Susie and her award

Susanna just finished her preschool for the year. They had a little presentation for her class since they were graduating on to kindergarten. Each of the kids were given a reward such as most inquisitive, most helpful, best colorer,etc... Well, Susanna got the award for best handwriting. But was she excited about it? Not in the least. She was too upset that she didn't get best dressed. I cannot believe it! She just thinks that she know it all when it comes to fashion. I told her that the little girl who got it dresses very nice, but Susanna said, "But Mom, She wears tennis shoes with her dresses." I seriously cannot recall ever telling her this. What are we going to do?

Luke's fish cake?

Susanna Helping with the Presents

Making their Crab bags

Playing in the Pool

Luke and his Party

I meant to post this earlier but I have had no access to a computer over the past week. Luke had his birthday party last Saturday. He was so excited to say the least. It was supposed to rain but it held off. We had beautiful weather. The kids had a great time playing in the water. Luke was so funny. I had reminded him how to tell each of the kids thank you after he opened their presents. We practiced this a few times on Friday night. I had also told him some things that would be nice for him to say and do. Well, after he opened every present, he said,"Thank you, I love it!" and then gave them a hug. It was so funny because he said it like he meant it, but it also sounded a little too rehearsed. We all got a kick out of it. He keeps reminding me that he is 4 now. His preschool just ended for the year. Luke absolutely loves preschool. Most mornings he likes to sleep in but if I tell him to get up for preschool, he will shoot right up. Right now, him,Susie, and Jeff went to see Shrek3. Luke loves to spend time with his Daddy. His new favorite thing to do is to go fishing. Jeff and him went last week and caught 5 fish. Luke is still talking about it. Luke also loves to play outside on the swingset. He will ask me about 20 times a day to push him on the swing. He can pump his legs, but he'd rather not.
God has given Luke a gift of caring for others. He is so sensitive about certain things. He cannot stand to see me tear up. The other day, we were talking about Papa Dwyer and I got a little teary-eyed. Luke hurried to me with a big hug and said, "Don't worry Mommy, I'll take care of you." I love that Boy!
Enjoy the pictures from the party!

I cannot believe that Eli is 1 today! How can it have gone this fast? I have thoroughly enjoyed Elijah as a baby. It's not that I have not enjoyed the others, but Eli has caused me the least amount of stress or worry. I just enjoy the routine of having him as my baby. Susanna was my first. I remember feeling so clueless about taking care of a baby. I had babysat my whole life, but when it is your own child, it's sooo scary. Then, Luke had terrible reflux. Somedays, he would be so hungry because he could not keep anything down. When Sam was born, and they took him away, I cried so much that my eyes were almost swollen shut. His whole infancy was filled with uncertainty. Is he breathing? Will he keep his food down? etc... But Elijah has hardly been sick. Everything seems to be so normal. I definitely still don't feel like I know what I'm doing, but for the most part I'm much more relaxed. Elijah is taking a few steps and getting into everything. There is nothing that is untouched when he comes into a room! When he smiles, he wrinkles up his nose like I used to. He loves to go outside. He will stand by the door and point outside until you take him out. Luke loves to wrestle with him. It scares me to death, but Elijah will just laugh so hard. It's so funny! When Sam and Luke watch a video, Eli will crawl up to them and sit between them. Then, he just keeps looking at both of them and laughs. I think that just sums it up. He loves to be in the middle of things and usually is. Right now he calls me "Nana" and Jeff "Dadda". Here are some pictures of our little party we had tonight. Please notice that his hair was done by his aunt Katie, not me...

Birthday Boys!

Well, this is the week of the birthdays in our family. It is not cheap to have two of your kids have their birthdays in the same week. If I could have planned it better, I would have. Luke's birthday is just around the corner. He is having a Water Party next week and just passed out his invitations at preschool. This is his first party that we have invited other kids besides family. He is so excited. Every time we go anywhere, Luke will tell complete strangers about his party. I hope it lives up to his anticipation. I'm just trying to think of some fun games to play. I love the Family Fun website. I get their magazine and they always have great ideas for all kinds of things. Eli's 1st birthday is this Sunday! I cannot believe that he's going to be 1. It seems like time flies faster with each kid. I used to sometimes catch myself wishing for the kids to get to the next stage when one seems a little hard, but now I realize more how fast it really does go. I just had Elijah. Luke got a fishing pole from my Mom. He got to open it early because she was leaving. He cannot wait to go fishing. Jeff was going to take him today, but Jeff got sick. Tomorrow, they are going. I just hope that he catches something. He is so sure that he's going to catch a lot of fish. He tried to tell Susanna that it was just a boys trip. She has been begging Jeff to let her go. I reminded her of the time she refused to fish because she did not want to get dirty. She said that was not the reason. Her reason was that she was only 4 then, and the fish might have been so big that it would have pulled her in. Yeah Right! I'm sure that Luke will get his way! He loves to spend time with his Daddy!