Wind needed, rain sweeps through instead!

Today was "Kite Day" at school and Joshua was so excited. The past two nights he has told me that he wanted to get a smaller kite than the one we already had, a Lightning McQueen kite we bought last year. I told him that his kite wasn't too big, but that we would look at it and decide if it would work. This morning, as I am running around in my usual state of last minute school preparation, I go to the garage to look at the kite. I pull the kite down and realize that the kite has no string. I went in and told Joshua that I would get him a new one because his didn't have string, and he was overjoyed! He knew exactly what kind of kite he wanted...a light blue and light red kite in a diamond shape. I told him that I would look for one, but if they didn't have one like that that I would get something close. That seemed to be good for him, so we went to school. I went to Toys R Us to go kite shopping, knowing that Taylor would likely want a kite, too. I actually found one that fit the bill! It was a diamond shaped kite with US Air Force planes on it and it had the right colors! Yea! Gold star for mom. As I was looking around the kites for Taylor, she spotted a Pooh Bear kite that she wanted...when I picked it up, there was a Mickey kite behind that that trumped Pooh Bear. She we left the store with two brand new kites and cloudy skies ahead. We arrived at the school just in time as Ms Garrett was rushing out to see if it was raining. I told her that it had rained some, but that at the moment, it wasn't raining. So, we all rushed out to the field to get some kite flying in before the rain came. Without much wind at all, the kites were mostly dragging on the ground and many of the kids were getting frustrated, including my own son who was whining that his kite wouldn't fly. We got it up in the air and he did get some air under the kite for a few runs and that made him happy. Taylor kept getting frustrated when her kite wouldn't fly long and after about 15 minutes, she called it quits and wanted to be held. That's when the rain started falling...first just a light rain which eventually picked up speed and a good steady rain was coming down. We all decided to head back to the school and so the whole kite adventure lasted about 30 minutes. At least the kids got to get outside and give it a try for awhile. It's hard to have a scheduled kite day when you just don't know what the whether is going to do, but the kids had fun and Joshua had the option of coming home early from school, but opted to stay and watch a movie and get dessert...I don't blame him! I got a few cute pictures and tried to take some video for Daddy to see. Now it's some downtime while Taylor and I wait to go get Joshua from school soon. She sitting watching the "Pooh's Hefalump Movie" and I'm typing away as Bailey sits on the floor beside the couch.

Silent Auction at CCS

Doug and I spent the evening at the CCS Silent Auction tonight. It was beautifully decorated and the food/atmosphere/music was perfect. Joshua and Taylor played together in the big kids room downstairs as Taylor cried when we tried to put she and Joshua in the toddler room. She ended up having much more fun in the big kids room and they had no problems with her there. All the kids made crafts in school to sell at the auction and Joshua's class made plaster paris plates with their hand print in it and a glass heart placed in the hand. It turned out really nice and we purchased Joshua's plate along with a few other auctioned items that we won. It was a really nice evening and our first Silent Auction event.

Visiting with the Easter Bunny...

Joshua was asking if he could get a present today and I told him that pretty soon, the Easter Bunny would come for a visit (if he was a good boy:) and would leave him a basket of goodies. Joshua asked if there was going to be any Star Wars toys in the basket and I told him that the Easter Bunny would probably leave him things that he thought Joshua would like. Joshua then asked if the Easter Bunny could stay and visit for a couple of hours. Too sweet!!! I love the mind of a child.

Joshua's progress report

I spoke with Ms Garret today over the phone for the parent teacher conference. We had a good conversation and she told me that overall, Joshua is doing great in school. He is getting an Excellent score in Math (which seems to come the easiest to him), and an "E" in citizenship. She wrote on his report that his servant heart shines through each day. He has an S+ in phonics, bible memory, and handwriting and an S in reading. Ms Garrett wrote that Joshua had beautiful handwriting. He is doing above average in reading and just needs to continue practicing and working on special sounds. She said that he is 1st grade ready, and just needs to continue to do worksheets over the Summer to not lose momentum. She said that her class just wouldn't be the same without Joshua, which makes my heart melt. We love you, Joshua!!

Taylor turns three!

