Happy 2nd Birthday Kale!

The big party is on Saturday, but we'll have a special little family birthday celebration this evening. Kale is getting a bubble machine...I will have pictures of the family fest a little later.

Kale,
On your 2nd birthday I want you to know...
- that you are so so special and we had no idea how much you would bless our home.
- that you are incredibly loved.
- that you are a funny, funny kid.
- that you love to dance.
- that you do "duck lips"when you are being defiant or selfish.
- that you are currently a clinger to mommy.
- that you love the snow.
- that you insist on climbing the stairs smack in the middle, holding onto nothing and that you refuse to go down the stairs on your butt.
- that you say around 30 words and that is considered a lower count than the average 2 year old. However, our pediatrician isn't concerned and will re-evaluate you at 2.5.
- that you woke up this morning to Dane & Daddy singing you happy birthday while I video taped it (video to be posted later).
- that your laugh is absolutely contagious and adorable.
- that you love to flush the toilet and so far have only gotten a rock in it at the old house (the plumber had to remove the toilet and flip it upside down to try to get it out and we ended up purchasing a new toilet before we moved out).
- that you love Curious George.
- that you love Da (Dane).
- that you love choo choo's.

On your 2nd birthday, I want you to know that you came to complete our little family and that I couldn't be more excited to watch you grow. But that it would be nice if you would slow the process down a little. That everyday I love you more if that is even possible. That everyday I am so thankful that God chose me to be your mommy (and Dane's too). That everyday my heart is so full it could burst. But most importantly, I want you to know that you can be anything you want to be in life and that Dane, Daddy & I will be here cheering you on! We love you Kale!

2 & 4 Year Checkups

I took the boys for their annual checkups on Monday. I didn't walk away with an information sheet on Dane, they must stop giving those after 2 years but Kale and Dane continue to be almost the same size at their checkups. This time Kale measured in at 36 inches tall and 30.2 lbs...at Dane's 2 year checkup he measured 35.5 inches tall and 29.4 lbs...not much of a difference. Both continue to be tall and thin. Kale was in the 90-95th percentile for height and 75th for weight.

Today Dane got to celebrate his birthday at school. One thing I love about Dane's school is that I have the chance to be the parent helper one day per month. Today was my day so we got to take a special birthday treat for snack time and also everyone gave their valentine cards to their classmates. Dane was so excited to be the "birthday boy" and didn't hesitate to use the title when it was appropriate.

Birthday crown being sized:

 Can you tell he's excited??

 Eating red velvet cookies and singing "Happy Birthday" to Dane:

 Circle time:

 Receiving a valentine from Megan:

Dane was really funny every time he received a valentine...."Awwww! Thank you so much!"

Birthday Week

Birthday week has officially begun...Kale will be 2 on Thursday and Dane will be 4 on Saturday. Big double birthday bash happening on Saturday at Pump It Up (play place with all inflatables / bounce houses). The boys are excited and I am astounded at how fast 4 years has flown by. And unfortunately it's not slowing down. At all. 

For the past week or so our late risers have shifted to early risers. We seem to go through this every now and then so hopefully they go back to their normal 7:30 wake time soon. When they wake up before 7, we typically put them in bed with us and throw on a cartoon so we can catch 20 more minutes. This morning they were full on wrestling in our bed at 7am. WRESTLING. I wish I could siphon a bit of their energy. These 2 hit the ground running and don't stop until bedtime. Needless to say that catching an extra 20 minutes of sleep once they are awake seems a pointless attempt, but we always try. :)

 CAUGHT YA KALE!! In the middle of a punch....probably well deserved for almost 2 years of abuse!

Braces? At age 35+???

So...my teeth have bothered me for some time now and I went to get an evaluation at the orthodontist. What I thought was just a cosmetic problem caused by my wisdom teeth is actually much more...problems with my bite, likely lock jaw and jaw clicking in the future if not fixed, blah, blah, blah. I was really hoping the orthodontist would say "Invisalign (the completely clear retainer like braces) will fix your issues in 6 short months." Instead what I heard was "Old fashioned braces for 2 years." Ugh. Really??? I have to get braces for the 2nd time in my life?? But they will do clear brackets (as if that makes up for having a brace face in my 30s). In order to have this:

I have to first get these:

I know you're all very jealous and wish you could have a metal mouth too!! And guess what?!?! You can!! I would recommend seeing your local orthodontist and we'll do it together. Deal?? Then I won't have to go through puberty again at age 35 alone...someone else can be awkward with me! 

The Winter Doldrums

We are just cranking through the winter doldrums here and hoping for a bit warmer weather soon. We have been waiting for snow since November and we FINALLY got a bit!

We have been hitting up play places to ward off cabin fever, but there are only so many to go to. We did find a new one in Skokie (or Squeaky as Dane calls it)...the Skokie Exploratorium. And Dane also thinks that we took Cookie Highway to get there (Skokie Highway).  "Look Kale, we are on Cookie Highway." Too much Candyland maybe?

Kale catching fish and turtles in the water play area:

 Dane at the giant light bright...the straight, blue line was all him. My type A personality has rubbed off on my eldest:

Here is Kale doing scared and cold (he does the same thing)...clenches his hands into fists, shows his teeth and shakes:

I have found a new hobby...dehydrating food! The boys love dried fruit so I decided to try my hand at it. We have yet to do jerky but the fruit has turned out great!

Cinnamon apples:

And Kale climbing in the lazy susan...always climbing!

 And I will leave you with Dane's latest school project. Foam noodles glued onto construction paper. Here is what he had to say about it:

"I am making a rainbow. There we go. These are going to be trees. I am making a home for George and I have 2 more monkeys to put in."

Barrett's Birthday Party!

We made a very quick trip to Leesburg on Saturday to celebrate Barrett's 2nd birthday. They threw him a Mickey Mouse themed party because he loooooooves Me Mow (that's how Barrett pronounces Mickey Mouse).  Can't wait to take him to Disney World in the fall so he can hang with his fave! Thank you Jeff & Christy for the amazing party!! Sorry we made such a short trip of it!

 And all the kids that made it to the party...what a bunch!

Weekend Visitors

The past 2 weekends we have been lucky enough to have visitors...one very special, 6 week old was back in the midwest from Canada and came to visit us last Saturday, January 5th. I couldn't wait to love on him. Meet Sidney...son of my dear friend and old college roomie (I neglected to take pics while he was here so you'll have to settle for his birth announcement):

Isn't he sweet??

This Saturday, January 12th our home was over run with women. Cameron, Dane and Kale were certainly outnumbered when all of the ladies from mom's side of the family (except one...you know who you are and you were missed) came to visit! Thank you for making the trip...was a great time and cannot wait to host another fun weekend!

More Christmas Festivities...and NYE of course!

On Friday after Christmas (the 28th) we hopped in the car and headed to Leesburg to celebrate Christmas with my family. On Friday the kiddos opened their presents.

On Saturday, Christy rented a bus and planned a wine tasting in Michigan for a group of 14!! We had a great time out with everyone...a fun filled day of adults behaving badly (not really, was actually pretty tame).

On Sunday we headed over to Dad & Pam's to have our Christmas with them. And for some reason I didn't snap any pictures! But...Aunt Christy caught the boys anxiously awaiting dinner!

On Monday (I think...I lost track of the days), they got some snow in Leesburg and the kiddos got to do a little sledding.

Pres, Dane, Barrett & Kale looking cozy

Andon, Dane & Kale above / Pres, Dane & Kale below