May 2020

At the beginning of this month, we were still being pretty hardcore about our quarantine due to the virus, but by the end of the month, everything was really starting to wear on me. It was starting to hit home that we were in this for the long haul, and life wasn’t going to be back to normal anytime soon. Here’s the recap of our month!

Savannah was excited to test out her new monster truck on the driveway :)

Travis was reading to Abigail before bed one night. I always like catching daddy-daughter time on camera when I can!

I took some pictures of the girls before church on May 3rd. At this point, we were still doing drive-in worship services in the car.

I couldn’t get Abigail to look at the camera, but at least I got a cute smile out of her :)

Brooklyn has really gotten into wearing ponytails lately and doesn’t want to wear her hair down anymore. I guess she’s following in my footsteps ;)

My sweet girls!

Abigail climbed out of her crib during naptime on May 2nd for the first time ever! She also climbed out of her crib the next morning too (and woke Savannah up). That afternoon (5/3), Travis took the front rail off the crib to make it into a toddler bed. She never went to sleep for her nap that afternoon (it was a struggle to get her to stay in the crib once she could easily get out) and the next morning (5/4) she woke the whole house up at a few minutes after 6 AM. Clearly, we have some work to do!

Savannah is already like a little mommy…she was excited to tuck Abigail in with her blankets and stuffed animals. Now if we could just get Abigail to stay put!

May 4th – back to the creek…

Another art class with Teacher Brooklyn: How to draw a Lion :)

Abigail was excited to wear her crown for Zoom bible class on May 6th…I think they were talking about King Saul or King David.

Savannah had her yearly checkup with Dr. Dudley on May 6th. It worked out well that Travis was working from home, so the other girls could stay with him. They were asking that only one parent and no siblings attend appointments. Everything went well, and Savannah was relieved that she didn’t have to get any shots.

I bought this cute little Minnie Mouse shirt for Abigail for our Disney trip, and when the trip got postponed, I decided to just keep it and let her wear it anyway. It became one of her favorites!

Fun with Playdoh on May 7th :)

One perk of finishing up 1st grade at home was that Savannah could participate with Brooklyn in some of the activities…like the weekly art activity :)

We were encouraged to take a picture of the finished artwork and send it to Brooklyn’s art teacher. I thought her frog turned out cute!

We dubbed Fridays as PJ day during e-learning, so the girls were always excited about that. They would have preferred for EVERY day to be PJ day, but I thought we needed a little structure the rest of the week ;) On this particular Friday, May 8th, we made homemade bird feeders using toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, and bird seed. It was a fun project to go along with the Earth Day lessons that Brooklyn had that week.

That night, it was funny to watch Daddy try to put Brooklyn’s hair into a ponytail. I finally found something that I can do that he can’t! ;)

The girls really got into wrestling this month and were always asking to “have a wrestle” with Daddy before bed. They would usually try to swat him with blankets or jump on his back when he was turned the other way. Lots of squeals and laughter, and usually a few tears too by the end of it when someone got hurt ;)

Abigail was quietly playing in her bed when I came in her room the next morning. Success!

Later that morning, we hung the girls’ bird feeders on the trees in our front yard :)

That same day, we got a delivery from Butcher Box, a subscription service for high quality meat, that we didn’t order. It was addressed to the previous owner of our home. Actually we bought the house from a man named Tony who had divorced his wife a few months prior, and the Butcher Box delivery was addressed to HER. We weren’t sure where she lived or how to get in touch with her, but Travis found her phone number on the shipping label, and I decided to text her and see if she wanted to come pick it up at our house. We decided that would be the better option than trying to return it to Butcher Box via FedEx because the meat would probably spoil by the time it made it back. So I sent her a text, and she actually responded! She said she no longer lived in town, but that she would try to have a friend come by and pick it up for her. Well, a little while later, she texted again and told us just to keep the box because her friend wasn’t able to come by after all. It was our lucky day!

I was excited to open the box and see what was inside. It had: 1 bone-in pork butt, 2 steaks, 1 chuck roast, 6 beef patties, breakfast sausage, and scallops. Out of curiosity, we looked up the website, and we think that the box probably cost over $100. I considered it an early Mother’s Day gift since Mother’s Day was the next day :) Woohoo!

I got a squinty eyed picture on Mother’s Day with my 3 special girls. I wanted to take the picture before church, but we ran out of time, so we had to do it when we got home and the sun was out in full force. I’m so thankful to be their mom. They bring my life so much meaning!

I got a Mother’s Day foot rub from my thoughtful girls that afternoon :) They also brought me a pillow, blanket, and made homemade cards for me! I felt very loved.

That night, it was time for another wrestling match. Notice Abigail ready to strike with the pink blanket!

