Jake is 3!

Birthday Boy
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

I'm a little late with the birthday post - of course. Jake had is first party with his own friends at the Peterson Park Gymnastics Center (where he takes his tumbling classes). He had a great time and didn't stop running, jumping and moving the entire time. This is the best photo I could get:



He was a man on the move. Literally - all sweaty and red-faced by the end of the party!

Afterward, we spent a little time at our house with his cousins and rode bikes in the alley.



He's gotten pretty good at pedaling - now we've got to get him onto a bigger bike.

The construction is still in full swing next door. On Friday, Jake set up shop to watch the action.



And, finally, Aunt Jenny sent a super fun sprinkler. They've already used it a couple of times and we've got the wettest lawn around.

A kindergartener

Graduation Day
Originally uploaded by tracyg00

Megan had her pre-school graduation last Friday. She is very proud of being an actual kindergartener now. She loves her teacher, Miss Riley, and told me that she wants to go to school with her every day and stay all day. She said, "I love her so much, she's the best teacher in the world and I'm gonna miss her in the summer". Aww.





Mimi and Papa came to the ceremony and we went out for ice cream afterwards.



Here are a few of Megan's friends from class (Amanda, Megan, Lulia & Mariel). I think Amanda is going to be going to Beaubien with her:



So, now we're off for the summer and will be figuring out lots of activities to keep everyone busy. In the mean time, Jake is doing chores - like taking out the garbage:



Last week, we went to a block party at my neighbor's pre-school. The kids each got a goldfish. They were so excited to finally have a pet! Jake was a little overly excited, because he was swinging around the bag (with the fish in it) until the water started leaking out. Fortunately we were still at the party and I switched it out for another one. Oh, and I failed to mention that Jake didn't want a pretty orange one, he wanted a brown one. So, we switched it with another brown one. They named their pets on the way home. Jake came up with Jeffrey and Megan's choice was Orangey Orange Orangey.



Well, Jeffrey lasted about 24 hours before he was floating at the top of the tank. We attribute his early death to the fish equivalent of shaken baby syndrome, since Jake swung that little bag around like he was at batting practice before we got him into a bowl. They did end up with a little bit of an upgraded home.....I couldn't really see myself changing water every day in the bowl, so I sprung for the $10 kit at Walmart. Here's Jake showing off Orangey Orange Orangey since Jeffrey is "killed" (as Jake would say).



Today, we went to Walmart and got a replacement Jeffrey. This one is a bit more colorful and Jake actually calls him "New Jeffrey".



After two days, Megan said our pets were kind of boring and we should get a different pet. I said, "like what?" She said, "like a dog". You'll notice the interesting choice of decor in this little tank. The kids picked out the dinosaur. Jake said he wanted it to scare the fish. I really don't think we're ready for a dog around here.