Ella is 7!

This amazing girl turned 7 last Thursday. We are so proud of our little girl. She is kind, loving, generous, and she loves to learn new things. It is such a blessing to be her momma. 

Every year I take the kids on a special birthday date. They usually choose to go swimming and out to dinner. Ella and I had a blast at the pool. We went down the slide numerous times, did the rope swing, and jumped off the diving board. There are signs around the pool that say "if you are under 7 years of age you must be within arms reach of an adult at all times." Since she is now 7, Ella kept swimming far away from me - fully embracing this new liberty! And our girl can swim all on her own now :)

We then went for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We each had a Shirley Temple to drink. I love this little girl.

Birthday morning cinnamon buns.

Frozen Lego as a gift.

And slurpees at 7-11 to celebrate in style.

Happy Birthday Ella.

Violin Recital

Yesterday Ella and Juliette had their year-end violin recital. I was so proud of them.

Back in December, Juliette was too nervous to go up on stage and play. Yesterday she was feeling very nervous as well. But she got up there and she played. I was so proud of her. It took a lot of courage for her to get up there. Afterwards she told me that while she was on the stage her stomach felt sick and her heart was beating really fast.

Juliette has had such a wonderful Kindergarten year. She has grown in so many areas and her sweet personality is continuing to shine. Every June we celebrate Karis and Ella's birthdays and never does Juliette complain. Instead she shares in her sisters' joy as she watches them open gifts and blow out their candles. She is such a good sport about it all. I am so thankful she is part of our family.

Here is Juliette playing a "dressed-up" version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

Ella did an amazing job at the recital as well. Here she is playing Lightly Row:

Princess Tea Party

Yesterday we celebrated Ella and Karis' birthdays by having a princess tea party. The girls were incredibly excited about their party and dressed up as princesses as soon as they woke up.

It was a special treat to have Grandma Jo-Ann in town to celebrate with us! She was also a huge help at the party. Thank-you Grandma!

Eagerly awaiting the party guests.

10 princesses around the table.

And the princess scavenger hunt was a hit. 

Happy Birthday Ella and Karis!

Homeschool Wrap-Up!

Last Saturday we spent the afternoon at Crescent Beach celebrating the end of another homeschool year. Ella is finished Grade 1 and Juliette is finished Kindergarten. Karis and Peter learned so many new things this year as well. 

Teaching our kids at home is one of my favorite things to do. Now with a newborn and a toddler in the mix it is a little crazier, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. We look forward to homeschooling again next year. This journey has been a blessing for us.

Misc.

We love spending our morning times with this sweet little guy.

A hot day, a trampoline,  good friends, and a hose ... it doesn't get much better than this.

Karis loved making cookies with me to share at her last Orff music class. After we made them we shared some with our friend Diya. When she tasted them, Diya said "Karis, these cookies are so good you should be a chef when you're big!" In true Karis fashion, Karis replied "I am already a chef, look at my hat." 

Our dear friend Miriam shares our love for Anne of Green Gables. She was recently visiting PEI and brought our girls some Raspberry Cordial and some Anne of Green Gables tea. Yum!

Karis and her music teacher, Ms. Holly. Karis loved her Orff class and adored Ms. Holly.

We have been testing out our new table! Here are our kids enjoying ice cream cones with their friends David, Isaac, and Suzanna. These are friends they have made at Community Class and church.

These are the kind of happenings that occur when it's just Dadda and the boys at home.

Birthday party prep! It was so fun planning for our party this year. The girls and I had a party planning meeting a couple of weeks ago. We decided on the party theme, guest list, food, decorations, etc. And then a few days ago we went out and did the party shopping.

"When is this baby going to play trucks with me?"

Peter's First Haircut

Peter is the first Lafleur baby who did not enjoy his first haircut. When I put him in the chair, he cried and jumped down. After trying this a few times, Peter said "Ella, Ella, see Ella". So our solution was that Peter sat on his big sister's lap while the barber cut his hair in record time.

Ella was very honored to hold her little brother for his haircut. It was really precious.

The end result was great though - a lollipop and a handsome new haircut!

Release!

On Friday we released the 6 butterflies that we have been raising. They emerged from their chrysalises on Tuesday. If they stay in their cage for more than a few days the male butterflies will fight each other to the death. Ours were getting a little aggressive, so we released them on Friday. Thankfully the weather cleared up so they would fly (they need a clear day and at least 16 degrees to be released.) It was such an amazing experience. We hope to do this again next year!

 

Juliette was not at all shy about getting right in there. One of the cool things about raising butterflies is if they "imprint" on you they will form a bond and they will fly back to you after being released. Both Karis and Juliette had a butterfly imprint on them. Ella didn't love the idea of having a butterfly crawl on her, so she held hers by the stem of a flower.

In her element!

Peter was excited about the butterflies as well. He called them "flies." For the last few days they were in our house he enjoyed pulling a stool up to their cage and saying "hi flies."

Ella enjoying her butterfly from a distance :)

Above is a funny video that took place the day before we released the butterflies. The girls were feeding them their dinner and one of them escaped out of the cage and into our living room. Here is footage of Spencer catching it and putting it back into the cage.

And below is a video of the release. So much fun!