Sophie turns 5!

Sophie is now officially 5, and she is super excited about it!  She tells almost anyone that she's" 5, and now a big girl."  Seriously, I overheard her saying this to someone at the playground and at the pool last week. She knows that you have to be 5 to go to kindergarten, and wanted to go the day after her birthday. She was a little ticked when I told her that she had to wait until fall. Sophs is ready to take on the world!

 Sophie has been asking for a pinata for the past several years, this year I broke down and got her one.  She was thrilled!

 Sophie had a Hello Kitty birthday theme, which was perfect for her. (Hello Kitty combines everything she loves right now- pink, cats, and all things girly.)

We got Sophie a Princess Tiana dress up set. She was especially excited to get to go to Dairy Queen wearing this outfit.  (We did make her take off the mask to eat her ice cream cone.) She was very proud to walk around in public wearing her princess dress and crown. It was a big day!

Cade's 2 year old stats

Cade recently had his 2 year old check up, and here are his current stats:
Height: 35.5 inches, this puts him at the 75%
Weight:28 pounds, this puts him at the 50%
*Just for fun, if you put his age at 21 months, instead of 24- his height goes up to the 95% and weight stays at 50%.  We are still not sure if he will "catch up" to his gestational age and be as tall as Sophie, who is on track to be over 6ft. However, at age 2 Sophie was only a half inch taller than Cade is now.

Likes: His favorite toys are cars, trucks, or anything with wheels that he can ride on or push across the floor.  Cade is all boy right now, and busy, busy, busy!  Even if he is completely engrossed in something, 2 minutes is the most he will stay before moving on to something else.  He also likes books, especially books about cars, and trucks (surprise!)

Dislikes: Cade currently hates getting his diaper changed, and strangely enough, hates getting dressed. I think in Cade's ideal world he would just roll around in pajamas all day.  He also hates coming inside after playing.

Sleep: Cade is a very good sleeper, he sleeps 11 hours every night and takes a 2-3 hour nap everyday.  Since Sophie was finished napping at 2 and a half, to have Cade take such good naps is a gift!

Food: Cade is very picky right now.  He is rivaling Sophie at just how picky he is- which is saying something. He will eat oatmeal, fruit, crackers, pbj, raisin bread, applesauce and yogurt.

Temperament: Cade is generally a very happy, easy going fellow.  He will attempt a 2 year old tantrum, but is nothing compared to what Sophie used to do.

We feel very blessed to have Cade in our lives. He is our happy, high-spirited little boy.  It is hard to stay upset with him as he will smile and weasel a grin out of you. We are excited to see what his next year will bring.

Cade is 2!!

 Cade is completely obsessed with cars, and trucks and things that go- so it only made sense to have a cars and trucks party. I was quite proud that I found a truck cake pan on ebay for 2.99 (it was from '86) and Carl decorated it perfectly!

 Showing off the finished product- and cade sneaking a bit of frosting.

 One of his favorite gifts, now he can dunk all by himself!

 Cake time!  Starting off nice and neat with a fork....

 quickly forgoing the fork and using hands...

 finished product!  He was a mess and went straight into the tub.

Cade was sick on his birthday and took a turn for the worse over that night.  He ended up in the hospital the next day needing oxygen and being treated for RSV.  After 2 looong days, he was back home and back to his rascally, busy self!  He's a tough one!

Phoenix Trip

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Phoenix. Considering we left in a blizzard, and it was 30 below- the 70 degree weather felt heavenly!  It was such a thrill to be able to wear short sleeves, and sunscreen. I know we got many looks because the locals were wearing long sleeves and pants- the weather felt cold to them!   We met up with Carl's friends from college,  who now have kids of their own.  It was a lot of fun to see all of our kids playing together.  Boy how times have changed! 

One of our first stops was the Phoenix Children's museum.   It is wonderful!  There are 3 levels for the kids to explore.  Every level has multiple rooms and each room has something physical for the kids to climb on,  a soft area for babies, and a fine motor area for older kids.  In other words- a family with multiple ages of children can all play in the same area.  It is great. Sophie played in the giant climbing structure for a good 40 minutes.  Here are some of our favorite museum spots:

Cade loved building tunnels with pipes and watching a ball fly out.

