Puzzle Master

Little Shane has become quite the puzzle master!  This is a direct result of his attempt to do everything his older sister can do!  And while it was a bit frustrating at first, she does have that two year age advantage, he focused on the task at hand and can now do all the puzzles in the house!  He first started doing the 25 piece puzzles Faith was doing...

Upon realizing that Shane could now do these, I figured it was time to buy Faith a few more challenging puzzles.  But of course, Shane wasn't far behind!  He quickly took over the 60 piece puzzle that was hers.  And then it was the 100 piece Under the Sea puzzle!

He probably does this puzzle five or six times a day!!

Here he is in action!  And  he does it all by himself!!

Today he pulled out a 48 piece horse puzzle.  I was curious to see how he would do with it as he had never done that one before.  But within a matter of minutes, here was the result...again, with no help!!



Random happenings...

It seems as though nothing "big" or especially exciting has been going on in our family lately, but there have been a few little things of note...

Today we signed Faith up for soccer.  It doesn't start until the end of August, but sign ups are now!  This is one of those times in life that I am very glad I have friends who have kids older than mine so that I was aware of the (crazy!) fact that fall AYSO soccer sign ups are in May!!  This is something Faith has been asking to do for a long time, so it will be interesting to see if she actually enjoys it!  Since receiving a soccer ball for her birthday from Aunt Joan and Uncle Roger, we have been doing some practicing in the back yard!

Speaking of doing new things, I have started taking a few classes at a local Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym!  It is something I never imagined ever trying (or wanting to try!!) or even liking, but I have really enjoyed it!!  It is extremely challenging - both mentally and physically - and being a person who can get set in her ways, I am enjoy this new little adventure!! 

This is Shane today!  Warmer weather always tends to bring popsicles to our house!  And just recently the kids discovered that there are these delicious things called chocolate popsicles!  Yes, the older they get and the more observant they get, the more their horizons are expanding! 

Pajama Day!

Yesterday was Pajama Day at preschool.  And guess which lame-o mom forgot??  Yes, it was me!!  Poor Faith arrived at school and quickly realized that all her friends were in the comforts of their pjs, while her mother had dressed her!  Of course, I had a coffee meeting right after dropping her at school, so I could not immediately correct the  mistake!  Thankfully, I think this little life blunder was harder on me than in was on Faith!  And after my meeting, I immediately brought her some pajamas!  Since Shane has to be exactly like Faith, he stayed in his pjs too for most of the day as he was the one who had not been dressed in the morning!  He was thrilled to ride in the car wearing them!  Oh the things that excite a two year old!  It ended up being a good day...and one we wont soon forget!!

Preschool Spring Program

Tonight was Faith's preschool spring program!  She has been looking forward to this for weeks as her class prepared songs to sing!  After the program we also were able to visit Faith's classroom to see some special art work she created.  All in all, it was a fun night of celebrating Faith and her classmates!  Faith preformed well, as usual!  She always seems to be in the front center, and I can always hear her!  While often entertaining, it is nice to see her enjoy performing! The pictures did not turn out all that well (my camera battery was running low, which made the quality go down a bit!)  And it was very nice that Grandma Poelstra and Aunt Joan were able to come to the program as well!!

Posing for pictures after the first of four songs Faith sang

Getting ready to sing - I love the different expressions the kids are displaying!

Faith did all the motions to the songs!

More motions...."Jesus Rock and Rolls my blues away..."

Finished singing for the night!

I just thought this one was kind of funny!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope that all the mothers reading this had a day filled with love and appreciation!  Given that my kids are just 5 and 2 1/2, I was pleasantly surprised by their acknowledgement of the day! I was showered with many "Happy Mother's Day mommy" and "I love you!"  Faith even sang me "Happy Mother's Day" to the tune of "Happy Birthday"!  I thought that was pretty cute!   Since Steve had to work, the kids and I went to Steve's brother Russell's house for the day.  It was an extra special day for Grandma Poelstra as it was also her birthday!  So we had a great time celebrating moms and grandma!

One of the highlights of the day for the kids was seeing Uncle Russell's new puppy Josie!  They loved playing with little Josie, and Shane even had her sit on his lap - with Grandma's help, of course!

Again, Shane and Josie! 

And by the end of the day, Shane wanted to be Josie!  I didn't get any pictures of it, but Shane was even playing fetch - and would carry the ball back in his mouth!! 

This picture was taken on the prior Friday.  Grandpa Poelstra was over for the afternoon, so he and Steve and Faith rode bikes to a local diner called the Busy Bee to get hot fudge sundaes!  Shane and I could not pass up the opportunity for ice cream, so we met them there!  And Shane showed once again his love of all things sweet!!

Faith loved her sundae too!  Apparently it tastes better if she leaves her bike helmet on!!  She actually finished her sundae first and tried to help Shane with his!!



Sunday in Santa Barbara

We spent a beautiful Sunday in Santa Barbara yesterday!  We started out by going to church and out for lunch, but the real excitement was spending the afternoon at the Santa Barbara Fair!!  The kids were especially excited as they reminisce weekly about going to the Ventura fair last year!  And since Grandpa and Grandma Bruinsma were still in town, they joined us on the adventure!

Faith getting ready to swing!

Since Shane was too small to go alone, he convinced Grandpa to join him!  Apparently Shane said over and over again "This is fun!!"

Kids driving in the car together

Steve took the kids into the petting zoo area where they fed the goats!

Once he got the hang of it, Shane loved feeding the goats!  After a goat would take the food from him, Shane would say, "He likes it!"

After Faith was finished feeding them, she would go around and brush the animals and give them hugs!  It was cute!





The kids are officially counting down to the Ventura fair now!  Only 3 months to go!!

Family Birthday Party

All good things must come to an end...including celebrating birthdays!  This weekend we celebrated Faith's birthday with our family and friends, capping off a week of celebrating!  It was a beautiful day for a barbecue, and we enjoyed an afternoon of just hanging out!! 

The birthday girl was naturally very excited!!  She loved seeing all the "cousins", which for our kids are dogs!!!  The kids love animals and were excited that their aunt and uncles bring them!

Present time!!

A pillow pet!!  I have been hearing about these for a long time as Faith has been wanting one for a long time!

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Everyone is excited it's time for cake!!  Especially Shane!