Birthday DInner at Grandma's (and Grandpa too!)

I had all of these grandiose ideas about picture taking.  Posed shots with Grandma, the ladies, and me.  We were all somewhat coordinated.  I was going to take a birthday shot of Kate with her Grandma and Grandpa... and then well.  I didn't.  Sometimes I'm awesome at taking pictures and other times... 

Rayna was able to switch her day off and so she and Andrew were there!  We had a lovely dinner.  The girls were happy and played.  Fiona was batgirl.  Alice and Kate learned about belly button rings... um thanks Rayna!  (I suppose it wasn't that bad, they were kind of scared of it, even if it is a pretty flower!)

Cutest moment though was in the office/play room.  Rayna, Andrew and the girls were hanging out, having fun...

Kate: (talking to Rayna and Andrew) Are you two married with each other?
Rayna/Andrew: (In unison) No.
Kate: Well do you love each other?
Rayna/Andrew: (In unison) Yes.
Kate: I think you are going to get married.

So cute, so innocent, and totally unprompted.  Now listen to the smart little girl and get married, okay?!  (Oh wait, Andrew and Rayna never read my blog!)

Kate is FIVE!

Before Kate went to school I took her 5th Birthday Picture.

 Kate did not want to go to bed tonight.  She didn't want her birthday to end.  (It is like that isn't it?)  She has been anticipating this day for so long, it finally comes and then of course it has to end.  She was very happy today.  She had a great day at school.  She took cupcakes to share with her class.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the cupcake carrier full of cupcakes but I didn't!  The cupcakes were Betty Crocker rainbow bit mix enhanced with a pinterest recipe - so good.  I used my friend Rebecca McLaren's suggested icing recipe, we turned it pink and then put pink sugar sprinkles on top.  They looked pretty cute.  I was going to pipe the icing, but I didn't get a piping bag and the ziploc with the tip cut off didn't cut it!

Anyway!  Kate and Alice made pizza with their Dad for our dinner - Kate's choice.  We had broccoli too.  Then the cupcakes for dessert.  The funny thing was, she didn't really eat her cupcake.  She ate some of the icing, but not very much of it.  She just wanted to blow out the candles.  We re-lit the candles five times for her to blow out, twice for Alice, once for me, once for Ken and there might have been another time.  We all had fun blowing out candles. 

Kate said the prayer at dinner tonight.  She prayed that she could be five years old until next year on her birthday.  I thought that was really cute.  I don't want her to get any older.  I feel like she's already old enough.  Already independent enough.  Now I want to go upstairs and cuddle her! 

I am so grateful for my family.  I can't believe I have three precious daughters.  I love my girls so much.  Happy birthday my sweet Kate.  I love you more than you'll ever know!

The Birthday Questions - Kate is 5

On the Eve of her birthday I asked Kate the birthday questions.  Here are the questions and the answers!  FIVE YEARS OLD!!

1. What is your favourite color?

            Pink

2. What is your favourite toy?

            Disney Princess Castle

3. What is your favourite fruit?

            Apple

4. What is your favourite tv show?

            Jake and the Neverland Pirates

5. What is your favourite thing to eat for lunch?

            Hot dogs

 6. What is your favourite outfit?

            Pink princess shirt

7. What is your favourite game?

            Dinosaur train (on PBS kids)

8. What is your favourite snack?

            Cereal

9. What is your favourite animal?

            Birds

10. What is your favourite song?

            I am a Child of God

11. What is your favourite book?

            The Three Little Pigs

12. Who is your best friend?

            Madison

13. What is your favourite cereal?

            Mini Wheats

14. What is your favourite thing to do outside?

            Play with cars that you ride in

15. What is your favourite drink?

            Apple juice

16. What is your favourite holiday?

            Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?

            Teddy bear

18. What is your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?

            Eggs and toast

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

            Homemade pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

            A zoo keeper

Fiona is Seven Months Old

Time moves too quickly!  Miss Fiona is still a ridiculously cute little stinker!  This past month she cut two teeth, and if I was thinking I would have tried to get a picture of them.  They are the bottom middle teeth.  She is now getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.  She can sit up, but she still falls over lots, so I don't leave her sitting very often.  As to moving, she goes in circles really, really well, and is amazing at moving backwards.  She loves her big sisters and they love her.  I was really happy with the picture today.  I only took two!  Oh and for fun I'm including a picture of her in her super girl jammies that her Uncle Andrew bought her for Christmas.  The picture was also taken today! 

Oh and the poor little thing has a little cold and cough.  This is the second time in her short life that she's been sick.  We didn't go to church on Sunday (our first week back in Orangeville).  She was up in the night with a fever.  She sure didn't sleep very well today, but she's still been pretty happy!

And Just Like That...

... our trip and the year is over!  Things done today that are not of note, laundry.  Things of note, I took book pictures.  I haven't written a fun story for my niece or nephews in a long time.  It has been time to write a new story for a while, but I have been completely uninspired.  Kate inspired me not long ago insisting that she was the queen of everything.  Now all I have to do is put the story together, you know during all my free time?!

The missionaries came to dinner.  We had a little New Years Party (and found out that it was Elder Fish's birthday, and he was being transferred).  We put the kids to bed and watched a movie.  And Isaac like the young adult that he is rang in the new year with friends.

This is one picture from the book photo shoot.  The girls were very cute and for the most part very willing to pose exactly the way I wanted them to!

Happy New Year!

