Red Day!

Monday was a day off of school for Erica, so we had a playdate with our friends. Everyone was wearing red!

Kyle's Preschool Program

Kyle performed several songs at his preschool program on Sunday afternoon. Here is our little buddy!

Here he is with his wonderful preschool teacher, Mrs. Peabody. (Isn't that a fun name for a preschool teacher?!)

Here is Kyle singing a couple of songs... gotta love preschool programs. :)

Smiley boy

I thought it was so cute yesterday, how Trevor was smiling at his reflection in the mirror!

Fanfest!

Greg and a friend took their boys to the Seattle Mariner's Fanfest at Safeco Field on Saturday.

Here they are below the Chihuly baseball bat sculpture just inside the entrance. They ate their hot dogs while listening to a panel discussion moderated by the Seattle Mariners broadcast team (left to right: Rick Rizzs, Dave Niehaus and Dave Sims). The new pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre is answering a fan's question.
Rick, Greg and the kids standing on First Base.
Here's Kyle on Second Base!
Inside the visiting team's dugout about to make a call to the bullpen for a new pitcher...
In the Mariner's locker room in front of Yuniesky Betancourt's locker (no particular reason to stop in front of the shortstop's locker, just where we found a break in the crowd)...
Here's Kyle throwing out in right field... future Mariner?
The boys are pretending to catch a foul ball along the First Base line.
Father and son outing!
Erica missed Kyle so much while he was gone that she made him a little birthday cake out of playdough. (His birthday isn't until August, but she enjoyed making it!) She received flowers from us on Friday and also chose some from her flower vase to give to him when he arrived home.

Running from First to Second Base...

Here's Kyle playing catch with his friend in Right Field.

Kyle is practicing his home run swing!

While Erica was at school...

Caroline is doing very well in the potty training arena. She was having fun today singing, "I love trains" over and over again and then switched her song to...

Kyle is determined to make sure that Trevor shares his love of cars...

Here are the kids with their good friends! We celebrated Jackson's 5th birthday today and they did a marching band (see video below!). Erica and Kennedy made this drum out of a shoebox. It worked wonderfully!

The Silly Girls

Here they are in their marching band. For those of you who went to see "Cloverfield" over the weekend, you'll see a similar shaky video here!

Fun Weekend!

Erica and Kyle worked together on this creation one afternoon last week

On Saturday, we took a trek up to the Pacific Science Center, where they were having their annual train show. We started our time with lunch in the Center House. Kyle was loving all the trains!
Kyle and Caroline were able to ride this little train around. You had to be 45 pounds or less, so Erica wasn't able to go on it.

The kids had the opportunity to control the train and Kyle did not want to stop!

Since we were at the Science Center, the kids enjoyed much of what there is to see there as well as the trains. Here they are at the giant table and chairs!
After the train show, we went over the Children's Museum for about 30 minutes while Trevor ate. This museum is one of our kid's all time favorites!

Here are the Johnson boys, all dressed alike! It will probably be the last time Trevor wears this outfit (that he wore home from the hospital) as he is definitely outgrowing it!

Ballerinas

It took me forever to figure out how to get this video of the girls onto the blog, but here it is, finally! They were loving being in their leotards and dancing around yesterday. Caroline did a great job trying to keep up with all Erica was doing! The Christmas tree is now gone from our living room too - finally!

The Boys

Notice Kyle's t-shirt here. It was my Old Navy bargain the other day - and Kyle loves it! It has airplanes all over it. He says he counted them and that there are 100 airplanes! He wants to wear it when we go to Washington D.C. again. Um, Kyle, do you know something we don't know?!

Trevor has found his hands and is constantly trying to get them into his mouth. Hopefully, we won't have another thumb sucker!

Trevor is trying to lift his head more and more while having tummy time.

Our Monday

Caroline tried to use the potty today and I found her in the bathroom looking like this!

The kids tried on some clothes that I bought over the weekend at the Disney Store. They were intended to be next year's outfits, but they decided to dress up and do a show for us in them!

I had to get a picture of Trevor in here since he wasn't in the above pic!

Here is the "show." Yes, I know, it looks like a black screen. Hit play (I always have to hit it twice for some reason), listen, and look carefully!

Hot Wheels

Kyle and Caroline were having fun making the Hot Wheels go "around and around and around!" There was a lot of laughter going on and we caught some of it here on video for you to enjoy.

