I don't even know where to begin and this won't even be a "real" post, but a hold-over until things settle down around here! We are in GO-GO-GO mode with the move to Missouri coming up in a few months...we are cramming in our last travels before we ship the van and prepping for the movers as much as we can (And we are getting ready to turn over the tenants in our Hawaii house!! Thankfully, we found new renters super fast!) I'll be able to breathe (and POST) after April 16th when our house is empty!! We'll have some down time until we fly on June 11th.
Our spring has been AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! March 1st brought SUNSHINE and 60+ weather (even as high as 70) and the forecast continues to look great! So, we have been OUTSIDE (which means I get so far behind on inside things, but I'm not complaining!!!)
The weekend trips are really the hang up for lack of free time to blog...Leevi and Charlie Green headed on a last minute trip to Normandy. This is the only picture I have right now (I know he has some on his phone). This Fiat was hilarious!!!! They wanted to rent a car and not put miles on one of our cars, so Charlie got this steal of a deal...who knows how in the world their luggage fit PLUS two set of golf clubs!!! It was an 8hr drive, a day of sightseeing and golf, and an 8hr drive home...no thank you!!!
The very next weekend, we went as a family to Bruges, Belgium...awesome weekend and much more to come on that!!!
The following weekend, Jenny Green and I got our turn for a weekend away and drove 4hrs down to Switzerland...much more to come on that too!!! AND the next weekend (yesterday) I went to Tongeren, Belgium with a group of girlfriends for one of Europe's biggest flea markets...I got some awesome finds that I'll eventually post about...sigh! :)
Soccer wrapped up for the girls with ProSoc Academy just as it begins again outdoors...I'll be coaching Kailee's team this Spring...she is soooo excited!!!
AND we celebrated Mr. Luke a little early because we will all be traveling for Spring break...we are headed to Italy, the Greens are going to Ireland, and the Millers are going on a Mediterranean cruise...such AMAZING opportunities over here!!!!!!!!! Of course, there will be much more to come on Luke turning TWO but I did way too much party prep when there were a million other things I should have been doing! :) We'll be in Rome on his birthday...so fun!!!!
That's it in a nutshell...to be continued mid-April!!!!!!!!!
It's so cliche to say how time flies, but man, it does! How is she already EIGHT??!!! It's crazy to see how her personality as a baby/toddler is still very apparent in her 8th year...she's shy, smart, has an amazing memory, and needs someone to cuddle with at night (either Kailee or Leila!) She's beyond helpful with Luke and will definitely make the best babysitter in a few more years! She is major piece of our puzzle for our bedtime routine and gives Luke a bath and gets him ready for bed (diaper, pjs, and book!) while Leevi cleans the kitchen and I tidy up the rest of the house and prep for the next day. It's her own special alone time with Luke since she's away from him during the school day...too cute and oh so appreciated!!!! She's the perfect student at school and I'm so grateful that she loves to learn and read and I doubt I'll ever have to worry about her acting up in class (she saves that mess for me!) :) We are so proud of the young lady she is becoming and are looking forward to what the next eight years brings (driving, boys, high school!!! Yikes, nevermind!!!!!!!! We are definitely relishing every moment while she's young!!!) :)
She has unofficially changed her middle name to Emma! :)
The t-shirt I made her to wear to school on her birthday...
The Green boys came down early on their way to school for a traditional cinnamon bun breakfast! (And yes, Luke totally blew out her candle!!!)
Kai, Luke and I brought cupcakes up to the school at snack time!
She requested a heart birthday cake on her actual birthday...we celebrated with just our family (and didn't eat cake until after Luke went to bed!) :)
We got her a loom bracelet kit for her birthday!!! Apparently they are all the rage in the States, but we are a little behind the times here in Germany! She picked up on it quickly and I already need to order more rubber bands!
I definitely needed a glass of wine during the initial tutorial!!! :)
Happy birthday, baby girl!!!!!! We love you!!! Eight is GREAT!!!!!
