Karina at 2

A little catch up on Karina at 2 years old:

You are still silly and outgoing.

And LOUD. Happy loud. Mad loud. Cranky loud. Excited loud. You live your life out loud and your emotions are out there to see. Which has taken some getting used to for you mama. But I am trying :) Your joy fills our home with noise most days and I am so thankful for that. And it makes the tough days of teaching you to handle your big emotions and teething a little more bearable.

You loved to get all bundled up for winter. In your "neck" (scarf) and all. And we loved to see the beautiful snowflakes fall on your dark hair. You just look like you were made for winter. 

Here you are wearing mama's Russia hat at Passport to the Nations.

You love your brother and sister so much. And they are smitten with you. Completely. And you don't put up with anything you don't want from them. You sure know how to stick up for yourself. They have had to learn a few tricks to be able to stay in the fights with you.

You love to help. This day you were unwrapping caramels for daddy's birthday cake. We sure have fun on our mornings alone while Braden and Addyson are at preschool. So glad we've had those times to spend together. You help me run all kinds of errands and you definitely enjoy doing that more than your brother and sister so our schedule has worked perfectly!!

You and your sister were twins this day. The exact same shirt - size and all. Daddy picked out shirts for you in the same size 4. You already share socks and now some shirts you can share!! They just fit a little differently.

At your well check in January you weighed 26 pounds and were 33 inches tall. 

You love your friends too. It is so fun to see how you love people of all kinds, ages, shapes, and sizes too! You just love people and they sure seem to like you too :)

You like going with daddy a lot. Actually you love to GO and you love DADDY and if you can get both of those together you are a super happy girl. Suckers and picking up parts with daddy. Super great perks for being a farm girl.

You moved into your big girl bed!! Here you are before and after.

You are so silly. I couldn't find you when we were all playing outside the other day and then I spotted boots in the doghouse. You had crawled right in with Maddie. And were pretty proud of yourself.

You are also proud of your ability to potty in the potty chair. I could tell you were ready to be trained even if mama wasn't feeling like making the effort yet. And after a couple days you are getting it. Pretty smart little cookie you are!!! You picked out some Easter marshmallows that are your potty treat and you happily yell rabbit every time. And you say it so cute; it must be the Russian way - raBEET. So, so proud of you!!!!!

You are talking in sentences. And talking all the time. Or yelling. Or singing. My God is So Big is your very favorite song. I'm so glad we serve a big God who saw fit to let us love you and help you grow. I'm super proud to be your mama Karina!!

Puppy Party - Addyson and Braden are FIVE!!!!!

Addyson and Braden turned FIVE in March. Yes, yes I'm a little behind.

I'm still having a hard time swallowing that one. We just took them to kindergarten roundup earlier this week. Good grief!! When they did they get so grown up???

Thankfully they still like hanging out with their mama and having birthday parties so we had a fun time celebrating our two 5 year olds.

On their birthday day it was really cold and had snowed so preschool was cancelled. So they got to enjoy their new bikes in the garage. I was so impressed with the way they learned together. They were annoyed that I tried to help them and sent Karina and I in the house. Instead they each hopped off their own bikes and helped the other one when they got stuck and didn't have the strength to get the peddles going. And they stuck with it all morning and got pretty good!! So determined they are. It reminded me of our little preemies fighting in the NICU to breathe and eat and stay warm. God gifted them with some determination that we still get to see from time to time. It's nice to see it put to some good use every once in a while! :)

We celebrated with just our family of 5 that day. So fun!

with birthday donuts

little sister hugs and lots of happy day singing

with cupcakes

and supper out . . . with ice cream of course.

Then we got to celebrate with family later on in the week.

My very favorite part of this birthday party was that Addyson and Braden helped me. They LOVE crafts and are always wanting to help so this time we did almost all of the decorating together.

They did a great job on the cupcakes.

And making decorations too.

We had a puppy theme this year.

Braden spends most of his waking hours on his knees playing animals of some kind but puppies are always a favorite.

And when I saw this cake I immediately knew it was perfect for Braden.

I did not actually just pour Cocoa Pebbles into a dog bowl; there was chocolate cake underneath and frosting. But it was almost that simple. And Braden did think it was awesome.

And puppy chow is a favorite around our house.

Addyson decided on a dog bone cake.

And the rest of the food was fun too!

We had a hot dog bar!

You could choose your favorite toppings to make your very own dog.

There was also paw-sta salad, potato chips in dog bowls, and puppy water bowls (blue jello).

Your beverage choices were toilet water or rooooooooot beer.

The birthday kids ate their supper out of dog bowls . . . and possibly a few other meals too. 

Wouldn't be a birthday without presents :)

And then some "Happy Birthday" singing and blowing out the candles!

Happy Birthday to my favorite five year olds. Thanks for making your party so, so much fun!!! I loved working with you two. You are growing into the beautiful people God made you to be. So glad I get to be along for the ride. Even if it is speeding a little faster than I would like at times. :)