home is where my family is

Give a boy a marker….

What do you do when a girl who wants to play with Barbies, and a boy who wants to play with animals, are best buddies? Get out the Legos & build a zoo for Barbie to visit!

… and then she was 5.

Presents!

Favorite breakfast – pancakes & sausage!

& dot-painting!

Then it was off to preschool. And then… The Mall of America! Dinner at The American Girl Restaurant followed by rides in Nickelodeon Universe. Gabriella did not have an American Girl doll before that night, and it was not our intention to buy a doll, but daddy is a big softy, & she knows how to win him over. It was so cute watching her excitement in that store. & those Bitty Babies are really cute!

dinner with a borrowed doll

Then Emily joins our family

Benjamin waiting patiently to get back to the rides

Happy Birthday, Dear Gabriella!

Continuing the birthday celebration, we went bowling with our family & great friends on Sunday.

Best Buddies

Cousins

Last but not least, a birthday would not be complete without a few friends over for a party. So Monday after school, we did just that!
Wow, what a birthday! We love you Gabriella and we’re so glad you enjoyed your birthday!

Where has the time gone?

Five years ago tonight, Kirk and I were at the hospital preparing to embark on Parenthood. We had no idea how much the little being within me would change our lives; how much our heartstrings would be tugged daily. We have come so far in five years, watching our little girl grow from this tiny baby dependent completely on us for everything, to this beautiful, rambunctious, spirited child that wants to do everything for herself. I am struck by how reflective I feel on the eve of Gabriella’s 5th birthday. We spent a good part of our evening looking at pictures of her first year of life. And while I feel so hope-filled & so joyful when I think of the next five years of her life, I cannot help feeling a touch of sadness that the first five years are behind us. My little baby girl is growing up.

Hearts Abound

Gab & Ben enjoyed a few heart activities last week in honor of Valentine’s Day.

Digging for hearts & working on counting

Making heart wreaths

We also took a camping trip (in our kitchen) & had Gabriella’s favorite lunch – Muffin Tin Lunch!

Snow Snow Snow...

From Drop Box

We were able to get out this past weekend and enjoy some sledding before we got 10 more inches of the white stuff. Benjamin rode down the hill a couple of times, but snow kept blowing in his face. He walked away and started heading up the hill, so Kirk asked him where he was going. His answer? "Vroom-vroom." He had had enough of the cold. Gabriella on the other hand, could have kept sledding for hours. She handles the cold much better than her momma. I was all too happy to sit in the 'Vroom-vroom' with Benjamin while we waited for Gab & Dad to tire out.

We did enjoy a little bit of sunshine this weekend too, even if it was inside the house. The kiddos finger-painted some beautiful rays for us!

Precious Words... January edition

Driving home from church on a Sunday afternoon, Gabriella was singing "Gloria xx Gloria xx This is Chelsey's Day!" I tried to tell her the words were really "In Excelsis Deo " and what that meant (though I wasn't too sure myself). She tried to sing it that way, but then said, "I like my way better."

Benjamin is captivated by everything Michael Jackson. Putting on pajamas one night, he was asking to watch MJ before bed. Gabriella suddenly declared, "If Michael Jackson was dying when he had his pajamas on, I bet he is wearing them in heaven now."

We read a book about a family's favorite time of the day. I asked Gabriella her favorite time of day and she told me, "When daddy gets home from work!"

Gabriella looked in the mirror one day and said, "Mom, I'm getting a lot taller. I look like I should already be a 5 year old!" Her birthday is just a month away...

Foamy Fun

I had 30 uninterrupted minutes tonight to get dinner in the oven and it was GREAT! How did I do it? Shaving cream. Yep, squirted it right on the table and told the kiddos to dig in. Dad came home mid-shaving cream creating and thought I was crazy. The kids absolutely had a ball, and I made one of my favorites for dinner - Feta Chicken Bake. Ah, a nice Mommy moment today.

Happy Groundhog Day!

On a snowy winter day, it came as no surprise to me that the Groundhog would see his shadow and we'd be doomed for another six weeks of winter. I did enjoy telling the kids about the groundhog, singing a groundhog song, and coloring our own groundhogs complete with a snowscape.

Big Boy Bed!

