Hoppy, Healthy Easter!

As promised, I'm sending along an Easter entry. We had a wonderful Easter - such a switch from last year. As some of you may remember, Katelyn was battling ear infections from December through June of 2006/2007. Easter was yet another day of yuck - she was exhausted, medicated, and just a mess. But, as you can see from the photo - what a difference a year makes! Gone are the ear infections, snotty noses, antibiotics, and just plain misery. This year, Katelyn enjoyed all the Easter fun a near 20-month old could handle! While she didn't quite get the whole "hunting for eggs" concept, she liked cracking open the plastic ones to see what treasures were to be found inside. In the photo, she is enjoying a turn on her cousin's new car. She really is getting to be too much. She is putting two words together constantly and is now even putting three words together occasionally. She loves to say things like "Daddy's cup" and "Mommy's coat." You'll see her language skills in this video, along with her bunny nose, which Mum taught her at daycare. The video is cute but I hate listening to myself in it so just disregard my voice and focus on Katelyn!

Sydney was thrilled to receive tons of treats from the Easter Bunny and loved hunting for eggs. She was even invited to an Easter party at a friend's house, which was lots of fun. But, she really loved dying eggs, both at home and at school. Her creativity really shines through when she's doing a project.

Both girls had their check-ups with the doctor this week and, at this point, both seem to be doing well in the growth and development department. Some of you know that Sydney is seeing a pediatric endocrinologist because she has delayed bone age. If you weren't aware - sorry I failed to mention it - it all happened around the holidays and I can never be sure who I told and who I missed! Anyway, both girls maintained the same percentiles that they were at 4 months ago, which is good news. (Sydney is 25th percentile for height; Katelyn is 40th percentile for height - gotta love our short girls!!!) Sydney will revisit the specialist in June for another check, at which time she'll make any recommendations so I'll keep you posted. As for other areas, both Katelyn and Sydney excel in language development - no surprises there! Our doctor was amazed at Katelyn's memory and physical skills. And Sydney showed her own memory skills as she repeated the story of how I put Katelyn's ear drops in her eye! (My doctor admitted to doing the same thing to her own niece once so I felt a bit better.) Otherwise, the visit was uneventful. Katelyn will continue on lactose-free milk indefinitely - we'll just have to wait and see if that issue resolves itself in the future!

We're happy to report that March is ending, which means an end to Kevin's more than a month of extra-late evenings at work. But, his graduate courses continue so he's still busy all the time. He definitely works hard but his girls are very proud of him!

I think that's all to report. We don't have any major events coming up for a bit, so I probably won't update for a while. Happy Spring to Everyone!

Our Budding Artist

We are thrilled to report that Sydney's artwork was recently featured at our local public library. The art teachers at several area schools were allowed to select projects to display during Youth Art Month and Sydney's "Very Hungry Caterpillar" was selected to represent pre-kindergarten. We were invited to attend her "showing," along with the other artists and enjoyed cookies and punch! It really was too much fun and we couldn't be prouder of her efforts in all areas of school! In addition to excelling at art, she is has learned 11 sight words and is thrilled to be learning to read. Since I'm a math teacher, I feel I must mention that she is doing a wonderful job with sorting, patterning, rote counting, and making sets!
The Artist and Her Work


Sydney's Masterpiece!

Elmo and Our Ice Princess

How can 4 weeks go by so quickly? I can hardly believe that February is nearly over. As many of you know, we experienced a mild ice storm on Friday, so we enjoyed a surprise day off. We spent most of the day in pj's, so it was fun! But, I'm not hoping for any more days off - I'm looking forward to a nice long summer vacation!!!
As some of you know, Sydney took ice skating lessons this month. She attended a birthday party and absolutely loved it so we thought we'd give it a try. I have to admit, she isn't great - she's so afraid to fall down she won't move in the single blades. But, in double blade skates, she is more confident. And, no matter which skates she's wearing, she loves it! I mean, sometimes she barely moves during the half-hour lesson and she still can't wait to go again. She isn't a born risk-taker, so this is HUGE for her and I couldn't be more proud of her efforts. She wants to continue at the indoor rink so we're looking into it. We'll keep you posted!

And, while we're on the topic of LOVE, we attended a cousin's birthday party on Saturday and Katelyn was thrilled to meet Elmo. While other kids were afraid at first, she wasn't at all! She just wanted Elmo to hold her the whole time. We can call her many things, but we can't call her shy!

Daisy Valentines!

Okay, so it is a silly title but it fits. Sydney officially earned 4 petals as a Daisy Girl Scout today! We're so proud of her, as she just joined Girl Scouts in December and learned her promise very quickly. Check out her video below!

Daddy wasn't able to attend the ceremony due to school but Tutu was available and both Sydney and Katelyn were thrilled to see her! Thanks Tutu!!! We love you!
Following the ceremony, the Daisy Troop celebrated with a Valentine's Eve party! There were plenty of goodies to go around. Their troop leader did a great job!

And, just in case you need a little help getting in the Valentine's Day spirit, here are two photo of Katelyn that I took as she sat inside a little wooden table at our house. She really just is too much!

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

It really seems impossible that Sydney is already 5 years old! When I think about all the amazing things she's done in the last 5 years, I can't help but smile. But, when I think about how quickly 5 years has passed by, I can't help but feel sad. I don't think I ever really understood how quickly life can pass by until I had the girls. All too quickly days turn to weeks, months, and years! Thankfully, children are completely oblivious to all this and are just excited about another PARTY! And what a party it was!!! Sydney was thrilled to host a "High School Musical" themed pool party. And, while not everyone could be there (some of our friends were just too busy having fun in Disney World - you know who you are!), we had quite a good time. The kids seemed to enjoy swimming in the winter, even if the adults didn't love getting in their suits. Sydney was thrilled to play with her friends and loved all her birthday presents. (Thank you cards will be going out very soon!) Thank you to everyone, whether you were there in person or spirit, for making her 5th birthday so special. Sydney is blessed to have so many people who love her and she definitely knows it!