15 months

Our Dukes is 15 months old!

This precious boy has been in our lives and a part of our family for six weeks - we are so blessed to have him as our son.  

At 15 months:

loves mama :)

claps his hands

puts everything in his mouth

busy, busy, busy

messiest eater ever!

big boy - 28 pounds, 11 ounces (99th percentile)
(31" - 44th percentile height)

two bottles a day

sleeps 11 hours at night

takes a 2-3 hour afternoon nap
eight teeth
drool baby

loves his "cloud" blanket

waves his hands when excited

best giggle!
cartoonish chuckle

enjoys being tossed in the air

backs up to sit on mama's lap

want to be held all the time

head butt

high five
slowly getting used to whisker kisses ;)

lean-in snuggles

hates having his diaper changed

splashes and giggles in the bathtub

says "uh oh!"

rough

pinches and hits when frustrated

runs away
sup nod
raises his eyebrows then breaks into a huge squinty-eyed grin

loves water

grabs food off of plates

dances to music

climbs the stairs

shakes his highchair tray
drums
wobbly tilted run

We love this little one so much.  I am so thankful he has allowed us to love him.  He's had a rough first year and has his world turned upside down more than once - he is strong, he is resilient, he has persevered.  Praise God! 
Dukes is a special little guy and we are thankful to have him in our family. 

We're thankful he's letting his guard down, becoming more comfortable, allowing us to shower him with affection, and beginning to share his personality.  He's a cutie! 
He is such a blessing in our lives :) 

FIVE

Dabney, our little sweetie, our twirling dancer, tip-toe prancer; big sister copycat, princess artist, graceful ballerina; cute talker, giggler, hula dancer; spectacled, fancy dresser, tender toy mama, hand talker; field leaper, whiny voice, slumber-party-every-night wisher; full-of-energy, always happy, kitchen helper, snuggle bug, big hugger. . . and such a JOY - is a whole-hand today - she's a special little one and she's FIVE! 

Happy Birthday!

Favorites at Five:

restaurant:  Pizza Ranch

food:  Empeemopia (Ethiopian Food)

dessert:  cake

drink:  orange juice

fruit:  bananas

vegetable:  bananas, it has a tiny tiny seed so it's a vegetable, Kolpin told me.  Corn, I love corn!

color:  purple

animal:  stingray

movie:  Lady and the Tramp

tv show:  Pokemon

princess:  Jasmine
superhero:  Black Widow

toy:  stuffed animal stingray, I like that one most.  I got it from the water museum (Chattanooga Aquarium).

indoor activity:  Lego games, it's something I do myself

outside activity:  play with bubbles, I mean blow bubbles

with sisters:   tea parties

with brothers:  build forts

with daddy:  throw me on the couch and bed

with mommy:  playing toss, but we never did, so let's play it!  cooking with mommy

outing:  to hiking and bring toys, I bring my stuffed animals and juice

best quality: I'm different than anyone else because this is my left hand and this is my right hand, I mean this is my right hand and this is my left hand.

career aspiration:  hiker girl and artist   

my life in 25 years:  being a nice mommy. I'll give my babies bottles when they're crying.  I'll pat my babies when they're coughing.

now that I'm five:  walk Kota and pet Kota (our puppy), painting, play ball, ride a bike, do school

likes: Aurora doll, slumber parties and sleepovers, strawberries, coloring, necklaces, make-overs, pigtails, Anna braids, buns (hairstyles), butterflies,

dislikes: black licorice, picy (spicy) stuff, green bean peels because they are accusting (disgusting), being sting by bees, I only like bees when they make honey

 For her 5th birthday:

homemade waffles

princess crowns

tea party and decorated bedroom

mac and cheese and hotdogs and apple slices :)

coloring and princess makeover

pizza dinner with salad

orange dreamsicle triple layer cake

dance party
decorated basement party

princess Legos , sticker book, necklace,

Playmobil camping set, princess nightgown, stickers,
twirly dress, $, Paddington book

Dabney has been so excited for this whole-hand, 5th birthday.  She has been counting down the days and could hardly sleep the night before: "It's my night before my birthday eve!" 
She had her birthday planned out perfectly and her siblings helped to make it extra special, decorating her bedroom, the dining area, AND the basement for special celebrations.  She wanted everything to go well on her special day.  When Addy started fussing at the breakfast table - "Stop ruining my birthday Addy"  In the sweetest and cutest way imaginable, she insisted she was the "special birthday queen" for the day.  So CUTE!

We love our sweet little special joy!
Happy Birthday Dabney!

XC - Spartan Duels

The first cross country meet of the season for the Yellow Jackets was the Spartan Duels in Fargo - scoring each of the 6 competing squads against each other in six races: 5k varsity boys, 5k varsity girls, 4k JV boys, 4k JV girls, and 3k junior high boys, and 3k junior high girls.  

The Yellow Jackets had an AMAZING first meet!  

The Yellow Jackets had 5 Varsity boys finish top 10, and 5 Varsity girls finish top 10!

