Happy Birthday to Daddy!

It was kind of a rainy, chilly week. Especially for May!
Monday night, we came home and helped Mommy make beef stew. We helped add ingredients and stir it up. It was delicious! We don't normally like stew when Mom or Grandma makes it, but we ate it all up since we helped.
Tuesday, Mommy was gone so Daddy put us to bed. I was already asleep and Hannah was almost asleep when Daddy came and woke us up and told us to come in the basement. Daddy said the weather was bad and the sirens were going off, so he wanted us to go to the basement. We waited there for about 10 minutes before Daddy brought us upstairs to see the sky had cleared. We talked about severe weather (we had talked about severe weather at school & daycare, so we know what tormados are) (yes, I call them tormados-not tornados) and being safe before going back to bed.
Friday, Mommy picks us up. She brought us home to make birthday cards for Daddy! After we made cards and had a snack, we went to a surprise party for Juanita. We got to go jump on the trampoline with 4 other kids. It was so much fun! Mommy said we crashed into other kids and just laughed about it but when Hannah and I bumped into each other, we cried. When we came in to eat supper, I told Mommy "That was so much fun!" After supper, we played a little more before all the 4-year olds at the party put on jammies. After I put my jammies on, I sat with Daddy, Hannah and 2 other people at the campfire. I wanted to roast marshmallows, but before I could ask for some, I heard them singing to Juanita, so we went inside and had some delicious birthday cake before we went home to bed.
Saturday, we were very quiet so Daddy could sleep in. But, once he got up, it was a very busy day! We took Mommy's car to the mechanic (which upset me that we just left her car there) then we went to Menards. It was a fun trip - we got to go upstairs, take the elevator and check out grills. I even told the cashier it was Daddy's birthday, so she and the customer in front of us told him happy birthday. When we got home, we helped Mommy wrap Daddy's birthday gift and make dinner.
After dinner, we went back to get Mommy's car. The mechanic got her air conditioning to work again, so Daddy was very happy about that! We drove the car to Mommy's work to pick up a card she forgot, then we went to an art supply store. It was really a fun store. Our favorite part was the easels that we drew on with chalk. Daddy even bought us sketch pads to keep in the truck to draw on trips.
When we got home, we let Daddy open his cards and presents. I did a good job all day - only telling daddy he was getting a surprise. I didn't spill the beans about what he got until he said "Noah, I'll give you five bucks if you tell me what I got" Without hesitating, I said "Um, a chair!" He still owes me five bucks...
Daddy loved the chair! But, he had to fight Hannah for it - she jumped right on it. I was patient and didn't get a turn to sit in it until today.
It was a very good day!
Today, we let Mommy sleep in then went to church to help roll bandages. We ran around a lot because Mommy had to do a lot of set up to help us roll bandages. But, we helped so someone who is hurt in another country will have bandages because we helped. We lasted about halfway through church before going into the nursery where we were the only kids!
After church, we helped make white mac & cheese and had quiet time. After quiet time, we got to go outside and play. It was a nice sunny day, so we played on the swings and slide before getting our bikes out. We went for a ride around the block, and when we got back, daddy adjusted Hannah's bike and got me a new bike! (Daddy said it wasn't new, but it was new to me since I'd been riding a trike all day.) It's different to be on a 2-wheel bike that has brakes, but I'm getting used to it. I was a little upset because Mommy found a bell on a different bike that we outgrew before we could ride it. Hannah wanted the bell so Daddy put it on her bike. I want a bell, but we only had one. But, mom said we could either take turns or have no bell. I guess we'll just have to take turns.
After dinner at Subway, we took baths and then I wrote my letters using my stencil ruler until it was time to go to bed. It was a very busy weekend, so we were ready to crash. We hope Daddy had a very happy birthday.
We're looking forward to a field trip at school this week!
Noah

Spring Sing & Mother's Day

It was an exciting week for us. We were looking forward to our Spring Sing on Friday. We also looked forward to Mother's Day - Noah even made a paper chain to count down the days from Wednesday!
