A family kind of week

This past week my brother and his girlfriend Carly came home. It was so nice to have them home and the weather was quite perfect. Only a spotty shower here and there, but nothing to ruin our plans. The highlights from the week were swimming, family dinners, and going to the MN Twins game. We all had such a wonderful week. We were sad to see them leave today, but are thrilled that they will hopefully be home for the birth of the baby at Christmas. Now if this baby would just cooperate the right way....... Now it's back to reality this week. My laundry is piling up, I need to get to the store, we have to start back-to-school shopping and then there is always gymnastics and dance. The summer seems as though it flew by. I am looking forward to the weeks ahead and will cherish every moment in the sun with my family. I am incredibly blessed!

We're going to the zoo.......

Last weekend despite the heat and the sun, we had a perfect day trip to the MN Zoo as a family. Sophia and I got up bright and early Friday morning to go to the library to get the museum pass. This pass allowed both Hal and I to be free at the zoo so we saved $36. It was such a great treat!! We had a wonderful time exploring the zoo grounds, checking out the animals, and having our version of a picnic lunch in front of the horned deer.

Here are Sophia and Hal enjoying the beginning part of the zoo. One of Sophia's favorite animals and mine as well at the zoo is the Prarie Dogs. I think that they are incredibly funny and also very curious. Sophia has always loved checking them out and trying to call to the "baby" ones to see if they will follow her.

Ever since the penguins have arrived to the zoo last season it has always been a challenge to see them. I feel like they are in such a small area and there is always SO many people in that tiny area. Here's the best picture I got of her with the penguins.

After such a fun day at the zoo we were all exhausted and worn out from all of the walking and sun so we decided to head home. What a great family fun day we had!

It's Official!!

Sophia is going to be a big sister in December! We are very excited and are looking forward to the arrival of our new little LaFleur. Summer has been going by fast so far. Sophia has been busy with dance and gymnastics. She is loving both of them. We also went to a cabin for a couple of days and spent some time with friends. We are gearing up for the fourth of July and all that is to come this month. Should be another great month!

Happy 5th Birthday Sophia

It feels like just yesterday I was holding the tiniest baby in my arms. Sophia Belle LaFleur was born May 22nd 2007 weighing in at a whopping 6 pounds 4 ounces. Not bad for being overdue and trying to come early at 30 weeks. Over the last five years we have had more adventures with Sophia than I can count. Every small milestone from learning to walk, learning to talk, starting dance, starting gymnastics, being in the swimming pool, our first trip to Disney World and the list goes on. I cherish each and every day of being a mom. Sophia has been one of the greatest gifts to me. Now she is our big girl. Doing dance and gymnastics, almost ready for Kindergarten, constantly singing songs and performing, as well as putting together some pretty tough Legos. I will continue to look at each and every day as a new start and a new chance to make memories with my baby girl. Happy Birthday Princess! We love you!

Ultrasound Picture of Sophia

Welcome to the world Sophia!

Sophia's 5th Birthday

Graduation Day

I can hardly believe that in just a couple of short weeks Sophia will be graduating from Pre-Kindergarten and enter Kindergarten in the fall. She has had such an amazing school year at Stepping Stones. She just absolutely adores her teacher Ms. Sarah. She looks forward to all of the learning and fun each day. I have noticed a change in her recently. She's not my baby anymore. She's officially a big girl! On top of that she will turn five later this month. It is hard to believe that five years ago she was just this tiny little thing. She has grown into such a lovely little lady. The actual graduation is on June 5th. I can hardly wait to tear up seeing her in her little cap and gown. Here's a preview of the big day.

Special Sunday

Yesterday at church we experienced a very special Sunday as a family. Sophia was presented with her very own Spark Bible. She could barely wait and was eager and ready to go when she got up. She put on a dress that she picked out and then did a twirl. It was quite adorable.

I reminded her that when she is up front, everyone will be able to see her so she should smile and be a good listener. They did the presentation toward the beginning of the service which was a good thing, but before they did, we had a palm parade. Due to the fact that it was Palm Sunday they told the kids about how people shared their palms and made a path for Jesus. So they gave each child two palms (one to share) and we paraded around the church.

When the presentation happened it was so adorable to see all of their eager and excited little faces. The best part is that they were gift wrapped.

Sophia has been showing EVERYONE her bible. She is so incredibly proud and we are too! Here are a couple of pictures from the day:

Working on Writing

Lately we have had several occasions where Sophia has had to as we teachers call it, "Work on Writing". I know....a silly catch phrase from my reading curriculum Daily 5. Her writing continues to progress. I am amazed by the amount of time she is willing to take sometimes writing her name or words she wants to spell.

She had two birthdays in one week at school and she decided she wanted to make cards for both of them. One was her teacher's birthday and the other a friend Harrison in her class.

I took a picture of the card she made for Harrison because, it was just so sweet. Check it out below: