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Aleea pulled out her first tooth today. She pulled out her second a little over an hour later.

Added a 2-part video of Lili giving an oral report at school. She did awesome!

It’s about time. This week has been so beautiful! The kids have some neighbor friends and we find them just meeting up over the fence and playing. Life seems so simple and joyful! I love the summer…

Easter was a lot of fun this year. Jon and Hans Conrad came to visit. The girls all got rollerblades or skates (for Kristina) and a ton of candy. Lili and Aleea spent most of the day skating in circles in the kitchen getting used to the feel. They still put them on for a couple hours after school and skate around. We can’t wait till it gets warm enough to take them outside!

We think Kristina must have eaten her weight in chocolate on Easter. She’d get all cleaned up and come around the corner covered in a new candy. She was also so cute hunting for eggs. Everytime she saw one of her green eggs her eyes would get so big, she would smile, put her hands to her mouth and jump up and down. Then run and grab it, carefully depositing it into her basket. This was the first year she really understood what was going on even if she couldn’t anticipate it. She was a pure joy to watch.

Wow, the summer is gone and a new year begins. Lili started 3rd grade this year. She doesn’t have her best friends in class this year but she has an incredible class and after the disappointment of last year, I’m hoping for great things this year.

Aleea started Kindergarten today. It’s hard to believe she has grown up so much. My little buddy is gone all day. She begged for all day kindergarten and we gave in. I guess we will see if it’s too much for her. This morning I walked her in, she found her name on a closet, put her coat and backpack in it and started her day. After watching Lili do it for so many years, she’s got it down. I think she’s going to be just fine.

It’s just Kristina and me all day now. I’m expecting to have way more time on my hands than I’m used to and I’m looking forward to all I’m going to get done. Kristina is starting to speak, she’s repeating new words everyday and I think she’s ready for potty training. Oh boy!

This was such a great Halloween. The kids were so much fun this year. Liliana dressed up as Esmerelda from Hunchback of Notre Dame. Most people got gypsy (though we did have one pirate comment that Aleea had to correct) one neighbor got Esmerelda. She looked so cute in the wig and all the accessories. She had a great time at the school party on Friday running around with all her friends. She played all kinds of games and got lots of prizes.

Aleea dressed up as Princess Peach. She was so excited for Trick-or-Treating. It was hilarious to watch her. She had a conversation at each house. At one she talked about the flu shot she got this afternoon, at another it was all about her costume. At one house she even said “I love you” as she walked away. The woman at the door was laughing so hard, we were too at the sidewalk. Each house was a new friend to share her life story with. It was so funny.

Kristina sat in the stroller and was content to kick her feet all the way. She didn’t make a sound the whole time and just laid back. She does make the cutest little clown though. When we got home she was so excited about the candy, you would think she knew exactly what was on the floor though she couldn’t have any herself. She seemed to almost swim through the candy. She also had to pick up each one and lick the wrappers.

Definitely one of the best Halloweens ever. The kids were such troopers as we walked around the neighborhood. They never whined about being tired or cold and were just interested in the candy. It was constantly “just those last two houses down there? Please?” Then of course, those houses lead to the next two and so on.

On Wednesday, September 30 Kristina cut her first two teeth. Both bottom center teeth are in. It’s no wonder she was having a hard time, getting two at the same time. I’ll try to get a picture but she is so stubborn, she barely lets us look at all. Dyana only knew they were there due to being able to feel them.

We uploaded a new video of Kristina talking. Head on over to the video page to see it.

So we made it through the first week of school and extracurricular activities.  Lili started school on Tuesday, September 8.  She has Mrs Kravitz this year in second grade.  She really enjoys her class and has found some fast new friends which is good because almost none of her friends from last year are in her class this year.  When I asked her what her favorite thing that happened this week was she talked about the popcicles they had on Friday.  Her favorite part of that?  The riddle that was on the stick.  “What kind of dance do moms do?  The Mambo”  I think she will do well in this class this year.

Aleea started soccer on Wednesday morning.  She goes while Lili is at school.  There are few things cuter than a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds running around on the soccer field.  They do more than just soccer.  This week they were monkeys in the jungle.  They played a lot of listening games.  In one, Aleea’s favorite, they each received a circle.  Once the coach said go everyone ran around, anywhere they wanted.  As soon as he said “Oh no the gorilla’s coming!” they would all drop their circles, jump on top and pretend to be a tree.  They also played red/yellow/green light.  Aleea did really well and at one point even ran back to help her teammate get back up when she fell, twice.  We are so proud of her.

