Cora tuns a whole hand!

Last day of preschool

Family

Pony cake

celebrating with cousin Skyler and uncle Brett

new swimsuit

Grandma and Grandpa with the quilt Grandma made

Cora is a whole hand old!  She is extremely proud of this fact.  She and Jude are both the youngest in the class and this year school ended on May 18, so she got to celebrate a few days early with her classmates.  She brought popsicles on the last day to share.  Then on the 21st Papa John and Grandma Carolyn came to visit.  We had a great day celebrating with them!  Gil and I got her a new backpack that lights up for kindergarten, some new ponies to go on her pony cake (that girl and her ponies!), a new bath robe and slippers, a new outfit, and some stamps.  Grandma Carolyn made her a new quilt!
Then on Sunday we had a baptism service for Taylor and Katie.  Afterward we went to the Pick's house for lunch and celebrated the baptisms along with Skyler, Brett, and Cora's birthdays.
FUN DAY!

Another name for Cora could be JOY!  She is so full of joy and love and excitement.  She loves everything and everyone.  If she is ever the slightest bit grumpy you can bet she is exhausted and needs a nap because that is just not her.  During her four year old year she has taken swimming lessons, showed a bucket calf (Elsa) at the fair, played t-ball, completed a year of preschool, and learned to write all of her letters and numbers and so much more in school!  She also made many new friends in school.  Right now she is the queen of saying the cutest things.  Sometimes I call her Amelia Bedelia because she just can't seem to get it right.  For example, she wanted to have a staring contest, but thought it was a scaring contest.  I couldn't figure out why she was scowling at me the whole time!  Cora loves to play with her ponies, but is also branching out to barbies and other doll figures (not baby dolls though).  She also loves to draw and write and create.  She and her friend Kloie played so well together every day after preschool this year.  They would read books, play games, and watch lots of Sofia the First episodes!  Cora loves to wear dresses and anything sparkly!  She is also very good at playing with her brothers.  This is what she is telling me right now are her favorite things:  I love my birthday, and I like to swim, I love to cuddle and hug mommy, and I love to say goodnight to her, and I love to play ponies and go to grandma's house, and I love getting new things, and I love my whole family, that's all.  Isn't she the sweetest?!?!

We love you so much Cora Clare!!!  Many prayers and blessings!!!

Jude is 7!

Jude and his Avengers cake

Super Hero action figures...and Miss Boxhead!

Jude turned 7 on April 18...I'm a little behind again!  Wow, 7 feels kinda like a big kid.  Not to mention he now has lost I think 8 teeth (and has his adult front teeth almost in), he knows how to read, and he does nearly everything for himself now.  We are moving into big kid territory for sure.  I have been a mom of littles, but I'm a little nervous about the world of the big kid.  

Jude continues to have a BIG personality and BIG feelings about things.  His imagination is outstanding and he is such a thinker about everything.  

During this past year Jude has become a really good swimmer and conquered the diving board and slide at the Wakefield pool, shown another bucket calf at the fair and gotten really good at taking care of them (another one will be coming soon), started having more responsibility with chores (scraps, picking up the house, feeding the chickens) and taking care of younger siblings, almost completed the first grade (and does very well at school!), and completed his second year of Sparks at Awana and learned lots of verses and other Bible info including the old and new testaments and Psalm 119.  Jude loves legos, superheroes, building houses/forts, helping dad outside, driving around the old mower, playing in the spiky woods, and of course watching TV and playing the iPad.  He loves spending time with friends and cousins and grandmas and grandpas.  Jude loves life and tries to live it to the fullest! He still has the most adorable dimples and the sweetest smile:)  And he will forever be my baby, even if he is technically a big kid!

We have a one year old in the house again...and it's obvious!

Little Blue Truck party

New ride on toy

He likes his sweets!

Cousins and siblings who were here to share in the celebration of his first year

Luke Kirby Ridenour turned one year old on February 25.  People always say time flies but seriously...time.flies.  And I am eating my words yet again as I always said I would not baby the baby...yeah, eating my words!

Luke has been a joy to have around.  His siblings absolutely adore him and are usually very eager to help with anything and everything. I need to document that fact before we move too far into his second year of life because I can already see the winds of change around here.  Just as Mikey turned three and is starting to move out of that into-everything-always-bugging-someone-never-sit-still phase, Luke is there to fill in the gap!  He has begun climbing the stairs, dumping the trash cans, and chewing the lamp cords to name a few.  He is also into everything that gets left on the floor.  Look out big brothers and sister, there's a new toddler in town!  On the bright side he is (finally!) sleeping through the night most nights and getting easier to put down.  He is eating lots of table foods and drinking D milk (even if it is from a bottle and has to be warmed up!).  He is babbling a ton (often sounds like "Cawa") and I get a "mama" every now and then.  I'm his main gig right now...we're pretty tight!  He loves the ball popper toy, and LOVES his new musical ride on toy we got him for his birthday.  Luckily there is always someone willing to give him a push and he has done countless laps around the kitchen table.  He has started waving bye bye (arm straight out going up and down) and still enjoys clapping and making funny noises with his mouth that we imitate back and forth.  His new thing is wobbling his head when he is excited.  He smiles easily, loves to take a bath, and gives big open mouthed kisses.  His big brown eyes always melt my heart:)

We all love you little bubba!  We can't wait to see what your next year will hold and all the years after that.

Mikey is three!

Mikey on his birthday

Thomas the Train happy birthday cupcake train

Mikey loves his train sets right now...no one else better touch them!

Mikey man turned three last week!  Secretly I have been waiting for this day for a while now.  Mikey is full of giggles and joy and laughter and sweetness and has a whole lot of stinker in him too!  I remember after Jude turned three I felt like I could finally take a breath, like there was a bit of a slow down to the constant disciplining.  So for about six months now I have been counting down.  While the transformation did not happen overnight (surprise surprise!), I can tell that he is making strides in that (mom getting to breathe) direction.  Isn't he the cutest little thing you've ever seen?!?  I get comments like that on a regular basis and I completely agree.  And a lot of the time he is a total sweetheart.  I call him my buttercup and he likes to remind me of his status as such.  His two year old year has been a big one.  He became a big brother (and LOVES LOVES baby Luke), he became potty trained (finally...), he can count to twenty and sing the ABC's, he is still working on his colors, he now sits at the table to eat and needs minimal help/cleanup, he is talking very well and it is so fun to listen to his growing vocabulary and how he comes up with his ideas.  Mikey loves playing with his siblings, even if his favorite game is still "take their toy and run."  He loves reading books, playing trains, playing with his dinosaurs, and cuddling on the couch with mom or dad.  He loves to drink pop, but is still probably our best eater.  He loves when he has pockets in his pants, when he gets a tic tac, and when he helps me get groceries (its the little things!).

For his birthday we had Gil's folks come up for our taco supper.  We ate, blew out candles, had some Thomas cupcakes and ice cream, and opened presents.  We also got to FaceTime with the Herricks and Aunt Brittany.  He celebrated with my family later.  

We love you Mikey...and we will have plenty to look back and laugh about with you (or use as blackmail!).  I can't wait to see what your three year old year of life holds, and all the years after that.  We thank God for your each day.