Ms. Dunham

Kaiya loves to write poems and stories. She is a very creative girl. In her 3rd grade class this year they had a student teacher for a couple of months. Last week was her last week there so Kaiya made her a card...

On the front she wrote..."I Love Salmon!!!!!!" she said it was becuase she taught them about salmon.

Inside it said...

Ms. Dunham

D is for delighful

U is for unique

Nice

Helpful

Awesome teacher

Monkey

Roses are Red

Violets are blue

I like sugar and I like you!

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

Cirdan went with Kaiya's school class on their field trip to the Fish Hatchery in Issaquah. They have been learning about the fish cycles so this was a perfect outing. Kaiya had fun, was glad that Cirdan went with her and came home with lots of information she learned about fish. What Kaiya learned... When mother salmon has her babies she guards them until she dies People eat fish eggs Their biggest predators are whales, seals and bald eagles Small predators are small birds

Hard to be Neat When You're Learning to Eat

When we got home from Kaiya's dance competition we decided it was time for Jett to try his first real meal. He has been really interested in food lately. When we eat he will reach for the utensils and he grabs for the food. He almost looks mad or sad that he can't eat the food we are eating. I let daddy feed him first since Mommy always gets to feed him. It was no surprise that when we fed him baby rice cereal he loved it. He gobbled all of it up right away. Since then Cirdan has fed Jett some strawberry and apple puree. That's what happens when I workout and leave the baby with him. Ha ha. Oh and today on our way home from church Kaiya started yelling at Ella because she put a cheerio in his mouth. I immediately unbuckled and tried to get it out of his mouth. Took me a minute with my long nails but I finally got it out. Freaked me out! Ella has also given him licks of her sucker while I was driving. I think I need to change their seats in the car so they aren't sitting so close. I can't believe he is old enough to be eating solids. Seems just like yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth. My little baby love bug.

International Dance Challenge

IDC competition - March 12th - Highline High School Performing Arts Center Kiss - High Gold Whip My Hair - Gold I Like to Fuss - High Gold Kaiya getting ready to leave.

Kaiya with her dance buddies in the dressing room before their routines.

Awards ceremony

It was another long day. We had to be at Highline by 8:00 am...Kaiya's first performance was at 9:15. The next one was around 10:15 and the last around 1:15. The award ceremony started about 2:30. My parents have been a big help with Ella. She was able to stay at their house on Friday night and my dad brought her to us on Saturday right before awards. The girls did great...even though they had some kids missing out of their routines. Kaiya received a plaque for her Whip My Hair dance and ribbons for the other 2. IDC is really great because they give all the kids who performed a CD with their studio's dances...for FREE! We have a few weeks with no competitions. It's been nice. I think the next one is the end of April. We get a break for a little while!

The Jettster

Jett got a new toy! And he loves it!

Someone get this kid a bib! He's been so slobbery lately!

Reach!!!

Babysitting the Cousins

Amy called and asked if I could watch Carter and Emma for about an hour while she went to a funeral. Very sad situation.... a pregnant girl (in her ward) found out that her baby died when she was about 8 months along. I was glad that Amy was able to go and support her friend and totally understood why she didnt want to take Carter. My heart felt for this woman and even though I've never had a conversation with her, my heart broke for her. I was pretty scared to watch the kids. One 3 year old, a 1 year old, 4 month old and 1 month old...versus one 31 year old. Emma is a busy little bee, and she is super quiet about it. You have to watch her every move. She's a sneaky little thing. I was hoping that the babies would just sleep but they wanted to stay awake and play. It was funny. Ella wanted to help with Carter and Emma wanted to help with Jett. Both girls kept putting binky's in the babies mouths.

Oh oh!

At least she is laughing...

The older sisters were the binky helpers

Thunderstruck Competition

On February 26th Kaiya and Tatum performed their duo at the Thunderstruck Competition. Since it was an optional competition that was the only dance Kaiya was in. It definitely made the day fun and not stressful even though I think I am getting used to this costume/hair change thing. We had to wake up super early (around 5:30) to get there by 7:00 when the doors opened. She was to be on stage at 7:57 and the performance was at Foster High School in Tukwila. It was a stressful morning with the makeup and there was a lot of tears from both Kaiya and myself. I am hoping that was the last blow up morning for us and hopefully we now have the makeup thing down. It's hard to put makeup on an 8 year old! I can barely put eyeliner on myself! The awards were around 10:00 so after the dance Cirdan, Jett and I went to breakfast with Jennifer and Chris (owner and son). We still had time to watch a bunch of dances before awards.
The girls really did good. They received High Gold and 1st place for a duo group in their age level. I am going to have to find somewhere to put all these trophy's and ribbons!

When Christmas Comes to Town - By Ella

"When Christmas Comes To Town" - The Polar Express

This is the song that Ella loves. She sings it and knows almost all the words. The next post will be Ella singing the song but I wanted to post what the song really sounds like.

The Fight

And this is what happens when they don't know the camera is running. Divas!!!

Scrooge

Here is one of Kaiya's dances she choreographed for her and Ella. They worked hard on this and spent many hours practicing.

Ella and Casey talk on the phone

Ella and Casey like to talk on the phone with each other. I usually only hear Ella's side on the conversation and its always humorous for me. I decided to video tape it one day. Her facial expressions crack me up! Drama queen!

Ella's Artwork

Ella has been learning to draw people and she is so proud of herself after each person she draws! Here is a picture she drew tonight.
A head with eyes, ears, nose, lips (as she says) and hair.

Kaiya the Primary Teacher

Last Sunday after church and before Kaiya went to bed she wanted all of us to go into her room so we could attend her Primary class. Cirdan went in for a bit, then Ella and I joined in. We learned an Article of Faith, had a lesson, read some scriptures and sang songs. Kaiya is a great teacher and its so fun to watch her when she teaches us the things she learns. When I was little I loved playing school and being the teacher. It brings back good childhood memories watching her enjoy things that I did when I was little.

Jett 4 Months - 3 Month Stats

At Jett's 4 month doctor appointment he weighed 14 lbs and was 24 inches long. His head was 15 inches.
The doctor thought he was actually longer than 25 but the nurse probably didn't stretch him out (Cirdan was with him)

During his 3rd month he...
Learned how to do Raspberries
Smiles a lot
Cooing
Will fall asleep in his crib on his own sometimes
Found his feet
Grabbing things while he is being held
Reaches up and grabs things
Rolls over
Loves to jump while being held

Loves being tickled, has tickle spots all over
Sleeping longer periods of time. Usually sleeps from 8 pm until 1 or 2 am and then after that every hour or so he wakes up to eat
Likes playing with his toys
Grabbing faces. He likes to grab and rub Cirdan's face and coo at him
Laughs without being tickeled
Fits into some 6 month clothes mostly still wears 3-6 months (probably because I want to get all the use I can out of them)

Look at this concerned face...

I really didn't know that I would love a little boy so much. It was scary having 2 girls and then be pregnant with a boy. I love him with all my heart and am enjoying him everyday. I love my little guy!!!