hazel's first day of kindergarten!

 love my sweet big girl!  i can't believe she's going off to kinder to be more independent and learn to read!  so proud of how far she's come and can't wait to see where she goes next.

i have a five-year-old

oh, my hazelnut.  i adore you so much my heart could just burst.  you are weird, hilarious, and drive me crazy sometimes, but you make me so so happy.  i expect too much of you sometimes, (first child probs), but you rise to the occasion.  i'm so proud of you, girl.

hazel's 1st year preschool graduation

country western day.

hazel's school goes above and beyond.  we are so blessed to go here.  a couple weeks ago they did a "country western day", and the kids got to ride ponies, pan for gold, pet farm animals, and milk a "cow".  

the downside to such an amazing event, is that i had to bring cora along to watch/take pictures, and it was TORTURE for her not to be able to participate.  especially in riding the ponies and the petting zoo.  don't worry, heffalump, you'll get your chance to go to preschool too. ;)

for every moment they make me want to pull my hair out, there are a dozen moments like this.

hazel:
has to make a wish on every dandelion on our walk home from school
is still obsessed with the number 11
asks for hot chocolate even on warm days
is always saying also-ly, "let's ride the matterhorn and also-ly the teacups"
puts on her "you make me smile" jammies first thing when they are clean
walks up the stairs on all fours, as slowly as she can (especially when we are in a hurry) - she knows how to get on my nerves!

cora:
says yes in the most enthusiastic, slow-building shout "yyyyyyYUH-ES!"
is obsessed with pizza right now
is a champion fit-thrower
helps me make dinner or a treat often.  she is expert at evenly spreading cheese on pizza!
has started fighting her naps a little bit
could be potty-trained right now, if she wanted to be
has started talking tons, but i only understand about half of it!

hazel's thankful tree

a little snapshot into our 3&1/2 year-old's little brain.  doing this thankful tree was such a great teaching opportunity with her.  i was so proud of her for coming up with "Jesus" and the "scriptures", as well as "music", "school", and "disneyland".  i can't wait to see what great things she comes up with next year :)

hazel's darling preschool class had a mother's day tea party last friday.  it has been so fun to see her learn and grow and make friends, and we are so sad to be leaving this week!  here's a clip of the kids singing for all the moms.  it makes me so happy to see how much fun she is having up there.  {and i love how she is always the first one to clap for herself ;}

mother's day tea from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

homemade guitar jammin from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

easter pics of my girls

while we were in pennsylvania, a cute friend of a friend did a photo mini session of my girls for me.  it was so much fun!  i'm so happy with how they turned out.  here are some highlights:

hazel's birthday celebration.

some pics {and two videos!} of hazel's birthday that we celebrated in utah.  

i can't believe she's THREE!

happy birthday hazel! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

^^^ cora dancing in the sidelines.... 

ALSO... since the grandparents were there, my girls' birthdays are only five days apart, and cora LOVED the singing so so much, we sang to her as well :)

early happy birthday singing to cora! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

T H R E E !

i love this girl more than i ever thought i could love.  she makes me pull my hair out and cry sometimes, but she makes me laugh just as much.  she's a picky eater, and a stubborn little twerp, but she loves everyone and everything.  she's fun-loving, happy, and goofy.  she's brave and loves all things princesses and star wars.  john and i are so blessed she's ours.  it's been an awesome three years hazel therese, thanks for making me a mother.

a magical 52-degree day in february from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

yes, it was 52 degrees the other day and yes, there was snow on the ground but it felt so warm and hazel begged me to take her to the playground.  it felt so nice we could have stayed there all afternoon.  sadly, the 50-degree weather did not last and we got snow that very night.

once upon a gleam from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

painting watercolors from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

jingle bells from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

makin play dough pizza from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

5 little punkins from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

we weren't always a big fan of leaves.

but we are now.

here we go! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

hazel selfies

every once and awhile, i will look at the camera roll on the ipad and discover ten new hazelnut selfies.  they are usually a similar version of the exact same thing: hazel looking at her reflection and making a funny face.  here are four of my favorites from my recent ipad pic cleanse:

and bonus, a video!  love this silly girl so much.

Video selfie from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

dancing through life

we've always been pretty skilled at dancing over here.
exhibit a.

exhibit b.
exhibit c:

evolution of dance from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.