She has it all figured out...

The other day the bunny described an incident between herself and a classmate. Evidently said classmate was in her way and she felt compelled to set this classmate straight. When her first attempt at peace negotiations failed, she moved on to Plan B:

"Excuse me didn't work-ded. But pushing works!"

Bunny-riffic!

She's four. It happened on Thursday. I can't believe she's four. In the blink of an eye she went from looking like a little girl to a grown-up kid! I can't believe she's four. I know, I already said that...

We celebrated as a family on Thursday and with her preschool class on Friday. She had the best birthday celebration week!

I still can't believe she's four...

On her birthday morning, she dressed and accessorized herself.
I "cleaned her up" a little bit and she became a grown-up girl!
She loves her new babies.
She loves to draw. (Pictured from left to right: Scarlett, Jordan, Mommy, Noah, Daddy. Scarlett is her best girlfriend from preschool. She's now a part of our family. The bunny said so!)
The preschool celebration.
The classroom theme is a campsite, so I made mini cupcakes topped with mini s'mores. Cute, right?! Oh, and those are mini triple chocolate cake balls in the middle. The orange sprinkles sorta look like fire. Right?
Ms. Cindy and Luther the Lamb
Mrs. Munro and Luther

She loves school. She loves her teachers. She loves her birthday! And she's four.

Fun at the Fair

Noah's class took a field trip to the fair and I tagged along. It was a great day! The kids got to see a rodeo show with barrel racing, calf roping, goat tying, and bull riding. I'm not sure how impressed they were, but Noah did enjoy his Coke.
Everyone got a hat and Sheriff's star at the gate. Noah wore his hat for most of the day. I was impressed!
The boy had a blast petting all the animals. He was so sweet and gentle this year. (Last year he was a bit rough with the animals so we stayed out of petting zoos for a while.) I'm so proud of him!Lunch included hot dogs, chips, and cotton candy!
I hesitated to go on the trip because lately Noah acts up when I'm around. It's mostly because he's excited that I'm there. And to show his excitement, he pinches his friends and me more than normal. But I had so much fun spending the day with him and I know he was happy to have me with him. The extra pinches are definitely worth it for this smile!
This was the best group photo I could get. They may not be the most cooperative bunch for a picture, but they were exceptionally well-behaved and I was thrilled they let me hang with them for the day.
Finally, I have a video that will make you smile all over. At lunch, they played music and let the kids dance on stage. Noah's aide took him up there and they got their groove on! And it didn't take him long to get a girl!

Firsts

First morning in the brand new house.
The boy's first day of school.
The girl's first day of school. She adores her big brother!
First in a self-portrait series so the frame is way off. This one just happens to be the best one in that series.Yeah, totally out of focus, but sooo cute!
The bunny loooooves her brand new teacher!

Last Day - Splash Day

Today was the bunny's last day of her first year of preschool. Needless to say, it's a bittersweet time. Mrs. B has been the most wonderful preschool teacher ever and I am going to miss her dearly. I know the bunny will, too. But I don't think the bunny understands that she won't be going to school on Wednesday...or Friday. And she doesn't understand that when she said goodbye to her friends today, that it was goodbye for a while. She doesn't know to be sad, so I'm crying for her. We'll have play dates, though! And fun summer activities!

So we got a cool front last night and it made the morning temperatures comfortably cool and wonderful. But not so much for a splash day. I don't think the kids noticed. They had fun playing in the water anyway. Mike's daughter jumped right in! Mike, the guy who thinks it's fun to swim in spring water...brrrrrrr!
This one cracks me up!
She's finally starting to get cold.Only three friends made it to class today. The other three were out sick. :( Here's their last snack time together - ice cream floats.
And one last photo because I think it's cool!

I think I caught the Easter Bunny!

And it looks like she's been eating the chocolate!
And she has a brother!

Noah and His Ladieeeeeeeeees!

Last week I had a picnic lunch with Noah at his school for public school week. The weather was perfect! And we picnicked it up in true Harvey fashion with take-out...from Carino's. I'd have been fine with PB&J or Chick-fil-A like everyone else, but lately the boy has been turning his nose up at those childish offerings. ;) His tastes are much more refined for things like grilled lemon rosemary chicken with penne pasta and a brown butter sauce...I realize this is my fault...he was never given jarred foods, we rarely eat canned foods, and I serve fresh fruits and/or veggies with every meal. I'm fine with it...he's definitely my boy with his penchant for variety!

After lunch we were invited back to class for music & movement and sensory fun! I don't know why I didn't think to turn my camera on for the dancing part, but I've got this cute one of Noah drawing in shaving cream. NOW I know what that smell is Noah comes home with occasionally. I thought it might be soap, but it wasn't daily, so I really had no clue and kept forgetting to ask.

Open House night was really just a pop in to say hello. (And to get Brian's BBQ, since it's allll the way on the other side of town...like 4 miles away...there I go with the food talk again...) I feel we've got great communication with Noah's teacher and we pretty much know how things are going in class. Noah was really happy to be at school and acted pretty hyper in front of his teachers, so it was kind of hard to get him to sit for a photo. But we got a couple! These are the other ladies in Noah's life!

We think Ms. H is wonderful and has so much kindness and patience for our boy. And we're pretty sure he's quite fond of her!

When we left, he was a totally different kid...calm and quiet and GREAT at dinner. Well of course he was...there was food involved! ;) That's my boy!

Drawing and Reading

Noah's language and conversation skills continue to improve. He is answering questions with meaningful replies. And he's a pretty good artist, too! ;) This evening he was upset - not sure why - but I gave him his doodle board and told him to draw. He drew his family.

The bunny got this book for Christmas and I've been reading it to her at bedtime. Today is the first day she's "read" it out loud by herself. She missed a page and a few words here and there, but her memory is amazing.

