Imagination Movers Concert

We went to the imagination movers concert today. It was pretty awesome! It was a joy to watch the kids dance and sing, especially Ian. he's the biggest mover fan in the family.
Also, Sophie passed passed math challenge today. That is why she has the bright yellow, "math whiz" shirt on in the photo. She was so excited. We are very proud of her.

Sophie turns 7

WOW, I can't believe it but today my baby girl turns 7 years old! It has been quite a week for her as she has lost both her front teeth. Last Sunday on the way back home from Ohio we stopped off at German Village in Columbus, Ohio and picked up a Jumbo creme puff from Schmidt's Sausage Haus....these award winning creme puffs were highlighted on the Food Network a few weeks ago. Well, Sophie lost the first of the teeth to one of the delicious creme puffs :-) The other one was so loose on one edge that it was almost horizontal in her mouth so by Thursday I couldn't take it anymore. I tied some floss around it and yank...it was gone! It didn't hurt at all and she was happy to get a visit from the tooth fairy again.

To celebrate her birthday she asked (or shall I say begged) for a Hannah Montana/Girls Rock slumber party. After long consideration, I said yes and we had 8 girls over last night. We hooked a microphone to the amp and John hooked up the video recorder in the basement so that they could see themselves on the big screen. They Loved it! They had a blast singing and dancing and being "rock stars" for a day :-)



Today is her actual birthday and we're just spending it together. Right now, dad is setting up the game Grandma & pa Porter sent her. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa she is very excited about it.

John and I got her a Fender Squirer Strat ---her very own guitar. She is loving piano right now and singing all the time so I'm trying encourage her musical side as much as I can and for as long as I can. She was pumped when she saw it and has been jamming on it.

Ok, time for me to stuff some cotton in my ears! :-)

p.s. check out the video of everyone singing happy birthday to Sophie and the silly conversation once John lit the sparkler candle.....see below

Sup'N'Sing

19 pictures
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Ian's first day of preschool

Wednesday, September 9th was Ian's first day of preschool this year. It was pretty uneventful. Ian went in with a smile and came out with a smile. He has had a fantastic first week. Each night he has asked---" do I have preschool tomorrow?" and if I say "yes" then he's super excited. This sure does make it easier on us. He has the same teachers as last year, Mrs. Harding & Mrs. Reynolds and they are the best.

Sophie's first day of First Grade

First day of First Grade-Tuesday, August 11 2009

Sophie looked cute as a button this morning on her first day of 1st grade. She had huge butterflies fluttering about and said she was "nervous but excited". We visited the school yesterday and were able to meet her teacher (Mrs. Cox) and choose her seat and say hi to some of her other favorite teachers from last year. It was a good visit and was good for Sophie. She asked a ton of questions and was well prepared for her first day.

This morning, Sophie was all smiles and questions all the way up until she saw the bus turn the corner for our house. Then she squeezed me tight and a few tears were shed. But with some kind words from the bus driver and an older friend who asked Sophie to sit with her... she was ok. She looked at me with one of those pathetic little "I'm scared but I can do this mom" smiles. My heart was just aching for her but I know she will have a great first day.

So, I'm here alone with her little brother who is racing cars on his hot wheel track right now. I've got a flag in hand so that I can wave it for my hot wheel car of choice and he has been interviewing me about "why I chose the blue car with flames on the side to win?" Oh the fun of motherhood. :-) Gotta love it!

Trip to Grandma Porters in Virginia

It sure was difficult to decide which photos from this trip to g & g porter's to post. There were SO MANY good ones. Sophie and Ian had a fantastic time and burned up lots of energy daily. They swam a ton in the lake, they went tubing, they played in the sand box, they went fishing, played & swam with Molly dog. they paddled around in the paddle boat....they stayed busy to say the least. They even tried to Kayak alone, just the two of them without an adult helper. I was swimming in the lake at the time but heard all about it from grandma P and John. I guess they had a difficult time getting the kayak to go where they wanted it to go and it was quite comical. I'm so disappointed that I missed it. The time went by far to fast and now we're back home into our busy work routines.

Friday, July 31-Wednesday, August 5th 2009

This is a photo of John and I on Monday, August3rd at the Peaks of Otter Lodge half way through our 54 mile bike ride on the blueridge parkway. It was a lovely ride. We truly enjoyed every mile. It was a little on the hazy side but was still a beautiful ride.

