Growing

Landon started Preschool! He loves it. I love that he loves it. He's making friends and has a posse of girls that love him that he calls "my girls". He comes home exhausted and falls asleep usually on the way home on the bus. This is his first day of school picture:

Blurry pic from a crappy phone camera. Notice the tippy toes.

First school painting. I entitled it "Mustard and Ketchup".

First time on the bus (the bottom left pic). The finger in his mouth shows a bit of anxiety. But getting home from school (bottom right) shows he got it down!

He's such a little man. Someone told me they liked his Halloween costume. "You meant to dress him as Dr. Who, right?" Riiiight. Although, he is a perfect likeness.

Got to put his big boy bed together with Uncle Aaron. Most nights he loves it, some nights, he says
 he loves Mommy's bed more because it's "tumfier" (comfier) so he invades my bed.

I thought as a big boy, he would leave behind his mess-making tendencies.  "But Mommy, I had to do this so that I could look like Batman!"

Good point.

"Mommy, I'm makin' pancakes. Want some?"

And then, there's the relationship he has with Uncle Aaron:

He's so lucky to have lots of family to love him! 

Each day, Landon brightens my day with something hilarious he says or does or something sweet. Sometimes both. I'm grateful for him!

Emily

What I Thought I Was

This post is about what I thought I was, and learned I wasn't.

Hello, my name is Emily, and I'm a perfectionist.

I learned this about myself yesterday...but I think my subconscious has known about it for a lot longer than that.

I've had it in my head for many years that "being perfect" meant not admitting my mistakes, which meant ~    I was not admitting my humanity.

My reason for sharing this is not to draw attention to myself. I hope to pass along joy to those who may be struggling with this. 

I do enough, I try enough, I am enough. Sometimes enough isn't perfect. And that's where grace comes in.

My goal for today was to strive for mediocrity. 

Do I need to spell every word right?? No. Does my house need to be sparkling clean 100% of the time? No! Does my makeup need to be just right, my clothes nicely matched, and every hair in it's place? NO!

Honestly, after striving all day for mediocrity, I felt guilty. REALLY guilty. Guilty that I hadn't checked much off my to-do list. Guilty I didn't want to vacuum when I should have. Guilty I didn't do a whole endless array of things. But that's what they are, THINGS. 

What matters most is my interactions with people. And I excelled at that today.

This scripture appears to be a COMMANDMENT:

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"(Matthew 5:48)

I lived by this scripture for years and used it as my excuse to act the way I did. At times I acted like a "holier than thou" type of person. 

Perhaps being on this earth and putting forth effort IS becoming perfect, even as Heavenly Father is. 

This life is a time to prepare to meet God, and that preparation changes me if I let it. But I can't allow the change if I already think I'm perfect and don't need anymore refining. 

Hooray, I'm human and I make mistakes!!

On a sidenote, this little guy comes pretty close to perfection, don't you think???

Life is good,

Emily

Life with Landon

Warning: Landon will be in every picture I post...and rightly so! He's my favorite little person around and I'm lucky to call him my son. 

Mother's Day was a blast.

I wasn't expecting anything from Landon this year because...well... he's three. But I need to give the kid more credit. That morning, he got the vacuum out and used the attachment to clean under the couch cushions. And he did a thorough job and looked like he enjoyed every second. 

Later, he hugged me tight around the neck (to the point that I was struggling to breathe) and said, "You're the best, mommy!". I still don't know where he picked that line up, but I like it.

We had a very uplifting meeting at church where people shared gems their mothers taught them.

We had friends over afterwards for a big dinner and a beautiful strawberry cake. Yum.

One night, I was attempting to get Landon to help me clean out some empty water bottle out of the car. 

He was having trouble holding on to them so I ended up stuffing them in to his shirt, calling them muscles. He took that to a new level, shouting, "I'm the HULK" and running through the house.

And here he is, pretending to be a walrus with his gelato spoons. What an imagination!

Landon is the happiest when he is at the temple and asks to go often. I like that he can feel what an important place it is at such a young age.

If you ever want to make a child's day, take them to a splash pad. Especially when it's a hot summer day in Arizona.

I took Landon to his first Pinewood Derby and he was enthralled. We rented a car from one of the Boy Scouts (he picked) and the lights turned on. Plus it was a winner in a few heats at 190 mph!

Landon brings such joy to my life!

~Emily

My First Grown-Up Job

Back in August I began my first grown-up job. I've been teaching private lessons for 12 years, but teaching music at a school is a completely different world. For example:

The most students I've had at one time in my private studio is around 25. At school, I've got over 850 kids.

Teaching one on one in a private studio makes getting a recital prepared easier because I can work on problem spots with the student. With at least 25 kids to a class at school, not everyone is on the same level at the same time. So there is a lot more repetition.

Rainbow  Ribbon Sticks Game

I haven't done many festivals or competitions with my private students. But at school I've gotten to take my choir (I love teaching choir!) to a festival, which they raved about for weeks. They learned so much; that there are other people that share their love for music and choral singing, rhythm, focus, musical excellence, stage presence, etc. We were invited to a festival put on my the Phoenix Children's Chorus. PCC is an incredible organization with an audition-only entrance and teaches students music theory, proper vocal techniques, choreography and more. Learn more here: http://www.pcchorus.org/

Phoenix Children's Chorus Festival

PCC Festival - Drumming Class

PCC - Ready for the Concert

This is my first year conducting a choir. These dedicated students stayed after school 

for an extra hour to practice and sing to prepare for our Christmas and Spring concerts. 

