Thursday was my Tanna's 2 year old birthday! It's hard to believe she's 2, but it's fun to watch her grow up! She is talking (well, we can understand her!) now and she has such big ideas for how things should go! It is so fun watching the difference between boys and girls. (At least my girl!) She is so much different than I ever expected! She is so busy and tough! She gets into many more messes than the boys ever did and she is so fun -- in a girlie kind of way! She loves to play in the dirt and needs 2 baths a day, but then she'll turn around and cuddle with her baby doll! It's fun to watch her! She is definitely her own little person and there's no changing her! She can throw a tantrum like the best of them and then cuddle and hug like no other. She's got her dad wrapped around his little finger and he loves having a daughter! (He was nervous when he first found out we were having a girl!) She is such an character! Her most common phrases are: "I don't like it!" "Do it again!" "Come on, Mom" "He's mean!" "No!" "Mason's rude!" "Go 'way!" And so forth... You get the idea that she can hold her own just fine!
Tanna's favorite movie is one put out by the Waterford Institute called the ABCs and Such. She watches it over and over again! They teach each letter and teach how to write it with a catchy phrase (like A -- slant down, slant down, across) and then the sound. Then it sings the ABC song a million times. You'd think she'd get tired of it, but she loves it!! Kim said she pointed out a P on the keyboard the other day at her house. I'm glad to see that the hours she has spent watching this movie have paid off!! :-) I'm hoping she'll be an early reader and a breeze to teach! We'll see! It is fun to hear her sing the alphabet song though. She doesn' t get it perfect, but she does pretty well for someone so young!! As I sit here typing, she is trying to draw the letters on her Magnadoodle! See she can be adorable!!
Anyway, I am so thankful to have a little girl! She is nothing I expected and everything I could ever ask for! She has made our lives so much brighter and brought a whole new dimension to our lives. The boys adore her (most of the time) and are so good with her! She can drive them crazy, but that's part of her job! So, thank goodness for little girls! My mom use to say this rhyme all of the time: "There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good. And when she was bad, she was horrid!" I can't imagine why she would ever have said that to me, except now I know it fits perfectly with my little girl! :-) ...And boy do we love her!!!
We spent Tanna's birthday night by going to Burger King. Her brothers had some influence on her decision. We then went to Big Lots and bought her a little phone (Thanks Mark and family!) and then we went over to Toys R Us. They were out of crowns and balloons -- disappointing! But we picked up a sand and water table from G & G Shanks. We also picked out a bike for her that actually fits her tiny little legs. The boys each bought something with money they had brought. (A Ben 10 toy for Scottie and a mini Barney for Mason. They were in heaven!) We went home to sing and have cake. It wasn't the most exciting birthday, but we figured she's 2 and doesn't really care all that much yet! We have years of that ahead of us!! :-) At least she felt honored and knew it was her "bootday."
Friday was our dance festival and field day at school. The weather held out, for the most part, and we had a great day. Dave brought Mason and Tanna out despite Scottie's pleas for him to come. He was embarrassed! It turned out that he was thrilled they had come and was glad they got to see his class perform "Cotton-eye Joe." My class did a cute song from Shrek called "On My Way." One of my student's mom choreographed and taught the kids the dance! Yahoo! It was cute and I think the parents were impressed with all of the dances!
After school Kim called and realized she was short 2 graduation gowns for that evening's preschool graduation. I was at school still and one of the teachers said she could help me sew something together. I went to her house and we hurried to make 2 more gowns. Claudia was amazing and I owe her. She had me with my lack of sewing talent cutting, pinning, and ironing while she sewed. We did it (or SHE did it and I helped) and I raced to the store to pick up the pop for that night. I hurried home, changed Mason and we all jumped in the van to get there about 5 minutes before it started. That was a busy night! But it was very worth it! Kim did a fantastic and very professional job and I think everyone was impressed! The kids sang songs, she showed a DVD she had made with pictures of the kids set to music and then they did the formal procession. It was very cute and Mason was very proud to have us there watching him! He had hoped to have all his aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc., but I told him this would just be for our family this time and that we would take a lot of pictures! Paige ended up being there to help and Mason was so glad that she had come just to see him. (Or so he thought!) Thanks, Paige AND Kim. It was a nice evening!
Saturday we went to Jungle Jim's to meet all the sisters and families to celebrate Tanna and Ella's birthdays! It's an indoor carnival and the kids had a blast! We had a hard time getting them to leave. We had a fun time and enjoyed being with the other local cousins!
Sunday we went to a neighbor's for a BBQ. There were 3 other families from our ward/neighborhood and it was nice to visit with them. It was a perfect weather day and I'm glad we didn't wait until Monday with the rain!
Today we have taken it easy. It's rained most of the day, so it made it an indoor day. We went and had leftovers at the neighbors (aren't they good to us?!) and then the boys spent an hour or so collecting worms! Luckily they ended up in the Toney's garden and not in our house! I was a bit nervous about that!!
I read my assignment for tomorrow's class (my night class) and wrote my paper. The boys watched "Old Yeller" and the day is now over! Wow, it was a nice weekend, but it's over! I wish I had another few days! Only 4 more days of school and then I can officially be "off" for the summer. (Actually, my summer is going to be pretty busy, but at least it will be a bit free-er!)
That's life with the Shanks in a nutshell! Signing off for now -- I'm Jill Shanks!! :-)
5 comments:
What a woman! You are amazing - sounds like a super weekend (super busy)! Tanna is adorable! She has the sweetest smile even with that mischevious steak. Glad she had a good birthday weekend - sounds like she was the queen (probably always is).
Good luck to you in finishing up the school year. The dance festival looked so cute. Of course, we think Scottie was the best looking cowboy there.
And Mason in his graduation outfit is just too cute! Sorry that we had to miss it. Guess he will get to "graduate" again next year though.
Love you, Sweetheart!
Very cute pictures! Thanks for all your help this weekend!! We owe you. I need to borrow that ABC DVD if Tanna will ever let me - sounds good. Scottie did look adorable in his outfit.
Good luck with the end of school! As a parent, I'll be glad when the kids are done this week. Although, then they'll just be calling me all day at work, telling me how bored they are. :) Oh well!
Glad that Tanna had some fun birthday celebrations! Where does the time go?!
Sounds like life is never dull at your house! Glad Tanna had a good birthday. We have more clothes for her (and Karyssa, if Lynn needs them). We'll bring them when we come out for the reunion. Karli is already about too big for size 3T clothes, especially the shirts since she has such a good-sized tummy!
Loved this post! Jill, I am constantly amazed at all you do in your busy, crazy life! You have an amazing ability to be optimistic and funny when things are chaotic. It was so fun to read about Tanna's birthday and the last week of school. All of the pictures were adorable! It sounds like Tanna is the perfect little girl for your family. She reminds me of YOU a lot. And it sounds like she's starting off with a wonderful self-esteem! :) She's such a cutie and very smart. I'm glad you get a nice summer to relax a little bit. Your kids are darling!
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