June. No seriously, June. Of 2011.

We did a fun little visit at home since Jon was doing a rotation in Utah. We enjoyed our time there, especially knowing how little time was left in New York. We visited family, met our new little cousin/nephew Ben, saw our old friends from New York, the Lentz family, and even stained a picnic bench. When we got back to New York Kate had her dance recital, took part in a commercial for the YMCA, and graduated from JoySchool. We picked berries and started packing little bits to move to Utah. It was pretty busy but I got a few pictures along the way. :)

Asher with Aunt Alicia

Kate staining Grandma and Grandpa's picnic table

Visiting the Lentz Family. Asher and Kiplyn playing together!

Melissa, Matt, and Sam got a new addition to their little family this month. Ben was just a little doll for the entire visit. I wish I could say the same for my own kids' behavior....

The Stalsburgs with their new baby, Ben
Grandpa West with Ben
Grandma West with Asher. He loves her!
Ben

Kate playing at her cousin Hudson's house during a family dinner

Asher really has a thing for animals. He seems drawn to them and loves to "talk" to them. If he sees them he starts yelling and makes it quite clear we had better get closer to them. Elephants and dogs do seem to be his favorites.

Asher with the Bay's dog

Kate playing on the trampoline with Hudson and Sam

Grandma and Grandpa Allan, Asher, and a mysterious blanket that may or may not contain Ben.

Back in New York we were busy enough. Kate's dance class from the local YMCA had a spring recital. Kate's class danced to a song called "Mickey, She's Got a Crush on You," so all the girls were dressed like Minnie Mouse. It was very cute. Kate was cutest, of course.

My own little Minnie.
Could she get any cuter?!
Even Minnie is thoughtful at times...
She would give the real Minnie a run for her money.

Kate graduated from her preschool program, JoySchool. It was great fun to watch her with her friends. I had to make the graduation caps which was not a small feat, let me tell you. But I think they turned out okay. The graduation program was very cute. I'm so proud of my smart little girl! I also can't believe I have a kid that old...

Showing off her new creds. And her shoes.

FANCY PANTS!!

Grandma came to help while Jon was in Utah and got to see Kate's dance and graduation. It was great to have her there and such a big help!

One of our favorite things to do in New York is to pick berries. There are so many farms that cater to self-pick. I loved taking Kate and this time around Asher was pretty entertaining with the late strawberries. He ended up just covered in red juice and quite contentedly sat down and picked berry after berry to pop in his mouth. :)

Kate is getting more and more efficient with the picking.

Little Man indulging his sweet side

May. What a beauty she is!

May was a good time to be in New York. The weather was beautiful and we had a good time. Kate had quite a few outings with her JoySchool group and Asher liked tagging along with his sister whenever he could.

We went to the zoo with a few of the awesome families of Liverpool.

Kate giving the penguins a little kiss.

Kate and Adella being penguins.
Asher just LOVES being around kids. He loves playing with Kate and her friends.

Kate and Asher riding a tiger. :)

The crew: Allison, Carter, Calvin, Adella, William, and Kate

Kate and Calvin milking the fake cow

Kate and Adella riding a baby elephant

Climbing the hills of the "desert"

Oh, the poses.

Now that is a crowd for the lions.

So Kate decided, one morning, that she was going to turn herself into a tiger. I figured what the heck, it's washable. Thank heavens it was washable. I had no idea how much "art" she was going to decorate herself with.

She loved it so much she kissed herself.

Kate took a sports class at the local YMCA. They tried all kinds of sports. It was awesome to see her with a bunch of boys. She had fun though.

Trying out teeball

We went to a Memorial Picnic the local church had. Kate wasn't so sure why this was a holiday. Her response to my explanation of the holiday was that she didn't know anyone who had died, could she still go to the barbeque? I replied that she could. Then she asked if the barbeque was in a graveyard. I really can't remember my response to that but I'm sure it had some jaw-dropping involved somewhere. Also muffled laughter.

The best big sister in the world, pushing the best little brother in the world.

CHEEKS!

Asher just loving the swings

Eating the lovely picnic. Kate decided it was inedible because it had "black marks" all over it. I explained how the grill worked but she had made up her mind and her nose stayed up in the air. I told her she'd be hungry but that was fine with her...

There is a beautiful park next to Lake Onondaga, about 10 minutes from our Liverpool place. We went there often, weather permitting. I loved photographing the scenery and, of course, the kids. They loved playing by the water, riding bikes, and running around.

Some scenery

There's something about a hot pink bike glove picking a little daisy...

Kate got quite good at her bike. She loved riding the trails.

Crocodile Dundee?

That cute little red hair!

