birthdays n' more

The big news around here is that we have a...TA DA...6-year-old in the house! So of course that comes with a celebration of sorts...well, actually, a few of them. Miss M enjoyed a host of activities to commemorate the big 6, including a family party, a trip to the ice rink with a few friends (in lieu of a full-fledged friend party), and taking treats into school.

And of course we captured everything on camera. First, the birthday dinner at the restaurant of her choice (no frills here at McD's playland):















Then, open skate at the rink, complete with chocolate cupcakes!

Back home to our family gathering (sans Grandma/Kappa Smith, who both had nasty colds that day). It was about 75 degrees on this March 18, 2012! Peace signs were the requested theme this year. Definitely one of the easier decorating feats I've tackled over the years!

Special guests include Aunt Mary Ann, giraffe, and Cousin Isaac.



























I should post comparison pictures from over the years, but since the photo feature is giving me grief, I'll sav that for another post!

time flies when you're having fun

Really? It's 2012? That's hard to believe. Especially when I start doing math related to this date. Like, I graduated from high school--gulp--19 years ago. College 15 years ago. K and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary in February. I've been a mom for almost 6 years. Where o' where did the time go?

But I'm trying not to dwell on dates and years. Because there are so many great things happening NOW...so I'd rather focus on that.

For one, I've been trying to build my business back up. I'm embracing social networking with a vengeance, from Facebook (like my biz page!) to Twitter (follow me!) to LinkedIn to my biz blog. The issue, however (as always), is trying to find a balance between getting work done and being an attentive mom. While Miss M is in school all day, Miss A is not. And she naps intermittently so I can't always count on time in the afternoon to work, which means lots of late nights. So the struggle continues, but still, I wouldn't trade this situation for anything. Thanks to K, who works hard to make this possible! Anyway--now that I've shamelessly plugged my links--I'll move on to family stuff.

So what's new with...

...Miss M? Well, she's really grown. And I mean that in many ways. Literally, she's growing! We can't keep her in pants long enough to cover her ankles for long. But she's also becoming more mature in other ways. She's reading really well, and writing, too. The things they learn in kindergarten are waaaay different from what I remember. She surprised me recently by counting by 10's and 5's...something I'm pretty sure I didn't learn to do for another couple of grades. She's overcoming her shyness a bit, too...while she still doesn't love speaking in front of groups of people, she's doing better. She makes friends quickly and has decided she loves ice skating (we went last week). Her imagination is as fired up as always, which is always neat to see. Now, if she'd just get out of that dawdling stage (mornings are not fun in our house)!


...Miss A? She's a typical 2-year-old at times, but more often than not she's really fun to be around. Her language skills are excellent...while she's been communicating quite well for a while now, she asks questions and gives answers in pretty good detail. She's lovable and loves giving kisses, hugs, and "I love you's." We're working on potty training somewhat...not hardcore, but when she shows interest we definitely take advantage of it. Recently I've started taking her to story hour at the libraries, and she has been enjoying it. One thing we're struggling with, though, is hitting. Usually she hits M, but occasionally if she's angry, it's me. She get a time-out in her room when she hits, but it seems like this goes in one ear and out the other because she'll turn around and do it again a few minutes later. (Feel free to chime in if anyone's dealt with this!)

Here's a brief visual recap of our past few months:


Tradition: building the gingerbread house!


M's girl scout troop caroling at a nursing home


Princesses!


Great indoor project: playdough gingerbread men


Cousins!


Ice queen


One of those rare naps (love that she fell asleep book in hand!)


Date night at White Castle. Yes, the entire house is build from burger/fry boxes. Plus a fireplace & chair inside.



Clearly we've been having fun, and we hope the new year is going well for you!

fall fun

So often fall escapes us in Central Illinois. We've been known to go from 85 degree weather straight to super chilly days almost overnight--but not this year! October has been beautiful, and we've definitely been taking advantage of it with lots of outdoor activities. While I'll admit I've been putting off raking the front yard (thanks to the neighbor's trees that have dumped their loads on our property), I think the time procrastinating chores has been well-spent. Check out some of our latest adventures!

