art

beauty in the act of creating art 

(not just the final product)

In the beginning God created...
Genesis 1:1

hello.

today was book character day at  school

can you guess who she is?

down to the blue dress, white apron, and red ribbon at the end of her braids.

okay, i'll tell you...

Laura Ingalls (Wilder)

she's been reading the books with daddy for almost a year

it just seemed fitting.

six

Today marks six years of mommyhood for me

and

6 years of Hannah Joy in our family!

She celebrated at school with a rowdy round of "Feliz Cumpleaños" and handed out Confetti Squares (Rice Krispy treats with Cap'n Crunch & Fruit Loops) to all her classmates.

At home, she designed her own birthday crown 

(in Kindergarten, or at least her class, the teachers no longer make sparkly crowns for you).  

And we used the leftover Fruit Loops to design some fun necklaces.

Fancy accessories are a must for this birthday girl.

She still loves pink and purple but has now expanded her wardrobe to anything that has a good spin to it.

The best quote was 

"Mommy, we need to make a list of all the numbers I've been."

6 candles were actually rather hard to squeeze onto her Rice Krispy Treat.

 

Matt's singing "Happy Birthday", thus the contorted face.

 She loves being the big sister and picking up Abigail, who is definitely not as light as she used to be.

And don't worry, being six hasn't changed her love of crazy face making.

She finished off her day with our birthday tradition of a treat out with Daddy.

Tomorrow we celebrate this little guy.

My two birthday kids,

seriously so sweet!

quotable kids

Alongside entertaining you with cute pictures of my growing kids.



I thought you might enjoy some of their more recent quotes (I know I sure do)

Abigail's catch phrase for everything is "ma-ma"
when she's standing up in her crib and wants to be picked up "ma-ma"
when she's hungry "ma-ma"
when she wants attention "ma-ma"
unless of course she wants her water cup, then she signs milk..go figure. :)

Peter is growing by leaps and bounds in language, communicating not only what he needs
but also what he's thinking about.  

 such a handsome boy

Last week while watching the 49er game with daddy he exclaimed,
"Oh no, those guys in white were mean...they got a timeout!"

When he fell down and cut up his knee, his first thought, was
"I'm not going to be able to run fast with 'uke (Luke) at school"

Tonight I told him a stern "No!" when he hit our dog, Toby...to which he replied,
"You can't say that to me.  I'm never going to play with you again.  I'm only going to play with Karis (his buddy)."
I definitely had to turn my face away to keep from laughing.
  

Hannah is developing now in two languages (crazy!).


In English she loves trying to make a joke.
You know the joke, why was 6 afraid of 7?
because 7, "ate", 9.
Well, Hannah is constantly trying to rewrite it -
"Mommy, why was two afraid seven? 
because 7, white, one...ha, ha, ha.."

In Spanish, she is developing quite the little proper accent:
"not azzzzzul mommy, it's asssssul."

And of course, she has some Spanglish!
"Mommy, I need my mochila (backpack)."


They are also growing together.

Peter and Abigail are developing quite a precious love for each other
(when he's not tackling her to the ground.)

total delight

sweet hugs

Hannah and Abigail are becoming more sisterly. 

 matching dresses and matching poses

They are both adjusting to Abigail on the move and delight in trying to "save" Abigail from the many perils her curiosity may get her into. (even though, their saving often ends in more peril)

I wonder what new things you are getting into and what funny quotes are making you chuckle!

celebrate

Today was cause for celebration.

Today marked the end of the first full week of school for our family.

Hannah spent 5 days in Kindergarten.

her classroom is on the right

obligatory first day of school picture
(this was the only one she didn't look totally wide-eyed and frightened)

she rides her bike to school each day
(she was all smiles on day two)

in her classroom, listening and understanding nothing because it is all in Spanish
(don't worry she's learned a lot since day one and now dances around the house counting in Spanish and rattling off the colors.)

Peter spent 3 days in preschool.

first day of school picture
(he was all smiles until we attempted to get in the car to go and then he ran back into the house screaming that he was not going to go to school, "I jus want to 'tay at home with mommy")

his cubby poster
(all his favorite things to cheer him up when he feels sad)

his buddy Karis
(who thankfully is in his class and makes each day something to look forward to)

And for the most part we got them there on time and without many tears.

That deserves some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and glasses of milk!
(and some crazy faces)
  

Oh, and if you're wondering how Abigail is doing in all this...

She's standing up

 

eating lots of food

and still smiling away.

 

five (part 2)

(a couple additions to my earlier post)

1. Daddy says that this 5th birthday is a bit hard on him too (don't worry he's not weeping)



2.  Hannah insisted that after swim lessons we take pictures of her special birthday crown
(oh yes, we actually still have last year's crown - that's how special these things are to her)

 

3. Apparently, even when 5 year old's want you to take pictures of them
they rarely stop moving long enough to accomplish said task.

 

3. singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out candles is still really cool at 5!

 

 

 4.  Just in case you don't remember, we have another birthday in our family tomorrow
(yes, my oldest kids are 2 years and 1 day apart)

five

Today my oldest is five.

No one warned me that turning five was going to be such a big deal to mommy - a transition from all things little to a lot of growing up.  I might be a little weepy but am SO excited for what lays ahead.

We celebrated at Hannah's preschool this morning with a special birthday circle.

She was SO proud sitting in the birthday chair.

She got a birthday crown. 

Sang all her favorite songs.

And showed Teacher Tina how the numbers were mixed up. :)

Of course, she fixed them!

Still beaming!!

Peter got to join in also and loved it.

In fact, our whole family was there!!

Happy Birthday Hannah-girl!!