Greek Festival with Steph

A visit from Stephanie coincided with our annual Greek Festival trip so of course we had to combine the fun. I am so glad Stephanie makes time to fly in to see us from time to time - she is my LA celebrity in town for a day. We just hung out most of the day and then ate way too much food - gyros and greek fries and spanikopita. Oh my!

Thanks for visiting Steph! We were Claire's age when we met - 6 years old! 29 years later, still friends. It is nice to re-connect with someone who has known you for that much of your life.

The kids always amaze me at how brave they are on the dance floor - I think it's their favorite part, actually.

Penelope - 16 Months

We were a bit late to Penelope's 15 month well-check, which honestly I kind of forgot about scheduling. I just thought we had 18 months and then a year. You would think I'd remember all this since Miles is only 4...

Penelope was a trooper - she shared her doll and blanket with another little girl, walked around smiling and waving at everyone (still not much talking going on) and was pretty content hanging out in the exam room. She used to waiting for her siblings already... the lot of a third child. She cried for maybe 1 minute after her 3 shots - the lollipop helped too. :)

Here are her stats:

Height: 31.75 inches (75th percentile)

Weight: 28.75 lbs (50th percentile)

Head: 47 cm (75th percentile)

Hair: super soft and curly and adorable

Likes: animals but especially dogs, strawberries and other fruit, playing with dolls, stuffed animals, playing house/kitchen with Claire and Miles. She is great at pretending - it's so cute! Her language is still slow to develop but the doctor said she has two other spokespeople - Claire and Miles. But sometimes that excuse gets old - I'm ready for her to start talking! She says words here and there but then never says them again. Her pointing and grunting is getting the job done for now.

Finally in the Six Club!

All last school year, Claire was so sad to be the only one in her class not in the Six Club. She is once again the youngest girl in her class - in fact, another girl in her first grade class turned seven on the same day. But biased as I am, I think she is one of the brightest little kids around.

Thank you Aunt Becky!! We love getting presents! These started out the birthday celebration!

We just did a party at MeMa's, which was Claire's request. I am glad because I don't want to do a big party every year. I need to come up with some rules or traditions about birthdays, like which years get a party or what they get to choose each year - a party or a bigger present maybe?

My favorite present for Claire this year? The Little House on the Prairie books. I can't wait to read them with Claire! I got them from my grandma w hen I was maybe 10 and I read them so many times over the years. It was cool to have Betty give them to Claire because she grew up in South Dakota near where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in the Dakotas.

Birthdays wear us out! Ken borrowed the La La Loopsy game blindfold

Claire looked into this bag and immediately shut it tight - UNDERWEAR! 

Hello Kitty is still in vogue this year - she requested cupcakes for both her class and her party

Girls Trip to Utah

We took a trip up to Salt Lake/Provo to see our friends the Jensen's who recently moved from Vegas and to be the biggest fans at the Garrens Reunion Show at BYU, more specifically to see Becky Baird perform several comedy sketches and do improv - is that what you say, "do improv" - sorry Becky, I'm not up on the lingo :) Anyway, she was fabulously funny and she is our very own super star. And yes, we did laugh all day every day when we were roommates. :)

I did miss my family a lot, I'm not gonna lie. It was a tough trip in a few ways. I don't go on many trips without them, in fact this was the first girls trip I went on in more than 4 years (I was pregnant with Miles when we went to Chicago). Temple Square was beautiful and even with some rain, it was great weather and a nice break from the Vegas heat, but I was happy to be home too.

My New Schedule...

...is rough.

This is how we wait for Claire Bear for about an hour before we pick her up at school. I only have to go twice a week - Matt goes the other days. Yet I still dread this part of the day all week long. These kids are troopers though and Miles will take a nap while I appease Penelope with fruit snacks and other treats until she can get home to take her own nap.

Wizard of Oz at the Smith Center

I took Claire to see the Wizard of Oz at the Smith Center for an early birthday present. She loved that movie as a toddler and was never scared to watch it. When my mom first showed it to her, I thought she was crazy but Claire loved any movie with songs in it. 

Claire would sing along to all the songs - there is nothing cuter than a three year old singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow! She doesn't know all the words as well now, but it is still one of her favorite stories and I wanted to do something special for her birthday, which is coming up next week. 

Sometimes you just can't log the required reading time for homework each night - so we read the play bill instead, and learned about theater etiquette. I think that counts for learning new things and experiencing a cultural event, don't you?

The show was so fun! Lots of smoke and fire, glitter and green. The wicked witch stole the show, for sure! She had some great comedic moments and a fabulous dress and hair. Here are some pictures I found online from the show: