Happy Birthday Larkin!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Larkin

(and 14 months Nellie)

I can't believe my girl is 5 years old!! How did that happen?!? She's always seemed old beyond her years, but 5... wow! She's going to be starting kindergarten in the fall. Larkin is still the most caring and generous person I know. The other day she actually wanted to take a brownie home for Hudson from a restaurant (ok... CiCi's pizza buffet... don't judge.. it was her choice to pick day), because she thought he would be sad that we had all had one and he didn't. This girl is something else. I really count on her to help me with so many things around the house... with Brooke and Nellie. I don't know what I would do without her. Helping makes her so so happy too. I hope that I always let her know how much I truly appreciate all she does. I love this girl so much! She is old beyond her years but has this goofy side that she's starting to get into more and more. She loves to learn and is so excited to try new things.

We had a day all about Larkin today. We celebrated at her school , went to lunch together, made homemade pizzas for dinner, ate that barbie cake (YUMMM), and opened presents. Larkin got a lot of makeup for her birthday so we even got a fashion show right before bed (wow.. that's all I can say about that). I will try to put more pictures up tomorrow. Yes, I'm being lazy. Gregor took this one with his phone and sent it to me (Larkin's gift to us for her birthday... yay, we made it 5 years... thanks Sara! This wine was really tasty... I just wanted to say yummm again... I think my brain is truly fried).

A little note to Nellie... If your 14 month milestone is any indication, I am in for it in terms of having a feisty, stubborn, adorable, adventurous, and talkative toddler! Wow.. kiddo you are wearing my out these days.

Barbie Cake

Check this out! With the help of my good friend and two oldest daughters, we created this awesome cake this morning! The skirt is the cake part if you're wondering. This is supposed to be Rapunzel from Tangled. Her dress is currently hardening in the fridge (in what looks like my heaven ... a fortress of diet coke) so we can let her long braid down without smearing her dress. I must say though, I kind of like her funky 'do right now. I am really impressed with how this turned out... dare I say... we were crafty with a cake! We were planning on cupcakes for Larkin's actual party this saturday, but now she wants to make another one of these for her friends to check out.

Rapunzel is ready to celebrate Larkin's 5th birthday tomorrow!! I'm thinking it's going to be a little weird to eat her, but she sure does look pretty!

Maggie's 5th Birthday

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Larkin and Brooke had a blast at their friend Maggie's 5th birthday party tonight. They went to a "glamour" party at the local kids hair cut place. It was adorable. They picked out dresses and accessories, got party hair, had a make-up lesson and painted a bracelet. Brooke was a little sad and clingy at first but was into it by the end. Here's a video of the girls during their red-carpet fashion show. It was so funny... Brooke wanted to be an octopus when she grows up... Larkin a teacher. They loved it! (I loved it.) Great party!

More Favorite Things

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This game makes me laugh almost daily... Just Dance Kids for the WiiAll the kids LOVE it... even Nellie... check her out in the videos. I know the videos aren't great, but I never seem to have my camera around when they are getting really into it. Hudson loves the Kung Fu Fighter song. Basically the kids are competing to get the dance moves right. The songs are fun, and it's just really entertaining to see all the kids having fun together. I don't know where they got their rhythum (especially Brooke... she's really good at learning the routines for being 3 years old!)... but it's definitely not from gregor or me. We are both incapable of moving our arms and feet at the same time. I like to give myself a handicap though when I play because I've only got one good arm to work all those dance moves!

Favorite Thing # I have no idea

The COOBIE BRA!

get yours here and for a limited time you get 20 dollars off if you use the code irish (yeah, that's buy 2 get one free!)

(no I'm not making any money on this... I Wish!)

I really have to credit my friend sara s. for turning me on to these. They are honestly the most comfortable bra EVER! You can wear them around during the day... under a t-shirt or anything really. I've worn mine to the gym (I probably don't work out hard enough, but for what I do they are great). They have the perfect amount of support and coverage, yet are so comfortable I often times don't even take it off when I sleep (TMI probably... but I'm being honest here). I will wear this thing for days straight (which is why having a few is necessary).... and for 20 bucks it's a steal. It comes in lots of cute colors. Okay... I've said enough. Try it! There is even a plus size option for those of you lucky enough to have the larger boobies.

get your sillies out!

No wonder we are all exhausted by the end of the day!


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What have we been up to?

