Kiddo Update

I decided that an update on the kids is long overdue!  My kids are growing so quickly and doing so many wonderful things that I want to make sure that I write some of it down.

Claire

My sweet little 5 year old is growing so quickly.  If I had to use two words to describe her they would be kind and curious.  She is always thinking of others and loves to take care of her little brother.  Claire told us tonight that she tries to help with Oliver and she often tells him "You have to listen to me like I am your mother so that you don't get hurt."  

She loves school and really enjoys doing her homework.  I LOVE doing her homework with her.  I really enjoy watching her little brain work.  She has no idea that I have waited for these days of us sitting at the kitchen table working on her homework since the day she was born.

Claire is in love with music.  And after Santa replaced her MP3 player twice, he finally got her a pink Nano (here she is with her first MP3 player) that she takes everywhere with her.  She can often be found dancing and singing dramatically somewhere in our house. 

Claire is curious and is always craving more knowledge.  She has a love of Science and reading.  She loves to read to us every night and I love to listen to her read.  She continues to amaze me on a daily basis.  She is also getting to be very sensitive!  She takes everything very seriously and takes everything to heart!!  

While Claire still likes to have fun and be silly, she is really starting to be self-conscious and can sometimes be shy.  My advice to Claire as she grows is to continue to be curious and learn as much as can.  I would also tell her to try not to take life so seriously and not to take everything to heart.  While some things are important, your happiness is the most important thing and YOU are the one in control of how happy you can be.  And I will ALWAYS be there to help make you happy, no matter what it takes.  Oh yeah one more thing, I love your hair!  I know you will try to make it straight at some point but please don't.  It is amazing!!!!!

Oliver

My hilarious little two year old is growing so quickly.  If I had to use two words to describe him they would funny and loving.  He is always smiling and loves to make other people laugh.  He also loves to snuggle and make people happy.  He is always asking "You happy Mama??"

Also, Oliver LOVES to read!  He tries to mimic Claire and read just like she does.  It is adorable. 

Oliver LOVES dinosaurs!  He has always loved trains and trucks of every kind but now he has added Dinosaurs to his list of things that he loves.  He knows most of them by name and cannot get enough of them.  Here he is with his face painted.  When asked what he wanted he immediately answered "A DINOSAUR!"

Then he was thrilled that the mouth of the dinosaur was his mouth.  He was roaring away all night!

Oliver also loves babies!  If there is a baby anywhere around Oliver is all over them!

He also loves to be naked :)  Being a boy he is always trying to figure things out. Here he is with a key that he is trying to fit into this door, naked of course.

Oliver is doing great with the potty!  "Number two" is taking a little practice but he knows how to entertain himself while he goes.  You never really know what he is up to.  If he is too quiet for a while you can pretty much be sure he is doing something like this.

Oliver loves going to school everyday.  He can't wait to go and loves his teachers and friends.  Here he is waiting patiently (as he does every morning) for Daddy so that he can go to his favorite place.

Oliver is very outgoing!  He has no fear of being the center of attention and tries to make everyone laugh whenever possible.  Here he is at an event at Mark's school.  In this session they asked the adults a question and of course Oliver raised his hand and was ready with an answer, even if he was not really sure what they were talking about.

 Oliver does NOT like playing outside in the snow.  He repeatedly tells me, "It too cold Mama.  It too cold."  

Oliver loves music and loves to sing!  His last favorite song was "Born To Be Wild".  Although he can be found singing "Doooogggiiieee Wooowww".  My advice to Oliver would be use his humor to make others happy!  He has a great sense of humor and he can really brighten a person's day and make them happy.  I would also tell him to keep reading (even if he really doesn't know how) some day it will click and he love it even more.  I would also tell him to keep being so loving!  Finally, I would tell him to be patient with Claire.  I would let him know that she mothers him so much because she loves him and someday she will need him to take care of her and protect her.

As for the both of them, I would tell them that they need to stick together.  They are a team and they will always have each other.  They will need to lean on each other and help each other out.  Oliver can help Claire be silly and just have fun sometimes.  And Claire can help Oliver be a little more serious at times. Oh yeah and they should always remember to take care of their mother and father :)

These two make me so happy EVERY DAY!  Watching them grow over the last five and half years has been truly amazing and I have loved every second!!!  Thank you Claire and Oliver for being mine and making my life perfect!