We helped Daddy wrap Mommy's mother's day present on Thursday. I helped color the wrapping paper to make it pretty. Noah came in the kitchen and told we got her a keyboard for a surprise! Daddy was very unhappy, but mom said Noah may not even know that he spilled the beans. He was very excited and only referred to it as a "surprise" from then until when she opened it.
When we took our baths, Mom told us that Grandma & Grandpa were going to come see us sing on Friday. We were so excited - Mom said our eyes lit up when she told us! She wanted to make it a surprise, but didn't want it to distract us when we were singing.
Friday, I got to wear a fancy dress and Noah wore his Thomas overalls. We practiced in the cafeteria before our parents showed up, then we sang with our class.We did a great job! We were very excited when we came in to see Grandma Diane, Grandpa Mark, Mom and Dad all there to see us. Some of the kids cried, some of the kids didn't sing but we sang nicely. Mom said Noah can't wear his overalls next year because he tugged at them most of the program. She said he was distracting but not really naughty. Afterwords, we got to bring our grown-ups back to our classroom and show off our room, our projects AND have TWO cookies! YUM!
After Spring Sing, Grandpa wanted to go shopping, so we went to a tool store. It was really cool, but Mommy was tired of Noah touching everything so we went outside to play. We went next door to a furniture store and tried out all their chairs, then walked around to find a playroom. That was really cool to have a place to play with toys where Mommy wasn't telling us to stop touching everything. Daddy & Grandpa came to get us, then we went to Target and tried on hats while Grandma & Grandpa shopped.After shopping, we were STARVING so Daddy took us all out to eat at the VFW. We got to see some planes take off and land, and got some yummy food. It was so great to spend time with Grandma & Grandpa.
Saturday, we were very quiet and patient waiting for Grandma & Grandpa to get up so we could play with them. Daddy decided that we would go to the park & have a picnic because Grandma & Grandpa had to leave after lunch.
Before we went to the park, we gave Grandma her Mother's Day present. She let us help her open it. Then we went to the big car wash to get Grandma's truck washed. It got really dark when we went inside, then we got out of the truck so a girl & boy could wash inside and make it REALLY SHINY! We even got to go inside a room where we could see the other cars getting washed.
We went to the park with the BIG nets & play equipment, then had sandwiches with Grandma & Grandpa before they left.We were sad to see Grandma & Grandpa go, but we got to go to the library then home for quiet time. We were so tired, we both slept!
Saturday night, we got to go out to eat again. We must be very good kids to go out to restaurants twice this weekend! After we ate, we came home and got to hang out with Griffin, Dan & Melissa for a short time. We were going to have a bonfire, but it got too late after playing with our friend. Maybe next week, we can have a bonfire. We were glad to get to play with Griffin since it's been a long winter of being couped up inside.
Noah was kind and shared his Woody pajamas with me Saturday night, so I could pretend to be Jesse from Toy Story.
Today, we got up and played quietly so Mommy could sleep in a little bit. Then we went to Sunday School. They had cupcakes & juice for teacher appreciation Sunday, then we went to our classroom and planted flowers for Mommy. It was our last day of Sunday School, so we're very sad about that. TJ & Penny have made the Sunday School Year so much fun! It's been awesome.
Mom & Dad went to church, so we hung out in the nursery with our Sunday School friends & Kasey. We got to draw on the sidewalk and play on the playground. It was a great day! Then we came home to eat Mac & Cheese - our favorite.
While we had dinner, we gave Mommy all her presents. Of course, we (us and daddy) got her a new keyboard for her computer. We made her pretty hearts with our pictures on them in preschool (we wrapped them in pretty boxes and held the boxes when we did our Mommy in a Box song for Spring Sing). At Sue's, we made her a bookmark and little decorated jewelry box and filled it with candy for her. And, we gave her the flowers we planted in Sunday School. We helped Daddy spoil Mommy and make her feel really special because we love her so much.
