5 Cute Kiddos

Here are some pictures from Aunt Robyn's great idea for a photo shoot.  We went down to a little park right on the Erie Canal.  As you can expect it's pretty difficult to get 5 sets of eyes looking at you all at the same time, but we certainly did get some adorable shots of 5 beautiful kids.

New York Trip

No, not NYC, but western NY to see family and celebrate Grandma's retirement after 20+ years working in the school district.  The kids were very excited to see everyone, especially all their cousins.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and stayed with Aunt Katie, Uncle Bill and Will.  We were the first folks to stay in their new guest room, and the kids got to have a sleepover with Will.  Thursday night we went to Grandma's retirement dinner while the kids hung out at the house with some friends of Aunt Katie.  Erin, being the oldest, was a big helper with the rest of the cousins.

Friday morning we headed off to the zoo.  I always love visiting a zoo.  The kids just get so excited about all the animals.  We got to see the elephant getting his morning bath which was really cool.  The tiger was also about and running around.  We took a few minutes at one of the play areas to let the kids climb around and wade in the stream.

That afternoon grandma and grandpa watched the kids while the moms and dads drove out to do some wine tasting.  It was a gorgeous afternoon and we all enjoyed a little adult time break.  And when we got back Grandma and Grandpa weren't even tied up.

On Saturday we celebrated Cousin Avery's 3rd birthday by the pool.  She was so cute opening all her special Toy Story gifts.  We spent the rest of the afternoon splashing around the pool since it was simply a gorgeous day.  Erin and Jeffrey even got a special visit from their Uncle Jonathan who had recently moved from DC to NY.

Aunt Robyn came up with the awesome idea of getting a family picture of all the cousins.  It has been quite a while since all 5 of them were together.  Erin is the oldest at 7, and Will is currently the youngest (about 2 1/2).  So you can imagine the fun of getting 5 sets of eyes looking at you all at once.  Even so we certainly got some adorable pictures of the kids.  Great idea Aunt Robyn.  I'm going to make another post that has some of my favorite photos from that little "shoot".

We spent the rest of Sunday outside at the pool.  That's just where Erin and Jeffrey wanted to be.  Swimming is probably their favorite thing to do.

Most importantly over the weekend we all got to spend some very special family time.  The kids got to play with their cousins and hang out with Aunts, Uncles and Grandma and Grandpa.  Tom and I got to visit with family.  We'll get some more time with them later this summer at Cousin Rylie's birthday.  Can't wait to see you all again soon.

Will and Jeffrey Engrossed in Star Wars

Erin and Rylie -- Besties.

Jeffrey Giving Avery A Ride

Uncle Tom Reading Bedtime Stories to Will, Erin and Rylie

Erin and Will Watching Lion King

The Girls Playing What They Do Best - Princess.

A Beautiful Afternoon

With only 1 more day left of school, and early release today, summer is quickly approaching.  We've already had some sweltering days here in VA, but the past 2 days have been simply gorgeous.  Today Erin was done with school at 1.  We picked her up from the bus and headed to the library.  Each kiddo picked out 5 or 6 new books for home.  We got home and set up on the back deck.  Erin started reading some of her new books and I read a few to Jeffrey.  He then wanted to play inside, so to encourage him to stay outside I set up his train tent on the deck.  Erin hopped in with a pillow, blanket and stack of books.  A few minutes later Jeffrey dragged his own books, pillow and blanket.  It got a little too cramped for Erin after a  bit and she moved out to the deck.  Jeff took that advantage to spread out.  Next thing Erin and I knew, he was sound asleep in his tent.  Fingers in his mouth snoring away.  He slept there for about 2 hours.  Erin and I spent that time reading together (each our own book), looking at birds (we have a pair of woodpeckers), checking on the garden, and making cards for her teachers to hand out tomorrow. 

This will be one of those perfect afternoons that we won't be able to recreate.  So I'm going to treasure it while I can.

