Mr. Carle's characters

 Maddie finally had her big first grade play! She's been rehearsing her line for weeks! Yes, line. Singular.  The girl takes her drama quite seriously. Duh.

The play was "Mr. Carle's Characters", based on the books. Each class did a different story and Miss Stabnick's did "The Grouchy Ladybug". I was a bit surprised Maddie didn't land the lead role, given her demeanor most days. She landed the role of a snarky skunk. That works too. 

 The kid's got some talent. I mean, she's fearless on stage. Choosing an arts school was definitely a wise choice.

It makes me so proud to see her so confident. It's one of her many wonderful qualities.....keeping her humble is the hard part! ;)

 They were all really good! I was pretty impressed such little people could have so much confidence and nail their parts! 

 Gavin wanted to be the one to give Sissy her flowers...sweet boy!

And, as usual, we were fortunate to have our awesome, ever-present cheering section! 

Family pics, take 472.

So we had family photos done. I wasn't crazy about the family ones...no fault of the photog's, she was awesome, there just weren't any of the four of us, looking at the camera, smiling like normal people. But, that said, these. I know I'm partial but o.m.geeeeee. My kids are the cutest!

Because...Dr Seuss's Birthday

Maddie had to dress in a Dr. Seuss theme each day of the week so for his big 100th, we had to make a fuss! 

I love his imagination, his creativity....the way his silly, beautiful mind worked. We love his books and honor the great author that has given us fun stories for a lifetime!

Caleb's bike.....

Last week Monique texts me: "Would Gavin want Caleb's bike?" I get the all-too-common throat lump that seems to accompany conversation about Caleb. 

It's so amazing that she would want Gavin to have it but so heart-wrenching that it's yet another reminder he's no longer with us to enjoy it himself. So bittersweet. 

I never quite know how to feel about the hand-me-downs that seem to come more now that Gavin is at the age now when Caleb was diagnosed and near the age of his death. I do believe though, it gives Monique some comfort and joy to see the other boy in her life enjoy the things so much. And, the sweet Spiderman bike has been no exception. He's having a ball and mastering pedaling like a champ! He cruises the hood with a huge smile and some serious determination. It really makes me miss Caleb but also feel he's still with us in some small way....

....and the obligatory tree climbing pit stop....

We officially have two bikers!

Valentine's Day 2016

 We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day...not that we make a huge fuss typically. It worked out that the children's parade for the Edison Festival of Lights was the same day. There was a kids' fun run that they really wanted to do so after some flowers, breakfast in bed and Maddie's awesome cards, we headed downtown.

They did great! Maddie's a bit more competitive and was slightly disappointed she didn't win. Gavin, on the other hand, just ran his little heart out with a huge smile the entire time. He was super jazzed about his ribbon!

After the run we just hung out for the parade. It was a perfect weather day! Actually, it was just a perfect day, all the way around. Enjoying the day with my people...pretty much all I ever need.

100th day of school!

So I totally convinced Maddie's teacher to let the kids dress like "100 year olds" for their 100th day of school cause, well, any excuse for a costume and a party! She was all for it and even got into the spirit herself! Pretty adorable...I hope I look this good at 100!