Moving On Up!

E has officially completed 2nd grade as of yesterday! It is difficult to believe that our first little baby is going to be in 3rd grade in a couple of short months.

Here are two sets of 'before and after' pics from the first and last day of 2nd grade.

What you can see is that her hair is longer, she is taller and her face has matured. What you can't see is how much she has grown on the inside. She has learned so much this year. She can read so well and her vocabulary has grown immensely (her word, not mine...just joking). She can multiply and tell you about the continents. She has become much more independent and a better problem solver. She has become a proud big sister for the 3rd time.

Some things haven't changed this year though. She is still so very sweet. She is a good friend. She is so energetic. She is responsible. She is a hard worker. She prefers playing basketball with the neighbor boys over dressing up with the girls. She is still full of those signature E giggles!

There certainly was a lot to do in the days leading up to the last day. We were at school so much that I almost felt like I was a teacher again. First, there was field day...

and then an 'Author's Share' at school at which E shared the cutest book she wrote about W (this deserves a separate post)...

and then the class party and family picnic (held inside because of rain)...

On the last day, there was breakfast at the neighbors and a walk down to school with friends...

and a girls' lunch at a pizza place right after they were dismissed at 11:45.

One added bonus video for my teacher friends. Does this look familiar?

Here's hoping this energetic, love of learning continues to 3rd grade and for many more years to come! We love you E!!!

Cousins & Cards

We spent Memorial Day weekend in St. Louis and had a great time. We saw cousin Jack for the first time since Christmas. He sure has changed and makes the cutest little noises....hoot, hoot!

Here are the Cardinal Fans all together.

Watch out Pujols, these are two little guys with BIG dreams...

It's as if they are saying,..."Yes, we know we're very cute, what's the big deal?"

R and I also went to his 8th grade reunion (yes, 8th grade) and had a great time.

Making Us Giggle

Here is a video of W playing his silly little game at Grandma and Grandpa's house this past weekend. He knew exactly what to do to keep the giggles coming!

...and here he is in his new favorite sleeping position.

"You are silly, Barack Obama!"

Last week, while playing outside, I caught A making phone calls to her buddy again. I quickly ran in to get my camera. I had to zoom in far to get this so it is very shaky...but turn up your volume and listen closely, she is pretty silly!

Kindergarten...here she comes!

K 'graduated' from preschool today. They had a little ceremony in the classroom and then we went outside for popsicles and to play on an old firetruck. It is difficult to believe that she will be off to Kindergarten in a few short months. Luckily for me, she wants to go to half-day Kindergarten instead of full-day. I'm so glad she will be coming home for lunch and to spend the afternoon with us.



Remember this sweet 4-year-old on her first day of school back in August?

Well. here she is, as a 5-year-old, receiving her preschool diploma.

Here she is outside on the firetruck...

Daddy was able to attend the special event.
A pic with Mommy...
K with her wonderful teacher...
Daddy has to go back to work now...

We love you K!

Please don't forget your promise to call us everyday when you are in college! :)

Born To Be A Cowgirl

K had her dance recital today...and what a cute cowgirl she was! She was very busy dancing and trying to find us in the audience as you will see in the video below. She was given flowers afterwards and a cute ballerina necklace and bracelet.

Here is a picture before the recital (minus the cowgirl hat)...

A video of the performance...

Proud sisters...
Opening her presents...
It looks like A is ready to start dance classes as she was so interested in the recital and the program...
...and here she is after falling asleep still looking at the program on the way home.

All The Glam And The Press...

Today E performed in a talent show at school with her friend Grace. They performed "I Want It All" from High School Musical 3. E was Ryan and G was Sharpay. So fun! They did a great job on stage in front of a gym packed with students and family. Here is a picture of them after their performance as well as a video of the performance.

Outliers

Outlier (n): something that is situated away from or classified differently from a main or related body

In my blogging world, I always have these pictures that don't seem to 'fit' into any of my posts. They don't 'belong' with any posts and they seem to get lost in my files. So, I declare today 'Outlier Picture Day'.

1/28: K proud of the tower she built for her little pony
3/21: E with her creation at Grandma and Grandpa H's house 4/7: W enjoying his jumper

4/20: All four + cousin Zach sleeping in the car

5/2: A at Red Robin for her birthday lunch

5/5: K giving some cereal to W

Lucky Me

What a fun Mommy week! On Monday, W's first tooth came through! On Wednesday, R took a vacation day so that I could go on a fieldtrip with E. We waited for this day for quite some time. Thank you R! On Friday, K's school had a Mother's Day Tea Party where the kids sang this very cute song (see video below). Finally, A made everyday fun with her constant, unsolicited, make your heart melt "Mommy, I love you" and her never-ending imagination.

Mother's Day began with sleeping in and then giant chocolate chip pancakes made equally by all 3 girls... R reported that they were concerned about someone getting to make more of the pancakes than someone else. He assured them that each of them had made 1/3 of the pancakes. I was showered with cards, pictures and presents made by my little artists. E had a soccer game and then we all went out to dinner...mexican, of course.

Our self-portrait on the school bus on the way to Steamboat Arabia...

K singing at her school...soooo sweet!

I will have much to report this week as our week is filled with a softball game, a talent show, a dance recital and a soccer game!

Busy Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Grandma H, Grandma B and Grandma W! Happy Mother's Day to all of you mommies out there...especially you first time mommies!

Happy Birthday to Grandma H! We hope you have a very special day!

Also, guess who is 8 months old today? More to come soon...



(and incase you were wondering why his mattress is still so high and were worried about his safety...never fear...he still hasn't spent a night in his crib...Mommy just can't let go, nor does she want to)

Dreaming

Every night since her birthday party...seriously. I guess this is what she meant today when she told me she was going to have a 'sleepover' with Barack Obama...

Sumo Dreams Cut Short

Just as his sumo wrestling career was getting started, W had his first haircut on Tuesday. He was very sleepy but did very well with the driver's wheel and a Barney video capturing his attention.

"Somebody please help me with this...

... and this..."

"Thank you......now I can get back to playing with this wheel!"
Some 'after pics' I took today and a video from the haircut.

C is for Cookie...

H is for happy! This picture sums up A's 3rd birthday party day! She was the ultimate birthday girl! Grandma and Grandpa H came in to celebrate and we started the day at Red Robin for lunch. After lunch, we had a party at our house for 10 little girls. A requested a Cookie Monster party. I'm not a fan of 'character-themed' parties so I tried my best to make it mostly 'cookie-themed' with just enough Cookie Monster on the side. :)

The party included a few games such as 'put the cookie in the cookie jar' while blindfolded and sifting for gems in a bucket of so called 'cookie dough'. A enjoyed being sang to and loved her cake.

During the party, our doorbell rang. Apparently, Mr. President has a special delivery man. All the girls ran to the door excited to find a package from Barack Obama with a flag balloon attached. A couldn't believe it and ripped open the box to find a letter, a Barack Obama book and a USA puzzle.

Here are some pics of A in our backyard enjoying the giant cookie we made together.

Here's a collage I put together of all of these fun pics taken by J Cooper Photography.