The Gerichs : April

I'm almost caught up!!! Squeal!!! April was a fun month. We kicked it off by purchasing a playset from Costco for the girls. We went back and forth forever, and finally just drove down and bought the darn thing. I love getting the girls out of the house as I'm honestly not a home body, but the thought of doing that with a newborn kind of exhausts me, and I was hoping this would take the place of the park for awhile...

I took the girls to the Eggstravaganza Easter Egg Hunt at my parents church while my Dad came over to help Robby in the fun 12 hour assembly. It really does take that long. I thought that maybe since my husband is a super handy-man he could have it up and done in 5, but it really did come with a 100 page assembly book and 500 screws. Big thanks to both of them for working on it ALL day so that it could be a surprise at night when we brought the girls home. So that's what happened...we revealed it to them and lets just say they weren't all that enamored at first. They squealed and said thanks a bunch, and then asked to be swung on the hammock. Hmmmm. It was one week later when I told Simone she could have a piece of candy if she went down the dang slide...and of course she LOVED it and has had no qualms repeating the act since. We've put water at the bottom of the slide, and note to any kid coming over while there's water on: DO NOT take your panties off. The slide is fast anyways, and unless you want your slick toosh to make you clear four feet of grass before you land hard on that toosh, keep your pants on. See, I told MY kids this- but they don't listen to me, so they had to learn the hard way...and me? I almost peed my pants laughing so hard. I know that sounds so mean, but when you tell them something five times and they proceed to do it anyways and you happen to see it in action, all you can do is laugh uncontrollably and tell your sobbing 3 and 5 year old- "I told you so!" Fast forward a month, and they LOVE it. Sydney will frequently go out and just sit on the swing with a snack, a baby doll or just herself to be out there. When friends are over they play house, chase, store, whatever. It's proven to be a good purchase so far, thankfully!

Sydney and I had a mommy/daughter date and went to Ceramica to paint together. I have to admit, I have a hard time keeping my big yapper shut and just allowing her to do her thing. When we're making something for someone (in this case a coffee cup for Daddy) I want her to do her best, take tons of time and make it perfect. But that's not how Sydney does art, and I need to embrace that. Maybe it's not how any 5 year old does art. And isn't that the precious part of 5 year old art? The cup turned out adorably and Robby put it in perfect perspective tonight. We were standing at the kitchen table looking at the mug and he said- "Pretend your 20 year old daughter Sydney just walked in through that garage door. What do you think of this cup now that she's standing here at 20?" I love that man and his precious perspective. I love her excitement to be doing anything crafty that she wants to just continually move onto the next because it's so fun. She doesn't mean to not be in the moment, she just doesn't want the moment to end. After painting we went downtown and equally enjoyed every bite of our Pollo Rey fish tacos together and then bought her a balloon from market. I enjoyed just being with this big girl of mine, and I think she enjoyed herself as well. ♥