Stuart is 2!

Stuart turned 2 on May 28th.  We had a pretty low key celebration at home.  He was excited about his Thomas the Train birthday sign and cars plates and napkins.  I'm glad he is so easy to please.  He was very enthusiastic about opening his presents and had fun blowing out his candle.  We are so lucky to have him as part of our family.  He is such a sweet, happy, busy little man.

May updates

The kids on May 7th at our 3rd annual dessert for dinner night.

Diana:
Did a wonderful job in her play.  She was more nervous the days before the play than when she actually had to perform.  Diana is very sad that math is over for the year.  That is definitely her favorite subject.

Elise:
Had her dance recital a few weeks ago.  She did a great job and will really miss her teacher and dance class this summer.  Kindergarten is done and I am trying to keep her from getting too bored at home.  It might be a long summer for her.

Stuart:
Will be 2 on Monday!  His onesies usually have a car or truck on them and he loves to pull up his shirt and show them off.  He is definitely making more different sounds so maybe talking isn't too far away?  Even if he doesn't talk soon it is nice to hear more than "uh."

Updates

Diana:
Is loving her drama club at school.  They are doing a version of Little Red Riding Hood and she gets to be the grandma.  She is very excited about the play but is getting a little nervous about performing in front of lots of people.  (I can never decide if she actually has a little stage fright or just thinks she is supposed to so she acts nervous.)
I just finished reading the Harry Potter series to Diana.  I have always loved the books but there was something even more magical about reading them with her.  She could barely contain her excitement those last few pages of the last book.  It was so fun to experience that with her.

Elise:
Was pretty disappointed on her 6th birthday that she couldn't read books.  (I must have told her she would probably be able to read when she was 6.)  I'm still not sure if she understands that learning to read mostly involves practicing words and sounds.  We are working on it and she can read a lot of words now so hopefully she feels better about her reading ability.
Elise has two really good friends in her kindergarten class and has play dates as often as she can.  I have been surprised at how social she has been this year.  Kindergarten has been so good for her.

Stuart:
Loves everything related to cars, trucks, dirt and dinosaurs.  He isn't really talking yet but doesn't have too much trouble communicating what he likes or doesn't like.  He likes to say "shhh" whenever someone does something he doesn't like.  His sisters hear that quite a bit.
Stuart and I go to music class together.  This semester has been about things that go.  At the end of class Stuart gets a stamp on the back of his hands.  He gets so excited and loves to show off his car or truck for the next few days.

Toddler Science

Today Stuart discovered that if mom is trying to dry you off from your water experiment and you take the hair dryer while it is running and put it in your cup full of cereal, the cereal will blow all over the room. It was great fun!

Baptism

Diana was baptized yesterday by Brian. She has been looking forward to this day since her birthday. It was wonderful to share the day with so many family and friends. It was a very special day for Diana (and me!) and I am so grateful for the joy Diana always brings to our family.

Diana ready to go.

Walking to the church making sure her dress doesn't get wet.

One of my favorite moments of the day.

All our family that was able to come.

Happy Birthday Elise

Elise turned 6 on Tuesday! She is such a sweet, loving, brave, loyal girl and I am so glad to have her in our family.

Last night when she was in bed we were talking about what to name her new bear. She was trying to decide between Lindsay, Lily and Snowflake. I said Snowflake might be fun because her bear was born in the winter like she was. Here is the rest of the conversation.
Elise: I was born in the winter?
Me: Yes you were born on December 6th like your bear, that is why your birthday is today.
Elise: So I was born today and that is why you decided to have my birthday today? Was Diana born on her birthday?
Me: Yes.
Elise: Was Stuart born on his birthday?
Me: Yes.
Elise: Was Daddy born on his birthday?
Me: Yes.
Elise: Were you born on your birthday?
Me: Yes.
Elise: What the heck? Our whole family was born on their birthdays?

I think we may need to explain birthdays a little better. . .

Happy Birthday Diana

Diana turned 8 on Monday! She is such a kind, helpful, compassionate, friendly girl and I am so glad she is part of our family.

Diana was pretty emotional about her birthday. She had asked me several times throughout the day on Sunday if I was ever sad for my birthdays. I told her I just remembered being excited. She said she had so many happy memories of being 7 that she didn't want to turn 8. I tried to explain that she would still have those memories and she would have new happy memories of being 8. She wasn't convinced and by that night she was in tears. She finally realized that although she still wanted to be 7 she did want to be able to get her birthday book. (Her teacher has all the kids in the class write a note to the birthday girl and she makes a book out of them.) I think it is a fun idea and it really saved us on Sunday night! She seemed to have a great day and wasn't sad at all on Monday so hopefully being 8 will be as good as 7 was.