We have a couple of new riders....

 

Papa brought Isaiah his own little bike to keep up with the girls!  Isaiah had been riding around on the pink trike that the girls had all used, but he LOVES this new bike from Papa.  Daddy took him to buy a helmet because we have a hard time keeping up with him already.  He has watched Hannah do her tricks, and he has figured out how to pedal while standing up just like her!  He loves to ride to the top of the hill with Lizzie and then go really fast on the way back down!

 

Eliza has been cruising around on the balance bike for quite a while now, and was flying around on her bike with training wheels, so we thought we'd give her a try on two wheels......and she took off on her own after just a couple of minutes!  She was SO proud of herself and wanted to show each neighbor who came outside tonight :)  My favorite might have been Joe's reaction, though, when she came riding down the hill by herself.  He just about pulled her right off her bike, cheering, and throwing her up in the air!  Eliza had such a cute proud, but embarrassed half smile on her face, then went racing into the house to tell her sisters!  She might have also mentioned to her very competitive older sister that she learned to ride a bike the youngest so far ;)



last week...

The evening after getting braces put on....not feeling quite so happy about them!

 I went to the store to buy every soft food I could find, including lots of ice cream, of course, and came home to these three sound asleep on the couch....

 Hannah loves making castles for Bear to explore...

 Sweet boy LOVES his pockets!!  Always has his hands in pockets!

 castle with stairs creation...

 Eliza's sweet card for her cousin, Jaime...I love her picture of the two of them!

 Clara got some cute pictures of Isaiah.....just before she dropped the camera and broke it :/  It might be a while before we have new pictures up!

 The smolder...

February phone pics

The kids LOVED their Valentine cards (and candy!) from Nana!!

 Hannah loved her card, but not the camera ;)

 The boys

 Having some fun out shopping!

 BFFs

 I love how Te put her paw over Hannah's shoulder....snuggles....

 Crazy girl thought it was summer when the sun came out...shopping in shorts!

 Te thought it would be more comfortable to squeeze between the girls in the backseat instead of riding on the floor of the car!

 Clara back on a horse!  She loves it!! This place had her riding without a saddle...

 Valentine sweethearts!

 Cheering for Daddy at his basketball game!  Hannah made her own sign to hold up for the team!

 Watching and coloring....

 Isaiah was absolutely enthralled by the game.....

 LOVED holding Dada's basketball while he was playing!

 Brand new brace face!! :)

2 year old happenings...

Our little guy turned two, and someone must have told him that he could grow up.  He's changing so fast, trying so hard to keep up with his sisters and very interested in being "like Dada".  He puts Joe's hats on, carries his basketball everywhere, and likes to wear the pajama shorts that he thinks are boxer shorts!  He also spends lots of time with Mommy, though, and got into Aunt Julie's mascara several times while she was visiting!  I actually had to go buy makeup remover to clean his eyes after this mischief.....

 Daddy and Clara taught Isaiah how to give a "smolder" look (from Tangled).  Now one of my favorite things is to get a "smolder kiss" from him!  He loves to jump on the trampoline, jump off the couch onto cushions, imitates Hannah's headstands, and took off pedaling his trike the other day.  He watches his sister closely and jumps right in!

 We set the twin bed up in his room for Aunt Julie's visit, so it seemed a good time to switch him to his big boy bed!  He loves to snuggle under the cozy blankets, especially when they have been warmed up in the dryer first!  He always pats the bed next to him and asks me to lay down "My bed Mama".  I love our conversations at night, talking about everything that we did that day and singing songs together.  He will now initiate big "I love yous" and put his arm over my neck while we are snuggling.  He really is so sweet and affectionate. 

He's also showing a lot of interest in the potty and will take off his pants and diaper and sit on his potty or on the big potty.  Some days he'll go 4 or 5 times on the potty, so we're just letting him go when he wants to, usually with a sister heading in there with him in case he needs help.  He is very proud when he goes and loves to have everyone cheer, which he cheers along with yelling "Yeah, Zayzay!!!"  He's growing up so fast.  I love seeing him able to do more with his sisters, but I am missing my baby at times and soak up every snuggle he'll give me!

The kids and I spent a fun few days in Portland with Aunt Molly, Julie and Nana.  Aunt Molly bought the kids an aquarium membership for Christmas, so we took our first trip there...

 Feeding the fish...

 Aunt Molly making sure Eliza didn't end up swimming in this boat!  There were LOTS of things to touch...

 This sting ray pool was a favorite.  The girls stayed here for a long time, as the rays were really friendly and would swim close by so the girls could touch them.  Hannah named them all!

 Thank you, Aunt Molly for a fun gift that we can use when we visit you!!!  We brought Aunt Julie and Te up to Seattle for the week, and here are some pictures of our time...

Isaiah's new look...

 Te decided that the mattress was more comfortable than her dog bed!  Relaxing with her cousins ;)

 The boys watching football with a remote and some goldfish crackers...

 Hannah's many friends to keep her company at night, all lined up...

 Story time with Daddy...

Movie and popcorn

Morning cartoons