My Little Graduate!!

Benjamin has officially graduated from preschool. I scoffed when the teacher counseled us to bring tissues to the graduation ceremony. I should have listened. The whole thing was so adorable. They wore sashes, (rather than mortar boards which made the whole ceremony seem a bit beauty-pageant like, but were so much easier to deal with!) marched down the isle, sang a few songs, and received their diploma. Then came the part they all really wanted - punch and cookies. Benjamin did great. You could tell he was so happy and proud. My little boy is growing up.


I don't know how well you can hear his teacher in this video. As each child stood up to get their diploma, the teacher read off some of their favorite things and what they want to be when they grow up. For Benjamin she read, "Benjamin's favorite color is blue. His favorite book is The Little Groundhog. His favorite food is chocolate chip cookies. His favorite activity in preschool is the space shuttle. He wants to be a scuba diver when he grows up." Other occupational choices among his classmates included: ninja, king, bear hunter, crocodile hunter, and cash register girl. I really love the school he's attended. They are very loving and kind but run a tight ship and the kids really respond well. I also am amazed how well they learn the quirks of each individual and work so well with each child's needs. I hope he enjoys Kindergarten just as much.

We've Come A Long Way

We've come a long way from this:


Check this kid out! He scored two goals last week and he's becoming such a determined soccer player. I'm so proud of him. It's really fun to watch.





In addition to soccer, we had a pretty fun last couple days. We decided to go to Nankin Mills Nature Center which we'd never been to before.


It was recommended by a friend and it's close, so we checked it out. It was pretty cool and it was free which is even better. It was formerly a mill on the Rouge River, owned by Henry Ford. Now it's a museum/nature center. They had Michigan native snakes and turtles and fish on the first floor, and tons of historical pictures and artifacts on the second and third.


The animals were cool, but we passed this guy on the way in, so seeing them behind glass was a bit anti-climatic.


It was very interesting to learn about Henry Ford some more. What an amazing man. He was friends with Thomas Edison and President Hoover and they had pictures of them sitting around on lawn chairs chatting. How cool would that be? They also had replicas of Native Americans that lived in the area long ago. They looked so real that I startled as I walked around the corner and saw them. The only bummer during the trip was that all the voice recordings that were supposed to describe the displays were broken. Benjamin wanted to show that fact in his picture.


Of course, what trip would be complete without water?!


So we spent forever at the bridge and later, as I was getting Christian in the car, they jumped a fence and sloshed through ankle-deep mud down to the river itself. Never go anywhere without a change of clothes (and shoes!) with my kids.

Today we went to the Passport to Safety put on by the local police and fire departments. It is a yearly event we always attend. The kids get to sit on police motorcycles, get in ambulances, fire trucks, swat cars, and get lots of free stuff.



Benjamin said he liked the ambulance best. He spent a good 20 minutes in there quizzing the paramedic on everything he saw. We also rode the shuttle golf cart around and around the parking lot. We'd gotten a great parking spot, so we didn't need the shuttle, but the kids wanted to ride it anyway, so we did. Benjamin was also insistent that he get his picture taken with Sparky the Fire Dog.


It was funny how excited he was about it! "Let's go see Sparky and say hi! I want to talk to him. Although, I bet he'll only bark since he's a dog." With the Easter Bunny he was totally onto the scam, but Sparky was a different story.

Throughout all these trips, this is Christian:


He's such an easy kid to have around. Just had to be careful to keep his little bald head in the shade because he refused to allow me to put a hat or sunglasses on him. But he loved the sights and smiled at everyone. So fun! So happy for nice weather and fun things to do.

Happy Birthday Isabella!

Isabella turned 3 today! We celebrated with 3 days of festivities. Saturday we went to Greenfield Village to ride Thomas the Train.


They also had many other activities for the kids, like magic shows, tents with games and train tables, and a fun race track with pedal powered cars and tractors.


Of course, my kids always love the carousel and the horse drawn carriages.



Sunday was Mother's Day, so I got some recognition too, but we sang to Bella in Nursery and we spent the afternoon at the park. Then today we had cake and opened presents right when the kids woke up. They had been so excited about the birthday that they both went to bed with their outfits on so they'd be ready! She mostly got Disney princess stuff because she's crazy about "girly things" as she calls them. She also got a princess cake. I'd taken Bella to the store to pick out her birthday cake and she passed up the $40 Disney princess cake with all the princesses on it and chose the $6 Belle cake. Gotta love that girl.


Then we went to a farm and spent nearly the whole day there. Bella got to ride a horse, milk a cow, bottle feed pigs and goats, hold kittens, chicks, and ducklings, and go on a hay ride. She had a wonderful time. I was proud of her for being so brave. Some of those animals were very big but she showed no fear or hesitation. She's a tough girl.




Benjamin had a blast too.