I Love You Through and Through
by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak
Illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church

I love you through and through.
I love your top side.
I love your bottom side.
I love your inside and outside.
I love your happy side, your sad side, your silly side, your mad side.
I love your fingers and toes, your ears and nose.
I love your hair and eyes, your giggles and cries.
I love you running and walking, silent and talking.
I love you through and through...yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too.

Christmas Miracle

Yesterday, the bunny asked me to buckle her into her carseat. Earlier in the week she let me put on her socks and shoes. Mike reports similar experiences. Crazy, isn't it?! It's been months since she's let either of us buckle her. All we get to do is pull the strap tight - and only because she couldn't figure out how to pull it herself...She's also letting me help her put on her socks and shoes every once in a while. I love her independence when it doesn't make us late, but I'm having a hard time with her growing up to be such a big girl...

Noah continues to explode verbally. He's making verbal requests for things like snacks, videos, books, and drinks. And he's quite particular...one of his first request phrases was for, "ice, cold law-ler." Not just water, but ice, cold water! Another milestone for us is that he will now repeat things when prompted. He wasn't doing that a couple weeks ago! Now when he asks me for a, "piece of gum," I'll remind him to say, "please," and he will! Emphatically! But wait, there's more! The other night we drove around to look at holiday lights and Noah was identifying objects and colors when we'd ask, "what's that, Noah?" He'd reply, "Santa...snowman...green...red...reindeer..." Can you hear me gushing?! I'm so proud of my boy!!!

We had a conference with Noah's school earlier this week and they tell us he's doing really well and is making lots of progress. He's even working well with the speech therapist! This is the fourth one in his life and he wouldn't cooperate with any of the first three. He must like this one! ;)

Also on Monday, we went to see the bunny perform in the Happy Birthday, Jesus program at her preschool. I got some cute photos and video. I didn't record the whole program, just my favorite song! I think it's the favorite of all the kids, too. So without further ado, herrrrrrre's the bunny!

The Book of Bunny

Whew! Our celebration week has come to an end and I am exhausted! Good thing Daylight Saving ended last night so I could get that extra hour of sleep this morning.

The bunny's third birthday was Wednesday and we celebrated with her preschool class. She woke up with some sniffles, but still wanted to go to school for her party. Since she didn't have a fever I took her in. She enjoyed her special day at school even though she looks pitiful.

She was exhausted after school and fell asleep during lunch. I let her sleep.

We opened family gifts Wednesday evening and the bunny got SPOILED by everyone! Thank you so much!

And I just have to throw this one in. I knew she was my girl!

On Thursday, the bunny had her three-year check up and the doctor confirmed the bunny has a case of sniffle, but no infection. She was cleared for the rest of the week's events. She's 24 pounds and 35 inches tall. She got her second round of the Hep A vaccine and was NOT happy about it. She carried on allll the way out of the office, allll the way down the elevator, allll the way to the parking garage, and alllll the way to Pappasito's. Lunch made everything better!

On Friday, we took full advantage of the kids being in school and made party preparations. We also carved our pumpkins for Halloween. Can you guess which one Mike carved?

Jordan really, really liked trick or treating! Noah was ready to go home after a few houses, but the bunny made it around the block and carried her loot the entire way. She needed two hands by the time we were almost home, but didn't want anyone's help! Noah wore his costume all night while helping Daddy hand out candy.

Saturday was the big birthday party day and we spent the day getting the house ready. (Read: shove everything non-essential into the bedroom and close the door in hopes that nobody has to go in there.) The party was a lot of fun and we had plenty of food, drink, and bounce for everyone! I do have to give props and a shout out to Mary. I am SO IMPRESSED and so happy she and her family came to celebrate with us. Mary, you look fabulous and your new little pumpkin is beautiful! And you're my hero because you got to take three showers in one day! I'm not sure I showered three times in a week when I had a newborn.

I have a lot more pictures to share but I'll leave you with this one for now. It's the birthday bunny enjoying her cupcake.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

My kids are the greatest! We went to All-Star tonight for pizza, calzones, and bouncing. We had only been there for about twenty minutes when Mike got called into work. We knew he was getting called in but we thought it would be later. We thought to take two vehicles just in case the call came early, but we didn't. Seriously, someone should take our parenting licenses away.

So we told the kids it was time to go and they trotted out to the car with us as happy as they could be. They were totally happy with the bounce time they did get and were fine with waiting until we got home to eat. How did we get so lucky?!

Not only are my kids just wonderful, they are both superstars! Noah's art work from Mrs. K's class was entered at the fair and he won First Place! (We didn't know his work had been submitted and we didn't even know he won until his blue ribbon arrived home in his backpack. And to top that off, we didn't even go the the fair this year. Yeah, come and get our licenses now!) So here's our little man showing off his First Place art!

This last one is a little blurry, but Noah is so dang cute, I had to include it.

We also have exciting news to share in the bunny world. She does make appearances in the new Signing Time videos! In A New Day:Volume 3, you can see her at:

9:03 - wearing a hat in the Sunny Day segment
11:47 - with sunglasses in the Sky segment
15:15 - pulling a leaf in the Leaf segment

In Let's Be Friends:Volume4, she is drinking from her cup at the end of the Juice segment. It's a quick shot at 17:13. The bunny isn't signing in any of her appearances, but I still think it's so cool she was a part of the process and we can see her several times. Unfortunately, her name isn't mentioned as one of the signers at the end of the videos, but she is signing in the tribute video. She appears at 0:58 and is signing, "sad."

Signing Time was really generous to send us the videos and the accompanying music CDs. AND, Rachel signed one of the DVDs!

I'm so proud of my wonderful, superstar kidlets! How did we get so lucky?!