Caleb's 6th Birthday Party

 Caleb had a blast at his birthday party today! He decided to have a reptile party at Hickory Knolls Discovery Center. We set up for the party and had about 5 minutes to spare. So, Caleb found all of the skulls. He thought this one looked like Terry. The party was a great set up. The kids trickled in, as they always do, and were able to look at all of the animal exhibits as they waited for the party to begin.

 The first animal that the kids got to see was a corn snake. Caleb was so enthusiastic sharing all that he knows about snakes such as, some spit poison, others are so big they can squeeze a person to death, and they all shed their skin. He happily held the snake and watched it slither up his arms.

 Next they saw a box turtle. Caleb and Kendall made lots of connections their turtle, and our pet turtle Rocky. I learned that you can tell if a turtle is a girl by it having a flat smooth bottom shell, a small tail, and female turtles never have red eyes. Caleb was scared of the claws of the turtle, so he was to scared to hold it. I found that interesting, because when we first got Rocky, he was happy to take Rocky out of his cage, and let him wander our house.

 Tessa happily slept through the majority of the party, but she did look adorable with the bright flower in her hair!

 Next, they took out their very active lizard. Ms. Pam told a story about how at the last party, she had to go home and change her clothes after she held this lizard. Needless to say, Caleb decided against holding it. Pam had the lizard eat lettuce off the carpet. The kids were fascinated by it.

 Next, we moved into another room and saw a small snake eat a worm. Most of the boys there proclaimed that they liked to eat worms too, just like the snake. The kids were amazed how the snake could eat the worm, that was close to its size, and how it swallowed it whole.

 It was then time for relay races. The kids got to pretend they were snakes and slithered on their bellies, not using their arms or legs. It was hilarious to watch. Ellie really wanted to take every one's gummy bears, which sped Caleb up quite a bit!

 From the moment we started to have birthday talks, Caleb brought up the fact that he wanted to have a wheat free cake to share with his friends. This was tricky for me, because I get why he would want that, but most kids won't eat the wheat free cake due to the fact that it has a different consistency then what they are used to. So, we decided on an ice cream cake. Dairy Queen made us an ice cream cake without cake. Yes, that does make it just ice cream, but it did look like a cake.They added a triceratops to the top and Caleb was very content.

Caleb was all smiles when everyone sang a horrible rendition of happy birthday. The kids all helped Caleb open his presents, which means many thank you cards will be saying, thank you for the lovely gift. The kids did have fun opening the presents, and Caleb did not mind at all. The goody bags with Ken's dinosaur cookies were a huge hit. It was a great afternoon!

Easter Egg Hunt

Today we went to the St. Charles Park District Easter egg hunt. We pulled in at the perfect time, and although we were running a bit late, we ended up getting a front row spot. I felt very lucky! Caleb and Kendall were very excited about the hunt.

 Kendall loved looking for the eggs. She was in slow motion for a moment, and then was racing around searching for eggs. I think both kids had visions of last year. It was drizzling that year and there was very few people there. It has always been a limit of 10 eggs, but last year they got more like 30, as did everyone who was there.

They were very happy that they both ended up with ten eggs. Actually, Caleb had 15, and he gave the extra five eggs to kids who were not as successful as him. I was very proud of him, he did it all on his own! 

Finally, we said hi to the Easter bunny, whom Caleb promptly told me was a kid dressed up in a suit. He is too smart for his own good!

Errands!

I love that the kids are now getting to the age that they not only enjoy doing errands with me, but they are typically helpful. What a nice change of pace! I still bribe them, letting them choose one item to buy. I have never had to put a price tag on it because they tend to choose things like a single serving of chocolate milk, or today Caleb chose 7-up for the first time.  He was pretty excited about his choice!

Fun at the Park

Michelle invited us to the park, so we decided to meet her there after lunch. We went to Munhall, which is in walking distance of our house. Caleb decided to bike, and Kendall chose to walk with me. We stopped by Avery and Colin's house to invite them as well. The kids had a blast racing around and playing.

 Christopher and Caleb sometimes act like siblings. They were playing very well at the beginning, then they were have a very hard time together. Finally, they got back into the grove of things and ended on a high note.

 Avery's dad brought a kite, and so we flew kites the first time this spring. It was COLD out though because it was such a windy day. Caleb and Kendall were both excited that they were able to get the kite to fly!

Kendall was exhausted by the time we were done. Everyone was cold, and it was definitely time to walk home. Once we arrived, Kendall snuggled up with me under a blanket and promptly fell asleep. So sweet! I don't think this will happen too many more times.

Kendall's New BFF

Michelle has become friends with a family down the street who happens to have a daughter who is Kendall's age, and a son who is in first grade. So, she has been doing some playdates while she is watching my kids. Kendall has officially met her newest BFF, Avery. Kendall talks about Avery often, and the girls have already planned their first sleepover. I think it is great that Kendall has met someone her age, and it is great that she seems to come from a very nice family. I am looking forward to getting to know them better and hopefully we will have playdates soon...and a sleepover.

