Snow Day!

It is March and we finally get real snow. I just figured out when the last day of the school year would be!!! I'm not complaining - it was a great snow day. I followed a full day of cheerleading on Sunday so we were a little tired anyway. And, Kate started with a runny nose so I could just keep her home. I didn't want to take her out for very long so Kevin took Sydney out for a bit this morning before he left for work. I bundled Kate up and he took her out for just a few minutes this morning.

Sydney walking through the snow!

A sledding "accident" - too much laughing can actually make a sled flip over!

The deal is Kate gets to ride back up the hill and Syd has to pull her! Both of them love it!

Kate likes to pick up the snow and try to make snowballs but it always gets stuck to her mittens.

Thanks to Ms. Debbie for the passing along Emily's old snow suit! It fits Katelyn perfectly!

"Please! One more last time!!!"

Teddy has always been our snow loving dog! Sydney took this photo!

After Kevin came home, we took the girls out again for a few trips up and down the hill along with some snow angel making!

Snow days are great!

Dora the Explorer!

Well, Katelyn and I took in the Dora the Explorer show at the Hippodrome! Kately in a huge Dora fan. So, I decided this would be the perfect show for the two of us to see together. If you don't know about Dora, she is "little girl" who goes on adventures. In this case, we had to help her find her teddy bear in the City of Lost Toys. Katelyn's favorite part of the show (and every episode she watches on TV) is yelling at Swiper, the fox who is always trying to steal Dora's stuff! Seriously, Katelyn has always had a thing about knowing the owner of things so it is no surprise that she enjoys yelling "Swiper, No Swiping! Swiper, No Swiping! Swiper, No Swiping!" She's as bossy as they come and, if someone is taking something, she's the one to put them in their place. Maybe she'll pursue law enforsement! If you look carefully at the photo of her, you'll notice the black eye she received at daycare on Thursday when another little boy swung around and hit her with a toy. Clearly, she's tough enough for law enforsement! An injury like this would have set Sydney back for weeks - Katelyn barely mentioned it other than to tell me about that "Bad Boy Gavin" who got her in the eye!

Cheerleading!

Cheerleading sesson continues! In the last two weekends, we've competed in Richmond and Delaware. Not exactly right around the corner but too bad either! In Richmond, our girls took 3rd place - which increased our bid to Final Destinations (the US Nationals) so our cost for the trip will be less! And, the girls were totally excited, as it really was their best finish in really tough competition! They've been promised a pizza party and, I don't know about everyone else, but Sydney is counting the days until Ms. Gerry makes that happen!!! On Sunday, our girls took 1st in Delaware. Don't get too excited - we were the only people in the division! But, Sydney was thrilled as she got to go up with several other girls and get the trophy. She's waited all year to do this and it is BIG deal to her!

Many of you have asked about the "cheerleader hair" so I posted a photo of her in perm rod hair and a picture after. Yes, it takes me at least an hour to roll it! I'm getting quicker but you can only go so fast. And, yes, I have to roll it the night before, blow dry it super dry, and take it out just before we get to competition! And, yes, Sydney doesn't mind - well, not too much! I think some of the magic has worn off a bit. The sitting for an hour or more isn't exactly fun. Saturday competitions are the hardest because I have to roll her hair after Friday night practice so we're all exhausted by the it is over. But, she sleeps on it without a problem and likes the bouncy curls.

In curlers in the car on the way to Richmond!

After curlers at the competition!

Sydney posing at the Delaware competition.

I have yet to figure out how families manage to have several children in several activities. Most of the time, Kevin stays home with Kate and I take Syd to competition. Honestly, cheerleading competitions aren't that exciting for a 2 year old! But, we took her this weekend to Delaware, knowing it was a short competition so she wouldn't be there THAT long! She watches for a while but she can only last so long without wanting to run around, dance, chase her sister, have a snack, and generally cause trouble! She tries to be good; it just isn't easy! So, here she is not being the best spectator!

Katelyn not really enjoying cheerleading!

Yes, she still sucks her thumb. We're working on it!

I'll keep you posted as to how the rest of the season goes!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!

Sydney's 6th birthday has come and gone with all the excitement that birthdays usually involve at our house. We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese this year - Sydney has always loved it there so we finally just caved in and had her party there! Honestly, we barely saw her the entire time. She just ran all over with her friends. But, she had a great time and that's what matters. Here are a few photos.

