Random cuteness

Ayla was giving her doll a bath today in her old tub from when she was a baby. Well, without real water or soap. After awhile she shouted out from the living room "Hey Mom, I still fit!" She such a goofball. Chary has recently started sitting on the potty. She hasn't actually gone yet, but she talks about it and likes to practice. She also likes to read. One time she was sitting on the potty and while trying to go, she tooted. She looked alarmed and yelled "OH! POOP!"
Ayla had a princess feast the other day. She made sure to feed Ariel, Aurora, Belle and Rapunzel based on what they "ordered" from her.

These are Ayla photographs. Almost every time I upload pictures to the computer, I find pictures that she has snuck off and taken. I decided post a few, they totally crack me up.

The soap in her bathroom

A close up of one of the pillows on her bed

A close up of her with what appears to be a really large nose.Things are going well for us. Dailon is staying home from school on Wednesdays so that he can do fun summer activities with us. So far we've been to the zoo, the pool and enjoyed a picnic at the park. He enjoys being home and being a apart of the action and the girls love having him around.

C&D's case is big mess right now. Goal is still listed as reunification with bio parents but you-know-what has been hitting the fan lately. They don't want the kids to go on vacation with us in July, they'd rather they go to respite(a stranger's home, who is licensed with the state) than go with us. Definitely NOT in the best interest of the kids however that doesn't seem to matter to them, ever. The kids have come so far in building trust and improving behaviors. It would send them into a downward spiral to move them for a week. Now it is in the hands of the courts so we take a deep breath and pray that whatever happens is God's will and all will turn out the way that is supposed to.

It's feeling like summer...

It seems that "spring" may have passed us by this year. It pretty much went from cold to hot. The whole last week was full of 100* days! The bad in that is that all of my new plants and flowers are not very happy about the weather despite the fact that they are being watered generously. Our kids are also being watered generously....they're much happier about it though.

Ayla is in level two swimming lessons and is doing great. She jumps into the deep water by herself and doggy paddles to the side. She swims with her face in the water(see below) and just loves the water. Chary and Dailon are obssessed with the pool. They hadn't ever been in a pooland didn't even know what a pool was until a few weeks ago.

A little balancing beam action on her pool break

She's always serious about food. Even more so when it's a special sweet treat.

Hooray for summer weather!

Preschool Graduation

My baby is going to be 5 in a few months. Five. How does that happen? How do they grow so fast? I really don't get it. It seems crazy to me that you can bring home a not-quite 5 pound baby and then they turn two and then they're almost 5. That fast. Sigh.

Ayla misses the birthday cut off of October 15th so she will be starting kindergarten next year, when she's almost 6. I'm glad, we would have waited anyway. We coul dhave had her take a test and start K early but we're just not interested. She's a very smart little girl but we really feel like having that extra year will be a good thing for her. Especially when she's 12(boys!) or 16(driving!) or 18(college!).

Now we say good-bye to Imagine and Explore Preschool and good-bye to Miss Darcy. We LOVE Miss Darcy, no way could we have asked for a better teacher and we were lucky enough to have her for TWO years! I hope that we are lucky enough to have her again someday... Ayla's BFF, Caleb, also graduated from I&E. He's going to kindergarten in the fall.

Picture with Gigi

My mom got her an ice cream cake for a celebratory dessert, Ayla was quite proud of her cake

In the fall, Ayla will be off to 5 day a week Pre-K at the Millard Education Foundation's early childhood center. Just in the afternoon.

Zoo

Cousin Lindsey was in town this week. Yesterday we met family at the zoo to spend the afternoon in the sun, soaking up all of the fun at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Dailon was a little bit afraid of the peacock, but much braver with a big buff Jared holding his hand

Carousel is always a big hit!

From left: Lexi, Grant, Jared & Chary. Front: Allison and Ayla

Riding on the tram(we couldn't take the wagon on the train, big bummer! This was the next best thing.

Excited

Riding nicely

Fist bump!

Family photo op

Landscaping...backyard

Tom's crew worked on our backyard yesterday....it's amazing, way better than anything I could have dreamed up on my own. We have a retaining wall(two actually) with flagstone steps that go down to a stone walkway and firepit. Yesterday they added plants/bushes and fresh mulch. My pictures didn't turn out well at all, it started to rain, more like pour, about 30 seconds after I went back there. Of course.

This view shows just how wonderful everything looks. There is a very woodsy feel.

So fresh, it smells sweet. So relaxing, you could fall asleep. So beautiful, it's hard to close your eyes.

My brother is creative, talented, generous.....

Thanks Tommy!

Shut up and DANCE!

