Three

Clare Evelyn, you are THREE years old!!  This past year has been a roller coaster ride with you - your highs are high and your lows are low, but we wouldn't have you any other way.  

-You are so sweet, you love to cuddle and be held, and you aren't afraid to go after what you want.  You can be a bit ... bossy (I know we're not supposed to call you that, but I'm pretty proud of your assertiveness) but underneath that bluster, is a very sensitive little lady.

-You love to be read to and you "read" books constantly.  Each night you're up an extra 20 minutes or so leafing through books by nightlight.  

-You love to talk and sing.  You sing songs you've heard on the radio, songs from "Frozen", songs from TV, and even songs you make up in your head.

-You love to play. You play soccer, you play with toys, you play with dolls, and you play with your brother!

-Speaking of your "brudder," you love Sean - you always call him "Seany." You watch him all the time, you copy what he does, and you love to tackle him and give him hugs and kisses.  But nobody drives you crazy like Sean - he can really get under your skin!  You both scramble to be first at everything and you two always want to play with the same toy at the same time!!  You are really learning to play up the part of "little sister" - crying to us the minute a situation doesn't go your way.

-In some ways you're so "grown up": you try just about any food that comes your way from beets to green juice to spicy black bean soup. You now prefer to take showers as opposed to baths.  You are totally potty trained - even through the night!!  AND you don't use your paci ("Gacki") anymore!!! Gackies started disappearing from the house one-by-one and after we lost our last one, that was it!  No more Gackies.

-In other ways you're still our little baby - snuggling up close during a movie, giving us tons of kisses, preferring to by carried everywhere as opposed to walking, and trying to make we're always "happy to you"

Of course, we took your picture with Pooh Bear:

It Ain't Me Babe

We listened to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's "It Ain't Me Babe" on the way home from school today - I guess Sean liked it! Later, I was cleaning up after dinner and I had to stop and catch Sean's rendition on video. Maybe he needs a couple of more listens to get the lyrics down a little better, though...

Birthday BBQ

We had a birthday BBQ with the families this weekend to celebrate the kids' birthdays. It's so nice now that the kids are older and they are such good little helpers. Their favorite party task was to help make rainbow fruit skewers:

We used strawberries, pineapples, green grapes, and blueberries to make the rainbows and marshmallows to make the clouds.  Sean was eager to sample the blueberries - California blueberries - and his immediate reaction was, "SOUR!"

After more food prep, cleaning, lunch, and naps, it was party time!

The birthday kids:

The kids had a great time, playing outside with each other, our neighbors' kids, and their baby toddler cousin...

Sean requested a cookie cake from Shoprite for his birthday cake (easy-peasy - I love him!)

And Clare requested this cake, which she saw on the label of the can of pink frosting we used for her school cupcakes.

I tried my best and Clare was pleased :-)

After "Happy Birthday" and cake and fruit, the kids were ready to open presents!  Afterwards, they played some more and then just as the last set of guests left, it started to rain - what good luck we had that the weather held off!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Sean!

Seanybear turned FIVE!! He started out the day by picking out his own outfit, letting me spike his hair, and pinning on a special Birthday Boy ribbon.

Sean had a great day at school - playing outside, doing art, learning "-ug" words, and of course a cupcake party! Clare even got to come to Sean's class to have cupcakes and everyone sang Happy Birthday to Sean. After school, Sean got his own birthday crown at dinner and after dinner...

...we got water ("wudder?") ice at Rita's!

After running around for a few minutes and a potty emergency for Clare, we headed back home for bedtime. 

Happy Birthday Clare!

Clare is THREE!  She had a super birthday!  She brought cupcakes to school to share with her friends and everyone sang to her! She received a lot of hugs, kisses, and cuddles and even a few phone calls.  At home, we had her favorite dinner (at the moment) - spaghetti and meatballs!

Pink cupcakes for school!  And Clare had a few extra to bring home so...

...we each enjoyed a cupcake after dinner (and singing to the birthday girl, of course)!

The "birtday brudder" - you'll have your turn soon, Seany!

Sean gave the cupakes a thumbs-up, even though they were pink.  "I wish they were green or even white would be good!"

Happy Third Birthday, Clare!  Winnie photos and more coming up later :-)

Saturday

We had a busy busy Saturday. We started off with a haircut for Seanybear to get him all spiffed up before his birthday:

The kids' hair salon was playing "Frozen" so it took awhile to get the kids out the door, but the promise of lollipops after they got buckled in...

We drove out to the beach to borrow a powerwasher from Aunt-Aunt Alice.  On the way we stopped for lunch at Sonic and got to eat outside!

Clare gobbled up her lunch quickly while Sean savored his.  While waiting for Sean to finish, Clare danced around Sonic singing songs from Frozen at the top of her lungs.

After visiting with Mom-Mom Jackie and Pop Pop Pop, we went up to the beach!

After a few minutes of playing, both kids needed an emergency potty break!!  Luckily, Aunt-Aunt Alice was at home nearby, so we had a close place to take a break :-)

And then it was time to go back to the beach!

This kids played in the sand, digging holes and building castles. Then they ran up to the water to dip their toes in - they ended up playing knee-high and higher in the water.

After we dried off and cleaned up, I realized that I was a few pieces short to make a full outfit for each of the kids.  So, we drove home in the late afternoon, Sean with no pants and Clare with no top.  Clare slept almost the whole way home and Sean fell asleep about 15 minutes from home - typical!

After getting each Sooy Kid completely dressed, we went back out to run a few more errands. The kids ended the day on a silly note, playing in the front seats of the car.