"There is no way to be a perfect mother ... but a million ways to be a good one"

I don’t even know where to begin as it’s been almost a year since my last post. What can I say, we are the parents of an almost 5-year-old who takes up a lot of our time! Sure, blame it on the kid I bet you are saying. She can’t possibly have consumed every minute of your time for the past year? Wanna bet? But honestly, blogging isn't so appealing after working all day followed by dinner, dishes, laundry, play time, bath time, jammy time, not to mention half of what I do professionally now is help create, manage and post for legal blogs. And, I must admit that when I could keep up with this blog regularly it maybe was done 'on the clock' elsewhere ... maybe. I hope to keep up with more frequent post in the coming year, but I've learned not to make any promises at this point. I hate to disappoint.

So Evelyn Rose … Evelyn Rose “Let It Go” Tylec. The Disney movie Frozen is all that and a bag of chips right now. Every little girl dreams of being Queen Elsa (maybe even Anna) and Evelyn is right there with them. She knows all the words to the movie’s main song “Let It Go” and we get to hear it …. 800 times a day. I’m not kidding. Even as I’m typing this Evelyn is splish-splashing in our tub with it blaring on my iPhone while she sings along. I think every parent across the US is also saying "Let It Go" as well but with different meaning behind it!

Evelyn is going to turn 5 in about month! I can’t believe how fast the past year has gone. Evelyn has hit many milestones with the most important being SCHOOL! We have a pre-kindergartener in the house! She has been doing absolutely wonderful. Her teachers, Mill Elliott and Miss McGuire, have nothing but glowing things to say about her. Like many, everyone comments about how sweet she is. She’s been working hard all year on learning to read and write the alphabet. She’s got her name down, although lower case letters aren't quite her thing yet. She picks up on a lot and the two ‘report cards’ we have received thus far have her on target if not ahead of all the skills a 4/5 year old should have at this point. She seems to enjoy school, but we have definitely dealt with our share of the “I don’t want to go to school’ moments. All I can think is ‘we are only at Pre-K!’

Spotlight Student and her 100 Days of School hat

All the holidays in the past year have been better than the ones before them. It’s weird how roller-coaster like this parenting thing is … every Christmas, Halloween, Birthday gets better and better. Before we known something called puberty is going to come knocking and it’s like we’ll decent down the hill into teenage hell…but at least that is a few year’s down the road so for now I’ll just smile knowing that ‘better’ is still coming. And, if I can keep on top of it, I'll at least have these to look back on!

For Halloween this past year Evelyn went as Izzy the pirate, a character from one of her favorite Disney Jr. shows, Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We went further and farther with trick-or-treating which is expected as she gets older! We did the yearly traditions of carving pumpkins; special thanks to the punks who smashed them. Jerks! We didn't do the Pumpkin Farm this year and I vow not to miss it again. Ev loves it, we love it. I did take her to a small local one but it just doesn't compare!

Evelyn was clearly a very good girl according to Santa as he showered her with presents like a telescope, puppet theater, big wheel, Barbies, and so on! We are very grateful Evelyn is loved by so many, not just on holidays but all throughout the year. After all the Christmas 'hoopala' was said and done Evelyn told Jay and I "Christmas isn't just about getting presents. It's about giving and family .... and eating yummy food too." I think my heart melted right then and there!

Some other notable things, Evelyn was a flower girl in our very good family friends wedding, Adam and Kerry. She looked … well beautiful. I want to call her cute or adorable but the truth is she looked like a little lady. The entire evening was amazing and Evelyn did a great job laying out the flowers for Miss Kerry to walk before she became Mrs. Dorr.

We took Evelyn to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, which was so much fun. She is at that perfect age for things like this and really enjoys exploring and learning. We visited Niagara Falls during the winter months and saw what was almost a frozen falls! It was pretty stunning but clearly it was COLD! We weren’t out there very long, but it was another fun day of making memories as family.

  

Sleepovers are becoming a ‘thing’ for us now. Mainly with my sister and her kids either here or there, but soon enough I’m sure her little friends will be showing up with bags and pillows in hand. And she is making quite a few between her Pre-K class and her ‘daycare’ or afterschool class with Miss Mindy.

You know how parents refer to their children as ‘my shy one’ or ‘my feisty one.’ I was recently thinking how I would categorize (for lack of a better word) my Evelyn at this point. She’s incredibly sweet as I mentioned. When she gets excited it’s contagious. She literally just balls up into this firework of smiles and giggles. She enjoys life … simple things like taking a walk entice hugs and ‘I love yous.’ She’s gentle, although I think our cat Lily Monster might disagree. She’s your typical ‘girl’ who loves princesses and baby animals. But, she also giggles and laughs about ‘gross’ stuff as kids do at this age. She does have her ‘diva’ side which we are learning to deal with. She can ‘whine’ with the best of them. Sometimes its best to just walk away and let the tantrum run its course.

Gymnastics every Saturday morning!

There’s so much to look forward to. Another member of the family just made her arrival in mid-March. Evelyn’s Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Jamie welcomed Lily Bella on March 16^th. And we are expecting another cousin from Aunt Jenn and Uncle Larry! Austin is going to be a big brother and we are chomping at the bits waiting to find out the gender. THINK PINK!!! There are several other arrivals in 2014 from friends that we are certainly looking forward to as well.

Evelyn 'mustache' you a question...

We are in the midst of planning her 5^th birthday party which will take place at the same park we threw her 1^st birthday at! We have lots of fun stuff in the works including a live exotic animal show! It’s going to be a great time. I just have to keep myself in check and remind myself this is a party for a 5 year old!!

Easter is right around the corner! One of Evelyn's favorite things to do is dye eggs so I know she'll be excited when the ole' Paas kit comes out! This weekend we are going to an Easter egg hunt in the city. Ev refers to Pinewoods Park (where the hunt will be) as the "Easter Woods." It's so cute! 

Looking forward to a summer of trips to the market, afternoons at Fantasy Island, evenings in the pool and “ghost stories” by the fire at night. Smores, maybe  camping, star gazing with her new telescope, cookouts, bike rides and boat rides.