No More Party Posts After This Last One : )

Two years old and already running out the door : ) I asked if I could take her picture with her chocolate cake all over her face and this is all she'd give me. She turned as she ran pell mell for her new bike outside and called over her shoulder "cheese!"
Caroline needed a little help blowing out her candles...Ezra's a pro.

It took three tries to get the candles to stay lit with all the fans cooling off the house. She didn't mind the candles, but having everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her freaked her out both times it happened. Tadd's parents pointed out that the singing is what made him ball at his first birthday--so I suppose we know where she gets it : )

Showing off her new bling.

Now THAT is a dinner table full of trouble!

She was very good about ripping all the paper off her presents.

Haha, aggressive unwrapping.
For the past month, Caroline has been asking for a bike for her birthday. Two seems a little young, however...we got Ezra his first bike shortly after he was two. He learned to ride before very long at all and before he was three he could go on several mile rides beside me. Now he rides everywhere with confidence. We want Caroline to be able to do the same. With a new baby on the way, it would be nice to have her confidently riding by the time she's three--then the trailer can belong to the baby. She is always trying to climb on Ezra's bike, which is much too tall for her. Without further ado...the presentation of her birthday bike : )

She had climbed on before Tadd could even get it all the way into the room. It's just the right size and she's so excited to have it.

She loves wearing a helmet, just like Ezra does. We are still working on learning to pedal--but she sure is determined.

Caroline shares a birthday with her Uncle Alan and we did celebrate his birth at our dinner as well. I apologize that I forgot to upload the shots of him with his candles and gifts. Happy Birthday to the both of ya. And next week--no more birthday posts...I promise!

Toddler Time with some Pary Fun!

Tuesday mornings we try to have "toddler time" here at our house. It's not anything too exciting--just some songs and finger rhymes, moving around, ring-around-the-rosie type games, parachute play and ball play at the end. Since Caroline's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, I thought it would be fun to invite all the toddlers and their mommies to stay after toddler time for a little bit of a party. We did some crafting--a butterfly magnet and some bracelets/necklaces. Then we had lunch "tea party style". Caroline has a hodge podge assortment of tea sets and it's fun to get them all out at once. We served butterfly shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with cheese sticks, apricots and carrots--VERY elegant toddler food : ) Our tea was juice, of course. And for dessert we had cupcakes. I had a grand plan of making sugared rose petals and arranging them on top of the cupcakes so that each cupcake looked like an individual rose. However, my roses all started wilting last week and need to be dead-headed. I didn't want to go buy rose petals for a toddler's birthday party. So, instead I just topped each cupcake with a pansy and brushed some gold dust over the top. Much simpler, but still feminine and cute.

Before breakfast we let Caroline open her packages that had arrived in the mail. Gifts from Grandpa and Grandma Tractor and her friend Amelia had her squealing away.

Grandma Tractor has this little girl pegged : ) Necklace, bracelet and hair clippies with her name on them. Too cute!

Oh yes, and a "pitty dess!" for this fall.

Look what Amelia's super energetic and creative mommy made for Caroline!!!! Since Amelia and Caroline have the same kitchen set, she knew just what colors to use. Pot holders and a lovely tea towel. I called and asked her how in the world this happened since she just had a baby 6 weeks ago. She informed me she had the gift all ready to go before he was even born--just had to drop this off at the post office. Crazy organized lady : ) Thanks Natalie and Amelia!!!

There was so much running around during toddler time and then getting all the craft stuff outside, then cleaned up, then bringing out lunch, serving kids, etc., etc., etc. that I didn't get more than these few pictures of all the kids. The little girls enjoyed their own little table. These three who are only a few months apart were so stinkin' cute together.

And I have to say that these next two pictures were my favorite for the day. They can be used for many different purposes in about 15 years.

Somehow the boys ended up at the table with the cutest and most feminine tea cups and the bigger bouquet of flowers. To top it off, Ella stepped away to get some more food right about the time I took the picture. So, it's just the three little men enjoying their tea. Haha, plus they are wearing the bracelets they had just made. It's just too much. Sorry dads!! Thanks to all you moms who took time out of your Tuesday morning to come have fun with us.

An Answer to Ezra's Prayers

The floors are covered with balloons, the garbage is full of wrapping paper, the huge pile of dishes Aunt Heather washed for me is all put away...Yep, the day after a couple of birthday parties. I promise to blog about her tea party lunch with the kids her age and also the birthday dinner for Caroline and Uncle Alan. But today I'm a little bit tired. Right now I'm going to go sit on the couch and read books to my kids. Then, we are all going to take a nap. And I won't feel one bit guilty. Why not? Because Ezra's prayers were answered. What prayers, you ask? Oh--the one where he wants to have a new baby brother or sister. Yep, the reason I can nap all I want is due mid-February. Now am I excused from the birthday blogging for a day or two?