We got to play with Mommy inside (because it was raining outside). After watching our Spring Sing concert that daddy taped (and singing along), Daddy made dinner. It was a delicious steak, potatoes and cheese bread. We were so full, but we still had room for the ding-dongs that TJ & Penny gave us in class. :-) Yum!
What a busy weekend! We gave Mommy an extra special hug tonight before we went to bed. We're so lucky to have a Mommy & Daddy who take such great care of us.
Happy Mother's Day to our Mommy, Grandmas and Great Grandmas!
Hannah

Monday was a fun day. We didn't have school and it was nice out, so we played outside all afternoon. Mommy set up our tent and Griffin and Brooke came over to play at our place after supper. It was nice to get out and play!
It was a very cold week. Mommy said she even had to play volleyball in the snow on Wednesday. Daddy was home sick with strep throat, too. Mommy & Daddy have been sick a lot this winter. We sure hope summer is here soon!
Yesterday, Mommy was at a Mom sale in the morning.While she was gone, Daddy took us to our last volleyball class. I wasn't listening very well, but ran a lot of energy off! After lunch, Daddy let us have new "quiet time" rules. We could talk and play but did not have to be on our bed, we just couldn't leave our room.
After mom got home, we went to get our hair cut. We both got our hair cut short - Hannah's is at her shoulder, mine is short for summer. Mommy thought I shouldn't have long hair anymore because I've been running around the house pointing pretend guns at mirrors (when I see myself with my long hair) yelling "I'll get you Justin Beaver!"
We were so good at the salon that Daddy bought us Subway cookies. But, we didn't go home and eat, we went to a sports store to buy a volleyball for us! We wanted to go upstairs in the sports store, so we got to ride the escalators up. We sat in a kayak, tried out the tents and tried out the camping chairs. Daddy found a really cool triple camping chair in our size. He thought it would be perfect for bonfires with our friends! He also found a double chair for he & Mommy.
This morning, Mommy was so proud of me. I woke up early and was very quiet as I played and ate my yogurt. Shortly after Hannah got up, I decided to eat the last piece of cinnamon bread for breakfast. Hannah was very upset and started crying, so Mommy sent her to her room to cry. But, I came in and asked Mommy if I could share my bread with Hannah. So, I went and asked Hannah if I could share with her. She was still crying, but Mommy lifted me up to her bed so she could take a bite of my bread. Mommy said it was very nice of me to share.
After church, we got to eat chicken for lunch. Hannah was so tired she almost fell asleep on the table, so Daddy put in her bed for quiet time so she could sleep. Mommy set up the tent in the living room and let me have quiet time in the tent! It was so cool - I had my blanket, John (my froggie pillow pet) and a book in the tent for quiet time. I was pretty good until I got tangled in the tent and Daddy had to rescue me. After quiet time, we had snack and we went bowling for the first time ever! It was fun. The had a ramp for us to push the ball down the alley. Mom bowled with us but Daddy's shoulder hurt, so he didn't get to bowl. He enjoyed watching us, though.
After that, we got to go grocery shopping to a new store. I don't think Dad planned on going to the bookstore after the grocery store, but I read the "book store" sign near the grocery store, so I told him I wanted to go to the bookstore.
It's been a very busy weekend! We're looking forward to our Spring Sing on Friday at school.
Until next week, have a good week!
Noah

Happy Easter

We've been waiting all week to be able to go t Grandma & Grandpa's house.
Thursday morning, Noah had preschool screening. They told me last year that I passed and could start kindergarten when I'm 5. But, Noah didn't quite cooperate last year for all the tests, so the tester wanted him to go back. This time he did all the tests and aced them! They were very impressed with how hard he's trying to enunciate his "l"s, and he's working hard on his "th" sound (and so am I!), so they said he's ready for kindergarten when he's 5, too. There was another girl being tested at the same time who is a few days older than us. She didn't do very well on her test. Daddy was very proud when he heard how well Noah did, and how smart he and I are. Now Mom is anxious about what school we will go to...