This month, Savannah was still doing crafts from the big craft box that she got for Christmas. It was the gift that kept on giving :)

May 11th was a nice day to eat lunch outside!

Brooklyn made her own rocket ship just for fun. I thought it turned out so cute!

The Hesters dropped off this cuddly teddy bear at our front door on May 12th…

The bear came with this sweet poem. The Hesters are so creative and thoughtful!! The girls were really excited about it.

“Look, Mommy! I have a mustache!”

On May 13th, Paw and Rae Rae came up for another “social distanced” visit. We ate pizza outside and the girls played for a while. Paw taught Abigail how to scooter all by herself. At one point, Brooklyn came around to the backyard where Mom and I were sitting and reported, “Paw is not social distancing! He got closer than 6 feet to Abigail. He even touched her!” Haha. Things you never thought you’d have to tattle about ;) This was the first time Abigail has figured out how to push off with her foot by herself while she’s on the scooter. Yay!

Paw also took Savannah’s training wheels off her bike today (she’s declared she’s ready to learn to ride it without the training wheels). They practiced for just a few minutes, but we’ll have to work on it more in the days to come.

We sometimes refer to Brooklyn as our little raccoon because she’s always digging through the recycling bin to see what she can use for her latest creation. This month, she made an “art machine” out of boxes and toilet paper rolls.

It grew over the course of a few weeks because she kept adding to it…

“Draw with pride” :)

It had on and off buttons, and different holes where you were supposed to insert the art supplies on one side and it would pop out the finished artwork on another side. I was impressed with her creativity! It did take up a lot of space in her room, so for a while her room was looking a lot like a landfill…haha

I also loved the way she spelled machine :)

I can’t remember what this was called, but it was a optional craft for Spanish class :) Brooklyn was all about it!

Art class for the week always fell on Fridays…this week was drawing and coloring a gumball machine…

Finished product!

On May 16th, we went to Brown Farms to pick strawberries! It was my first time and also Abigail’s first time to pick strawberries. (I think Brooklyn and Savannah had gone with Cici either last year or the year before that.)

We had a lot of fun! The weather wasn’t too hot, and we filled two 1-gallon-sized buckets.

Abigail picked one or two strawberries (one of which was completely white…haha) and the rest of the time she just ate what I picked :)

Savannah picked a little bit, but she also complained that the leaves were itchy, so she got tired of it by the end. Brooklyn picked almost the whole time.

We really enjoyed being outside, and it was our first family outing in the last 2 months other than drive-in church services and walks around the neighborhood. It almost felt like a normal day (other than seeing some people wearing masks…). After we were done picking, the girls convinced Daddy we should buy a snow cone…so we all shared a large one. Abigail kept saying, “This ice is yummy, Mommy!” While we were eating the snow cone, I noticed that I was feeling itchy and my arms and legs were getting a rash all over. Thankfully, it wasn’t too terribly itchy and it went away after a little while.

Hopefully I’m not allergic to strawberry picking because we really had a fun time!

Completely worn out after our first real outing in so long!!

That afternoon, we had the girls practice wearing their masks for the first time. We decided a trial run would be good because we were planning to be inside the building for worship the next day. They weren’t crazy about wearing them, but it helped that we practiced while they were watching TV and distracted :)

The next day, May 17th, was our first Sunday back in the building for worship in about 2 months. The deacons had every other pew taped off and were ushering families in and showing them where to sit. The girls did well wearing their masks…I was proud of them!

Brooklyn, Savannah, and even Gabby joined Abigail for her Zoom Bible class that afternoon…haha

Gabby gets plenty of attention from the girls these days. Sometimes too much attention for her liking!

One of the girls’ favorite activities is painting :)

CHEESE!

In this picture, Abigail definitely favors Travis when he was a toddler :) I think it’s her expression. She was proud of her pigtails that day!

Playing “school” with their stuffed animals…

Ms. Carter dropped off an end-of-the-year gift for Brooklyn, and these bubbles were part of it. Such a thoughtful thing to do!

Abigail practiced riding her scooter while the other girls played with bubbles :)

Brooklyn’s last official day of 1st grade was May 21st. That was really just a formality though because all of her assignments during that last week of school were just for fun and considered optional. It was such a strange ending to the school year. By that point, she hadn’t been physically in the school building in over 2 months. There was no class party…just the completion of work on the computer. We made the best of e-learning, and there were definitely some perks like not having to wake up as early in the morning. But, overall, I think Brooklyn really missed being at school in person.

She was definitely looking older by the end of the school year!

That day, we went on a scooter ride around the neighborhood. Savannah was sweet to share her scooter with Abigail!

Doesn’t everyone do crafts while lying down under a blanket?

