Buns and books

I find all kinds of photos on my 'big' camera, the Nikon that supposed to be off limits.  Somehow they find a way to sneak the camera and take some photos.  I think Ryan is the culprit because there is a photo of Reese's bun, which is how she loves having her hair styled right now, but her hair is so darn thick it will not stay put through the day.  She does looks so grown up when her hair is styled this way.

 I also found about 10 photos of Ryder outside on the porch swing reading the latest issue of Highlights magazine.  It comes every month along and they love the Hidden Pictures and the stories each month.  Ryder was obviously enthralled with this month's issue.  He's really good at finding those hidden pictures.

 Man, I love this little bushy haired kid.

 I love that he's pointing out stuff and there's no one else around except Ryan the paparazzi.

Gotta love the lazy days of summer :)

Little Da Vinci

We are back at Little Da Vinci, at least for the summer.  The girls love it and we have more time on our hands now that school is out.  They just finished their peacocks in time to give them to Dad for Father's Day.  I just picked them up from class yesterday and they told me they are starting a new painting that no one has done before.  They were so excited and told me that it's a mountain scene with a rainbow sky.  I can't wait to see the finished product.

VBS

We did VBS this week at Cornerstone and I love it for 3 reasons: 1) it's only 4 days, Tuesday-Friday.  That's all we could handle since we were in vacation re-entry mode. 2) Cornerstone is a huge church and the program runs like a well-oiled machine with tons of great volunteers.  3) We got to catch up with some friends from school and Pre-K last year that we hadn't seen in awhile.

The girls loved every second of it and Ryder was typical little Ryder boy.  He went happily on Tuesday and Wednesday with just a tiny bit of resistance.  Thursday I kind of forced him to go because I had scheduled an appointment that I wasn't going to bring him to.  Friday he cried and fussed and went to Mimi's house because, again, I had made plans thinking I was kid free for 2.5 hours.  Thank goodness for Mimi.  He's such a little stinker.  What am I going to do with this crazy little kid?

Here he is with his friend, Hannah, who we had with us on Tuesday.  They are too cute together.

A brand new closet

Our master closet was in need of a major makeover.  It was cheap builder grade shelving with no storage space.  We've been wanting to do something for awhile and we finally bit the bullet and the closet got a makeover.  We used Classy Closets because their price and design was the best I found.  I'm SO beyond happy with the outcome.  There is so much space for both our clothes and shoes.  We have drawers and so much storage space up to the ceiling.  I am a happy camper and it was a great excuse to do some much needed cleaning out for both of us.

They came on Saturday the 1st and the day started off really rough because Ryder boy started puking at 5am and threw up most of the day.  My dryer was broken, the laundry was piling up, and our closet contents were strewn all over the bedroom and living room.  It took them most of the day to finish the closet but it was so worth it when it was finished.  Reese was my super duper helper that day.  She was right by my side ready to help when the clothes needed to be put away and she gave me advice about how to arrange it all.  We did rainbow order for the shirts, of course.  She was also mildly obsessed with organizing the jewelry drawer we had put it.  It was great having so much help from my sweet baby girl!

Best coach ever!

The girls have played soccer for 3 seasons now and Cory has coached every time.  They are pretty lucky to have such a great dad who is an awesome coach.  This spring season has been fun because the weather hasn't gotten obnoxiously hot yet and we have lots of friends on our team including: Barrett, Avery, Dylan, and Bryce from last season.  They are having a blast together.

Hancock Field Day

Reese & Ryan love P.E. at school so it was no wonder that they looked forward to Field Day for almost 2 weeks.  The Kindergarten classes went first thing in the morning before it got too hot and they had such a blast.  I vividly remember doing Field Day at my school and it was always one of the most fun days of the year.  The apples don't fall far from the tree.

 This one below of Ryan is so HER.  She is always posing and I just look at this photo and it makes me smile.  Sassy little Ryboo!  Love her so much.

 Reese is pure joy in this photo.  You can tell she is having so much fun!  I love her squishy face and wrinkled up nose.  That sweet girl slays me.

Reese's Christmas masterpiece

Here sis, let me get it...

Oh my heavens!!  Teeth are seriously falling out left and right over here.  The tooth fairy has visited 3 times in one week.  That's our record so far.  Reese's other tooth was dangling by a thread and Ryan considered herself the expert since she had lost her just days before.  Reese was so patient to let her try. I do NOT pull teeth out.  This is Cory's job (and now Ryan's).  Thank goodness for a husband and child with a strong stomach.  This stuff makes me weak in the knees.

She finally got it the next day right before bedtime.  Now all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth :)

Teddy Bear Tea

We did our annual Teddy Bear Tea at the Ritz Carlton and it's so fun to have this as one of our annual holiday traditions.  It's so nice to get dressed up and enjoy yummy tea, hot chocolate, scones & sandwiches.  It's a great way to get into the holiday spirit!

Alexa & Lexington came into town and joined us for the first time.  Lexington was a great age for it and she got her money's worth eating the sandwiches.  I tell you that little girl can eat!  She is too cute and Reese & Ryan love her to pieces.

Sweet little Ryan.

Sweet little Reesey.

Aunt Marilyn brought Cambrie for the first time.  She had fun but was terrified of the big teddy bear.

The kids gathered around to hear a story & sing Christmas carols.  Ryan was really into it!  Jingle Bells was her favorite.

