My Birthday

My Birthday was truly wonderful!  The day before my actual birthday, a bunch of my co workers and friends spoiled me with gifts, cards, and lunch!  Then when I came home from work, my Mom had helped the kids put up streamers and balloons for me!  They were so excited!  Caleb declared that I should have a Dancing With the Stars Birthday because I like dance, and then at the end of the night I could dance with Daddy to our wedding song!  He's so sweet and thoughtful!

Erik did a great job making me feel special and loved :)  I woke up to streamers hanging in the doorways of our room, closet, and bathroom!  He stayed home from work, so it was nice to spend time together!  He made me a egg, cheese, and ham sandwich for breakfast, my favorite!  Then Natalie called and told me to check out facebook for part of my birthday present!  She made a music video of our November Hawaii trip!!  It is awesome and I LOVE it!  After we watched that, Erik told me that he and Caleb needed to run some secret errands, so then Mila and I would have some girl time together!  She and I painted our nails and watched So You Think You Can Dance.  My parents came over for a Portillos dinner with us, and then Erik took me out in the garage to see my present!  He had picked out a basketball hoop for the driveway!  When we had first met in high school, we spent many evenings shooting hoops together!  He thought that it would be fun for us to do that again, and to be able to include the kids!

Then I got a Kohls gift card form my parents and Erik's Mom!  Erik and the kids had picked out a basketball, backyard sandals, and gym shoes!  My last surprise was upstairs in our room!  Erik had blown up 34 glow balloons and decorated our room!  The kids had so much fun with all of the glow stick accessories!  I could not have asked for a better way to spend my birthday!

 

I Want to Remember

MILA:
Mila's favorite one liner's: I understand.  I promise.  Won't do it ever again!  Actually...

Mila was becoming too attached to her pacifier, so we took it away during the day, and just like any awesome parents, told her that the baby bunnies need to use it during the day :)  Well guess what, it worked!  She knows that it's not around for her to get whenever she pleases, and that the baby bunnies bring it back at bedtime!  We're not THAT tough!  It's the only thing that she needs to fall asleep at night!

Miss Mila is as whiny as ever!  We are chalking it up to the terrible twos!  It's funny, but I'm not as annoyed as when Caleb was in this stage!  I just let her have her tantrum and then give her attention again when she's done!

She's afraid of bugs, but will gladly pick up and play with worms!!

When I vacuum, she always takes out her little Minnie Mouse vacuum and helps me!

Mila loves her Shutterfly baby book I made for her!  She knows where I keep them, and will randomly bring it out to the couch to sit and look at it. 

She dances in the car, and tells me, "Mama, I like this song!"

In the morning she climbs into our bed, lays on top of me, cups my face in her hands and asks, "Mama you sleepin?"  Even though I do not want to be getting up at 6am, it is a sweet way to be woken up!

Mila is very good at reading emotions.  If I get upset at them when they're not listening, she says, "Mama you mad?"  Then when we calm down and we go back to playing she says, "Mama you happy now?"

She makes the silliest face by looking up with just her eyes!  She's hilarious!

She's really coming out of her shell!  She gets wild and loud with other people besides just us!

CALEB:
Caleb has started to read!!  At the end of April, he read the most words he ever has!  We are beyond proud of him!!  It was so amazing seeing him recognize and sound out the words!  He was so excited!

Caleb tells me, "now that's what I'm taking about!" when a song he likes comes on!

He has lost his third tooth, and the 4th is about to fall out any day now!!!!

He is getting more confident and steady with riding his bike!

Caleb is trying to be such a good big boy helper!  He helps make his toast in the morning, makes his sandwich at lunch time, and has even vacuumed the family room rug before a play date!

He still likes to snuggle!!!  I will take it as long as I can!!  I asked him the other night if he'll still love me when he's a teenager, and he said, "yep, even when I'm in college!"

The words in his vocabulary are always surprising me.  The other day he told me he was focused on something, and then he needed something immediately! 

After we came home from his last day of preschool he told me he feels like a Kindergartner!

BOTH:
They really play so well together!  There favorite things to do are play house with the kitchen set and Mila's dolls, play in the sandbox together, and create things with their Geo Shapes. 

They both love to dance!  Also, they will start singing songs they hear on the radio.  Mila was singing, "Buckle bass...no trouble!"  It cracks me up, but I don't dare correct them!  It's too cute!

Caleb is Done with Preschool!

What?!  Where did those two years go!?  I cannot believe he'll be starting Kindergarten in August!  He'll be going to St. Patrick's Catholic School.  Erik and I went back and forth for a long time deciding whether or not we were going to do public or private school.  After lots of research and consideration, we feel that St. Patrick's is going to be a good fit for our family!

While Caleb will miss Hosanna, we are not done with them yet!  Mila will be starting twice a week in the fall!  I think it'll be good for her to socialize with the other kids, and practice being apart from me. 

with his teachers Kathryn and Joyce