Cute

Oh my! 

Let me at Miko!! 

Mr. Giggles

Mr. Giggles

Babies

The kid's babysitter came over today with her baby boy. He was born 2 weeks after Aaron. Kyle and Emily had a great time meeting baby Walker. There were a lot of babies we know who were born in the 3 weeks around Aaron. 

Thumb at the ready

Because you never know when you might need your thumb in the middle of the night. 

Thumb sucker

Ahhh milk

Thank you Grandma for sending me my frozen milk! So much better!! 

Kyle and Emily benefited as well from the shipment. Nothing like playing with dry ice in the sink. 

Kyle's last day of Kindergarten

Today was Kyle's last day of Kindergarten. His class also put on a little program for the parents, singing some songs and reciting a poem. 

Kyle with his teachers.

Emily's last day of Kindergarten

Today was Emily's last day of Kindergarten. Her class put on a little program for the parents, singing some patriotic songs.

Karate kids

Look who joined karate!!

Lost tooth!

Emily lost her first tooth on Sunday. I was out of commission all day so I didn't see the event, but I'm told she pulled it out while playing in her room. It had been loose for at least a month and the adult tooth had grown in behind it already so it was very much ready. Now that adult tooth needs to push up with the rest... 

Super Dad

While I was down and out, Jeff took care of the kids all day. He took them out to lunch and grocery shopping. He entertained them with cooking, puzzles and hanging out. They may not have gotten out of pajamas (they all loved it and found it special to have a pajama day), but that's a lot for any dad, no less one with twins and an infant who hasn't taken a bottle except for one bottle when he was a month old. Jeff really is Super Dad. 

And the dinner I surfaced around 5pm for was a fabulous tuna nicoise salad. It was amazing. It was one of Jeff's best meals yet. 

What?! No fresh milk?! A whole week?! Really Mom?! Are you kidding?!

I'd rather just suck my thumb... (I did mostly go on a hunger (bottle) strike for most of Sunday.)

Tea party

After Emily's recital, we went to a tea shop for an afternoon tea party. It was like a dream day for Emily - dancing in the morning both tap and ballet to a princess song and a kitty cat song followed by tea with little treats, one in particular called a fairy cake. 

Emily's dance recital

Emily had her dance recital today. She has been loving dance class and was certainly looking forward to her recital. She did a great job dancing and we loved seeing her perform. 

Emily's intro

Boogie Bugle Boy (from 3 years ago here)

The kitty cat song

The princess song

Multicultural Fair

Kyle and Emily's school put on a little multicultural fair where each grade sang some songs. Pretty cute.    

Take Me Out to the Ballgame


And here Kyle and Emily are singing this same song at 2.5 years old.

What the World Needs Now

Sing a Song 

Hello to all the Children of the World

Yankee Doodle

It's a Small World

Emily's view

Cute picture taken by Emily

Tooth pulling

Emily is about to lose her first tooth. It's been loose for at least a month now. It is super wiggly and she has been working on pulling it out. Kyle helps her out here. 

Conversations

Emily: Did you know a woof can eat a buffalo?
Kyle, puzzled: A woof... What's a woof??? Woof. Oh a wolf.
Emily: Yes like a big scary dog. A woof.

Emily: Mommy do you know what city is next to Fairyland?
Mommy: No, I do not.
Emily: Mexico.
Mommy: really...!
Emily: Yes, because Fairyland is down and so is Mexico.

Monkeys

Yea I just woke up, rolled over and chilled with the monkeys.

Tennis doubles tournament

Jeff and Kyle played in the parent-child tennis doubles tournament on Sunday. They had a great time playing together and did really well. Kyle was among the youngest kids there. I think there was one other kid who was about five as well. The rest were 7 or 8 years old in his division. The rules were loose in that you didn't serve from the end line and Jeff and Kyle played any ball that was remotely playable, even if the other team hit it out of bounds just to keep rallies going. The tournament was designed to be fun and not uber competitive. It was about the kids. They played 4 sets with each team. When all was said and done, Kyle and Jeff had the most wins so they won a first place ribbon! Great job! 

Bath time

The kids giving Aaron a bath. Again.

Names

On the way home from school today the kids and I got on to talking about names and that led to a discussion about baby names. 

Kyle: If I had a girl and I was a girl or the girl I marry has a girl I would name the baby Lucy. And I would name a boy Adrian.

Emily: I'm not going to have a baby because I am going to live with the fairies. But I would name a girl Emma.

Playtime

Emily is determined to catch a fairy. She donned her fairy wings in hopes it would help her cause. She is so sweet. 

And Kyle wanted to play with Aaron so he set up a wonderful play area for Aaron (pictures below). He is so thoughtful. The other morning, after reading a book about activities to do with your baby in the 1st year, he created a game for Aaron. He had him hold Puffy Chubby Bananas (his ball stuffed monkey) and he timed how long he could 'hold' onto the monkey (i.e. balance the monkey on his belly). He sure is a wonderful big brother and will make a great father someday too. 

Baby giggles

We caught some Aaron giggles on video!

Wild West Town

After the reunion in Ohio, we headed to Papa's house. We had a fun time with Papa, Kari, Josh, Stephanie, Ben & Davie. On Monday, we went to the Wild West Town together and got to shoot a bow & arrow, slingshot and cork gun, ride a roller coaster and canoe, pan for gold and play dress up for a picture of our ancestors. 

What's interesting about this picture is that Kyle wasn't smiling during 90% of the roller coaster ride, but when he saw that Ben was smiling, he put on a big smile too. He really looks up to Ben. 

Emily & Davie, two peas in a pod... or a canoe.

Throwing the tomahawk

Slingshot!

Cork guns

Our family in the 1800s

While in Chicago, we went to the Wild West with Papa, Kari, Josh, Stephanie, Ben & David. The kids had a great time playing with sling shots, taking a canoe ride, doing some archery and panning for gold. We also all took an old fashion picture together, just like Jeff and Josh did when they were younger with their families.