Happy Birthday Trent!

Trent turned 6 years old on Monday, February 16th. He was so excited that he had a day off school for his birthday. He had a fun time helping me make cupcakes for his party, playing with his friends at the park, and then eating at Pita Jungle with us, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Matthew, and Robin, Justin and Shelby. He even got an ice cream cone after that at Cold Stone!

The next day, he got to celebrate his birthday with his Kindergarten class. I took cupcakes to his class and they sang to him. Then his teacher played a birthday party CD that has the Holey Pokey, Hot Potato, and other fun games they get to play. The video is of his class doing the Hokey Pokey. It was so much fun to watch them.

At 6, Trent Likes:
- School
- Primary
- Riding his Bike and Scooter (he got a new 18" bike for his birthday)
- Playing at the park (I think this is his absolute favorite thing to do)
- Watching PBS kids and Noggin
- Bakugans
- Wii Sports
- Stuffed animals (He takes really good care of them. His favorite right now is Rocky the Racoon. He takes Rocky wherever he goes - in his pocket or even under his bike helmet)
- Cinnamon Toast
- Cream of Wheat
- Ice Cream

Trent Can:
- Read very well
- Write his letters and numbers
- Ride a two-wheel bike
- Cross ALL the monkey bars at the park by our house and at school
- Play soccer
- Make his own PB&J sandwich

Trent does not like:
- To be told what to do
- To be teased by Ryan
- To brush his teeth
- To leave the park

Trent is a wonderful boy and I love being his mom. I hope that your 6th birthday was as special as you are, Trent!

Life is Hard

Keira is at that age where she likes to follow me around all day pulling on my proverbial 'apron strings' and saying 'Ma'. She was especially so today because she is teething. Well, I had been trying to clean the house all day long and then was trying to get showered and dressed so that I could pick Trent up from the bus stop(yes, PICK UP, not DROP OFF) and Keira was so devastated that I could not pick her up, she just collapsed into a little ball and started crying. Ryan came over and started patting her and hugging her and said to her, 'Little Keira, Life is Hard, Honey...Life is Hard...It will all be okay...' It was so sweet the way he said that to her. I asked him where he learned that, and he said that Dad told him that. I think what Russ actually said to him is that life can be hard sometimes when you are three, but it is amazing what kids learn from watching us.

Wind Cave

Russ and I took the kids to Usery Park to go hiking on Saturday; and Uncle Matthew joined us as well. The boys have been wanting to go hiking with Russ for such a long time and they have also been wanting some 'Camera Packs' (What Ryan calls Camel Backs) like the one Russ has so they didn't have to carry a bottle of water with them. So, we finally found some kid-size Camel Backs (they have the CUTEST kids' hiking gear out there) and headed to the beautful Arizona mountains.

I was going to take Keira as far up the trail as I could with the jogging stroller, but a couple of hikers on their way down said the stroller would never make it. So, Keira and I parted ways with Russ, Matt, Trent and Ryan and found a smoother trail that we could walk on while enjoying the gorgeous weather.

Russ said that Trent and Ryan did a great job hiking and that all the hikers at the top were so impressed that such "Little" boys had made it that far. It was 1 1/2 miles to the top where they stopped and ate the trail mix and granola bars they had packed up, and then another 1 1/2 miles down. It took them about 3 1/2 hours to complete the hike.

On the way down when they were about 100 meters from the parking lot, Ryan said, "I had wanted to go with Mom!" because he was so tired. You'd have thought that they were worn out for the rest of the day, but when we finally got home, they wanted to go to the park! So off we went....

Happy Birthday Keira!

I can hardly believe that a whole year has gone by since our baby girl was born. It literally seems a moment ago that I held her in my arms for the first time. At that moment, I never would have guessed that in one short year that baby girl would be walking, speaking a few words, wanting to wear shoes and a purse before she leaves the house and trying to do everything that her big brothers can do.

Keira has never really wanted to be a baby and she has loved reaching each new milestone as it means she is turning into a big girl. She LOVES to wear shoes and got a gorgeous pair of glittery Buster Browns for her first birthday. She learned at an early age that fashion and beauty don't come without a price as she had little blisters on her ankles from wearing her new shoes around at her party.

Keira has brought so much joy to our home this past year. She loves to give hugs and kisses and is always laughing and smiling. Her brothers love her and protect her (and tease her) and she thinks they are the greatest brothers in the world. Whenver Russ gets home from work, Keira will squeal, “Daddy” with delight and run to the door as fast as her little legs will carry her to give him a big hug and a kiss.

Keira loves to:
•Play with her Daddy and her brothers
•Follow mom around the house and help her with everything
•Put on her shoes and her purse and wave “Bye Bye”
•Eat anything that is not baby food
- Yogurt
- French Fries
- Pizza
- Cinnamon Toast
- Bananas
- Cookies
- Applesauce
•Ride on the ‘Big Red Car'
•Go to the park and play in the sand
•Slide down the slide at the park
•Ride in the jogging stroller and take a nap while mom runs
•Play in the toy room
•Sit in the forward-facing car seat
•Ride on the Rocking Dog from Ikea that Grandma Little gave us

Keira Says:
•Daddy
•Ma
•Dee Dee (Binki)
•Doll-ee
•Dogg-ee

Keira does not like:
•When mom tries to work on the computer
•When Ryan teases her too much
•Going to bed without being rocked
•To have pony tails in her hair

We love you so much, Keira, and hope that you had a wonderful Birthday!

What the Heck?

Ryan came home from pre-school the other day with the cutest little three-sided house. One side had straw colored on it, another had sticks and the last side had bricks colored on it. Then, he also had a 'Big, Bad, Wolf' puppet on a popsicle stick. They had been learning about the story of the 'Three Little Pigs' at preschool, and Ryan said he would share the story with me.

H e proceeded to tell me that the Big, Bad Wolf knocked on the door of the Little Pig who lived in the straw house and said, "Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me In!". Then I asked, "What Happened?", and he told me that the Little Pig rseponded to the wolf by saying, "Not by the HECK of my chinny- chin -chin".

I almost died laughing, and appearantly the pigs who lived in the wood house as well as the brick house responded to the Big, Bad Wolf in exactly the same way, "Not by the HECK of my chinny-chin-chin".