Fern and her friends

I think that one of the most fascinating things to watch as a mother is the different things that completely grab your kids' thoughts and imaginations. As I've mentioned before, The Nutcracker completely ruled our house for years, and still plays a big part in our day-to-day conversations. For the past 6 months or so, Aly's fascination has been completely taken by Charlotte's Web. She has drawn over 30 pictures of scenes from the book, has a beloved "Wilbur" stuffed pig, and of course, a "Charlotte" plastic spider. So of course, the theme of Aly's birthday party was easy this year. She dressed as "Fern", Caroline dressed as "Wilbur", we played some pig games and ate pig cake. All in all, a T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C time.

The Pig Cake

Aly's artwork, displayed

The Feeding Trough

Pin the Tail on the Pig (drawn by the birthday girl herself)

Fern

The Barnyard Friends

...And the Pinata...
I've promised the girls for a long time that they could each have a pinata when they turn 6, so at the end of the party, we went outside and broke a pig pinata. Here's where I should have used a little maternal foresight: we bought the pinata about 3 weeks ago, so Aly has had 3 weeks to make friends with it. As she watched friend-after-friend swing at her new friend, her face got more and more mortified. After one final swing by the birthday girl herself, Chad tore the remainder of the pig in half and shook the candy out. As the kids ran to get the candy, Aly ran into Chad's arms sobbing. Hmmm...a decapitated pig. I didn't think of that! Fortunately, a bag full of candy and a yard full of friends was enough to put the tragedy behind her. Maybe we'll choose a star or heart when Caroline turns 6!

Dance Recital-or-Bust

Our winter recital was two Saturdays ago. On the calendar it seemed perfect because it was one of about two Saturdays this season with no basketball game! It did, however, take place just 5 days after Caroline got her tonsils out. It was a tougher week-and-a-half than any of us had envisioned, but she was determined to make it to the dance recital. And make it she did. Costume on, make-up and hair ready, in the basement of the city audiorium. But the poor girl just couldn't make it on stage. She felt miserable and nothing could make her leave our side. So she enjoyed an evening of ballet on my lap. And sitting with my baby girl watching her beautiful sister dance, I couldn't have been happier.

The girls, pre-meltdown

Aly- Happy and healthy

Family Picture. Definitely time to go home!

The Young and the Restless

In regards to the boy on whom Caroline has had a crush all year, on the way home from school today Caroline declared from the back of the car, "Ben must really be getting to love me because he never roars at me, he never attacks me, and he never makes me dead." That settles it: he's a keeper!

Coach Daddy

So, at the risk of bragging... my sweet husband is currently the coach of the #1 NAIA basketball team in America. 17-0 or 0-17, we're super-proud of him.

Going, going, GONE!

Due to some problems with her ability to hear, Caroline got her third set of tubes put in this morning, her adenoids out for the second time, and her tonsils out. After the surgery, the doctor said that her hearing should be much better and without those "rotten tonsils", she should have a much easier time with breathing and just staying healthy, in general.

As for the patient, she is UNBELIEVABLE! We have heard a lot of horror stories over the past week, and though we have a ways to go, she has proven to be her usual tough self.

Here's our baby girl, pre-op and very excited

Although she woke up from surgery crying, "I don't like my throat. I wanna go home" she has rallied. She's drinking, eating, smiling, and watching lots of tv. Who could ask for more?!

Superstitions aside...

Channeling a little of our own Tebow Magic, the Hawks are now 15-0, and ranked #2 in the country! If you're interested, you can read more.
Two big games coming up at the end of the week...

Bye Bye, Baby!

He may still walk around the house with a pacifier in his mouth, but Jack has passed a milestone, moving him even further into the "toddler" world: no more crib in the room! He was so excited to do it, he wouldn't even let me finish our usual routine reading of Goodnight Moon. Unlike Caroline, who experimented with climbing the curtains on night 1 of a big bed, this little guy laid down, went to sleep, and stayed put until we woke him up the next morning. Sweet dreams, Little Man; don't grow up too fast!