Hailey was born on President's day (eight years ago, sniff, sniff!) and while the holiday weekend is fun to relax or vacation somewhere as a family, it usually creates a problem for having a party with her friends who usually are vacationing (at least over here in Europe!) We are going snow tubing with the Millers (Ava and Ella) a few days after her birthday, but she still wanted a party. After fitting all the pieces to the puzzle with 3 busy families, we decided that the 8th would work for everyone (us, Millers and Greens). Hailey had mentioned that on her birthday, she wanted us to decorate and hide downstairs and shout surprise to her when she woke up in the morning...hahaha...I mentioned to her that it wouldn't be much of a surprise, but that got the ball rolling for concocting her surprise party. Leevi took Luke and Hailey to the BX to shop for a birthday present for a friend of hers from school and Kailee and I stayed behind to decorate!
She had asked for rainbow decorations and a rainbow cake! Too easy!!
She definitely was super surprised and had no idea!!!!
Fritos and Fanta are her favorite junk food, so I bought her some just for the party and on the right is my attempt at a rainbow veggie and fruit tray (but I forgot the blueberries!)
The crew...Ella, Ava, Kailee, Eli, Andrew, Hailey, Luke and Luke
Leevi BBQ'd hotdogs and hamburgers and of course there was cake and ice cream!
Present time!!!! I totally forgot that I wanted to record Hailey opening her Playmobil Pool...they have been begging for this for awhile but I told them that there was no way I was spending $55...well, it was their lucky day because I found it on clearance at a German store! Her scream was window shattering (Kailee chimed in too!!!!) She also got Pokémon, some clothes/earrings (this was the first year that she asked for clothes!), craft supplies and the The Sisters 8 nine book series. There are a few more things that we are saving for her to open on her actual birthday.
Pinata time! I'm not a huge fan of piñatas (I dislike adding extra candy to the already fulfilled sugar rush from cake!), but the kids (and Leevi) always insist! :) It was rainy and cold outside, so we went into the garage! (Notice that she has already changed into an outfit she got as one of her presents!)
Everyone got to go twice and I was really impressed that Luke did so well with taking turns...I guess we'll do a piñata for his birthday too...sigh! ;)
Ava stayed for an impromptu sleepover and the girls couldn't wait to break open the Playmobil pool...we waited until Luke went to bed to put it together and I must admit it is pretty cool...there a pump that sprays water up from the whale in the kiddie pool and also for the shower. I think it's pretty neat that the kids have quite the collection of this "German" toy!
The video of the "surprise!!!!"....and you'll notice Hailey chomping on a wad of gum...she had JUST learned how to blow a bubble on the car ride home! :)
We have had some 'normal' weeks and weekends since the holidays...still busy with work, school, soccer, gymnastics and Awanas though. Our winter has been very mild (especially considering the beating that the US is taking right now)...it dipped into the 30's for a few weeks, but we didn't even get a dusting of snow! Now it's back up in the mid-40's and lots of rainy days. We definitely get outside every chance we get, but we are still hoping for at least one chance to make a snowman!
Kai has always loved swinging (she was even the only baby of ours who loved the swing)!
My, how time flies!!!
Leevi was out of town for a few days and the girls tried to take over my bed!
Just playing around with some B&W shots after naptime!
Hailey had another school project and this one was pretty intensive...she had to create an imaginary creature from a specific assigned biome. Then she had to research facts about her biome/creature and list predators, prey, climate, and adaptations and then give an oral presentation! She created a Mersea (a mermaid seahorse)...the rubric guideline was very detailed, but she got a 100%!!!! Kailee wanted in on the action and created her own poster...she is soooooooo ready for kindergarten next year!!!!
Mr. Luke in the bath...he loves it and never wants to get out!
Leevi went on a Man weekend snowboarding trip in Garmisch over the Martin Luther King holiday...there were about 8 guys from his work and they had a great time. Of course I had to take a picture of them using the minivan for a man-trip!!! We hate to admit how much we love our minivan!
While the guys were gone, Jenny and I got together a few times with the kids. The kids' Christmas presents to each other arrived late, so we held off until the Man Weekend to get together for the gift exchange...each family drew names from a hat and picked a Playmobil set for the person they got. We found it too funny that they each drew the same giver/recipient...the Lukes got each other, Hailey and Eli drew each other as did Kailee and Andrew!
Luke's latest grumpy face...
I know I've posted often about the crazy places that Kailee sleeps, but here are two more ways I've recently found her when I've come up for bed!