The last of the funnies for 2013

September
Alice: (throwing a fit) But I don't want to!
Alice: (stops, seeing her teapot) Oh, my teapot.
Alice: (looks at me) I'm going to pour tea all over your face!
Me(Ken): Alice!
Alice: I mean... in a cup, and then give to you to drink.
Alice: Hahaha. My teapot (walks off, looking at the teapot).

Kate is so excited for her first day of school tomorrow. Tonight as she was having a snack before bed we had the following conversation.
Kate: Will they have a bear cave at my school?
Me: No. Why do you think that?
Kate: I thought that in my head.
Me: Oh. I don't think they will have a bear cave at your school.
Kate: I thought that the teacher would say all the girls can go in the nice bear cave and all the boys can go in the bad bear cave.

Alice has a thing for her uncles. She regularly asks for her Uncle Joaquín S Molina and her Uncle Matthew Bates. And she named one of her dolls Uncle Jonathan Bacon.

Kate learned how to write Mom last week. I found Mom doodled in one of my notebooks and it made me Mom happy!

October
On the way home from school today Kate said "Mom, every time I oinked Tristan tried to kiss me."

Alice: Daddy, what will happen if you die?
Me(Ken): Oh, Alice, you wouldn't get to see me anymore.
Alice: No, I'd get a New Daddy. A purple one, no, green. I'd get a new green daddy.


November
Alice is currently marching around singing (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell), Fiona pulls my hair, Fiona pulls my hair, hi-ho the derry-o Fiona pulls my hair.

Alice: Dad, you're going to get locked in jail and never. see. me. again... No, actually, I'm going to locked in jail too. That way we can be together.

December
Ken McCartney is saying Ho Ho Ho, and pretending to be Santa.
Alice: I don't like that noise.
Ken: But that's what Santa says, ho ho ho.
Alice: I don't like that noise, I'm going to kick you in the head Santa.
(Oh dear... perhaps we shouldn't go see Santa this week.)

A conversation I had with Kate tonight:
Kate: Mom, I feel sorry for you and Ken. (She refers to her father as Ken was she is talking about him as he relates to me.)
Me: Why?
Kate: Because you have three kids, that is so exhausting.
Me: Sometimes it's exhausting but it's also lots of fun.
Kate: There should be two kids in a family because there are two parents.
I didn't think to point out that there would be no Fiona if we only had two kids, Kate loves Fiona. I do think it's funny that she's already figured out that Ken and I are out numbered. I wonder when she uses this new insight to her advantage? EEK!

Me: Alice can you go wake up Daddy.
Alice: No I tried, you go wake him up.

Alice: Will you read the story again?
Me: No not right now, I want to clean up the toys.
Alice: Oh, who's coming over?
(You know you don't clean up enough when...)

Kate: Alice, snow comes from a snow cloud. The snow cloud squeezes out the snow and that is where the snow comes from.
Alice: Oh that's where snow comes from?
Kate: Yes, that's where snow comes from.

Kate: I want to turn Alice into a book and read her. I'm a witch.
Alice: I'm not a book!
 
So far Fiona likes to eat paper and drink water out of a sippy cup. Introducing solids is going really well.

A conversation with Kate while putting her to bed while staying in Connecticut.
Kate: Mom, do you know my dreams?
Me: No. Tell me about your dreams.
Kate: I dream that I am grown up, and I dream about eating cheesies.  Mom, can I eat cheesies?
Me: Tomorrow you can have some cheesies for a snack.
Kate: (In a grand voice) Tomorrow the first dream will come true.  When can I ride a bike?

After clinking the cups Kate is waiting for her new years toast. So I put bread in the toaster! Happy New Year everyone!

(Me is Wendy, unless it says otherwise!)

A few good things

Today was a silly kind of day.  I let myself get upset that there's a winter storm coming and we have to leave early.  Instead of just being grateful for being in Connecticut I started to get bugged and maybe a little grumpy.  I thought, uh-oh, I'm recreating Connecticut November 2011 - the worst trip ever... better not. 

In the afternoon Suzanne and I went on another trip to the grocery store - this time without any children.  And in the evening, we adults went to a movie - The Hobbit, with Fiona of course.  Isaac the incredible was the babysitter, for five children.  And incredibly, all five children were asleep when we got home from watching the movie.  INCREDIBLE!!!!  The baby, the movie, the company, the  babysitter... ALL INCREDIBLE!  Today was a pretty great day after all.

This was yesterday, but Fiona is just too cute!

 

 Cousins snuggled up watching a movie.

 And more about this tomorrow... I hope!

Gingerbread

I used to decorate Easter Eggs with Suzanne's boys every year on March Break.  Didn't matter whether Easter was in March or not, it was what we did.  Then I went and had a baby and everything changed!  We didn't get around to making the Gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve like I had thought maybe we would.  I decided instead that it would be fun to bring the candy and cutouts with us to Connecticut. 

I have never made Gingerbread houses before.  If I do this again I would really only change one thing.  I would glue (with the icing of course) the houses together and have them set well in advance of letting the little people near them.  It was Sunday afternoon, all of the adults disappeared completely and I was left with five wildly excited children with eyes for candy!  I wanted some decorum.  I'm not exactly sure why, but I wanted some cute posed shots.  Instead there were lopsided houses that kept falling down and kids that were a little too excited about smashing them!  But really the point was to have fun, and fun was had!

Now if only we can go to Connecticut every year around Christmas, we've got a new tradition!  Oh and cousins are just generally awesome.  And cute!