Our Sweet Caroline

Happy Birthday to Miss Caroline Avy! She's two today. Although, if you ask her, she'll inform you that she's either 3, 11 or 20. We've been trying to convince her she's only two, but she won't go for it.
Helping mommy decorate cupcakes means she can lick the extra frosting out of the bowl! The birthday breakfast of champions.

Starting the morning off right--opening a food set for her kitchen from Grandpa Tractor and Grandma Harbor.

Saturday morning, July 28, 2007 at 2:31 AM our precious baby girl was ushered into this world looking nothing like her mommy--dark, dark skin and a head full of black hair??? I loved her in spite of it : ) And I couldn't wait to name her Caroline after a very dear friend. See her neck in the above picture? That's the last we've seen of it. It promptly went missing. I'm expecting it to reappear any day now as our girl gets taller and slims down a bit.

I love looking at the differences in them here. Skin color, hair color, eye shape.

The first year with Miss Kine was sure fun. And we celebrated her first birthday in Snoqualmie, WA.

She sprouted wings and became a butterfly. The second year sees many changes. We now have a walking, running, talking (A LOT!) little girl. No longer a baby. Car-kine Avy has grown up into quite the little playmate for her brother Ezra. She loves to "hep mommy", play with friends and loves to have daddy "tackle me!!". Rough and tumble as only a little girl with a big brother can be, she still has a feminine side that loves pretty dresses and hair clippies.

Our Caroline--all grown up and turned two.

We love you so much Miss Kine!! Happy Birthday!

A Forgotten Post

These first two pictures are to prove that we do indeed see our cousins who live just down the road a ways--every couple of weeks or so : ) In the short time we've lived here, it seems that one or the other of us is out of town or has company. Aunt Heather and I figure we have the rest of our lives to spend time together so we try not to worry about it and play together when we get the chance.

These boys are so similar and yet so different--the mystery of cousinhood.

Two weeks ago we had some fun family in town and I totally forgot to post about it! My Mother-in-Law's "baby" sister and her husband and two daughters came to town for a few days. We had a really fun time swimming and picnicking with them on a Friday evening and then went back to Grandpa and Grandma's for the pinata Grandma had prepared for all the kids.

Ezra, Ella and Cousin M had fun jumping off the edge of the pool together. Cousin P played nicely in the pool with Teddy and Caroline.

Cousin M and Ella formed a great friendship in the few days they were together.

They jumped off together again and again.

After swimming we headed out across the creek to a picnic table where food was enticing us.

The kids had been changed out of swim suits and into dry clothes--why???? Good question. The creek is warm and the kids had a blast getting wet...again.

Cousin P is very good with the little kids. We asked if she'd stay for the summer and she said yes, but her parents must want her because she went home with them.

In addition to being Grandma's sister, Aunt Gretchen was friends with my mom as a girl/young woman. You never know who your child is going to marry, so be nice to all your friends : )

After dinner and creek play, we headed home to Grandpa and Grandma's house for the pinata.

Cousin P was made to really take careful aim--Uncle Alan kept yanking the pinata away from her : )

Go Teddy!

Ezra was able to get out some aggression.

At LAST--the pinata gave up its goods. Might have gone a little faster if we had had more than a plastic and nerf bat. But this way each kid got a number of turns and had a lot of fun. Thanks Grandma, good idea!

Consider the lilies of the field....

how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe ye?

Good words to remember during troubled economic times...

The flowers and landscaping around this house are just tremendous. Every time one thing finished blooming...and new set of flowers start producing. I am enjoying this magic garden so much.

Hosta love.

This beautiful archway and climbing rose are out behind the private deck off our bedroom. Lovely!

Yummy smelling dinner-plate sized roses.

This is the only plant I can claim as mine. It's a Disney Land Rose my mom-in-law gifted to me at the time of my Grandfather's death as a memorial. It's the only plant I dug up and brought with us from my gardens in Snoqualmie.

Now, I know that the term "zucchini coming out my ears" is nothing new. And it's quite an annoyance to some. But I LOVE zucchini, and I am quite happy to report that I do indeed have zucchini coming out my ears already. We've had it fried already and last night I served zucchini casserole for dinner. MMMM, nothing else quite says summer : )

The gardens looking a little bigger. I desperately need to get my beans some rope poles to climb...

Considering the lilies.

Okay, I asked one of them to kiss the other's cheek and they both tried to do it and it ended up in this wedding photo.

My current favorite picture of my kiddos.