Addie's Budding Singing Career

Today in church, the Children's Worship group sang a song "He Reigns" and recited a verse. We have been singing this song and reciting this verse for over 2 months, and non-stop this week. Chances are, if you drove by our house anytime recently, you would have heard Addie belting this song out! I was skeptical if she would go on the stage and sing- she hasn't been a person who enjoys performing.... I was right- when it was time for the kiddos to go up, she didn't want to- but the lure of a lollypop waiting for her in the car IF she did go up, did the trick. She stood on the stage, but she wouldn't say the verse or sing. Baby steps- baby steps! Maybe by next year, she'll sing, and in a few more years, she'll be the lead in the school play. And if she never likes performing- that's fine with me- but I will ask God why he gave her such a gift for the dramatic....

Not looking very happy or sure of herself....

This is the non-singing portion of the stage- Evelyn, Addie and Braden were all loved on by Miss Dawn- whew- thanks!

The group- are they not oh-so-precious?!?

Monument Avenue Ukops 10K

This weekend was the 11th Annual Monument Avenue 10K- and for the first time in many years, only Al ran it- typically some of our college friends come and all the guys run and all us Moms and kids cheer.

We started off with a carb fest- Mike, Karen (and Baby Avery) and Hannah- came to help us!

Complete with a kiddy table

Our bundled cheering squad- it was cooooold but strangely, it didn't feel like it was in the 30s!

They LOVED watching all the runners- especially the ones in the funky costumes. Addie went nuts when she saw Minnie Mouse, a monkey chasing a banana (crazy guy in a full gurialla costume running with another guy in a full banana costume), and 3 kids running together in a "tub"- rub-a-dub-tub, butcher, baker, candlestick maker, and then to top it off, a PRINCESS ran by!!

Here was their FAVORITE runner- they were squealing and jumping with delight!! This is at mile 5- he looks like he's fresh as a daisy! He ran this with a best time of 52.59!! This is amazing since he hasn't been able to train too much due to the snow and hand surgery!

Ahh- the beauty of the downtown!

More pretty Richmond

After the race- we met at the house, Al showered and then we headed to Maymont Park.

The kids were enamored with the goats.

Checking out the chickens while Daddy gets change so they can feed the goats.

I love her face- she giggled like the little girl she is when the goats ate from her hand!

Her face is just precious!!

Alden LOVED this- he laughed his deep belly laugh!

Picnic on a rock- what fun!!

And now, everyone is passed out during nap time. It has been a fantastic day!!

A Budding Storyteller

Tonight Addie told some stories while we were eating dinner. They are pretty impressive, especially considering she's only 4!

Once upon a time there was a young Easter Bunny. He was going to sleep. Now he loved dinosaurs. He looked out his window and saw a big, huge, dinosaur! The dinosaur looked in the window and ate him. "Yikes!" the Easter Bunny said! That was a crazy dream!

Once upon a time, there was a girl Easter Bunny. She loved Cinderella. She always dreamed of seeing Cinderella. One day her MarMar and PopPop knocked on her door and said that they were taking her to see Cinderella. She loved Cinderella so much that she stayed there forever. She was best friends with Cinderella.

Need a Tutor?

For the last 11 or so years, I've been a teacher. It's how God has gifted me or used my bossiness to glorify Him- either way, the bottom line is I love teaching! The last 3 years I have been teaching for an online school- and due to some "oversights" my load for next year, which I thought would be filled with 4 classes, has been cut down to 1 class. If you know of anyone who needs some English tutoring- or heck, ANY tutoring- please let me know!

"I know the plans I have for you. Plans to proper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."- Jeremiah 29:11. It's this verse that we will be living- and it helps me keep my sanity- to know that this "bump in the road" is part of His plan- and thus He will provide for us.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Our good friend Hannah had her 2nd birthday this weekend- and we were honored to be a part of the celebration!!

First there were some fun games lead by Grandma Wasch- Addie LOVED them!

Hannah was thinking about the games...

Alden preferred to just hold his hula-hoop and watch Addie and Grandma Wasch.

Blowing out her candles- you can't tell, but I'm holding Alden back- he REALLLY wanted to "help" Hannah by blowing them out for her!

Addie was happy to sit with Grandma Wasch- thank you for that!

We had a great time celebrating with Hannah- thank you for letting us come!

Spring Is In THE Air!!

Spring has sprung! We have been embracing it- playing outside, having picnics for most meals, playing outside, marveling at all the flowers, playing outside, riding bikes, playing outside- you get the picture! It's been fantastic!!

Flowers from our yard- I am SO thankful for the previous owner's need to plant millions of bulbs ALL around the house!

We visited some friends who had just had a baby- we provided the food for a cook-out and the big kids played- what fun!

Addie has mastered a great skill- pumping her swing all by herself- woo-hoo!! Alden has mastered swinging on his belly!

Riding bikes- they love it!

Addie is fascinated with the flowers- that they just came up and we didn't have to plant or water them- and I think the fact that they are alive intrigues her the most- I kill all plants, even plastic ones!

Alden keeps us laughing with his antics- blue socks, black Crocs, striped shirt, no pants, and green tub on his head- and his peals of laughter bouncing all over the house!

Life is good!

School Pics

Addie got some adorable pics taken at school....

She was one of the only kids in her class to actually hold the bunny- even though it looks like it's doing something else....


And here's is her class! These will be Alden's teachers next year- and the class genders are going to be totally flipped- only 3 girls and 7 boys!

