I have a Young Woman now...

12! Kaylee is 12! It's kind of blowing my mind. When did I become the lady old enough to have a 12 year old? Alright, I know it's not about me;) This year Kaylee had a friend party and we decided to have a movie theme. I use the term "theme" loosely though because besides the invitations and cupcakes looking like popcorn, there wasn't much more movie involved. The girls had pizza, played some "Minute to Win It" games (thank goodness for that show and it's instant party games:) then we were off to the movies to watch Kung Fu Panda 2. Kaylee thought it was fun (so did I), so SUCCESS! Happy Birthday Kaylee, we LOVE YOU!

After we had played the games all the girls wanted to try "Face the cookie". They had to move a cookie from their forehead to their mouth using only their facial muscles. They decided laying down was the best technique for this challenge. It was pretty hilarious

Dalin 5.0

Yep he's 5, can you believe it! I'm still coming to terms with it myself. I think I have a hard time with every one of his birthdays because he's my baby, but five is a doozie. Five is kindergarten. Five is big. Okay, enough of that, moving on. Dalin has been counting down the days to his birthday since Christmas (168 in case you wondered). And he has been asking for a "Power Ranger Switch Head" for 120 of those days. He got his Power Ranger and enough to constitute a "good haul". He also had a Happy Meal date with his dad and there is a rumor that someone let him drive the car. What more could a five year old ask for:)

Here are some of his favorite things:

Food: Popsicles, watermelon & strawberries
Toy: Power Ranger Switch head
TV Show: Power Rangers Samurai
Movie: Kung Fu Panda 2 (or whatever the latest cartoon movie happens to be)
Color: Green
Super Hero: Spiderman
Thing to do: Play

Dalin requested this "cake". It's not very pretty, but it's made up of his two of his favorite things.

The Runaway Kid

For Christmas I made the kids pillowcases out of some super soft fabric. Kaylee, Ashton and Aiden immediately put theirs on their pillow. Dalin tried his out for a couple of days then decided it was too big for his pillow (he refuses to use a full size pillow) so it kind of got forgotten. One day he decided it would make a good blanket/toy holder so he loaded it up with his favorite things and carried it around the house. I needed to go to the mall and I let him bring it, figuring he would leave it in the car. I was wrong. The following was an effort to get him to leave his loot behind.

Me: "Dalin people are going to think you ran away from home if you bring all that stuff in"

Dalin: "They will look at you and know you are my mother. How could I be running away when my mother is right there."

"They might think I'm Santa but I don't have a hat."

"I could be a robber but I'm not wearing robber clothes either."

What other argument could I have?

Not only did he have a treasure bag, but a handy seat for the elevator ride:)

2nd Grade Spelling Bee

Aiden was able to participate in the first Jim Thorpe second grade Spelling Bee. He had three "Bee's" in his classroom and the winners of those competed against each other to determine the classroom champion. Aiden took that title and he went on to compete against the 12 other second grade champions in his school. I was really proud of the way he took the initiative to study, I never had to tell him to practice. He didn't win (they started using third and fourth grade words) but he was AWESOME!

The kid to the right of Aiden who took the prize was hilarious. He kept winking and saluting the audience after he won.

Preschool Graduation

I forgot to post about Dalin's graduation last month, probably because I am in denial. I got a little teary just watching them practice. He successfully made it through his first and only year of preschool. We were a little worried he might drop out because most school days started out with crying, bargaining, bribing and sometimes forcing him to go. I don't know why, he was always fine once he got there and he had a fun time, but sheesh! They had a very cute little graduation program where I missed his speaking part and when they called his name to get his certificate. Luckily Chris was more aware than me and he got a picture.

I didn't think we were going to get time for a picture on his graduation day so I took this picture after the practice.

Dalin is in the second row up on the left