Piano lessons

Erica started piano lessons about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Here she is playing "Jolly Old St. Nicholas." She's very dedicated and is doing a great job!

Skating Erica

Erica went roller skating for the first time tonight at a local skating rink with her daddy! It was skate night for her school, which they have every couple of months. She had a great time and we intend on taking her skating more often so she can get some practice!

Two months old!

Our littlest guy is two months old! He had his 2 month well check today at the pediatrician. All is well and he is GROWING! He weighs a whopping 13lb 15oz, almost 14 pounds! He still seems like a newborn baby to me! He is smiling and cooing a lot and is noticing toys on his mobiles. He still doesn't have much muscle control in his arms, so they flail a lot still, requiring swaddling when he sleeps. He is a very efficient eater, which is nice since there are 3 other little ones who require our attention! We all adore Trevor!

Ornaments

We have still not undecorated from the holidays (this is tonight's project). Before we did, we wanted to show you the ornaments that the kids received from us this year. We try to find an ornament that is something they have loved during the year and reflects who they are as kids. Someday, they will be their own collections and hopefully will hold fond memories for them.

Caroline has loved Elmo this year and always asks to watch "Elmo's World"- part of the Sesame Street show.

Erica received a ballerina this year. She has loved doing ballet and performed in her first program in June. I found out later that this ballerina was from the Nutcracker, which she also attended for the first time this holiday season!

Kyle is still all about cars, trucks, trains, etc. and he received Lightning McQueen in blue Dinoco color, from the movie "Cars." Trevor received a Baby's First Christmas ornament but he was once again sleeping when these pictures were taken! Grandma Louise...notice their pajamas!

Trains

We visited the Washington State History Museum a little over a week ago because they had a train show going on. We enjoyed seeing all the model trains along with the regular exhibits. Here is a huge Lego re-creation of Seattle including the Space Needle. Trains were moving along!

Here's a little video I took of the area.

They had an area for kids to play with all sorts of Legos and create their own train set up.
This is a permanent exhibit showing a historical re-creation of Tacoma and other areas of Washington State.
The kids were able to drive a train on a simulator for a few minutes each.

Ira Sleeps Over

Have you ever read the children's book, "Ira Sleeps Over" by Bernard Waber? Basically, the story goes like this... Ira sleeps with his favorite teddy bear every night. His friend, Reggie, has invited him to sleep over at his house and Ira doesn't know whether he should take his teddy bear along. His parents say yes, but his sister tells Ira he'll be laughed at for sure. Ira is afraid he can't sleep without his teddy bear. Yet, he doesn't want to be thought of as a baby by Reggie either. As it turns out, Reggie has a favorite bear as well and all ends well for Ira. I recently read this book to the kids and then had to introduce them to my favorite teddy bear from my childhood. They were very intrigued that their mommy once hugged a teddy bear nightly in bed and that I still had him!

This is Sunny, my bear. My great Aunt Marie opened accounts at Crocker Bank when we were little, just to get us kids teddy bears (I also have a Crocker Spaniel from her.). I became very attached to my Sunny as you can see! He was very loved!

I found this picture of Sunny on Ebay! Someone recently sold him. This is what he looked like when he was new, but I'm not sure where his yellow sunshine is that is on his shirt.

Here are the kids with their favorite dolls. Erica has her Care Bear, lovingly given to her by Greg's cousin, Paige, when Erica turned two. Kyle has Thomas the Tiger, from Grandma Louise. Caroline has her Baby Christina - I can't remember who she was from!

So, if you are still reading, leave a comment, and tell me who your favorite doll was growing up! I know you had one too!

Chanukah at Target

I love shopping at Target. The only problem is that I always buy more than I intend to when I go there! I had to go there earlier this week and found myself meandering the holiday clearance section. I was proud of myself when I found boxes of Chanukah candles for 48 cents! I kept browsing and found these children's menorahs for about $6 each. I had to buy both of them because they were so cute! The one I presently have is very difficult to use. The shamash candle is almost impossible to put in once more than a few candles are burning. I thought these would allow the kids to get involved and we would have a menorah for the girls and one for the boys!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here we all are on New Year's Eve. We had some friends over and had pizza and yummy desserts. At 9pm, we watched the ball drop over New York City and celebrated with sparkling cider. Ah, the exciting life of a family of six! It's not quite the same as being in Pasadena for the Rose Parade, but we had fun!