Tea party time

It was quite a pleasant surprise to come downstairs to see Faustina having her own tea party. Well, I guess she had her doll accompanying her and the seat across from her was another 'friend' that she was talking to. She had it all figured out though, let me tell you.

Faustina is a breath of fresh air these days as she is so very helpful and very fun to talk to, about most anything.

Nowadays, Jude is posing many challenges for Mom and Dad. As Michael joked the other day, we are ready to trade him in for another child! (Sorry Jude if you read this someday, but times are rough.) And the poor child, this morning he had some sort of mystery accident where his arm/wrist hurt and he is not using them. He has basically been crying since 8:30am unless he is sitting still watching a video. Perhaps tomorrow will require a doctor appointment, but I hope not!

Our FOUR year old Princess

Anyone who has been around Faustina, lately, knows that 'princesses' is the theme of her life right now. And thus, it was the theme of her birthday today. The last week she has spend most of her time in this pink outfit with her 'birthday tiara' from Mrs. Ahlberg. Today she spent the day in her purple princess outfit from Lizzia. We are princessed out around here!

Happy 4th Birthday to our oldest and only girl! Between mass, brunch, watching a movie, spending time with close friends and Faustina going to dinner with Grandpa and Jeanne, she had a day filled with fun and blessings.

Our Dancer

On Saturday, Faustina had her ballet and tap recital. We are so very proud of her - she did an excellent job! Their recital was 'big time' this year as they had their debut at St Kate's University in their very nice auditorium. I took plenty of pictures of her and her with family/friends. Isn't she beautiful in her dance outfit? Way to go Fauster!

She's writing

Pretty decent for someone who is not yet 4 years old. Her s's need a little work.

Budding artist

Notice the crossed legs. She is all girl.

A picture of Dad (Mike)

A bear.

The last 6 months or so, Faustina has really taken to drawing. She has become very good at drawing in lines in coloring books and using different colors. She has begun to make her own pictures of family, animals, trees, cars, etc. It is pretty interesting to see what she comes up with. At this point, she prefers drawing and coloring to reading books or watching a short video.

Love the bonnet

Let's just say that during the winter months while Mom was busy with her baby brother, Faustina got some serious video time with "Little House on the Prairie". Can we go back in time, please?, so that everyone can dress like this again?!

The Rule sheets

My dear husband is a designer at heart. This is one of the things I love about him and I didn't even know it until after we married!

So, he put together the new Rule Sheets for Faustina and Jude. We have been having some 'special' times (mainly) with our eldest - the black and white lines had to be drawn. Faustina loves looking at her 'responsibility' sheet and we read it every morning to remind us of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

It has helped quite a bit. There still have been many tantrums, but we now have clear rules and clear consequences. I actually have taken out some parenting books that were given to me years ago but I have yet to crack them open. I am amazed at how children have such a sense of justice. Faustina is accepting of her punishments even though she may not like them. She even has thanked me for punishing her!

I am quite confident that this is only a phase our young daughter is going through. It may be a long phase, but I trust it will be conquered as she matures. Unfortunately, both Mike and I clearly recall being very (and me especially very ) difficult for our parents at times. She is only three years old, I must remind myself and she is growing at a rapid rate. After 2 different highly explosive tantrums this week, she took 4 hour naps.

Her strong will, determination, her perseverance are all good qualities, they simply need to be trained and channeled!

Oh, what an opportunity for us all to grow in virtue - especially parents!

Faustina's first drawings

These are a three year old's attempts at drawing a person. I believe these are Faustina's first drawings that were more than random scribbling.

She wants what she wants... and she wants it NOW!

Faustina: "Dad can we go to the mall?"

Dad: "Sorry, not right now."

Faustina: "Why? I want to."

Dad: "Well, because it is night time and all the stores are closed."

Faustina: "No. [In dictator voice.] I don't want it to be night time."

Dad: "Sorry. Look outside, it's dark. That's just the way it is. People go to bed at night and stores close when it's dark. So, we can't go to the mall."

[A minute passes.]

Faustina: "Dad, can you get a big ladder and climb up it to the sky and heaven, and then make it summer time and day outside?"

Birthday girl

Yesterday was Faustina's 3rd birthday. THIRD birthday, what? This little girl seems years ahead of that. Quite the young lady! We had the Lee family over for brunch yesterday on her real birthday (Uncle Aaron was in town). And today we celebrated with both families over yummy desserts.

