taking pix with 2 clowns in the house

there we GO, silly guy!

"It's beginning to look alot like CHRISTmas"

Here we are on our CHRISTmas tree hunt 2010. The boys were proud to be able to carry our tree to the truck! Ha~ it's a good thing that these AKan trees are lightweights!



And, every year our kids love to get their new PJs and help decorate our Charlie Brown tree!
Once our little elves are done decorating, it's time to watch "The Grinch..."
and fall asleep next to our tree! Sigh~ we love making these memories with our sweet children every year!

my exercisin' buddies

Here's a profound thought for you... "each year I get older and so does my metabolism, UGH!" And, my "sympathetic" hubby told me that I can't complain about the above thought unless I am doing something to prevent it! So, lately I have been trying the workout world and this is what my workout turned into a few mornings ago...

I love that they grabbed their blankets all on their own! This workout was much more entertaining and my abs got a better workout because of all the giggling at Savannah's coordination! And, as you can see Parker took on his role as the first born and made sure everyone had perfect form! Ha~ I hope they continue to join me!

My little man... is FOUR!

Noah you are such a gift to me! I am so proud of the big boy you are becoming. In honor of you turning 4, let me tell everyone my fav 4 things about YOU (even though there are so many more):
1. Your smile and giggle are extremely contagious and they make me melt! I am so thankful that God gave you such a charming smile!
2. Your silliness- you know how to make all of us belly laugh! I look forward to seeing how God will use this natural ability to brighten up others' worlds.
3. Your compassionate heart is inspiring to me. Right now, you are such a little guy but you have a HUGE heart. When I took you on a date last week, you didn't want to keep drinking your McD's milkshake because you wanted to make sure your dad, bro and sis all got plenty. (I don't think I could have done that!) And, you are always the first to help one of your hurt/frustrated siblings.
4. Your bravery! In most outdoor activities you are the first of the Kroon kids to try!
Now I look back at this list and I am so excited to see God's plan for YOU! I love you, Noah Hatcher Kroon!Another great thing about Noah is he is loyal! He is especially loyal to the movie "CARS" as his past 3 birthday cakes have been inspired from the movie. And, this birthday was no different... he insisted on having Mr. The King as his cake. I was thinking "really, he has a spoiler" but I tried my best and as you can see it doesn't take much to make my little man- thrilled!


And, one of your best traits is... you are a good buddy. It works out perfectly that you share your birthday with Thomas because you two are such great buddies.
And, you would think I could get through this post without crying... NOPE! I am blessed to be your mom and I am thankful for YOU, Noah Hatcher Kroon!

first spa!

My little Savannah is extremely girley. She got her first "pedicure" at 6 weeks old and she has loved getting them ever since! She notices if just one toe is missing a slight bit of nail polish and asks, "ma, plea fi my toes" (mom, please fix my toes)! I love to spend this time with my little girley-girl!
We have had some strange weather... freezing rain for 2 days straight, so I gave sis her first spa! She was all-smiles and so relaxed! And, I look forward to many more spa treatments and pedicures with my sweet girl!

dynamic trio... trick or treats

Strawberry Shortcake, Captain America and Spiderman most definitely make a dynamic trio! All three of our children were extatic to open the box of costumes sent from Uncle Spidey. Teag went out of his way to ensure that his niece and nephews were sportin' their favorite characters. Noah didn't know that his fav character was, Captain America but now there is NO going back to Spidey or Hulk... he is partial to his new shield, winged-mask and 6-pack!!! Thanks Teag for making this the BEST trick OR treat night for our kiddos!

blankey girl

Savannah you are such a cutie pie to us! We love your silliness and your "girleyness", and we especially love your "cuddliness"! This has always been Savannah's favorite blankey, made by Mo~mo, and she loves to be wrapped in it so she can take it wherever her little heart desires!

biker chik!

Parker exclaimed, "Mom, we are now a biker family!!!" Yep, that's right, Savannah loves biking as of this last week. All she ever wants to do is... "rie my bie"!

So, on a really nice day last week, we took her out on her first bike ride on some paved trails and she was so proud!!!

Well, we have always known our girl is very girley and extremely stubborn but we got to find that out, again! Savannah just loved rolling along noticing everything on the trail and didn't care in the least bit that both of her brothers were out of sight because they had already circled aroound her two times!!! So different than her brothers' need for speed! Then, we got to experience her determination (optimistic word for... stubborn)to get up the ever so slight inclines. Bless her heart, she just wasn't quite experienced enough to go fast! So, these "hills" really had her stuck and she didn't see any need for help from momma!

Our 3 biker children, who make their dad proud!

Great job, our little "biker chik"... we look forward to faster rides with you next Spring!

FrIdAy ScIeNcE

I love homeschooling Parker and preschooling Noah! I love seeing what they are learning and teaching them at the pace they need! BUT, it's hard to find the mindspace, patience and creativity to teach all subject areas so I am thankful that Kep can come home on Friday afternoons and teach them a mini~science experiment. Here are all 3 boys learning about the 3 states of matter with "Ooblek" as the experiment! They lOvEd it!

And funny story... Parker continues to see different items around the house and tells us whether they are a; gas, liquid or solid. Last week, he took this "matter labeling" with us on our errands! And, since it is getting rather chilly here when Parker saw his breath for the first time... he exclaimed (rather loudly in the parking lot), "I just saw my gas!" Ha, love that this boy learns so quickly and is so naive!

Here is Parker with his edible model of the planet earth. The boys enjoyed eating their; graham cracker crust, peanut butter mantle, jelly outer core and chocolate chip inner core!

pumpkin munchkins

Carving pumpkins is most definitely one of our favorite family activities! And each year, it becomes more fun as our children anticipate the slime and seeds. This year was Parker's first year carving his own pumpkin and what a thrill that was for him!

It was pointed out to me that his pumpkin resembles Winnie the Pooh, and we agree, so here is Winnie the Pumpkin!

Noah chose to stick with the Potato Head Pumpkin pieces!

And, Savannah was equally thrilled to add Potato Head pieces to her li'l pumpkin! And, now both of them can keep changing their pumpkins!