Ropp Family Roundup, complete with carmel apples and hayride.





Trip to Lake of the Woods in Mahomet:



Kindergarten field trip to Rader Farms (and I got to chaperone!)




Pumpkin party at Grandma Joanne/Grandpa Ronnie's:



And of course, our own fun fall crafts! I've found a great site, No Time for Flashcards, that offers tons of awesome ideas for doing stuff with kids. I borrowed these two projects from the site.

Halloween sensory tub. Beans, dried noodles, creepy plastic creatures, and a pumpkin spoon for scooping and dumping. I'm trying to make a different sensory tub each month, using various themes.


Marshmallow ghosts! Maddi's is the first one and Ali's is the second. Great, simple craft for even young toddlers. For Ali's, I put one glue dot on at a time and let her add the marshmallows.





Hope you're enjoying the season as much as we are!

September (test)

Ok, what gives? I can't find my blog online. It doesn't turn up in a Google search, and when I type in the URL I get a "page not available" note. So I'm trying to post a quick update to see if it will publish. If not, I'll be in full-fledge panic mode...I've got 5 years of motherhood chronicled here!

Deep breath in, and exhale out. Ready to click the publish button. Fingers crossed. 3...2...1....





...and...I'm back. For real, I guess. Not sure what was going on, but the site seems to work for me now. Apparently it was working for others as well, as I received some reassurances via Facebook, so my worries were unnecessary. And since I'm here, might as well add a quick update.

What's new?

Kindergarten! Miss M is loving kindergarten. She doesn't seem to be worn out in the least by a full day of class. She has become quite the monkey at recess, spending all her time on monkey bars. In return, she's gaining superior upper body strength and two hands full of lovely blisters. Makes me cringe to see them but for the most part they don't bother her. Ahhh, to be a kid again. I truly believe as we age we become wimpier.

Ali is in two-year-old mode! Tantrums are a daily part of life now, but she's easily distracted--usually--so that's a good thing. She's darn cute the rest of the time. (And she knows it!) She's very social and isn't afraid to get involved in activities. We went to a story hour last week--her first one--and she sang, danced, clapped her hands, and answered questions about the stories. "What shape is this?" "Ummmm, a circle!" "What color is the frog?" "Ummm, green!"

I have tons of new pics, but sadly I lack the time to sift through the masses right now. Here are a few from the latest folder...enjoy, and see you back here soon, hopefully!

Fancy butterfly girl

Sweeeeeet cooooorn!


Happy birthday to Ali!

summer's end (almost)

Somehow this summer has flown by. Usually things mosey along at a reasonable pace until July. Then, for some reason, time kicks it up a notch. And now here we are in the second week of August, and school starts next week. This is a big deal this year, because Miss M starts kindergarten! She's very excited. And Little Sis is excited because Big Sis is excited. ("Look!" she exclaims when we drive past the school. "Maddi's tinderdarden!") And I'm kind of excited because I will not have to listen to arguments and crying all day long. But I'm also fearful because this is a big step...I'm releasing my firstborn into the care of someone else on a daily basis, for a large chunk of time each day. (Why is it necessary for 5-year-olds to spend all day in school? I still don't really get that one.) But I should relax. She's friendly and will find new pals. She's smart and will do fine academically (she's been reading Dr. Seuss on her own lately). So what I really should say, in the spirit of Alfred E. Newman is: "What? Me Worry?"

All this aside, we've had a great summer. Let's see if I can do justice by narrating with pictures:

Water fun with a friend.

Sumer staple: freeze pops.

Garden girls.

New baby alert! My sis had her first kiddo in July. Can you tell which is the real baby belly?

Farm fun. (Meow.)

In business selling sweet corn.

Riding a bike...2 wheels!

Can't believe she'll be 2 this month! A has a great sense of humor, and she's very verbal. Talks, sings, and dances all the time!

spring-a-ling

Oh, wow. It's been ages since I've updated. (I seem to start too many posts with this sort of wording...) But better late than never, right! So what's new? Well...

