A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

I think the kids' favorite gift this Christmas was the new zip line that Keven hung in the backyard. We knew the weather was going to get ugly, so we made them open it first. We thought it would be more fun to send them on a scavenger hunt! After a few rides on the zip line we went back inside to open more presents. When we were finally done, we went back outside to play some more before the rain started. The kids also got a new doorbell for their playhouse and bubble guns. It was lots of fun ringing the doorbell and listening to it play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and blowing bubbles at the zip line as someone zipped past. Here are some other pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas morning:

Snow Mountain

Since we don't really get much snow here in Alabama, we decided to head over to Stone Mountain to play in the [artificial] snow there. After a warm fall, the first days of winter actually felt like winter. It was quite a shock and very cold! We had a great time tubing, making snow bricks, throwing snowballs, and roasting marshmallows. They also had a neat show in the evening with a snow angle, snow flurries, and fireworks. I didn't get a lot of pictures of us playing in the snow because it's hard to take pictures and make a snowball at the same time! (Plus, I didn't want to risk getting my new camera wet.) We got a few pictures taken at "photo spots" in the park, but they apparently hadn't been downloaded when we left and we weren't even able to look at them. I was very irritated! I guess we have been spoiled by the wonderful photo pass service at Disney World. Here are some of the pictures I did get.

First Day of School

This year is definitely a big one! Kaitlin started kindergarten! She was so excited for her first day of school. We really thought that she would be shy and clingy when we dropped her off, but she wasn't at all! She seemed a little nervous when we first got to her classroom, but after we took some pictures, she walked right in and started talking to her teacher like she had known her for years. We insisted on taking Kaitlin to school the first day, but she did not want us too! Our girl has become Little Miss Independent! Ethan started back to preschool at our church the same day Kaitlin started kindergarten. He was a little grumpy about it! He still tells me every school day that he doesn't want to go. I know he has fun while he is there and some days when I pick him up he gets mad at me because he is not ready to go home!

Discovery

Ordinary Jogging Stroller?

Or nursery?

I discovered this bird nest on our front porch the other night when the mommy bird flew out of the top of the stroller while I was refilling some bubble guns. There are five little white eggs with red speckles. The mommy bird is a small brown bird - a finch, maybe? I guess it's been a while since we used this stroller!

We Are the Dinosaurs

Currently, Ethan's favorite song is "We Are the Dinosaurs" by the Laurie Berkner band (thank you to Aunt Melissa and Kohl who passed this CD along to us). He loves to listen to it and play along. This was the second or third time we listened to the song. Ethan got out an instrument for each person and he was upset that Kaitlin had stopped playing! What's really funny to me, is that anytime he wants to hear the song, he comes to me and marches, but he won't actually march to the song. He doesn't seem to understand that the verses are also part of the song, so he gets upset when they come on. My favorite part is at the very end when he sings along ;)

Ethan's Two-Year-Old Checkup

I took Ethan for his 2-year-old checkup today. He weighs 26 lbs, 10 oz and is 33 ¼ inches tall. I guess the CDC has recently updated the growth charts and now Ethan is in the 15th percentile in height instead of the 10th! That's a pretty big deal when you come from a family of shorties! He's also in the 50th percentile for weight now, so I guess that's why the pediatrician didn't seem too concerned that he lost a little weight. We talked about his terrible eating habits and the doctor said it all seems typical for his age. After the exam, Ethan was sitting on the doctor's lap and reached for me and said "I want Mama." The doctor seemed very impressed by that and commented that he wasn't supposed to do that yet (sentences, I guess). I am always a proud mommy when the pediatricians say things like that. I know I'm not perfect as a mom, but I guess I am doing something right!

It's been a while since I've taken pictures of Ethan with his lion and zebra stuffed animals, so I thought I'd better do it on his birthday. I'm not sure how much longer we will have the yellow chair (sniff, sniff). So far, he still likes to be rocked before bed and hasn't started climbing out of his crib, so we will keep it...for now.

