College bound

Conor was doing addition on his new workbook and was adding numbers together. I was proofreading his answers, which were correct, and I told him as much. So, he pointed to the front cover and said, "Look, Dad, it's for first grade." I said, "Wow, it's like you're smarter than a first grader." To which he replied... "I know. It's like I am in college." --Adam

Irish Soccer Player

Conor picked out his own outfit today...socks and all!

Would you believe Adam bought this outfit for Conor when he was in Ireland 3 years ago? 

Don't think it will be fitting him much longer, though.

Happy 5th Birthday Conor!

Dear Conor, 

Happy 5th Birthday Little Man!!!! What a spectacular day we had. The preparations actually started last night, cooking the pork in the crock pot for the barbecue pork sandwiches you wanted. It also took me much longer than expected to make the homemade macaroni and cheese you were so excited about as part of your menu as well, so good thing I did that Saturday night too. The most random meal item you chose was broccoli so we asked Grandma to make her famous broccoli salad. And Daddy cut up some watermelon to too. Although we invited a few friends and old neighbors (from our months living at Grandma and Grandpa's), only our immediate family could come to the party, but we made it as special as we could. 

Since your birthday fell on the day of the closing ceremonies of the Olympics--and we were really into the Olympics at our house--we went with that as our theme. You helped me decorate with red, white, and blue streamers and balloons. We tried to design games as challenging as Olympic events (though the rain put a "damper" on our obstacle course). You wanted a Madagascar cake, and we put some Olympic rings on the cake as well. 

Since your birthday was on a Sunday (just like the year you were born), we got up in the morning and went to church. How perfect to start the day thanking God for your precious life. Then we came home and prepared for your party. Everyone got a lei to wear when they arrived and were asked to wear red, white, and/or blue. The guests were all great sports about our theme. We had the Olympics on TV in the background all day and saw a few more US gold medals won. We were able to make it outside in the backyard for a few games in between sprinkles, but we also played balloon volleyball in the basement. You tried out your new baseball tee and your Battleship game, learned some magic tricks and we quizzed you with trivia questions from your new (3rd grade level) game. 

You are such a special little guy. You are brilliant. You are reading chapter books (at a 3rd grade level according to your pre-K teacher). You are working on spelling, addition, subtraction and multiplication. You love movies and playing outside. You love superheroes and your mama (can I put those in the same category?). You are very inquisitive. You are sensitive and care about others' feelings. You can still throw a nasty temper tantrum, and you've been known to be pretty good at whining. You hate drop-offs at daycare and still struggle with tears some days, but we try to ward those off by waving at about 5 different windows before we leave. You can be quite independent when you want to be, but you don't rush to do too much on your own without a little encouragement sometimes. In fact, you can be really putz-y when you want to be. You are shy at first in a new environment, but once you find your comfort zone, it's hard to get you to be quiet. You don't like to sleep in your bedroom alone but a little music and some glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling seem to be making it a little less lonely. You are a great snuggler. You like to sleep in just your underwear, unless your Angry Birds pajamas are clean...but even then, sometimes only the shorts. You like to have your window open or fan on. You like to be helpful with projects around the house. You love competition. Swimming is one of your favorite pastimes. Jokes are a new introduction to our conversations and your nightly dinnertime prayers include thanks for family, food, and friends. You often impress others with your thoughts and vocabulary. You have been such a joy in our lives and continue to teach us patience and understanding. Your blue eyes are bright and your smile is contagious. I pray that you will continue to find things to make you happy and things to challenge you. I pray that you will make wise and healthy choices in your physical, emotional, and spiritual life. I pray that you know how much you are loved and cherished, and just how special you are. 

Love, Mom

You were so proud to show off your USA gear!

Look how you've grown in 5 years!

    So happy to have your Madagascar cake.

                                                                 Presents
   
  Intense game of Battleship

Olympic rings on Conor's piece of cake

                                                                                               Team USA pride

 The girls having storytime with Aunt Laura.

Trying out the new baseball tee

         

Games...relay races and volleyball

Good Night

Conor's last night of sleep as a four-year old. An emotional mama knelt by his bed and prayed over him, hard to believe he's been around for 5 years, but hard to remember life without him either!