We're Off To See The Wizard

We all had a great time being part of the Wizard of Oz this May.  It's such a treat for the whole family to be involved in the shows these days.  This time we had:

Tom as Scarecrow and Uncle Henry (depending on which show you saw)
Erin as a Munchkin in the Lullabye League and a Snowflake during the Poppy Scene
Jeffrey made the prefect Flying Monkey
Mommy as Mrs. Gultch and and Oz Woman.

Erin and Tom had tons of fun with the singing and dancing.  We decided that the Scarecrow role is probably more demanding than Hook was last year so was probably the most demanding role Tom has had so far.  He did an awesome job with it.  Jeffrey was the perfect flying monkey screaming and screeching and  running around like crazy. 

I'm so excited that both the kids really love being in the shows.  Not many families get the opportunity to do something like this as an entire family.

So here are some pictures from the shows.

Graduation

It's official.  Jeffrey is finished with pre-school.  His class held their "graduation" last Friday morning.  It was very cute and all the kids were adorable.  They sang a little song for each month they were in school.  So we got a Halloween diddy (5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate), a Christmas melody (Jesus Has A Birthday), A Valentines serenade (Skinamarink) etc. . .  Jeffrey was his true ham during all the songs.  Just being a total goofball, but still singing as loud as he could and smiling from ear to ear.

Each kid was then brought up in front of the parents and given a little diploma from the teachers.  She had a little reason why she would miss each kiddo.  For Jeffrey, she's going to miss him because he always came into school asking for a hug, and needed one last hug before the end of the day.  Yep, that's him.

Afterward there were root beer floats for everyone and the kids all ran around the playground for one last play time.  Then Jeff and a couple of his friends (along with their families) went out for a pizza lunch.  It was a really great day.

It's very sad that we won't be heading back to preschool.  The people there are wonderfully nice and really got Jeff ready for Kindergarten.  Their mentality of "Learning Through Play" worked wonders for our active little guy.  We'll miss you very much Miss Michel Ann, Miss Camille, Miss Vivian and Miss Ann!!!!  He's certainly ready to hop on that bus come fall.

Finally, here's a link to a video made by one of the local photographers. His granddaughter was in Jeffrey's class so he showed up at graduation with camera in hand, and took tons of candid pictures.  Pretty lucky.

Erin's Special Day

Erin's birthday started off much like Jeffrey's.  Tom went in to work a little later and stayed home in the morning to make her special breakfast.  There's no way he could have gotten away with NOT making her breakfast.  She got special pancakes just like Jeffrey.  Then she got to pick 2 presents to open -- she chose two from grandma.

We'd made brownies the day before for her to take to school.  She was very excited to take them in to share.  She had asked to spend the afternoon at the park when school was over.  Unfortunately, the day turned out to be 50 and rainy.  Not much of a nice birthday.  I seems, somehow, that it rains every year on Erin's birthday.  So Jeffrey and I ended up picking her up from school at the end of the day, and taking her in to town to a new Bounce Place.  I kept it a surprise and she and Jeffrey had a total blast.  So, although we didn't get an afternoon at the park, there was quite a bit of bouncing and sliding.

I'd also offered to make Erin her favorite dinner at home rather than go out.  With all the rehearsals and plays the week before, we were all a little tired of eating out.  So I cooked her a big ham with cheesy potatoes and Brussel sprouts (her choice -- she likes them with vinegar).  Jeffrey had helped me pick out some super cute cupcakes for dessert.

So after dinner we finally sat down to open the rest of her presents.  She'd asked for a hula hoop and jump rope, so she was excited about those.  She had also asked for an iPod -- Tom and I weren't ready to get her that, but we did get her an MP3 player.  I'd had it charging at her computer and had pre-loaded it with some of her favorite music.  So rather than wrap it up, we made a little treasure hunt for her to find it.  She had to follow clues that led her to the basement.  She's been really excited about it, and also got a new CD (with Fireflies song on it).  Add in a bunch of craft kits, several new books and some Zhu-Zhu Pets and we ended up a great birthday.

Also,  Erin had asked for a hula-hoop.  I figured she'd seen some friends with one, or maybe played with one in PE some time.  Turns out, she can do this . . .

So, all in all, Erin's 7th birthday ended up being a great day.  Cold rain and all.

