Vera is Five!

Vera Lou is five years old!  Wow!  A handful!  :)

She was so excited for her birthday.  It fell on a Wednesday, so she got to go to preschool on her special day, which was cool.  We got her a special birthday shirt to wear for the day.  She was "The Star" for the week and got to choose something out of the birthday box, which made her day.  We also made treats to share at preschool.  I made cupcakes in ice cream cones, and then we decorated them.  

I started them on Sunday evening, and thank goodness I did, because the first batch was a total flop.  I filled the cones too full, and you can see what a mess I had.  After the kids went to bed on Monday evening, I ran to buy more cones and started over.  The second round was much more presentable.

Vera wanted a sunflower cake for her fifth birthday.  I'm always intrigued by her cake selections.  Her 1st birthday was a bumblebee, 3rd was a butterfly, 4th was a lady bug, and now a sunflower.  I love the timeless, nature-related theme.  Much better than Frozen or some other pop culture theme.  :)  I went to work coming up with a sunflower idea, and I almost ordered a sunflower cake.  Then, my mom sent me an idea on how to make a flower cake.  She came over one evening and watched the kids while I decorated the cake.  It didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned, but it was sufficient and Vera was happy, so that's all that matters.

Vera was excited to find balloons on the front door when we came home from preschool on her birthday.  She also received some nice birthday cards in the mail; she loves to receive mail.  She also opened the gifts from her family...

Vince had to help.  No surprise there.

Some new books, summer clothes, and a chalk trail for her bike.

They had to start reading right away!  Love.

Vera is five.  Five whole years.  Preschool is going to be over soon, and her next birthday will be celebrated as a Kindergartener!  Wow.  This school year, Vera really has changed a lot.  For one thing, she's grown.  Her little legs are getting longer, but she's not getting much wider! :)  We'll find out this summer exactly how big she is because she'll have a physical and immunization (gasp!) for Kindergarten.

Academically, I am amazed.  At the beginning of preschool her handwriting was reckless and rigid.  She couldn't cut well with a scissors, and she couldn't read a whole lot.  Now, she's writing all kinds of words.  (She still has trouble with the letter K and number 5)  She cuts pretty well with a scissors.  It is no surprise that her vocabulary continues to expand:  she uses words like "donate" and "lair" in the correct context, which is hilarious to hear.

Vera: "See ya, mom.  I'm heading back to my lair."
Me:  "What's a lair?"
Vera:  "Oh, a lair is just a hideout."
Amazing.

If she's not listening to her sing-alongs in the car, she yacks nonstop, especially after preschool.  I swear she reenacts the entire school day from her car seat.  I'm going to really miss the one-on-one with her after school, even if it is only for the 10 minute drive.

Vera's favorites right now are...
PJ Masks
Goldie and Bear
playing restaurant
scribbling and drawing
playing school
playing dress-up with jewlery & accessories
making potions & casting spells
driving the Jeep
riding her bike
wearing boots
dresses
braids
chocolate muffins
Lucky Charms without milk
Lunchables
nightgowns

The fairy is busy drawing and coloring.

And, for memory's sake...she still bites her nails and chews on her hair.  We put a nasty tasting polish on her nails, and that worked for a while.  But, then life became so busy that we aren't good about putting the polish on anymore.  The hair-chewing has been so bad that she has to wear ponytails to Patty's house.  I started putting vinegar in her mouth when I see her chewing her hair or notice crusty hair that was in her mouth earlier in the day.  She totally freaked out about the vinegar.  She was sobbing, screaming and in total panic.  I've never seen her freak out quite like she did with this.  (It was hard for Adam and I to not laugh, honestly.)  So far, it's been a little better.

Vera and Vince are really starting to play together.  I love hearing her say, "Hey Vince..." or "Vince, let's..."  Of course, he can be the thorn in her side sometimes too, as he destroys her creation or demands to have what she's playing.

We didn't get our traditional family picture from Opening Day because of one uncooperative child.  These two were happy about the Reds, though.

Vera Lou, have a great fifth year!  I can't wait for what's in store for you this year...

Easter 2016

It was Annie's first Easter!

We celebrated with plenty of get-togethers with family.  There were also egg hunts aplenty.

Shorty's house on a chilly Sunday afternoon:

Second cousins?  Nora, Eli, Vince, Cohen, Blake, Vera, Scarlett.  Missing Amelia, Annie and Beau.

Vince knew just what to do.

Eli & Vince: partners in crime.  They're about 4 weeks apart and nothing alike!  :)

We celebrated birthdays at the Pearson Easter.  Bailey is six, Vera five, Blaire one, and Adam 35!

Mindy brought these super cute (and super delish) cakes!

No birthday for Vince, but he is sure not to be left out of anything.  Par for the course.

A backpack and lunch box from Brian.  Woohoo!

An "office" from Grammy & Papa...with real telephones.

As usual, bunches of outtakes precede this.

Cracks me up how he holds on to his basket.

"Open this gate!  Open this gate!"

Basketful of treats.

Easter Bunny left surprises for Easter morning.

Paw Patrol pups, summer sandals, sunglasses, headbands, bath toys and candy!

Nothing like enjoying your Easter surprises in Christmas jammies.

Candy for breakfast.

We took the whole crew to church on Easter Sunday.  It was standing room only.  It worked out that we sat in folding chairs in the back of church.  It gave the kids a little more room to move, and less of a distraction for the people around us.  After church, I wanted to take a nice picture of the kids in their clothes, but as you can see, it was an epic fail.  I gave up after 3 shots.  #momdisappointment

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day.  We had no family parties to attend, so we spent the day at home working outside, playing and enjoying the beautiful day.  

Casa de Pearson in Pictures

Snuggley Annie Pie

She's growing and changing so much.  Here she's checking out her new shoes.  She recently discovered her toes.

Thankfully, the weather has been decent enough to get outside.  They sure do love it.  Here, they're checking on Annie and I inside the house.

Vince makes us laugh when he wears Vera's hat.  If he can get his hands on her hat, he is sure to put it on.  I think he likes it so much because he can get it on/off himself.  Can we say hoodlum?

Poor Annie fell asleep as I was doing dishes one evening.  She's wiped out when she gets home in the afternoons.  

First Baby Food

Annie shows very little interest in cereal.  She mostly cries and spits it back out.  I decided not to fight the fight.  We moved on to baby food.  Someone told me that you're supposed to start with the orange veggies, and honestly, I'd never heard that.  The older 2 kids started with green beans, so I decided to follow the unwritten rule of orange veggies and start with carrots.

Evidently cereal was too bland and boring because this lil girl loves baby food.  We're ready to move to the next vegetable, and hopefully her interest will continue.

Snack Dude

Vince helps himself to the pantry when the door is open.  He loves snacks, especially dumping them everywhere.

He helped himself to the box of cereal in the cupboard.  I knew that if I swept up the cereal, he'd pitch a fit, so I let him eat the snacks off the floor.  Choose your battles...

I gave him these breakfast.  As soon as I handed him the package, he promptly dumped all of them out.  Why not?

Vince hates everything about mealtime.  He throws his silverware, pushes his plate away, and throws a buck.  But every once in a while, he decides eating real food isn't so bad.  When that happens, he nicely uses a fork and spoon to eat.  This boy...