May

We gave Jaxon his own toolbox in hopes that he would stop stealing his daddies tools and just use the ones we provided him with :)

He had a great time helping Jess rotate the tires!

These two really do love each other..... most of the time......

Sierra's first pony tail without any help.  The girl has so.much.hair.

The grapes are taking over!  It's going to be a bountiful year!

The wild strawberries are ready!

They are so tiny.  I cannot imagine picking enough to make jam.

Sierra's farm field trip

Most of the animals weren't really new to Sierra.  But we've never had baby chicks and she just loved them.

We rescued a baby bunny from Sugar the doggie.  Before we took it to Chintimini Wildlife Center the kids got some loves.

Sierra learned to ride her bike this month.  No biggie, right?  I had no idea how profound of a moment it would be.  After some unsuccessful tries in town on cement, we let Sierra coast down in the tall field grass.  Later, she wobbled around in circles in the garage so we walked her down the driveway to try on the flat gravel road.  She sat on the seat, picked up her feet and peddled away.  I stood there completely unaware of how emotional it was going to make me.  But when she peddled down the road in an unsteady line with her coattails flapping in the wind, I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.  So as she rode off into the sun I stood there, bent over with my hands resting on my knees, and cried. 

Of all of the moments I've witnessed this far with my kids, I've never had a moment hit me quite the same way.  I've witnessed their births, first steps, words, and Sierra's first day of school.  None of them have brought me to my knees in the same way.  Maybe it's the symbolism of her growing up and heading out into the world without me - unsteady, but excited about what she'll find up the road.  Maybe it's the realization that she is not a baby anymore and the things she's learning now are bigger and scarier than learning to walk and clap and sing.  Someday she'll learn to drive, she'll graduate, and she'll head down the same gravel road in her car to go to college.  I'll watch her drive away and wish she was back to peddling down the hill on her bike.

After she made the loop and came back up the road to me she was grinning from ear to ear and said "Did you see how fast I went mommy?"  And then she saw my face and I watched her smile turn to confusion.  I was trying so hard to contain my tears that I couldn't speak.  Despite the pinched smile I had plastered on my face, the girl knew I was struggling.  When she asked what was wrong all I could squeak was "I'm just so proud."  Which made her beam again.  Because here's the thing, even though I'm scared at the thought of her growing up, and I'm sad at the thought of watching her ride off into the sunset, the pride factor trumps it all.  At the end of my days, I know that that moment in time will be something I will recall with joy.  Parenting is so full of bittersweet moments.  The ones I expect to make me emotional, come and go so fast that there's no time for tears.  And then random moments catch me completely off guard and I bawl my eyes out.

Allergy season is upon us.  Sigh.  Sierra always gets pink eye from her allergies in May.  I end up keeping her home from school once in a while because her poor eyes look so bad.  Even with her Nasacort nose spray and Zyrtec orally, once a day, she still struggles.  I also made an appointment to take Jaxon to the Allergist to see what causes his hives.  He's also been struggling with itchy ears.  His ear canal and drum actually get blisters on one side.  He's never had an ear infection and his Doctor is kind of puzzled.   My dad knows a lot about ears and said this is something he's unfamiliar with as well.  So I've made an appointment with an ENT as well as an Allergist.  Hopefully we can figure it out because the poor guy digs at his ears until he makes them bleed.  It's awful. 

Despite our allergy issues, I don't keep the kids locked inside.  We spend lots of time outside but do make sure that when we come in we wash hands and faces, change clothes, don't leave windows open, and wash Sierra's hair every night when the pollen count is high.  The kids also have air purifiers in their room.  When Sierra was diagnosed with her pollen allergies her Allergist said it's very important than their indoor environment is free from pollen.  Their bodies need to be able to rest and not constantly be in histamine overload.  Poor kiddos with outdoor AND indoor allergies never get the chance to rest.

The end of the school year is near and we've got about 47 field trips coming up.  It's crazy.  I'm not sure why so much gets crammed into the last few weeks of school.  It seems cruel.  At the very end of the month we visited a farm about 30 minutes away.  The kids had a ball.  Luckily my mom took the afternoon off to watch Jaxon so I could go with Sierra.  It was fun and I got some great pictures.  I'm honestly really ready for summer though.  I'm ready for less germs and a lot less rushing around.  Come on, June! I'm ready!