Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday and little adventure....
yesterday we celebrated Tobin's 34th birthday.  The kids surprised him by hiding in the dining room and throwing balloons when he arrived!  We then celebrated at Winking Lizards, one of his favorite places!  The waitress also surprised us with a birthday sundae, which Tob kindly shared with the kids.

today we decided to head out to meet Tobin for lunch and continue the birthday celebration....
-checked the weather for the area (twice) : CHECK
- packed our picnic basket and daddy's special plate:  CHECK
- drive out 45 minutes to the east side for lunch:  CHECK
- begin an amazing lunch: CHECK

get caught in a TORRENTIAL downpour, soaking wet,  huddled in the middle of the pavilion... only to make a run to the the restrooms because the tornado like winds and rain blew into the pavilion! CHECK
yep... we waited out the storm for another 20 minutes in a boys restroom soaking wet, laughing, cold, and knowing we would never forget this day!: PRICELESS

Mira time

last weekend we had more time with Mira Mae, celebrated Mother's day, had another soccer game, Little gym, and attended Ryan Schilens' Communion party... wow.  so much going on, but so much fun.  The weather held out for us and once again the kids have been outside non-stop! 
it was nice having almost all the Sikora family together! it's always a riot when the boys get together!

Jona was a big hit with all the kids throughout the weekend!

  thought this pic was too funny!

 Mother's Day brunch

 

 so much love for this little lady

Will and his books

While at the library on Thursday, Will wanted to check out the final book in the Dinosaur Wars collection.  Well... for some reason the only one he hadn't read was not carried at our library. So, what is a boy to do?  Well, today Will asked me to put together a book for him... and then he proceeded to make the final book in the series.  He is insisting that we need to take it to the library so that they will have it for others to read =)  gotta love this lil guy!

 Will's  "Allosaurus v.s Brachiosaurus " book

Yesterday we also joined up with family to welcome lil Mira Mae Sikora to Cleveland!   It was so neat seeing all the family members meeting her for the first time!  Will and Isa also got to meet and hold her yesterday (Gabi joined us on our trip to meet her in March).

Will, Isa, and Gabi with their littlest cousin Mira!

May flowers

Finally some sunshine today and out came my camera to capture some of the April shower blossoms =)

 

 

Happy Spring Everyone!

rain rain go away...

We arrived back in Ohio on Sunday and it's been a bit of a shock for the kids... especially Isa.  Isa is our outdoor girl.  She spent every moment she could while we were in Florida outside blowing bubbles, in the lil pool, slip-n-slide, or just running around.
It has been overcast and raining pretty much since we returned.  Over the last couple of days Isa has stood by the door and begged, pleaded, whined, and cried "can I please go outside now".  So, after the 10,000th request... we put on our raincoats, braved the cold, and played for a little bit outside today!  Isa was one happy girl with her bubbles and short bike ride. 
Here is our silly girl today =)

 

 

 Oh and yes, we could have put on our winter jackets and stayed out longer... but I have packed those away, refusing to wear them again in the Spring! =)
here's hoping for sunny days soon!

prayers please

Miriam was a in the band with me in high school.  Yesterday I learned that her husband was killed overseas.  My heart goes out to her and her family.  Please keep Miriam, her 3 kids and her family in your prayers.  So sad.

Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew!

we are so happy and excited to be here celebrating with you!  

 Today our kids also saw their First EVER movie theater full length movie.  The kids all headed out for a matinee show of Rio on the Big Screen!  Then they came back home for more outdoor fun!

 The gang all together having some more cupcakes and singing Happy Birthday to Andrew.  Isa was quick to point out that Andrew was now "THREE" like her! 

As the celebrations end, and our remaining days here countdown there have already been tears about our May 1st departure.  However... tears put aside... the fun continues.  It's absolutely Awesome hearing all the laughter from the 5 kids!   They play so nice together and are so fun and imaginative!

little moments

14 months.  Today our lil Gabi Rose is 14 months.  By the time you are on your 3rd child, you sometimes lose some of the milestones and miss some of the moments.  However, Gabi's sweet personality sure makes it hard to do that. 
Over the last month Gabi has perfected the art of walking and now seems like she is running with the pack!  She has also joined the ranks of her siblings as a master climber.  She has been seen climbing on chairs, up stairs, the little playground at Tia Monika's house, and even tried following her Daddy up the climbing wall at Pump-it-up!  She is bound not to be left behind. 
Some things that she does that are soo cute to us are:
-the way she shrugs her shoulders up and twists her arms behind her back with a coy grin
-the way she pats your back when she gives you a hug
-we love the way she lays her head on your shoulder to cuddle
-how she loves doggies and will cry with laughter.  She is a little afraid at first, but still gets close enough to hug them!
-we love how she stretches out to reach for the next person to hold her!

Gabi  has become a fantastic eater!  We were worried for a little while that we were 3 for 3 on picky eaters, but she proved us wrong.  If her can feed it to herself, she will eat about anything and finishes her meals before Will and Isa.  This month she has also been playing with her siblings more and has a new found love for dolls.  She walks them in the baby car seat, give them hugs, and acts like a little mommy with them.  It's adorable to watch!
Gabi is a little sunshine to us!  She is still real easy going, but also loves to be involved with what we are doing as well.  She has the sweetest smiles for us and loves to smile with her big eyes!  She is still not saying much, but finds ways to communicate with us.  She waves hello, goodbye and night-night, she blows kisses, and finds her way around to get what she wants.  She is real good with opening and closing drawers and loves any play kitchen set that she can shove as many toys into!  Oh... and we knew she was a water baby.. but this week in Florida has truly confirmed that as she can't get enough of the pool or any outside water activity!
She loves to shake around and dance, loves being read to, but mostly just loves being with us!  We love this lil girl!

An afternoon with Isa....

 yesterday I sat outside while Isa was playing and the moments with her were priceless.  Yes, I KNOW Isa can be a handful, spirited, and a brat...but I also see her sweet and loving side.  She LOVES being outdoors.  i remember last summer when she was up at the crack of dawn and already standing by the sliding door begging to go out.  As I sat there yesterday, I thought of all the cute lil things that I always want to remember about my Isa Faith....
-i love the way she makes her way into my room in the morning, smiles at me and says "mommy, it's morning time" (of course normally followed by "get up")
-how she is a little follower and loves what her brother loves (now dinosaurs).  However, her loves are short lived... minnie mouse, snow white, jessie, and now she likes Pinkalicious and Giselle (from Enchanted)
- i love that she has to have her "colchita" blanket to go to bed at night
- her adoration of her Gramma is almost comical.  we sometimes sit there and shake our head at how she wants and follows "her" Gramma like a little puppy =)
-how she loves her cousins.  I love that when she saw Annie she hugged her and called her Annie Claire.  When we saw her FL cousins, she ran to Aidan and gave him a hug saying "Aidan, I love you!"  too cute!
- we love how she can amuse herself with little creations.  As I sat there I watched her create new ways of playing with old toys.  She is so creative and imaginative. 
- she loves sand and water (enough said!)


little moments, lots of love, and lots of laughs =)