Sophie loved taking her bike through a giant car wash.

Going shopping at the store.

Cade loved the car exhibit.  Yes, we were all surprised.

Running through the giant hanging noodles. Super fun, even for adults.  We stopped here for another 20+ minutes.

We also went to the Phoenix Zoo.  They had an area where you could ride a camel.  Sophie immediately got in line and had no fear or hesitation about getting on the camel. She announced that it was,"fun but wobbly."

Strutting her stuff.

Kids saw a leopard for the first time.

We all saw a rhino for the first time.  Cade announced to everyone that he was having a "nak" (snack).

We also went to the McCormick Railroad park.  The kids played outside on the huge playground, which was a big hit.

Rode a carousel.

Did a train ride- Cade was thrilled.

Finally, played in the old west area.

Aside from Sophie being put in Jail, we had a great time!  She was released for good behavior.  Phew!  The kids behaved really well the entire trip.  Flying and traveling with them has been easier and easier.  Bring on the next vacation!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Happy Valentine's Day!  Sophie looks forward and anticipates each holiday with the exact same level of enthusiasm.  Valentine's Day was therefore just as exciting as Christmas.

 We started the day off right- with sugar! We had heart shaped cinnamon rolls and pink (strawberry) milk.  For our pink girl- pink milk was extremely exciting!

 Sophie came home and opened her Valentines from school.  She was excited to show Cade everything she got- he was excited to steal her goldfish while she was distracted.

Looking through her bag of Valentines. 

 I got each of the kids slippers, and Cade was thrilled to have Cars on his feet.  He kept them on all day, and would stop and point at them while walking around.

 Sophie got Hello Kitty slippers and decided to go upstairs to change so she could match (she's such a girl). She returned in a complete Hello Kitty/pink ensemble.  She was quite pleased with herself and told me she looked "Very fancy". Right now we have a girl who dresses only in pink and a little boy who only talks about cars and trucks. These two are night and day different, but they keep our life exciting!

Sophie Skis

Sophie started skiing lessons in January.  We were not sure how they were going to go- Sophie tends to be a perfectionist and gets upset when she does not do things perfectly the first time.   But, I was determined to have her start ski lessons and learn since we live so close to the ski mountain, and since she is young and it doesn't hurt to fall. We held our breath, crossed our fingers, and sent her off to her ski teacher.  Turns out, we didn't need to worry- she did great!  She took to skiing right away, and loves it!  She absolutely loves her teacher and has picked up on everything quickly and easily.  She now can do all of the lower lift runs without any trouble and is starting to do the medium runs.  Not to shabby for someone who learned a month ago!

 Sophie is not afraid of heights and likes to ride the chair lifts. She has no problem getting on and off by herself.  Carl has been taking her up once a week during his lunch break so they can get in some daddy-daughter ski time.

 Sophie flying down the mountain.  She is easy to spot in all pink!

Sophie can stop by herself at the bottom of each run in her snowplow(or pizza).  She can also turn on her own and basically does an amazing job!  We are now thinking of starting Cade skiing next year, he hates to see Sophie go without him!  Another benefit of skiing- it makes the winter go by faster when you can get out and enjoy it!  And we have had a looong winter...

First Haircut!

 Cade got his first haircut today!  It's funny how a little trim can make him look like such a big boy!   Cade does not like his hair brushed, he does not like to sit still, and he takes a little while to warm up to strangers- so I was prepared for the screams that only nearly 2 year olds can make.  I came armed with an entire arsenal of distractions in my purse, but he did great!  Not a single whimper or whine.  He just sat still with a puzzled expression on his face the entire time. Phew!  I was greatly relieved- Sophie has had her hair cut 3 times in her entire life, but boys need to get theirs trimmed more often.  Hopefully he will continue to do a great job!

 Carl snuggles Cade as the hairdresser takes her first snip.

Almost done.  He now looks like a toddler-no longer a baby. Sigh...