Taylor was so excited today that it was her birthday. She really did beam all day and knew that it was her special day. We started the day shopping...what more could a girl want!! Well, we went to a consignment sale, and as I was shopping, she was looking at the clothes, too...and then decided to walk in between the racks of clothes and scare her mommy by disappearing in the clothes at times! So shopping for clothes was a bit trying, but we got it done. I told her that she could pick out a toy and she was thrilled with that. She ended up picking out a heart shaped zip bag that was filled with Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse and several outfits, shoes, and accessories that could be placed on Minnie. Perfect for Taylor! We picked out a metal fire truck bank on wheels for Joshua that he could either put money or cars in and he was excited to get that as well. So after the sale, we headed to Dollar Tree to get a birthday balloon for Taylor and we found a cute flowery birthday balloon as well as Taylor found some princess paper plates for her birthday dinner which we had to get as well! We then headed home and I had to get busy making her cake which was chocolate with chocolate icing and I created a lamb on top made from marshmallows and then put vanilla icing and glittery white sprinkles on top. I originally tried to find a lamb cake pan, but couldn't find one in a store...so I got creative and made one. Taylor was asking all day to eat cake once she saw it iced and I kept telling her that she could have some after dinner. Taylor went down for a nap in the afternoon so that she would have plenty of energy for her birthday. I don't know that she slept at all and she even got herself out of her crib an hour and a half later which she has never done before because she was so excited!!When Daddy got home, we ate dinner. Taylor had one of her favorites which is Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and meatballs. That's what she likes, so that's what she ate! We then sang "Happy Birthday" to Taylor and she really enjoyed that and blew out her candle. The strange thing about her birthday was that she only took one bite of her cake! Joshua told us that his tummy hurt and so he wasn't going to eat any (unheard of for Joshua!!). Doug thinks that Taylor saw that her brother wasn't going to eat any and so she followed suit. We were shocked that she didn't want to eat her cake that she had been asking for all day! I was a bit disappointed that I spent the time to make her a cake and figure out a way to put a lamb on it which is her beloved stuffed animal that she carries everywhere and she wouldn't eat it. Doug and I ate cake and then we went into the living room to open gifts. She definitely enjoyed opening gifts and playing with her new toys. Joshua was very willing to "help" his sister open her gifts and play with them and she was needing no help opening her gifts. It's always hard not being the birthday boy/girl and watching someone else open the gifts as a kid. Taylor got the following gifts: Caring Family RV for her dollhouse dolls, Caring Family laundry room and computer room furniture, Fun at the Zoo Little People book, Disney Princess book with iPod like musical toy, Middleton Dolls baby boy, and Mickey Mouse "The Three Musketeers" movie from us. She received the Leap Frog Scribble and Write and doll clothes from Grandma and Grandpa, two doll outfits for her Itty Bitty Baby from Gran and Grandaddy, a PlayMobil horse and carriage with people from Aunt Tricia and Jaeson, a Lego set from Aunt Chris, Little Pony car and DVD from Aunt Angela and family, a Kittens book and Disney Princess bag from our babysitter Mary, $10 from Great Aunt Merry and Uncle Bob, and a kitchen stove and sink from my friend Julie Jones which we are going to exchange b/c she has a kitchen already (although it is really cute!). She ended up having a really fun birthday and she even hammed it up for me to take some really cute pictures of her earlier in the day. Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Taylor!!

The big "3" tomorrow

We've been mentioning to Taylor today that it's her birthday tomorrow and Daddy was asking her what she thought about her birthday tomorrow and she started talking animatedly about her birthday and he couldn't understand it all, but "Presents" was one word that came out clearly, so I guess that she gets the gist of it!! Too funny. I asked her if she wanted birthday cake tomorrow, and she said "Yes!" and I asked her if she was going to blow out a candle and she said "Yes!"...and pointed to the table and started talking about candles. It should be a fun birthday to watch her as she is definitely aware of the birthday routine by now. Joshua wanted to give Taylor a give so her drew her a little heart flower on paper and wrapped it up in wrapping paper and made her a card. Very sweet. He wanted to help wrap her gifts, but poor Mommy was being impatient and wasn't letting him help much. His feelings were hurt and then I felt badly. I had a list of things that needed to get done tonight and patience was at a low tonight. Sorry, Joshua!!!

Art for All

Taylor had her second "Art for All" class today. The project today was gluing grass pieces on paper, then taking cotton balls and dipping them in paint and blotting the paper to make clouds. The kids then painted stamps and stamped bugs on the paper and finished with dipping q tips in gray paint and making rain drops on the paper. Taylor really enjoyed herself and the project turned out really cute. They come up with such great ideas at the Mable House.