Kate's JoySchool class was so good for her. The only thing was that I had to teach every once in awhile. It was very good for me but probably not as good for the kids... May was nice though because the kids could go outside.

april come she will. and did about five months ago.

April, I realize, is far earlier than the current month, but it can't be helped I suppose. It was quite a busy month and I had my camera along for much of the ride.

Easter. It was a good holiday. Kate just gets funnier every year. She loved dying the eggs, finding the eggs, rehiding the eggs, and finding them again. Asher loved the bits of candy he was allowed and loved the bits of candy he discovered on the floor even more. He dyed his whole face blue with one or two candies. Impressive.

Mommy with her bunny and her bug.

Me and my boy

Bunny lady. Peace. Or issuing commands, I'm not sure which.

The bug.

Asher finding an Easter egg.

Little man eating his egg. Without peeling it.Daddy with the bunny and bug.Yay, bunny found an egg!Fancy eating her Easter candy.Some of the eggs, our tribute to the U of U and to King Daddy. Kate, Little Man, Queen Mum
Here's just some bits and pieces of the kiddos. Asher is adorable, fatty little cheeks and all. Though I'm a tad biased. And my fancy pants is, well, fancy. :)

Little man, just chillin.

Little man eating his teether.Kate watching tv. No, seriously.One day we had the biggest hailstones I have ever seen. The only way to accurately describe it is by comparing it to a golf ball... Kate went to a couple princess parties at the local YMCA. She had a great time dressing like Princess Aurora, playing with other princesses, and doing princess crafts.
Ah, what can I say? Kate, clearly bored one morning, decided to dance with her umbrella. I only included one picture but the series is quite hilarious. Note she is still in her nightgown. And just for the insatiably curious, the show Psych is on in the background.Bath time is always an adventure, usually quite a wet one. Asher has discovered splashing to a spectacular degree and not one to be taken lightly. Or without towels. Man he's a cute kid. I'd love to include some of the cute pictures of Kate but I think she'd kill me later for making very public pictures of her taking a bath...These are just a series of snapshots that I played with in Photoshop. I love that program. They turned out well I think and I love them.




This is my little starlet. My goodness, she is really a diva. But at least she doesn't mind if I take pictures of her and she even poses often. And when I say pose, I mean POSE. Like she's been observing models, though I don't know where she would have picked that up. Yes, I am scared and nervous for the teenage years...

Kate liked to go to a little playgroup on Friday mornings. One of the moms also taught a little dance class at the beginning and they gave a little performance for us. It was a lot of fun to watch Kate fly around the stage. She loves to dance.

One of Kate's very best friends is named Hope and lived pretty close. She and Hope often asked to play with each other and had such a great time. I loved it too because Hannah, Hope's mom, is a really cool chick and it was great to have her over often.

Hope's brother, Kyle. We love him too. :)Mother's Day was just an absolutely beautiful day. My kids even agreed to pose for a picture with me. Oh Asher. He gets more and more crazy every day. Eating is not a great pleasure but at least he is giving it more of a chance. He definately likes certain foods more than others. I think this one is carrots... His great joy is to THROW his food.

A family that lived near us wanted me to take pictures of them so I took advantage of the occasion and took some pictures of the kids. They are so beautiful! I love the place we went to take them too, very urban.

Kate had an awesome experience with her Joyschool friends. It was hard to feel like I could teach the kids well but it was so much fun to watch them play. The boys are named Calvin and William Mortensen (Kate's favorite boys ever) and Bridget Miller (who Kate just adores).

Kate and Bridget playing ballCalvin and William playing with umbrellasWilliam just chilling, I guessThe cutie girlsBridget looks like she belongs on the cover of a Beatles album.PlaytimeThe lessons this week were about imagination. Kate was pretending to be Little Bo Peep. :D Not bad...Poor Calvin, I had no boy clothes to dress up in, but he took it in stride and played right along in the girl hat. What a sport!

The Lentz family moved to Utah this month and we went to their house to say goodbye. Asher and Kate had a great time. Asher played with Kiplyn and Kate played with the Lentz kids and the Mortensens who also came over.

I'm not sure if Kiplyn is trying to kiss Ash or eat him...Sorry to interupt...

Playing around in the completely empty basement

You didn't hear that!

The greatest dog in the world, Cocoa Lentz.

The little sister I never had, Jamie Lentz

We went to a fair at the YMCA one day in April. It was a lot of fun and Kate got to have her face painted like a butterfly. What a great place the YMCA was for us!

Jon's school, Le Moyne, has done a PA 5k fundraising run each April since we have been there and this time we borrowed a jogging stroller from my awesome friend Summer Potter and took the kids along. I was huffing and puffing but Jon was fine, even pushing the stroller. Ah well, at least I wasn't hugely pregnant this time and Jon got to carry Ash. :)