I still can't really believe that I have a 6 year old. I mean, can I seriously be that old??? Can she seriously be that old??? Where did the time go??? As I have said to many people, the days are so long sometimes. There are so many things to do that the I feel consumed by the list of tasks that must get done. Then, I realize that 6 years have gone by and can't even believe it. The days might be long but the years seem so short! So, if you'll all allow me to gush a bit about my girl, I'm going to tell you 6of things I love about my 6 year old.

1. She thinks of others! She considers other people's feelings, ask about other people, tries to take care of people. She's kind to people and always wants to do things to make others feel loved!

2. She's funny. She makes me laugh everyday with something she says, including calling her sister an "evil genius" today! Someone told me that she never laughed so much as she had since she'd had her children. Sydney and Katelyn bring such laughter into my life that I can't imagine what it was like before we had them! (Well, I do remember I slept more but I laughed less so I guess it balances out!)

3. She's creative. She's constantly making something, creating a project, dance move, show, something. While the mess makes me totally crazy, I love that she's likes to express herself in so many ways.

4. She's respectful of others! If there is anything Kevin is, it is respectful of other people. (I try but he's better!) When I see that in her, I know she's inherited one of his best qualities and that makes me happy and proud! Other adults notice that she's respectful of everyone - children and adults. She already knows that how you treat people matters and for that I am so grateful.

5. She does her best. There is no doubt she's smart. (For my teacher friends - she did great on DIBELS!) But, let's be honest here - she's no super star athlete. However, no matter what she does, she tries her very best. What more can a parent ask for?

6. She's a great big sister! Katelyn isn't exactly the easiest gal to get along with some days. (She's getting there but they don't call it the "terrible two's" for nothing!) And, even though I know Sydney feels like Katelyn wins sometimes by default because she's the baby, she always looks out for her. She celebrates her accomplishments (like going on the potty or riding her tricycle) as if they were her own. She is always willing to help her out, kiss her good night, make her a special surprise, whatever because she loves her little sister. Being an only child, I am totally amazed at that bond and I love Sydney loves Katelyn so much!

Well, I could truly go on and on but I'll stop gushing (and crying) right there! Happy 6th Birthday Sydney! I love you more every day!

Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve???

As I've already mentioned, our December was filled with sickness and Christmas Eve was no exception. When I got the email from Robyn on December 23rd saying she was having emergency dental surgery, it just seemed like it was time to surrender! So, I emailed Amy, we talked, and just decided it was better if we canceled the Christmas Eve celebration. We decided we would just celebrate together on New Year's Eve. Honestly, I can't imagine having gotten together on Christmas Eve - we just weren't in good shape. But, without our festivities, Christmas just wasn't Christmas. We've celebrated Christmas Eve together every year since 1989. One year we celebrated together a different day but it just wasn't the same so we went back to Christmas Eve. We started in 11th grade at Robyn's house. (Do you remember how icy it was one night coming out of Robyn's old house??? And it was crazy cold that year!) We started with us, our moms, and the younger sisters. We have added boyfriends who became our husbands (did they ever really have a choice about it?), and 6 girls between the three of us. When people ask me about my Christmas Eve plans, I absolutely love to tell them about our tradition and most can't believe I still keep in such close contact with my high school friends. I tell them that they aren't just my high school friends; they're family! Having no siblings and really very little family, I've always felt exceptionally blessed to have been able to create an extended family with such wonderful people! I hope they know how important they are in our lives!

So, our Christmas Eve celebrations were postponed until New Year's Eve. No making reindeer food like usual - we'll get back to doing that next year! This year, we made fondue instead! This has become a mini New Year's traditions - we make fondue and celebrate the new year at 8:00 pm. This year, we were a little late - I think we celebrated at about 8:30 pm but, since this was our Christmas Eve celebration, we had to exchange presents. In order to celebrate early, we set the clocks ahead so the older girls won't realize that it isn't midnight (At least they didn't until they got to the car and read the clock out there. Robyn - I told you she'd see it!) This year, it was far too cold to bang pots and pans outside. But, thanks to hats and noise makers, we had plenty of fun celebrating inside. While it wasn't Christmas Eve, it certainly was lots of fun!

Happy New Year!!!