This happens quite frequently….Abigail doesn’t think she’s tired at naptime, but then ends up falling asleep on the floor after she gets out of bed and starts playing ;)

May 22nd – a little late afternoon painting on the back patio :)

The newness of our backyard renovation still hadn’t worn off by this point. The grass was starting to fill in and everything was looking great!

Brooklyn decided to make a collar for Gabby out of a piece of yarn and a bracelet. The girls thought it was the cutest thing, and I couldn’t believe that they actually got Gabby to wear it for a while…

Little Mommy #1 (wearing my favorite hoodie that I wear all the time around the house…)

…and Little Mommy #2!

On May 23rd, we went to the lake to spend the day with Paw and Rae Rae. We had recently come to a new understanding of the state order (thanks to a lawyer’s interpretation), so we felt okay with having closer contact with Paw and Rae Rae even though they don’t live in our household. The girls were so excited and couldn’t wait to get there!

It was the first real time we’d had “close contact” with Paw and Rae Rae since before everything shut down in mid-March. It did all of our hearts so much good, especially Savannah’s. She just hugged, held onto Rae Rae and sat in her lap for the entire boat ride.

Abigail enjoyed helping Captain Paw drive the boat!

Abigail went down the slide with Daddy, hated it, and then immediately said she wanted to do it again…haha She didn’t like the water on this trip, although she kept asking to go back in…but she never wanted to stay in longer than a second. It was a bit exhausting trying to keep up with her.

We also forgot she still had ear tubes, so technically we were supposed to be keeping her head above water in the lake. Whoops! I think she only went under that one time before I remembered.

Brooklyn loved the slide, jumping off the dock, playing in the water–all of it!

Savannah had fun swimming and floating around, but hates bugs! She was terrified of bugs on this trip. She also reported that she and Rae Rae went up in the air on their jet ski ride…haha.

It was a fun day and was very much needed!

Another day…another nap on the floor

On May 25th, which was Memorial Day, we went over to the Hesters’ house and had a socially distanced backyard cookout. It was hot, but we really enjoyed spending time with them.

I couldn’t believe how well Abigail colored this picture in the lines!!

We started letting the girls watch an hour of TV during our Wednesday night Zoom bible study, but sometimes Abigail just couldn’t stay awake through the whole thing…haha

Monster truck races and scooter time on the driveway

Where has Abigail fallen asleep for her nap today? It’s always a surprise…

We went on a walk around the neighborhood on May 29th…

…and the girls played in the baby pool and water table on May 30th!

Brooklyn wrote out this “recipe” for the latest edition of the Dvorak family cookbook that Aunt Vicki puts together from time to time :)

The girls came up with the idea of having “indoor yard sales” in their rooms where they could each shop and buy/trade from each other. I liked Savannah’s sign: “You are welcome to Savannah’s yard sale.”

May 31st was our first normal Sunday lunch all sitting around the same table at Cici’s house in 2.5 months!! Cici was thrilled to finally get some hugs from her grandchildren, and the girls couldn’t wait to play with their cousins.

Notes and Quotes from May:

• 5/1/20 – Savannah: “Is that Daddy blower-ing outside?”
• 5/4/20 – Instead of “1,2,3…take a breath”, Abigail says, “1,2,3…take a bubble!”…and sticks her face in the water in the tub. Or she’ll say “I want to take a bubble!”
• 5/6/20 – Abigail (carrying around Savannah’s new stuffed unicorn that she just got for her birthday) – “She’s so cute and cuddly. She’s wonderful. I love my specially unicorn. She’s my best mommy unicorn.” Haha!
• 5/10/20 – Travis: “It’s going to be a problem for me to write a Mother’s Day card because I can’t read or write.” Brooklyn: “Yes you can! I’ve seen you.” Travis: “It was a farce.” Brooklyn: “A fart?? Farts are eww-ie!”
• 5/16/20 – I told Abigail as I was getting her out of the tub that I was proud of her for obeying so well that day (playing outside with her sisters while Travis was pressure washing and following directions, not screaming when it was time to get out of the tub, etc.), and she said, “Mommy, I wuv you!”
• 5/21/20 – I was talking about something happening in the “present day”, and Savannah asked, “Do all kids get presents on present day?” Haha!
• 5/21/20 – Savannah got bitten by an ant and screamed so loud that Travis could hear her while he was cutting the grass AND wearing earplugs…haha. He went running to see what was wrong!
• 5/22/20 – Savannah: “Are grownups always more squishy than kids?”
• Daddy: “Abigail, go tell Mommy you have a soggy bottom” (Translation: “Ask Mommy to change your wet diaper.”) So Abigail ran over and announced, “I got a bottom!” :)

Thanks for reading!!