Claire's 10th Birthday Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite color? Light blue

2. What is your favorite toy or game? my polaroid camera 

3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries 

4. What is your favorite TV show? Studio C

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? peanut butter and jelly 

6. What is your favorite thing to wear?  jeans and a teal t-shirt

7. What is your favorite game? Uno

8. What is your favorite snack? gold fish and granola bars 

9. What is your favorite animal? puppies

10. What is your favorite song? thunder from imagine dragons  

11. What is your favorite book? Wonder

12. Who is your best friend? Ximena Gonzalez

13. What is your favorite sport? soccer and volley ball

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? jump on the trampoline and play with siblings

15. What is your favorite drink? lemonade

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my blanket and pillow 

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? pancakes and syrup  

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? an elementary school teacher 

21. What is your favorite candy? Reese's peanut butter cups

Kid Quotes - Penelope Style

When ordering food somewhere we go often, Penelope says, "I will have the normal." She means "the usual."

Special doughnut stop on the way to Wet N Wild for Claire's birthday

Penelope says to Bubba in the kitchen, "Get on this chair this instant! You're not in trouble, but I need you to watch this lady and her baby while I bravely go check things out. Ok?" She left Henry to watch her baby doll sitting on the table next to a baby cradle with a stuffed animal inside. 

After the first week of school, I asked Penelope, "Have you done anything besides color, like letters and numbers?" She said, "Nah, we don't need our letters and numbers. We are just writing our names and I can already write my full name. But the Kadens can't. There's Kaden B and Kaden W - Kaden W you do NOT WANT to meet!!"

"Mom - take my picture with this hat and send it to your friends!"

 

Penelope asked me what my orthodontic wax was - I told her that it helps my teeth feel better. She told me she pretends the case is her laptop. She cracks me up! 

After a dinner of tortilla soup (that I had bought from Costco and doctored up a bit), Penelope comes up to me later and says, "Mom I give that soup a 7. I think it needed more spices." Thank you Top Chef. 

Matt was changing Henry's poopy diaper. I told Penelope, "See that? Marry someone who will change diapers Penelope" She said, "Moms change them too though." I said, "I know - we both help." She said, "I know how to change diapers - I change Spider Man's diapers. But not with wipes. Cause he's a stuffed animal." 

Penelope was playing with some extra long glow sticks she got at Claire's Star Wars birthday, swinging them around and jumping up and down. I told her it was time for bed.  She said, "But I'm practicing my ninja skills!!" 

Claire Bear's Tenth Birthday - DOUBLE DIGITS!

Ten years ago, I went to dinner at the Hillers and just wasn't feeling good - not hungry and my stomach was upset. Around 2 am the next morning, my water broke, just like in the movies! But it was three days before my due date and I was not ready for any of it!

I had my last day of work on a Friday, and was due the following Wednesday. I had counted on a few days off of work to finalize everything, like packing my hospital bag and picking out a girl and a boy outfit for the hospital. And what about my list of names! I just wasn't sure about anything but was so excited to find out if this baby was a boy or a girl!

Our beautiful baby girl was born later that day - after about 15 hours of labor, I pushed for one more hour and then waited for the doctor to arrive and make it through traffic. I have never had to push so hard again - Claire paved the way for her siblings, and she keeps doing that in other ways. She is our good example, an old soul in so many ways.

People would stop us in the store, restaurants and the park to comment on Claire - her looks but also her behavior. We would take her to nice restaurants, movies and other places I should have been nervous to bring her but she would fit right in.  So grateful that Claire made me a mama, that she chose our family and that she helped ease us into the role of parenting.

Claire and Genevieve planned their combined birthday party again this year - this time with a Star Wars theme. Betty made the cutest themed snacks and dinner - Han Rolos (Rolo candy), Edible Ewoks (gummy bears), light sabers (chocolate dipped pretzel rods), Princess Lays (chips), Yoda Soda, and more!

Claire and Genevieve planned out the event schedule and the menu - I think they have more fun planning it all than the actual party, but that was pretty fun too!

Star Wars is one of our favorites - I was happy Claire chose this theme so we could all wear our shirts too.

Wrapping Up Summer

It's still summer, weather at least, so we got in one last trip to the water park. They were celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a local Spanish radio station playing music, a group of traditional Mexican dancers, and even a (long) dramatic rendering of Mexican Independence, all next to the wave pool. :)

We actually scored five seats in a row near the wave pool (lightly cooler temps made for smaller crowds I think) so we had a view of the action. This also included a bubble pool - not sure what the bubbles were made of because they didn't hurt the kids eyes, and Henry kept trying to wipe them out of his mouth using a hand covered in even more bubbles... but it was fun and something we hadn't tried before. Claire got to bring her friend Ximena as part of her birthday weekend fun!

And this is how Henry always ends up, either asleep in the lazy river on a raft, asleep with me holding him at the edge of the wave pool or on a lounge chair. He is a trooper!

This and That

Monte and His Meat, by Penelope Hiller 

Henry is left with me after school drop off and he is upset for about 5 minutes, 

then he's back to normal

Stuffed animal slippers are a dream come true for this girl! 

Henry just looks huge to me, asleep all stretched out in Miles's big boy bed

Claire's birthday list

My Buddy

I do NOT miss taking four kids to the grocery store. Summer was rough. Now that school is back in session, it's just me and Henry and it's AWESOME!