Babysitting Zach and Amelia

A couple days this week the kids and I went to our cousins Zach and Amelia's house to babysit. They were so good! We started off the morning having breakfast,
and then decided to have baths. On Monday Elizabeth really wanted to give Amelia a bath but I wanted to double check with Victoria first so we waited until Thursday. As soon as I started running the bath water both Zach and Ben started begging to take a bath, too. They loved it!

Next we did an art project. The kids painted hearts with their feet.

Then Elizabeth and Ben wanted to continue painting. Zach was running around playing.

We then played with these fun blocks that all stick together in different ways. We had them when we were little - I can't remember what they are called.

After naps Janet, Drew, and Josh came over to play and give us a little distraction. Drew got a Nintendo DS for Christmas and as you can see all the kids (minus Ben) were really into it.

In Josh's class they had an obstacle course today so Janet set one up for the kids to burn off some energy. It was raining all day so we couldn't go outside to play. It was a fun day with all the cousins together! (and I realized I couldn't be one of those moms with 4 kids under 4! I would be exhausted!!)

Anybody Need a Valentine Wreath?

My Aunt Amy sent me this link for this really fun looking Valentine wreath and since I haven't done much crafting in the apartment I decided to try this out. It was easy and inexpensive - the best kind of craft project! Can you tell what it's made out of?

If you guessed cupcake liners you would be right! (I bought this Valentine multipack of cupcake liners at Michaels and used about 150 liners)

I made a few felt hearts for the corner as the "bow". Here's the link if you want to learn how to make one yourself!

Benjamin's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Ben's 3rd birthday party this Friday at Chuck E. Cheese. This was the first time I have had one of the children's birthday parties at a site, not at our house, and it made me a little sad. I am so used to all the planning, decorating, thinking of games, etc... It was certainly easier this way! We'll be in our home soon so we're thinking we'll have Elizabeth's party at home.

Here's the table. His theme was trains so we got all the kids train conductor hats and whistles. I think they all enjoyed that.

Ben and Elizabeth

This is the only picture I have of Ben and his buddy, Cooper. They did a lot of playing together at the party.

Our family

Elizabeth's friend, Elliott, came to the party with her sister Berkley. The girls were happy to see each other,
and enjoyed playing together.

This is Ben and his buddy, Jake.

Drew and Josh were having fun playing all the games.

Ben was having fun playing ski ball, but couldn't really get the ball all the way to the top, so he walked right up to the top so he could get the balls right in.

Cousin Zach driving with Bob the Builder.

Our neighborhood friend, Finlee.
After all that playing the kids all sat down to eat pizza and cupcakes.

Ben ate a little more than just pizza and cupcakes! ;)

I was a little outnumbered here during the present opening...it's the kids favorite part! Cooper was finding all sorts of things that he wanted for his birthday (I hope you were paying attention, Jessica!)

The present opening broke up early when Chuck E Cheese came to visit.

After we got home Ben posed with all his loot. He was so excited to get so many toys!

One present he got was a shaving kit, and he had to immediately start shaving and making a big mess!

That evening we went to my parent's house for another birthday celebration for Ben.

He loved it!Ooo - dinosaurs!

Happy Birthday, Ben. We hope you had a fabulous day!

In other news we have been told we are closing on Feb. 12!! The landscaping is in and there are pretty much all the finishing touches left. We can't wait!!

Ben is 3!

Ben woke up this morning to balloons, cake, and presents! He was so excited! When he came to our bed this morning I told him that today was his birthday and he said is it really?!? I guess we've been talking about it so much that he couldn't believe that it was really here.
He opened his presents very quickly and was excited to see a remote control car. He loves anything with remote controls! (what a boy)

The kids were taking turns driving the car. Luckily Ben is very nice to his sister and shares all his stuff. I have a feeling his sister might not have been as good of a sharer with her brand new bday toy :)

Happy Birthday, Ben! I can't believe how fast the last 3 years have gone. You are such a sweet, loving, goofy, wild boy and we love you so much!

Rodeo Day and First Day of Class

Elizabeth had her rodeo day at school on Thursday. You can tell we aren't native to TX - so many of the kids had boots, cowboys shirts, hats, and all we had was a bandana :) She was wishing we had more but they didn't even tell us about the rodeo day until Tuesday so not much time to prepare. The kids all played different rodeo games and won prizes.

Crossing the rattlesnake pit! Look at the boy behind her, he's all decked out!

Ben got to come with me, he loved it!

Here the kids are getting ready to go back to class - I think they all had a great time. I'm so glad I am able to come to all of this stuff. The only problem was today Elizabeth wanted to come back home with me. Her teacher was absent so that always makes her a little nervous.

On Wednesday the kids had their first day of dance and gymnastics. For the first time Ben was in class without me! It was fun to just be able to sit and watch, but also a little sad.

I have a very small zoom on my camera so you won't be able to see anything up close, but Ben and Cooper were in class together and both walked in without any problems. They both did a really good job listening. I was a little concerned with all the temptations that it would be difficult to sit and wait their turns, but they did a great job.

Here the kids are waiting for their classes to begin.

I'm sneaking in the back here to get a picture of Elizabeth with the other girls in her class. We aren't allowed in the room during class and the glass is frosted so you can't see anything :( She said she had a really fun time though.

I caught this picture of Ben right before he left with the teacher. I can't believe my kids are both old enough to go to class without me! It's going too fast!

Zachary's 2nd Birthday

Our cousin Zachary turned 2 over the weekend and had such a fun birthday at the Little Gym. My camera ran out of batteries in the middle of the party so I only got pictures from the first half of the party. The kids had a great time playing with the giant parachute. Zach got in the middle (with help from his Aunt Janet) after a while and everyone spun him in a circle - he loved it!
There's the birthday boy!

At the beginning the kids were introduced and were each asked if they wanted to show everyone something they could do. I didn't get my camera out in time to catch Elizabeth but both of my kids did somersaults. I didn't think Ben would be brave enough to get in front of everyone, but he did it!

Trying to coax Zach to get in the middle to hit the tambourine.

Wouldn't this be fun in the backyard?

Ben looked like a gymnast out there :) We'll see how he does at his gymnastics class tomorrow - the first one without me being there with him!
On our "snow" day last week Elizabeth didn't have school and I had been thinking the night before that I needed to do a little more with Ben while she was at school. I prepared some trays for us to work on together and it ended up being fun for both kids.

One of the activities was following steps to make a penguin. I was very curious to see how the kids would do. Here's Ben's penguin :)

Here's Elizabeth's. She was very proud that she could draw a penguin!

We have a new dance class for Elizabeth and gymnastics class for Ben starting tomorrow, so wish us luck!