A difference between two siblings....

As the kids continue to grow older, we continue to notice differences between their personalities. Andrew has always been this shy, quiet child, and he has really started to grow into his own little self. Cailin is confident and eager to please. It's really fun to see how their little personalities are changing and forming as they grow.

Mike was working late last night - so it was just the kids and I (karen) at the dinner table. After dinner - they were excited for dessert. The kids love ice cream, not my favorite, but Mike had picked up a box of Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches which is a favorite for Cailin. And Andrew wanted one as well. So we're at the table and I noticed another key difference between Cailin and Andrew.

Cailin ate hers as you would think most people would eat an ice cream sandwich, carefully and somewhat quickly so the ice cream didn't melt all over. She was careful not to let it drip on her and promptly cleaned her hands and what little was around her mouth. Tidy.

Then there's Andrew.

(Oh, and please forgive the bumps on his head, he smashed it on his yellow dump truck. That head has gotten several bumps and bruises - ouch!)

He was less tidy. I was chatting with Cailin and I look over and he's covered in chocolate. He had it even in his ears. Not sure what the heck he was doing or how long I had ignored him to allow it to happen. He ripped apart the sandwich and had pieces of it on his chair, floor and all over himself.

Needless to say, it took quite a while longer to get every inch off of him and he still had plenty on his shirt and pants to show dad when he got home....

Cailin's Birthday Party - Take 2

or rather Take 3.

She had a party at daycare with her friends, then a party with mom and dad at home. The third party was a 'friends' party at a place called Pump It Up Parties. They were located in Eden Prairie and had two huge play rooms. In each playroom were four huge inflatable jumpers. One was a huge slide, one was an obstacle course, ending in a slide and the two others were some kind of jumper/bouncer. Each room had a slightly different assortment, but similar set ups. Then the final room was a party room where the kids had dinner, cake, ice cream - etc etc.

Cailin invited a bunch of her friends from daycare, from across the street (Caleb and Dawson) and family members to join her for her Pump It Up Party. She was so excited.

They have it down to a science, your private party is welcomed by your own 'party coordinator' who stays with you, plus one or two assistants the whole time, making sure you have everything you need, keeps you on track and keeps everyone safe. Then it was off to room #1 where we jumped and played for 40 minutes, then on to room 2 where we jumped and played for 40 minutes, then on to the final room - the party room for dinner.

Andrew was nervous at first. Cailin ran to the biggest slide first, climbed up without fear and off she went. Andrew needed mom to go with him and jump at first, then you couldn't tear him away. He even hopped in the basketball hoop jumper with the daddies and played some hoops with them.

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and everyone, including mom and dad were exhausted. It was a lot of fun and a great workout! (plus the pump it up staff did all the set up and clean up too - which rocked!)
Needless to say, we all slept really, really well.

Cailin's Birthday

We celebrated Cailin's 4th birthday this past week. She was so excited and was really looking forward to it (just like her mom does). Cailin (below) working on her new puzzle with Oma. She had a party at daycare during the day and then another one with family that night.

We had Oma, Uncle and Uncle Chris over for dinner and cake. Andrew was being helpful saying "Happy Birthday Cailin" over and over and over again. He also wanted to help open presents and asked "where's my presents?"

Andrew sitting on Oma's lap eating the rest of her dessert. He seems to like the whipped cream the best!

Andrew - the Ham

Andrew loves to ham it up for the camera. It was a cold weekend in January, one of the weekends that we pretty much camped inside.

Andrew decided he wanted to rest on the chair with dad, but decided he needed to bring his pillow and blanket. I thought it was a cute sight, so I brought the camera out to take a picture and mr. ham had to pose. Silly guy!

While Mom's away....

In January, I (mom) spent the weekend up in Ham Lake with Auntie Rayna, Kayla, Wanda and Katrine at Uncle Gary and Aunt Rhonda's. The girls were planning to do some card making and scrapbooking.

While I was up north, Mike was home with the kids. The house was pretty well trashed upon my return home on Sunday. Although I can't really blame them, having stayed home plenty by myself with the mashers, you get to learn, that a messy house usually means happy kids. Which is a lot easier. The kids also love to stay in the pajamas - a nice weekend treat!

Here, the kids apparently dragged everything into Cailin's room to play. Andrew found his Halloween costume that he wouldn't wear for more than 5 minutes on Halloween, but wouldn't take off this weekend. Cailin wanted to put on one of her Care Bear costumes too.

Andrew was also complaining about not wanting his picture taken, so Mike said he'd take a picture of his puppy instead. Andrew thought that was funny!

After catching up with kids and the weekend's activities, we did some cleaning up too.