4 Years Old!

Happy birthday to our middle princess! This year Zoe's birthday was extra special, because her birthday party happened to be the same day. She chose to wear this adorable dress from Grandma Laura for her birthday party, and also for her picture she asked to wear the tiara from my wedding. Isn't she a pretty little lady?

And Zoe is quite the lady these days. She is growing up so fast, trying to keep right up with her big sister. Zoe has the sweetest, most loving and generous heart. She is a happy girl that is usually very easy to please. She loves to color, play dress up, and play pretend with her sisters. She is just starting to read, and loves for anyone to listen to her read her Bob Books. She also is always ready for someone to read to her, especially the Magic School Bus series. Zoe loves science, and she never gets tired of learning about nature, space, weather and anything science related. She did really well keeping up during school this past year. She completed most of the pre-k curriculum and has begun some of the kindergarten curriculum. As expected, she loves any science projects we do, but she also does well with her math, reading and writing. Zoe has expressed some interest in piano lessons, but she hasn't started them yet. This past year she enjoyed taking ballet class, and she will continue them in the fall. When Zoe isn't busy with all of these activities, she can be found in her pink princess room listening to her Barbie CD player. She loves all kinds of music, but her favorite is Taylor Swift. Many times I have walked into her room and found her standing on her bed, with a brush "microphone", singing along to Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, as well as classic folk songs. It's a very cute sight to see!
Here is Zoe checking out her new Tinkerbell bike from mommy and daddy. Just like her big sister Sophie, Zoe learned to ride on a balance bike and has gone straight to a two-wheeler. No training wheels for these girls! Zoe's official stats at her check up were: 42 in. tall (90%) and 39 lbs (75%). We think she's beautiful inside and out, and we can't wait to see what this next year brings for her!

Birthday Party!

This year, Sophie and Zoe had a flip-flop themed pool party. We started the festivities at our house. Andy manned the grill while I had all of the kids decorate canvas bags that had a flip-flop design on them. Those became the goody bags, which I filled with goggles, flip-flops, and squirt toys for the pool.

After eating hot dogs, burgers and of course birthday cake, we all headed down the street to the pool. The girls had so much fun with their friends, and kept thanking me for making such a nice party for them. That right there made it worth all the time and trouble.
Most of the time for the party was spent on this cake. I have to thank my friend Jennifer for coming over the day before the party with her fondant and other cake decorating supplies. It was a lot of work to get the cake just right, but I think it came out fantastic. Wonder how I'll outdo myself next year??

15 months old

Check out our bundle of joy! Chloe's personality is big, big, big (in case you can't tell from the picture)! This little girl is full of energy and is always busy busy. She can usually be found running around the house (usually with a pony or Barbie that she has stolen from her sisters), or asking repeatedly to play "trot trot". She also loves to get into the markers and crayons, and can frequently be found with blue lips or green tongue since she still puts everything in her mouth. Chloe still does not use a lot of words, but she has no trouble getting her point across. She is great with her signs, recently adding "help" to her repertoire, and she is starting to say more words. She tries to Pumpkin (the cat's name) and watermelon, which is one of her favorite foods. She frequently grunts and points and somehow her sisters know exactly what she wants and are happy to get it for her, so really there is no motivation for her to expand her vocabulary! Another of Chloe's favorite things to do is dance. I've never seen a toddler with such a variety of moves, and the instant she hears any music she breaks out into a little dance routine. It is really adorable to watch. People just love Chloe. The most common comments from friends are that she is a riot, that she is so funny and cute, and that she has so much personality. It's true, but what would you expect when she's got two sisters to compete with!

Chloe's official stats for this month are: Height - 32 inches (75%) Weight - 23 1/2 lbs (50%)

Spa Party

The girls went to their friend Sydney's 5th birthday party today. It was so fun! All the girls got their hair styled and manicures. Sophie and Zoe had so much fun, and Chloe was really disappointed that she didn't get all dolled up, since she doesn't have enough hair to curl and she'd be licking the wet nail polish off of her fingers! She did eat plenty of birthday cake.

The Great Outdoors

We made one last visit to the Desert Museum before the hot summer temps set in. We met up with some play group friends, and the girls had a great time.

Sophie and Chloe on the javalina statues out front

The oldest and youngest Gieseke girls being silly

The two big girls exiting the winding path of the cave. They kept going back in again, and again, and again! Chloe was very patient and clapped excitedly each time they reappeared.

Zoe digging for fossils

We watched this bear for a long time. When we arrived at his exhibit, he was lying on his back with all four paws in the air. He stretched lazily and quite dramatically for awhile, then rolled onto his tummy, stood up and stuck his tongue out at the kids. They thought it was hysterical. We continued to watch the silly bear for about 10 min. while the kids ate snack.

Happy Graduation!

Congratulations to Uncle Josh! He graduated from Basis High School and will be attending Emerson College in the fall to study film. We are so proud of him!

5 Years Old

Happy Birthday to our oldest child! The years seem to be going faster and faster! And this little girl is changing before our eyes. She is growing out of those toddler years and into such a big girl.

Sophie is a joy to watch grow up. She is a very talented young lady. She continues to take piano lessons and attend ballet class. She has been reading for about 9 months now, and has moved from the beginning phonics books to more in depth readers. She loves to draw and make up stories and songs. Her favorite activities at home are coloring, reading and playing dress up and pretend. She mostly loves to pretend My Little Pony. Outside Sophie loves to ride her bike, and in the summer she turns into a fish that you can't get out of the water. She is a great swimmer, mostly swimming under water and just now learning some different strokes in her swim class. In school this past year, Sophie completed about 2/3 of the kindergarten curriculum, which we will continue to work on throughout the summer. During school time, she prefers hands-on activities and art projects. She writes well for her age and is doing well with her math (addition, fractions, counting by 5's, calendar etc.) but they're not her favorites. She loves to make up stories, but she prefers to dictate the story and have me write it down for her, and then she'll illustrate it. And she is quite the artist for just 5 years old! Her drawings have become more complex and detailed, and there have been a few times that I accused her of claiming a piece of art as her own that I had assumed the babysitter or someone else drew! Even mommy has to say sorry sometimes:)

Sophie is very social and makes new friends easily. This past year we continued to go to our play group, and Sophie made new friends at Sunday School and ballet. As much as she loves to spend time with her friends, her favorite people to play with are her sisters. And Sophie is a very helpful big sister. She is quick to entertain Chloe with a book or do a puzzle with Zoe so that I can fix supper or make a phone call.

Sophie's official stats are: 45 inches tall (90%) and 49 1/2 lbs (90%)

Mother's Day

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day. In the morning the girls and Andy took me out for breakfast. Then we went home and while the girls got some daddy time, I got to lie in bed and read for a couple of hours. It was heaven! Then we met up with Grammy Harriet and Gump, and Grandma Laura, Papa Chuck and Uncle Josh for dinner at Pastiche. It was great to spend time with family. I just might be the luckiest mom I know - I have three amazing daughters and a loving supportive husband, and all of my friends and family in the wings helping me to be the best mom I can be!

Sunday Breakfast!

Going out for breakfast on Sunday mornings is a favorite tradition of ours. The girls almost always choose Cracker Barrel, and after our meal we always sit outside on the patio for a game of checkers and relaxing in the rocking chairs.

Chloe loves the tradition too! She is taking after her sisters and is very easy to take to restaurants. We feel very fortunate that our kids have great restaurant behavior, because sometimes this mommy just doesn't want to cook!