Long Overdue Catch Up

Ross turned four in January! He loves helping me bake and was a big help getting his cake together. He was very specific about what he wanted his cake to look like - layers of chocolate and vanilla, with whipped cream and berries on top, which he arranged to look like an alien cake (so he said, anyway).

My birthday followed Ross's and the kids had fun baking a cake with Daddy.

Both kids have loved going to the Oakland Ice Rink, and they are getting good enough now that they don't have to take turns with Daddy!

Daddy and Ross enjoying some lego, tractors, snacks, and beverages on a typical weekend morning.

During Madeleine's spring break I took them to the San Francisco Zoo, which was a lot of fun. It wasn't very crowded and they loved it.

Looking far too grown up...

Ross and I took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train to Berkeley one day to do a few errands, and stopped at Peet's for a hot chocolate. It is so fun having so much one-on-one time with him!

Here he is with all our dress-up fairy gear on to do some painting...

Ross and I visited Daddy at work one day this past week. Ross was so excited to see what he was working on and asked all kinds of questions - why do you have two computers? What is that pink circle on the screen? Shouldn't you be working right now, Daddy?

Ross is also super excited that he will be a big brother later this summer! I am 27 weeks now, due in early August. I'm thankful to be feeling really good still and baby is looking healthy so far. My life here in California is much more car-based than my life in NZ was, so I do have to make more of an effort to get regular exercise. We decided to find out what we are having this time (mostly so that I could purge some clothes from one or the other!), and it is a boy! I thought maybe Ross was holding up two fingers for two boys, but no, he said he's making the peace sign, of course. I'm not sure two boys will bring peace, but at least he is happy about it! Madeleine was a bit disappointed at first about not having a sister, but now she is also very excited and they both talk a lot about how they are going to help me with the baby.

I may not be very good at getting belly shots this time around, but here is some proof that my belly is growing. Madeleine had just gotten this new umbrella in the mail from Great Grammy Inez, so she was very excited to use it during story time before bed.

Happy 6th Birthday to Madeleine!

Madeleine was so excited for her 6th birthday! Being in kindergarten makes it even more special because her class celebrated her birthday on Friday (the 5th). 

Here is Madeleine and her teacher, Ms. McCormick, who is an incredibly kind, patient, and fun teacher. She has made Madeleine's first year at school very special and fun.

On Saturday, May 6th, Madeleine had four of her school friends over for a birthday party in the afternoon. She was so excited!

The girls had so much fun, and quickly took up Ross's suggestion of a pillow fight!

Then they settled down and spent some time painting wooden boxes and blank puzzles, all the while chatting away and telling stories.

Here they are, from left to right - Sophia, Dylan, Madeleine, Amelia, Ross, and Kaylee. Ross felt pretty special to be included in the birthday party and they all know him well from drop off and pick up at school.

Just before the cake, the girls' kindergarten teacher, Ms. McCormick dropped by for a little visit. Madeleine had invited her, and it was such a fun surprise for the girls. They all love her and it was like having a celebrity visit.

After all the girls were gone, Madeleine enjoyed doing some more painting on her wooden box.

On her actual birthday, May 7th, she got to Skype with Grammie and Grandpa who are in Paris, France for a bike trip. They had sent her a gift before they left, which she had fun opening.

Then she got to Skype with Grandpa Don and Grandma Georgia in Ontario, and was very excited to get a Playmobil Children's Hospital.

We spent the rest of the day assembling and playing with her toys.  We still had half of the angel food cake leftover, and thankfully she felt like that was sufficient for our family day celebrations, and didn't ask for a second cake!