Spotlight on SL

It's 7:28 a.m. and all three of my children are still asleep. This is unheard of at our house. Usually at this time, at least one of them is awake. I'm just waiting for the cry from ML or the door to open from the girls room to come any minute.

This week is going by so fast, which is a bonus from having a holiday on Monday.

Today I'm going to do a spotlight on SL. I'm going to remember next year to do them on their birthdays, but since I'm a little behind, I thought I would start with SL and get on track when her birthday rolls around in October. I want to remember what my children are like at different ages in their lives, and I find this is the easiest way for me to do that.

Here is a photo of SL and me the day after she was born. For a first time mom, do I look exhausted or what!

I love this picture of Grandpa and Grandma LeBaron.

SL is getting geared up for her piano recital on Saturday. She is playing two songs, "Cukoo" (which is the first song she has learned using both the right and left hands) and "Short Story". I'm so proud of the progress she has made in playing the piano. She has been taking lessons now for two years. I wondered if starting her at three was a little young, but now, I'm glad we did. We decided to do piano instead of preschool (since we really couldn't afford doing both) and for her, it has worked out really well. We plan on starting IL taking lessons in September, which she often talks about doing. The Suzuki piano method has turned out to be the best method for SL. I'm so grateful for a BYU student who taught SL that first summer two years ago and introduced our family to it. SL has really taken off with it. She will usually practice piano in the morning, and all I have to say to her is "are you ready to practice piano today"? Usually the answer is yes, sometimes she will say she wants to practice later, or not at all. I'm okay with that because most days she practices. In fact, she has practice every day for two weeks straight. My motivator is gum. SL loves to chew gum, all day long. She knows that if she wants to have gum, she needs to practice piano. I know that someday this will not work, but for right now, it is a great motivator for her to practice.

This is SL when she was 9 months old.

This is SL on her 1st birthday, just after destroying her cake!

She is so excited to start school. She will officially start school on July 29th.

7:39, and there is the door opening, I knew it was coming soon! It's IL awake.

I'm excited for her too. I have very fond memories of my early school days, and I'm excited for her to make some of her own memories. She does her school work every day (writing her letters, numbers, spelling words, etc.) She loves to just sit down and write. We are still working on writing her last name, and sometimes she can't remember what letter comes next, but she will get it, and I'm sure by the time school starts, she will be ready to go. It's hard to me to imagine her starting school so early, in the middle of the summer. I grew up on the traditional school schedule, and was really against year round school, but now I've warmed up to the idea, and I don't think it is going to be so bad.

This is SL when she was 2 and I was pregnant with IL. It was Christmas 2004.

SL loves to ask questions. This week, she's been asking me all about mosquito's, and how they work, do they take the blood back home to their babies? It's been so cute to see how curious she is. She also was asking me yesterday about how bones break, what it looks like when to do, how do they get fixed, etc.... I love it, and I'm trying to encourage her curiosity.

This is SL when she was three. She is holding her favorite bear, Sparkles. We have no idea where that bear has ended up. At one time in her life, she wouldn't sleep without it. There was one time when we left it at Mike's parents house, and they had to mail it to us. She was so excited to have her back. It makes me sad that we can't find her. Hopefully someday, she will be found!

She loves it when someone has an owie, not because they are hurt, but because she turns into nurse mode. She will get a tissue, get it wet, and wipe their owie until the blood is gone. She told me one day that she doesn't want to grow up and be a mom, but she is going to grow up and be a doctor.

This is SL on her 4th birthday.

SL rode the bus to Salt Lake with her dad right after she turned 4. It was a memorable day for them both, and they talk about doing it again, only on the train this time!

SL loves to have breakfast for dinner, and has been asking me two nights in a row to make it. I told her that I will make it tonight. She loves to have sleepovers at grandpa and grandmas house. She also loves to play with her sister and her brother. She is a very sensitive, thoughtful, honest, loving little girl, and I love her so much. We feel so blessed to have her in our family.

Here is a photo of SL just taken a couple of days ago. She and IL have had so much fun playing with these blow up toys from the dollar store.

8:00 and they are all awake, just long enough for me to do this blog!