The best of 2010 Kate

I have been so proud of all Kate has learned this year already in Kindergarten. She is very outgoing which is kind of a surprise to me. Anytime I walk into the school with her a lot of other kids are saying Hi to her. Her teacher did mention at her last SEP that she needs focus on her work and not talk while they are working. I am glad she has friends and is learning so much at school. she is making great progress with reading too. In addition to kindergarten she is also taking ballet and piano and wants to try soccer. Here is some music she wrote when she first started piano.

The first line is Einsy Weinsy Spider, the second is Row Row Row your Boat and then Twinkle Twinkle little star. She just finished her first semester and had her first recital. She did a great job and even played two of the harder songs which required two hands.

she is quite artistic and loves coloring and creating all kinds of art projects and even won 1st place for 3 dimensional art for her school for kindergarten through second grade. I was so proud of her hard work.

She is a great help and a very sweet girl. She is one of the best things to ever happen to me and I am lucky to be her mom.

Best of 2010 Holidays

The holidays are so much more fun when you have little kids that get so excited about everything. Christmas was great. The kids were very pleased with what Santa brought and Beck commented, that "We made the nice list and got none coal". He was so excited to get a bike and transformers and Kate loved her skates. It was warm enough they even got to go out and practice for a bit on Christmas morning. I tried very hard to make sure they understood the true meaning of the holiday and they had lots of fun re-enacting the nativity on an almost daily basis. I don't have any Christmas pictures available to me at the moment, but here is one from Halloween. The rain didn't even dampen their spirits.

It has also been fun to help with the holiday parties at school. Eli and I were both able to go the Kate's school for a thanksgiving feast and eat lunch with her in the cafeteria. I was able to go to Beck's pre-school for the Thanksgiving party and Kate's kindergarten for the Christmas party. It is fun to see how excited your kids are to see you at their school. Kate was so excited to announce to everyone that I was her mom and she came up and gave me a big hug. Beck wouldn't leave my side the whole time I was helping with the pre-school party. I love the adoration they have for their moms and dads at this age and I am trying to enjoy it before it is gone.

The best of 2010 couple time

With three small children and Eli starting an MBA program we knew there were going to be a lot of sacrifices and time together was going to be even more important than ever. This is a goal we will need to continue to work on throughout the next year. We did have some great times together that really strengthened our relationship and especially the Mexican Rivera Cruise we took in April. I loved trying new things like Snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas and horse back riding on the beach in Mazatlan and also the zip lining through the jungle in Puerto Vallarta. I can still feel the benefits of this couples vacation even now that is has been several months.

I also really enjoyed going to see the Paul McCartney concert this summer. Eli loves music and it was nice to share in the music that has been such a big part of his life. I am not as big a fan as Eli, but he put on an excellent show and I really enjoyed the concert.

Best of 2010 Eli begins an MBA

This has like many other of the best things from this year also been a challenge as well. It is not easy for me to be a single mom for several days of the week. I don't see how they do it all the time. It is tiring to not have a spouse available to help because he goes straight to school from work and doesn't get home until after 11pm. It is also hard for Eli to have more responsibilities and work than he can possibly accomplish in a day and to miss out on family time. However, I am very proud of him for following his dream and setting and accomplishing high goals for himself instead of settling for the easier route. I am grateful for the example he is setting for our kids that education and self-improvement are important and worthy goals. I am grateful for the wonderful job he does providing for us.

Best of 2010 Regular everyday stuff

Some of my favorite moments of 2010 have been the simple everyday things

like the kids coming in to our room in the morning to snuggle and play

funny things they say and do while we are out running errands

I can't believe Kiera actually fell asleep like this.

or even playing outside on warm summer days. I thought it was pretty funny that Kiera thinks she needs her helmet on like her brother and sister who are riding bikes eventhough she is just walking around.

Let Summer Begin

Okay, Summer is almost over and I am just now posting about the start of our summer. I am a slacker I know. But from these posts you can see we have been quite busy. It is not all my fault, Eli just barely downloaded the pictures for me. He doesn't trust me to do it since one time I almost deleted some of them.

Kate graduated from pre-school at the end of May. She had a princess party and a graduation party at the dinosaur Park.

Kate and Ms. Debee

Daddy thought it was funny to feed the kids to the dinosaur.

Kate will be going to kindergarten in just a few weeks. I have very mixed feelings about this. I know she is so excited to learn new things and make new friends. I am looking forward to less fights between Kate and Beck, but it is hard to know I won't be there with her all the time anymore and that she is officially no longer a baby or a pre-schooler but a school aged child. Time goes by too fast. I just hope we can make lots of good memories to hold on to as the years fly by.

Summer Fun

This summer we have had swim lessons, dance class, an amusement park day, a vacation and many other fun things, but I thought it might be nice to post a few of the everyday summer things the kids enjoyed.

I bought a slip-n-slide on sale and I thought it would be fun for the kids, however they didn't seem to understand how they work.

Kiera loves digging in the dirt and she learned to climb the bolders in the back yard if necessary to gain access to her favorite past time.

She was so proud of herself and happy to be in the dirt.

Kate's favorite pastime is anything artistic. This girl will color all day long if you let her. I liked the crab she drew.

If she can't color then she will want to be artistic in other ways. Under the sea creatures by Kate.
Hopefully we can make the most of the few summer days we have left. We went to the park yesterday and we are going swimming tomorrow. I can't believe it is almost over.