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!!

Merry Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Seattle this year. We will head to Florida for Christmas. It is no secret that my family LOVES Christmas. So since we would be elsewhere this year we celebrated the Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.

A picture of Kate burning off some energy in the cold, cold northwest. It was hard for them to be inside most of the day as we typically spend a majority of out time outside.
Both of the little monkeys!
Ben outside. The day after this picture was taken we had to take him to the ER. He managed to find the only wood chip at the McDonalds playspace and get it lodged in his heel. It was so deep we had to get it professionally removed.
No Christmas is complete without a personal visit from Santa (two of my mom's friends who do the X-mas party circuit each year and donate their earnings to charity). The kids went crazy and at first didn't know what to do but warmed up to Santa pretty quickly.
The cousins (minus Garrett) in their new jammies. Ben and Kate love their cousins. Ben was happy to play construction and read books with them. Kate admires the boys and loves to just be in their presence. Both boys are very sweet with Kate and Ben.

Happy Halloween

Here is a picture of our trip to the pumpkin patch. The kids love going to the pumpkin patch. It is most random little carnival with imported pumpkins right off Pacific Coast Highway and they think it is fabulous. They ride the kiddie rides and get a pumpkin. It is not a bad way to spend the afternoon.
Here are Princess Leia and her little monkey right before trick-or-treating. We went to a neighbor's house for dinner and then went through the neighborhood. We love our neighborhood on Halloween. Our neighbor's decorate their houses and one turns his fishing boat into a pirate ship. We have a great time. Ben was a great trick-or-treater this year. He kept up with all the big kids and when I asked if he wanted to go home he said "No, I keep going."

Truckies!!!

Ben loves his trucks and has recently started imaginative play with them. They are often "broken" and need tow trucks or they are somehow involved in construction. The boy is very passionate about his trucks.

We are back!!!

The start of the school year has been a bit crazy for us! Kate started Kindergarten at the neighborhood school, Ben started preschool at the JCC, Jesse turned in his tenure file, and I am mostly done with my thesis as well as spending two days a week at Children's Hospital of Orange County for my internship. Plus, we all got sick the first week of school..just to start the school year off right. Then our computer died!! We tried to fix it but was just not in the cards. So now that we have new computer postings will be a little more frequent.

This is Kate's first year on a big girl soccer team and she loves it! It has been fun seeing her become more confident on the field and last week she even scored her first goal. She is extremely proud of her team and could not wait to wear her uniform for her first game. She also chose the most awesome gold cleats luckily they match her uniform quite well.
Here are Kate and Ben on the first day of school. Ben was so excited about his backpack. Kate decided to wear a skirt on the first day as she thought "it was only polite to wear a skirt on the first day." Her teacher is also the "best teacher I have had in my entire life." Ben has been a little slow to warm up to school. He naps there on the Monday and Wednesday which has been a big change for him. When I picked him up on his first full day I asked him how it went and he replied "I sit criss-cross applesauce, I be butterfly, and I cry." He is no longer crying which is a step in the right direction. He takes Monkey everyday and he has wonderful teachers that accept that he needs Monkey to get through his transition.
Here are Kate and Ben modeling their new backpacks. Kate the science girl chose one with the solar system and Ben, of course, chose a truck backpack.

Camping Trip 2009

We took our annual family camping trip last weekend with five other families and had a great time. We cooked hot dogs on the campfire, made s'mores, and (kind of) slept in the tent. The kids ran around and entertained themselves very nicely.

Ben was barefoot and dirty the entire weekend. It was heaven for him. He took his trucks and played in the dirt.
Kate having her oatmeal with her tin foil super hero mask made by one of the other moms.
Ben taking a ride on a paddle board at the lake. He loved the board and said "Yook (look), I surfing."
Kate making a sand castle. She has recently gone thorough a growth spurt and I just can't believe how tall she is! As she said, "I am off to Kindergarten in the fall."
A shot of both of them playing in the sand. They had a great time.

Henry's Visit

Our adorable cousin Henry came to visit. He, of course, brought his parents with him. We were happy to see them all but especially to meet Henry. This is the best picture of the three kiddos.
Kate LOVED Henry. On the last day, she was very quiet and then came to me and said "I haven't gotten a chance to hold Henry on my lap yet." She was obliged and she was very proud to be given the opportunity to hold the baby. Ben also liked Henry but was very confused that Henry has an identical monkey to his. He was upset when Henry's monkey was taken away from him as he claims all monkeys as his.
We spent a very windy day at the beach with Henry, Nichole, Tim, Doug, and Paisley. It was the last time we will go the beach with Doug and Paisley for two years as they set off for their great adventure in Africa. We will miss them!!!

Auntie Kerri & Uncle Andy's Wedding

We had the pleasure of attending Kerri and Andy's wedding on July 3rd. We had a fabulous time! Kate was the very experienced flower girl, Garrett and Nick the handsome candle lighters, and Ben was a spectator that was adorable but noisy.

A picture of Kerri and her nephews and niece.
Ben eating his cake. It was very serious business.
Kate sitting still and resting before her 4th time around as flower girl.

Beach Day

Today was a family beach day.  The kids love the beach.  They have so much fun digging in the sand and playing in the water.  They come home exhausted!  Here they are modeling their beachwear. A long sleeve swim top is a must at the beach for Ben.  Kate likes to wear her swim top so she can look like a surfer.  She is also wearing the paper tie she made for Jesse at school.  On the back there are some questions the teachers asked about the dads.  A couple of my favorites:   What does your dad like to eat?  "Everything" and What is your dad good at? "Chasing my brother."  That he is!!!

Ben tumbles

Ben sitter, Nelly, took him to a gym class at the local park this year.  He loves it and often asks "I go clatt (class).  I get tamp (stamp)."  I got to take him to the last few class and it was very fun to see him be such a big boy following directions and doing all kinds of tumbling moves.

Goodbye Pre-K

Kate had her end of the year show yesterday.  Each Pre-K class sang about a Jewish holiday.  Kate and her class sang about Hannukah.  It is hard to believe that she will be moving on to Kindergarten next year.  Enjoy the show!!

Ben Speaks

When asked how old he is Ben replies "I big two."

Ben's Track

Ben has recently started to use toys and really play with them.  He makes car noises, moves things around, and makes the "people" talk.  Here he is with a train track that he built himself.  As can be seen, he is very proud of himself.