This pictures captures the Fauster on her 3rd birthday. "Yessss....? What can I do for you? I am three years old and ready to take on the world!"




My favorite part of my little girl's birthday was yesterday afternoon walking up and down up and down the block with her for over an hour while the 4 boys slept in the house. We were able to walk through puddles since it had rained earlier, Faustina was running ahead dancing while singing at the top of her lungs (literally) and we had good conversation too! She carried her cards around the block showing our neighbors and telling them it was her birthday. And then one of our neighbors surprised us and brought over the beautiful doll cake - what a treat! Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

Into babies

Faustina is turning 3 in a few weeks, and she is into babies! She already has the tendency being the oldest and being a girl with a strong personality to take charge and be a 'mom' to Jude, other friends, or even sometimes Mom and Dad! She loves her dolls and she carries them around in her sweater 'backpack' for sometimes an hour or longer. She sings to them, feeds them, puts them down for a nap, and the one baby often has a dozen different names in the same hour - Faustina can't seem to pick. This behavior is typical of this age and she has been doing it for awhile, but she has certainly stepped it up lately. It is quite endearing.

Our bubble gum girl

Faustina had her big spring recital today, and she did a great job! This group of 2-3 year old have come a long way this past year. Faustina was very comfortable standing in front of her audience without dancing her routine during her first performance last December. A few weeks ago on the car ride home, I asked her why she still wasn't always dancing with the group. She promptly responded that she was not suppose to dance, Miss Laura told her to watch. And she is right, her teacher DID tell the girls to watch her in order to imitate her dancing. Faustina was only doing the 'watching' part and not the 'dancing' part. So Mike and I grilled into her head over the last few weeks that she is suppose to watch AND dance. In fact, the whole point of her performance is for people to come and see her dance. Well, it seemed to work - because she did dance for us this time.

Coming to class every Friday for 30 minutes these girls [started to] learn how to be graceful young ladies. They learned to work as a group, follow instructions, they memorized a routine, performed in front of a large group of people and were pretty much as cute as could be. Faustina had her parents, Grandpa Lee and Terry, Grandpa Gary and Jeanne, Uncle Travis, Aunt Kim and Lizzia there to support her in her big debut. Afterward, Grandpa Gary treated us to very nice dinner. We're so proud of you, Faustina - you've got the groove! (Unfortunately, the video quality is poor, but it gives a general idea!)

ABC's coming along

With Auntie Kim practicing the alphabet with Faustina along with the letters we are (slowly) putting up on the wall in her room - It is starting to click!

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

Last weekend we all went to a pumpkin patch. We went on a hay ride and picked out some pumpkins for the season. Jude got his faced painted, and Faustina declined.

Driving already

There was a garage sale in our neighborhood a few days ago. We found a few clothes for Jude and we inquired whether one of her toy cars was for sale on the driveway. She said no, not this time around but she did have another one at her new house. A few days later we found this on doorstep. Faustina loves it and she got in and out about 374 times which occupied her for an hour. Gotta love the classic orange play cars.

The Mighty Mississippi

I love that we live a few blocks away from the River. It is easy to take for granted how much we use it to enjoy picnics, walks, bike rides, and seeing how the river reflects the grandeur of the different seasons. Last night we took our dinner down to Hidden Falls and then Dad showed Faustina how to skip stones. She needs a lot of practice.

Lipstick?

No. It might look a bit scary and 'clown-like', but this is beet juice on Faustina's mouth! If anyone has a juicer and is looking for a good drink here it is: 2 beets and their leafy tops (incredibly nutritious), 2 apples, 1 peeled lemon, a big bunch of kale. Faustina was absolutely giddy over it. It tastes like a really good fresh lemonade - believe it or not :)

Tired father and daughter

Another banana lover in the family

She takes after her father. Of course, she is in a stage of eating half of what goes in her mouth....and then spitting the other half out. Hopefully, this stage does not last too long. ;)

First tooth!

This morning when I got Faustina from her bed and started playing with her, she grabbed my hand, put it in her mouth and bit. Normally this feels like a goey chomp, but today I felt a little, sharp tooth jutting out!

She's growing up fast!

I found this hilarious picture on the internet... are people really this dumb, or do the 'experts' just think we are? Who knows...