Happy 5th Birthday Lina!

 On Saturday we celebrated our niece Lina's 5th birthday!  So many things have changed in the last five years, wow!  I remember getting the call early in the morning on May 28th (I believe it was shortly before 5 a.m., or slightly after) and off we went to await her arrival.  I was six weeks pregnant with Anna and so excited to meet our niece.  We waited for word of her arrival and were so excited to hear that all was well and we had a niece!  We now have four nieces and two nephews, plus three kids of our own!  We are very blessed!

I didn't take any photos except these few during cupcake time.  Yummy!

 

 

Make a wish Lina!  We love you!

Anna is writing notes all on her own!

Today Matt emptied Anna's art folder at school and included in the pile was this note. It is amazing what she is able to write all on her own! We are so proud of her!

"Anna's mom painted her nails. Lina's mom is going to her house."

Solar eclipse

Today Matt enjoyed working on a science project with the kids.  We were able to watch the solar eclipse thanks to his handy work!  

Here is a a photo showing the progress of the eclipse.

 Anna had a great time looking in the box to see what the sun looked and then she came inside and drew a picture of what she saw.  She is very excited to share what she learned with her classmates tomorrow. 

 The boys liked that they could see something in the box. 

 But they also liked the ladder! 

Thank you for helping us learn Daddy! 

Can't believe Mason and Olivier are 2 and a half!

Today Olivier and Mason are 2 and a half!  Wow!  Where has time gone!  I look back much like I did when Anna was 2 and a half.  For some reason it seems like such a special time, especially given how much they have changed in the last six months.  Here is a little bit of an update on what they are up to now and some photos!

Olivier

He is a busy boy!  He continues to be very active and loves to run around, ride his tricycle, jump, and climb.  He has some major crashes but they rarely phase him except the few seconds right after, then he is usually right back to it!  He loves to look at books and have us read to him.  He is a bit of a picky eater; his favorite food is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  He now can drink from a cup and eat his Cheerios from a bowl.  He continues to be our very messy child, in just about everything he does.  He is very interested in potty training but not on a consistent basis.  He loves bath time and blowing bubbles in the water.  When you ask him for a hug, he will give you one on each shoulder and finish with a kiss.  Not sure how that one started but he got Mason to do it too.  He is becoming more of a Mama's boy.  He is on the smaller side, and talks up a storm. 

Mason

He is a Mama's boy!  He is getting the hang of riding his tricycle but still would rather have us push him around (ouch!).  He has become a bit of the bully in our house, and quick to cry if Olivier or Anna stands their ground.  He is still an observer and likes to watch things to try and figure things out.  Still can't figure out if he will be right or left handed, he uses both about the same and just as well.  He is much more open to trying new foods and likes a wide variety of things.  He likes drinking from a cup and will drink until you make him stop.  He finally figured out that he can make himself go potty but has no idea when he has an accident so it will be a while before he potty trains.  He has been growing like crazy since the beginning of the year.  He is much more vocal now, and makes some very complex sentences, surprising because one year ago he finally said his first word, hi.

Olivier loves putting stickers on his arms and legs.  Not sure why, it is very silly though, just like him!

Today we took the boys to gymnastics for the first time for a class.  They liked the activities during Anna's birthday party but did not seem ready for a class.  We decided to see how they would do during a class and it started off bad, they did not want to do the stretch exercises but very shortly after, they took off and did a great job!  It was amazing to see how they took off and enjoyed the class.  During the last portion of the class I finally remembered that I needed to take photos.  Olivier was very excited to walk his feet up the "cheese".  

 And then do a pull up, with a bit of help from Daddy of course!

 They both loved the big pit (sorry I didn't get photos of it!) but I did get these of them in the small pit.  Olivier having fun!

 And finally a photo of Mason, can you tell he is having fun? 

Happy 2 and a half boys!

Haircuts!

On Tuesday, I got my hair cut.  Over the last few years, with everything going on, I have only been getting my hair cut once a year.  Given that, I usually have a lot cut off because I am sick of it!  This year wasn't any different and once I had my hair cut, everyone else really wanted to have their hair cut too!  

Anna finally decided it was okay to cut her hair again and that she would still be special, just like after Rapunzel had her hair cut.  Here are some before and after photos of the kids.  Mason doesn't have an after photo because he had to go to bed early tonight, in a bad way!  Hope we don't have a repeat of that tomorrow! 

Warm weather, sprinkler time!

 The weather has been very warm (at least for our area!) and we have been enjoying the 80's!  Ah, feels good but nice to still have our cool nights. 

On Sunday we went to our favorite park, which Anna has started calling "birthday park", near our house.  Olivier loves to "drive the car in the house"

 

 "Mason's on the slide"

 "Anna on the rope"

 Olivier having fun, I love this look.  

 They love the sandbox and being able to use all of their buckets.  We learned that we will need more shovels though! 

 Mason finally got a chance to drive the car, Olivier didn't let him for long!  He loves to drive the "car". 

 Olivier was "shifting gears" for Mason; thank goodness they don't drive yet, we would be in serious trouble. 

 Tonight, after work and school, Matt set up the sprinkler and let the kids play in the water.  They were very hesitant but did like the idea. 

 Getting a bit more wet! 

Loving on baby cousin Gus

We got to spend some time with cousins today (and their parents!) and the kids all wanted to hold and love on their new baby cousin Gus.  It was the first time they really were able to.  Can you tell it was love?