our little soccer player...

Just wanted to share a few pics of Paris at her 1st big game! She was so excited to be able to say that she plays soccer like her big brother and sister!

The Pianist...

Avery has been taking piano lessons since Christmas and has been loving it! She is so excited that she can play "real songs"! In fact she has now mastered playing Twinkle with not only her right hand but also the left hand chords! Mozart....watch out! Here comes Whitlock!

slumber

So here is my sweet baby who says he is too big to be called a baby anymore...he got his new motocross helmet and insisted on taking it up to his room with him that night. When Dan and I went to go turn his light off before we put ourselves into bed, this is what we found! (notice the puppy that he got for his first birthday...) Now, who is going to tell me that I can't still call him my baby?

One more year older and hopefully wiser...

Yes, it is almost my 32nd birthday! (Feb 28th) I can't quite believe it myself. For the past several years I have been taking a long weekend for myself and heading down to the LA area where some of my family lives to hang out and take a few moments for myself and regroup. I had the best weekend spending time with family and myself. My cousin Dawn and I walked ever morning...so nice to walk in the nice weather and not have to worry about the rain! We shopped. We went and had a tea luncheon in Seal Beach and then took a stroll down main street and down the pier. I took some extra time to watch the waves and surfers for a bit. (I would love to move back...dan??) We had dinners and coffee breaks together. Movies with my favorite cousins Troy & Jacki, who let me act like I am in my 20's again, even though everyone knows I am no where close any more! Jacki and I stole away one evening and literally ran around Knott's Berry Farm and got in as many rides as possible! Crazy fun! Eat your heart out Alisha! ;-) (Thanks for hanging with the old lady Jacki! Love you!) Thank you Dan for a much needed weekend away! I love you!

No More 5 Year Olds at our House

Well, the day has come...the Whitlock house has officially moved into the "big kid only" house. Our baby, Paris turned 5 on February 6th! She thought it was the best day ever! I told her that I was sad that I would never have a 4 year old again...she respomded..."you can always get one!" We'll have to talk about that later!

I think she had a pretty good birthday! Wednesday the 6th she had a party with her classmates at her preschool and that night we met Aubbie & Poppy (ginnie's parents) and Grandma & PaPa (dan's parents) at Red Robin (her favorite restaruant) for a bite to eat. Saturday night we went to Aubbie & Poppy's for her annual birthday dinner. Aubbie always makes the birthday girl or boy whatever menu is requested. Paris' menu this year included chicken fingers (made Aubbie style--gourmet), salad, baked apples & pears with homemade granola & yogurt, asparagus and juice. It was really good! She also requested a "pillar" cake, which included two tiers (yes, there were pillars and all) of pink & white frosting with a few disney princess figuirnes on top. It looked like a wedding cake! As always, major props to Aubbie for another amazing bday dinner! On Sunday we met up with friends and hit the local aquatic park for some waves and fun. Grabbed some pizza on the way home and shared some PINK cupcakes. It was more of a birthday WEEK!!

Long time no blogs!

WOW! It has been forever since my last visit to blog-land! Since the last time I wrote things have been crazy on the homefront!

The kids started school. Noah is in 2nd grade and loves his new teacher. Avery is in 1st grade and is reading and enjoys her new friends. Paris is in her second year of preschool and is looking forward to being with her siblings at "big school". All in all the are doing great!

The second week of school I started a new job. The Abernethy Center is a local event facility in Oregon City, not far from Sandy. (abernethycenter.com) I am loving every minute of it!

Shortly after that the kids started soccer once again! Noah played with the 9 year olds this season! And played awesome! He just gets better and better each season. He really loves the game and as long as he loves it we do too! Dan was the head coach for his team and they really enjoyed the one on one time together. It took some getting used to at first for Noah to not treat Dan like and and treat him like Coach instead but once they worked out the quirks it was smooth sailing. Avery played too! She had a few friends from school on her team. Her good friend, Molly joined us this season. Molly's dad and grandpa coached and they all had a great time! Paris is really itching to play as well, but I just explain to her that "our family has only one mommy" so we will probably wait one more season until she plays as well! WHEW!! What are we doing? ;-)

Noah is a EIGHT!

My baby boy is EIGHT years old! I can't believe it...that means Dan & I are OLD! Noah had a blast for his bday. He invited several friends over to spend the night. (what was I thinking?) We had a total of 8 boys here to watch movies, eat pizza, play and stay up way too late! They had a blast but Noah had a soccer game the next afternoon...bad idea mom!

