Gianna Turns 3!?!

Gianna wanted a "Hello Kitty" birthday cake this year....so I set about baking this cake, and I am quite proud of how it turned out! (Also, the reason I have !?! after the title is because at first I had an exclamation point and the more I thought about it I realized that inferred I was soooo excited about her turning 3, and truthfully I am NOT sooooo excited about it. Actually I am kind of sad my baby girl is growing up so fast and time is flying along while I am chasing after it trying to capture all of the special moments in her life.)

G and I went to coffee at SB to start off her birthday. She loved her hot cocoa, and I loved talking with her about 3 year old life issues.

At her party she had many helpers...she was surrounded with love and excitement. The kids were so happy for her on this day!

Ready to blow out her candles.

Surrounded by her friends!

She sat for quite a while by the cake after everyone had already gone off to play, just swiping and licking, swiping and licking!

Loving on Grandma and Grandpa

Uncle Jared and Kaden love G so much!

G loves her Uncle Dan! We were so happy he came all the way up for just 1 day to celebrate Gianna!

Gianna was so happy with the presents from her brother! She jumped up on him, grabbed him around the neck, saying..."dank you, dank you!"

We gave G a bike... she was so excited!

Ok seriously...I can't believe all of the gifts she was given! What a lucky girl...and she has played with and worn everything already!

Riding her new bike

Riding into year 3...

The kids have been up to...

Birthday Tea Parties...girls only! The girls decorated their crowns and then we had a tea party to celebrate their birthdays, which are only 3 days apart.

The table...chocolate zucchini muffins, heart PB&J's, pink punch...and Smarties!

Dressed fancy...ready for the tea party

Girl Talk

After eating, it was time for dancing!

...and falling! They love the falling part!

Dom got his first Golden Ticket the other day for "working hard." His teacher said, "He could not be stopped!"

Wrestling on the front lawn (Daddy is under all of them!)

Gianna and I made leaf people...wild hair-do's with leaves! We were also working on recognizing shapes when making the leaf people, she chose a circle face, square nose, oval eyes...

Family Pictures 2009...what a great day!

We had an amazing photographer come and be with our WHOLE family for about 3 hours on a Sunday in August (looks like Fall though!) and take pictures of everyone and their individual families as well. This is just a sampling of what we got from the day! Trying to go through 671 pictures is hard! (but sooo fun!) Oona, the photographer, took both posed and candid shots throughout the morning.

I love these 3! G loves to grab her brothers and hold on!

Ahhh, my three guys!

Lovin' on Daddy

Our WSU fanatics...thanks Uncle Dan!

Sweet girl!

Can't resist these eyes

Our pre-teen...quickly growing up.

Things to remember...

Some things I want to remember about Dom's beginning school days:

• On the first day of school when Dom's teacher asked the class to give suggestions for a scenario he was the only one to raise his hand, and this is what he said: "Well, I could take a handful of crayons, then pass the bucket, then Zoe could take a handful, then she could give it to him and he could take a handful...and that is what we call sharing."
• As the class was sitting in a share-out circle, telling who they loved the most Dominic named his pet lizard, T-Rex (who he has never even touched!) as his most beloved!
• After 3 days of school Dominic informed me, on his own, that he was ready for me to drop him off at the sidewalk and he would walk to class by himself! (I had been parking and walking him to class each day.)
• His teacher shared that he can be a perfectionist (which unfortunately comes from me) and does not want to try to write/draw something if he doesn't believe it will be just how he thinks it should be. So...we have had a several conversations around this and he took some risks in the last two days to write and draw stories that were not about cars and trucks! We talked about risk-taking and this will undoubtedly be an area to work on all year!
• I don't want to forget how proud he was of himself when he used the computer in class and played some math games. His faced beamed telling me about it.
• I overheard Dom addressing his teacher as "Teacher" instead of using her name. I explained the importance of calling her by her name, Ms. Grotsky. She later told me that he now explains to other kids that they need to call her by her name, Ms. Grotsky, not teacher! So matter-of-fact!
• I don't want to forget how in a matter of 1 week he has developed such confidence and "big boy" language...
• Each morning as we drive up to school we say a quick prayer to bless his day of learning and relationships. I don't want to forget how important it is to cover his day with God's love. This really sets up his day in a positive way, and he walks out of the van with a bounce in his step.

Fun Football Party

Our friend Rigo turned 9 this last weekend and they had a super-fun rowdy football party to celebrate! Everyone turned out in jerseys and painted up their faces for the big game!

Thanks to Brittany the kids had awesome faces!

OOPS! not supposed to be E-7! Easily remedied though!

Two excited guys ready for the game...they never actually played in the game, they were distracted by other important things, such as popsicles at Nana's!

The great thing about this crew is there is no age limit! All ages joined in the fun and celebrated Rigo up BIG! This picture did not have the "big boys" (otherwise known as dads), but all the kids took part in the crazy game!

The girls...

Some action shots of the game...

Who is this game for??? dads or kids?

G was caught between cheering for the game and going to a tea party!

Vinny was the only red jersey...Go Ohio State!

Dad helping his daughter make the point! Do you notice the skirt and ballet slippers?

Come on! Go down!

What a wonderful afternoon with fun friends!

Our Big Kindergartener!

This day came all too quickly, and although I had heard that from many people prior to this moment, it still affected my whole being hugely. Dominic started kindergarten this week and he LOVES it! I am so relieved that he can't wait to get back each day, and I have also been reminiscing about the past 5 years leading up to this point.

He was so excited, so expectant, so READY...and as he walked into to his classroom I saw all of my hopes and wishes for him floating above his shoulders...as the saying goes-"the decision to have a child, it momentous-it is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body." This saying has never hit me harder than on this day. And yes I know- he will have disappointments, he will have failures...I know they are important to his growth, but still, knowing that does not make it less painful for me...the mother.

His sister yearned for him all morning long. She and I shed some tears together, in the car, after we dropped him off. "I so sad wit Dom for going to school all the days." These two are such great buddies and have such fun palying with one another.

The family walking Dom to his class...I had Vinny check on him a few times throughout the morning. Daddy's report: Dominic was the only boy raising his hand to answer questions. He gave Vinny the thumbs up and showed his picture he was drawing when Vinny walked into the room. He was happy! Just what I needed to hear!

Dom's Report at the end of the day: Recess was his favorite part. When asked about his second favorite part, it was drawing a very detailed picture (he told me all about it). They read a funny story about kindergarten. He did not get in a time-out! (for some reason this was very important to him to report! It never crossed my mind!) He got to be at the beginning of the line as they walked out of class for the day (he liked that!).

Mom's highlight: As Dom rounded the corner after school he saw me waiting, burst into a sprint with open arms and a HUGE smile...then basically tackled me with love! I could not have asked for a better greeting! Then he asked when he gets to go back to school!

Ice Cream Social the night before school begins...how color-coordinated of us!

Dom with this AMAZING teacher! She is a miracle worker! He loves her!

Completing a scavenger hunt for the places in his classroom

Dom's new school home...no longer just "Daddy's school," it is now Dom's school too!