Amanda is 3!

The birthday girl woke up bright and early on her birthday and climbed out of her crib on her own, for the first time ever.  We really couldn't believe that she hadn't done this sooner, though we were glad she hadn't- "time-out's" are harder to manage now :)

Her brothers guided her around finding picture clues for her birthday present scavenger hunt (this was mostly for Ben's sake, but Amanda was happy to follow along). 

She found her presents, and though still a bit sleepy, was super excited to open them.  It was nice that she was so happy with one toy, some band-aides, bubbles, goldfish crackers, and a dress and flip flops.  She's still young and relatively easy to please.

It was too difficult to schedule our traditional family birthday party with everyone's conflicting schedules and the 4th of July weekend, so Paul and Ben planned and hosted a "rainbow and heart" birthday party for her and her few friends and youngest cousins on a week day morning.  

What was intended to be a small, casual party, turned out to be quite the event when Justin constructed a make-shift zip line towards the end of the party.  None of the kids were wanting to leave the party!

We also celebrated during a 4th of July party that Austin and Keely hosted.  Keely and her boys made Amanda a birthday cake and the extended family that was at the party sang to her. 

Birthday Interview:

Favorite Song: "Oh, oh, oh" (The Mother We Share by Chvrches)

Favorite Color: It changes daily according to whatever color shirt or dress she is wearing, but pink seems to a consistent favorite as well

Favorite Food: Cashews and Gogo Squeeze applesauce

Favorite TV Show/Movie: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Favorite Thing to Do: Jump on the trampoline, have tea parties

Something she hopes to never have to do again: Drink soda

What she wants to be when she grows up: A doctor

Fears: Bad guys

What makes her the happiest: Dancing and twirling

Favorite Sport: Trampoline

Favorite Drink: Orange Juice

Ben is 6!

I'm just a few months behind in posting this, but better late than never, right?

Ben's birthday started with a traditional scavenger hunt to find his presents.  He woke up in the morning with the first clue taped to his bedroom door.  He raced around with Paul finding clue after clue until he found his presents.

Then it was time to get ready for school and celebrate some more.  Justin, Amanda, and I were able to bring treats to his class and watch as his teacher and classmates sang to him.  He was his typical self during this- 70% pure discomfort and 30% joy from getting so much attention :)

Later that day, Ben had his first "friends"party.  He really wanted to have it at an indoor trampoline park, Fly High.  He had trouble deciding which friends from his class to invite, so we invited the whole class.  His entire class, except for one kid RSVP'd "yes".   We ordered extra pizzas and squeezed everyone in.  They all had a great time.  The highlight for most of the kids was ganging up against Justin in a game of dodge ball.

As if 3 celebrations weren't enough, we had our traditional family party in our backyard that weekend as well.  We are so blessed to have so much family close by!

After the party, Ben was exhausted and enjoyed playing with his new toys/gifts at home.

As a present from Austin and Keely, they took Ben and Asher to the Monster Truck Rally AND let him have a sleepover.  He loves gifts like this- special time spent with people he loves.

I think it's fair to say that Ben was spoiled with love and attention this year!

Birthday Interview:

Favorite Song: "'Centuries' maybe... I don't know, mom."

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Mac and Cheese

Favorite TV Show/Movie: Phineas and Ferb

Favorite Thing to Do: Play

Something he hopes to never have to do again: Brush his teeth

What he wants to be when he grows up: Anything

Fears: Flash floods

What makes him the happiest: Playing with Dad and Mom

Favorite Sport: Soccer

Favorite Drink: Soda

Favorite Book: Curious George

1st Day of School 2014

Towards the end of summer vacation, Paul only voiced disappointment that summer would be over when asked if he was excited for school to start.  As the day approached, however, he started getting a little more excited.  Paul was less than trilled to have to go to Back-to-School night on his birthday yesterday, but he came home very excited for 2nd grade to begin.  He woke up early (but not too early), got dressed, etc., and asked me to take him to school... way ahead of schedule :)

Here he is ready to head off to 2nd grade:

Ben was extremely excited to start Kindergarten.  He had met with his Kindergarten teacher last week for a Kindergarten Assessment.  He answered all of the questions correctly and impressed his teacher.  It was good for him to meet his teacher and see his classroom.  

Unfortunately, the day before school started, Ben came down with a stomach bug and a fever.  He fell asleep during Paul's birthday lunch and was more or less sick the rest of the day.

 

Mainly as consideration for the other kids in his class, we had to keep Ben home from his first day of school.  He was REALLY disappointed and shed a lot of tears over it.  Luckily, he's feeling well and should be able to go to school tomorrow.  

Here he is with bedhead and all:

Amanda, of course, had to join in the first-day-of-school excitement.  She found her little back pack, accessorized, and was ready to go.

Here's hoping to a fun year full of learning and new friends!

Amanda Lately

This little girl of ours is growing and changing so quickly.  It's so much fun to see her learn and explore new things.  She is very active, talkative, and fairly independent.  Oh, and strong willed.  Must not leave that out.

A few things about Amanda lately are:

She continues to love to eat.  It seems like she is constantly saying "want more, want more" all day long.  When the object of desire isn't obvious to me, I ask back, "want more what?", to which she replies, "please!".  It's so cute, but not very helpful :)  She loves to eat beans of any kind from soy to re-fried to garbanzo.  She loves to eat seeds, nuts, fruits (especially oranges, avocados, & tomatoes), hummus, and just about anything.  She also has a sweet spot for cookies and... candy (being the 3rd child does have some perks).

She loves to play outside.  Sometimes she'll put her shoes/boots on and grab her jacket and stand by the sliding glass door begging to go outside and play.  Spring weather can't come soon enough.

