Tiny Dancer

Kassie started taking dance this fall and has loved every minute of it. She takes a class one day a week that is a half hour of ballet and a half hour of dance. 2 of her friends are in the same class, so the 3 moms take turns having the girls over to play before dance and then driving them to and from class. It's been great for Kassie's self confidence and she has loved learning all the steps. She had her first recital just before Christmas and it was so fun!

Day of the dress rehearsal with her cute friends we carpool with.

The big night!!

What dance recital would be complete without flowers for the star?

Santa was good to us!

The kids in their Christmas outfits (also what they wore for Aunt Kate's wedding 3 days earlier).

Calm before the storm

The great unveiling! There was a sheet taped to the wall and draped to the floor so they couldn't see what was waiting until after breakfast.

The much-anticipated-Pokemon-video game.

Thomas got a racetrack from Santa. He loves it when he can get it away from his siblings long enough to play with it!

THE picture of Christmas as far as I'm concerned! SO excited to get the Rapunzel doll to add to the set of 7 princess dolls from Grampa Tim.

The best present of all.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas. Here's to New Year's resolutions.....like keeping up with my blogging!

Love to all,
Ben, Kathy and kids


The card was designed by my friend Jessie. You can see her great designs for all kinds of cards and announcements at www.announcementstoponder.blogspot.com

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Timothy

K: Mom, did you know that Mario and Luigi are brothers and Princess Peach is their mom?
Me: Really?
Ben: Well, not really Kassie... Marion and Luigi are brothers, but Princess Peach is their friend.
Timothy: No, in one of the games Mario kisses Princess Peach, so she must be his mom.
Ben: Well,
But before he could continue I jumped in and said "No, stop right there! If he thinks that the only one you kiss is your mom, I'm good with that!"

I dread the day that Timothy learns differently and will cherish every kiss I get in the meantime.

First Day of Kindergarten

I have a Kindergartner! I don't feel like I was super young when he was born (27) and I don't feel really old now (32), so how is it possible I have a child old enough to go to school?! He LOVED his first day and said all afternoon: "I'm so excited to go back tomorrow!". Hopefully that will be the case for many more tomorrows! Here are a few observations of his first day:

*Favorite part of school: Recess (I know, shocking!) and playing in the sand table ("but there's no sand, just rice and beans not cooked, but you can't eat them).

*Clothes-after seeing his choice of what to wear: "That's it? That's boring." (His school requires a uniform. Navy or tan pants/shorts, solid red, white or navy shirt with a collar).

*Friends: He was standing in line with Henry (who lives next door) and the teacher tried to put a little girl between them. Timothy grabbed Henry's backpack and said "I'm standing by Henry!". He also said he made friends with a boy named Ty.

I'm sure this year will be full of adventures and learning for him and I'm looking forward to seeing him grow and excel at all he does. I didn't cry when I dropped him off, but I must admit to a feeling of melancholy this morning. He was so excited that I really wouldn't have wished for anything different for him, but it was a major milestone and, to an extent, the end of a certain time of his life. I feel like I'll never again have him totally to myself. That he'll have this part of his life that is uniquely his and while I look forward to sharing it with him, I won't be party to all the minute details of his day. But I guess overall this is what parents do: prepare them, guide them and then let them shine...and I know he will!

P.S. Daddy made me untuck his shirt before he went to school...he said it looked like his Mom dressed him. It was probably a good thing; all the other boys I saw had their shirts untucked too!

They thought what?!

Timothy and Kassie decided on ABC Spaghetti-O's for lunch today. While they were having fun picking out the letters as they ate, Timothy kept insisting that I give some to Thomas. I finally decided to give him a couple of little bites to see what he thought. Timothy turns to Kassie excitedly and says "Look Kassie! He's eating the Alphabet! I hope he talks!". Kassie's eyes light up and she says "Oooh, I can't wait to hear him talk!". I'm sitting there feeding Thomas and trying to figure out WHAT they are talking about and suddenly it dawns on me....


Poor kids were so disappointed.......

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Timothy

Tonight at bedtime:

"Mommies get butterfly kisses and Daddies get raspberries."

I like the way this kid thinks!