Savannah's personal reader!

Parker is becoming quite the little man around our house and I have to be careful not to take advantage of it too much! Savannah loves story time and at moments when I am busy making breakfast, it is very handy (and super sweet) to have Parker read her a story!

Noah's a skiing machine

Kep has been pumping Noah up for his first ski at Alyeska ski resort all Fall and Noah was more than ready to DO IT! Kep, "Popeye" and Mr. Tom gladly took a day off of work so they could make a whole day of skiing for Thomas and Noah! And, Parker benefitted as well! I could not believe that our men were taking these little guys out on a sub-zero and super windy day but Kep said all 3 of them were troopers!



They had a great time and I know there are many more sub-zero days of skiing to come!!!

WiseNOAHman

Noah, Noah, Noah! This little guy never ceases to amaze me- you just never know which personality you will get and I feel like I've been walking on eggshells for 4 years! Well getting him in a wiseman costume was no different! Let me explain...

Our church does this sweet thing of dressing the 3 year~olds in costume to set up a live Nativity up on stage while the congregation sings "Oh, Holy Night". I always love seeing the little guys up there and it just makes the song that much sweeter! So, I was looking forward to having my Noah be up on stage dressed as a wiseman BUT he was NOT sharing my same sentiments! So, for two weeks prior to the Nativity Sunday... I was prepping Noah and I was seriously considering giving up- which is a BIG achievement for myself!!! But, the night before Noah realized it would be fun to be a wiseman! Go figure! So, on the way to church... we jammed to Go Fish's version of "We Three Kings" and Noah cheerfully marched on down to his classroom and willingly put on his costume! I'm thinking, "what in the world is going on... and who is this boy!?!" So, here he is in a blue (because blue is his fav color!) wiseman costume!

But, the poor li'l guy was not prepped for the rest of his wiseman mission, I purposefully did not tell him that he would need to stand in front of the whole congregation! So, when the gym doors opened and his class started walking forward, Noah inched backwards only for his awesome teacher, Miss Tammy, to grab his hand and coax him down the aisle. Sweet Miss Tammy carried Noah up onto the stage and hid with him behind the other brave 3-year olds!

Oh Noah- my little dream of seeing you up on stage did not turn out the way I had hoped but it made me wonder... when will your silly and adorable personality be revealed to everyone else! I often think about my kids' futures and wonder how they will shine to others. And, I'm very slowly realizing that all I can do right now is be patient (not my forte), encourage the socks off of them (I need to focus on thier positive, more) and pray that God will direct them down their perfect paths!

So, all that to say... you were a very cute wiseman and I am thankful that you were a quiet wiseman! I love you! ;o)

more Christmas randomness

We had so much fun watching these 2 little guys one night and our kids thought it was so fun to fall asleep (well, some fell asleep!) next to our tree!
Our 3 kids are like any others... they love to be crafty! So, I have been trying to do one or two crafts with them each week! It's fun to have them all be independent crafters!!!

We are so thankful our kids have such loving grandparents... Great Grandma Elmer was so excited to have them over to frost her butter cookies! We are blessed!

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!