T-Ball (Farm) Year #2

Jacob is playing Little League again this year. He's doing such a great job! It's amazing to see his improvement from last year. Today he played at the pitcher spot in the field (the coaches do the actual pitching). He fielded the balls perfectly! And he can throw so much farther than last year too! Isn't he so cute in his uniform?!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Mei Mei!

My baby girl turns 2 on Saturday! We celebrated with her pals today by making bears at Build-A-Bear! Granny P. and Grandpa and Grandma Q. came along too, and were VERY helpful. I put the girls to bed hugging their animals. Thank you friends for making it a wonderful day!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

January was the month of snow for us. We made 2 sledding trips and spent a few days in Tahoe in the middle of a winter storm. The kids loved being at the Condo- we brought the Wii and the place had an indoor pool- and of course jumping on the bed is only allowed at hotels, so that was fun too! The Tahoe weekend started with a girl's night and ended with a boy's night with me and the kids there in between. We had to pick one of the worst snowstorms of the season to go up in! Jeff came down the hill Tuesday- it took an hour to dig his car out and another hour + to get chains on before he even left the parking lot!

The kids had a great time at the snow sledding, catching snowflakes, and making snowmen. But Meigan was unimpressed. She said, "I no like snow." It was just too cold, too windy, and the clothes were too puffy! Maybe she'll like it more next year!

Big Boy Gym

Jacob's so buff!

Plugging Away!

The kids are making great progress in all they do.

Meigan is speaking in longer sentences (like "I want more snacks, Momma"). She is very curious and very busy. She's running circles around us, dancing, jumping, counting to 5, and even went pee on the potty! In the schoolroom she likes to pretend to be the teacher - she stands up and points to the map and says "ABC!" Meigan is in gymnastics class once a week and has a lot of fun.

Keilani is such a little joy. She is very imaginative and chats it up with dolls, stuffed animals, and of course all her friends! She knows all her letters and sounds and is starting to read short words. She loves gymnastics and Awanas and can't wait to go to preschool next year. She is a great helper and always giving me little love notes.

Jacob is really starting to grow up. He is doing so much independently now which is really nice. He will be six in February and will probably have lost his first tooth by then (the bottom 2 are loose). He is reading chapter books all the time- in fact he finished one it 2 sittings this week! It's great how much he loves books- the other day he didn't want to come eat pizza yet because he was too busy reading! Jacob is also in gymnastics and impressing us with his strength. He will start t-ball again in March.

More Christmas Fun!

We've been having some fun family time the past few weeks. We are enjoying the little holiday traditions we've started- looking at Christmas lights in our jammies, building gingerbread houses, and of course our "advent time" which is sitting on the couch as a family each night in December to read and discuss a different book about the real meaning of Christmas- celebrating the gift and birth of Jesus!!!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. . .

Not quite like the snow days I used to know, but fun for the kids nonetheless! So, it snowed a light dusting in the wee hours here, but it rained before we got out there just before 7. Suprisingly, there was still enough snow on top of the cars to make some snowballs! Now they really can't wait to go to the mountains and play in the snow some more!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Jeff enjoyed steak burritos and chocolate caramel cake for his birthday. Since his birthday was on a Thursday, he got to golf and play poker on Saturday.

Last week the kids and I made a road trip to visit some family and friends down south. We had a great time - we got to see Great Grandpa and Grandma Parkinson, Uncle Roger, Aunt Janet, Cousin Olivia, Cousin Haley, their cute puppies, The Backlund Family, and my momma (Tutu to the kids)! The kids had a blast at Lego Land and the beach, but most of all they just had fun with their friends and family. We love all of you and miss you lots!

Lil' Princesses!

There are some things that we buy for our kids that are a huge waste, but this one was really priceless! I took Keilani to Disney's Princesses on Ice a couple of weeks ago with 2 of her best buddies. She didn't take her eyes of the stage the entire time! She was totally enthralled. I'm sure it's something she wont forget! Before the show, we went to Applebees (Kids eat free!) to make it a complete "girls night out!"

Trophy #2

Jacob finished year 2 of soccer. He had a great time this year and he really performed well. Next year he moves up to the big leagues- Under 8s with real game rules on Saturdays. It will be crazy next year- Keilani will start playing on Friday nights too. 2 different practice days and 2 different game days!