Evan's 10

Last month Evan turned 10. He requested brownies for his birthday. 

 He had two friends over for his birthday dinner and dessert.

 He can't get enough of LEGO and Minecraft!

Esther's 7

Last month Esther turned 7.

 She requested a giant cookie cake with M&Ms for her birthday dessert.

 She might love stuffed animals!

Meghan's 12

Meghan celebrated her 12th birthday last month!

She requested chocolate fudge for her birthday dessert.

 Two friends joined us for dinner and dessert.

 I think she likes being 12!

Esther's Kindergarten Graduation

Esther "graduated" from kindergarten today! 

 Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures with all of her friends. But this is Nate. His mom and I became friends when we were expecting at the same time. Esther and Nate attended the same preschool and were in the same kindergarten class.

 Mrs. Barry was an instructional aide AND student teacher.

 This is Mrs. McGlone, an incredible kindergarten teacher. Despite the large grades (about 125 students), she had each of the Whipple children. ♥

 Doesn't Mookie look scholarly?

Funny Girl

Esther: Mom, do you get this? 

LMN Tree School.

Me, to self: Smart and funny girl!

Evan's Kindergarten Graduation

Our school had an outdoor graduation for Evan's grade. It was their first time holding it outdoors.

Here is Evan with Mrs. M. She's awesome. I hope someday she will have taught all three Whipple children.

Each class sang a song.

Above is my view when I stand.

Below is my actual view when sitting.

 Mrs. M. gave each student a certificate. Then we went inside for ice cream.

 Isn't this cute?

 We now have a third grader, first grader, and preschooler in the house! Time flies!

Smarty Pants

I had forgotten I took ONE Christmas picture. It's from the Candlelight Service at church. 

I suspect Esther is going to be just as smart as her big brother and big sister. Today after church we stopped for gas.

Upon pulling into the pump, Esther told us we were at 16. She was right. the pump's number was 16. Clever girl!

She has been spelling her own name for quite a while...maybe 9 months. (Though at first she would spell it STHER because when you say Esther, it sounds like it begins with an S.) However, she can now spell (and often read) Evan's name.

Please note, Esther is age 3. She is wearing the Christmas dress Meghan wore at age 4. You can see the video evidence here.

Evan is SIX!

Birthday Week concludes with Evan's birthday. A neighbor friend came over to celebrate with the family. Evan asked to have pizza for dinner followed by apple pie for dessert.

Evan was in a state of awe as he opened gifts. 

 Derek set Meghan straight that these are not dolls. Action figures. Totally different, right? Definitely fun for a boy like Evan!

Looking forward to seeing my boy grow!

Three Years of Esther

Esther was born THREE years ago. 

That pretty much means it's been that long since we had a week of good sleep. Still.

 On her birthday she was eager for presents since she watched Meghan open gifts on her birthday just days before. While everyone was at work or school, I decided to bring up two wooden games/puzzles that had been waiting for Esther to turn three. She was content "opening" the gift bag with them in it, and then we had a blast playing for a bit before nap time.

Don't let her lower lip fool you. She was joking with me since I had the camera.

 Esther isn't fond of homemade baked goods. She usually skips those desserts. When we realized that, we decided to give Esther her favorite food on her birthday. Lollipops.

 Each of the children had a giant lollipop.

 Esther enjoyed showing off her blue tongue.

 She also had fun with her new puzzles, coloring books, and new Bible. (The new Bible replaced the one she vomited on a while back. She's thrilled.)

Early in the morning of her birthday she pretty much denied that she was three and didn't want to talk about it. By mid-day, she was proud to say she was three.

How Can It Be? Meghan Is EIGHT!

It's been EIGHT years since our baby was born just a week late. Since then she has become quite a big girl. It's hard to believe it though.

Saturday morning began with football. Here she is in her cheer uniform.

Later in the afternoon we went to pick up her friend, K. They painted some ceramic figures. They each chose three: one to keep and two to give away. I think they had fun.

Meghan had written "Girls rule Boys drool" a while back on the cardboard.

Meghan requested a cookie cake for her birthday. She made a fruit pizza with a cookie during the summer.

Blow!

Each person topped their piece of the cake with Cool Whip and candy. My plan was to buy strawberries and blueberries, but the grocery store didn't have them.

It was a big hit with the birthday girl.

She received American Girl books from her friend.

She was also given some money that came in the mail.

She had a great birthday. It's just hard to believe she's eight years old.

Motorcycle Ride

Meghan and Evan went for their first motorcycle ride Sunday morning.  It was the first time my mom and stepfather had been to visit in a couple years.  They rode down on their bike.

They rode to the cul-de-sac and back.  It thrilled them to have the opportunity to ride a real motorcycle.

First Day of Kindergarten and Second Grade

Though I have other stuff to blog about...like our trip to the beach and our trip to NE PA (that is on my other blog, so I didn't include too many details, but there are lots of pictures), I wanted to share that the children began school today.  

Evan has been "feeling shy" about kindergarten ever since we began talking about it in May or so.  When he met Mrs. M. last week, he barely answered her questions.  He was definitely intimidated by the idea of school.

This morning he was rather hyper...though still "feeling shy."

 Meghan begins second grade today.  Wow, time flies!

Yes, this next one is different.  Esther joined in the fun.

 We ALWAYS drive to the bus stop in the morning.  It's about a half mile away and we leave the house about 7:00.  Most of the school year it's still too dark to have them walk, even if we weren't in a hurry.

 What you cannot tell is they are holding hands.

I hope they both have a fabulous first day!

Two...

Evan pulled out another tooth during rest time today.  I was hoping he would...it hurt him to eat his PB&J sandwich today.

He noticed himself he could talk well.