Wednesday, June 7, 2017

School's Out for Summer!

Maggie had her last day of preschool last week, and what a great year it has been!  This is also Jamie's last week of teaching, yay! 

First Day of Preschool 3's  - sweet and curious
(dress is a little big)

Last day of Preschool 3's - fierce
(the dress fits now!)
  
Maggie has developed so much over the year, and I’m so happy with our experience at Guardian Angels.  She learned how to write all her letters and numbers, and can spell a few words.  Her love of reading has grown over the year, and she likes the concept of patterns.  I think somersaulting is her favorite accomplishment of the year.  We’re proud of our preschooler!

Her teacher, Mrs. Sheridan

Her other teacher, Mrs. McCullogh

On Saturday we went to my niece’s graduation party… can’t believe how old these kids are getting!  She’s a fabulous young lady, and is going to Grand Valley this fall!  Congrats, Katy!

The graduate!

The Rabines

So proud of Katy!

Exploring with Luke

Sad and angry faces?

Much more photogenic

Coloring girls

Cuz life

One of the parents from preschool hosted an end-of-the-year party at their house for all the preschoolers.  It was nice to get to know some of the parents and to watch the kids play together.  Maggie is tight with three other girls, and they spent most of the evening going nuts together.  Evie had a really great time too, and kept herself pretty entertained.  Swings were the best part of her night… until she fell face first and got a mouthful of woodchips!  She went back for more though!

Gotta bounce

Swings!

The hosts had some middle-school kids to help corral the little ones, and they were face-painting the kids.  Well... the kids decided to face paint their own faces, which was very entertaining.

How do I look
Sweat and lots of colors leads to hobo-face

My exhausted little hobo, getting some reassurance
from her sis

A few others: 

We introduced a pillow into Evie's crib...
it took a couple days, but now she loves it!

Movie night

Safety first



Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend was a fantastic weekend for us!  We all had a four-day weekend together, and it was so nice to spend some time as a family with all the craziness of work lately.  I had a chance to visit my parents after a conference on Thursday (and get a home-cooked meal!).  My Dad is still on the mend after back surgery, but looking better every day! This weekend I got all our flowers planted, we removed all the boards from our deck (still a couple weeks until we replace them), fixed our little decorative fence and a few other small touches around the house.  I love getting things done!

All smiles this weekend

Royal Oak has been testing out a Friday event where they close down a part of Main Street to traffic and allow families to hang out.  This weekend they had a rock-climbing wall, street musicians, and some fun games for kids.  We met up with one of Maggie’s best friends from school and had fun watching them roam around freely.  Maggie had a pretty hard time with the rock wall, so Daddy helped her get up; I swear, she and her friend only did it so they could fly down afterward!  We had a really great time, hoping to do it a lot this summer!

Who says you can't climb mountains in a dress?

All smiles

Hanging tough

Evie's favorite part was definitely walking around the planters

Maggie loves signing her name whenever she has a chance

Not quite regulation rules

Evie getting in on the action

The girls went over to Grandma and Grandpa’s a couple times this weekend, which really helped us get some things done.  They enjoyed the Memorial Day parade in St. Clair Shores, and we all had a yummy barbecue dinner afterward.


Hanging with Aunt Amy!

Taking it all in

Candy hands

Sweaty after a long afternoon!

Snack time

Followed quickly by nap time
I love having two little girls.  They do bicker a lot, but they also play and entertain each other quite a bit!  I was amazed how little they needed our attention while we worked on the deck.

Partners in crime (and wardrobe)
Evie has entered a hitting stage the past few weeks.  She only seems to do it to me, Jamie and Grandma whenever she’s frustrated or angry.  Really hoping this passes soon…

Don't mess

A couple others:
Happy with Princess Belle

Hanging with the godfather

Maggie has been into photography lately, here's a couple of her favorite shots:

"Dolls"

"Dinner by Maggie"

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Tigers and Birthday!

My awesome cousin Donna got several tickets donated to Bishop Foley for the Tiger game on Friday.  Bobby’s school also go tickets, so we got to see a bunch of friends and family!  We kept Evie at Grandma’s since she was getting over a virus.  Maggie had a great time playing with one of her best friends and with her cousins.  She and her friend loved screaming and cheering, but started the night by yelling, “Go Lionsssss!!!”  It was pretty funny, but don’t worry, I corrected them.

Checking out Donna's office
(and using the very clean bathrooms!)

Tiger time

Snuggles with Sarah

Donna got the kids stuffed tigers.
 Maggie named her's "Maggie".

Sunday we celebrated my beautiful goddaughter’s birthday!  Claire turned 3 years old, and loved telling everyone it was her birthday.  Maggie just wanted to spend time with Luke as usual.  Evie and Sarah bickered over babies and strollers… but I think those two will be fast friends.  

Birthday boss
Cake!

Lunch at the kids table... I think each kid ate an entire one bite!

For she's a jolly good fellow!

This kid ate soooooo many goldfish

Duet

Baby Benjamin couldn't miss out on the party

Evie has her own baby to worry about

Jamie and Evie had a little bonding time at the zoo:

Daddy's girl

Turtle race
A few others:

Maggie is obsessed with riding... so happy to finally
see her coordinating the pedal movement

Dinosaurs with  Daddy

Grandma got the girls a golf set last week.  Maggie loves to play.  Evie loves to caddy.  They make a good team.
#1 Caddy