Lili has started karate.  Bushido Kai to be exact.  She goes on Monday Wednesday and Fridays.  She has attended two classes and already is showing great improvement.  They learn a lot of self defense moves as well which makes us very happy.  She gets to spar with more advanced students during her classes from time to time and they teach her a lot as well.  We’re really happy with the dojo she is at and I think it makes a great fit.

The fitness center is renovating their pools so thankfully, swimming doesn’t start till October.  We get a nice slow break till then.

Aleea turned 4 on August 17th.  We had a wonderful family party the day before with an ice cream cake she picked out at Baskin Robbins and presents.  She got a watch, a rolling pin and a Nintendo DS.  It was a fun day full of games and playing.  Then the work began.

The next weekend, we threw her a birthday party.  She wanted a musical theme.  As the kids arrived, they went to a table and decorated homemade drums, rhythm sticks and egg shakers with markers and stickers.

When everyone was there, and had had time to finish their instruments, we played some musical chairs and as each kid got out, we let them play their instruments for the other kids still playing.

Afterward, we played Treasure Hunt.  A sound was played and the kids had to figure out what the sound came from.  Then each item had a type of note on it and a color.  Once they figured out the note and color, they ran to a table to pick up that note, in that color (wood cutouts James made and painted) to form a chain of notes.  It was fun and the older kids enjoyed it while the younger kids played with the toys.

Then Aleea sat on the floor and opened her presents.  She got a Fancy Nancy book and puzzle, a Mermaid Barbie and play kitchen sets (cupcake stand, birthday cake and mixer with cookies also a box of truffles from Haba).  Of course the highlight was a musical card with cats meowing the birthday song.  The kids thought it was so funny and Aleea played it most of the evening after the party as well.

While she opened her presents, we got the cake and ice cream set up.  She had looked online and found a picture of a drum cake with m&m’s on it that she really liked.  So she asked for a drum cake with pink sides.  She liked how it turned out and it was good with yummy ice cream.  When everyone was finished, the kids danced around the room, playing with their instruments and popping balloons.  It was a fun party and she had a great time.  Thank you to everyone who came and played with us.

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Summer has flown by so fast I can’t believe it’s almost over already.  Lili finds out who her teacher is on Friday (8-28-09) and school starts the day after Labor Day.  So, what have we done with all this time we had?  When I write it out, it really doesn’t seem like much and yet it feels like we have always been on the go or busy with something.

Not long after Lili finished school, she attended Camp Invention.  Every day for a week she got to go to school and invent, create and play.  She made up her own super hero (complete with cape) and put him into a comic book.  She invented a bug catcher to be used around the house.  She made “landsleds” and pulled them through obstacle courses that the kids made.  She tried taking apart a radio but it didn’t work out to well so instead she took apart a dvd-player.  It was a great week and she learned to really think outside the box.

We took a trip to Utah so the kids could see their cousins and we could bless Kristina.  We drove out about a week before the blessing and spent the week playing.  Grandma and Grandpa bought a big pool and put it in the back yard.  It was a huge success.  The kids loved it and were constantly begging to go out and play in it.

Most of us went camping one night (most of us moms came back to the house with the babies for the night, Becki was the brave one who stayed).

We enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July at Gran’s house and Dyana’s parents came and joined in.  Thank you Becki for planning fun games for the kids to play.  And thanks to James and Jon for the fireworks dance.  It was a highlight of the evening.

We got to surprise Dyana’s Granny and Grandpa at a birthday party for Grandpa.  They didn’t know we were going to be in town but we got a heads up and were able to make it in time.  It was fun to surprise them and see everyone.

We had a fun BBQ and Michelle and Volkmar’s house.  The kids had a great time running around and it was so nice to be able to see every cousin while we were there.

On Sunday, July 5th.  We blessed Kristina at church in the afternoon and then had everyone over to the Conrad’s house for food and visiting.  There were so many people there but we are so happy that we have so many family members and friends that cared enough to come and see us.  We really enjoyed seeing everyone while we were in town.  Thank you all for coming to see us.

After we got back from Utah we bought a new car.  Things were a bit tight with 3 car seats in the back seat of the Hyundai so we got a Ford Flex.  It’s so much fun to drive and there is so much more room for the kids.  We decided to take it on a little trip so we packed up the camping gear and went to Diamond Lake for some camping.  It was a bit much for just one night but the kids had a great time.  We went hiking and make Ebelskivers over an open fire in the morning.  The lake was a bit too cold for swimming but maybe next time.

That’s been our summer in a nutshell but it isn’t over yet.  We still have two weeks left.