My "Students" 2011-2012

We won't officially start the new school year until after Labor Day but on the first day we will, of course, be taking the customary picture of each child holding up a sign with their grade written on it :)

For now I'll share their birthday photos, taken last month:

Buzz - 7 years old, 2nd grade

Buzz loves anything Toy Story, Transformers or Legos. He's an amazing reader and would rather read than play outside. He's sweet, funny, kind and a great big brother. Basically he's just an all-around awesome kid!

Boo - 5 years old, Kindergarten

Boo loves to dance and has recently developed a love of horses. She reads way above grade level and loves to learn. She's very compassionate and loving but she's also our resident drama queen!

Bean - 1 year old, Tot School

If I had to pick one word to describe Bean it would be JOY. She is almost always happy and has brought so much laughter and love into our home! She spends her days trying to keep up with the big kids and getting into adorable mischief.

Boo's First Real Haircut!

Boo has been asking to get her hair cut in to a bob since before Christmas but we agreed that she would wait until after her dance recital so that we would be able to pull it up and out of her face. My mom was in town (along with my dad) for her recital so we made it into a girl's day and headed out to get her hair cut and to lunch the day after her recital. She was so excited to be getting her long awaited hair cut that she was practically giddy while she was sitting in the chair at the salon!

The most exciting part was that her hair was long enough that she was able to donate it. We talked about what a blessing that her donation would be to someone else and she seemed very proud.

 The braids that she donated ended up being just over 8 inches long!

She loves her new 'do and I think she looks cute as a button!

Happy 5th Birthday Boo!

Boo turned 5 years old today! As is family tradition,she picked what we ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner today: cinnamon rolls for breakfast, fish stick and mac and cheese for lunch and pizza for dinner. We all worked together to decorate her cake last night.

Today she got flowers from Daddy

Before dinner she opened her presents

(she really wanted this horse)

While we ate our pizza we watched Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront. Boo LOVES the American Girl books and Molly is her current favorite.

After the movie we had cake and ice cream

While we ate our cake I asked Buzz to choose some words that describe Boo. He said "loving, caring, kind, silly and good at bike-riding" :)

Happy birthday sweet girl, we love you!

Daddy/Daughter Dance!

Last night was the night that Boo had been waiting for for weeks: the Princess and her Hero dance. Boo is definitely a daddy's girl and was so excited to get to dress up and dance the night away with her prince :) She looked so adorable in her dress (which will also be her Easter dress). She even let me curl her hair a little (but she specified to only do loose curls because she didn't want to look like Annie, as in little orphan Annie, this girl cracks me up).

My princess and her prince!

She came home with goodies! A crown, a wand, a picture frame that she decorated (they had their pictures taken at the dance), and candy. Each of the daddies got up in front of everyone and presented their daughter  with a rose while sharing what makes them special, so sweet!

Boo was so excited to share all of the details of her night. Her highlight? Getting to dance to her favorite song: Firework by Katy Perry



Boo's Latest ExpEARience

We took Boo to get her ears pierced! I'm not of a big fan of babies and toddlers having their ears pierced .One of our foster daughters, a toddler, had hers pierced when she came to live with us and she actually took one out during nap time and we never found it. Presumably she swallowed it, yikes! So we've always said that when Boo was old enough to ask to get them pierced and we felt that she really understood, we would let her.
Silly me, I thought that day would come when she was 9 or 10 years old, but she's been asking in earnest for a few months now. So after talking it over for the past few weeks, we decided she was ready. Ruben got off work early so we thought it would be a fun surprise. Boo was so excited to pick out the earrings that she wanted! She was very brave and didn't cry at all. Afterward we went to dinner and stopped by Buzz and Boo's favorite store, Barnes and Noble, and they each picked out a book. It was a really fun family day!

For some reason lately I can't seem to get her to keep her eyes open when I take a picture, but you get the idea

Dance Class

Twice a year Boo's dance studio has parent observation week, where parents get to sit in on class and see what the kids have been learning. Boo was really excited for me to watch her and she got a great surprise during class: Ruben showed up at the studio just in time to watch her class after being out of town for a week. Boo was thrilled!

Boo had a great time showing off her moves, but of course the highlight for her was getting to give Daddy big hugs and kisses.

Then and Now

On the left is Boo, four years ago (at two months old). On the right is Bean, today. Two sisters, one outfit, so cute!