Carver County Fair

We debated about having a "kid friend" birthday party for Conor, but most of the kids he knew all year from daycare are no longer there this summer and his class is much smaller with a wider age range than he had all year. Most of his best friends his age are in another state, and we don't have many friends with young children around here yet; so...despite all the birthday parties he went to this year, we chose to try to defer that for another year at our house. Instead, we tried to make the whole weekend really special for him within our family. He got to choose among a few fun things to do--namely the Carver County Fair and the Mall of America. He has been asking to go on the rides at MOA for awhile, but since we reminded him the fair is only here once a year he chose that (good thing, once we realized this weekend was the 20th anniversary of Mall of America opening and was apparently a madhouse!). So after the Kindercare open house (previous post), we made our way to the fair. The kids played some games and won some prizes near the dairy barns.

Conor knocked down all 6 milk containers with a baseball in just 2 tosses. 

Way to go buddy!

Riley needed a little more help than that.

Giant slide

Happy Guy

Showing off her prize hat and necklace which, along with her dress and sunglasses, make her look like an old granny in Florida!

Trying out another ride

We all took a ride together on the ferris wheel. First time for both kids on that. Riley wasn't sure at first, but did fine once we got started. Conor loved it from start to finish!

Conor petting one of the calves

It's a long hot day when you fall asleep with your water bottle still in your mouth on the car ride home!

You leave this kid alone for five minutes...

....and she finds some way to get herself into trouble....but smiles so cute that you can't help but laugh along.

                                               

Daycare Open House

On Saturday morning, there was an open house at our Kindercare where we got to see a storyteller, do some art projects, eat popsicles, and--the kids' favorite part--face painting!! Conor chose a red, white, and blue star in honor of his Olympic-themed birthday weekend. Riley got a more feminine star painted on her arm.

Pool party

My mom's friend had a pool party at her house and we were invited along. The kids had joined her before when she was babysitting them, so the hosts were happy to welcome them back. These kids absolutely love the water, and I was amazed at how quickly they acclimated. Riley wanted to jump in right away....and over and over and over....not caring that she went underwater or if someone was there to catch her. Conor loved jumping off the side of the pool and off the diving board, and was even practicing his head first dives. He even tried diving off the diving board several times, but we need to work on that a little. When Riley would watch Conor dive, she would put her hands above her head the same way and hold them there, then....drop them down and jump in feet first (see video below).

 

Boys Camping Trip

Adam and Conor began a new tradition this year. They went on a summer boys camping weekend. They went fishing and hiking, cooked s'mores, hot dogs and barbecue ribs over the fire, explored and even found a statue of Paul Bunyan nearby. They had a blast together and look forward to doing it many years ahead.

Happy 45th Anniversary Starkey...Thanks for the Party!

My sister Laura works for a company called Starkey, who is celebrating their 45th anniversary this year. In honor of the occasion, they hosted a huge outdoor event one Saturday for all employees and their families and Laura was kind enough to invite us. They had food, games, inflatable slides and bouncy houses, cotton candy and sno-cones, a magician, a fortune teller, and giveaway goody bags with reusable nalgene water bottles. Another hot day, but we were able to enjoy the festivities for a couple hours before heading home for some good naps!

Riley didn't really like the slide, even with Daddy holding her

Get out of the way, here comes Conor

This kid is having so much fun

Cotton candy!

Cousins

Olympics

Super excited about the Olympics at our house...all dressed up with patriotic spirit for the opening ceremonies. Love the inspirational stories and USA pride, but never get enough sleep or anything else done. Oh well, whats 2 weeks out of every couple years, right?

Land of 10,000 Lakes...Exploring Them One at a Time

The summers always seem to fly by so fast, but we couldn't let our first summer in Minnesota pass us by without testing out some of the beaches at nearby lakes. Conor didn't seem to mind at all (he has been in lakes before), but Riley's first experiences with sand and seaweed required some coaxing and convincing to unwrap her legs from my waist. After an hour or so, it was like nothing for her to walk in the sand and jump off the dock. Hoorah for kids who love to swim as much as their mom and dad!