I mentioned before that I thought I should add red trim around the closet to complete the room.  Here’s the before:

And then with the trim (and dinosaurs, for good measure):

Lots of dinosaurs!  Dwayne’s parents sent Wesley some $$ for his 3rd birthday, so I used it to get dino stickers.  Kinda fun!

Of course, Wesley begs every night to sleep with one of his sister so his bedroom doesn’t get that much use.

….one child gets sick in the middle of the night and vomits over her siblings.  R&K, your daughter slept soundly through it.  We’ll see how she is in the morning. 

Poor Piper….

A friend spent the night (parenting advice—have a sleepover, call up a babysitter, and let her put all four kids to bed while you go out with your buddies!) and they all elected to sleep on the floor in Kyla’s room.  Friend seems to enjoy more personal space than the ones with Dwayne’s genetics.  I like how Wes and Pipes are holding hands almost two hours after falling asleep.

After her joint birthday party with her brother last week, her V-day party at preschool on Wednesday, her birthday on Thursday, and cupcakes for her birthday at preschool on Friday, we were finally able to wrap up her birthday this morning with a  family brunch at our house. 

Grandma knitted her this sweater. 

I’m not sure if Piper could tell you which she likes better:  birthday presents or birthday cake.

We made a T-Rex cake pan that I found at a thrift store last week.  The tail was about 1/2” think and the head was closer to 1 1/2”.  (Maybe that’s why it was so cheap? I’m definitely going to get my $3 out of it over the next few years!)  I ixnayed the frosting after so much sugar this week, but we had ice cream with it, which is a little bit better after a big brunch and long walk.

Can you tell I let Piper decorate her own cake?

Piper, I don’t have the words to tell you how much I love you, but I will try to say them every day anyway!

This is how he looks when he is explaining something to me.  And looking kinda cute.

These three are part ferret, apparently.

Piper is our sweetheart baby who turns 5 today! 

Here’s our traditional wrapping paper we made—Dwayne drew it from her favorite “I Can Read” book, The Dragon Egg. Totally cute, huh?

To prolong us staying in bed a few more minutes, we let her unwrap her presents in our room.

That afternoon, we went to the zoo.  My goal was to get one picture of all three kids.  I mean, one good picture of all three kids.

This was the closest I got.  Should have combed Piper’s hair.

But a special treat was in store for us—the lion cubs were out!  They were born in November, and they just started going out 2 weeks ago.  We got to watch all four play and frolic.

All the best tree climbers wear this to scale branches.

This is my friend, Jen.  She does triathlons and reads more books than I do.  Her church had their winter retreat outside of Leavenworth, and Jen invited us along for some time in the snow.

I’ve got lots of pictures that I want to record for my own memory—consider yourself warned!

The bell reminds us to come in and eat!  And maybe play a game or two…

…before going on a hike to find the really good sled runs.  It’s called the gravel pit, which I imagine makes more sense in the summer.  In February, it should be referred to as “Scream Like a Girl” run.

My little mountain goats.

Jen is the only one who made it down with out crashing each time.  The kids were by far safest in her lap!

That body would be Dwayne, after Screaming Like a Girl.

Sled? Sled?  Who needs a sled when you are wearing snow pants!!

Wesley is totally tuckered out for the ride home!

Luckily, a hot chocolate tea party was waiting for some worn out kids.

Thanks for the great day, Jen and Good Shepherd!