Sneaky Sneaky

As you might have suspected Jeffrey loves his DS.  If you don't know what that is, it's a new-fangled Game Boy.  He's got 3 games (Super Mario Bros, Star Wars, and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs) of his own as well as some of Erin's games.  So I've been very careful to limit his DS time.  And generally he's pretty good about listening to me, asking before playing it, and handing it over when his time is up.

Today we entered into the phase of sneaking the DS.  I don't remember if Erin did this as well.  I don't really think so. 

Jeff brought his DS in the car on our trip to the gym so I explained that would be his DS time for the day.  When we got home, he tried to play some more, so I took it and put it up for a while.  After lunch he had his regular quiet time (after reading a few pages of Goldbug book).  I was busy doing some work on the computer for Erin's Girl Scout troop when he popped downstairs.

"Music is done mommy" (we use a CD to time quiet time)
"OK, well go play for a bit."  I could hear him playing with his Star Wars guys in the living room.  I went upstairs to start some dinner in the slow cooker.  He asked to play Connect4 and I told him, in a few minutes. 
"OK.  I'm going to play in my room."
"OK bud."
I finished the dinner and went to check on him.  He was sitting in his chair reading some books. 
"Wanna play your game now Jeff?"
"Nope.  I just want to be in my room."

Figuring he was still tired I went back down and did some more computer work.  I checked on him again and got the same answer.  This time I stayed upstairs starting some laundry.  A bit later I poked my head in again, wondering if maybe he'd fallen asleep.  I was ready to praise him for playing so nicely in his room and set to offer to play a board game again.  There was a lump under his covers.  I tiptoed over to him and tossed back the covers.

There he was.  Huddled up with Erin's DS.  Seems he'd been playing it the whole time.  When he was in his chair he could hear me coming and would close the game and drop it into a pocket.  The loud laundry machine did him in.  He didn't hear me coming. 

Needless to say, I immediately took it from him.  Looked him square in the eye and said -- "NO DS for you.  2 days"  (yes I sounded like the Soup Nazi).  I was furious with him, and furious with myself for letting him get away with it.  I should have known, he never plays quietly like that. 

So 2 days and no DS.  Wonder what he's going to sneak off with tomorrow...

Celebrating Jeffrey's Birthday

We had a great day celebrating Jeffrey's birthday.  It was a little crazy because we were in the middle of tech week for Wizard of Oz.  We had a long rehearsal on the evening of his birthday so we started everything off early.

Tom made Jeffrey a special breakfast -- pancakes.  Since Jeffrey woke up in a decent mood (even after a long rehearsal Monday night) we decided to take a few minutes after breakfast and let him open his birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy.  Otherwise we'd be waiting until 9 o'clock at night.  Needless to say, he was pretty darned excited to be able to open his presents so early.  Tom and I had decided to get him his own DS, mostly because we were tired of listening to them fighting over Erin's DS.  So here is his reaction to seeing it.

He was also very excited to get a few new Star Wars toys from mommy & daddy too.

Later in the morning, Jeff got to go to school and celebrate with his friends.  After a favorite lunch of chicken nuggets, cheeze-its and applesauce he had a little quiet time.  After that we picked Erin up from school and headed into the gym for a swim before rehearsal.  Both the kids had a blast swimming and splashing in the pool.  On the way out Jeffrey was able to pick up his "birthday smoothie" at the snack bar (you can get a free smoothie on your birthday at the gym).


We headed to rehearsal where Jeff got to play some DS with his friends while mommy and daddy worked on the show.  When asked where he wanted to go to dinner, Jeff's first answer was McDonalds -- VETO.  Pizza?  Normally that'd be OK, but we'd had a lot of pizza during the week already.  Red Lobster???  He's our shrimp guy.  We thought about that but ended up at Red Robin where we let him and his sister split an entree of fried shrimp.  Add in the freckled lemonade and a birthday sundae and he was quite pleased.

We finished off the evening opening his presents from his Aunt & Uncle and Grandma& Grandpa.  More DS stuff and more Star Wars.  Exactly what he wanted.  As I tucked him into bed I gave him 5 kisses -- one for each special year he's been my baby boy.

