Here’s another video from Alex and Avery’s 4th Birthday from Uncle Bill.

Here are a few videos from the Twins’ 4th birthday party last week.  Photos to come shortly.

Happy Birthday Songs and Candles being blown out

Piñata smashing

Here are some videos from Adam’s Little Gym “Show”.  He was so excited to finally get a medal like his big brother and sister!  Most are short, some are out of focus, and yes Avery did wear her princess costume to the show.  I guess Jen didn’t know that they would let Alex and Avery both in to participate!

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Wow, it’s spring already.  How did that happen?  As usual we’re staying busy and have lots going on.

Alex and Avery are close to wrapping up another year in preschool.  Both got great comments on their report cards yesterday and have grown quite a bit this year in class.  Avery really seems to have come out of her shell and made many efforts to make new friends and play independently without Alex.  Alex’s teacher pointed out how much Alex loves to tell stories and how he’s quite the socialite.  The twins are both set for a 3 day a week all day program, which should be good preparation for transitioning to kindergarten after that (wow, I can’t believe we’re almost there!)

Adam, who spent almost as much time in Alex & Avery’s classroom as they did, is set to start his 1 day a week 2 year old program next year.  Considering how many activities he participated in this year with Alex and Avery in their class, I feel like it will already be old news for him when he starts his own class next year.  I’m definitely anxious to see how he does by himself in a class without his big brother and sister.

I believe we’re just about done setting up all the camps and VBS sessions for the kids this summer.  We’re trying to get enough things lined up where they have things going on all through the summer but also want to be sure that they do get to enjoy some time off at home too.  Hopefully it all balances out well and they have a great summer!

We’ve got Alex and Avery signed up sports this summer.  Alex and Avery do a soccer clinic now but it’s really not a team and game type environment.  They’re having fun now and learning some good skills.  This summer Avery will start the 4 year old soccer league and Alex will start the 4 year old flag football league.  They both chose what they wanted to play and Alex was especially psyched to play football.  Both sports will keep us all extremely busy with soccer having 1 practice a week and football having 2 (@ 1 1/2 hours a night).  Both kids will have their games on Saturdays.

Leaving the elementary school cafeteria where we signed them up last Saturday I quickly realized that Jen and I just made ourselves extremely busy for probably the next (10-12 years of our lives!)  While I’m sure it’s going to be hectic at first I’m very excited for them to get started and can’t wait to put some miles on the new camcorder we got a few months ago.

As for non-kid news, we’re right in the middle of having our backyard debacle fixed.  Our old retaining wall (which failed and fell) was taken out, the patio was removed and they’re about halfway done rebuilding it all.  We have a cool new design for how things are going to work back there and are adding maybe a total of 500 square feet of new patio/walkway area in pavers.  Both Jen and I are excited for it to be completed so we can get the pool open and start to get ready for the twin’s birthday party in less than a month.  I only pray that we can get the pool open and ready by then (it’s going to be close).

Lastly, a big part of the reason we don’t post as much on here is that we do much more “microblogging” on Facebook these days.  If you want to follow either me or Jen on there feel free to friend us on there.  If you can’t find either of us on there feel free to email me and I’ll help you out.

As always in this house, the days fly by and before you know it, it’s been a month or more since I’ve written down any of the things I never want to forget about our crazy lives. Everyone is doing very well, minus some runny noses and minor coughs, but those are just the badges of preschoolers. The week is spent running from preschool to the Little Gym and trying to do some errands in between.

Alex and Avery at 3 1/2 have gotten really independent very quickly. Avery dresses herself every day, though not always in an outfit I’d have chosen. She dresses herself several times, actually, once you consider the changes during rest time into dress-up clothes and then a completely inappropriate summer dress that twirls out when she spins. She is so very girlie, loving all things Princess and pink, and wearing dresses or skirts with tights anytime she can. To my amazement, she’s also starting to read. She knows all the letters and sounds and a few sight words – enough to get her through simple texts and to prompt her to read a few signs in stores or parking lots. She writes her name all over the place. She amazes me every day with her memory and the things she picks up on. If only I could channel her talents in the right direction to make up for my constant Momnesia. She’s full of drama and attitude that make me want to duck and cover when the teenage years come, but she is also starting to come out of her shell and make new friends. She loves her dance class and the tutus and leotards and tap shoes she gets to wear there. Her first show last month was a major success. I think Don posted pictures.

Alex is funny and sweet and impulsive and stubborn, as always. He loves laughing, and being the typical boy he is, his favorite book for his Tag reader is called Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise. He’s really into puzzles lately and while he’ll complain that he can’t do it, I turn around a few minutes later and he has the whole thing together. He loves helping Don and was thrilled helping to put together a kitchen island with Daddy this weekend. He still loves books and is really good at memorizing them, and using pictures to help him tell a story or figure out the right word. He’s infamous for coming out of his room at quiet rest time because “I need to tell you sumpin.” He loves playing computer games and amazes me with how well he can operate on the websites. Like father, like son, right? Alex loves going to school and telling me about his days there. He’s always looking for something to bring for sharing time, like his new wallet (Don’s old one) which he keeps his “credit cards” in. Such a cutie!

Adam appears to be a reincarnation of someone from the heyday of disco. The kid never stops dancing, unless a slow song comes on, in which he comes over and grabs my face and says, “Change it. Change it!” But Taylor Swift, Imagination Movers, and everything in between has him spinning in circles and doing the best booty shake ever. He bends over a little, sticks his butt out, and then shakes his upper body, especially his bent arms / elbows. The butt never moves. Words don’t do it justice, but it cracks us up every time. He loves to read, with his current favorites being Biscuit in the Big City and Owl Babies. The things that come out of his mouth make him sound older than he is – “Hey!” or “What’s the big idea?” if someone does something not to his liking. “Two minutes. Widdle bit more,” when he’s not ready to move on to something new. It’s fun that’s he’s a little parrot these days and will repeat almost anything. Last week he walked into the twins’ classroom, picked up a paintbrush, and started painting an apple stencil at the easel like he owned the place. Thankfully they have a very understanding teacher! He loves trains and airplanes. He’s also now proficient at climbing out of his crib. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to do it all the time like Alex did at this age, but just to be safe, we have a crib tent due to arrive tomorrow. I cannot go through the hell that is moving to a toddler bed again this soon! I’m still haunted my images of twins in hallways and rooms other than their own at all hours of the day and night! I cannot believe I am already planning Adam’s second birthday party. I wish every day that I could keep him little, my baby, a while longer. And like all kids, he’s trying to grow up as quickly as possible. The never ending battle…

Here’s Mr. Cool Alex in his Thanksgiving day clothes (click for larger image).  More can be seen here in the November album.

Here are the pictures from our trip to Disney World last month.  I’ve got hours of video footage that I will be processing and posting up when I have time too.  So for now you can enjoy these:

Day 2 (our site | picasa)

Day 3 (our site | picasa)

Day 4 (our site | picasa)

Day 5 (our site | picasa)

Day 6 (our site | picasa)

Day 7 (our site | picasa)