Finally!

We have all been waiting and waiting for Caleb's first tooth to fall out, especially Caleb!  He was the last one in his whole first grade class to lose a tooth.  Now we're all trying to get used to that space.  And I'll for sure have to remember to document what the grown-up teeth look like!

I took all three kids to the dentist yesterday to get their teeth cleaned.  I wish I had had my camera with me because at one point all three were laying on their backs with sunglasses on, watching the movie on the ceiling while the hygienists had all the tools in their mouths.  It's something they all would rather not do...yet there they lay, perfectly still.  Thank goodness for movies on the ceiling and the prize machines on the way out, but more important, thank goodness for cooperative kids!

Our favorite new holiday around here - St. Patricks Day!

The two 1st grade boys in this group, Caleb and Nathan, both had the idea to make a trap for a leprechaun the day before March 17th.  Of course all the other kids wanted to join the fun, so here is the neighborhood clan hard at work.

They created golden money and messages that they attached to their trap to lure the little guy.  This one was the best -

This is what it ended up looking like - a wooden ramp leading to a container that the leprechaun would drop into (thus the cushioning grass bottom).  We also read on-line that because of their Irish background, leprechauns really enjoy potatoes.  They put a couple of those in the container.

It was supposed to rain that night, so we moved the trap under the Rudy's covered porch, and this is what it looked like the next morning:

It was in disarray and covered with small green footprints! There was a note signed with the same footprint and a pot of golden chocolate bars for all to share as well.

What great smiles! See what I mean about being a new favorite holiday? 

Spring Fever

I seems like spring has come especially early this year, or we never really had a winter - I'm not sure which!  March has brought with it quite a few 80 degree days already, the daffodils have already come and almost gone and now the tulips are showing up.  So the other day when the girls were begging to do a "project", I just so happened to have all the empty toilet paper rolls necessary for some spring flowers.  Courtesy of Family Fun Magazine, these turned out pretty neat.  It did end up being a 2-day project (I always forget paint has to dry) which was a little disappointing to the girls, but they did love the end product!

This was the scene the other day...

They have actually done this several times lately.  While one of them is on the toilet, the other reads -  to pass the time I guess?!?!  I've told them and told them that privacy is a wonderful thing, but I guess they just don't get it.  What a true (four-year-old) sister and friend will do!

Happy 7 Caleb!

Caleb's birthday celebration started a couple weeks early at school.  We took some cupcakes adorned with Phineas and Ferb rings to share with his class.  Caleb gets to sit at a table with three other boys who are a lot of fun!  Everyone loved the colored frosting (store-bought and crisco-thick) - blue was the favorite and messiest!

After opening a new bike helmet on his birthday, we decided to head outside and try it out.  We went to the greenway and had a great time in the mild weather.  What a contrast from a year earlier when we opened the front door on Caleb's birthday and had a foot of snow!

 

After that we headed to McDonald's and then the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie.  Whew!  Who was in charge of planning this day?!?  And then as if that wasn't enough, we topped it all off with chocolate cake and peppermint ice cream!

 Later in the week Caleb invited his two favorite friends, Shayaan and Travis, to Chuck E. Cheese - the perfect place for a couple of crazy boys...

 and two cute sisters!

Christmas 2011

The girls and I got dressed up and went to a condensed version of the Nutcracker!  I had so much fun watching their little faces as each new dancing number came onto the stage.  Girls, fancy costumes, leaping and twirling - perfect Christmas activity for them!  

 For Christmas Eve dinner we did cheese fondue.  The "dipping everything in cheese" idea was a big hit!  We did lose a lot of veggies in the sea of cheese and the whole table and everyone's shirt was covered with cheese, but it was worth it.  We had planned to end with chocolate and sweets, but the dark chocolate  turned out a little bitter and melted to a funny consistency - should have stuck with milk chocolate!

This was the scene in our front yard before the kids went to bed on Christmas Eve.  A carrot for each of  Santa's reindeer, with a name tag of course.  Caleb thought it was important that each reindeer know which one was for them:

 I was excited about the way our Christmas lights turned out this year!

 Christmas morning surprises included Lalapalooza "Silly Hair" dolls for Avery and Presley...

 Sparkly, light -up shoes and hula hoops 

And for Caleb, a Nintendo DS!  His friend Nathan got the same thing - they got together and perfected their game...

Here we are on our way to church Christmas day.  We were trying to master the art of posing for a camera with the timer on.  It sure makes a difference when you're behind the camera making your kids laugh -

Merry Christmas!

Happy Happy Holidays 2011

Caleb will be seven in a few days and Avery and Presley are four years old. I took this picture when we were waiting for our table at the Angus Barn Restaurant on Thanksgiving. It was a festive and beautifully decorated place to go to start off the holiday season. The kids behaved well almost the whole time and the only mishap occurred when Caleb thought he could find his way back to our table by himself after going to the bathroom. It turned out great though, because the staff member he asked for help was so impressed that she gave him a t-shirt to take home as a souvenir! We ate and ate and ate (it was a buffet!)  In fact, I kept eating because not only was it delicious, but I was trying to consume an amount that would come close to my share of the bill, plus a kid or two, ha ha.