We had a short week at daycare. Thursday was our last day. Sue gave us each Easter baskets with candy & toys. Sue watches twin girls named Mollie & Ellie and I love them. The last few babies have been boys, so I love helping entertain the baby girls! I helped Sue pick out which baby got the white bunny and which baby got a pink bunny in their baskets.
Friday, Dad had to work so we hung out with Mom at home. We played in our pet shop, packed our bags and went to Target to help Mom get treats for an egg hunt at Great Grandma's house. Daddy had to work late, so we got a late start to Grandma's. We got there way past our bedtime, but were so excited to see Grandma, Grandpa & Angie!
Saturday morning, we got up and played with Grandma & Grandpa a short time before Lauren & Ben came. Then we opened some Easter gifts from Dani, Angie & Grandma.
After that we went to Great Grandma Leona's house. As usual, there were lots of mom's cousins & their kids there to play with. After dinner, we went out to a HUGE Easter Egg Hunt! There were eggs and stuff ALL OVER the backyard. Mommy said it looked like the Easter Bunny puked everywhere because there were so many eggs in the grass.
We got a lot of fun stuff - candy, juice, books, toys. Noah's favorite was the magnifying glass.
We spent the afternoon playing with our cousins - I colored with the girl cousins and Noah ran around playing with the boys, chasing each other with empty water guns. We had a really fun time, and later, we got to go outside. We ran in the backyard, rolled down the big hill, then went up the driveway to play on the tractors. It was cool to get to go into the tractors (Daddy & Grandma were with us, so it was OK.) Noah took Mommy way up the driveway to see more tractors and old machinery that didn't work. He said it was pretty cool!
We went to bed a little bit late again. I got to use one of Mommy's favorite blankets from when she was a kid - a blanket with a doll on it. Noah got to use her Crayon sleeping bag. I was a little jealous, but I'll get to use it next time. I did get to sleep with her doll that Grandma made for her while Noah slept with her Mickey Mouse.
We like getting to read Mommy's old books from when she was our age. She has Cabbage Patch Kids, Berenstein Bears and Pac-Man books. Mommy thinks it's cool how we are interested in her old books as much as we are interested in our new books at home.
Today, we got up and played for a long time before we realized that the Easter Bunny had been to Grandma's house. He hid our Easter buckets, so we got to find them to claim our Easter presents. We got some cool stuff - candy, stampers, socks - but our favorite was masks that we get to make! I got a butterfly and Noah got a lion. We can't wait to make our foam masks!
After we got dressed, Cathy & Jim came, and Great Grandma came with Grandpa. Great Grandma fell down a couple of weeks ago so she's been in the hospital to get stronger and better balance. Grandpa took her to church then brought her here to get away from the hospital and enjoy some family time. We got to show Great Grandma how to work Daddy's iPad. We had a yummy meal, then played with Grandma's Woody, Jesse and Buzz toys before we went home. We were so exhausted we actually fell asleep on the drive home! It was a really fun weekend!
Happy Easter!
Hannah

It started out as a very nice week. We got to play outside and loved it!
It got colder as the week went on. Mommy started outdoor volleyball on a cold night. By Friday, we were wearing our winter coats again.
Friday, Mommy came to our school. I rode the bus to school, but Mommy brought Noah because he wanted to be a "picker upper". Our teacher was gone, so we had Ms. Mary teaching us. We still got to show off to mom how good we are in our class, and we had gym. Yay! Gym day is our favorite day. Noah rode the trike most of the time, while I played on the gym cubes, played basketball, and jumped on the trampoline. After school, Mommy took us home and we got to hang out at home. I was a little disappointed we didn't get to go back to daycare, but we'll be back again tomorrow.
Saturday, we woke up to snow! It covered the ground and made the air COLD! But, we still went to play volleyball. We had fun again. Our favorite activity is spiking the ball. But, we also like to practice passing and serving because they have little nets that we can play on. We have to miss next week, so we're bummed, but excited because next week is Easter at Grandma's.
