My Cake

This is Emme, I'm writing on this blog now for my mom. I just had my birthday party. This is my cake. My mom made it. It was yummy! It had chocolate frosting. I loved it!

Snow Day!!

 This is what our front yard looks like, so no school today!  The kids are of course super excited.  I'm a little less excited, but trying to be optimistic about us all being home all day.  Right now its 27 outside and since it's only supposed to reach 32 I don't know that we'll be doing much playing outside in it.  Emme & Calvin really want to build a snowman and have a snow fight... hopefully when we go to Klamath in a few days they will have the opportunity to play in "real" snow where they can actually do things besides get freezing cold.

There Was a Little Girl

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad, she was horrid.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Back to School!

Calvin is 5!

He's been 5 for several weeks now, but alas, I've been pokey when it comes to keeping this blog up to date. He had a great time celebrating his birthday. Here's a look at the festivities:

It started off with a fishing pole from his dad, who had been in Eugene studying for and taking the bar, while the kids and I hung out in Klamath Falls. Calvin was almost as excited to see him as he was the fishing pole.

The Cake:

(He's really into Super Mario Bros.)

I could use some practice with the fondant, but it worked alright.

Noni, was a big helper with the cake. Emme was too, she actually designed it, but somehow wasn't around when I took pictures.

We had a fun swimming party at my parents' house where the kids and I swam and everyone (as in Dan, my parents, Dan's parents, my grandma, my brother & his girlfriend) just stood around staring at us. (Granted they were probably watching the kids, but I felt a little like a fish out of water... or in water... ha ha ha)

Lots of fun presents, including a new backpack for school.

Leona particularly enjoyed the cake. I guess all her hard work decorating paid off.

So, that was Calvin's birthday. It was fun.

Posts to look forward to in the future (maybe near, maybe far): pictures from our June vacation to Depoe Bay, pictures from camping in August, pictures of Jonny... maybe I'll just do some big super end of the summer report with lots of pictures....

Still a Runt

Today Leona went to the doctor for her 2 year old check up. She checks out nicely, coming in at the following numbers:
Height: 34" (50th percentile)
Weight: 23lbs 3oz (10th percentile)
Head Cir.: 45.8cm (10th percentile)
So, she's still a runt, but consistently so, so it's okay.She didn't have to get any vaccines, which was a good thing since she freaked out just getting her height and weight checked. Yes, those are tears in her eyes in the above picture, she really isn't a very big fan of doctors.

We kept her birthday pretty low key. With Dan holed up in our home studying for the bar, the kids and I escaped to Klamath Falls for a few weeks, so we had her party there.

Calvin, Jonny & Emme were (mostly) happy to be in attendance.

and anxious to help unwrap presents.

Overall, she scored nicely with a new tricycle, a Dora helmet, some puzzles, books, clothes, jewelry and Emme made her a burp cloth to go with a doll she picked out for her.

Dinner was full of favorites, including corn on the cob, bbq hot dogs, watermelon

and of course Angelfood cupcakes with whipped cream and raspberries (okay, so that's my favorite not hers, but she'll eat anything sweet).

After all the festivites, we retired to the tent we are camping in, in my grandma's backyardwhere she promptly passed out.

4 Months

(Sorry if you already saw this picture on my other blog)

This fuzzy headed little guy is now 4 months old. We had his check up yesterday and he is pacing along at a perfectly normal rate. In fact, the doctor says that she rarely sees such a consistently even growth chart... he's got a straight line going right up the 50th percentile for his weight and the 55th for his height. I guess his "perfect" growth goes hand in hand with his perfectly happy temperament. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better baby. He sleeps all night long and smiles the whole day through. He barely even cried when he got his shots then went right back to giving the doctor smiles. Anyway, enough bragging, here are his numbers in case you're interested:

Height: 25.2 inches 55%
Weight: 14lbs 15.6oz 50%
Head: 42cm 45%

I was looking back at the other kids' 4 month numbers and I still can't believe how big Calvin was! Here they are for your comparison:

Emme (3 1/2 months)
w: 13lbs 3oz
h: 24 1/2"

Calvin (4 1/2 months)
w: 18lbs 4oz
h: 28"
(At 2 months, he weighed 15lbs 2oz and was 25 1/2" That's bigger than the other 3 at 4 months!)

Leona (4 months)
w: 13lbs 10oz
h: 24.9"

I think it should be interesting to see how things progress. Jonny is such a solid mass he's starting to make Leona seem like a twig. I would guess that (assuming she keeps her growth pattern) by the time he's a year old Jonny will out weigh her.

Preschool Graduation

It has almost been a month since Calvin graduated from preschool so I figured it's about time to upload some pictures from his party. They had a nice little "graduation ceremony" at the park where he received his "diploma" and a sand bucket full of bubbles and some noise makers. He had a lot of fun as did Leona. I was especially excited to have the school year over and to never have to go back to that preschool again! Here are a few pics:

He made his teachers thank you cards & they seemed genuinely happy to receive them.

After the ceremony, Calvin enjoyed letting the girls push him around on the swing.

Noni had fun too.

This is Calvin's girlfriend as in "she's a girl and my friend, but I'm not going to marry her".

So, hooray! Calvin is done with preschool and well on his way to being bored in kindergarten. Sorry it took so long to get the pictures up. At the rate I'm going, you should get to enjoy our vacation pictures from a week ago by the end of summer. :P

It's Going to Be a Looooong Summer!

Why is it that at the end of the day, when I am warn out and exhausted, that my kids decide to go absolutely crazy? It's like something clicks in their twisted little minds that tells them, "Wait! The day is almost over and we only have a few short hours to do as much obnoxious stuff as possible... we better get a move on!" I swear between just before dinner and right up until they pass out on their pillows they turn into absolute hellions. Please tell me that mine aren't the only ones...

In somewhat related news, Calvin graduated from preschool yesterday and is now home all day, everyday... hmmm, wonder if my exhaustion has anything to do with that?!?

Two of a Kind

My silly little thumbsuckers...

Kids' Race in Pictures

Today Emme and Calvin ran in their first race, a little 1/2 miler at the Lake of the Woods Run. They both had a blast! Here's a recap in pictures:

Shortly after we arrived, they picked up their race packets, complete with a shirt, toothbrush & toothpaste, coloring pages, a flashlight and of course their race bibs: (not too shabby for $5)

They listened intently to the pre-race instructions:

Emme sized up her competition...

and Calvin did a few stretches to psyche out his fellow racers.

Then there was a countdown and they were off.

Even though she started in the middle of the pack, Emme charged up the hill...

and was soon in the lead.

After a bit, she realized she was all alone, "Where's Calvin?"

so she stopped at at the half-way mark to check out the balloons, get a drink and let everyone else catch up... and pass her.

Then it was back down the hill, this time Calvin was the one looking back for Emme.

Calvin finished strong with a smile that didn't leave his face the entire race!

Emme brought it home (with a slight side-ache due to the sprint up the hill & all the water)

However, she was nothing but smiles after the race where she got to visit the medical bus and get all her vitals checked:

Finisher ribbons for everyone! Hooray!!

What a great time! I love little kiddy races! Calvin ended up 6th overall followed by Emme in 8th. Unfortunately, I don't have their finish times. Rumor has it that they'll be in the local paper tomorrow so I'll try to get this updated. They started the clock for the mile run then had the half-milers leave about 4 minutes later... best guess is that Calvin was around 5:30 and Emme closer to 6 minutes.