Miss M is preparing for kindergarten next year. She's registered and everything, and at this point seems to be excited about the adventure. She just turned 5 and is really starting to act, talk, and look more mature. Almost gone is our preschooler...it's nearly time to call her a "big kid" grade-schooler!

Ali is developing quite the vocabulary! She's putting 2-3 words together and communicates very well. She also throws tantrums quite well. It's as entertaining as frustrating, I have to admit. Her first 2-word phrase was--no joke--"Ali toot." This evolved into "Mama toot," "Daddy toot," "Kappa (grandpa) toot" and so on. The kid definitely has a sense of humor

M is starting to read. She practices reading signs and the books we get from the library, and is doing very well. I haven't deliberately worked with her on this, but we read all the time and she loves to write her letters, so it's nice to see she has some inner drive and that it's paying off.

A still loves to dance and now likes to sing. Her favorites are "Toe, Leg, Toe" from a kids' cd, "How Much is That Doggy in the Window" (modfied version) and "The Wheels on the Bus." She can also identify piano and vibraphone when she hears them on a recording, and every time she hears vibes, says: "Daddy bibes!" Impressive!

We survived this years' long, cold winter and are thrilled to be heading into spring. Been spending lots of time in the backyard and at local parks. Kevin and I are looking forward to walking on the trail again. And I'm itching to get back in gardening mode (although we have already been able to harvest green onions, thanks to K's mini-greenhouse experiment last fall). We look forward to trips to Iowa City for the jazz festival this summer--Kevin's band is a featured group--and local trips to Starved Rock and Moraine View State Park, among other places.

Happy spring, y'all!

Birthday gift: a couple of molly fish.

Spring means redbuds in bloom and line-drying!

Clover girls.

days, weeks, years

How did it get to be almost Thanksgiving? Last I turned around it was summer. Or at least Halloween--now it's almost December. Yikes!

I just uploaded the most recent pictures from the camera, and as I'm perusing the newest shots I notice our digital photo frame shuffling through pics from what I think was late July or early to mid-August. And I noticed that Ali is, these days, looking much more like a real toddler and less like a baby (which she truly was in the pics at just under 12 months) every day. How does that happen so quickly? She's almost 15 months now, so of course she isn't a baby-baby anymore, but she's still a baby, at least in my mommy mind.

On the same note, Madison has grown a ton lately, too. Not just physically (although I'm having a hard time keeping that girl in shoes--seems we buy a size and the next thing you know those feet have lengthened even more!) but also developmentally. She is in the "why" stage and asks tons of questions. She also verbalizes things in a more sophisticated manner than even a few months ago. Her descriptions of things--dreams, events, friends--is very detailed and she has a pretty impressive vocabulary. And...she's starting to read, just a little bit. She loves to write her letters and is always asking how to spell words so she can copy them down on paper. I've received several "cards" where she has written "I love you mama." *wub*

Well, I could go on and get all sappy about how time flies with little ones but I won't put you through that. Instead, I'll put up some of the pics I've just uploaded. You can experience Halloween with the Harts (featuring a caterpillar and butterfly) and some fall fun in general that we've been having!

At the Ropp-Rader Farm Roundup (Dad took these pictures)









Pumpkin carving party at my in-laws'...on 10-10-10 (also Kevin's bday!)







Halloween!!





I stole this idea from a friend who posted her pics on Facebook...this is a wonderful Thanksgiving project! Traced each girls' hand on colored paper & cut them out. Asked what they (well, I asked Madison to answer for both of them) were thankful for and wrote replies on each handprint. I also did one for Kevin and me. Attached leaves to a hastily drawn tree trunk...this neat display is now gracing our kitchen wall!



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And finally, a couple of totally random pictures. Had to add these b/c they're cute!

This was in September...Madison wanted to make Christmas cookies. Why not?



Little drummer girl


Whew, that's a lot of pictures. Thanks for looking if you made it this far, and happy Thanksgiving to all!