Hands up, who out there cannot believe that Katie is turning 5 (tomorrow...I'm posting this early to make sure I get it done...we have a busy few days coming up!)!! It's amazing. We have seen so much grown in the past year.
Katie, you are intelligent, funny, caring and fun. You love to read, run and jump and be silly. I see you being such a great sister and friend. You are getting way too smart for us...spelling words often doesn't work now and your dad and I are thinking we may have to start spelling French. (yes, Ben might need a dictionary) This won't work for long of course, since we have you registered to start French immersion Kindergarten in September, for which dad and I are going to an open house tomorrow night. (Happy Anniversary Ben! 9 years already! Can't wait for more!)
It's seeming very chilly for the birthday...though we know from snow on our wedding day and wearing shorts outside for Katie's 3rd birthday that weather is no guarantee this time of year. We are planning a kid party this Saturday and after school "school friends" party Friday, a little special but casual playdate at the playground with school friends...weather permitting...we will bump it to the next day if necessary.
Generally speaking though, the weather has been a little weird this spring. Some very cool days, like today and some warm ones where we had no jackets and decided to pack away the tuques. (ahem which I've since taken back out...I've been wearing mine in the house all day...so cozy!)
A few weeks back we even had a crazy snowstorm with more snow than most of winter all in a day or two. (must blog more frequently...was it a one day storm? More?). Ah...this photo...i remember more now...see, we went to Gram and Papas because the power went out at our place. From about 5am until around 1pm. Gram and Papa were great sports and the girls had fun building a big snowman....that actually melted in the sun as we ate lunch that day. So funny.
Easter was lovely...a weekend full of dinners and the girls had matching dresses that they love. Here they are opening little gifts from Great Auntie Gail. She spoils them so!
Hold on..where's Ben? Oh yes, who can forget...he had an Easter egg of his own that weekend...in the form of a kidney stone! Gosh, that wasn't fun! Poor guy...Grandpa drove m to emergency in the wee hours of Saturday morning and we didn't see him again until after noon. He's since much better. Word is, that apparently, these things happen. Not much to do but try and drink more water...like all of us should. Excuse me while I go fill mine up...I'll wait while you do yours. :)
As far as diabetes goes, we did still manage a few chocolates for the girls...some regular kinder eggs and smaller kinder brand eggs. We parceled them out over a few days, tacking them onto snacks etc and then hid them in a cupboard. And the girls completely forgot about them! And eventually Ben and I ate them. Yes, seriously. Sorry about that girls, it's for your own good and you'll get plenty of time for chocolate in your future. :)
I've been alternately loving how the girls play and been driven mad at the sound of their arguing. (why yes, both mad crazy and mad angry, as anyone I talk to on the phone can probably tell.)
Its funny how when you leave them alone, they giggle and play pretend and you can hear all this marvelous stuff that comes from their smart little heads. And they come up with how to build and decorate the couch like a pirate ship. (sponsored by a Safeway flag!). (funny how you can smile at the creatoity and silently groan at the same time thinking of the mess)
This is the girls. Making AARRRr pirate noises and facial expressions...and this arm pump things..what do you call that?
As well as independent play, I tried a few play activities with the girls, one being paper mâché. Katie LOVED. She was all in giggles about getting so messy. Sam did not like getting messy and was happy doing her own thing. We covered balloons and popped them the next day when they were all dry. Not to make anything specific, but just to experience it. Funny...Sam was more into painting then Katie.
Also, while I think of it, Katie daily seems to say now "I'm Bored!". Hmm. Let's see how long it takes before that drives me crazy. :)
Also along the lines of doing more with them and also encouraging their growth and independence (ie, trying to keep them from saying "I'm bored!"). I had the girls make lunch the other day. Katie actually scrambled her very own eggs. :) hee hee...that was so much fun. And definitely more supervised than it looks here, but she really did it. And Sam made her own sandwich. They were both so so pleased with themselves.
(a little quicker now, this is getting long, and more than plain old birthday post)
We played restaurant! So easy and so much fun! I was waitress of course, as I have the most experience. (ha ha). Grab an apron, a little coil flip book, a pencil behind your ear and start taking orders. A board game (Candyland here) makes a great menu. No real food is served, but definitely bring out empty plates. I threw out all kinds of waitress phrases "would you like fries with that? Anything to drink? Etc....Anything that sounds official.
And ok, honestly, why does this feel different from real life, where I DO in fact make all their meals and cater to every picky order (without spitting in their drinks or charging them anything?)...I don't know but somehow it was different and it was awesome. I encourage you to try it sometime. (did I mention you can also use it to practice restaurant manners? Or is that obvious?)
(I should mention that Katie's face paint is from a playdate earlier that day at a friends house...what a cool friend's mom to have face paint...and let the kids use it!)
This is one of those times where I left them alone for a while...a big path of shoes. All the way down the stairs and to the playroom. Goodness, we have a lot of shoes. :). I think Sam started this one. There are books beside as stepping stones I think. They've done the book path before but not up the stairs.
Katie built a Lego animal all by herself!
And the biggest news of all that I can't believe it took me a whole week to post it...
Katie has a Loose Tooth!! For real! It feels young but dr. Google tells me it's ok and the average age for losing a first tooth is 5.5. It's still here a week later. How long do these things take?
It was so funny, we were eating corn on the cob and Katie kept saying "ow" with every bite. I thought she just had something stuck in her teeth, but no, it's a real live loose tooth.
We are all very excited!
Sam checked, but her tooth is not loose yet. As we drove down our back alley this week, I rolled the window down to say hi to a neighbour, then got Katie to show of her tooth news...and Sam pipes up right afterwards and says "and I have diabetes! type one diabetes!". It's so cute that she's "owning" it. :)
I'd like so say a special thanks to all who have contributed money towards Ben's marathon coming up in May in support of JDRF...he has more than surpassed his initial goal and we are just so touched that you are choosing to support this cause that now means so much to us. Many hugs of thanks. (and if you don't know what I'm talking about and want to donate, please email am and I'll send you the details.)
And with that, I bid you goodnight...so much is going on here that I can't seem to keep up. Just know that we are doing really well, life is fun and tiring and wonderful. :)
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