Road Trip!

With summer almost over Ginnie and the kids decided to hit the road and visit family in Southern California for a week or so! The kids did great and couldn't wait to get there so we drove straight through...18 hours later we arrived, ready for action! We had a great time hanging out with cousins, hitting the beach, Sea World and luckily, we're able to be there for the newest cousin to arrive! Baby Caden came at a whopping 10lbs! As cute as can be!

65 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Dan's grandparents, Harold and Marge Kitchen, have been married for 65 years! Here are a couple of pictures of our family with the happy couple standing in front of the car that Harold purchased when he was just 16 years old. We were able to drive this same car for our wedding! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for your unwavering love for each other and Christ. We pray that we have the success that the two of you have had! We love you!

Fun around town!

While Ginnie's nieces were in town we tried to do as much as possible! Portland Children's Museum, Portland Timber's soccer game and so much more! We had a blast!

Cousins!!

For the past two weeks Ginnie's nieces have been in town visiting from Chicago. Camille is 14 and will be a freshman in high school this fall. Lydia is almost 8 and will be starting 3rd grade. We have been going non stop since they arrived...playing in the pool and at the park, going to the Portland Children's Museum and much, much more! It has been crazy but super fun! Jamie, Ginnie's sister arrived last week to spend some time as well. Enjoy a few pics of the kids!

Cousin Troy comes to town!

YEAH!! Troy is finally here! Troy has been coming to visit for his birthday every summer since he was 12. Noah has decided that Troy is his hero! All he talks about is Troy-this and Troy-that. Troy has been been wresting for his college team in California the past two summers and hasn't been able to get away long enough to make it up. This last weekend he came up to visit for a couple of days and we had a lot of fun with him.

This is Troy celebrating his 19th birthday at Who Song and Larry's, a local Mexican place (they had Troy help out with a few songs!) and Troy and his sister Jacki (who lives here in Portland) also celebrating Troy's bday at the bowling alley. Good Times!

John Deere

So, if you don't already know, Noah's favorite thing since he was very little is John Deere. His Poppy (Ginnie's dad) has a John Deere lawn tractor and Noah has recently discovered that he can drive it himself as long as he can coax one of his sisters to sit on the back for weight. (the tractor automatically turns off if there isn't enough weight) He has been beside himself! The girls haven't minded the rides so far! Dan has been working on converting an old lawn tractor for Noah to be able to keep for himself. (I know...very ghetto!)

Oregon Coast

We decided at the last minute to head to the beach! A quick day trip is just enough to feel like we we able to get away for a bit and relax. The Oregon Coast isn't exactly sunny California, but it can still be a fun get away. We spent some time flying kites, making sand castles, playing soccer and looking for creatures in the tide pools.

Avery is SIX!

For Avery's 6th birthday we decided to go to the Fiary Festival 2007! It was fun. Avery, Paris and Molly, a friend from the neighborhood dressed up in their favorite "fairy" outfits and had a blast! They danced around the May Pole, made Fairy Wings, had thier faces painted and planted Fairy Gardens. The boys decided to stay home for this one! But the girls had one great day!

Paris' Big Scare

Paris gave us quite the scare...Our little petite Paris became quite ill a while back. After just a few hours of high fevers and being physically sick, we rushed Paris to the hospital fearing the worst. Doctors immediately hooked her up to an IV for dehydration and was getting her ready to transport her to a pediatric hospital downtown. After a long night with no answers, we found out the next afternoon that she had a kidney infection. To make a long story short, we spent three days and two nights in the pediatric ward and were sent home with a clean bill of health. (In order to go home the doctors wanted her eating and drinking on her own. Which is already hard considering she doesn't eat mich as it is. Daddy went to a local burger place and got her all of the favorites. We told her she could have anything she wanted. She took two tiny bites and was finished...not enough to go home that night.) Unfortunately, with Paris's already small frame it took about 3 to 4 weeks to get her back to her normal weight and eating habits.

She has been doing great! We appreciate all of your prayers and concerns! I know God is watching over her and I need to let Him take charge...it's hard as a mom. I'm still learning. Ask me how I am doing with it when she is 16! (Picture is of Paris after her fever of 104.4 finally started to break and she felt ok enough to get out of bed the second night in the hospital. She was so sad with her IV stand she had to pull around. Dan and I named it her "friend".)