When she realizes that it's almost time to go to bed, she routinely says, "want muh-muh" (want milk) in attempt to get herself back downstairs and free from bed time.  It worked the first time or two, but unfortunately for her, mom and dad quickly caught on to her trick.

When she hears someone crying, she is very concerned and unsettled until she can hug them and see that they are better.  The more they are crying, the longer and tighter the hug.

If someone is in the spot that she wants or has something that she wants and they won't give it up, she screeches and (softly) hits them, then quickly hugs them to say sorry.  Sometimes, only sometimes, she makes her mamma proud and avoids the screeching and hitting and simply says "please!".  We're working on it :)

She still loves animals (from a safe distance), balls, balloons, and BABIES.  Every single time she sees a baby or a doll she yells "Na-na, na-na, na-na..." (her word for baby).  She gives them the most loving hugs and "ohhh's" and will scowl at you if you don't let her have every single last doll in sight :)  With two brothers, she's not used to having to share her babies.

She refuses to sit in her highchair or a booster-seat.  She wants to sit in a regular chair like the rest of the family.  Sitting below her meals makes it more difficult for her to eat, but she doesn't seem to mind.

She still loves to "read" books!  She will sit and occupy herself with a stack of books for such long stretches of time.  Her bedtime routine keeps extending as the pile of books keeps growing.  She has her set of favorite books and won't let us forget/skip any.

She loves to scribble and color.  She especially loves to do so with markers.  Once she learns that paper is the only acceptable canvas for such activities in our house, she'll have more access to such tools :)

She still loves baths, but is scared of swimming pools.  She loves to climb and flop herself off of things, but is scared of moving things like swings and carousels.

She loves to wear shoes, fluffy skirts, and jewelry.  I never thought I'd have such a girly girl, but I do... and I love it.

This little girl of ours is such a big part of our family.  She makes us all smile and laugh and feel loved.  I can't imagine our family without her.

Summer Vacation- Day 2

Summer vacation got off to a rough start this year.  Paul was quite upset that school ended.  I tried to convince him that summer is more fun than school, but he had a hard time believing it.  To help dry the tears and get him excited for summer, Paul, Ben, & I made a Summer Bucket List.  It seemed to really help get Paul (& Ben, but that's a given) excited for summer.

The only problem is that the boys have it in their heads that we need to check off as many items on our list as possible... as soon as possible.  So, we're off to a fast, good start :)

Today is officially day 2 of summer vacation and here is what we've done so far today (& it's not even 3:00!):

Paul and Ben had their first day of swimming lessons.  They had fun, learned a bit, and got really chilly in the cold, morning water. 

After the boys warmed up in the shower and dressed, they were ready & excited to write about their swimming lessons in their (now) Summer journals.  (I'm trying to re-establish our almost-daily journal writing routine)

Ben has been begging me to let him paint with something other than watercolors.  Today I gave in.

Any good day, in the eyes of my boys, includes conducting science experiments.  In this experiment, they made their own water fountain using a water bottle, play-dough, a straw, and the pressure that their breath created.

Amanda couldn't really join in, so we made a splash tub for her, that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  Sink and float experiments were also conducted.

After seeing this bunny all over our yard, Paul decided he wanted to catch it.  He grabbed his butterfly net and a shovel (?) and carefully followed the bunny. 

After his failed attempts to catch the bunny, Paul decided to try and make friends with the bunny instead.  Ben joined in and they made a goal of becoming friends with this bunny by the end of the summer.  They tossed carrots to the bunny and the bunny crunched them down quickly.  They actually might just succeed.  We have lots of bunnies in and out of our yard, but this particular bunny hangs out under our pine tree on a regular basis, and let's us get really close to it before getting scared and hopping away.

After being out in the 90* heat most of the day, it was decided that push-pops were needed.   Boy was Amanda excited that her brothers shared a few tastes with her :)

I finally gave in and allowed Amanda to crawl around the yard, getting dirty and eat.... who knows what :)  I realized that, with an entire summer ahead of us, it is inevitable, so why fight it?  She sure enjoyed the freedom.

Apparently, there was too much fun to be had to be bothered to come inside and use the bathroom :)

After coming inside and cleaning up & changing clothes again, the boys wanted to play with Legos.... and so did Amanda.  The boys built "Sector 12" using pillows, to keep Amanda away from the Legos so that she "wouldn't choke and die."  

And because they're busy playing with Legos and I don't have to worry about Amanda choking and dying, I'm found time to share all of this with you :)

Here's to a fun-filled summer!

  

Kindergarten Graduation

A full school-year has passed and so much has happened in these 9 short months.  Paul has grown up so much and learned a lot.  It's hard to recognize change on a day-to-day basis, but when reflecting on the first few days of school, I realize how young and small Paul really was, and what a grown up boy he seems to be today, in comparison.

 First day of school:

 Last day of school:       

                    

To celebrate completing his first year of school, his teacher, Mrs. Radcliff, arranged a Kindergarten Graduation-- complete with caps and Kindergarten Graduation Diplomas.  The kids sang a few songs and each presented their favorite thing about Kindergarten or advice for next year's Kindergarteners.  Paul chose to give advice, which was to know that Kindergarten "is fun."  

Paul has truly loved school this year and has expressed (while holding back tears) how much he is going to miss it....and especially, how much he'll miss Mrs. Radcliff.

Update: When tucking Paul into bed tonight, he said, "I can't believe school went by so fast.  I don't know how that happened.  I feel like I'm getting close to being an adult.  (then his eyes start filling with tears)  I'm not ready to be an adult."   

Oh, I love this kid!