Off She Goes!

Rosalie loves her new bike! She rides it as much as we and the weather will allow! She already knew how to steer and pedal by using Jonathan's old tricycle. The thing I had to work on with her was learning how to stop. She caught on quickly, though! It's been so much fun watching her riding her bike along with the boys! 

Jonathan's new book

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I am no longer doing formal Kindergarten with Jonathan. This was a good decision for everyone involved. One of the things that I want to do, though, during this in between time for us ... is to give Jonathan practice with writing and phonics.
Jonathan is already able to read on a basic level and he is pretty good with writing (except that he gets frustrated).
One of my favorites for early reading and writing is the Explode the Code series
Since Jonathan is already reading, I was able to skip the Get Ready, Get Set, and Go books(these books focus on the sound each letter makes and the practice of writing each letter) and go straight to Explode the Code Book 1

I love that these books work on handwriting/motor skills while also working on the basics of phonics. Martin and Aaron loved doing Explode the Code, and now Jonathan is loving it too. If you are looking for some exceptional workbooks for some extra practice and some fun, check these out! 

Rosalie's Birthday

We told Rosalie to keep her eyes closed while my Mom and Dad wheeled her present in ...

It's her first BIKE! It's PINK! And it's MINNIE MOUSE!!

She is so excited to ride her new bike! It's been rainy since they gave it to her, so she hasn't been able to ride it ... other than around our living room!

Okay ... you caught me ... I didn't bake her a cake. She never eats cake when I make it ... she just spoons off the icing. I was planning on making an actual cookie cake, but I had just made a bunch of cookies the day before when we had a family over for dinner and dessert ... so I just used the extra cookies that I had ... made some pink (strawberry) frosting and formed a heart with the cookies, made a border with the frosting, and put the candles in the frosting... It certainly wasn't the most beautiful creation in the world ... but she was happy and that's all that matters.
On a side note, I made the frosting pink using real strawberries! It was the perfect color pink and the frosting was delicious! 

Do you think this girl likes being a princess, or what?

This is quite possibly - my most favorite picture - ever of my girl!

She had so much fun blowing out the candles!

Toothbrushes

Rich began to use the Philips Sonicare toothbrush about 6 or 7 years ago. He has always said amazing things about it, but I didn't start using it right away. It is very expensive and the replacement heads are expensive as well. I finally started using one last fall - and very quickly understood why Rich liked it so well. It really is amazing! My teeth have never felt so clean ... and I know that the 2 minutes that it takes to clean all of my teeth, that they are getting a much better cleaning than I could do with a regular toothbrush.

After using the sonicare toothbrush for only a couple of months, I was convinced that we needed to spend the money and buy them for our children as well. The good thing about them is that you can buy one base and more than one child can use it. (each child has his own toothbrush head)
We bought one for Martin and Aaron to share. I love how the sessions are timed, and they are forced to keep the toothbrush in their mouth until it goes off. They both LOVE the toothbrush and LOVE how clean their teeth feel. I am so glad we decided to buy it for them.  

You can see that there is a place to store 2 toothbrush heads behind the base. Our plan is to add Jonathan very soon to the mix. We just need to get some more toothbrush heads. We wanted to test Aaron and Martin on it first. We'll add Rosalie when she gets a little older.
If you are looking for an excellent way to get your children's teeth clean, I highly recommend this system. It is definitely an investment. I used to be a 2 toothbrushes for $1 kind of a person, but I never had peace of mind about it. I never was comfortable with the teeth cleaning process - and always thought the children just weren't getting their teeth clean enough. With these toothbrushes, I don't worry about it anymore!

What cleaning system have you found that has worked for you?

From Nanny and Pupup

Princess Rosalie is 3 years old today!

She asked me a few days ago if I was going to get her a wand!
I didn't get her a wand, but Nanny and Pupup got her a princess tiara, dress, and a WAND!! She was one happy little Princess!

Jonathan immediately ran upstairs to get his sword ... he told us that he needed to guard her! Martin grabbed his sword and also guarded her!

Happy Birthday to my precious baby girl! I had no idea what in the world I would do with a little girl in  the middle of a house full of sword fighting boys ... now I cannot imagine what I would do without her. She is a joy and a blessing to our entire family!

Thanks Nanny and Pupup! Princess Rosalie is in HEAVEN!

Sometimes you just want to remember the things they say!

Rosalie: Aaron can you make the darkness go away?
Aaron:  I don't understand what you are saying.
Jonathan:  I know who can make it go away, God can! He created the earth!
Rosalie: God can wash the sky, clean it, and then it will be light when we have suckers. (aka: lollipops)

NC Museum Field Trip

Last week we went on a field trip to the NC Museum of Natural Science. 

We all enjoyed it!

They all especially enjoyed the dinosaur room!

Martin liked it okay ... but really wants to visit  the Planetarium in Chapel Hill. (it's on our list of field trips this year, we just haven't made it yet!)

Aaron liked it because he got to enjoy it with his BFFXL, Katie. (have you ever heard of that? He told me it means "Best Friends Forever, Extra Large) 

Katie and Aaron have been good friends since they were 2 1/2 and 3 years old - when we lived on the Seminary Campus! We love taking field trips with our dear friends from our Seminary days!