Kathryn Turns THREE!

Kathryn's 3rd birthday allows me the chance to reflect on all that this third child has brought to our lives. Kathryn is a study in extremes. She has brought us the sweetest singing voice (black is for the sin I made, red is for the blood he gave, white is cleansing of my sin. . .) and the shrillest screaming (MINE, NO!). She can flash the most brillant smile or perform the deepest pout (all within a nanosecond!) She will cuddle up to read a book and then jump up to wrestle with her brother. She can bring out mommy's worst and best:-) Our family is blessed to celebrate three year with our Kathryn Grace.

We celebrated with pizza and cake with our "Ripon family": Anemas, Hoekstras, & Schoollands. It was a great time to get together, chat, watch the kids play, and sing "Happy Birthday" to Kat.

Making Kat's flip-flop cake:

The birthday girl helping to put the candies on the cake:

The finished product:

Mommy and the birthday girl:

Kat opening a gift from Grandma:

Getting some help from the sibs:

Posing in her new duds (She loved the clothes; she just wasn't happy about Mommy taking a pictures!):

Getting ready for the party:

Singing to Kathryn:

Another gift:

New jammies and princess dishes from Mom & Dad and Little Peoples horse trailer from Grandma!

Mother's Day 2011

Even as I type this post, I'm enjoying the sounds of happy workers in my kitchen:-) I had a wonderful Mother's Day! Lloyd is the hero of the day, creating a gourmet meal: marinaded peppercorn filet mignon, creamy twice-baked potatoes, seasoned green beans, and a Columbia valley red. Wow! (And he and the kids cleaned it all up too.) I'm so spoiled. I also enjoyed numerous mother's day pictures and crafts. Anika couldn't wait to give me her gifts from school so I was able to enjoy them a few days early:-)

My AMAZING meal: Anika took this pic:

The reason I get to celebrate Mother's Day = Anika, Andrew & Kathryn.

A few excerpts from Anika's special gift to me:

"She makes good meals & she loves me"

"books or flowers or a gold necklace" (Books first, I noticed. She knows her mama!)

Anika and I were having a tough moment on Fri when she tearily gave me this gift. She wanted me to see this page.

My allergies really like these flowers:-)

Anika's (New) Favorite Thing

Since we weren't going away, Anika's only request over Spring Break was to go bowling. (Of course, I forgot my camera -- that is getting to be a terrible habit!) Lloyd snapped these pics with his iphone so the quality isn't great, but hopefully the kids' delight is clear:-)