Potty Training Update

It's been, well, interesting, to say the least! I would like to say that it's been easy- but I know that once I say that, it will get bad, so I'm not saying it. It hasn't been horrible, either. My house doesn't reak with carpet cleaner (and we only have 2 rooms with carpet anyways!). Alden LOVES being without a diaper. But.... he won't get off the potty! He is perfectly content to sit on it ALL DAY LONG! Good thing my in-laws bought the expensive potty with the cushy seat! When I make him get off the potty, which I do, mean Mommy that I am, he says about every 2 seconds "Pee Pee! Pee Pee!" After making him play for awhile, I'll relent and let him back on his Throne.

He is so funny- when he does have "success"- he gets this smug look on his face and refuses to let loose the big smile I know he's hiding inside. He just gets all gruff and acts like it's not a big deal. When I sing and dance, I get the "Whose Mom are YOU?" look and often a deep sigh (and this from a 2.5 yr old!!). When we went to Wal-Mart to buy his Good-Job toy, he did show excitement- and actually told the clerk "Choo-choo, pee-pee potty!"- which, thank goodness, the clerk fully understood and wasn't offended by....

For those of you who want numbers- he's only had 1 full accident and it isn't a true accident since it is really 2- half accidents- a half accident is when he started to pee, stopped himself before even making a dribble onto the floor, and then making it to the potty to finish. I know, he doesn't spend much time OFF the potty TO have accidents, but we are making progress- only diapers he has worn are to bed for naps and for his "big nap" (nighttime). He did wear a diaper when we went to Wal-Mart because I'm just not ready to trust him yet- I have approximately 5 seconds from "PEE-PEE" to actual pee-pee, and those aren't odds I really want to deal with at Wal-Mart.

So there you have it, he's doing great and I'm super proud!

Potty Time!

**WARNING!! Lots of Potty Talk***

Alden has been showing signs that he is ready to loose the diapers. Today, after looking my schedule and realizing that with a little tweaking, we could be home all week, I decided to Take The Leap. We have been talking about potty-training for awhile with Alden and he "gets it" mentally.... When we told him this morning that he was going to wear his new Big Boy Underpants, he was SO excited- he started jumping up and down!!

We started off the morning with drinking some juice, sitting on the little potty, and watching some Disney.


God must wire boys this way- Addie has never once tried to put her underpants on her head....



Success!!!!! Enjoying his reward- some chocolate ice cream! Once he experienced this, he would not leave the potty- he wanted to drink and sit! Smart kiddo....


It had been raining but there was a break, so I took the kids outside to play. He is still, totally, 100% dedicated to this potty thing- He wouldn't leave the potty but was ready in case he decided to! And yes, I have some pants for him, they are just off to the side!

1/2 through Day 1- 3.5 successes and .5 accident (started, realized it, stopped and then made it to the potty). We will see how he does after his naps, but I am pretty darn proud of him!!

Fun Times

We have been embracing the warmer temps and the fact that there is SO much to do around here!

Alden showing off his hat and his "ready-set-go" pose.


Addie, it turns out, LOVES the balance beam- wonder if I should look into gymnastics for her?


Here a game that these 2 LOVE- they gather up ALL the pillows in the house, dump them into the pack-n-play. One of them "hides" in the pillows while the other one comes to find them. Their squeals of delight just warm my heart! And for those of you who know me and my desire to have everything in it's place- when they are done, they DO put all the pillows back in their proper places!


Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you- they are cleaning the bathroom! They LOVE to do this- and often fight over who gets to do what. It is beautiful - it really is! I know it won't last forever- so I am doing my best to take full advantage of it!

Addie loves to "read" to her brother- her interpretations are typically a hoot- the standard plot with some funny details added. Alden is typically a happy follower- as you can see here!

Hannah came and spent a few days with us- here she is following Addie and Alden's obsession of eating with chopsticks- thank you Addie for sharing yours with her! It was so much fun to have Hannah around- they all played together so nicely!

No, this isn't me, but after taking Addie's pigtails out, her hair was flipped out, just like my hair often in! Addie thought it was just hilarious that she had Mommy-Hair!

Life is just great- I am so appreciative that the Lord has blessed us with such great friends, jobs, kids, weather, etc. My cup runneth over!!

Faith

It has been cold, snowy (it actually snowed last night!) and just plain stay-inside-weather for what seems like ages. In an act of faith that Spring WILL come, the weather WILL get warm, and we WILL see green grass again- I took the kids to have their Easter Pictures taken. When I called to schedule the appointment, I was told to come any time- they were wide open with appointments! If you have ever been to Portrait Innovations, you know that this is a rarity- so I seized the chance! The kids were perfect- making my job pure torture to choose just one pose. I persevered and here is the winner. I know I'm a bit biased (ok, a whole LOT biased, but hey, they are my kids!)- but I think they are pretty darn sweet!!

If you build it, they will come!

The grandparents were very generous and bought the kids a playground- we just had to put it together.... After reading multiple reviews, we choose a playground- and it then it went on sale- whoooo-hooo!

Here they are- we didn't even need to assemble it for them to enjoy it!


Helping Al label all the pieces



A blank canvas....


Helping Daddy by bringing him the pieces he needed!

Helping more!!

Trying out the tree-house- it passed with flying colors!!

The favorite part- the swings!!

The slides Maiden Voyage!!

A HUGE hit, the bench swing!!

The almost-finished product- the "hole" off this side is where the monkey bars were supposed to go- we opted to not put them up, but Al put up some wood to make it safe.

It has been played on a TON despite the cold weather- thank you MarMars and PopPops!!