It seems every week, or every month now, I vow to be better at blogging, but the time just somehow gets away from me! We've had a fun couple of weeks (minus the strep throat and pink eye... but let's not dwell on that). Hudson and Gregor launched their first model rocket with lots of excited spectators (see video). The rocket launch was almost too successful... that sucker went high and far! Somehow, Gregor and Hudson tracked down the pieces, but it seems that it broke mid flight and wasn't suitable for a second try. It was quite exciting though! On the launch afternoon, the kids also decided to fly their kite. I tried so hard to get cute pictures... the kids were so excited and so freakin' adorable... I just couldn't capture their faces. They were all moving too fast and I mostly got their backs and their little heads staring up at the sky. Afternoons like this one seem so perfect and will be stored in my memory forever.

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Time as just been slipping by these last few weeks. We've had a taste of spring and have really been enjoying playing outside (not today... it feels like it's going to snow right now). In general though, it's been fun digging out the bubbles and bikes. Nellie's turned into quite the handful... climbing, screaming, demanding... you know that "fun" age where they want to do everything the big kids do and will scream until you understand what they want. Ugghh... I probably posted that before, but man, this stage is hard and seems to last forever! Nellie is now doing the sumo-stance... standing up by herself and getting really proud but she doesn't know what to do from there. I'm predicting she will take her first steps in the weeks to come. I think she took a step yesterday outside... but I don't know if I'm going to really count that one. I think it was an accident. What else... We went snowboarding a couple of times. Hudson is getting really comfortable out there. He's seems so grown up getting on that lift by himself! If the snow lasts, I want to take him up myself one of these days. I think he's better than I am already!What else...We were hoping to spend a month or so in Santa Cruz this summer trying to make it work with Gregor's two jobs and such. We were super excited about it, but those plans fell through. The realization of how expensive it is to travel as a family of 6 hit us pretty hard and we aren't going to be able to make it happen... so sad. But, I'm trying to make the best of it and get excited about some of our summer activities (and avoiding thinking about what the reality is going to be like when I have 4 kids all day every day by myself and it's hot... we're all sweaty... nellie is running into the deep end of the pool... no one wants to do the same thing... ugghhh... at least I'll have a tan... that's a positive...but I'm going to be in a bathing suit... ugghh... now I'm thinking about packing the pool bag over and over and over again. Ok... I'm stopping that train of thought right now!)Well, that's it for now. Nellie just woke up from her nap and now I'm going to have a little cling-on monkey for the next few hours.

Such a Big Girl!

13 months old and Nellie already thinks she's a big kid! She is Totally Obsessed with brushing her teeth. Look at her in this picture standing on her tiptoes. She's also gotten really good at moving the chairs all around the room trying to climb on top of the tables and counters to find food or markers. I swear, kids grow up faster and faster the more you have!

Puzzle Mania

Finally a nice day! We celebrated by making a puzzle sidewalk in front of our house.

Thanks for the pictures Linda! It's nice to actually be in one! It felt great to be out in the sunshine and have some warm-ish weather. I'm looking forward to spring!

Special Time

One of the best things that Gregor and I do with the kids is to have special one-on-one time with each of them periodically (ideally every weekend, but it doesn't always work out that way). Gregor came up with the great idea for these cards (he's going to love that I am giving him credit for this!). We keep them on the refrigerator and they go in order... Brooke and Mom, Larkin and Dad, Hudson and Mom, Nellie and Dad, Brooke and Dad... etc etc etc.

When it is their turn, we try to think of something special to do. It is usually something that would be too crazy or too expensive to do all together. It could be something that would just be too hard to do with all the age ranges or it might just be common errand that is made special because someone gets to do it alone (Brooke and I went to super walmart one time, and you would have though it was the most fantastic thing ever!). The quality time is so precious. The kids are so excited to have all the attention and just don't stop talking. They are so well behaved and just so happy! It really makes me realize how special they all truly are. This past weekend was Brooke and Mom day. We hung out at a shopping area in town...we went to lunch, a bookstore, ice-cream and anthropologie. We had the best time! Hudson and I usually go to the movies (one of our shared hobbies), and on our last special day, Larkin and I went to play putt-putt. Gregor and I envision these cards still being rotated when the kids are in high school, and even older. When there are four kids, I think any amount of alone quality time is priceless. Some of our friends are actually doing this with their kids too! It really is one of our better ideas.