Happy Birthday Tyler!

It is hard to believe that Tyler turned 5 today!!!! He had a fun-filled extended birthday weekend that included lots of family and a birthday party. Michael and I both took off work today to help Tyler celebrate his birthday and spend time with Tia Ludy who was in town from L.A. Tyler had a great birthday weekend and we are all quite exhausted from the festivities. I promise I will post some photos soon.

More Olympics

Tyler (Mr. Competitive) is very pro-USA and always wants to know how the Americans are doing in the Olympics. However, he also likes pulling for Japan. I asked him why he likes Japan and he said that he likes the way it sounds.

Olympics

Tyler has really been enjoying watching the winter Olympics. He says that he wants to be an Olympic snowboarder or speed skater. To mix things up a little we showed Tyler the amazing figure skating performance by Russia's Yulia Lipnitskaya in the team competition and he responded in monotone by saying, "Figure skating is sooooooo boring." My favorite statement from Tyler during the Olympics was during the men's half-pipe snowboarding finals when he said, "I can carry more speed than Shaun White." That's quite a statement, even if it is from an almost 5-year old.

Thinkery

We recently checked out the new super cool children's museum with Abuelito and Abuelita. Tyler also visited with Daddy, his buddy Tyler L., and Tyler's dad. The kids had a blast and I foresee many future visits, especially with the park and brand new playground across the street.

Building a vehicle

Abuelita and Daphne in the kitchen

Tyler bouncing around with Abuelito. Earlier I had to
scold these two for frolicking in the toddler area.

 

 

 

Tyler L. and Tyler H.

So much water fun!

Trying to dry off after playing in the water area

Shopping

Tyler and Tyler, Jr. (er... Daphne)

Queen of the cart

Daphne is in the stage where she is difficult to take shopping. She no longer wants to sit in the kiddie section of the basket. She wants to roam, check things out, and hang off the cart in the various ways she has seen her big brother do. Unfortunately Daphne likes to wander off on her own and so when she doesn't stay within sight I have no choice but to strap her in the cart, which is inevitably met with loud crying.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Gym Class

The bar is a hit every week. There are
typically several bars to choose from.

The rings were out for the first time last
class and Daphne was quite excited.

Daphne really loves going to her gym class. Swinging from the bar is probably her favorite activity followed by the balance beam. The balls and bubbles are also a big hit.

Just Like Daddy

1976 or 1977: Michael

2014: Daphne

Without any prompting Daphne managed to find the one cabinet in the kitchen we haven't filled yet. She happily climbed right in and at one point completely got inside the cabinet and closed the door. Daphne thought this was hilarious!

Let's Rock'n'Roll

I often tell the kids, "Let's rock'n'roll" before we are about to do something or head out of the house. This morning before taking the kids to school I said, "Let's go." Daphne grinned and said, "I want to rock'n'roll."

Old Car

While in the car yesterday Tyler pointed and said, "That's an old car!" He was referring to a rusted car that was probably 50 years old that was sitting at a service station. Then Tyler asked, "Why hasn't a monster truck crushed it yet?"

No Shoes, No Socks

Daphne has been driving me crazy lately because she likes to take her shoes and socks off in the car and then I have to stand there in the freezing cold and put them back on when we get out. And yesterday she did this when it was 29 degrees!!!!

Expert Spitter

Have I mentioned that Daphne is an expert spitter? I am fascinated by this because Tyler didn't really learn to spit until last year. Dentists typically don't recommend having kids use toothpaste with fluoride until they can spit. For Tyler we waited to give him toothpaste at all until he could spit. Daphne and Tyler brush their teeth together and Daphne was insistent on using toothpaste because Tyler uses it. So we got her the non-fluoride training toothpaste. That girl spits like a pro now! Daphne will still be using the training paste for a while because she definitely swallows the toothpaste but she likes to rinse with water and spit repeatedly.

Christmas Dress

While at my Granny's house last week I came across a photo of me in the Christmas dress that Daphne wore this past Christmas.

Christmas 1977: Renee

Christmas 2013: Daphne

Reunited

The kids were super excited to see me yesterday when I got back from West Virginia. I got lots of hugs and there were some squabbles about who got to sit on my lap. Tyler and I built with Legos for over 2 hours while Daphne napped. At bedtime I told Tyler I had fun playing with him and he said, "I had fun until Daphne woke up from her nap." Apparently there is never enough Mommy to go around. However, Daphne and Daddy did some bonding while I was gone. Daphne is definitely a Mommy's girl these days and usually if Michael goes to get her out of the crib in the morning she asks for Mommy. But yesterday morning when Michael came in Daphne said, "Hug!"