In 6 weeks, he'll be 6!

Well, the end of kindergarten is rapidly approaching-- seems like 5 Year Old Mugger has been a blur. He's grown so much in the past year, and not just physically. His thirst for knowledge astounds us daily.

That being said here is the link to his birthday wishlist on Amazon for any of you far-flung family members who might want it (since Nonnie has asked.) You'll notice there are no toys on it-- he doesn't play with them! When he's inside due to the weather (pretty much the only time he is inside) he plays games, makes things, or we spend a lot of time with books as a family-- often 10 to 20 checked out per week at the library. Hence his list is games, story books, some art books, and some CDs. You don't have to shop through Amazon, though if you buy someting on the list elsewhere, give me a heads up so I can remove it and avoid duplicates (like last year.)

When our boy is outside, he's playing any sport he can (usually basketball, soccer, baseball, tracball, or biking) or playing in the dirt or the garden. There isn't really much wishlist fodder in those activities, so it's pretty much all inside stuff on the list. However, the one thing not on his list that he would love would be a gift card to Home Depot-- he really wants to build a fort with Papa this summer and he'd get a kick, too, out of picking out more tools for his tool box or gardening things.

So that's our boy in a nutshell: he doesn't seem to have much need for things and he'd rather be out "doing". I jokingly told him his 6th birthday present from us would be a pile of dirt, but you can bet the party will be outside! If you just made him a card, he'd be thrilled-- he's quite the paper hoarder and still has his classmates' valentines up in his room...

Bug's Birthday at Disneyland

Yes, I'm backdating posts now as I'm finally getting pix loaded...

Happy Half-Birthday to Bug!

Bug is now officially 30 months old! To mark the occasion, I cut her hair! No, actually, she needed a trim as her fine hair gets into scraggly knots rather easily, so she's back to a bob. We also measured her today and she's now passed the 3-foot mark. (We measured Mugger, too, and he's just past 43 inches.)

She's quite the independent two-and-a-half year old-- of course. She always wants to do EVERYTHING on her timetable and if you start to count to 3 to hurry her along, she'll scream that she doesn't want you to count! So for now, what seems to work best is me asking her if I have to count. Usually she'll say no and take that bite of dinner or finally put down her toys to get in the van or whatever is requested.

Last night she was prancing around in her brother's superhero cape, her unicorn slippers, and her pop beads proclaiming, "I'm a princess!" Not sure where she got that one, so I told her that she could dress up and still be Bug. I was awfully proud of Mugger for adding, "Yeah, 'cuz God made you special." Of course, he then had to add, "And He loves you very much. Bye-bye!" Can't tell they're Veggie Tales fans, can you?

Birthdays at Disneyland

The best thing about my dad and I having our birthdays 2 days apart is the excuse to celebrate together! Though this year, with the Great Pneumonia Battle, we celebrated a week late. It was still worth it, as you can see:
Bug's favorite part of the day was bouncing with Tigger-- she's still talking about it over a week later!

And with that, grandparents, I am caught up. Sorry February isn't chronological, but it will have to do! I'll try to do better next time and not wait until the whole 2GB card is full!

Bug's 2nd Birthday Party

Bug's birthday party was at "green park" (as the kiddos call it) again this year. Bug wasn't too sure about a crowd of people all arriving to greet her-- she spent the first 20 minutes hiding under the playground equipment! She was eventually coaxed out though, and really warmed up once Papa drew her a picture of her beloved Jeep with some of the chalk we brought to play with. Mugger did great in his party planner role, as all our guests had handwritten nametags that he presented the moment they arrived.
Bug did great at blowing out the candles on her Old MacDonald cake, but she was not at all interested in opening presents. She opened hardly any that day or the next day (which was her actual birthday.) Here she is in a sweater from her godparents that she finally opened 2 days later. Being that it was very cozy-- and pink (uh oh!)-- she was happy to model it for the camera.