We did another kid swap/parent getaway with the Millers last weekend...the girls had a great time with Ava and Ella while their parents celebrated their anniversary and Leevi and I are going to get our turn later in the Spring for a golf trip! :)
I'm begging Leevi to hold off until Luke's 2nd birthday to cut his hair! :( It does need a little trim in the back (it's getting pretty ratty), but I'll be sooooooo sad to see those curls go!!!! It's still not long at all in his face, so maybe I can get away with just a little trim for a bit longer!
Some days are better than others....hahaha!!!
Hailey's most recent school project....a Valentine's box for her cards...there is going to be a contest in her class.
Kai moved up a level with her soccer training! Our Wednesdays are really long now (3:30-6:00) for soccer, but the training that they are getting is worth it! Hailey and Ava are on the same team, so I usually leave when Hailey's practice starts at 4:30 and take Luke, Kai and Ella home with me to play for an hour before we go back up at 5:40 to watch Hailey scrimmage at the end of practice.
A little bit of Xbox Kinect after all three woke up with snotty noses. Hailey stayed home from school because of the constant snot sneezes. They didn't really feel too bad and they gained some energy as the day went on...
At a little over 19 months, Luke started climbing out of his crib. We tried a few different ideas that didn't work: the pack-n-play and even putting his mattress on the floor but still surrounded by his crib. He could get out of both without a problem. I thought for sure that the crib on the floor would work because as you can see in the picture below, his head is a few good inches below the top....not for this tiny monkey!!!!! I was really skeptical of the freedom that a big boy bed brings and we tried for a few days of keeping him in his crib. He got out a few times at the beginning of nap/bedtime, but over all he truly impressed me with staying put when I told him to. The first day I had to put him back 3 times, and then only once the 2nd day and now not at all. BUT he was still climbing out of his crib when he woke up in the morning or from his nap and I knew that it wasn't safe even with as skillful as he is! :) SO, we went for it!!!! Kai was my assistant and we had a good cry together! :) AND HE STAYS...I really don't believe it! He loves his bed and rarely objects to sleeptime! We still keep a baby gate at his door when he's asleep because when he wakes at the crack of dawn, he wanders out...he woke Hailey up one morning at 5:30!!! Grrrr!!!! Kai was the one that thought of putting a baby gate at his door (smart girl!!)...I had just been closing the gate at the stairs at night. If the big boy bed became a hassle and he wasn't staying put, my last resort option was to put him in a sleepsack so he couldn't hike his leg up!!! Poor baby...thankfully, we didn't have to do that! :)
I went in to check on him one time and found him snuggling his Daddy doll!!! I actually find him like this often...he loves his Daddy!!!!!
The videos of him climbing out....first with the crib at it's lowest setting and then on the floor!
And since I haven't done a post on just Luke lately, I'll add a bit of what he's been up to! He isn't talking a ton but the words and sentences are definitely starting to come...he says all of the family member names, many animals sounds, he sings the 'clean up' song, and he's a big tattler :) His famous line is "Hailey/Kailee did that!!!!" when one of the girls have bugged him somehow (messed up his hair, poked his belly). It's too funny and really hard to keep a straight face! And he's the absolute cleanest kid I've ever known!!!! He cleans up his spills, he cleans up his toys when he's finished playing WITHOUT BEING TOLD, and he's beyond observant about where things go and where things are throughout the house. He's definitely his father's son!!!!! He "uh-oh"s me all day long when something isn't 'right' in the house! :)
A walk and a snack with Leila...
He made himself a bowl of cereal one day...
He's an amazing vacuum assistant and it only takes me twice as long to clean the floors! :)
He's still not the greatest eater, but occasionally he'll surprise me and be willing and ready for food!
'Gymnastics' with the sissys
The little man is up between 5:30-6 each day...groan!!!! It's 50/50 as to whether or not he's grumpy from getting up so early! I don't mind getting up that early if he'll let me get my morning chores done...get dressed, unload the dishwasher, pack Hailey's lunch...otherwise it's not a good start to my day! But how can this little face not put you in a good mood to start your day!?!
He's really really into the copy-cat stage and he'll definitely go along with whatever game the girls are playing...he's playing Hide and Seek here from Hailey (of course this is the exact spot that she had just hidden in!)
And some snippet fun!!!
And I'm not sure if I ever uploaded these videos of Kai and Luke...
