Time to Slip n' Slide

 

 

 

 

Birthday Weekend Continued

Opa and Lita's decoration of Willem's present was so cool by itself that he integrated the tracks into his layout and didn't even check to see if there was anything inside the box.

Awhile later Lita let on that there may be something she's been asking for inside his new track box. Spencer and Henry have finally arrived at Willem's Sodor.

 

 

Birthday weekend couldn't be concluded without a trip to the train park. Even Aunt Pat and Rand came along as did Opi, Opa and Lita. They hadn't seen the new model railroad museum but had fun exploring the new displays before heading back to LA.

 

Misc. April Happenings

We had a blustery day when Tia Julie was in town so Dad and Granmda broke out the kite.

The music gang was back together again after a couple month break! And the Higgins were visiting so we enjoyed having them stay for dinner after class.

Ellie was sad to see Frances and Celia go.

Cousin Alex was visiting Phoenix for a conference and stopped by for dinner. Willem was quite excited to show him his favorite toys and activities.

Our passionate eater. Her tick is that of dipping her food in water before eating it. Gross to watch but her eating style makes for good photo ops.

Ellie loves swim class. She enters the water by walking on the steps by herself until she goes under and Mom swoops her up. She loves it. No need to warm up. Her favorite activity is jumping in to the water and swimming to Mom. Not a fan of back floating.

Willem and his new goggles. Willem has become a fish in the water and can swim by himself. He says swim lessons are ok but he really likes playing with the toys there. Not so into listening to the teacher lately.

A Blustery Birthday

This year we had a joint birthday party with our friends the Bertolinos. Brooke turned 2 less than a week after Willem, so we figured it would be twice the fun. The party was Saturday morning at Arcadia Park which has a great playground and a number of covered ramadas. The week leading up to the party it quickly became clear that we were in for some exciting whether. The weather outlook  looked like this (Monday-Friday High 90-95 degrees, low 70's, Saturday High 58 degrees, low 40's, 60% chance of rain)

The Weiss' came over from LA and there were lots of friends and family who celebrated with us in jackets and scarves on this blustery birthday.

 

 

Cake by Aunt Kiki

 

The wind was so strong we couldn't get the candles lit but they were really just chomping for the cake anyways.

After many of the guests left, the sun came out and jackets began coming off. Willem played with David and Pravash until nearly 2pm. All in all we had a wonderful day, Willem told all of the guests and the Torry family about the newest addition to our family and we had an excuse to wear our winter jackets.

The Announcement

Soon there will be another monkey on my back! Over Willem's birthday weekend we shared the news with our family that Baby Weiss #3 is due mid November. We couldn't be more excited. I think that was the best present Willem received.

Friday night Jason told him Willem to come to our room 1st thing when he woke up. (aka 5:45 am) He crawled into bed with us in anticipation of the surprise. When we told him there was a little sister or brother growing inside of me he was quiet for a moment and then said, "this is just what I have been wanting." We told him it was a secret and we'd tell the whole family after his party. He asked a series of questions and then said he was tired and wanted to go back to his bed.

He left our room and minutes later we hear him down the hall waking up Grandma and Tia Julie saying, "There's a baby in my mommy's belly. There's a baby in my mommy's belly!" Needless to say, the entire house was soon awake and hearing the news from our newsboy.

We told Ellie when she woke up as well and although there wasn't much of a reaction yet we're sure she'll be a caring, loving sister. She's drawn to every baby she sees at restaurants, school, the park, etc.

Happy 4th Birthday Willem! Part 1

Willem woke up to find ballons on his door and all over the living room floor, his birthday poster and his train birthday banner flying high. He told Grandma, "I can't believe this".

It was like turning the big 0-4 unlocked his superpower to talk with his friends. As soon as we sat down for breakfast at school, Willem began talking to all his friends and telling them he was 4. He quickly ate and joined his other classmates in line to talk with them. We're now a week past his birthday and this new Willem's confidence is growing each day.

That day he went to school and I came to his class at Circle Time to participate in his "Celebration of Life". It was really sweet. Willem held a globe and there was a sun on the floor. I shared his birth story and then the class sang a song as he walked around the sun. Then we talked about when he was 1 and he walked around the sun again. You get the picture. He was quite bashful. Then he picked the game/song for circle time and chose Where's the doggy's bone. We had lunch together with his best friend Samantha(had no idea about this friendship). She told me all about how he was a prince and she was the princess.

The innaugral use of our families "You Are Special" plate. We had gotten the idea from our cousins to have 1 or 2 plates we bring out on special occasions to be used by the guest or diner of honor. Willem was excited to use it for his birthday dinner. For his dinner he requested chicken, beans, rice and grapes. Jason wasn't able to join us as he worked late but that just made Willem's birthday week more fun as he was able to open more presents the next night with Dad.

Trying out the lawnmower Tia Julie gave him.

For his bday he asked for his very own spray bottle for cleaning. That was an easy birthday wish to make come true. He and Ellie have since spent hours cleaning walls and trains.

Happy 4th Birthday to our inquisitive, silly, bouncy, loving son Willem!

Easter Weekend

On Saturday we celebrated Easter with friends at the Johnson's house. It was fun having lots of kids for the Easter Egg Hunt and great company. Didn't get too many pics as I was alone that day.

That afternoon we took Willem to an adult salon for the 1st time to get his haircut. Willem wore his shirt inside out so his whistle (aka the tag) would be in front.

On Easter Jason rounded so we went to church with Grandma and participated in the Easter Egg Hunt there. The outdoor service was nice as it was a beautiful day, however the eggs being hidden in the area we were sitting in caused quite a distraction. Before the hunt had begun, Willem had identified the 5 eggs he was after.

We did Easter in reverse so Jason could participate in all the festivities and waited until he was home to decorate the eggs. He and Willem ended up decorating them together as Mom and Ellie napped.

Once Kayla, Rachel and Tia Julie had arrived, the Easter Egg Hunt began.

Ellie quickly lost interest and went straight to swimging on her tummy. She is quite the daredevil!

Easter Dinner

Way to go Jason, you got us all in the shot!

Erik's delicious potato dish!! Loved the presentation.

My Mom made a delicious Easter Dinner straight out of an issue of Bon Appetit. Literally. This bread was moist and flaky and apparently an Easter tradition in many countries.

And to cap off the evening, the Easter bunny made a second appearance and hid the kids baskets. It took Willem a long time to find his in his closet but he was excited to find his bunny gummies.