Milestones and Visitors

May was a big month for the Dillons. We celebrated Jesse's tenure and my graduation and job offer. Cousins Nichole, Tim, and Henry came to help us celebrate. We had a great time minus the stomach bug the afflicted Kate during their visit.

Henry is obviously saying something of great importance. It was most likely something about how bubbles are the greatest invention and the many ways in which they can enrich one's life. Ben appears to disagree and seems to feel that sticks are more important to one's happiness.
Kate obviously feeling better and happy that she can eat. She appears to not have a strong feeling about the bubbles vs. sticks debate but is in favor of french toast and not throwing up!

SIX!!!!!!

Kate is six and I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. She is a great girl or as she says a "boy-girl" which is a girl who like boy stuff like Star Wars. She has some good buddies and is very kind. Recently, she took money from her piggy bank to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The 5th graders at school were taking donations and she listened and heard the need. I was so proud of her!
Here she is showing off her Star Wars jammies that were a gift from her brother. They are her favorites.

Easter Morning

Kate and Ben had a very practical visit from the Easter Bunny this year. He obviously put his REI dividend to good use and stuffed baskets with flip-flops, water bottles, and lego headlamps.

The Big Three!!

Ben turned THREE years old on Friday...which is so hard to believe. He is now potty trained and sleeps in a big boy bed. He has a best friend named Louie and can play and hang with all of Kate's buddies. He loves his sister and always wants to be with her. He is a very sweet boy.

To celebrate his birthday, we had some friends over for a BBQ and cupcakes. It was very last minute but nonetheless we had a pretty good turnout. Ben was most excited about his buddy Louie coming to his house.
Here is Ben the morning of his birthday in the crown that Kate made for him. She was so proud and wanted to make her brother something special.
Ben loves his big boy bed and has had no trouble transitioning. He is so happy to sleep in his "truckie bed."

Skating girl

Kate has recently started ice skating lessons and tennis lessons and she loves them. We are lucky to have a Parks and Rec system that is very affordable with lots of classes for the kids to try out. She works on her skating with her roller blades. She is quite steady and is very determined!
This is the picture that Kate painted at school for Valentine's Day. It is so sweet. She is a really good big sister and is so good with her brother.

A Few Pics

Here a a few pictures from Florida and Christmas. Again, I apologize for not updating regularly... I will work on that in the new year.

Ben on his scooter that Santa brought.
The kids at the sea turtle rescue in Florida.
Kate in her authentic flamenco costume from Auntie Liz and Uncle George.

Phonics

This is a sample of Kate's homework. Her assignment was to draw a picture and write a few sentences about the class field trip to the farm. She did this all without any adult assistance. She worked very hard on this assignment. I love how her writing is emerging and how it is all phonetic. She is really reading and gets excited each time she brings home a new book from school.

Ben's First Drawing

This is Ben's first picture. He tells me it is a self-portrait. As you can see, he has also written some letters. There is a B, an E, and an O. We thought he did an amazing job!!