This was Ayla's first full year of dance. Her recital was tonight and was so, so, so cute! She looked like she beloned on Toddlers and Tiaras or Prosti-tots or whatever those shows are. Okay, she was actually very cute but seeing her in full make-up is a little crazy! I don't have pictures of the actual performance because it wasn't allowed. However, I DO have video of last night's dress rehearsal. I'll post that tomorrow because I need Darren's help. This is Ayla and my mom...she went back stage with me to get her. Ayla got an Angelina Ballerina from Uncle Tommy and Bean Bean for her 'star performance'...she loves it!

The three Grandmas! Great Grandma Jane, Gigi and Grandma Carol.

I tried to get some cute pics when we got home. Ayla got flowers from FOUR different people. Us, Grandma Carol, Great Grandma Jane and Shelley/Mandi/Maggie. She could barely hold them all!

Ayla is so proud of herself. Their dance was to "It's a Small World" She did such a good job! She is THRILLED with the fact that she has a trophy.

Thank you everyone for making her night special!!!

To whom it concerns

To whom it concerns:

Apparently there have been some conversations about what is going on in the Splonskowski household, I don't know why. However, it doesn't really seem to be happiness for us. I don't feel like I owe anyone an explanation but I don't mind giving an explanation, especially if any of you wondering would just ask us. My point in writing this is not one of anger or rudeness. It is simply informational. I do ask that if any of you have further questions, you ask us. We are more than happy to share our experiences with you. After all, we cannot do this alone, as they say "It takes a village".

After Aezy went to the therapeutic home, things got easier. Alot easier. That doesn't mean things are easy though. We have three very busy little kids. They are basically a 2 yo, a 3yo and a 4 yo. Even if Dailon and Chary didn't carry some of the baggage they do, it would be hard. Add to that the issues Dailon has, the fact that they are both still confused about visits and who their parents even are(us vs biomom) and you end up with two angry and confused little kids who act out. Yes, even Chary is not typical due to what she has lived. She will eventually adjust and be fine, they both will, but that takes time.

We are doing well as a family of 5. We have a routine and it works. We are able to function as a normal family, go out in public and have people over to our house. That doesn't mean that we don't ever get stressed. As I said before, three young kids are stressful. Of course we all have our melt downs and vents(us and the kids)...in a family of 5 that means someone is melting down several times a day.

Apparently there was some drama about the fact that we hired a babysitter. This kind of makes me laugh. I am a sahm, I don't get a break....EVER. I am not living a luxury life. This is a 24/7 job and it isn't just taking care of the kids...laundry for 5, grocery shopping for 5, picking up after 5, cooking for 5, I am responsible for 4 baths a day if I include my own. I have always been a hands on mom. We paint, we play with play doh, we go outside, We play games, do flash cards and workbooks... three kids mean these activities take three times as long, and then there is the clean up. Ayla takes dance and plays baseball. Ayla and Dailon both take swimming lessons. We have social workers, case workers and case managers coming to our house several times a month. We go to family team meetings. These children take alot of time. I am not complaining about the amount of time they take. I just don't feel bad about having two partial days a week where I can be without them. Yesterday while the babysitter was here, I cleaned and did laundry. I EVEN got to call my bff and talk to her mostly uninterrupted for 20 minutes! Then I showered and took Ayla to lunch before dropping her off at school. I had two hours to run errands before picking up Dailon from school and getting home. I paid the babysitter then Dailon, Chary and I went to pick up Ayla, We got home, they had a snack and then we went to swimming lessons. By the time we got home from swimming(at 6:30pm) we had dinner, did baths and bedtime and it was 8pm before I ever sat down. And THAT was on my day "off". Seriously.

For those who think Darren or I may be stressed and frazzled sometimes....of course we are! We have three little kids, two of which aren't your run of the mill 'regular' kids. I could go on and on about behaviors.....Dailon 'painting' with poop, running through the house screaming "fuck you" after a visit with his bios, head banging. I'll save you that nightmare though. Of course, since you all have a 2, 3 and 4 year old - you already know about the very normal stuff - constant bickering, tattling, fighting, not sharing etc.

I really wish that instead of being critical and talking amongst yourselves about our occasionally obvious stress loads, and how ridiculous it is that a sahm would hire a babysitter - You would call us and ask us how we're doing. Allow us to vent without judging us. Volunteer to get a pedicure with me or play a round of golf with Darren. Maybe invite us to a movie.

For anyone who is thinking or ready to say "well, you got what you asked for". You're right. We did. And we couldn't be happier about it. We love these kids just as we love Ayla and wouldn't have it any other way. You see, it isn't us who seem to have the problem...