All of us together.

Can't wait for next year!!

Shoe tying class

We signed the girls up for a free shoe tying class at Nordstrom and it was the best hour we've spent in awhile.  For some reason I was struggling to teach the girls how to tie their shoes.  They would start off fine and then get frustrated and give up.  It was perfect for them to go to the fun kids dept. at Nordy and take orders from someone that's not their mom.  They got the hang of it quickly and were tying their shoes and double knotting like pros.  They got a free goody bag to take home and were so excited :)

Reese & Ryan's stats

We visited Dr. Matsumoto today for the girls' six year well check.  They are doing well but a few things came up during this visit that we need to keep an eye on.  First thing was Ryan's eating habits after she had a choking incident in Pinetop.  Her weight has dropped a bit and she told the Dr. that she's scared to swallow her food.  The Dr. gave us the names of some workbooks that we can do together to overcome the fear and she said if the issue doesn't seem to resolve itself by the first of the year then we can look into food therapy.  This is the first time that the girls have been pounds apart in weight.  It's usually just a few ounce but this visit Reese weighed 46.6 lbs and Ryan was 42.8 lbs.

They also got their eyes checked and the Dr. referred us to another eye doctor to get a 2nd opinion.  We visited the eye doctor and each of them has one eye that's weaker than the other.  Ryan has a bit of astigmatism and Reese has some nearsightedness.  It's currently not enough to get glasses but we have to keep an eye on it.  He said it could either improve or get worse in the next year but we'll know in the next year or two if they'll need glasses.

Here are their stats from the visit with Dr. Matsumoto:

Reese 46.6 50%tile
45 1/2" 50%
BMI 15.6 25%
PB 86/50

Ryan 42.8 25%
45 1/4" 50%
BMI 14.5 10%
BP 90/44

Birthday interview with Reese

1)  What is your favorite color? Pink
2) What is your favorite toy? Art kit
3) What is your favorite fruit? Apple
4) What is your favorite TV show/movie? Mary Poppins
5) What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ham sandwich
6) What is your favorite outfit? Christmas shirt from Ryan
7) What is your favorite game? Sorry!
8) What is your favorite snack? Apples & pears
9) What is your favorite animal? Butterfly
10) What is your favorite song? Walking in a winter wonderland
11) What is your favorite book? Anything by Dr. Seuss
12) Who is your best friend? My sister & Rylan
13) What is your favorite food? Chicken & Dumplings
14) What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing on the swings
15) What is your favorite drink? Water
16) What is your favorite holiday? Christmas & Halloween
17) What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My yellow blanket
18) What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal & waffles
19) What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? Mac & cheese
20) What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
21) What makes our family special? We have peace
22) Who do you look most like? My sister
23) What is one thing you are really good at doing? Soccer
24) Who is the smartest person you know? My sister
25) Who is the funniest person you know? Mrs. Ellinwood
26) What do you want for your next birthday? A new Elf on the Shelf
27) What is your favorite treat? Gum
28) What is the best present you've ever received? Peanuts the Elephant
29) What would be the one food you would pick to eat for the rest of your life? Apples & Raspberries
30) If you had $1,000,000 what would you buy first? A stamp kit

Happy 6th Birthday, Reese

Reese Michelle is six!  Our sweet Reesie pie is growing up and it's hard to believe how fast time flies by.

It's been such a fun week celebrating her birthday and reminiscing about when Reese & Ryan were brand new babies.  It seems like yesterday I was lying in the hospital, holding my twin girls and thinking about how God was SO good to give me these two perfect babies to care for.  

Six things I love about our Reese Michelle:

1.)  She is a sweet old soul.  She is wise beyond her years in so many ways.

 2.)  She finds beauty in everything.  She loves pretty skies and rainbows.

 3.)  She has sensitive heart.

 4.)  She loves being a big sister and wants more babies to take care of in our family (sorry, sweetie!)

 5.)  She gets so excited over the littlest things and find joy in almost everything.

 6.)  She is laid back and is usually the one child that will always do what she is told.

What a blessing you are, Reese Michelle!  Thank you for being you and adding so much joy and beauty to our lives for the past six years.  Love you to the moon and back, my sweet girl.

As You Wish Party

Wowza.  Reese & Ryan's 6th birthday party was a crazy one.  We had 21 kids painting pottery at As You Wish and they loved it.  The kids all got to pick out the pottery pieces they wanted to paint and go to town.  It's so fun to see what everyone chose and how creative they all are.  Ryan chose to paint a dolphin.

Reese chose an elephant.

Me and my girls.

They each got to pick out a plate that their friends signed.

Gotta love a Costco cake. 

Then it was time to open presents.

I'm not gonna lie.  This part stresses me out a bit.  I want things to be organized like keeping the cards/receipts in the bags that they came in with the gift.  I want my kids to be gracious and gush over each present.  None of this seems to happen.  Ever.  Thank goodness I had some moms around to help me keep it somewhat under control.

Cory tried his best to stay away from the melee.

Just the four of us.  We were SO grateful that Grandma took Ryder home to her house for a nap.  He would have been a 2 year old bull in a china shop and added waaay too much stress for me.  It was nice to enjoy the part with just the four of us.

The party was a success and I would do it there again in a minute.  I love leaving the mess behind and going home to a quiet house where our girls can enjoy their new fun gifts :)