Goldie and the Bears

Emily got to be in her very first school program the other night. It was Goldie and the Bears. It was the traditional story told in updated songs. All the kids were very cute in their masks & sweet smiles. Emily got to be the representative "momma bear" from her class. She was very excited and had a lot of fun with it!

Wall Photos

We just updated our 3 wall frames of the kids. They turned out great thanks to Joel's photo skills. I thought I'd share them with you because they are so darn cute.

Emily - 7

Jonathan - 4

Katherine - 18 months

Spring is Near

Each year about this time there are trees that start blooming beautiful white blossoms. They only keep these blossoms for about a week or two before they fall off & green leaves grow in their place. They make me happy & signal the coming of spring to me. When we first got married the apartment complex we lived in had tons of these trees. When we moved into our house I was happy to discover that a house on our street a few doors down has a huge one of these trees in their front yard. Today Jon & I walked down there & took some photos of it. The first one is my photo. The last 3 are Jon's photos he took with the camera he got for his birthday (thanks Aunt Kerry & Uncle Jeff). My photo gives you perspective on the size of the tree since Jon's in the bottom of it. Jon's photo give you nice detail of the blossoms themselves. Enjoy!

Birthday Boy

Today is Jon's 4th birthday! Over the weekend we had a party for him. It was Toy Story themed, however he still wanted his cake to look like his bear "Baby" blanket. So, I obliged. He'll grow up soon enough, why not a Baby cake again? Here are some photos from the party. We did a picture frame craft with Toy Story stickers, played pin the tail on Bullseye, opened presents & ate yummy cake. The kids played outside a lot too. It was a fun day & Jon had a really good time!

Big Stuff

The last few weeks have held some big stuff for our kids. First off, Jonathan is fully potty-trained now. Woooooo Hooooo!! I won't share any photos of this process (you can thank me later), but I will share this photo that Joel captured of one of his many personality-filled faces:
And here's one of him playing in his new dig zone. He's really gotten into digging & so we've given him a parent sanctioned place to dig to save the rest of our yard. We dug up all the grass/weeds under the slide in the backyard. He loves it & plays in in a lot now. He's found quite a few little shells too.

Emily also lost another tooth. This makes her 5th, however, this is the first one she's lost on top. I think it makes her look extra cute. Love this picture because it shows off her dimple too:
She also traded in her full-arm pink cast for a half-arm green one. This one is great for a few reasons: 1) that she can bend her arm now & 2) that it's waterproof & she can get her arm & hand in the bath again! She's got about 2 more weeks until she's cast-free.

And Katherine is now walking confidently on her own. She's been walking around the house for a little while already, but only if she was holding onto walls, furniture, someone's hand, or occasionally braving it for a few steps between things. It's just been in the last few days that she's walking all over the house without any support. She loves to just walk around, sippy cup in hand, and check out what's going on in each room. It's opened a whole new world for her. Here's a few photos of her in her new "upright" life:

Birthday Girl

Emily just turned 7. In honor of this occasion we had a princess party. She came up with the theme & has been brainstorming ideas and planning it literally all year. So the pressure was on for this momma to deliver. I think we did a good job & she loved it. I made princess hats for the girls to decorate with "jewels," we painted their nails & fixed their hair, then we opened presents & had cake. They all seemed to really enjoy themselves. Here are some photos from the party.

One Day, Three Birthdays

February 1st is a big day for birthdays in our family. It is a birthday for not one, not two, but three people. So happy birthday to these three awesome people... (in order by length of time in my life)

Kerry - Kerry is my one and only sister & sibling. I've known her since she was born & my very first memory is of feeding her a bottle when she first came home from the hospital. I have tons of wonderful memories of times spent playing together. She is a very smart, very hard working woman. She loves her family & friends tons and has an awesome heart. I'm proud to call her my sister. She'll be moving to California later this year. I'll miss her a lot, but I'm also excited to see how her life will take shape out there. Happy birthday & love you, Kerry!

Joel - I've known Joel for almost 14 years now. He's not only my husband, but my best friend & the person who knows me better than anyone else. He's a total goof sometimes (which I love), and can be very competitive (he's rubbed off on me some). He loves his family fiercely, and is a fabulous husband and father. He constantly amazes me with his ability to teach himself new things & just the vast amount of knowledge he carries around in that head of his. He's also a gifted photographer and has an excellent eye for design. Happy Birthday, Joel. I love ya!

Nathananel - I met Nathanael shortly after Joel & I started dating. I remember being blown away by how much they looked alike. They were the first set of twins I'd ever really known & I thought it was pretty cool. Nathanael is hard working and dedicated. He is also excellent with words & has written some really great poetry. He's the brother I didn't have growing up and now the uncle to my kids. Happy birthday, Natty! Love ya too!