Yelf...

Today Whitney said something for the first time that I'm sure we'll hear over and over from her..."yelf". Translation: 'self', she wanted to put on her shoes her 'yelf'. She shows so much interest already in doing things on her own, I guess we'll be late everywhere we go for the next 10 years. (Also funny...'yucker' for sucker.)

Nathan turns 4!!!!

Nathan had a super fun 4th birthday. Grammy, Poppy and Amy drove up from Arizona and we basically had a week long celebration. We celebrated the 4th of July, went to the zoo, Art Sports, the Manitou arcade, and celebrated his actual day with a pool party. His big party was on the 5th at the house. He wanted a Little Einstein theme with a 'rocket' cake which I had fun creating thanks to the internet suggestions. We had some of his preschool friends as well as family over. A big bounce house was set up in the back yard and we grilled hamburgers. We were in and out of the house due to the rain, next year we'll have a breakfast party!!

Whitney Dr Visit

Whitney was a bit late for her 15 month check-up. (oops, I forgot) But here are her stats:
Weight 22.95 (52nd percentile)
Height 33 inches (97th percentile)
Head Circum 49.3 cm (95th percentile)

Kiddo updates

Nathan:
Likes- T-ball, swimming pool, his blankie, vanilla soy milk, Handy Manny, audio CD's, GeoTrax, playing with the neighbor boys, german pancakes
Dislikes- Sunscreen, weird looking food, spiky hair, button shirts

Whitney:
Likes- Grandma, ladybugs, Tippy, getting tickled, blankies, binky, eating, outside, stairs, swinging, suckers, marshmellows, shoes, swimming pool
Dislikes- Teeth brushing, mommy leaving


(Nathan said something so funny the other day. I asked him what we should get Grandpa for Father's Day...his response "something junky I guess". It was hilarious, I have no idea why he said it.)

Mother's Day

I just had to document this. I had such a wonderful mother's day. My sweet, amazing husband was up at 3a.m. putting a binky back in Whitney's mouth and decided to go to the grocery store to get the ingredients for the perfect breakfast in bed...a beautiful yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and granola accompanied by sparkling pear juice. On top of that, he let me sleep in and bought me some Merrell's I was wanting. I ate my breakfast with my kids on my lap in bed, eating most of it themselves, but it couldn't have been better.
Then I got to spend time with my own mom having tea at the gorgeous Glen Erie Castle followed by an afternoon of playing with the kids in and out of the 'hot pool'.

And on top of this, on Friday was Nathan's preschool classes mother's day tea. It was so cute and sweet. He made be a beautiful beaded bracelet and a box it came in painted all glittery with gems glued on. He was so proud. I just can't thank his teachers enough for all the effort they put into everything they do.

Updates

Some kiddo updates:
-Whitney is a little stinker. She is hard to take anywhere because she wants down to walk, usually in the opposite direction you want her to. She is still waking up around 5a.m. wanting milk but goes back to sleep until 7:30 or later which is better than up for good at 6:30 without the milk. She is a sorter, she loves to carry items out of the tupperware drawer one by one to the top of the stairs, I found 14 items there a couple days ago. She likes to hand you things and say "der-ya-go", it's pretty darn cute. She is so good at saying thank you and amazingly doesn't mind getting her hair done. Her new thing this week is her love for getting tickled on her tummy. She lifts up her shirt and says "tickle". I do it when I put her down to sleep to relax her. She loves her baby doll more than ever and I catch her putting the baby in and out of her toy stroller.


-Nathan only has 3 days left of preschool. I'm looking forward to the mother's day tea tomorrow in his classroom. We signed him up for M,W,F mornings next year. It's hard to think about him being away from home more and more, but he loves it. We had teacher conference last week and he's doing great. She said loves playing with other kids and is good at sharing. His best friend is Zak and loves all the science experiments the best. He understands what the Bible is about and who Jesus is. He knows his letters, numbers, colors and shapes really well and his drawing is getting better. He's mastered the patterning skills she taught and has no issues with participation. (All very good to hear) (Picture below is his first field trip to the Fountain Creek Nature Center)
We signed him up for 3-4 year old t-ball through the Briargate YMCA which starts in June, I think he'll really like it.

St Lucia trip

Our trip to St. Lucia was a blast. The wedding was really nice and it was fun being on a trip with so many people we knew. We went zip lining through the rain forest, played on the beach, shopped, hung out with family and Bud and Jen's friends, ate great food and laid by the pool. The kids did wonderful with grandma and grandpa. They were snowed in a couple of the days but had so much fun at grandma's house. Some highlights: Nathan rode the tractor, Whitney rode the 4-wheeler, and they were there when Brody brought home his first 4-H pig. My mom missed them when they left but I'm sure she was exhausted.