about how the money he raised helped the kids he saw today. He seemed pretty proud to be a part of the day.

There is always the first time...

We had a few firsts this weekend. Before baseball season starts Todd always has camps for younger kids. For the past couple of years Jackson has asked if he could go with Todd. He has never been old enough to go and he didn't have the skills needed to go and be safe at the camps with bats swinging and balls flying. So this year when Todd started talking about the camp Jackson's ears perked right up. Of course, Jackson asked if he could go with Todd. I'm sure he was expecting Todd to say no, so when he said yes, Jackson was so excited. On the first day of camp Aubrin and I walked Jackson into the camp. I was only going to stay a few minutes, snap some pictures and then leave. As I was standing up to leave Jackson comes over to me and whispers in my ear, "Do you think you could stay a little longer? I'm feeling a bit nervous." I told him of course I would stay the whole time. He did GREAT! It was cute to watch Jackson follow directions from a few of the other coaches at the camp and then look around the gym to get Todd's attention so he could get dads approval as well. Jackson will continue going to the camp every Sunday for a month. I'm sure it will get him even more excited for baseball season.
Our little lady also had a first...I painted her finger nails. I know that sounds silly because most little girls have their nails painted all the time. I paint her toenails, but her finger nails have been off limits. I think I am trying to bottle up her "littleness" as long as I can. Painted nails seem so big girl to me. So I gave in and painted them, although its the lightest color pink I could find. She thought they were beautiful and sat on the couch for a long time waiting for them to dry. She wanted to be very careful with her new fancy nails. She couldn't wait for daddy to come home to show him.
Here's to new things happening in the Miller house!