Happy Golden Birthday Asher!

Asher,

Eight years ago you were born on the 8th day of December on a frigid night in Helena.  Today you are a thoughtful, sensitive and sweet kid and we are so thankful for you every day.

Some things you might want to remember about you when you were eight:

• You're in the middle of legomania right now.  You can't get enough of them but you particularly like the Star Wars and Ninjago sets.  You will get a new set, fly up to the safety of your room, assemble the whole thing on your own and emerge proudly with the product a few hours later.
• You are currently playing basketball but are interested in playing football and baseball, likely because your friends are.
• We watched the entire Star Wars series this summer and have been rewatching it since.  You are interested in the characters and in playing Jedi with the fake light sabers but you generally steer clear of the movie watching as you're smart enough to know they might give you nightmares.
• You get very frustrated with your siblings as you're now old enough that you want to do things on your own.  Soren, in particular, wants to be with you and doing what you're doing, ALL THE TIME.  This annoys you and you often say "stop following me around" to him.  Someday you'll see this was endearing, I hope.
• You learned to ride your bike this summer which was a wonderful taste of freedom.  We're still working on swimming.
• You are a sensitive guy and your teachers tell us that you're really thoughtful around other kids.  Once in awhile, you even apply that to your own siblings ;)
• Dad bought a winter face mask to wear when it's cold outside.  You've taken it over and wear it constantly as a Ninja mask or simply around your next so you're ready for a last-minute Ninja adventure.
• You've taken more of an interest in cards this year as you've learned a lot of games including Sevens.  You also like to play Chess and are getting pretty good at it.

We are really proud of who you are and who you're becoming.  Don't grow up too fast because this age is pretty fun and you still like to hang out with us.

We love you very much.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Happy 5th Birthday Emily!

Happy Birthday Emily!  Look at that spunk.  You are such a happy, energetic, fun-loving spirit.  You keep us on our toes and make sure we never take our eyes off of you ;)  We love the girl you're becoming and the curiosity you have about everything.

 You walk to the beat of your own drum and that is wonderful.  Lately you've really loved dressing up as everything from a princess to a warrior to a cowgirl.  You make your own path and I hope you always will.

 You and Soren are great buddies.  You (mostly) get along well and like to play together, making each other laugh all the time.  You were SO excited for your birthday this year, turning 5 and knowing that you will get to go to school next year.  When Reese and Asher went to school in September, you were really disappointed that you didn't get to go, too.

You have taken to coloring lately and love to color and draw.  You also love to dance and jam out to music with Reese or Soren.  You enjoyed soccer this fall and definitely got into playing much more than last year.  You run everywhere and I think have some running in your future somewhere.

We love you so much and are so lucky to be your parents.  You will either keep us young or drive our gray hair- maybe both!  Happy birthday Emily.  Love, Mom and Dad

Happy Halloween

May the force be with you!

Emily was terrified of my white makeup so I had to wash it off shortly after these pictures were taken.  Luckily, it didn't start snowing until after trick or treating.

First day of 2nd and 4th grade!

Another successful first day of school for these two:

The only one in tears was Emily because she didn't get to go to school.  One more year...

Reese is 9!

 Happy ninth birthday to the girl who made us parents.  We now share the same shoe size which means I likely won't have many more pictures like this one:

Some memories from Reese's 9th year:

• You love to swim and would probably stay in the lake or pool all the time if you could.
• You are very crafty and always carrying a notebook and some pens or markers to draw and create.
• We've learned a few new card games this year (sevens, hand and foot) and you love to play.  You're begging us to teach you pinochle so you don't get kicked out of the card table when we play the "Adult game".  I bet you'll learn it before your 10th birthday.
• This year you played volleyball, soccer and basketball.  I think you're going to stick with just basketball for the fall/winter but you've also taken to doing Yoga at home and the other kids like to do it with you.
• You joined PEAK last year and loved it.  You really like school and especially the special projects you get to do as part of the PEAK program.  
• You are always singing, even when there's no music playing.  I hope you always do that.  You and Emily like to sing and dance together.  I hope you always do that, too.
• You love holding your new cousin, Ridge, and helping with your younger cousins when we visit them, too.
• You and Asher are still sharing a room and you seem to like it that way.  Most weeks, you rearrange furniture or redo your clothes or set traps for your siblings.

Luckily, we got to celebrate your birthday this year before school starts on the 30th.  You invited some friends from school and daycare to HAC to play on the gymnastics equipment and jump in the foam pits.  You have friends of varied ages because you like to play and help out with a lot of the younger kids.  I can't believe you're starting 4th grade in a few days.

Happy birthday Reese.  We love you so much.

-Mom and Dad

Happy 3rd birthday Soren!

Hard to believe but this little guy is THREE!  He's not so little anymore and talks up a storm these days.  He definitely has his "terrible three" moments already but he's also sweet and smart and was very excited for his birthday cake last night.  As we went to bed, he asked when he could have his next birthday party.

Soren, we can't believe you're already three and that the time is going by as quickly as everyone warned us it would.  Here are some fun things about you as you turn three to remember:

• You are a truck connoisseur and will correct anyone who mis-states a Raptor vs a Diesel.  You also like to call out trucks when you see them on the road.  Over the holidays, while we were in Arizona, you asked us when we were going back to "our Diesel house" 
• You have many toy trucks (3 or 4 toy Raptors alone) and got a few new ones for Christmas and your birthday.  You love driving them around the house and your current favorite position is two hands on the truck, bent over at a V and two legs running fast behind all over the house.
• You, unfortunately, like to torture your sister Emily.  You have probably finally figured out that you're almost as big as her so you remind her whenever she makes you mad.  We're hoping you're over this by 4 but, if experience has taught either of us anything, you won't be.
• You love your green monkey shorts.  They used to be green camo pants that had a monkey on the butt.  When you got too tall for them we cut them into shorts and you still want to wear them every day.  Because we wouldn't let you wear them outside in the winter you've now taken to wearing leggings underneath them.  This has led to a bit of an obsession with leggings.  And, no, we haven't bought you any leggings of your own.  You've just usurped all of your sister's.
• You want no part of potty training.  Despite our best efforts to convince you that big boys use the potty, you're just not interested.  Peer pressure, bribery, none of our tricks work.  So, we wait...
• You like to sing and have been breaking into Frost the snowman and other Christmas carols lately.  It's pretty adorable.

Amazingly, you are three.  Our little munchkin.  We wish you the happiest of birthdays.

Love,

Mom and Dad