Fun with Grandma!

 Caleb and Kendall love having Grandma (my mom) babysit them. They beg to go over to her house on almost a daily basis. My mom took Kendall for the day when I was in meetings. Kendall had a blast. She now loves to dress up, and did an elaborate tea party while my mom was able to get some chores done.

My mom took both kids overnight for the first together so that Terry and I could go out for our anniversary. She took them to the park and out for ice cream. My mom then gave Kendall and Caleb a bath. She quickly realized that Kendall was going commando. Apparently, Kendall told my mom that she doesn't like underwear. I think she must get this from Terry's side of the family! Caleb woke up in the morning and dumped every bin of toys while my mom was brushing her teeth. He doesn't think about the consequences at all yet. Needless to say, there were lots of tears as he cleaned up before he was allowed to eat breakfast.

Ferson Creek Fen

Caleb has been asking a lot of questions about marshes, so we took a walk at the Fen to look at the wetlands there. Caleb loved walking on the board walks, and found lots of interesting bugs to look at. He also enjoyed hearing a story about when he was a toddler and he ran the paths. So, of course he wanted to try that again. He was much faster this time! It was nice spending some one-on-one time with Caleb. We then went out for ice cream. He was all smiles.

Kendall is Still Sick & Crazy Hair Day Fun

 Kendall is still not feeling well. Terry stayed home from school with her this day, so he cooked dinner. Yum! Kendall only chose to eat asparagus with blue cheese. I think that is such a funny choice when you are sick. Not, that any of the food was probably too appetizing for her...but she ate all of her asparagus, most of mine, all of the leftovers, and any extra blue cheese that she could get her hands on.

Caleb had crazy hair day at school so we did a faux-hawk. He thought it was awesome. It felt very nasty because of all of the gel that I used on it. It also showed off his hairline. Takes after his dad, poor boy! I had to redo his hair before we left for school, because Caleb kept doing forward rolls with his hair doo.

Random Sleeping

 I went upstairs a few nights ago to sleep. I have been really working with the kids to sleep in their own beds. So, like usual I told them that they were not allowed to sleep in my bed. Now, of course this is Caleb. He always thinks about the letter of the law, not the real meaning of it! He convinced Kendall that it was okay to sleep on the floor, because it of course was not in the bed. Poor Kendall is stuffed partway under my bed, because there isn't enough room. I didn't feel like waking them up, so there they slept. We did have an interesting talk in the morning about good choices and thinking about what rules really mean.

Here is another photo taken last week. Kendall was so sick the week before spring break. I am guessing she had the flu, but I didn't take her to the doctor. She was extremely tired, had a high fever, and a headache. Kendall came down with it on Monday in the middle of the night. She really doesn't eat anything while she is sick. So, on Wednesday, I was excited that she asked for food. I made her some toast, then folded laundry as she ate. Well, it was too quiet, so I checked on her. She wasn't eating at all, rather she fell asleep on the chairs under the table. I knew she wasn't feeling well, but this just shows how sick she must have been! I am very hopeful that we have a healthy end of the school year. Terry and I have taken so many sick days this year between the kids.

Conservation

Caleb is learning about conservation in kindergarten, including reduce, reuse, recycle, and composting. Miss Manser also taught the kids about the Earth, including the mantel. So, of course, Caleb came home that first day and tried to dig for lava right in the middle of the yard. He also had to make a recycling project, so we made this bunny box. I swear I am not very creative, so we had to search on-line for ideas. This is the craft Cable came up with. I cut the juice carton, and helped wrap the carton in yellow paper, but Caleb did the rest of the drawing and cutting. We glued it together. I think he did a great job! He worked very hard on this project, and was so proud of himself.

March Sunshine=Moore Park Fun!

We have had a wonderful March! The temperatures have hit the 80s and close to 90s. It is truly amazing! So, the kids have loved this extra warmth to hit the playgrounds early. Michelle took the kids to Moore Park after school while she was watching them. Kendall was in a very photogenic mood, and kept posing for pictures. There was another little girl at the park who was Kendall's age.  This little girl had her bike with her. Kendall chased after that bike around the closed splash park, over and over! Kendall is actually a pretty fast runner, and I couldn't believe her endurance. She actually out ran Caleb, which is a total feat!

Purim!

Happy Purim! The kids went to their first Purim celebration. They had a blast. They got to dress up for Sunday School, then eat lunch there, and finally go to the Purim Carnival. The kids loved hearing the Purim story as well. Caleb refused to take a nice picture. First he kissed Kendall, then he did his puppy dog face. Funny kid!

Pneumonia Once Again

Caleb has missed so many school days due to pnemonia this year. This is the third time he has had it, and each time he has missed 5-10 days. Craziness! Here is a picture of Caleb from February during his latest bought of pneumonia. He was given a breathing treatment which made a huge difference! I hate that he needed it, but I am so thankful that it seems like it is working. The doctor is now questioning asthma. I am crossing my fingers that now that warmer weather is on its way, his lungs will have time to heal!