51s Baseball Game

We had a family trip out to the 51s baseball game, our triple A team. As part of a radio show that our office participates in, we had a special event down on the field. It was fun but also scary feeling like we could be hit in the head with a ball at any time :) The weather was chilly - and a nice change from the usual sweaty trip out to Cashman Field, but once the sun went  down we were pretty cold. 

Henry had fun playing with everyone, including the security officers. He played catch and also chased the mascot, Cosmo. He would chase him, but then would run away once he got close to Cosmo. 

Mother's Day 2017

I had a nice Mother's Day this year - bacon and eggs in the morning, then a photo with the kids before church (we were late already, what was one more minute?). I'm glad we took it before church because afterwards Henry was in full meltdown mode. 

I also love these Mom questionnaires - and a bonus extra one from Penelope too. I especially like that they picked squash and salads for my favorite foods, but that I also like to make cookies.  This particular questionnaire asked for their mom's weight (who would do that?!) and Claire's answer wins: a bright ray of sun!

Penelope's 5th Birthday Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite color? Pink, purple and teal

2. What is your favorite toy? Baby Alive

3. What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple

4. What is your favorite TV show? Team Umi Zumi

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ham and mayo sandwich

6. What is your favorite outfit? Peach colored shirt with flowered skirt

7. What is your favorite game? Speak Out

8. What is your favorite snack? Gummies

9. What is your favorite animal? Tiger

10. What is your favorite song? Monster (Imagine Dragons)

11. What is your favorite book? Piggy and Elephant books (Mo Willems)

12. Who is your best friend? Senai

13. What is your favorite sport? Basketball

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the trampoline

15. What is your favorite drink? Diet Coke

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Turtley

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

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

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A veterinarian 

Trolls Party - Hair UP!

A Trolls-themed party was a given for Penelope - she loves loves loves Trolls!

We had Troll hair headbands and hug time bracelets, with fun rainbow food - lots of fruits and veggies and Penelope's requested grilled chicken. We also had a new trampoline that we got for all of the kids' birthdays this year - and we hurried and got it set up before P's party. 

Penelope Turns 5!

This little lady is five! I took a trip down memory lane with some of my favorite photos of Penelope over the last 5 years -

Penelope Jane

Penelope's birthday is in a few days. I went back into the blog to the year Penelope was born to find a few favorite pictures and I found this blog post I wrote about her name. I had SUCH a hard time deciding on her name and I even considered changing it when she was about a year old. Reading this brought back so many memories!

I always have said I have certain rules for picking a name - the name can't be something made up (or a crazy new spelling), it has to be obviously a boy or girl name, the name shouldn't lend itself to an obvious nickname or shorter version, and I like short, one syllable names. So, as you can see, we broke several of these rules with Penelope Jane.

When Matt left that morning to get ready for church, we had her name chosen but I didn't want Matt to say anything during his talk. I felt like once it was announced there was no going back. I know, I was being weird. But what was a Penelope like? Would she be taken seriously as a doctor or lawyer? Could she be in sports or politics and not thought of as too girly or feminine? Man, I like to over think things...

Matt has liked the name Penelope for a long time, but I said you have to basically decide to name her Penny since that is the obvious nickname she will have. However, we have already heard Pen, Penel, and Nel so who knows what even the next five days will bring to her list of nicknames. Her name still sounds like a question in my head - Penelope? Is that your name?

So little baby, I hope you like your name, and I hope it's feminine, strong, classy and something that will take you through all your phases of life. And if you don't like it, it was your dad's favorite after all. :)
Today I can easily say that this girl is a Penelope Jane, through and through. She is feminine and strong-willed. She knows her mind and speaks her mind. When I read this quote, I think of Penelope.

Kid Quotes

Penelope said, "Dad, I love you! Well, I love Mom too. I love Mom one million!" Matt said, "Well, then how much do you love me?" P said, "One hundred."

I told Miles he couldn't eat anything else until he drank a big glass of water. So, he downed it all at once so he could get his fifth snack of the afternoon. Well, then he felt kind of sick from drinking all that water so fast and he got mad at me. I said, "Do you even know what it feels like to be hungry? Have you ever even felt your stomach growl before?" He said, "YES!" I said, "Well, what does it feel like?" L O N G  pause. "Well, I'm not sure. It's been a long time."

Claire was teaching us a new game where you choose a category and then take turns listing things until you can't name anything else in that category -that's when you're out. Categories are things like names that start with R or superheroes. So Claire is saying this little rhyme to start the game, "This is a game of constipation, no repeats or hesitation. Choose a category." Matt and I both were like, "Uh, constipation?! Don't you mean concentration?" She laughed and then every time we played she had to keep catching herself before saying "constipation" again.