Birthday Boy

It's Uncle Brian's birthday today. I started thinking about how long I have known him. If I've done my calculations correctly, I have known Brian for almost 18 years. I met him when he was just about Ella's age. It's crazy for me to think of it like that. What I love about him is that he can still be as silly and fun as he was back then...and that's part of what makes him a great brother-in-law and uncle. I'm not sure if you ever look at this, Brian, but Happy Birthday to you. We love you!

Transitioning

Sophie transitioned out of preschool last week. I cannot believe she will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. Where did the time go? She also did a great job at her gymnastics meet at U of M on Sunday. She sure has matured a lot this year, and I am so proud of her. I'm hoping that continues over the summer, before she has to go to the "big" school. 

We are still working on transitioning Lu from the diaper to the potty. We are now using the idea of getting a big girl bed as a reward for pooping on the potty (sorry, too much information). It's been a bit of a rough go since she's also transitioning out of a daily nap. As you can see, all the hard work wiped her out yesterday. Yes, she fell asleep in that position. 

After a little coaxing (okay, a LOT of coaxing), Ella let me pull her big tooth last night. We had been calling her "snaggle-tooth" for a few weeks, and it was driving me crazy. I'm curious to see how big her new teeth will be. Tomorrow is her last day of first grade.

By the way, Happy Anniversary Heidi and Scott, and Happy Baptism Birthday Quinn!

Uh-Oh

I signed in this morning to wish my godson a Happy Birthday and post a few pictures of him, but found that most of my 2008 and 2009 pictures are missing.  I don't know how long they've been gone since I haven't done too much with pictures lately. I've got a sick feeling in my stomach that I won't be able to get them back. Lesson learned. Print digital pictures.

Happy Birthday Quinn. I remember your "birth" day like it was yesterday. I can't believe you are seven already. Have a great day, buddy!

Slacker

I know. I've been slacking lately on keeping up on my posts. And it's not because I don't have anything to talk about. Our spring break was okay a few weeks ago. Lucy and Sophie were a bit under the weather and, as you know, the weather didn't cooperate either. The bright side was that Ella and Sophie were able to go to swim lessons every day. Another bright side was that we received confirmation that we will for sure have our exchange student join us sometime in August.  Her name is Dorothee and she lives in southwest Germany. She is smart and sweet, and beautiful, too:) We've been enjoying getting to know her via email and can't wait to meet her in person! 

Easter was great. We had the usual crew here, minus Opa and Jane. I've included a few pictures from the egg hunt. It seemed strange having the girls go back to school Easter Monday. That next week we enjoyed visiting with Aunt Kellie on Thursday, a trip to Tecumseh on Friday to see the middle school production of High School Musical with Aunt Mary, a wedding shower for Bob's cousin Sarah and an impromptu birthday party for Andrea on Saturday.

 

I think that's it for catching up. This weekend should be full of getting rid of the weeds in the garden (for me) and getting rid of the moles in the ground (for Bob).  Enjoy your weekend, everybody!

Some things I want to remember...

The girls have said some things in the last few days that I want to remember. So I thought I'd document them here.

ELLA

Me: Are you going to have any kids when you grow up?

Ella: Yes, four of them. Sarah, Hailey, Katelyn and Harrison. If I have a second boy, it will be Noah or Thomas.

I was pretty taken aback that she had put that much thought into this. And where did she get the name Harrison??

SOPHIE

Me: What about you, Soph? Are you going to have kids some day?

Sophie: No. I don't want to have any....none.

I hope that's not the case:(

LUCY

Lucy and I were snuggling in bed last night. She put her arm under my neck and said, "Let's be friends." If you were at the Cantata yesterday, you'll know that she wasn't to happy that I didn't sit with her during the service.  Last night, out of the blue, she said, "I missed you at "Jesus" today. I was so upset."  "Jesus" is the word she uses for church. Then, she said, "Did you see me sing on a donkey's back?" (The Sunday School kids sang a song about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey's back.) Bob and I got a big chuckle out of that.

By the way, the above picture was taken by Jen and Brian's photographer at the wedding. If you want to see their great wedding photos, go to http://nicoleladonne.instaproofs.com.

Happy Birthday Christie

We're so blessed that you joined our family. Have a fantastic birthday!

Skating?

I haven't been much in the mood for talking the last few days, and I guess that's true for my writing as well. I had no idea that it had been over four weeks since I'd posted last. So, since I had my camera out today, I thought I'd take the opportunity to post a few pictures.  This was Sophie and Lucy's first attempt on skates.

Lucy's phrase of the day, "That's not acceptable!"

Sophie before:

Sophie after:

Have a nice one!