Seven and Four

Luke and Kate turned 7 and 4 back in October. It amazes me how quickly time goes. Luke had a pool party with friends and family (and I forgot my camera!). It was a blast. Kate turned 4 in Rosemary Beach, lucky girl. We had a family party for her when we got back (which I DID get picts of). 

Luke is such a smart, sweet boy. At seven he is an AMAZING reader, soccer player, Lego builder extraordinaire, math guru and lover of all things sports. He is obsessed very interested in teams and their stats. He is loving first grade and is just really a fun kid. We love ya, buddy.  

Kate, oh Kate. This girl. She is such a smart, sweet, caring and funny girl. Kate started pre-school this year and absolutely LOVES it. She would go everyday if we'd allow it. Kate has been taking dance for just under a year and is enjoying it very much. Her favorite things to do include: playing kitchen, mamma to her babies and anything art related. Kate is sweet and a joy to be around. We love you sweet sissy. 

Kate's 3rd Birthday

was also waaayyy back in October! This girl is hilarious. She is strong-willed, sweet, sassy, opinionated, loving and a true girly girl. She ONLY wants to wear dresses. When I get pants out, she is outraged. When it's time for pajamas, it MUST be a nightgown. She also has an opinion on how I fix her hair. Wait, am I talking about a 3 year old or a 13 year old? Gesh. Although she has a strong fashion sense, she is actually very loving and kind. She adores her brothers and wants do whatever it is they're doing. Her feelings get hurt when she's excluded from their "boy" play. As she gets older, she's understanding their lingo more and more and she's getting left out less and less. 

Kate is really into Disney Princesses, especially Elsa and Anna from the movie Frozen. She loves her babies, animals and kitchen stuff. She enjoys reading and coloring. We are working on getting better with puzzles lately. (I need to learn patience in this area). Kate recently started dance (ballet and tap), which she loves and is a hoot to watch (more on that in another post). 

Three year check-up stats:

Height  - 39 inches ~ 81st percentile

Weight - 35 pounds ~ 79th percentile  

Evan is FOUR!!!

Evan turned four a little over a week ago. I can't believe it. He's still my little guy, how is he already 4!?!? I just love Ev (I love all my kids, naturally). He can be quite whiny, but he is just the sweetest and most snugly little boy. He thinks his brother hung the moon (I pray that never changes and that Luke grows to understand and appreciate that). He is completely obsessed with Star Wars. Only Star Wars. I don't think he plays with anything unrelated to Star Wars, actually. It's sweet and I love that he and Luke share that. Evan is doing great at school and is learning more and more each month. He loves to color and has recently become very interested in puzzles again. Soccer has been going well and he says he really likes it. I just love our little Evan and feel so blessed to be his mama. 

We had Ev's (Star Wars, of course) birthday party at the skating rink this year. It was SO much FUN. (Plus, I didn't have the pressure of hosting a party at my house - Bonus). We started our morning with our traditional cinnamon rolls and singing and then headed to the rink in the afternoon. Again, blast. Prepare yourself for a stream of pictures. . . .

Cake made by my amazingly talented cousin, Blair

I made Star Wars shirts for my kiddos

I 

Luke tried to skate! It was scary, interesting, hilarious and somewhat successful. J and I even got ourselves out there!

Kate is 2!!!

Our sweet girl is officially two! We celebrated at home with a few presents and cinnamon rolls for dessert. It was perfect. 

Kate is such an energetic, loving girl. She adds so much life to our family. She absolutely adores her brothers. She wants to do everything they do, which sadly doesn't always happen. She LOVES to color and draw - she can spend hours at the art table just doodling and scribbling. She also really enjoys puzzles, blocks, books, anything associated with Dora, and is getting interested in taking care of her babies. We have started "feeding" them and "making dinner" for them in her kitchen, it's pretty cute. I'm just waiting for her to start being interested in Barbies - I was crazy about them as a young girl. We'll see if she follows suit. Happy 2nd birthday sweet baby, we LOVE you so much!!!  

A Superhero Birthday Party

Luke and Kate both have birthday's in October, so we decided to combine their birthday parties this year. What a relief to only have to host one party! Luke is interested in superheroes lately and Kate likes anything, so we went with a superhero theme. It was so fun. I made capes and masks as party favors and then added little touches of superhero stuff here and there. The kids all really enjoyed the capes, so worth the effort. 

 Luke requested a Spiderman shirt for me to make and Ev wanted Captain America. I went with a lightening bolt for Kate.

 He's 5!!!

Little miss has one more week till she's 2. Wow, kind-of blows my mind. 

 My cousin made the most adorable doll for Kate. Seriously, her creativity knows no limits. I love it. You can see how much in the second picture. Thanks Carrie for taking pictures so Justin could enjoy watching the kids open presents while I helped AND for catching this expression. Too funny.

 Grandma and Grandpa bought Kate the cutest tricycle EVER. She loves it . . . so do her brothers. It's taken up permanent residence in our house for the time being. Our poor walls may take a beating in the process . . .