Kendall's Dance Recital

Kendall had her dance recital this weekend. We had the dress rehearsal yesterday and the recital today. It was pretty cute to see! The recital was held at a local auditorium. They used a white screen and played a slide show behind the dancers. Kendall's dance was to a Tinkerbell song. Nobody told the girls about the slide show. So, of course all 4 girls stared at the screen instead of doing their dance at the recital. So, they had to try again after they watched the show. Very cute! I think Kendall's favorite part was the fact that she got her hair done and wore make-up. My sitter ended up doing her hair, after my disastrous tries!

After the rehearsal we me my brother and parents out for dinner. Kendall loves her Uncle Micah! She sat with him for most of the meal. 

Tonight was the real deal. Kendall had quite the audience...two sets of grandparents, parents, brother, and an aunt and uncle in the audience. She was super excited. I was the helper mom. All of the 3-5 year olds were put into a classroom when they were not dancing on stage. It was interesting. The majority of moms brought crayons, paper, snacks, and a movie. I brought blocks and a bin of princesses, dolls, and doll house furniture. Along with a big bucket of crayons, coloring books, stickers, and construction paper. It really was a hit. My girls really didn't watch the movie at all. They played and played and played. Most of the other girls hung out with me and played with the toys that I brought in. I guess being a kindergarten teacher came in handy. We had a long wait for the finale and I sang songs for about 20 minutes with the little ones as well. The girls had a great time. It was fun seeing new friendships and that all the classes interacted nicely. The girls were adorable on stage. Kendall forgot the dance. It was pretty funny; she would look at another girl see what they were doing. Then she would look shocked. Finally, she hurried up and copied the other girls. There was a lot of laughter in the audience because of her. The girls all thought they did great and did an adorable bow at the end. It was a wonderful time!

Cranky Day!

Wow, today was a cranky day! I had two kids who were tired and crabby. I didn't get home from work until 4:00. For the following three hours, I dealt with a series of melt downs all evening. Caleb was also in sensory overdrive. He was all over the place, jumping, running, screaming, etc. This would of course get him in trouble because he was either hurting myself, or Kendall, or putting himself in danger. Which would then bring on a huge temper tantrum. I always am curious about what the trigger is that causes these days. Caleb has hives, so that may have played a part. Maybe, the weather? We had thunderstorms going on tonight, so he wasn't able to get out and play. Diet? Sleep? Who knows. But, the cycle of being over excited, then have huge temper tantrums was exhausting. 

Kendall also had a rough day. She was just tired and crabby. from being out late fishing last night. She threw a few big tantrums tonight as well. In Kendall's case, all of her tantrums had to do with her not doing her part, and me following through with the consequence. For example, she chose to play in the sink instead of brushing her teeth and putting her pajamas on. Therefore, she missed out on her bedtime story. That caused a huge tantrum.  Hopefully lesson learned!

Nights like tonight, make me appreciate the happy and calmer days. Both of the kids have finally fallen asleep. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings us. Hopefully a much better day!

One-on One Time

After school today, Terry decided he wanted to go fishing. I had some errands to run. So, Caleb wanted to come with me and Kendall of course wanted to go with Daddy. Caleb and I went to a party store to pick some more things up for school. I have the kindergarten sing on Friday, and I wanted some cute plates and a table cloth for the occasion. We then headed to Dairy Queen for a special treat. Caleb was so excited. He chose a dilly bar and was surprised that it melted quickly...it was only 90 out! We then went to the park. Caleb did a lap around with his bike. During that time I bumped into a good friend and we were able to catch up a bit which was nice. He then played at the park. This picture was taken right before we went home. He was a stinky sweaty mess! When we got home Caleb took a shower by himself like a big boy...or so he told me. He sang away in the shower and thought it was great! 

Kendall went fishing with Terry and his father, her Grandpa. This was her first time fishing this year, and considering that she is just 3 I doubt that she remembers fishing last summer. She was so excited and told me all about it when she got home. I asked her if she brought any home for dinner. Kendall announced that, that would be disgusting. We should get our fish from a bag at the store. Too funny! 

I think it is great to have that one-on-one time with the kids. Caleb was so well behaved. We had a great time reading books without any distractions from Kendall. Kendall lasted on the boat fishing a lot longer that Caleb ever would have. We definitely don't do this often enough!

Errands

Today I needed to run to Michael's to pick up some glue on eyes for a school project tomorrow. Caleb chose to bring his teddy bear along. He also decided a few days ago that his teddy bear needs to be buckled in the seat. So, here he is sitting next to his teddy bear. 

Kendall is very proud of how long her legs are and was kicking the back of the seat. She thinks that it is pretty funny! As long as her shoes are not dirty, it doesn't bother me a bit...but obviously she doesn't realize it.