Ethan's Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Ethan's birthday yesterday. It's hard to believe the little man is already 2! Despite the cold weather, all the kids wanted to play outside! I think they had a good time! One tip about this slide show: do not click the play button! It will take you off this web page. If you want to restart the slideshow, click on the black area around the outside of the slideshow.

Ballet & Tumbling

Kaitlin has been going to a Ballet & Tumbling class through the local parks & rec. Wednesday was her last class and parents were able to come and watch. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so these pictures/videos were taken on my phone and are not great quality. It was quite entertaining and Kaitlin made some very funny expressions while she danced!







Here are a couple of videos. One is of Kaitlin doing somersaults and the other is her doing frog jumps. They were running out of time, so the girls got to choose if they wanted to do bunny hops or frog jumps. Kaitlin does excellent frog jumps!

Kaitlin's 4-year Checkup

Well, it's a month and a half late, but I thought I needed to post about Kaitlin's checkup this year. She measured 39 inches tall and weighed 32 pounds. I was so excited that she finally hit 30 pounds! The doctor said she looked great and had no concerns. Kaitlin had to get a couple of shots and took them like a champ. Of course, the nurse and I had to team up to get her out from under my chair, but she did great once we got a hold of her! She didn't even cry! Later that afternoon, Kaitlin decided to celebrate her health by cutting her hair!! She was so proud of herself! (By the way, she does not have a head injury in this picture. Kaitlin feels it necessary to put a band-aid on every minor bump or scratch. It does add some drama though!)



Although she's never had a visible reaction to peanuts/peanut butter, Kaitlin has always had a strong aversion to anything with peanuts in it and we wondered if she might be allergic to them. Keven and I wanted to know for sure so I discussed it with the pediatrician and she agreed that it would be a good idea to get her tested. I took her to the allergist a couple weeks after her checkup and discovered that our suspicions were correct. So, we are now an epi-pen carrying family. I don't think her allergy is severe, but it is definitely stressful. We have to think about things differently. I think we are also fortunate that she doesn't like anything with peanuts so we don't really have to worry about her eating it.

I usually just do Kaitlin's pictures at the same time we do Ethan's, but this year our photographer/friend, Heather, was having a mini-session for girls called Tutus & Tiaras right around Kaitlin's birthday so I decided to get some special 4-year-old pictures taken. Kaitlin had a ton of fun at her special photo shoot (no Ethan, no family pics, just all about Kaitlin) and Heather got some amazing pictures of her! I had such a hard time decided which pictures to get because they were all so good! This is just one of the beautiful pictures:

Halloween

We had a great time Trick-or-Treating with the kids this year! We had some friends over for pizza and went with a group which is always fun. We also had a sweet college student come over and hand out candy so that Keven and I were both able to go trick-or-treating.

Kaitlin was very excited and was asking all day if today is the day to go trick-or-treating. She dressed up like a princess and I have to say, she was the most beautiful princess I've ever seen!! She is in a Cinderella dress, but she has never seen the movie Cinderella. MomMom and PopPop took her into the princess shop at Disney World to get a dress and that is the one she chose! I guess we need to rent the movie soon so she knows the story of Cinderella! She had a really fun time trick-or-treating with her friend Bryce. They would hold hands walking between houses and race to the doors. It was really cute!

We decided to dress Ethan like a monkey for Halloween and he loved it! He wore his costume to Trunk or Treat at our church on Sunday and had a great time! Tonight, when I said "let's go get your monkey costume on" he ran into his room and started signing "hat." It was very cute! I got Kaitlin's dress on her and told her to stand in front of the china cabinet for pictures. When I was done, I put Ethan's hat on him and he ran over to the china cabinet (without being told to) for his pictures. He also enjoyed trick-or-treating. At the first, he wanted to go inside every house! After a few houses, he got the hang of it and was excited to go up to every door.

Here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy them!