Look Who's Three!

(6 weeks old)

My sweet Jack is three years old today! He brings joy and love and laughter to our family.... he is a wonderful blessing and I am so proud to be his mama. And those big blue eyes make my heart melt every single time. 

Happy Birthday Jack! We love you so.

Right Now

Evan: 

Just turned 6 years old.

Is wearing size 6 clothes & size 13 shoes.

Has mastered the 1st grade reading list & is working on the 2nd grade reading list.

Likes to play Angry Birds on the Kindle Fire after school.... then play Angry Birds with his blocks on the card table.

Likes yogurt (without chunks), pancakes, apples, fruit snacks, and peanut butter & honey sandwiches.

Loves to play basketball in the driveway. 

Argues with his brother a little too much... but is quick to apologize when he realizes he is not being very nice. 

Is not a morning person... which he gets from me. :-)

Is playing spring soccer & baseball, and will start swim again next month. Soccer is his favorite. 

Has lost 6 teeth & most of them are still missing... but I love his toothless grin! 

Can't wait for his birthday party tomorrow with all his classmates. It's an Angry Birds Pool Party! 

Jack:

Is almost 3 years old.

Is wearing some 2T, some 3T, and the shorts he wore today were 18-24 months.... that my mom bought him almost 2 years ago. Clothing sizes for kids are so weird! 

Is finally over 30 pounds.

Can jump with both feet, which is a big deal for him.

Loves running and playing in the driveway. And bubbles. And basketball.

Says "Clue's Clues" for Blue's Clues, and "chompstick" for chapstick.

Blew bubbles in the pool for the first time last week. He was very proud of himself.  And when his instructor asked him to crawl like an alligator in the water, he told her "I am going to crawl like a panda bear!".

Knows just how to push his brother's buttons... by taking his Angry Birds. 

When someone asks how old he is, he responds "my birthday is next week!". 

Is usually the first one up in the morning, chatting until Mark gets him out of his crib.

Lasted 2 days in his big boy bed before being returned to his crib. He stopped taking a nap, wouldn't stay in bed, and was up before 6am. We did not have a happy 2 days.

Still loves his Pup-Pup.

The Simple Things

Good morning! I am playing along with Rebecca Cooper's Simple Things challenge this week. 

Jack has been taking swim lessons for almost two months, and his class has become a regular part of our routine. After he gets out of the pool he likes to be wrapped up in a beach towel then have me carry him to the car. 2 year olds are rather particular, aren't they?!?

(white frame is by Karla Dudley - Digi Essentials No. 11)

We are having a lazy family day today... much needed after a busy week. 

Have a wonderful Sunday! 

Wild Dude | A Layout

Karla Dudley released a new kit today: Wild Child. It is full of funky papers, brushes, and stickers that are perfect for creating layouts about my wild and crazy children. :-)

(Click on the photo to make it larger.)

(Supplies- Patterned paper: Wild Child. Cardstock: Cardstock Essentials No. 2 (altered). Stitching: Digi Essentials. White tag: Edge Labels. Staples: Digi Essentials. Heart and "Crazy" brush: Wild Child. "Wild Child" title: Wild Child. "J" and "T" alphas: Tabbed Alpha. "Candid Moment" tag: Wild Child. Tape: Delight.)


I took these photos last summer, before we cut Jack's shaggy blonde hair. I'm hoping it grows out again soon... I miss his curls! 


Have a great weekend!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I'm exhausted so today's blog post is in bullet form:

* This picture was not taken today... my Easter pictures are still on my camera and I am too tired to export them onto my external hard drive. Maybe tomorrow! But it's a cute picture, isn't it? Evan's new basketball hoop is getting a lot of use & Mark even taught Evan how to play HORSE.

* Jack refers to my office as mommy's "worker room". Apparently Rocket took his hippo into my office and Jack was very upset. He called to me from his crib "Mommy! Hippo is in your worker room!".

* Easter morning was crazy. Completely crazy. Evan woke up super early to play the Easter Bunny in our living room, then he and Mark scattered the rest of the eggs outside. We got Jack up and the two boys ran around collecting eggs. We haven't told Ev or Jack about the Easter Bunny being real (or Santa Clause for that matter), so Evan took over that role. He *really* got into it! And Jack was a maniac, running around stuffing eggs into his basket as fast as he could.

* By 10:30am the boys were so hopped up on sugar they were running around the living room shouting "I LOVE YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA" while Mark and I each talked to our parents. They. Were. CRAZY! Too much sugar and too much energy = wild and crazy boys.

* By 1:00pm Jack was having a full on meltdown and Evan was pouting. Their sugar high turned into a sugar crash, and they were both cranky.

* I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful for the friends we have made here. We had company over last night and again tonight, and it reminded me of our revolving door of friends & neighbors in Pullman. So much laughter. And cupcakes. :-)

* Jack had his first swim lesson of the new session on Tuesday. This month he is swimming in the pre-school class and not in the mommy and me class. I want him to get used to taking directions from another adult, and interact with other kids his age. He loves swim & is really enjoying his twice-per-week class. His instructor made the comment "wow, he sure talks a lot!". Yes, yes he does.

* Evan has been working on mastering the first grade reading list recently. When I tested him on those words in December, he knew all but 24 of the words (the list has about 160 words on it). When I re-tested him last week he knew all but 3 words. When I told him that I am so proud of his improvement he shrugged his shoulders and said "Now I get to learn the 2nd grade word list!". The kid is a sponge! He loves to learn and is doing exceptionally well in school.

That's it for me tonight. Have a great week!

Happy 6th Birthday Evan!

I love, love, love that Evan is smiling in his birthday pictures! He can be such a stinker in front of the camera sometimes, but he was so happy it was his birthday that he couldn't stop smiling.

After I made Evan's card, Mark and I each wrote a special note to him on the inside. It amazes me that Evan can read so well... he read what each of us wrote, then smiled from ear to ear. I wrote that I am proud of him & he is an amazing little boy. We are so lucky to have such a sweet, caring, lovable little guy.

His favorite part of the day: CUPCAKES! With lots and lots of blue and green sprinkles. Evan inhaled at least two, and Jack ate the bottoms of two (he doesn't like the sticky frosting).

Spring break is over and Evan goes back to school tomorrow... as a 6 year old! He is very excited to celebrate his birthday with his friends in a couple of weeks at his Angry Birds Pool Party.

Have a great week!