Sydnee Turns TWO!

Today is Sydnee's second birthday, happy birthday baby girl! We're so proud of you and so proud to have you as our daughter. In between remodeling our kitchen, we took some time off to eat some cupcakes and ice cream and sing Happy Birthday to Syd.

Sydnee got such fun gifts this year, including a power wheels 4-wheeler from Mommy and Daddy and Hallie. Sydnee got on the 4-wheeler and took off with a big smile on her face, finally a bike she can ride fast enough to keep up with Hallie! Grandma and Grandpa Voge gave Sydnee a fun dog game, pretty pink shoes, a purse and some books. Grandma and Grandpa Drake gave Syd a fairy treehouse, thank you for all the presents Grandma's and Grandpa's!

Big Sis, Lil' Sis

I found these shirts for the girls that said, "Big Sis," "Lil' Sis," and of course you know what that means... it's blog worthy!

Preschool Graduation

Today my big girl graduated from our co-op preschool! How fast the year flew by! It was so fun teaching and I must say I'm glad I'm not the one teaching her next year cause I'm worn out. On Monday at field day, I had the kids make their graduation caps which turned out so stinkin' cute to wear today.
During the "ceremony" we asked the kids their favorite part of preschool, and Hallie said, "Going on the fieldtrip to the fire station and riding in the truck." We also had the kids show off the things they've learned this year: ABC's, counting, shapes, colors and learning the pledge of allegiance...




Hallie insisted on wearing a dress that she could twirl in to her graduation which she was so excited about. She felt so special today because it was her day. We're so proud of you Hallie!

Preschool Field Day

As part of our last week of preschool, we had field day on Monday at our house filled with lots of outdoor games and water fun! The kids had a blast. We had potato sack races,
a kickball race,
and took some time to get wet since it's been in the 80s all week!
Even Sydnee loved the sprinkler...

The Best Hubby in the World

Why is my cell phone on the counter better than flowers you ask? Well let me explain...

The other day I was having a horrible day where things just kept getting worse and worse and if one more thing happened, I was going to lose it. And it did. We were at Lowe's getting an estimate for new countertops since we're redoing our kitchen and in an effort to keep Sydnee happy while I talked to the countertop man, I gave her my cell phone to play with which she eventually ended up losing but I didn't know it until I was on my way home. So panicked, I went back to Lowe's looking everywhere and couldn't find it. Before I knew it the tears just started coming and wouldn't stop, my day had officially turned into a horrible day. So I went home without my cell phone, being sure that someone had taken it at that point and called Cameron crying to him explaining that I lost my cell phone. I couldn't go back and look for it until after our doc. appointment that I had so we went to the doc. appt. and the picture above is what I came home to.

Cameron had left work during his lunch to go all the way to Lowe's to find my cell phone for me. He brought it home and charged it for me with this note that said, "Look! Who's the best husband in the world? That's right, ME!" I just cried some more as Hallie said, "Aww, look Mommy! Daddy found your phone and he even plugged it in for you!" It was so sweet.

Avery's Baseball Outing

Last night, Cameron's work, Avery Dennison, had a Family Night at the Tin Caps baseball game. They had all-you-can-eat hamburgers, hot dogs, and mac and cheese and they even bought shirts or ball caps for the kids! Here's the girls sporting their "Tin Caps Cutie's" shirts.It was so much fun, I love that Avery does all these fun things with their employees' families. Hallie and Sydnee loved walking around and they loved being so close to the field. We were so close to the field, it was so cool! Sydnee enjoyed watching the players practice before the first pitch was thrown. She kept saying "Hi" to them... and here is one of the players saying, "Hi" back! Okay, he had a ball in his hand, ready to throw it, but it looks like he's saying "Hi," doesn't it?
Hallie and Sydnee get along so well with Cam's coworkers' kids and we seem to see them quite a bit at different Avery events so all the kids had a blast being together!

Pre-K Fieldtrip: Auntie Anne's Pretzels

This last month of preschool, all of us are pretty worn out, so we decided to do some fieldtrips we didn't get to do throughout the year. Tara planned last weeks fieldtrip to Auntie Anne's Pretzels where we learned the history of pretzels from our guide, Kent. Our tour guide, Kent, happens to be a relative of Auntie Anne's, so it was fun listening to stories about the company that only he would know. and they got to make their own pretzels too!
Marci helped Sydnee make her own pretzel...
Here's a giant pretzel that Kent made...
Did you know?

• That pretzels are the oldest snack (1400 years old) in the world?
• That pretzels are shaped the way they are because the person who invented them made them for the kids he taught in Sunday school as a treat for them to eat. The shape symbolizes how the kids would pray by crossing their arms across their chest like a pretzel like Hallie's doing below.
• The Auntie Anne's store that we were at for our fieldtrip was the first Auntie Anne's store to open in our city, they have since moved locations and have opened many others in our state.
  

No More Therapy!

Sydnee's Occupational Therapist, Laura (who has the cutest English accent, since she grew up in London), discharged Sydnee last week, meaning she is so pleased with Sydnee's development and growth that she doesn't need therapy anymore!! This was a BIG day! We are so proud of Sydnee, she's had it pretty rough the last couple years, but she (and her parents) have gotten through with lots of prayers and great therapists who have made her the normal girl she is today and have helped her overcome all her challenges. We will miss Laura terribly, Syd looked forward to her visits every week! I'm so incredibly grateful for all the doctors who have helped her, and we definitely see the Lord's hand in all of it along the way and are grateful for that. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, she's finally therapist-free!

Happy 26th Birthday!

I celebrated my 26th birthday yesterday by going to the zoo with the girls during the day and they gave me the best gift: no whining!! They were so happy and we enjoyed our time together! I got lots of birthday wishes from family and friends including birthday pictures that Hallie and her friends made for me which was so cute! Cam came home with cake and ice cream and flowers to top my day off. I definitely feel older this year especially since I'm no longer in the "20-25" age bracket, I'm now in the "26-30" age bracket... ugh! But at least I can say I'm in the best shape of my life at 26, that's an accomplishment right? I still have a date with Cam to look forward to this weekend to celebrate my birthday. Thanks for all the birthday wishes!