Kate's Butterfly 1st Birthday Party

Our baby girl turned a year old on May 1st, and we celebrated with a party the Saturday before her birthday. On one of the nicest days of Spring, we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the beautiful butterfly our once tiny, helpless baby is becoming.

We had butterfly wands, butterfly nets, and butterfly visors to keep the kids busy in the backyard.

Much to our surprise, Kate kept her butterfly wings on for a good portion of the party.  She seemed to eat up all the attention she was getting. Oh, the poor third child. But alas, she finally got her day!

Her HUGE tasty butterfly cake from Herb's Bakery...our family tradition, with almond flavoring, of course.

Okay, I'll just try a little bit.

 

Yeah, this is pretty good!

But the very best part was celebrating with all our family and closest friends!

Rough Day

When you are a rough and tumble girl, some days you end with a black eye and a boo-booed nose. That is all.

Happy Birthday Bob!

The man of the house had a birthday yesterday. Yes, Bob turned 37. We had a nice little party with his family on Sunday to celebrate. We had his favorite kind of pizza and his favorite birthday cake. His cake had a pirate theme and his big gift was....drumroll, please... a Playmobil pirate ship. The kids went nuts!

Basically, the story is that one of Bob's most favorite toys growing up was the Playmobil pirate ship, which his parents still have. His beloved toys was not surrendered to its original owner, but instead retained by its keeper for the last few decades (his mother) so that the grandkids could play with it. Playmobil reissued the ship, and well, the rest is history.

  

 

Everyone pitching it on the construction effort 

The build continues

In other news, Kate is training for her birthday celebration in two weeks. She tried some birthday cake and boy, did she like it.

When I dropped Reed off at preschool on Monday, he ran up to the teacher excitedly and told her that his Dad got a really cool Playmobil Pirate Ship for his birthday. I overhead her confusingly ask, "Who did? Your  Dad?" I just chuckled and left. Obviously all the other Dads are not as cool as Reed's Dad.

April Update

Even though it's already halfway through April, there has been nothing to quell the madness of March. The weather is every bit as temperamental as March and there is just so much going on...and we still seem to need to lug around all our winter gear. Argh!

I don't have a lot to post but I wanted to jot down a few things I've been collecting in my head, cute things that the kids are saying or doing.

Kate:
She's finding her voice and it's LOUD. She can quietly keep herself occupied but when she wants to be heard, her voice hits a level of shrill that I have yet to experience with the other two kids. This mainly comes out when she sees food. If she is sitting in her high chair and there is food on the table, she wants everyone on the block to know that she wants the food NOW. She is our eater. She eats and eats and eats. Where she puts it, no one knows. She's still a featherweight.

She also likes to climb. Cora was a specialist in this department too. Kate especially likes to climb IN things. She is very content to sit in a tub of toys or a crate. I think, especially, she likes going in and out.

Pay no mind to the socks and sandals; focus on the cheesy grin.

Cora:
One of my very favorite things is eavesdrop on Cora's pretend play. I hear all sorts of side-splitting things. I wish I could remember them all. Here's a sample.
-"I'm not adorable. I'm a Power Ranger!" This was a response by her Power Ranger action figure to the Barbie.
-"My elbows are cold." She informed me after I dressed her in a short sleeved shirt one day.
-Telling her the story of the Three Bears, I asked is she knew the name of the girl who was walking through the forest, and she confidently said she did. Then continued, "Is it me?"
-As I type, I hear, "Evil Girla Power!" from the next room, along with squeals of delight as she is chasing her brother. Girla is one of Cora's signature words, (just meaning girl, as you would expect).

 Living Room sailing adventure

Reed:
I am in awe that my baby boy will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. I can't believe that he's starting to sound out words and do basic math. He is so creative, a great builder and artist. He's a tall kid too. Sometimes I think he seems older than he is, but I also cling to the immature things about him that remain. I don't correct him when he mispronounces things, like lellow (yellow), and uses self-invented words like his signature bescept (essentially meaning except.) Maybe that's doing him a disservice, but I'm pretty sure he won't be using these words for long. I'm also cherishing the hugs, kisses, and cuddles. I'm also guessing that won't be cool for too much longer. Sniff, sniff.

March Madness

I feel like this month has been a complete blur. Runny noses, cabin fever, hectic schedules, school events... just a lot of this and that. But the good news is that we made it to Spring Break. It certainly hasn't felt like it, especially as we passed through 17 inches of snow to get to my parents' house for a few days away. Despite the weather, we still had a great time. We visited with my parents and got to meet up with my brother and my sister and her family for dinner one night. Granny even watched the kids one night so that Bob and I could see the movie Oz at the Globe Theater. Hooray for a little date!

Anyway, here is a little update on the kids. They are just so crazy. It's fun to see Kate jumping into the mix and getting silly with Reed and Cora. She just thinks they are the greatest. Reed has always been interested in Kate, but Cora didn't seem quite as interested until recently. As Kate becomes more and more responsive, Cora realizes that she is a great audience. Cora loves to get Kate laughing.

Kate is a crazy little early walker. She very, very rare crawls now. She has the funniest quick pivot turn. Just watching her walk around can make you laugh sometimes. Her appetite these days is also enormous. She loves to eat. Below is a picture of her after she ate some spinach lasagna. Yeah, she loved it.

Reed has seriously been into building pillow and blanket structures. Sometimes it's a fort, sometimes a rocketship, a nest, a boat, a house...really the possibilities are endless and he's trying for as many variations as possible. And loving it.

Cora is my mischievous one. I am always panic-stricken when she is too quiet and I don't immediately see her. She is usually up to no good. On this particular day, she found a dry-erase marker and decided to "paint" her fingernails. Beautiful. This girl also can tell you a thing or two. She may be a storyteller like her P-pa one day. Like tomorrow. You never know what she may tell you.

Some days I feel like I may lose my mind, chasing after a 10-month old walker, tripping over pillows and blankets, and being bombarded with Cora's shananigans, but once they are sleeping soundly each night, it is easier to look back on the craziness with fresh eyes and snicker at the unique individuals that we are raising.

Kate At Ten Months

Walking continues to be Kate's new obsession. It's amazing how much she has improved over the last two weeks. I am still kind of shocked at times when I see her walk into a room from another room. In my mind, it just shouldn't be happening yet. What also cracks me up about Kate is that she also likes to bend down and pick up the heaviest thing she can find and walk with it. She seriously will walk across the room carrying a bin of blocks. I joke that she is training for the Baby Ironman.

Here's a video from last week.

I'm guessing that it has to do with the extra energy that she is burning by walking, but this girl has been eating like a horse lately. Some nights she eats more that Reed and Cora...combined. She loves table food! She's really been loving cooked broccoli, carrots, potatoes, peas, pasta, and yogurt.

I guess it's making her a little tired too. This photo was from today. We played at the library this morning until noon and then came home and ate lunch. I guess I should have left the lunch dishes and put her straight down for her nap. I certainly wasn't fast enough.

Oma's Birthday!

There are lots of milestone birthdays-1, 13, 16, 18, 21, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90- but after 90, it seems like every year is a milestone year. Thankfully, Bob and I have had several grandparents make it to their 90s. Several weeks back we had a little health scare with Oma, but after a little time in the hospital and with physical therapy, she back to her old self. And if you asked her, she would particularly emphasize the OLD.

On Sunday, we were happy to celebrate Oma's 93rd Birthday with the whole family. I do feel blessed that our kids get to know their "old grandma," as Cora lovingly calls her.

Now let's have some cake!