Happy Birthday Sage!

Sage turned 3 years old yesterday! I can hardly believe how fast those years have gone! She just wrote her name really well today on a picture she drew of herself. The S is backward, but other than that, it looked really good. I was totally impressed.
I took the kids to my parents house for a few hours yesterday while I went into Roy's office to learn how to bill insurance companies since I'll be doing his billing for his private practice. The girls always have fun at their grandparents' homes. It was fun to see them interact with my parents when I came back. At their request, my dad was telling sillly stories of when the girls were born and all the funny made-up names that he said we were going to name them. He had them giggling like crazy! It was so cute!
We had chocolate chip pumpkin bread and ice cream to celebrate her birthday, but we're having her real family party on Sunday.
The day before her birthday, Grandma Jeanne took the girls to Build-a-Bear since she and Al left town yesterday morning. She chose a pink teddy bear, which she named Sunshine. I have cute pictures to post, but I'll have to post them later.
We're so lucky to have both sets of grandparents so close! They're great!!!

Cleaning Party

I told the girls they needed to clean their room before getting anything else out to play. McKinley decided to have a cleaning party and invited me to come. When I went to the door, she told me I couldn't come in . . . I had to pay first! That is one smart girl if you ask me. She earns a little money while getting help cleaning!

The Little Grown-up

The Sunday after McKinley's birthday, we took a little stroll to deliver cookies to some of our friends and neighbors. I had been roller blading most mornings at that time, pushing the kids in the jogger (McKinley would usually ride her bike). She got roller blades for her birthday --(Thanks Trina and Gary:) -- and loves to practice, so she decided she would push her doll in her stroller while I pushed the younger two kids in mine. She looked so cute and acted so grown up! When we got to one of the houses, I told her I was just going to go up to the door since the driveway was a hill and I'd be right back. She said, "Okay Mom; I'll just stay here and watch the kids." I thought it was so cute that she said that and wanted to share the adorable comment, but she got embarassed and didn't even want me to tell her daddy. I debated writing about it on the blog, since she wouldn't want anyone to hear the story. I almost didn't blog about it, but I am afraid I will forget about it before I get it written in her private journal. She is growing up so fast and is so nurturing and loving toward her brother and sister (most of the time). She'll make a great mom someday! By the end of our jaunt, all three of them were exhausted!
Also, soon after her birthday, Sage opened the front door and almost went out. McKinley stopped her and said, "No Sage. You have to have a grown-up. You need to wait for Mom or me to go with you." A few minutes later, I heard her singing, "I'm five. I'm a grown-up now." over and over again. I'm pretty sure she was thinking of a song her great Uncle Michael sang to her when he was in town recently, which says, "I'm five, I'm five; I'm a big girl now I'm five."

When I Was Four

McKinley turned five years old on Monday! It was a fun and busy day since several of Roy's family members were in town. In the evening, McKinley sat on a little baby push-along bike/walker and said, "I'm kinda too big for this. When I was four, I used to sit on this and scoot around sometimes." I thought it was hillarious. It took effort to keep from laughing out loud. :)

Little Puzzler

Sage is following in her big sister's footsteps. They both love puzzles and do very well with them, but Sage amazed me today when she put a 25-piece puzzle together all by herself! She's 2 1/2 and this was a box with pieces in it and no outline on a board to help. It took her a while, but she patiently turned pieces around and tried them in a few places until she found the right spot. I was so proud of her! I would post a picture, but I didn't have the digital camera. I did however take a picture with a film camera, but it will take a while to get them developed.

Roley Poley River

For those of you who were around when McKinley was a baby . . . Do you think River is on his way to her chunk statis?

It seems to me that no baby could be quite as chubby as McKinley was. He seems so much more solid, but River does have about three chins and some rubber band lines on his arms and legs. He's just so cute if you ask me.

Cute McKinley Stories

McKinley and Sage say and do cute things all the time. Unfortunately, I haven't been the best at recording them. There were a few days in February that I wrote down some cute things that McKinley said to or about River. These stories are kind of old now, but I wanted to record these before they get lost. I wrote on the back of a pad of construction paper that was handy at the time.

2/6/08
McKinley was holding River in her lap on the floor, singing a made-up tune:
I love your legs cuz they kick, kick, kick.
I love your arms cuz they move up and down.

I love your (?) cuz they don't do anything.

I love your ears cuz they hear.
I love your eyes cuz they see.
I love your teeth -- you don't have any teeth.
I love your whole body cuz it can rock.
Cuz everything can matter -- like dancing!
I love you!

2/9/08
McKinley to River: "So . . . What are we going to do together -- just you and me? Play a game?

2/11/08
McKinley picked River up when he started crying and I was in the middle of trying to make dinner or something in the kitchen.
Me: "Thank you for calming River down."
McKinley: "No problem. It's just a little stand up and rockin. I could do this all the time when he cries . . .(a few seconds later) . . . That's enough holding for now." (River is pretty heavy)