Happy 4th Birthday Esther!

We had a very fun weekend celebrating Esther's birthday. Saturday night we had a party with the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and a couple friends. Esther got some really fun gifts that she has already played with a lot! She was a little overwhelmed with being the center of attention, but I think she did enjoy herself. The theme of her party was Abby Cadabby (a cute fairy character from Sesame Street) and Grandma K. came through again with an adorable (and of course delicious) cake!

Sunday morning (her actual birthday) she opened her gifts from us and we went to church.


Her request for her birthday dinner was steak, so Casey grilled some up after church. We hung out and played with her new toys, went for a walk and bike ride, and just relaxed in the afternoon. We ended her special day by going out for ice cream.

It's hard to believe Esther is 4 already! She brings us such joy, makes us laugh with the things she says, and can be such a little drama queen. She is also a big helper and loves to help around the house without even being asked. It seems like she has grown up a lot in the last year and it has been fun to watch her take on the role of big sister to Miriam. They have a special bond right now, and it's precious to observe them together. She and Peter seem to fight quite a bit these days, but they can also be good buddies and have a lot of fun together. It will be fun to share in the adventures of the next year as she goes to preschool in the fall. She is an amazing little girl and we love her so much!

Someone....Please buy this boy a football!!!!!

Or at least a GI Joe doll.

Happy Father's Day!

I asked the kids what their favorite thing is about Daddy or what they like to do with him the most. Here are their responses:

Esther: "I like it when he helps me, like when I can't reach something, and when he builds stuff for me and Peter like the playroom in the basement."

Peter: "I don't know." I think if he hadn't been so engrossed in the painting he was working on at the time and if he had actually understood my question, he probably would have said, "Riding in Daddy's police car!"

Miriam: "Blah, blah." I'm pretty sure she said, "When Daddy flies me up in the air like Super Miriam!"

I am so thankful for the amazing father that Casey is to our kids. I'm also so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving and generous Dad myself, and a great father-in-law too! Here are a few pictures from Father's day:

Daddy's breakfast in bed

Miriam and Grandpa W.

Esther and cousin Tyler with Grandpa K.

Grandpa K. and his grandsons

Tea Party

Esther sometimes just like to have a little alone time (or in reality, a break from Peter), so I cleared out some stuff from her closet floor so that she could have a little area to play, look at books, or do whatever she wants to have some peace and quiet. Yesterday afternoon she went in there with her friends and had a tea party. It was so cute, and she even let me join them for a spot of tea.

Future Herpetologist

Miriam seems to be quite comfortable with snakes...

Swimming Lessons

Tonight was Esther's first night of swimming lessons. She has been in swim classes twice before. Once was in utero when I did pregnancy water aerobics, and the other was when she was about 10 months old and we did a parent-tot class. Obviously she doesn't recall either of those experiences, so this was essentially her first time.

Considering the fact that she hates getting water in her face in the tub or when Peter splashes in the kiddie pool, I had a feeling that this might be a traumatic experience for her (and me). We've been talking about it for several weeks and also got there early so she could see the pool and watch part of another class. She did fine and seemed totally relaxed until it was time to start her class.

The teacher, Miss Lisa, asked the 5 girls in her class to sit on the edge of the pool and she freaked out and clung to me and got quite hysterical. I managed to get her to sit on the edge with her feet in the water as long as I was holding her. Miss Lisa then started taking turns doing various things with each of the girls such as floating on their backs, making big circles with their arms, etc... As the class progressed, she went from crying/screaming and basically being peeled away from me by the teacher each time it was her turn, to holding on to the edge as part of the train with only a little fear in her eyes, to tentatively jumping into Miss Lisa's arms, to actually kicking her feet and splashing at the end of the class! Progress! I was very impressed with Miss Lisa because she somewhat forced Esther to do things, but at the same time was very reassuring, encouraging, kind and calm with her. I think she's just what Esther needs!

Afterwards I told her I was very proud of how brave she was and that we should probably celebrate her success, so we stopped at McDonald's for an ice cream cone. She was in a great mood for the rest of the night, so hopefully she'll go into next week's class on a positive note and we'll both enjoy it more!

Singing Peter

I posted previously about Peter's singing. He really does spend a good part of his day singing. He often wakes up and falls asleep singing. He sings in the car, at the dinner table, and while he's playing. He has quite a large repertoire of songs that he has gathered from various CDs and videos that we own or borrow from the church library on a regular basis.

Yesterday we were on a walk and Peter was riding his bike. We rode by the pond that is next to the condos in our neighborhood and Peter excitedly pointed out the fountain in the pond. The he burst into song...

"Deep and wide
Deep and wide
There's a fountain flowing deep and wide!"

He sang it several times and each time he got to the word "fountain" he would emphatically point to the fountain. It cracked me up that he could spontaneously think of a song with the word "fountain" in it and also that he felt the need to point to it each time!

We're also thinking that he might be considering a career in the military. Two of his favorite songs to sing right now are "The Lord's Army" and "Onward Christian Soldiers." His new summer haircut makes him look like he's ready to enlist right now!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Miriam!

Yes, our little one is 6 months old already, and it's really hard to believe. Here are some things we love about our little girl and the way she...

laughs and smiles at her big sister and brother

gives "kisses" with her wide-open mouth

jumps in her johnny-jump-up

"talks" while she's playing with toys on her exersaucer

loves to be held up in the air like SuperMiriam

likes to play with her feet

giggles when she's tickled

She is so sweet and precious and receives a lot of hugs, kisses and love from her siblings.

She is happy and laid-back.

She rolls from front to back and has just started rolling onto her side to sleep.

She constantly wants to be sitting up so she can see what's going on around her. If she's lying on the ground, she usually has her head up like she's trying to do a sit-up!

What a blessing Miriam has been to our family these last 6 months!

Happy 35th Anniversary!

Today is my parents' 35th anniversary.

How would you celebrate your 35th anniversary? Maybe take a cruise or an exotic vacation? Go out for a fancy dinner and see a show? Buy each other lavish gifts?

Those of you who know my parents will not be surprised that they are spending their 35th anniversary by babysitting our 3 children all day and then taking all of us out for supper to Russ'. They are two of the most amazing, selfless, caring, generous people I know, and I'm so thankful that God has given them 35 wonderful years together.

You are such a blessing to us Mom and Dad. We love you!

Bible Study BBQ

We have a great group of friends in our small group Bible study at church. Although some of the members have changed over the years, the current group has been quite intact for the last 4-5 years. It's been amazing to grow together in our friendships and in our faith as we've done different studies and just spent time in conversation and prayer together. It's also been fun to watch our families grow from only a couple kids to now a total of 17 kids! We always kick off in September and end in June with a family BBQ, and today was the perfect day for that! The kids had a great time playing in Greg and Pam's awesome backyard with the kiddie pool, sprinkler, sandbox, and swings.