Kiddies goodies!

* Monkeys, elephants, frogs and lions: Kylie and Brayden painted these cute porcelain animals, then we went online and gathered information about where they live (we looked the place up on Kylie's globe), what they eat, and other fun facts about them. Then we added a Bible connection to our little unit. Where does God talk about these animals in the Bible? We read the creation story, Noah's ark and the flood, Daniel and the Lions' den story, and the plague of frogs in Exodus. We are not quite done with it, but the kids look forward to learning more every day (*I am not sure how much Brayden learned, he has lost his patience once or twice and wondered off, but you never know! :D )

They come in a set of 4 and include the paint and 1 paintbrush, they were only $1.25 at Target!

* Snow men: I took this idea from a blog I follow: "Children's learning activities" (see right side-click on shapes activities and scroll down). I like this blog because it has many fun crafts and activities so I don't have to surf the net for ideas, they are at my finger tips. This was more for Brayden, we talked about shapes, colors, and he traced his name, but I know Kylie had fun with it too!

* Bathtub crayons: My kids got these for Christmas so I am not sure how much they are or where they were purchased, but they LOVE them!!! After this post, I should start working for the PTPA (parent tested parent approved) website. :)

This is an older video but I ran across it and I couldn't believe it it hasn't made the blog yet...so, with no further due...our drummer, pianist... and dancer! (* i was folding laundry that day, hint the laundry baskets :D )
"I love the Earth!!! "

Santa

"Just thought I would pass on an interesting conversation Kylie and I had today. I was up on a ladder taking Christmas lights off our roof and the kids were outside "helping." Kylie noticed there was no chimney on the roof and asked where it was. I told her we did not have one on our house because we don't have a fireplace. She said:"Oh, is that why we go to Grandma's house for Christmas, so Santa can get it?" I told her that wasn't the only reason and that Santa had other ways to get in, like the door. She thought that would be way too loud though and it would wake people up. You could just see the wheels spinning in her head, her thoughts shifted back to the fireplace. I told her that chimneys were for fire places, so the smoke would have somewhere to go. Once she figured out the chimney led to the fireplace, she wondered how Santa got down without getting burnt, I told her the fire wasn't going all night. Then she was worried about his suit getting all dirty from the "black stuff" left over after the fire. Then to "can the reindeer land on the roof?" And on it went until we finished the lights. In case you are wondering what Brayden was doing during this enlightening conversation, he was eating snow the whole time. After that we made it back inside for hot chocolate."

Brett


*This is an email Brett sent out to his parents yesterday and I found it blog worthy!

Iuliana's fashion corner

Okay, i am so excited about this sweater dress and the new spring/summer dress I recently purchased. I just have to share!!!
Here is my ($7) sweater dress, paired with gray&black tights (AE $6)
Teal and gold necklace passed down from Grandma Dodie (i LOVE this necklace)
*thanks Grandma! :)

Teal flats from Target ($19.99)

*Bday gift from Kate! xoxo

Now, on to my twistneck yellow spring/summer dress. I would like to loose a couple of pounds for it to look better on me, but what better motivation than this SUPER cute dress!!+ I am doing a weight loss program with some friends, so that should help with that! ;)

I love the necklace and bracelet with it *bday gift from Carley! love them!

And of course my teal flats to complete the outfit! Is it spring yet??!!

KYLIE's FASHION CORNER

Kylie's turn!!! I found these ohh so cute clips at Target. They come in a set of 4 and they are only $3.22. SO CUTE, right?

I cannot end this post before I mention our first mother/daughter outing to the beauty salon. We didn't do anything drastic, just a little trim for the both of us, but it was Kylie's 1st time going to a beauty salon and it is worth mentioning of course!!!! Mother/daughter outings are my favorite!

An Orange Bowl...and a red face.

Last Tuesday, our favorite College Football team, the IOWA HAWKEYES, played against Georgia Tech. in the FedEx Orange Bowl and W-O-N (24-14)!!! Since we couldn't go to South Florida for the game, we had a BIG party at our house!!!! At one point we had 1 Iowa State fan, 1 Wisconsin fan and a little lady who's never heard of the IOwA Hawkeyes, but we were all screaming at the top of our lungs...especially the (7) guys + Lizzie. Dakota and Carley came up to watch the game with us, we loved having them here!

Daddy with his oldest football player!
(the youngest football player was resting in preparation for the big game!)
Brett is wearing his High-school football jersey, which happened to be the same colors (black and gold) as the IOWA HAWKEYES! GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!


* NOw, on to our youngest football player, (this has nothing to do with the Orange Bowl, but Colton just cracks me up and I hope it makes you smile too) enjoying some cake after Kylie's birthday party. He just looks so proud of the mess he's made...lol. I love this face!

Ladybug tea party!

Kylie turned 5 this January!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was able to celebrate her birthday on 3 separate occasions. On her actual birthday (Jan 2nd) we celebrated as a family. We made birthday rolls * aka: home-made cinnamon rolls (Hoben family tradition), opened presents from G and G, aunts and uncles. I offered to cook anything she wanted for the birthday dinner, and she picked Mac-n-cheese with peas...easy enough! :D
On Monday was the first day back to Preschool and the day her classmates sang Happy Birthday to her, made a birthday book for her and had her wear a birthday crown!! How fun!!!!!!

Last but not least, we invited all the 4 and 5 year old (girls) from church to Kylie's Ladybug theme Tea party! *The book on the right is "Fancy Nancy Tea Parties" and I made it part of the decor because i used some of the ideas from the book ;)

The cake!

Happy 5th Birthday sweet Kylie!!!!!
Seven little friends (including Kylie) enjoyed the tea (pink lemonade), the dinner and of course... the cake!

Everyone decorated their own place mats and took them home in their "party favors bags".

In between all the dancing, playing, running, fingernails painting....we took some time to open presents.

The Tea Party extended into a sleepover!! This is what Kylie wanted and we were OK with it! Here are all the ladybugs in their pj's, brushing their teeth.

Sleeping bags out and we're ready to watch the new Tinkerbell movie.

OH yes! Half way through the movie, hunger struck! It was time for popcorn!

*The next morning, we enjoyed some daddy-made pancakes and a good laugh or two.

We even found time to work off some of the excess calories from the late night snacking :)

As we were waiting for parents to arrive, we played a game or two.

All in all, we think everyone had a good time and we KNOW Kylie loved her 5th birthday!

January 2, 2005...

...is the day I became a believer in love at first sight!
This little 7lbs70z, 20in little girl had stolen my heart in an instant!

...And the countup began:
1


2

3

4

5

You have brought so much joy into our lives and we love you soooo soo much! Looking forward to keep watching you grow up!

Happy 5th Birthday our sweet Kylie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!