For dinner, Bella chose to go to IHOP because she loves the pancake with the face made of fruit and the yogurt hair that she can design. It's where she wanted to go for her second birthday too. Look at how little she looked just one year go!


However, they'd run out of ice cream so they couldn't give her a birthday treat. When asked what she'd like to have instead, she decided on Mac'n Cheese! So they brought out a bowl of mac'n cheese and sang to her. She was all smiles.

Christian entertained himself by sucking on lemon wedges. We gave him one just as a joke to watch his reaction, but he loved it! He happily sucked on lemons throughout dinner. Even when Benjamin was messing around and one of those large coffee pitchers (which are behind him in the picutre) fell on Christian's head, we simply handed him another lemon and he instantly stopped crying, laughed, and happily went on sucking. I should always keep a lemon in my diaper bag!



This evening, as the birthday finale, Bella got a big girl bed with (what else?) princess sheets and her own room back. We'd had Benjamin and Bella share a room while Christian was little and waking up a lot at night. But now that they're all sleeping through, it made more sense to have a boy's and a girl's room. Mostly for the fact that Bella is a chatterbox and would keep Benjamin up every night with her incessant talking. He'd come out each night multiple times declaring, "Bella's STILL talking!!" So, tonight she chattered and sang to her heart's content while the boys snoozed. It worked out beautifully. She was also so excited to not have to share a closet with anyone. All the more room for beautiful dresses.

Happy Birthday Bella! You are a beautiful girl, inside and out. We love you so much.

I Love You Enough for Both of Us

I've talked to enough moms of teenagers to know that likely, at some point, my children will tell me that they hate me. Not that they really do, but the tension of the moment would drive them to say it. I expected it. However, when it came today, I didn't expect it. Isn't 4 a bit early?

Benjamin wasn't a big fan of the dinner I'd made. So after he'd eaten only a small portion of it, he started to play with a balloon Bella had received as an early birthday present from a friend at church. I asked him to put it away and continue eating. He did, but within a few minutes, he was back at it. So I warned him that if he didn't put it away, I would take away his dinner and he wouldn't get dessert. Within moments the balloon was back, so away went his dinner and his hopes for something tastier down the line. He was livid! He started screaming and crying. He threw the balloon at me and then he went over to the coloring supplies and wrote this:


The arrow in the word hate is his way of tying the two parts together. He originally thought that another letter needed to go in there, so he left a space to be filled in later. However, I, not wanting to miss a lesson opportunity even in such a situation, reminded him of the rule that the silent E makes the A say "AY" and that no other letter was needed. So, he drew the arrow, to ease my eyes from one part of the evil word to the other and to facilitate my understanding of his venomous feelings towards me. ;) Then he read it out loud to me, crumpled up the paper, and threw it at me. That's when he ended up in his room until bed time.

So, I guess another milestone has been reached. A little early mother's day present to me. :)

This morning, as we sat at breakfast, I looked out the back window to see this, the reason why we can never get our garden to grow:


No amount of fencing can keep these guys out. We've decided to just forget it and go to farmer's markets instead. Although, I read an entry in a friend's blog who has the same problem, and I thought her daughters' idea was adorable. Maybe I'll get Benjamin to write a note for me....this time with some of that anger directed at the rabbits.

So Cute!

Some moms may disagree with me, but I think there is no cuter baby than Christian. He is the smiliest, happiest baby I've ever known. Smiling his big one-tooth grin. He is laughing all day long and is so easy to entertain. I adore this little guy. We enjoyed the spring weather today and spent the afternoon at the playground. Christian sat happily on his blanket, playing with grass and leaves and Benjamin's sunglasses. When I picked him up and put him on the swing or took him down the slide, he laughed his adorable baby laugh and Benjamin said, "Our baby has the cutest laugh! There's no baby that's cuter." I fully agree, Benjamin.

The Beginning of a New Season

I'm not talking about Spring, I'm talking about soccer season! :) I have been really excited about Benjamin getting involved in soccer again. He did a "Little Kickers" class when he was 2, but this is his first team. He and I play all the time and he's pretty good, so I was excited about this. He was too, until we arrived at the field. He took one look at the hoard of kids running around and he wanted to go back home. But he was a trooper. He found a friend from church and a friend from school on his team and he did pretty well.



He did all the drills and even part of the game. But as the designated positions disintegrated and the entire team moved as a pack around with the ball, his issue with crowds won out and he spent the rest of the game like this:


For his first time, though, I had to hand it to him. He did quite well. He just needs to get used to everything. He's not terribly shy, but big groups of people get to him and he's not one to mash himself in the middle of strangers. Once he gets the hang of things and gets to know the coaches better, I think things will get even better. And hopefully I'll remember to take my camera off the indoor light setting so my pictures will turn out better too! :)

Yesterday we had a playdate with a couple German friends of mine who had babies in the same month as Christian. The babies ate each other's socks and had backwards scooting races.


The older brothers played the Wii.


