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.

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.

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 Ryan

For the past few years I've been interviewing the girls and asking them questions each year on their birthday.  It's fun to see their answers change and grow through the years.  I sat down first with Ryan.  Here is my interview with her:

1)  What is your favorite color? Pink & purple
2) What is your favorite toy? Cinderella doll
3) What is your favorite fruit? Apple
4) What is your favorite TV show/movie? We Bought A Zoo
5) What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Gogurt and cheese sandwich
6) What is your favorite outfit? Butterfly shirt from Sedona w/ my butterfly skirt
7) What is your favorite game? Ghosts in the graveyard
8) What is your favorite snack? Fruit & yogurt
9) What is your favorite animal? Zebra & Butterfly
10) What is your favorite song? Call Me Maybe by Carley Rae Jepsen
11) What is your favorite book? Sand Castle by Robert Munch
12) Who is your best friend? My sister & Freya
13) What is your favorite food? Chicken & Dumplings
14) What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with Juhi & Kira
15) What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice
16) What is your favorite holiday? Christmas & Halloween
17) What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Pillow Pet Dream Light
18) What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes & waffles
19) What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? Chicken & Dumplings
20) What do you want to be when you grow up? Teacher
21) What makes our family special? They love me so much
22) Who do you look most like? My sister
23) What is one thing you are really good at doing? Gymnastics
24) Who is the smartest person you know? My sister
25) Who is the funniest person you know? My dad
26) What do you want for your next birthday? Bubblegum
27) What is your favorite treat? Candy (can you tell she's our sweet tooth?)
28) What is the best present you've ever received? Ladybug farm
29) What would be the one food you would pick to eat for the rest of your life? Chicken & Dumplings
30) If you had $1,000,000 what would you buy first? A new bike

Happy 6th Birthday, Ryan

Ryan Whitney Whyte is six!  It's hard to believe our baby girl is six.  This has been a big year of changes with Kindergarten and new adventures.  There are days that she seems like she is 6 going on 16; other days she seems like she will be our baby girl forever.  Here are six things we love about Ryan Whitney:

1)  Her laughter is one of the sweetest sounds you'll hear.

2) She is curious and wants to know the answers to everything.

 3)  She is tenacious and usually won't take no for an answer.  This trait will serve her well when she's a lawyer someday :)

4.) She is competitive and likes to win.

 5) She is the life of the party.

 6)  She is smart as a whip and it's fun to watch her learn so many new things this year.

Ryan Whitney, I love you and your sparkly personality more than all the stars in the sky.  You have brought so much joy and spunk to our lives in the past six years.  Happy Birthday, my precious baby 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 :)