Evan - 6-1/2

 Evan is 6-1/2! He has almost finished Kindergarten and is looking forward to the summer. A few things about Evan...

His favorite subject is math. (He can do multiplication and division in his head - it is really amazing to see)

Is greatly improving with his reading

His favorite foods are watermelon and cheese ravioli, with Life cereal before bed coming in a close 3rd.

He played basketball in the winter and is now playing spring soccer and doing great! (He has improved so much and scored his first goal!!

In the last month he lost his first tooth and no longer needs his training wheels

He is seriously the best big brother. I am so thankful they play so well and Evan is so good with her!

Two Wheeler!!

Evan is now training wheel free :) On the first Sunday in April, late in the afternoon, I took the kids on a bike ride. Evan had been struggling with his bigger bike and taller training wheels, and I kept encouraging him that it would help him ride a two wheeler. It was really tough for him, and eventually his one training wheel popped up. After pointing out that he was riding basically a two wheeler, Evan decided to give it a try.

It was quite a sight.. Evan could ride his bike right away, but the stopping and starting proved to be pretty tough! He would stop, fall, and then start crying. I would ask him if he wanted to stop, but wanted to keep trying. It lasted for an hour at least, but I think that he got just enough confidence to ride.

After the first day of riding

After that, with a few days of practice at the church parking lot by Nani and Poppy's, as well as using his smaller bike, Evan has become quite good. He is zipping around the sidewalks and streets and loves his new wheels!

Ainsley is 3!

Our sweet girl is now 3!! It's been a privilege to watch her grow. In the last few months, she has grown so much. She is now much more little girl than toddler. On our recent trip to Chicago, I realized that we are now in a new phase.. no chasing around a little one.. it's so nice to see her becoming a kid, yet bittersweet to know she's growing too fast.

Ainsley loves playing with her big brother - they are best buds. They occasionally disagree, but most of the time they play really well together. She loves him and all the things he is interested in.  I always wondered if they would play together, and I am so glad that they do!

She also loves her cousin, Mya. It's so great to have a friend her age and a girl to play with (or else A might think the only toys are legos, mario, and shooters). The girls get together at least once a week for story time or other activities.

She also loves her new cousin, Baby Leah! She was so interested when Leah was born! She still loves to talk with her and hold her..

Ainsley even decided to try out being a baby again herself for a few weeks.. 

A few other things that our sweet little girl is up to..
- She can write the A and I in her name, and spell her whole name out loud.

- She thinks her name is Ainsley ME, instead of Marie.. it's too cute and I don't want her to stop
- She still loves riding her bike and is quite the expert, trying to keep up with her big brother
- She is happy to dig in the dirt and play with her kitchen.
- Still loves the color pink

- She moved to her big girl bed after Chirstmas and is doing great. She still loved to snuggle at night before falling asleep and still has her bubbies in her bed only.
- She love ice cream and has a real sweet tooth
- She is getting more independent every day (dressing herself, buckling her own carseat). Ainsley is always trying to keep up with Evan

At her 3 year checkup, she was shy with the Dr, but was hitting all the milestones right on track. She is 37in, 31lbs, and more importantly, to her, big enough to ride the rides at Kings Island :)

Lost his first lost tooth!!

Yesterday, April 23rd, Evan lost his first tooth! He had been awaiting this day for a long time. His front two teeth have been loose, with the permanent teeth half in behind them. He was wrestling with Poppy and his friend Zachary, and in the mix, the tooth popped out! I think he was a little stunned and scared, but definitely excited!

The tooth fairy wasn't exactly prepared, but she pulled something together late last night to make for an exciting surprise in the morning (and $2 bill and a tooth keeper)!

2 and a half...

My little baby is growing up! Ainsley is now 2-1/2. She is growing every day and she's so much fun to be around. I love seeing how she'll surprise us next! Ainsley is..

Completely potty trained (both day and night)
In her big girl bed.. which means hardly any naps
She LOVES to draw
Loves to have dance parties with Evan and to sing
More outgoing, but still gets pretty shy
She talks like crazy and knows what she wants
Still loves her bubby
Starting to really play with other kids, especially her cousin Mya
Loves the color pink
Her sweet smile, big brown eyes, and dimples get me every time!!

Doug, Evan and I love this little girl so much!

6 Years Old!

I know I post it every time, but seriously, we have a 6 year old! Unbelievable!

I don't know how to even start describing our little man. Here's just a few ways to try to capture a little part of him..

- Evan is so sweet, yet all boy.

- He loves school (especially the social part), numbers (adding and subtracting), and reading is even growing on him.
- He's an awesome big brother, and is almost always patient and kind with his little sis.
- He learned to swim on his own this summer, and the water is still one of his favorite places to be.

- He saved up his money for his first big purchase - a DS. Doug and Evan searched ebay and found a great deal. All that obsession with money was great for this "project"
- Evan still likes to watch Scooby and Phineas and Ferb, but will still watch Curious George and other "kids" shows with his sister.

- He loves to be around other kids.
- His favorite toys are his legos and anything else to build with.
- He is still cautious but is getting more adventurous

- Evan had his first sleepover recently - a campout with his best friend (Doug was there too)

- He has tried out soccer and t-ball, and thinks he is going to stick with soccer (and he's trying out basketball this winter).

We are extremely blessed! I am so glad that he only goes to kindergarten half the day so I can still have time with my little man! It's awesome watching him grow up into the boy he is becoming.

Double Appointment - 6 and 2-1/2

We just had the kids well checkups last week with our favorite Dr. Joe. Doug and I both got to go, it's just too much fun listening to the kids interact with him. Both kids did great, Evan chatting away and Ainsley playing shy. The are both growing great and are right on track.

Here are their stats:

Evan - 47 pounds (50%) and 44 3/4 inches (35%)
Ainsley - 27.5 pounds (30%) and 35 inches (30%)

Bike-Ki-L

In the tradition of wanting to do everything that her big brother does, Ainsley has learned to ride a bike. (We got her a pink one at a garage sale a few weeks ago.) She is very fast, but she hasn't quite got the steering down yet! Picture us, running down the street after her, trying to keep her from going off the road!

Here is the fun:

My Little (Big) Fish

Evan has done amazingly well with swimming this year. I was worried about getting him in lessons, but he has pretty much taught himself. He absolutely loves the water. I love watching him in the water! He totally lights up whenever we are at the pool, KI, etc.

This past week, he showed off his skills, check it out:

Potty Trained

I haven't posted in awhile (obviously), but there are a few things that I wanted to catch up on.

The first is that Ainsley is completely potty trained. I had hesitated posting, but she is doing awesome, and we are completely out of diapers!! I have to say, it was all her. About two weeks after her second birthday, she told us, "no more diapers". I figured, it was worth the shot and I put her in panties. She did amazingly well staying dry, with few accidents, so we decided to give it a shot. Ever since then, she has been in big girls - and is now even wearing them through the night and telling us consistently when she needs to go. So, thank you Ainsley! It was quite a wonderful gift!!