Sundance Stephanie

We were lucky enough to meet Stephanie D Fischer this week for Sundance!

We call her the "kid whisperer" because she charmed all 3 of the kiddos--the adults too. :)

Next time, Steph, you should just stay with us!

State of the Dubby Update:

Baby WJ turned 7 months on Monday. He can finally sign "more" and "milk".

Victoria's Last Day of Toddler Pre-K

Today was Victoria's last day of preschool.  This was her first year of school, and to say that she loved it would be an understatement.  She would ask to go to school every morning, even on the weekends.  Her amazing teachers and wonderful classmates made all the difference.

I still remember Victoria as this bald, tiny 15 month-old pushing Bertrand's wheelchair to the bus stop, and how she would cry as he left, begging to go to school with him.  Even though I wanted to keep my baby longer, Victoria thought she was ready.  She was right.  She never ceases to amaze me.

Lady V with her wonderful teachers Zoie, Kelsee, and Kim.

Patiently waiting for her special letter and photos.

Enjoying a picnic snack.

Playing in a pool as a special start-of-summer treat.

Wearing her special dress from Abuelita and shoes from Titi Lili.

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For weeks, Victoria had been begging to have a tea party with her "best friends" from school.  So, in an act of pre-labor mommy-guilt, we invited her entire class over for an after school lunch/tea party to celebrate the last week of school.  

Victoria was over the moon!  She loved hosting her class, and we enjoyed getting to know her classmates parents more.  Hopefully this will lead to some play dates over the summer, and maybe another "tea party" come the start of school next Fall.  :)

Funny aside:  Victoria planned the menu, helped to cook/prepare several of the courses, and set the table "all by herself".  But by far her proudest accomplishment (that she relayed to all of her guests) was that she washed all of the tea cups and flatware!  It took me a long while to figure out why that would be more impressive than her tasty mini-tarts or place settings.  Although we involve Victoria in cooking and setting the table regularly, Matthew and I are a "dishwasher" people.  Victoria has been taught to simply put her dishes in the dishwasher but we have never actually hand-washed dishes with her!  Yikes.  I guess there will be more dishwashing in her and (unfortunately) my future. 

Halloween 2013

We celebrated another wonderful Halloween.  Our trick-or-treat crew was larger than ever.  All of my sisters were in town for our niece Gabrielle's first birthday, as well as part of Uncle Steve's family from Kentucky, and the usual Mighty suspects.

This year, the military men carried the day.  

Bertrand's amazing costume was made by his Uncle Cpt. Boojie.

The cutest puppies ever!

Gabby made a beautiful Snow White for her very first Halloween.

Bertrand loves his Miss K! She was his Halloween date.  ;)

The handsome soldiers.

Victoria dubbed her aunt Belinda, Bébé.  We all love it.

Uncle Steve with his little princess and his mom Vanessa, the proudest Granny.

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Previous Halloween Posts:

2009

2010

2011

2012

Baseball Game #2

Bertrand met up with some friends and family for another baseball game. A great time was had by all.

Zoo Therapy

We took Bertrand's beloved Miss A to the zoo today, and that's where he did part of his physical therapy!  He practiced balance and sitting on many surfaces.  Both kids had a blast.  Buddy could've ridden the carousel 10 more times if we let him.  And Victoria is now convinced that all animals love to play in the water.  (On our walk later today she was chatting up random strangers about bears in water.  And, at bath time I had to stop her from dumping a bunch of beanie baby bears into the tub.)

Sadly, Victoria accidentally deleted several photos and videos off my phone as she was watching a clip of Bertrand and herself with the swimming polar bear.  While she had probably seen it close to 100 times, she was devastated to lose the video.  We'll just have to go back to the zoo and take more footage! And you'll just have to settle for this handful of photos.  :)

The zoo currently has an exhibit of Lego Animals all over the park.  (Miss A and I kept asking ourselves, "How long would it take to build that?!")  If you have a child who loves Legos, they would probably love to check it out.

Bertrand's 5th Birthday Photos

All photos taken by Staci of Sweet Envy Photography.