Happy Halloween!

Allie decided to be 4 different costumes this year, as you can see from the pictures. We had a bunch of dress up clothes for her, and every time we had a Halloween event she said she wanted to be something different.

Ethan was a Ninja this year and Nolan was Captain America.

Fall Pictures

Every year we take the kids to Altermatts Farm to get their pictures taken with the pumpkins. This year we decided to go on a nature hike afterwards since it was such a beautiful day.

School Pictures

First Day of School 2012

Nolan started his first day of Kindergarten! It was very exciting and I had the entire summer to get used to the idea of him having full day Kindergarten. Once in the classroom, it was very emotional seeing all of the kids crying, but Nolan was brave and had a great day. His teacher is Mrs. Dawson.

Ethan started 2nd grade with Mrs. VanDeWinkle. He was excited to start a new year and was happy some of his friends were in his class.

As usual, our summer was very busy and fun! We started off the summer with a horse lesson at Wolcott Mill Farm and then went camping at Camp Dearborn. This has become a yearly event that the kids really look forward to. Ethan then went off to Florida by himself to visit with Grammy and Pop-Pop (traveled with his Aunt Kathy).

Nolan also lost his first tooth this summer, so that was a big event for him!

We discovered a new beach this summer up near Port Huron, called Lakeport State Park. We spent many days there and loved the sandy beach. We also discovered a new campground in Port Austin that had beautiful beaches. We'll definitely return!

Kevin made the kids their own car wash that became the hit of the summer. The boys and neighbor kids loved it.

The rest of the summer was busy with baseball, basketball camp, and visits with family, and a great trip to Wisconsin to visit the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins and finally a trip to the lakehouse to visit great friends!

End of Pre-school for Nolan

Nolan officially graduated from preschool today. His teacher had a "Cruise Boat' themed party for their last day and all of the kids wore their bathing suits. It was so much fun for the kids. I will miss preschool and the moms that I met.

Below are some pictures Nolan created in school this year; including his first family picture and a self portrait of himself.

Allie's 2nd Birthday

My sweet little baby turned 2! We had her 2nd birthday party at our house with our family and friends. We combined it with Nolan's 5th birthday party. Thanks everyone for sharing this special day with us!



Allie's Year:

So much has happened in Allie's life this year.

*She started singing before she could even talk, and now sings all of the time. Loves music and nursery rhymes. Her favorite song is "Happy and You Know It".

*She can say just about anything and is stringing sentences together.

* Allie loves baby dolls! Her eyes light up when she sees a doll and loves to give them hugs and kisses.

* She is very attached to mom, and doesn't like to go to many other people including her daddy.

* Allie's a very picky eater. Some of her favorites are eggs, waffles, spaghetti, and pizza.

* She wants to do everything Ethan and Nolan do and gets upset when they don't let her.

* Her favorite shows are Barney and Max & Ruby.

* She loves to be outside.

* Allie is still small and petite for her age. I believe she is still in the 5% in height and weight.

Nolan's 5th Birthday

Wow! I can't believe Nolan turned 5 on May 2nd. He really wanted a birthday party with his friends this year, so we decided to go to ChuckECheese with some of the boys from his class. I've never seen Nolan so happy with his friends! He had so much fun and had a smile on his face the entire party! I'm so happy we let him have his own party this year.




Nolan's Year in Review:

*Nolan loves Video Games above everything else. If you let him, he would play the entire day!
*He plays soccer and loves it. He continuously amazes us at his ability to score goals and stick with the ball.
* He started off preschool this year shy, and has opened up tremendously and has some good friends that he loves to play with.
*His favorite shows are Max & Ruby, and Tom and Jerry.
* He likes legos and playing beyblades with Ethan
* Nolan loves to antagonize his sister to get a reaction out of her.
* His favorite foods are Fettuccine Alfredo, pizza, spaghetti, and hot dogs

Florida Vacation

At the end of April, we took our yearly Florida trip to visit with Grammy and Pop-Pop. It was a much needed vacation! The kids had so much fun at the beach and the pool. We also made it to Legoland. Legoland was great and pretty much empty, so Ethan and Nolan were able to ride every attraction multiple times.
Allie loved the beach and wanted to go every day. The boys also went to play putt-putt and made it to the train park. It was a busy, but relaxing vacation.
Thanks Grammy and Pop-Pop for a great vacation!

Finally Some Snow!

The boys have been waiting for snow all year! We've had one small snow storm in January that we missed when we were in Chicago, so the boys did not get to play in it. Last week they were predicting 7 inches of snow and we got just a small dusting of snow. Last weekend we went to our friends house in Lansing and they actually had 3 inches of snow on the ground, so the kids FINALLY were able to play outside in the snow at the end of February. Crazy Year!

 

Ethan turns 7!

Wow I can't believe Ethan is 7! It seems like yesterday he was just a baby. He decided he wanted a "boys only" party at the bowling ally and invited most of his male classmates. It was fun and one of the least stressful birthday parties I've ever planned!



Every year around their birthday, I make a list of each of the kids accomplishments/likes/interests so I can reflect back on them years from now to remember some of their achievements and quirks :)

Ethan's year in Review:

*Ethan has become quite an excellent reader. He  loves reading and has advanced into large chapter books. His favorite books to read are the "Wimpy Kid" books and "Captain Underpants". He is in an advanced reading group at school.

*He learned multiplication understands most advanced math problems. The teacher says there is no other kid as advanced in his entire 1st grade.

* Ethan has had a rough transition into full-time school this year. First grade started out really rough. He claimed he was too bored, although I think he was having a hard time adjusting to being there all day. There were many days I took him to school kicking and screaming. Rough days!

*Ethan played soccer again this year and joined cub scouts. He had a rough time with soccer and decided he didn't like the tough competitive sport, so had since decided not to play again.

*He was diagnosed with Post Streptococcal Arthritis in June 2011. Last year he had strep throat and a few weeks after having strep his legs and hip were bothering him to the point where he couldn't walk on one of his legs. After taking him to several specialist it was determined he had PSA. He will have to be on antibiotics until he reaches 18 years old to prevent him from having strep throat again which could cause him to have heart problems.

*Ethan grew 3 inches this year and finally reached the 50lbs mark!

*He is still a picky eater. Favorite foods remain to be pizza and fettuccine. Favorite snacks are yogurt, cheese- its and pretzels.

*Beyblades has been his favorite toy of the year. Loves to battle with his brother and his friends. Also still enjoys pokemon cards and playing Wii and DS games.

Christmas 2011

We were blessed again to have Kevin's family join us for Christmas. It's always great to share this time with family and friends.

Nolan was super excited about having Santa Claus come this year. Ethan is beginning to be skeptical about the entire event of Santa Claus, but he is still a believer for know. Allie didn't know what was happening, but loved tearing into the presents!

Both of the boys also had a Christmas product as school. Nolan played a "Wise Men" and had to say one line. Ethan sang several Christmas songs with his classmates. They were both great and precious!