Mother's Day Presents

I love the things the kids make at school. Below are the presents I received for Mother's Day. 

Makena knows me well! When asked what mommy likes to do, she said "go to sleep."

The photo Kyle is holding was taken on his first day of preschool. He's grown so much!

Celebrating Sissy

Karis was so excited to celebrate Makena's birthday. She came up with lots of ideas for her party. She also drew cards and pictures for Makena and tried to find something to give to her (even though she knows we go to the store to buy presents, she likes to find things of hers to give to others). 

She made a card and planned to give her Fluffy. Then she made a card and taped a bracelet and other small toys to it. I finally offered to take her to the store so she could pick out a gift. We went to Michael's and looked around. I made a few suggestions, but she didn't like any of them. She then found a soft, stuffed, purple unicorn in a bin of stuffed animals. She found the perfect gift! She proudly carried it around the store. She knew Makena would love it.

Makena was so excited when she woke up on her birthday. "Am I four today?" she asked excitedly. She put on a dress and ate some chocolate chip pancakes. 

She then opened up her gift from Karis. I should have videotaped it rather than take pictures. I hope I captured the sentiment through the next few photos.

Karis loved seeing Makena open her gift. And she was right, she loved it. After breakfast, it was off to church where she would tell all her friends and teachers that she's four years old!

Happy Birthday Makena!

Our little girl is 3! We had a low-key family celebration planned for her. Karis was more excited about this day than Makena. Karis kept asking me questions about the day and wanted to know and see everything. She even put a dress on first thing in the morning for the celebration. Makena didn't have any expectations, stayed in her pajamas for most of the morning and just enjoyed the day.

 We started the morning off with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

After breakfast, the girls did a couple of crafts.

I think Makena ate just as much cereal as she glued onto her paper. 

Later in the morning, Makena opened up her gifts and then spent the rest of the morning playing with them and talking to family on the phone.

We ate an early lunch because Karis couldn't wait for the cake and goodie bags. We then sang to the birthday girl and ate cake.

I loved that Makena felt special by getting the owl cake she asked for. 

  

Our party was officially over after the cake and goodie bags. A nice surprise was that we found out her friends were down the street at the park right before dinner, so Derek took the girls over there. It was a nice ending to her birthday.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!  We love you!

Christmas Day 2010

It's so much fun watching kids open presents. Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Karis and Makena got a new car. You can tell how much Karis liked the gift from the photo. Unfortunately, Makena didn't really get a chance to take it for a spin. She ended up pushing Karis in the car.


Makena playing with a few small toys she received.

Karis with her new Dora bike helmet.

Karis playing with her Smart Cycle. It's a video game that is controlled by the bicycle. Her feet can't reach the pedals yet, but she likes to push the buttons and watch the video (and stand on the seat). Makena also likes to play with it. She stands next to it, pushes the buttons and tries to get the handle bars in her mouth.

Happy 1st Christmas, Makena!