1st grade complete, 11 more to go...

So yesterday marked the last day of school for the boys. We are very proud of both of them for the accomplishments and great strides they made this year. A few days ago we got to go to their classroom and listen to our little authors share some of their writing from the year. It was so funny because at the end, Mrs. Wells, their teacher was handing out certificates and as Connor's name was called out Sage started screaming and cheering for Connor. You can see from the photo that everyone is looking back in my direction laughing. It was very cute to see how proud she was of her brother. By the time Ty's name was read (he was last) she was distracted but we know she was just as excited for Ty as Connor.



The end of the year also marks a very sad time for Ty. One of his best friends, Harrison is moving. The two of them are like two peas in a pod. They are in the same class at church and school and are like carbon copies of each other. His family is moving to Vegas so we are already planning on getting them together but boy we'll miss them. Here they are celebrating the last day of school. Joseph is another one of the boys' best friends. He lives across the street and how fortunate we feel to have such great neighbors and another great friend for the boys.

A lollipop = A good sign!

Last Monday when I reached into my night stand to grab a diaper, there were none. I knew I had a box in Sage's room but decided to use this as an opportunity to start potty training. (You'd think being the only one of all her friends would be reason enough for her to want to attempt it but oh no, not Sage. She was happy proudly marching around in her diaper.) So, I told Sage we were all out of diapers and showed her the remains of the plastic wrap that was still in my night stand. When I told her it was time to grab a pair of the dusty underwear that hadn't seen the light since Christmas, she was not happy but with some redirection about which ones would she like to wear, the Dora ones or the Tinkerbell ones, and the opportunity to pick from princess fruit snacks or smarties as a treat with the final treat being the lollipop that has been waiting for her in a vase for the past 6 months, she suddenly started to get excited. I'm a believer in the 3 day program as it worked with the boys. I was getting a bit nervous though on Day 2 when we had only one trip to the toilet that included actually peeing but she pleasantly surprised me with not one accident on day 3 and a dry bed in the morning. Since pull ups are not an option and neither is going to bed in a diaper it's an all or nothing thing. Thankfully Sage seems to be OK with that... So at 3 years and 1 month I'm celebrating...finally!

Diamondbacks win the Little League Series...at least that's what we tell them!

Another season behind us! Some of the highlights this year included some great hits by the boys, team snacks (sometimes I think that's the main reason they get excited to go to their games), and of course getting their trophies because they are ALWAYS on the winning team (wink, wink)! Here's a breakdown of the season:

The Jamboree:
Baseball season always starts with the annual Jamboree. This includes a parade of all the teams, the first pitch of the season, some upper division games, bouncers, and food. As you can see from Ty drawing in the dirt, some things never change!



Game Time:

I don't know what it is about being catcher but everyone loves the idea of being catcher but can't wait to get the gear off once it is on!



Ty alerting the batter he's ready for his ball. This is an improvement from last year when we'd have to yell to him to remind him a ball was on it's way toward him:



The favorite part of playing the game:

Ty:



Connor:



One of the nice things was I never had to worry about Sage being entertained during the games. She seems to be just fine doing the entertaining...




Another highlight of the season is going to Safeco Field for Little League day. The kids all come dressed in their uniforms and get to walk down on the field. Then we head up to our nose bleeder seats and enjoy a Mariners game. Can I just say that's Jack's motto at professional games is "it's not just about the game, it's about the whole experience." This is code for, don't worry about smuggling a backpack full of food into the park. Rather, let's get a taste of the park" ... literally! As you can see, we get our taste.

First, the pizza:



Next, the cotton candy:



Sadly, this wasn't the end to the food eating but you get the point. Here are some other photos from the evening. It was a great night to be at the ballpark. Even Sage had a great time!



And finally, the pizza party and trophy ceremony. I have to mention that Connor started a trend by asking his coach if he'd like his autograph. From Connor on, the kids started signing their names on a piece of paper for the coach. Connor feels pretty confident his will be worth $$$ someday....

Calling all Princesses: Sage is turning 3!

No doubt the Disney cruise last November was a turning point in Sage's life. It was princess heaven and Sage was mesmerized by all the princesses on board! For Christmas we made sure Santa arrived with a chest full of dress up stuff. Since then a favorite play date activity is seeing how many princess dresses the girls can change in and out of in two hours in addition to how many necklaces, bracelets and rings they can stack on. And of course there is always the final touch of picking out the right shoes. After a few months of this, there was no question as to what Sage's birthday theme would be this year. Finally the day arrived. There were eight princesses, a few siblings and lots of pink! Here are a few shots from Sage's special day...turning 3!

The arrival of the guests. I think everyone would agree that Anne got the award for best dressed princess, although they were all darn cute.



Next it was time for the moms to test their wand making abilities. Here Eden and Taylor are showing off their results.



Then we moved on to the Kiss the Frog game. Each princess got to test their skills at kissing a frog blindfolded (see Sage and Issabella below). With the exception of a couple scared princesses (see Madeline clinging to mommy) who wanted nothing to do with kissing a frog, the girls loved putting on some lipstick and testing out their smacking abilities. Once they completed this task they were awarded with beautiful tiaras that nobody seemed to enjoy wearing. Lesson learned: Don't waste the money on the tiaras with the combs...



Cupcake time. Since I've proven (with the exception of last years Elmo cupcakes) to have absolutely no creativity or talent when it comes to making cool cakes, I had to find cool cupcake holders. I think the girls really enjoyed eating their cupcakes out of these cool princess cupcake holders as you can see from the smiles on Sage, Melia, and Gretchen's faces:



Present time. Nothing beats a bunch of little girls all sitting super close to watch the presents get opened. These princesses definitely all earned their goodie bags. I think when the boys were this age, I'd just cringe when it came time for the birthday child to open their presents knowing my boys would be screaming as they handed over their gift!



And finally attempting a group shot. Special thanks to Jen for getting some laughs out of the girls and to Sommer and Rachel for snapping a bunch of these shots since my camera was out of commission. What a fun morning!!!

May 15th...the official day!

The kids birthdays are never a day long in our home. There's the actual party with friends, then there is the official day when we have our family party and then many times there is a day when we celebrate with extended family who we happen to be visiting or are visiting us close to the date. Any excuse to extend the cake eating right?





Here are a couple photos from Grandma and Grandpa's visit while we were in Hawaii. Sage LOVES this tea set. I can't even begin to count how many tea parties we've had in the past couple weeks! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.