Every day, they grow up on me

These two are really growing up. It is crazy to see Brynn having "adult" conversations and matching her tone of voice and facial expressions w/ her stories and emotions. They have opinions about everything, they know so much, and have little conversations with each other. It's amazing how "sophisticated" these two really are.

For example, today, Brynn made the comment that one of her teachers "wasn't cool" like her other teachers...um...where did she get this from? haha

Then, when I asked her if she wanted to wear her Justin Beiber shirt tomorrow, at first, she said...'Mommm! Ugh NO because my friends will say that he's my boyfriend and that it's weird!" UMMM okay! hahaha All of a sudden turning five means we have to believe what everyone else believes and worry about it when we're not believing it! LOL

I wonder how Bay will do w/o Brynn once she heads off to school next year.

We saw him. We heard him.We were inspired.

and it was amazing, as I hoped it would be.

The protesters were kind of annoying, though and really intimidated the kids. It was supposed to be a luncheon from 11:30-1:30 and we didn't get home until almost 5 p.m. tonight...Obama didn't actually speak until after 3 p.m. so that was a bit of a long day of just waiting.

#5

Another sneak peek @ Bee's party...

Face Bday Banner

Very fun to make...took me awhile to figure out exactly how to hang, but worth all of the time and effort. :) (and wasted paper)

More on this on my craft blog...So NOT Martha

Another trip to AG

For B's 5th Birthday, we promised to take her to the American Girl doll store to pick out a "tall doll." She had been asking for Kanani for the past three months, and decided if that's what she wanted, then we would buy it for her. What a pretty doll she is.

We loved going to the AG store during the week when it was NOT busy at all. Brynn pretty much had the store to herself and was delighted. As soon as the door opened, her eyes lit up and she took off running into the store. It was quite a sight. We ate at the little Bistro after her shopping spree. The waitresses sang her "Happy Birthday" all the while she was smiling ear-to-ear. What a special day for her.

This costume is seriously creepy

Most kids' costumes are not too bad, but this Sonic the Hedgehog costume is really whack. Seriously, it kinda creeps me out. I think it's mostly the eye makeup.

SO lucky

I get to see Obama speak for the second time since he started running for the Democratic nomination. He will be here this weekend and I get to go! :) WHOOHOO! I won't reveal too much on here other than I am ecstatic and can't stop thinking about it. Although I wouldn't consider myself to be a staunch Democrat, I am a big supporter of Obama and what he has been trying to do since he's been in office. I think he has a lot of good ideas and has not always been given credit where credit is due and blamed when it hasn't been his fault. This is not a post intended for getting in any political arguments, just a post full of elation and admiration. I feel so fortunate that I get to attend a fund-raising dinner that costs $10,000 a table. The opportunities that have been presented to me the past two years have been incredible. I need to pinch myself.

Fun had by all

On Brynn's real birthday, I snapped a couple of pics outside before they went into school. Someone is kind of in love with his cape. and his shoes. When I picked him up that afternoon, his shirt sleeve was ripped, and he had spilled Otter Pop juice (red) all over one shoe. *sigh* This kid. haha

Brynn wore a cute little feathery hair clip and I paired it with a cute little crown comb that I had given to all of the little girls who came to her party. It looked really cute together and the daycare director asked me if I could make something similar for the girls to wear on their birthdays at school. I told her I would try. I did have some luck finding some ostrich feathers on a strand at JoAnn's, but it was over $20 a yard. I didn't need a yard, but I certainly wasn't going to pay for it there. I'll search Ebay next.

BTW: on the 15th, these two had their check-ups at the doctor. Baylen is over 42 inches tall and weighs 38 pounds. He is in the 90% for height and weight. The doctor's comment: "He does NOT look like a 3-year-old." Um yeah. His other comment, "Where is he getting his height from?" hahahahahaaaa

Brynn weighed in at 36 pounds and about 41 inches tall. I was shocked she was at 36 lbs. because at home, she weighs in around 32-33 pounds. Not sure which scale is off, but she was wearing a heavier dress that day, so who knows?

Ponies Ponies, Oh My!

This summer, the kids and I traveled back to daycare to ride the ponies. Our favorites were back again this year, and B2 enjoyed their little rides. This is one thing I really love about their daycare--all of the opportunities they get to do things like this...both for fun and educational enrichment.

Watch out...he's got a light saber

our walls have already felt the wrath of this weapon. haha

this is a little sneak peek re: our kids' famous duo Halloween costumes this year. :D

Birthday Party Preview

These were taken from the little camera, so some of them are still a bit blurry...getting kinda tired of this little camera b/c for some reason, it has not been taking good photos inside lately. Luckily, we had two big, fancy cameras taking most of the pics, so I hope we have some good ones to pull from those.

The Princess-themed party was a big hit. The girls loved their princess tutu purses/bags and the boys loved their capes. Overall, a fun day had by everyone. More pics to come soon!

First day of Pre-School & Pre-K

I am so mad this photo turned out blurry...SIGH.

However, Monday was the kids' first day of pre-school and pre-K. Both were ecstatic and had a great day.

Happy Birthday, my dear

Happy 5th Birthday, Brynna!

When I look back at these past five years, it seems like it flew by, but the more I think about it, we have worked hard to enjoy as many of those days as possible. You have grown into a very sweet, yet opinionated little girl. You like others to know how smart you are, and want to know the answer to everything. School/learning is right up your alley.

You remember things better than I do...you always have.

Singing, dancing, drawing, coloring, painting, pretending...these things define you--a girl who appreciates (and immerses herself in) the fine arts. You are learning how to read and tell me day in and day out what you want to be when you grow up. Right now, you keep telling me you want to go to the moon or be an architect. (Your words, your ideas...you have always been that way--formulating your own meaning of the world and shaping your steps.)

Talking our ears off 24/7 is your preference. So much to say, so little time, right?!

Dressing up--in dresses, cheerleading outfits, costumes, jewelry, gloves, hats--anything and everything you can get your hands on. You'll even wear costumes to the grocery store adding those ridiculous Disney Princess high heels that fall off every time you move a foot. But it's all good. That's just you.

Gentle with animals--that's you.
Taking care of others--yep, still you.
Hugging, telling us often how much you love us--all you.

This sweet, tiny little person full of wonder, gobs of love to give, curiosity, resilience, helpfulness, and so much more.

Happy 5th Birthday, to YOU, little one. May all of your wishes come true.

ISS Downlink

The first day of professional development, we were able to view the downlink at the International Space Station (ISS) at the Museum of Flight. It was AMAZING. Many of our students were able to ask questions live to the astronauts and all of them were interesting to listen to. It was definitely one of the best hours I have ever spent in PD.

Pretendin' some more

These two love to play and pretend and make believe. I love that they love to wear costumes galore! :)

First Day of School!

Today I started back to work "for real." The kids showed up and we had a big assembly. Our mascot was revealed and I was part of a cute teacher skit, as well as the ASB dance. It was a fun day. I have many fantastic kids this year, I can tell already!

I snapped a pic of the kids today too, even though it's not technically their first day of Pre-School and Pre-K yet...in a couple of weeks I'll do it again. Brynn was not very excited to get her photo taken and I think it had a lot to do w/ the fact that she woke up tired and cranky, plus today, one of her good friends started Kindergarten "without her." Poor thing! She is really having a hard time with it. I feel so bad.