Cadence is Four!

I realized I had a lot of cute, but random, pictures on my phone.  I decided I should share all of the pictures with you!  

Since my last post, Cadence has turned four years old.  I still can't believe she is FOUR years old.  She continues to amaze Danny and me on a daily basis.  She continues to put a smile on our faces as well!  Some of the things she says lately, are things like, "You already told me that a thousand times!" or, "That will take forever!" or, "I look ridiculous!"  She's VERY dramatic...can you tell?  She's so stinkin' smart and knows exactly what to say to make you laugh.  She loves her brother - sometimes too much.  We have to remind her that he's still a baby - he falls over easily and she can't put all of her weight on him.  She likes to wrestle with him.  It's funny.  She's into role playing too.  Either you're the mommy deer and she's the baby deer or she's the mommy puppy and you're the baby puppy (that's what she calls it).  Oh, and she is obsessed with music.  To the point that you can't sing or whistle or hum while one of HER songs is on the radio.  It's mind boggling how she picks up on songs and can recognize them as soon as a couple notes play.  And she doesn't forget A THING.  I think she's a genius. 

I snapped a pic of her the other day in her outfit from Danny's family.  She likes that the jacket used to be Gracie's :)  I spy Colin trying to get in the pic!

Erica got him this pool hat for his birthday.  It has a cute, little shark fin on the top.  It's adorable - when he decides to leave it on!

Here's Colin enjoying his banana and pancake breakfast on the morning of his birthday.  He looks so sweet.

We have a newer Kroger near our house.  The kids like the carts.  Cadence had to tell everyone that we saw that Colin is her brother and he makes mean faces at everyone.  I was cracking up.

Mom brought over Cadence's chair from their house.  This is their daily routine after school.  Snack and TV time.  Precious.

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Hamilton to see Lily and Gracie perform in their dance recital.  They did a great job!  

On the morning of Cadence's birthday, I found Colin standing up in his crib.  Cadence never climbed out of her crib.  I have a feeling Colin will.  Look how proud he is of himself.

The birthday girl before school!  She picked out her outfit and told me that her classmate, Blake, would think she was beautiful.  

I was able to leave work early to bring some birthday goodies to Cadence's class.  I had SO MUCH FUN celebrating with Cadence and her class.  The kids were super hyper and were excited that something out of the norm was happening.  I guess it's tradition to have the birthday kid stand on the table while they all sing "Happy Birthday:"  I was shocked that Cadence was a little bashful!

After they had their chocolate chip cookies (yup, no cake or cupcakes for Cadence), it was time to play outside.  I didn't have the heart to make Cadence leave school early, and it was beautiful outside, so we went out to play!

Here is Cadence with some of her buddies.  Yup, that's "Blake-y" on the right.  He is a pretty cute kid.

Cadence and Brynn have been close since they were wee little ones!

Last weekend we went to Cadence's gymnastics recital.  A company called Tap and Tumble comes to their school each week and the kids can participate in gymnastics and/or dance.  Cadence decided she wanted to do gymnastics since she was already involved in soccer.  It was very laid back and adorable to see what the kids have learned over the past few months.  They encouraged the parents to take pictures and video and told us to bring as many guests as we wanted.  The theme was Wizard of Oz.

I'm bummed that you can't really see Cadence well in these pictures.  We should've gotten closer to take some better pictures!  Or, I need a bigger lens! Ha.  I was laughing hysterically at how adorable Cadence was.  We had no idea she was going to be the Cowardly Lion.  She had this awesome headband mane of hair.  It blended in nicely with her own hair and made it look like she had a ton of curly hair!  She did so well and was really into it.  They started off with a routine to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road."  You can see their teacher, Ms. Kirstie, showing them the moves.

Next, they showed us their skills on the balance beam.

Then they did straddle jumps on the trampoline!

My dad recorded some of the recital on my phone for us...enjoy!

Can't Believe Our Baby Boy is One Year Old!

As usual, I'm a little behind on the blog posts.  Since Easter, we've gotten a little more accomplished at the house and Colin turned one!  Usually my parents spend some time at our house on the weekend - it's good to see them and it's great to have their help.  The landscape has already taken a huge turn for the better thanks to my dad and Danny.  It's fun to watch the house transform into our home.

Here's what we've been up to in the last few weeks or so...

Even though Colin has turned one, I never posted his 11 month pic.  The day he turned 11 months old, I took his picture after school.  Looks like he had a fun, crazy day at school!

On a clear evening, this is the beautiful view from our living room

She still loves her pup

Ready for the party!

Oh, Colin and that face.  No one is immune to the "mean face".  It's odd, because he'll make the face when he sees a stranger or when he's upset, when he wants to be picked up, or when he wants something he can't have; sometimes even when he's excited.  Here's Emilee giving him some of his own medicine.

Cadence's beauty parlor.  I had to explain to Cadence why we don't brush Gracie's hair.  She didn't understand that the brush would get stuck in Gracie's beautiful curls!

Lily with the birthday boy

My brother couldn't resist the TMNT mask, so Danny got a gift too.

Colin's smash cake - I kept it simple

Yup, he made the face when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him too

He picked off every single piece of white icing first.

Danny had to show him that there was yummy cake inside.

The boys had a bonfire.

My mom snapped quite a few good pics on Friday.  In this one, I think Cadence is practicing her "duck face".

I asked my mom to take Colin's 12 month / 1 year photo for me while I was at work.  Boy am I glad this is the last of the monthly photos.  He refuses to cooperate!

This is how he likes to get out of his chair.  Future contortionist.  

Colin and Cookie Monster both like cookies.

Since our pool still looks like a swamp, we had fun in the sprinklers on Memorial Day.