Choir Music Awards

Right before a Music Showcase in front of the school to get other students excited about choir.

The T-Shirt that one of my choir students designed for our choir t-shirt

Preparing for a concert with 25 students is much different than preparing for one with 850+. Our spring concert was based on an amazing script written by one of the school's 2nd grade teachers. I arranged music according to the theme, which was "The Music of America - Let It Play!" about how music has lifted America out of difficult times, like wars, the Great Depression, and 9/11. 

The 2nd-6th Grade Spring Concert:

The Music of America - Let It Play!

May 17th, 2013

With the cast backstage right before the show started

My mom, son, sister-in-law, brother, and dad watching the concert

Flowers that my son brought on stage after the show was over

Vintage dress I wore to the concert that my sister purchased for me at a thrift store in Oregon and shipped to me. Thanks Becky!

Teaching is a difficult job some days, but most days are fulfilling and rewarding. I'm happy to say I have succeeded at my first year in my grown-up job :)

~"Ms. Smith"
Music Teacher

Spring

Let's face it, I'm horrible at blogging...it's been a few months. We've been so busy with school, family, and life in general!

Here's a review:

Landon did this:

So I had to buy a new one after the plumber couldn't fix the problem :(

We've been to the zoo a few times, went on an Easter egg hunt, splashed in the irrigation at a friend's house, went swimming, enjoyed having my gorgeous niece Reganne come visit us from Oregon, gone to the farmer's market, and had quality family time.

 Easter

 Gardening and Home Improvement

 I got to go shooting and horseback riding with Aaron and his friends. It's been so long! I had a blast.

Reganne!

Visited Uncle Mike's twins - adorable babies. Landon begged to hold them and 

talked about them after we left. He even got Uncle Mike's baby boy to giggle and coo.

Landon's Home Schooling, Study, Cleaning, Dress-Up (Ninja Turtle), and cooking!

Now that school is almost finished for the summer, I can plan some more great activities to do with Landon. What do you like to do with younger children to keep them learning and occupied in the summer?

Happy May :)

Emily

LOVE

I'm a bit late but Landon and I had a fun Valentine's Day together. This is probably one of my favorite holidays (besides Thanksgiving, that day is my ULTIMATE holiday). Landon and I made cards for people we love:

We used his hands for other cards and they turned out super cute

At school, not one student brought me a valentine (not that I was expecting anything!) until my last class of the day. My second grade class fished out the valentines they liked the least and handed them to me on the way out the door. I got a Barbie valentine from a boy that had received it from a girl in his class, conversation hearts, pencils, and heart-shaped suckers. My students are awesome :)

Then Landon and I went to the park together on my bike for a little date.

He's been loving the swings lately

And he got his first kiss from my friend Bethany...

And I would say he's not very happy about it

He wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day:

Love from Landon

Hope you're Valentine's was L-O-V-E-ly!

Emily

Soccer +

I noticed today that my blog has hit 7,777 page views as of today. Lucky number 7.

This little boy has been learning some new moves at his Itty Bitty Sports class at the YMCA. His first day was last Saturday and he was so natural at it that lots of the dads there were asking how old he is. I think he's pretty coordinated for a three year old and he followed the coach's directions very well.

And Landon attempting to kick the ball around the cone. He preferred to kick it over the cone.

The next day, Landon picked up RSV from who knows where and it has gotten worse and worse. When Aaron was a baby he had it too and had to be hospitalized for it. Landon's doctor told me if his fever spikes and he is complaining about his ears, he will probably need to be hospitalized.

We've been relying on natural cough syrup with bee propolis and lemon and also essential oils and he's been comfortable but still has a bad cough.

Before he got sick, this is what we have been up to...

Grandpa gave him this for his birthday

Adorable in his slouchy hat but people kept thinking he was a girl...

Coloring

Chores

Weapon storage on the baby gate

Landon should be wearing my gangster hat with a face like that

Have a beautiful day!

Emily

Superhero Birthday Party

The other day Landon woke up, showed me his muscles, and said, "Mommy, imma supa heewo". A superhero party it is, Landon.

I made the invitations with an app because I couldn't figure out how to use PhotoShop.

My mom and I worked on capes to hand out to the guests. This is what we came up with:

Except, it was with Batman and Superman symbols :)


We were going to have the party at the park but it was raining cats and dogs so we moved it to the church. When we got there, we found the Polynesian group practicing a dance. We grooved to the music the whole time and then they did a dance for Landon.

We were so glad that Trevor brought a bounce house for the party! If he hadn't, the kids would have be SO bored. He also did some balloon animals and hats and swords.

Got some air!

Boys dueling with their balloon swords

Balloon twisting pro 

We enjoyed having friends and family with us.

Joey

Michelle Coyle and her beautiful kids

Lupe and Kimberli

Mary Ann and Owen

Landon was concerned about Uncle Mike's new knee

Cute Cord with his awesome hat

Pretty Emily modeling a Batman cape

The whole crew

Flying Super Batman (bipolar)

Unky Junk

Jonas

We sang happy birthday to Landon and had cupcakes and pizza.

I didn't get pictures of everyone (not even my mom!)....but we all had a great time together!

One of my favorite moments was catching Landon dancing with the Samoans:

Superheroes unite!

Emily