After volleyball, we had lunch then got ready to go to the church. Mommy & Daddy helped put together a mystery at the church, we hung out at the church while they set up a saloon. We were very good - we played on our computers & daddy's iPad while they worked. They said we were so good, we got our favorite pizza for supper. We went home about 5 so Mom & Dad could get ready for the mystery and pick up Megan - they even took time to read us some new books we got this morning from the library. Check out the picture of Mom & Dad at their mystery party. We were very excited to have Megan baby sit us! We don't get a sitter very often, so this is a treat. We had pizza, played, and she even let us have our light on really low when we went to bed.
This morning, we got up early so we could sing in church. We started church outside in the cold, then got palm branches to wave in the air when we sang "Hosanna" and walked into the church. Noah went to the nursery to blow bubbles and play with our Sunday school friends after we sang, but I stayed in church and colored at the back table for part of the service, then colored by Mom & Dad for the rest of the service. I was so good, I even got a doughnut before Sunday School. For Sunday School, there was an easter egg hunt! We got eggs filled with candy as well as other candy for our bucket. It was so fun. Then, after class, TJ & Penny gave us Jesus dolls to hug. They said we get them early because we won't be there next week to get them in church.
After church, we ate Subway and played at home. It was very sunny outside, but we stayed in. I played house and colored. I really like to color, and am getting really good at it. Noah read books and played house with me. I love my brother. I'm so glad we're good friends.
Have a good week! Mom said we get to hang out again next Friday because daycare is closed. Until then, we'll hope for spring to come soon.
Hannah

What a fun week! We've been able to play outside most nights this week, and we're so happy to be able to! It's finally nice out, so we're giving out swings a workout!
Monday in school, Hannah got the bear. Ted E. Bear is our classroom bear. Each time we have class, someone gets to bring home the bear and write a journal entry about what we did with Ted. I was bummed - Hannah got the bear...I thought I'll NEVER get the bear! We played the spider game with Ted, then went for ice cream after supper. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring Ted, but we had fun eating rainbow frozen yogurt. Our toungues were blue! It was so cool.
Wednesday, I got the bear at school. I was so excited! Daddy took us to a bonfire at Ron & Carols after having our favorite pizza. We took Ted E. Bear to the bonfire and roasted marshmallows (we even shared some marshmallows with Ted.) Daddy helped me write a journal entry about bringing Ted to the bonfire.
Friday we got to go to a party at Dillon's & Trevor's. We had fun playing Nerf guns, hot wheels and trains. We went to sleep at their house, but woke up in our beds. We didn't even know Mom & Dad woke us up and brought us home overnight!
Saturday, we got to start our volleyball class. We got to run around, pass, hit, block and serve. It was so fun. I told Dad as we walked out "Volleyball is so much fun!" I can't wait to go back next week.
After volleyball, we ran errands to fix our phones, go to Fleet Farm and then go watch airplanes. We sat in Daddy's truck and watched radio controlled airplanes like dad's and even got to see a helicopter. After that, we went to a party store and looked at costumes. There were some scary costumes there, but also some really cool ones. They had spiderman, ironman and lots of our favorites!
We played outside when we got home, but at news time, I wanted to watch the news because I want to watch out for tornados. I've been very worried about a tornado since Friday! (I even prayed that we would be safe from tornadoes when I prayed Saturday night.) As I was watching the news, the weather guy was in space! He didn't even have a space helmet on and he was talking about the weather. Mom said he's not really in space - he was standing in front of a picture of the earth and watching the radar on the screen behind him. I think he looks like he's in space.
We played Candyland Saturday night. We had a lot of fun - Hannah won, but it was still fun because we both beat dad.
Today, it was very nice out. We made palm leaves with pixie sticks in Sunday School, then after we made necklaces in the nursery, Casey let us out with sidewalk chalk during church.