Love ya buddy.

My Dear Girl

My sweet little girl.  I can get away with calling you little because you're still tiny.  But not the shortest kid in class, you made sure I knew that after picture day.  I can't believe you're 7 years old today.  You've grown up so much in the past year.  You aren't my baby girl any more.  You are becoming a young woman.  A strong, beautiful young woman.

You LOVE being in plays and being on stage.  You used to want me to always be on stage with you.  To hold your hand.  Now, you give me a smile as you run off down the hallway to put your own costume on.  You don't need me to remind you when to go on, or what to say.  You've got that down.  Sometimes you need to remind me what's going on.

Gone are the days of listening to nursery rhymes and Disney songs on the CD player.  You'd rather listen to Adam Lambert or to the Wicked music.  You know every word to Fireflies (your current favorite song) and can sing the entire Scarecrow song from Wizard of Oz.

You're becoming so brave and independent.  You want to ride the biggest roller coaster you see.  Going to the bathroom by yourself at the restaurant is so important to you.  I still make sure I can see the door and worry about you if you've been gone too long.  Last year at the pool, you were afraid to get your face wet.  Now you're working on diving into the deep end and swimming an entire lap.  You want to go after that soccer ball, even if it means tripping and falling down.  And now at bedtime you have to read mommy a story (as well as listening to mommy read one) too.

But you're still my little girl.  You make sure that every night I turn on the hall light, turn on the music (the CD you listened to the week you were born), and check on you.  And I do.  I check on you every night.  You're usually snuggled up with mommy's old Pooh bear or one of your Webkinz.  Some nights when your forehead hurts you come into mommy's room so I can snuggle you.  I rub your back and hold you close.  I know there aren't too many days like that ahead of us.

So don't be afraid to grow up.  Don't worry about trying new things.  We've learned this year that new things like swimming and reading chapter books can be so much fun!!!  But don't leave the little girl behind.  Keep snuggling with your bear and making up fancy stories with your Pets.

And remember most of all.  Whenever you need your mommy, I'm right there with a hug or snuggle or to help you with your spelling and reading.    Or just there to say I love you. 

Dear Jeffrey,

Happy Birthday Big Guy.

I still am having a hard time processing the fact that today you’re five. Such a big boy now. Somehow it seems that just yesterday you were my little baby. Snuggled up with your paci in your crib or smiling at us with those ever changing eyes. But at the same time those days feel so long ago. You’ve grown up into such an amazing little boy. You love to run and play. Your imagination turns boxes into spaceships. You talk to the birds and the clouds. You try sounding out words and doing sister’s math homework. You can tell me what part of what movie your favorite song is from when you hear it on the radio.

You are a remarkable little man. So special. You know when someone needs a hug or a snuggle. You still give the best kisses ever. You’re sensitive and hate it when you feel like you’ve let someone down or done something wrong. Let me tell you. You never let me down. I may not like it when you draw on the walls or hit your sister, but I will always give you goodnight kisses and tuck you in at night.

Did you know that every night I sneak into your room? I fix your covers. I pick blankie off the floor. Sometimes I need to put you back into the middle of your bed, because you’re almost falling out. I give you a kiss on the forehead and tell you I love you.

I can’t believe that in August you’ll be hopping onto the school bus with your sister. I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it. You’re definitely ready. I just hope that you don’t lose that sweetness inside of you that makes you so special.

Until then we’ll have a super fun summer. We’ll go swimming because it’s your favorite thing to do. You want to go bowling and play mini golf…we’ll do that too.

We will visit your Noni and Grandpa and Oma and see the museums and ride the carousel. We’ll see Grandma and Grandpa and swim in their pool. We’ll go see Uncle Jeff and Aunt Robyn, Rylie and Avery and play princesses until you can’t take it any more. You can build a train set with your Cousin Will when we stay with Aunt Katie and Uncle Bill. And Uncle Jonathan will scoop you up and fly you around when we see him. You have an awesome family that loves you so much.

So remember today is your special day. You were born on 5/5/05 so 5 is your lucky number. It’s going to be an amazing year.