Vader-Ade and Seven Leia Dip

We got a new color on the farm! Not to mention our first track tractor! Happy birthday, Trevin! Just kidding. Although, he can think what he wants...

We may not have given Trevin a tractor for his birthday, but we did manage to give him a pretty sweet Lego Star Wars party. 

My favorite part about throwing a child's birthday party: the food puns. 

For anyone who doesn't know Star Wars... I'll just tell you, these puns are hilarious. 

Vader-Ade, Yoda Soda, and Luke Skywater

Ashton made his BB-8 cake. It turned out so cool. (She made it because I will ruin every cake I ever try to make. Promise.) We had so much fun celebrating our 5-year-old!

I just sink into those eyes. I was always teased growing up that my eyes were the color of poop. But oh my goodness, give me all the poop eyes. Poop eyes give me heart eyes. 

Trevin:

+There's still a few words that Trevin pronounces incorrectly. For several years he's referred to Grand Island as "And Gr-island". I never want that to stop. I can't bear to correct him because it is my favorite thing. Recently he started using the word "disgusting". Although he says, "uh-skusting". It probably won't be cute when he's 17, but right now, I'm clinging to these tiny words that keep him a babe in my heart. 

+We were made very aware this month of Trevin's strong sense of gender roles. It started fairly innocently when he and I were playing football in the yard one day. He said we had to pick our team names. He said, "I'm going to be the Tigers!" I said, "Ok, what should I be?" He paused and then replied, "You can be the... ponies. ...Or... um... baby cows." He then explained that those were girl animals, and boy animals were things like tigers and bears and lions. Message sent, loud and clear. 

But then we were having supper with our friends, Logan and Claire, one night. It just so happened that all the guys were on one side of the table and all the girls on the other side. In the middle of supper, Trevin piped up and said proudly, "I know why we're sitting with boys and girls on different sides [of the table]." We all looked around and took notice of the seating and I was curious as to what he would say next. "It's because the girls have to be closer to the kitchen!" We all about died and it has earned James a month of dishes. Out of the mouths of babes...

+One thing that has taken me by surprise is the tears. I thought by age 4 they'd be done crying. Well, they're not. And it shows no sign of stopping at age 5, either. This week Trevin cried because he didn't want to look at his shadow. I just.. I don't know how to parent that. I can reason with disobedience or selfishness, but this doesn't make an ounce of sense. I'm at a loss. Send help. 

This is what sibling-life looks like. 

Myla:

+Turned 11 months! This baby has grown at warp speed. 

+She has taken off on all fronts this month. She is officially walking! She took her first sequence of steps on April 22. She walks all the way down the hallway, turns corners and sometimes she will even get back up to walk when she's fallen down. She still crawls 75% of the time, but her walking is getting more under control each day. She also loves pushing her walker, but she mostly just drags it around behind her. I'm thrilled that she is walking before summer gets underway. Managing a crawler outside is not the easiest task. They eat dirt and rocks and bugs and all of the things, all of the time. 

+She suddenly has started to really use her vocabulary. New words this month are uh oh, kitty, T (for Trevin), cow, dog, and bird. She's blown us away with how much information she is retaining. 

+She blows kisses, pretends to drive toy cars while making car noises, and "reads" books. She's also started to help unload the dishwasher. She pulls out the silverware, one at a time, and hands them to Trevin to put away. It's the best thing. 

+In the past couple weeks she's really discovered her ability to throw a fit. I can't say we've had a full-blown tantrum yet, but it's gotten close. She utilizes her pouty lip, screams, and does a pretty impressive "cold shoulder". The innocent baby phase is way too short. 

Trevin had his first official dentist appointment this month. He did so great! So we celebrated with strawberry shakes! The dentist told me to keep doing what I'm doing because my teeth looked really good. I'm glad he said that, because I'm not flossing.

We celebrated Myla's first Easter! 

She wasn't sure what to think of the Easter egg hunts, but she loved playing with her basket full of eggs. We had such a fun holiday with family and friends. 

One of our favorite family activities is fishing. 

We were so excited to get some nice weather and spend an afternoon catching some bluegill and bass. 

Trevin out fishes me every time and Myla was constantly begging to touch the fish. 

James hit the flamers hard this month. I spent a little time helping with assembly. (Don't be impressed; I mostly zip-tied cables. That's my area of expertise.) James has put so much work and thought into each of these machines and I'm so proud to watch them come together. He had a fun time making the 16-row flamer below. He never ceases to amaze me. (Don't get me wrong, I've had some clever production ideas in the past, but if I ever tried to use my hands to make it, I'd end up with a pile of paperclips, some string, and a glob of glue.) James not only has the brains to create, but also the ability to manufacture. It's remarkable. 

James has received a few more flamer inquiries for next year. I keep telling him that it's because I'm promoting it on my blog. "They want a 12-row? I'm sure he read about it on my blog last month. I'm pretty good at this marketing thing. I do get a cut in the profit, right?" He mostly just rolls his eyes at me. (Please note: If you mention code BURNTHEBLOG on your next flamer order, you will receive a 50% discount on the 7 million zip-ties needed to complete your flamer. But wait, there's more! I'll throw in a complimentary "Fire Hazard" sticker for your mounted propane tank. Act now, this offer won't last long!)

We celebrated Ashton's bachelorette party in Lincoln a couple weeks ago! We opened gifts, ate appetizers, had drinks, and played games at the hotel. 

We gave her some really nice gifts... 

Then we headed downtown for Lazlo's and the Piano Bar.

We are officially 2 weeks away from the wedding. It has been nuts around here and it's only going to get more busy as each day passes. If you don't hear from me for a couple weeks, don't fret. I'll see you all in June. 

Another thing happened this month. I took a job! If you've been a long-time reader of mine, you may remember a job, four years ago, that I considered taking at our church. I turned it down then, but it came open again this month and I was approached for a second time. James and I talked about it and decided that now would be a good time for me to take on something outside the home again. (Most of you would know that I've worked with Christian Resource Center for the past several years, quitting just before Myla was born. I loved the work that I did there, but it got difficult taking Trevin with to all of the camps and I had a hard time finding sitters for him for several weeks in a row each summer. CRC's busy season = James' busy season and that was the hardest part.) I felt like I was ready to take on more responsibility again and thought that this year would be a good transition year to do so since Trevin will start school in the fall. I'm 2 weeks into the new job and I'm hoping to find a groove soon. So far it's felt a little choppy and straining, but I'm still trying to smooth out the system and figure out what works best for me. Right now I'm mostly doing bulletin, email, office-type work, but that will be changing after the wedding. Next month I'll be taking on a lot more graphic work, relaunching the website, managing the church's social media and a lot of other new things that we're excited to introduce to our congregation. Looking forward to this opportunity to serve some of my favorite people. 

I'm struggling to fathom the fact that I have a 5-year-old. (I mean, I'm too young to have a 5-year-old! Right? And you all respond in a unison, "Yes, you are.") He's my side-kick and my sweet little helper. He's taught me more than anyone. It's been such a joy being his mom. 

Also, Myla turns 1 in less than 2 weeks. This has been the fastest year ever. 

Weddings and birthdays, growing on the farm... 

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