Poor Isabella didn't know quite where she fit in. However, she managed to have some fun too.

Happy Easter!

I know, Easter is over, but this is the earliest I could get to posting these pictures. We had a great Easter. The day before, we went to the Zoo for their Easter day. Oh my, the crowds!! I really wanted Kelly to be able to come with us, so we braved it, but I will not do that again any time soon. Mid-week zoo trips are definitely where it's at. Although, I often joke that I don't have a zoo membership, I have a playground and fountains membership because that's really all my kids care about. Benjamin even asked before we left, "Will the frog fountain be turned on?" Not, will the giraffes be out or can we be sure to go see the tiger. He only cared about the fountain. He even made sure to remind me to bring his flip flops, just in case. Sadly the frogs were not squirting that day, but they still spent 95% of their time here:


and here:


Whatever makes them happy. We had a fun time as a family, regardless.

On Sunday we went to church first. Then afterwards, I gave the kids their Easter baskets and then sent them out into the back yard to search for the eggs which I'd hidden the night prior. Unbeknown to me, the backyard animals had been on their own easter egg hunt and had discovered the ones with chocolate inside! Thin plastic eggs hold no power against those sharp little teeth! Luckily, being me, only a few rare ones held edible items, so most eggs were spared. The kids had fun running around finding them and then rushing around playing with all their new loot. Then, we took advantage of the beautiful day and took a family bike ride to the playground and spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather. Such a wonderful day. I hope everyone else had a great Easter too.

Here's the two oldest in their fancy Easter duds. Bella looks tired in that picture for some reason and Benjamin's hair hasn't been fully tamed. Not their best picture, but it's all I had time for in the rush to get to 9am church, and the idea is to see the clothes and they are adorable, don't you think?


Here's the youngest hanging out at the playground. He loved playing like the big kids.



Next big event: Bella's 3rd birthday in two weeks! I've gotten all her presents, but I've already forgotten where I hid some of them!! :)

Skating with the Easter Bunny

A nearby skating rink had a special preschool easter skate activity today, so I decided to take the kids. It included skate rental, skate lesson, lunch, easter egg hunt, and pics with the easter bunny for $6/kid. Can't beat that. I remembered to keep my expectations low, though, after the last time I took Benjamin skating and he got two feet from the rental area, fell down hard, and refused to skate again for the rest of the afternoon. Luckily, he's older and stronger now and Bella is much more of an optimist, so things went better this time.

Not at first, though. I got their skates and Bella was upset because they weren't pink and also much heavier on her feet than she'd imagined.


Benjamin wasn't the slighest bit interested in skating because they had arcades and TV. He spent 30 minutes playing arcade games without inserting a single coin. I really started thinking that maybe my expectations were still set a bit too high - I had actually assumed we were going to skate!


However, Bella got over her dull tan skates and got excited when she saw the Easter Bunny. She agreed to skate over to him and have her picture taken and then she was willing to skate with me around the rink. She was so cute.


Then we found Benjamin (still at the arcades) and had lunch together. After lunch, he was willing to try to skate too and did a pretty good job. We went around the rink together and then we had the skating lesson. The teacher came over to him and tried to show him some moves, but after a couple of falls, Benjamin had had enough of this stranger telling him what to do. He agreed to skate over to the Bunny and have his picture taken with him, but then that was the end of it.


I was pleased. It was much better than I'd hoped for. Both kids showed quite a bit of patience and diligence with such a tricky new thing. The final activity was the egg hunt. They loved running around the place (since neither of them were wearing skates by this point, they were faster than the other little kids) and they went home gleeful with an armful of eggs. It was a very fun experience all around. At dinner time they both said it was their favorite part of the day.

What's Wrong With This Picure?

It's the fact that it was taken on the first day of Spring Break! Snow during Spring Break!?! At least we had a lot of fun...well, at least for a while. Then Bella got too cold and went inside and you can see how Christian felt. But we did manage to make a cute little snow baby. May it please get warmer soon!

8 Months!

Our little man is 8 months old now. What a sweetheart he is. He's a mix of the other two, it seems. He has the more calm disposition that Bella had as a baby (where did that go?!) and the lack of motivation to do a lot of moving (no scooting or crawling yet), but he has that same intense interest in the world around him that Benjamin had. Just try to feed him while the others are around. You'll see what I'm talking about. His head whips around so fast and furious trying to follow everything they do that feeding is out of the question. I often have to send them out of the room so that he'll eat.

He's by far the smiliest of the three. He loves to be the center of attention and loves to give big grins with his nearly toothless mouth. He's finally got one tooth on the bottom and possibly the start of one on the top. That's just like my others - late teethers. He also loves technology. I cannot text or talk on the phone or work on the computer with him anywhere nearby. He will pull them out of my hands or rip at the cords. Give him a cell phone and he'll be happy for as long as you need. Sorry if he accidentally calls any of you while I'm making dinner! :) We sure do love you little man!