Katie: Three Years

Our Elsa loving, sass-giving, funniest kid ever is officially three! I don't know why it seems like Katie turned three forever ago, but the day is finally here and she is all about a day about her. 

My absolute favorite thing about Katie is her goofy personality. She is the funniest person in the room without even trying. She instantly does a funny face before a good smile, and that ornery grin will get her whatever she wants. 

Eric and I often have to hide our laughs at the things she says and does- this kid is witty! Our favorite comment she makes is "and meeee?" when we talk about going somewhere. The way and number of times she asks makes you think that we purposefully leave her out of everything. We will tell her her "no, not you Katie", and while she used to believe us and get a little sad, now she will just smile and say "you joking! I am going!". 

She is a master procrastinator at bedtime. So much so that Eric calls her Joseph- as in Joseph Stalin- or "stalling". On a typical night she is out of her bedroom no less than 7 or 8 times. Sometimes its that she needs a drink. Or maybe to go pee. Or maybe it's that she found a random toy under her bed or in her closet that she now thinks we need to get out of her room. It's been to give everyone one more hug and kiss. Or to ask one more time "momma where we going?" about our plans for the next day. I was really worried that when we moved Allison into the room with her that she would keep Allie up- but Allie is a deep sleeper I guess because she hasn't woken up yet.

Speaking of her saying goodnight- her typical goodnight "hug" is now mostly a quick grab to your arm or leg and a brief "goooooodnight" in her sweet little smile. Luckily for me I still get a good squeeze and a kiss. 

She has a sweet soul- she cares deeply about others and tries to comfort them if they are sad or hurt. And while she can be the sweetest thing, she also has a sour side to her. She holds a mean grudge, sometimes so long that she doesn't even remember why she is upset or mad at you. She dies on every molehill she can find, and sometimes it seems like she is looking for one to stake claims on ha!

She is also slightly narcissistic. This girl loves her reflection. Any time she walks past our big sliding glass doors to the back patio she will turn her head and watch herself walk by. It's not uncommon to see her turned around at the dinner table making funny faces in her reflection. And any time she is at a sink washing her hands, she needs to be able to see herself in the mirror. At least she has a cute face to look at ha!

 

She loves watching frozen, wearing dress up clothes, and drinking milk. Every morning she wants to wear a "pretty dress", and loves her pretend make up set and calling things "beautiful". She will pick off every piece of pepperoni from her pizza. She has become pretty dang good at riding the balance bike, and still wants to do everything that Brayden and Ashley do. She is a great big sister to Allison, and sometimes even gives her more love that what Allie wants. She is the best snuggler in the mornings when she doesn't want to get up out of bed. (Except for Eric. She only loves him once she is fully awake.) And she always seems to do something to make you smile right when you need it. 

 

Katie, we've loved watching you grow so incredibly much this past year, and can't wait to see what this next year has in store! Happy third birthday Kate!

Full Spring Ahead! (Or Rather "Behind")

The calendar may say that spring will last for another whole month, but in this household spring is almost over and summer is right around the corner- next week in fact! And this year we went full steam- or full spring- ahead. And what a full spring it was!

This spring was full of love.

We went on dates. A few months ago we made a deal with Nichole and Connor that we would take turns watching the other's kids so that we could go on date nights- and it's been so great! Our kids get to play with some of their best friends, and mom and dad get to have some much needed grown up time. 

We loved up on our siblings. And when I say siblings, I mostly mean Allie. How can you not love up on a face like that!? The bigs are just smitten with her, and she feels the same way about them.

This spring was full of family.

We met our newest cousin. The kids are swooning over Anna, even if they don't always remember her name still. She might always be known as yay-yay's baby, but we sure love her!

We celebrated Easter. It was a beautiful weekend celebrating our risen Savior. We hunted eggs, ate all the food, and had so much fun.

We celebrated Mother's Day. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for our moms, so we enjoyed showing them a little love, myself included.

We played with cousins. With our date nights, we now also have cousin nights too! I love the bond that these guys have. 

We welcomed our niece Anna to the kingdom of God through baptism, and Eric was privileged enough to stand up by her side as her godfather.

This spring was full of fun. 

We flew kites. The twins got kites for Christmas and have begged pretty much since opening them up on Christmas morning to go outside and fly them. We finally had some warmer windy days and busted them out. They are fans!

We jumped on the trampoline. It has been a staple of our outdoor play since we got it, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

We rode the four wheeler. Looking for deer, heading to the pond to fish, just a joy ride around the block or to the woods. The kids love going for a little ride.

We played at the park. It's always fun to play on things that we don't have at home, and the kids love when we surprise them with a trip to the park to play!

We planted trees. Brayden and Ashley got trees at preschool for Arbor Day in April and Eric helped them plant them in the yard. We just saw this week that they've started putting on little pinecones, and the kids were really excited about that.

We went to a Cardinal's game. Eric and I had been talking about taking the kids to a game this year, but the summer can get so hot, and there's always so much going on. So when a free Saturday afternoon popped up this spring with a beautiful forecast, we bought some bleacher seats, loaded up the kids (sans Allison), and headed to St. Louis. We learned new vocabulary- overpass- which was often said as an "overbridge" or an "underpass", but we'll get there. Their favorite part was the train ride to the game, Katie might have yelled "Go Eagles" every chance she got, and we might have lost most interest in the game by the 3rd or 4th inning, but we managed to stay for almost all of the game and the kids walked away with smiles on their faces, so I'd call it a successful day. 

We celebrated Brayden and Ashley finishing up their preschool year. These two LOVED school. Miss Kimberly and Miss Pam were so great to them, and they already talk about how they miss seeing them every day. We were able to watch them put on the cutest little program and get their graduation certificates. And then we had to do a little celebration for their official last day of school this week- on to Kindergarten we go!

We went camping. The weather has not been on our side this spring. It cancelled one weekend of camping, and almost cancelled another one. We waited for the storms to roll through before heading to the campsite last weekend. We are huge fans of camping, so I'm so glad that we were finally able to get out there and enjoy some relaxing time. I was a little nervous about Allison and sleeping in the camper, but she was the definition of perfection and napped and slept like an absolute champ. How she manages to sleep through all the crazy of the big three is beyond me, but we are thankful for it! Nichole and Connor even brought their kids over for the afternoon that Saturday for extra fun!

Spring was so full I'm just now thinking to write it all down. But like I said, summer is just around the corner- and it's looking to be even more full than this spring. Here's to all the fun to be had!