Benjamin has decided that he no longer wants anything to do with his crib. Not for nap time. Not for bedtime. Okay, maybe it's not so much the crib, maybe it's that he wants nothing to do with any bed other than Mommy & Daddy's. We try every night - he starts in his crib, and by midnight (sometimes earlier), he is crying out for us and we end up bringing him into our bed so we can get some sleep. This system was working for us, sort of, until the other day when he decided to throw himself out of the crib into my arms when I was trying to get him to lay back down. So, in lieu of him leaping out when I am not there to catch him, we decided to move him to the big boy bed. Gab and I took him to Target to pick out his big boy sheets - of course he wanted "Ball!" Got the twin bed set up on the floor, new sheets washed and in place, bedtime arrived and he wasn't having it. We let him fall asleep in our bed, moved him to his room, and then approximately midnight, he cried out for us and Dad brought him back to our room once again. Will we ever get a good night's sleep?

KS95 Change for Kids

Our favorite local radio station, KS95, hosts a fundraiser every year for children affected by illnesses. "KS95 For Kids® raises money for Children's Cancer Research Fund and Gillette Children's SpecialtyHealthcare, building a local community of caring and sharing for the benefit of children."

Right now, they are collecting Change for Kids once again. If you collect enough money you can receive tickets to a private party at Nickelodeon Universe. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to show the kids how we can help other families in need. I told the kiddos about the project this morning, and they ran right to their piggy banks and emptied them into a container. Hopefully they will learn a little about helping others, and then we can also enjoy a day at Nickelodeon - the private party happens to fall on Ben's birthday weekend!

Pencil Painting

The kiddos LOVE to paint, asking almost daily if they can. We did a pencil eraser painting project today. Gab really enjoyed it; Ben did a few dots and then was off to play.

Another project, yay!

Okay, so it's a new week. And while I did not get organized enough to pick a new theme for projects, Gabriella came up with the idea to make stoplights. She reminded me that they are made of circles so "it goes with what we're learning, mom!" Every morning, Gab asks if we can play school. I think she's ready to head off to kindergarten. But mommy isn't ready to send her baby yet. Thank goodness I have a few more months with my sweet pea.

Circles Circles Everywhere!

I have been determined to get back on track doing projects and activity sheets with the kiddos on a regular basis. I was really great at it with Gabriella, but when Benjamin came along life got so much busier trying to keep up with two that fun educational projects have been few and far between. This week I made a plan to focus on circles - and yesterday we made circle cut-out cookies! The kids really enjoyed rolling out the dough, using the cookie cutters, and frosting the goodies. I did have to shake off a few extra sprinkles and change Benjamin's shirt (guess it's time to get him an apron like his big sister), but the results were Yummy!

Dentist Woes

About a month ago, I noticed a small gray spot on Gabriella's tooth when brushing one night. Panicked, I took her to the dentist within days. The dentist was surprised I even noticed the spot, but then she confirmed my fears - Gabriella had her first cavity. We had the cavity filled yesterday morning. Gabriella was very brave! Of course when she cried, I cried. But the dentist calmed her down very quickly and she made it through. Kirk had made a deal with her the other night, after counting out her piggy bank money, that she could buy herself something at Target if she deposited most of the money first. So right after the dentist, we made a stop and she picked out a new Barbie. Then, while she was at school, Benjamin and I did a little Retail Therapy. We bought a couple of green balloons and a little Sesame Street toy car for each of the kiddos. When we picked up Gabriella from school, she saw the balloons in the car and Benjamin handed her the Sesame Street car. Then she asked what we were going to do that night, and I told her that Dad thought we should stay in and have Family Game Night. Her eyes got all sparkly and wide, and with a big smile she exclaimed, "I sure am having fun for a not-good-tooth day!"

Zoo Fun!

Gabriella has always really enjoyed our trips to the zoo, and today Benjamin was as excited as his sister! It was a bit chilly on the Minnesota trail, but Gabriella enjoyed the animal stamping as usual. And Benjamin's favorite today were the fish and turtles. He took one look at a really big fish and said "Woah." That's a lot coming from a kid who doesn't speak much. Today was one of those days that reminds me how blessed I am to be home with my children every day.

Gabriella is becoming quite the photographer!

Benjamin wanted to swim with the dolphins

Sesame Street 1-2-3 Imagine!

As part of the kiddos Christmas present, we bought them tickets to see Sesame Street on stage. What a fun evening! Gabriella couldn't stop dancing to all the music, and Benjamin was mesmerized right from the start. At one point during the show, Gabriella told us "I think this is my best night ever!" That alone made it all worthwhile.