Kite Festival

that blasted spot is still on my camera. totally ruined the pictures. sorry.

huge kites.

We were so excited to go to the kite festival in D.C. this year. We have missed it in years past and were excited that it was supposed to be good weather and we had Grandma in town. Siena was so excited about it. The weather was not as good as it looked. It was in the 50's and the wind was gusty so the big huge kites that were in the competition had a hard time staying up. We had a $2 Toys R Us Princess kite and it did fine. It was so beautiful with the Washington monument and hundreds of kites flying around it. It was fun to see all the different types of kites. We drove in to D.C. and met some friends. They were celebrating their daughters first birthday so they had lunch and kite cupcakes. It was a fun party and the kids ran around and played. Grandma decided to come down for the cherry blossom festival and so we got to have Uncle Steve around too. Ben thought this was awesome. Ben could care less about the kites. He and uncle Steve played soccor the whole time. After the fun on the national mall we went and walked around the tidal basin and saw the cherry blossoms. It was still a little early to get them in full bloom but they were pretty and it was crazy busy with people. We had a great day together and the kids did really well being outside all day without any naps. Dave was kite cutting with friends at the end and cut the top of our princess kite so we need to go find another $2 kite.

too nice to be inside

our sunflower seeds, so the squirrels won't get them. we have little water bottles covering the seeds so we can water them directly.

The weather has been so nice here lately. I think Spring has finally come! I love this time of year. We have been outside playing every day this week. We dug out the sunscreen and shorts and even the water table. We planted sunflowers, Siena tried riding her bike again, we went to a lot of parks,bbq and picnics and we ventured out to Rosevelt Island. We have lived here 6 years and I feel like I haven't done a lot of things in D.C. I have never been out to Rosevelt Island and it was so much fun. The kids loved it. It was really muddy because of all the rain last week but the kids loved that even more. We went along the muddy banks and threw rocks in. Ben almost gave me a heart attack because he was getting so close to the edge of the water when throwing rocks in. We saw a group of deer that we were able to get really close to. Siena got a kite for her birthday and was really eager to fly it. We finally got the chance to on the island. She didn't really get the concept but we did get it up for a little while. We are excited for the kite festival this weekend and hope we will be able to get the kite out again. So it was really nice to be out and see the kids play and get some sun.

naptime

Sienas new best friend is Benny. She hates when it is naptime and they have to go in their seperate rooms to take quiet time. This past week they have had quiet time together for a while and then Ben goes into his room to sleep, mostly because it's not really quiet if they have too much time together. Siena taught Ben how to climb out of his crib so the room is destroyed by the end of quiet time. Its really hard to explain to Siena that Ben is still 2 so he needs to have time to sleep while she doesn't. It's really cute and I am glad that they like to spend time together.

what a difference a year makes

I felt very brave and decided to do the kids yearly doctors appts in one visit. This is very brave because last year Siena was told by the doctor that she was being worse than twin babies in the next room. She had a hard check up last year. This year I decided I had to prep her. We talked about it non stop and I tried to prepare her for what would be going on. Last year she wouldn't stand on the scale or do any eye test or hearing test. This year she was so excited to go to the doctor. We got there and played happily in the waiting room. When they finally called our name she was so excited. The nurse said she had never seen someone so happy to see the dr. Our appt was going well so far. We tried to insist that she was being a good example and showing Ben how to do everything. She went on the scale and height chart fine. Then it was time for the eye test. She liked telling the nurse all the shapes. I had to cover one of her eyes and she kept trying to dodge my hand so she could see it with both eyes but she did it with one eye and they said she had great eyesight. We got to the room and she happily put the gown on and answered the questions the nurse asked. I was really impressed how well she did. Ben did great and followed Siena in everything she did. I had warned her about the shots that she was going to get. I don't think she really knew what a shot was. She got 3 and the nurse had picked out sparkly bandaids that I think helped. Ben had one and had no idea what was coming to him. I think the nurse took too long to explain and warn her about all this. She told Siena she should be brave and not cry for her brother. I wasn't really happy about that but oh well, both of them cried and I was glad Dave was there to help. I held her down while the shots were given. I hate watching the kids get shots. Siena was so mad, each shot got worse. We kept telling her that next time she came she wouldn't have to get shots but I don't think she really cared about that. Ben got his one shot and cried for a little bit and then was fine. The one thing that Siena wanted was a lolipop from the dr. When we were finally done we went to get a lolipop and they didn't have anymore. Then started the crying again. When she starts crying sometimes she will just be dramatic over everything. Luckilly I had packed candy necklaces and problem was solved. I think one of the main reasons she was so excited about going to the dr.'s was that we were going to see if she was big enough to get a booster seat for the car. Of course, she found this bright pink rainbow one at Target that she fell in love with. So both my kids are about the same as usual. Siena is 10% for height and 25% for weight, I guess she went down a little bit. Ben is getting bigger on the charts. He is 50% height and 30% for weight. Both are healthy and happy and we are very happy for that!

Big Kids!

Ben got a haircut and is ready for summer. I was tired of his hair being in his eyes all the time. I was scared of buzzing it off but he loved the clippers. He loved holding them and brushing all his hair out of the guards. I was really surprised by it. He looks so grown up.

Siena our future seamstress. She is working on cutting out this princess from her pin the crown on the princess game we played at her birthday party. She wanted to cut the dress out. She loves to cut up fabric with me and put together a dress for me to wear.

My big 4 year old!

my tiny baby in the dress she came home in, the same dress I came home in.

my big 4 year old!

so good at sharing her presents.

so proud!