Happy 4th Birthday Ian!

Happy 4th Birthday Ian.

Wed, July 22nd-Ian turned 4. We had a party for him at Abacus (daycare center) on Wed (see photos). It had a Super Friends theme....so after the kids woke from their nap they watch a Super Friends DVD that we took in. Then I got there and we had cupcakes which had super hero rings in them. We gave all the kids a baggie of goodies and they made a super hero cape out of tissue paper. Everyone seemed to have a good time.







Last weekend my parents were in too and we celebrated his birthday by taking him to the childrens museum then came home ate some cake (dinosaur cake-see photo) and the kids hit the dinosaur pinata. It was a nice birthday celebration for my sweet little Ian. I can't believe he is 4! The kids are growing up way too fast.

Father's Day 2009

Happy Father's Day

It's been a cloudy but hot & humid Father's Day. John was able to get out and do a long group bike ride this morning so it was a good start to his day. We then visited a friend's church for the 2nd time and came home and had snacks. The next part of the day is probably John's favorite part....he actually got to take a nap. In the mean time the kids helped me do some cleaning around the house. Sophie actually swept the living room and mopped the kitchen. Ian cleaned the windows and it was a true help. They even cleaned their rooms. I hope it's just a start to what's to come now that they are getting bigger. Anyway, when John got up we made a nice dinner and we surprised John with his most favorite desert....cheesecake. I think he enjoyed the second piece even more than the first. :-)
p.s. in the prayer before dinner Sophie thanked god for her fun..fun dad ....I thought that was cute.
The kids at the monon center yesterday. This is a huge outdoor water park with a lazy river, water slides, diving pool and 3 different swim/play areas. It's pretty awesome....they loved it and didn't want to leave.

First Camping Trip of the Summer

Sophie running on a trail

We spent good part of last weekend in Versailles, IN camping with the kids. It was a ton work just to get everything ready for the trip so I was worn out before we left. Of course, there were a few things we were missing and/or forgot. For example, a spatula but we managed and were able to flip the burgers with John's pocket knive. :-) We had trouble with our new propane stove top so we were not able to have the pancakes we hoped to have for breakfast. It was granola bars instead. The kids rated the trip as "awesome". They took their bikes and did a ton of biking. The kids loved the trail with fossils and the tire swings at the playgrounds. They were very active and we had two tired, dirty kids to transport home. Sophie said "I can't wait to get a bath, my toes are dirty and I didn't even take my shoes off". Ahh...the fun of camping.

Ian twirling a frisbee :-)

Ian rock hopping-fossil trail

Kindergarten Graduation

Sophie graduated from kindergarten on Monday, June 1st 2009. What a special, fun day it was. The graduation program was adorable and Sophie did a fantastic job on her parts. We were very proud of how well Sophie participated and presented herself on this day. It was obvious that she was comfortable and loves the teachers and other children at Oak Trace. It has been a positive and memorable first year experience. She is excited and ready for first grade!

Sophie with the principal, Mrs. Lynch

Congrats Sophie!

Sophie and the fam after graduation

Sophie and two of her best little buddies....Natalee and Nicole

After graduation, we took Sophie to Marsh where they have one of the machines that counts your coins. She's been saving coins practically since birth and it contained $95! John had told her that when we cash it in that she could have 25% and he would double the $ and that we would open up an savings account in her name. So, we did and she purchased a stuffed Polar Bear & DVD about polar bears and a hoola hoop with her money. It didn't take her long to spend it all. :-) :-)

Macarena Girl

If you want to learn the Macarena dance here is the video for you....
This is on a stage in Watercolor, Florida...

Happy Easter

Sophie and Ian enjoyed coloring eggs and doing the egg hunt in our back yard. Here are some photos of our cute little bunnies. Most of all though, they had a blast searching for their Easter baskets Sunday morning.

Okaloosa Island

We spent spring break in Florida this year. We stayed in a condo right on the beach on Okaloosa Island.

Highlights of our week include:

-The Condo! …it was pretty awesome, the décor was great and the view was amazing and on top of that it was fully equipped with appliances, pots, pans, dishes, spices, soap, puzzles for the kids, DVD’s…you name it and they had it…

-dolphin sightings….we saw many and some were pretty close to the beach…

-Sophie didn’t find any cool shells but she found a sponge and a seagull skull on the last day…she thought that was the coolest thing ever!!

