Hello! It’s been too long! We have been so busy with the kids that time just got away from us. We hope you are all doing well!
We forgot to post Dylan’s tree photo on the last blog from his b-day, so here are the tree photos thus far:
He was 26 lb 11oz at his last check up and 32 inches long. He is now in the 80% for weight & height. He’s really babbling a lot trying to talk. So far, he can say Mama, Dada, Grampa (Boppa), ball, bubble, Zada, hot, off, out, and up. He loves imitating cars & the Count off Sesame Street too. He is a little joker---loves teasing Ariel & copying everything she does.
Ariel is doing really well too. She is such an inquisitive little girl. She has been playing with dolls more lately, so all the outfits Grandma Laurice made for her dolls are now being used daily as the dolls & bears have to change for parties, bedtime & playtime. She’s very helpful around the house and is getting much better at picking up after playtime and crafts. To her dismay, Dylan usually swoops in to dump out her cleaned up items so he can “clean up” too. She adores him, but he can definitely pose everyday challenges of sharing & taking turns. I suppose it’s good practice for preschool though. She’s also started speech therapy & is doing really well so far; she likes her teacher & gets to play games while learning to make the letter sounds she struggles with, such as “f” & “l” among others.
We celebrated Steven’s (a family friend) birthday at my parents house earlier this year. Ariel loves birthday parties because she knows there will be cake!
Our friends, Kendra & Mark, invited us to their sons’ birthday party, though only Ariel & I could attend. She had lots of fun playing & getting her face painted. We can’t believe Donavan & Isaiah are already six years old!
My friend, Maria, & her family moved in March. It was really hard saying goodbye, and we miss them so much! Maria & I have been friends since 1999; we were college roommates. Ariel & Livie (Maria’s daughter) are pen pals now & send each other “letters” & drawings. We also try to Skype when we can, though it can be tough with young kids, as Chris knows!
David & I celebrated our wedding anniversary on April 28—can’t believe it’s been 5 years since our wedding! We went to see a movie & had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Flatbread Pizza. David had flowers sent over for me too. We even got a free appetizer, and later we were laughing about how they probably thought we were just trying to get free stuff since we told one guy we’d been married 5 years & another 7 years---it gets confusing since we got married Sept 8, 2005 but didn’t have our wedding until April 28, 2007. So we decided that we’ll just stick with the bigger number from now on when people ask, regardless of what anniversary we’re celebrating! ;)
We’ve made some changes in our house since January. We got new light fixtures to update the entryway, dining room & kitchen. We got a new dining room table that is circular, so it fits much better with the kids’ art table/supplies. We also painted our office & made it into a sitting room too with a new couch, t.v. and entertainment stand. It looks much better, but we still need a rug & curtains to make the room look more finished.
We planted more bushes outdoors, so our backyard looks much nicer now with the added greenery. The curbing we had put in last summer is a bit challenging with a toddler right now, but hopefully next year will be easier as he gets better balanced.
Since so much time has passed & my memory is failing me right now…I will just post a photo recap of the rest of winter from Jan-March with things from snow play to fire station tours to baking and even a hat I knitted for Ariel!
We celebrated several Easters this year—a few with the moms groups I belong too, one with my parents, one in Mountain Home at David’s grandparents home, and of course our little family one at our house. The kids loved the candy of course & enjoyed hunting for eggs too.
The last celebration we had was Mother’s Day. It was great having an afternoon to spend with my mom & sister. We went to Mountain Home as well for a combination celebration that included Laurice, John & Jordan’s b-days along with Mother’s Day. The kids love playing in the backyard there—so many areas to explore. And of course, I got flowers & jewelry from David & the kids—very thoughtful.
Ariel got her first pet (other than Zada, our cat). She got a Beta fish; he’s a beautiful red fish, and she named him “Peter Pan.”
And Dylan got his first haircut, so we got some photos of that too. He sat on Daddy’s lap for the haircut, and overall did really well. Ariel was excited to see her little brother in the big chair!
We are just loving the warmer weather that comes with spring and have gotten out much more with the kids. They love going to parks & out for walks. We even got to go to the fountain downtown one day because it was so hot! Here are some photos:
We went over to Nathan’s house this afternoon to celebrate his birthday. Ariel had a lot of fun running around his yard & helping him fertilize his plants. Dylan loved hanging out & exploring in the yard too.
Well, we are looking forward to all the festivities that come with summer next month, including a visit from Patrice, boating with my parents, Chris’s visit, Ariel’s b-day, swimming at the pool, and our annual trip to Cascade with Janeen. Hope you are all happy & healthy!
Love from all of us,
David, Tammy, Ariel & Dylan
p.s Here is a video of Ariel riding her bike, another accomplishment I forgot to mention above!