Siena is 4 years old. I can't believe it. She loves being four and thinks she is a big girl now not a little girl. Saturday was her birthday and it was a beautiful day, perfect for a party. Friday we went shopping at Toys r us looking for the perfect bike for a four year old. She was happy with any which one and would tell me she liked this one until I pointed out a different one so she was making it hard. My concern was that I didn't want to get a princess one and have her outgrow it in 6 months or not want to ride it anymore because it was a princess bike. I couldn't find any bikes that weren't character bikes. It was kind of frustrating. I remembered that there was a bike store around and we went there. I found the cutest bike and I got someone to tell me all about the bike and fit her correctly for things. It is just pink and teal, which she was very excited about and it has butterflies on it and a backpack up front. She loves it and hopefully she won't outgrow it for a while! So daddy went and picked up the bike at night so it could be a surprise when she came down the stairs in the morning. Sometimes she wakes up early in the morning and goes downstairs and just sits on the couch until the rest of us come down and find her awake. I was worried that she would on her birthday and find and open all her presents before we came down. She didn't, she actually slept in and was the last one awake. She was pleasantly surprised when she came downstairs and found the bike and other presents. When we went out to go ride the bike she asked where her helmet was. Dave thought maybe she didn't need one but we had talked about one when we were at the store looking for bikes the day before. She was sure she had to have a helmet good girl.She got tons of princess books I found on freecycle. She got a princess kite. I am not really sure why she wanted one but that was one of the presents she repeatedely asked for. From Grandma she got books and a beautiful dress, she loves it and from Nana and Papa she got some more princesses . We now have every princess ever made and a prince to keep them company. Thank you for the gifts. She was so happy opening all of them. Ben was a little jealous and wanted to get in on the action. So we went outside and tried riding her bike. She had issues trying to push the pedals forward always braking but we are working on it. She found a spot on our front patio that is really uneven so the training wheels are the only part that are on the ground so she can pedal really fast, so it is like her own little spinning class where she can pedal but won't go anywhere. She thought it was really funny. After we tried out the new bike we went to daddy's basketball game. It's always fun to go and play with all the friends there. Ben gets frustrated that he can't go out and play basketball with the big daddys. Her choice of a special lunch was McDonalds. So we went there for lunch and had a little picnic here at home with it. She was so excited about her cake later in the day. We made it to per her instructions, purple and pink. It looked like an easter egg exploded but it was cute. We made it to Toys R Us again and got the crown and Geoffery balloon. This is really exciting for my kids. They announced her birthday over the speaker and because it was a Saturday it was crazy busy there so everyone wished her a happy birthday. She loved it. We picked out a Dora helmet that came with a bike bell, it's way cute. Then later we had our good friends Kennedy over and ordered pizza for dinner and ate cake. I think it was a perfect day for a four year old. She loves playing with her princesses and prince and I have to go do laundry so she can wear her birthday dress again. I have a feeling she will wear it every day if I let her. It was such a beautiful day and I am glad we could spend it all together with her. Last week at church the primary kids sang happy birthday to her and gave her her own Book of Mormon. I had no idea she would be so happy with it. She loves it! She carries it around with her and shows me all the pictures. It's really cute and I am glad she is so happy with it. We love her so much and can't imagine life without our crazy big girl!

Going on a Safari

getting leaves for giraffes

snow in Africa?

going on an adventure

digging for food for the animals

drawing pictures of the animals we see

our backpacks and pictures we took with our cameras

looking at the hippo pit. There was really a pit there because of our tree being uprooted.

cheese!!!!!!

Our airplane ride to Africa

I taught pre school this week. I was lucky to get a fun theme. The theme previous was dinosaurs. It was kinda funny teaching 4 three year old girls about Dinosaurs. So this month we are learning about a Safari and animals. Everyone somehow decided to go out of town or be sick this week so today we only had one other kid. Ben loves when we have school here and he gets to pretend like he is a big kid. He loves Tuesdays also, when he gets to go to his 'school' which is really just a playdate so I can have 2 hours by myself. It is wonderful for all. Anyway, today we had a Safari. We made safari hats and cameras and a backpack. We went on a plane to Africa and got a stamp on our passport. It was such nice weather out today that we got to go outside.

Prince and Princess party

I decided I could get away with celebrating the kids birthday parties together this year. Maybe again next year and then they will probably be too old for it. They are only 10 days apart so we have a lot of cake in this 2 week span and all their friends are the same at this point. So we decided to have a prince and princess party. We have all the stuff for it. Afterall our house is packed full of Princess type things. I went out a month ago and bought a cake mold for a castle cake and Dave was upset about it thinking he could do something better. So I returned the cake mold if he promised to be in charge of the cake. I was scared it wasn't going to happen but I was pleasantly surprised. So the cake was his creation. He did everything on it. It turned out really good. We did have to eat it fast once we cut in to it because it started to tumble. He stacked 3 cakes on top of eachother so it was put together with toothpicks and lots of frosting. The towers were cupcakes stacked on top of each other with a skewer holding them together. He did a really good job and I was impressed and grateful that it was his responsibility. The week before the party Siena and him decided on the layout and what she wanted and they went to the store and bought all the treats for it. Siena was very specific of what she wanted. She wanted lots of windows and fireworks coming out of the top. This is just like the play princess castle she has. I found little knights at Michaels that we put all around it. It was a great cake. We had all the girls dress up as princesses and the boys dressed up as knights and super heroes. Everyone looked so cute and I think they had fun. We had pin the crown on the princess. Siena kept looking around the blindfold and got the crown right on the correct spot. I think the best part was when we opened the presents. The kids were wonderful when the gifts were opened and played so nicely together when Dave finally got all the present out of the boxes. We should have opened them first so they would be entertained by them for the whole party. Siena and Ben had a great time and Dave hopes that he doesn't have to do another cake like that any time soon.