-visit to the science museum….they loved it! Sophie finally got to see a “real” sheep’s brain…she’s been saying for some time that she wants to see what a brain looks like.

-visit to Fort Walton air force base….John was the most excited about this…we all enjoyed the visit but he was like a kid in a candy store.

-eating at the Crab Trap…when Ian got his shrimp and French fry bucket he pulled out a French fry and said “ this French fry is as big as a walking stick!”…we all got a good laugh…thought you would too.

-huge military planes, helicopters flying low overhead while we were on the beach…several every day…it was pretty neat!

-lots of seagulls and pelicans…I even got a video of a seagull diving for a fish!

-we decided to stop off at the Mammoth Caves in KY on the way home. We just did the self guided tour so we didn’t see any cool formations but it was still really neat for the kids to see. We’ve decided to camp there sometime late spring or summer and do one of the longer tours.

Spring Fun

Well, I'm going to do a little catch up and do a 3 in 1. Sunday (March 29), Ian had a spring show called "Preschool Sings" at his preschool. It was cute as can be to see all of the little ones sing and do the hand gestures, dances, etc. that went along with each song. It was obvious that they had been practicing at school. Ian did a great job and participated well.




Today was Ian's Easter party at his preschool. I am one of the room moms and we kept the party simple with a craft, bingo game and large egg hunt. Boy, oh boy did the kids LOVE hunting for eggs. The teachers let us do the egg hunt outside and they really liked being outdoors. It just made me laugh to see how the kiddos could barely stand waiting until I said -GO! so they could start looking for the eggs. It was hilarious.








Sophie also had some friends over today to do spring crafts and play. They had such a fun time. I'll include a few pictures of Sophie and 2 of her friends from school (Natalee & Nicole).

Me and My Guy Dance

Last night Sophie and John attended a "Me & My Guy" dance at Oak Trace Elementary School (Sophie's school). This was a spring formal organized by the Girl Scout Council of Indiana. They had a fantastic time. I curled Sophie's hair for the first time and she loved it. She asked why I don't do that more often. Well, it really wasn't that difficult but it is more time consuming. She looked adorable and John looked very handsome. It was nice to see him in dress cloths. They both closed down the party and seemed to be beaming when they got home. Sophie was so excited when she got home because her ticket number was chosen in a drawing. She won a basket of goodies (Cinderella Barbie, princess Polly pockets, dress-up jewelry).

This is Sophie and Nicole. Nicole is one of Sophie's best buddies. Nicole and Sophie are in the same kindergarten class and are in Daisy's together.

Where has my baby girl gone?

Today I cried.....

Today I bought Sophie a new pair of running shoes. It was her first pair of shoes in "Youth" sizes (1Y) instead of children sizes. She wasn't with me when I bought them and I thought to myself "there is no way she'll be able to fit these"....they looked so BIG! But this was the next size up so I bought them anyway. After I picked her up from school she tried them on and they were perfect.

Well, then I came across her baby booties in my closet and the tears began to fall. All I could think about was the day we brought her home from the hospital and how small her hands and feet were and how precious she was. She's still my precious baby but she is growing up SO fast. It was just one of those moments for me when I realized just how fast time is moving.

Sophie looses 2nd tooth today

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Sophie lost her 2nd tooth today and there was much more drama this time. Let me start with a prologue. We went to a birthday party at the Sweet Shoppe, an adorable candy shop in Carmel. It brought back lots of childhood memories for me by the way. They had bins full of old fashion candies and the kids were in heaven. The kids had a fantastic time at the party but during the party they put two large marshmellows on a stick, dipped it in chocolate then they all were able to roll it in whatever candies they wanted. When we got home Sophie was eating hers and she came to me crying...."I swallowed my tooth, Mom...am I going to be ok?" She was so scared. I rinsed her mouth and calmed her down, reassuring her that she was going to be ok. Just as she was about to start playing and forget all about it I looked over at the remaining candy on a stick and guess what....the tooth was sticking out from the side! Never a dull moment around here. She's super excited for the tooth fairy's visit again.

Sophie lost her 2nd tooth, Feb 28, 2009 (6 yrs 4 months old), center, bottom L

p.s. other news of the day...we just booked our condo for Okaloosa Island, Fort Walton Beach for spring break week. We got a great deal and the kids are SUPER excited. What am I talking about, John and I are SUPER, DUPER, DUPER excited too! TGFV-Thank Goodness For Vacations!