In the 4k JV races, two Yellow Jacket boys and two Yellow Jacket girls placed top 10!

Tesfaye competed in the final event of the day - the 3k junior high race (77 girls and boys together).

Tesfaye looked so strong running - and he finished 2nd overall!!! 

He finished 5.51 seconds behind the first place runner . . . and nearly 40 seconds ahead of the next finisher, running a 5.50 minute per mile pace.  Tesfaye was the only Yellow Jacket junior high boy to finish top 10.  The Jackets had 4 junior high girls place top 10!

It was quite an impressive showing for the squad and a great start to the season. 

Congratulations Tesfaye!!!

(We had fun running around trying to follow the race - an exciting outing for Kolpin's 9th birthday!)

The Wizard of Oz

Prairie Fire Children's Theater (PFCT) came to town the end of July giving kids in our community the opportunity to participate in a production of "The Wizard of Oz!"  Burke, Maegli, and Hanna Hiwot were all a part of the production.  PFCT is a touring theater company in the upper Midwest.  In a single week, with two energetic PFCT professional actors to lead, nearly 50 local children (8-18 years old) to fill the roles, and costumes and set provided, a show is created with only four days of prep, culminating with two weekend performances.  Quite impressive!

"Our town put on a production of "The Wizard of Oz." It was really fun. The first day was auditions.  Burke was lucky and because of his loud and terrifying voice he got the part of the wizard.  Hanna and I got the parts of the Traders that count money for the Wizard. The second day we started practicing.  The people that were producing it got a call saying that the person playing Auntie Em was really sick so they picked me to play the part of Auntie Em.  I was sad the first girl got sick and couldn't be in it but I was glad I got to be Auntie Em.  LUCKY ME!"  -Maegli

"So, like Maegli said, I was lucky to get the part of the Wizard of OZ.  I was not expecting a big role like that. I thought I would get a small part, but the first day they gave out parts they said that I, me, Burke would be doing the part of the awesome Wizard of OZ!  When show night came, I was so nervous. But when it was time for me to go on stage, it was fun.  I wish I could do it again.  And well, it was so much fun, and like Maegli said, LUCKY ME!" - Burke

What an amazing opportunity for the kids to experience being a part of a live theater production -  with costumes, scripts, choreography, staging, cues, direction, and working as stagehands.  We were so proud of the hard work, bravery, and creativity shown by all the kids involved.

Great job to our Auntie Em (Maegli), Oz Trader and dancer (Hiwot), and the "great and terrible Oz" (Burke) - what a fun show! 

NINE

Kolpin, our wiggly, restless, sweetheart; giggly, cartoon voice talker, master builder; curious, fidgety, math wiz; always active, always playing, bike rider, dirt digger, Lego case toter; sly smile, always up to something, twinkly eyes; apple eater, pocket treasures, tiny figure battler . . . is 9 YEARS OLD!

Happy Birthday Kolpin!

Favorites at 9:

restaurant: Wendy's

food:  pizza

dessert:  candy, I just like all candies, I just don't know what kind I really like, the'yre all really really good

drink:  Orange Fanta and Orange Juice

fruit:  oranges

sport: baseball

superhero: Batman

book: snake and spider books

animal: dragon, that's my favorite animal that's not really alive

color:  orange

movie:  Star Wars, maybe Harry Potter soon (he needs to read the book first!)

toy:  Legos and also Hot Wheels

indoor activity:  play with toys like Hot Wheels, Playmobil, Legos

outdoor activity: playing at the park

with brothers: mostly Legos

with sisters: build and knock down forts

with dad: baseball is one of my favorites

with mom:  shopping mostly, I like shopping my mom

school subject:  math

outing: playgrounds

vacation spot: Outer Banks, NC

best quality: I'm really good at building

destination goal:  Lego Land

career aspiration:  Lego designer or Lego tester or Lego builder

my life in 25 years: I don't know. I know I'll have a family and a job, blah blah blah.  I'm going to live here.  

likes:  Legos, Hot Wheels, Playmobil, toys, eating, slime, blankets, digging in the dirt, playing in the basement on my bed-desk

dislikes:  bananas, losing Lego pieces, dried Silly Putty, not being allowed to watch the big kid movies, burned waffles

For Kolpin's 9th Birthday:

chocolate chip pancakes and bacon 

trip to Fargo (XC meet)

Target (and Legos!) .

Wendy's Frosty

Loony Toons episodes in the van

Zorbaz Pizza and wings

chocolate chip cookie cake and mint chip ice cream

ribbon decorated house

Lego battles

basement movie night

. baseball bat and tee . Lego Ninjago . Harry Potter Aragog Lego set . 

. Harry Potter Lego minifigures . $ . Marvel superhero book .

. Lego Creator .  Pokemon dvd . binoculars . 

"Mom, this is the best day ever!" - what a sweetheart! 

We can't believe our baby boy is 9 - he's growing up so fast.  We're so proud of him :)

Happy Birthday Kolpin!