So, we made it to Michael's. The first thing the kids noticed were pails located in a bin outside of the store. They were only $1, and truthfully we need some new ones. So, I told them that if they behave they could have one. Caleb and Kendall each chose a blue pail. We then brought the pails inside. I actually though I was being clever...hands holding pails=hands not touching other things. Boy was I wrong! We went searching though the store for the eyes that I needed to buy. We found them, right next to the big bottles of glitter glue. In the time it took me to reach the eyes there were globs of blue glitter glue all over both of my children. We marched to the bathroom to clean up the best that I could, and the pails were put back into the bins. Of course, tantrums ensued. I think following through is so hard at times, but you just have to do it! So, we left with no pails, a bag of eyes, and glittery shirts.

Next we went to Jersey Mike's for dinner. The kids had some free coupons from an Easter Egg Hunt they attended and it was right around the corner. Kendall chose some chips as a side. We don't buy chips for the house, so she was thrilled!

My husband surprised the kids by meeting us there. Caleb literally fell off of his chair when he saw him. I mean really, he landed on his shoulder with people gasping around us. He jumped up and ran over to Terry. He seemed fine and had full movement of his arm. Perhaps, we should not surprise him like that in the future!

Mother's Day Part 2

Today we went to visit the other Grandma. To differentiate the Grandmas the kids call my mom either Miss Grandma because she is a substitute teacher at Caleb's school or Grandma with Fonzie their old dog. They call this Grandma, Grandma with the crabs because she has hermit crabs. I find it pretty funny and they came up with it themselves. Grandma with the crabs broke her foot in a few different spots this week. Here she is showing off her purple walking cast.

Later this afternoon I took the kids mini golfing. Kendall really doesn't have the patience for it quite yet. So she would walk her ball down to the hole and place it as close to the hole as she could without it falling in. She would then tap the ball in and scream, "I win!" while jumping up and down.

This was Caleb's favorite hole because of the water feature. If you hit the ball into the water you could get a hole in one. After he played the hole he put the ball into the water over and over while waiting for the people ahead of us to finish.

We didn't keep score...although I did get two holes in ones! We had a great time. Afterwards we got treats at the treat stand. Caleb is allergic to wheat, so we don't keep wheat snacks in the house. So, Kendall chose goldfish which is a very special treat for her. Caleb chose ice cream. I got them a water to share...which was not a good idea. I didn't think about the back wash issue and now Caleb has hives. Oops...a bad mom moment, but an overall great day!

Mother's Day Part 1

Today we went to Grandma's house to celebrate Mother's Day. It is always fun to see everyone. Caleb was very insistent that he wanted to get Grandma flowers. I had ordered some copies of the pictures that I had posted yesterday for her. So, we headed to Walgreens to pick them up, and then went to the grocery store to pick up veggies for a veggie platter that I shared and flowers. Both kids were very excited. The sang Happy Mother's Day to You...to the tune of Happy Birthday.  

 My kids LOVE their cousins. When I ask Caleb who he loves or who his favorite people are he always says, "Mommy, Daddy, baby Caroline, baby Isaac, and Kendall." Here is a picture of the kids with Aunt Rachel and Baby Caroline. It was about the fifth and best attempt.

Here are Baby Isaac with Caleb and Kendall. They are lounging on the bed for the picture. This actually really helped, since it forced everyone to be a little more still. Caleb and Kendall also played with my parent's next door neighbors. Caleb and his new friend had bike races while Kendall ran. Kendall beat the big boys on bikes 5 times in a row. I never realized what a great runner she is. She was very proud of herself.

On a seperate note, I got a call from Caleb's gymnastic teacher. He attends gymnastics while I am at work with his sitter. When I saw who it was on Caller ID, I braced myself for the worst, thinking what did he do now?!? Boy was I wrong.  He is doing such a good job, they want him to move up to the next level. I am one proud Mommy! Caleb is very proud of himself too.

Photo Shoots

So, today we went to my good friend's house to have dinner. She is amazing, and has started a photography business. She offered to take pictures of my kiddos for mother's day, and of course I had to say yes please, and thank you! Unfortunately, as with kids nothing goes as planned. 

We are having such a hard time with Caleb and his skin rashes. They are of course all over his face right now because of his allergies. He also had a few big scratches on his face. I actually think that Michelle did a wonderful job photo shopping this. But, this adorable smile is only in pictures where Caleb held his bear. He is missing his top lip in every other picture. 

Here Kendall is smelling tulips. But, she also had an allergic reaction. Do you see her eye? It swelled up, was red, and puffy. This is photo shopped and it looked much worse in real life...especially after the multiple melt downs that she had this day!

Here you can see the missing upper lip...Really, what is up with this!?!

I think this was the best picture of all. It was actually take while they were playing.

Here is the best picture of Kendall. All in all, not terrible, but not my favorites. I should add that Michelle has taken my favorite all time picture of  the kids.

Here it is. This is a terribly hard act to follow. I printed this on a huge canvas and it is hanging in my living room. I adore it. I feel like we are always going to be trying to top this one. I wonder if we can make it happen!