Have a good week! Next week, we get to sing in church, so we're practicing our Hosannah song at home.
Noah

This week was spring break. The schoolkids were at daycare most of the week, so it was a fun week!
Monday, there were only a few of us, so we got to have pizza for lunch and ice cream cake for snack. It was Sue's birthday, and we were all good - no kids had time outs on Monday!
Wednesday, we went to the dentist. We've been looking forward to this because we have wanted to play in the bus [in the dentist's lobby] and drive the bus for a while now. Hannah was very well behaved. She sat nicely and even let the dental assistant take bitewing pictures. Unfortunately, the pictures revealed two cavities, so Hannah gets to go back to the dentist. Noah didn't like the polishing toothpaste that they used to polish his teeth. And he wasn't so sure about Mr. Thirsty, though once they showed him how cool it was to have Mr. Thirsty (the sucking straw) suck all that toothpaste out of his mouth, he was cool with it. After sitting on mom's lap for a few minutes, he decided that Mr. Thirsty & the polishing toothbrush could finish shining his teeth. He did not have pictures taken of his teeth, and they didn't see any cavities in his mouth. At the end of the visit, we each picked toys - when we got back to the car, we realized we both picked out the same toy! We each picked out a toy camera - Hannah chose a red one, Noah chose a yellow one.
This week we didn't get any snow - in fact, we had some nice days. Enough so that we got to go play outside Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
Friday after daycare, we went to see the bridge that is getting torn down. The bridge is torn down over the railroad tracks - it was pretty cool to see. Mom said they're going to tear out the road and make the bridge and road even bigger. That shouldn't take long, right?
Saturday was a busy day - we got up and played, went to see Mommy at her volleyball tournament. We were so excited to see her and the Divas, but this was their last tournament of the year, so Mommy was sad about that. When we go see Mommy at her tournaments we usually get to have sloppy joes and play with the other kids. It's always fun.
We had a lot of fun just playing at home in the afternoon - we built forts, played Barbies and princesses and dressed up. Then we went outside and all the neighborhood kids came to play! Brooke & Connor from down the street came over while Griffin came over, too. It was pretty fun.
When Mommy came home, she brought in a package that we got in the mail. It had a new red carseat in it! We didn't get a chance to try it out in the truck, but we got to sit in it and check it out once we cleaned up the living room. We got ready to go out to the VFW to eat after cleaning up the living room. (We've wanted to go to the VFW for two weeks!) But they were too busy so we drove down to Daddy's work and got McDonalds because Daddy had to pick up something at his office. We were exhausted after such a busy day!
Today, Noah got up and laid by Mommy for about an hour while Mommy rubbed his back. He liked that. Then we got to go to Sunday School. We made prayer mats for when we say our nighttime prayers. Then we got to go to the nursery while Mom & Dad were in church. It was a fun day in nursery - even though Casey wasn't there to do projects, we got to play with 4 other kids from our 3-5 yr old class and a 7 year old girl. Shayna watched us play - and when church was over, she brought us in a room where our Moms & Dads were and said "Wow. Babies are much easier!" and left. We're good kids - I guess her baby just doesn't have as much energy as us!
After church, we went to the VFW to watch planes land and eat. Unfortunately, no planes came in or took off. We were hungry though! We cleaned our plates AND helped Daddy eat some of his food. Then we went shopping before coming home and trying our new booster seat in the truck! It's red - we both wanted a red car seat. Mommy only bought one because she wanted to see how it fit us. We were both tall enough to fit - we really are getting to be big kids now!
We played outside for a little while tonight - Brooke came over to play. We played together for a while, then Brooke & Hannah just wanted to play without a boy with them. Noah was bummed and was looking forward to when Griffin came home so he could play with another boy, but Griffin didn't get home until shortly before supper, so he didn't get to play with Griffin. Maybe we'll get to play this week because it's going to be nice this week. Yay! We're so happy that the snow is melting and we can be outside again.
Have a good week! We're looking forward to going back to school again this week.
N&H