"I am a penguin!"

Kaya is officially in the "penguin" room at school now, and boy is she ever proud! This classroom has 2 1/2- 4 year olds in it, and is considered to be early preschool. Her school is through a Catholic church so now that she is in this new big kid room, they do a lot more praying. I know this mainly because she comes home everyday praying, singing, and talking about how God is Great! It sure is cute to hear. Last week she had her transition week into this new room and today was her official start date. It went great! No problems. Her teachers all talk about how she is SO ready for this new room and how great she has done with all the changes. I am so proud! My baby is growing up too fast though.
More breaking news... The potty training is officially over! We have had no accidents in weeks. #2 is now mastered. Nap time is also mastered. Diapers are gone. My daughter is a champ!! I don't know who is more proud, her or us. Just happy all the way around!

Outdoor Fun...

For over a year now we have been having Friday night at The Sterk house. When it is nice enough we get to have a bonfire, otherwise we are trapped in the house and garage. Fortunately the last 2 weeks we have been able to have a fire and we have been loving it!
I love this pic of my baby girl. Notice how tired she is here, yet notice below that she found some more energy from somewhere to keep on hangin'!
My daughter is very attached to this helmet, and wants to wear it everywhere! Help!!
Sharing the ride with Anna! Cousin Eli stops by for a visit too!

A goodnight song with Anna before bed.

Seriously Mom!!

Standing so nice for mommy!
A total "cheese" face for ya!


I thought my tulips were so pretty that I was cheesy enough to prop my daughter in front of them to try to get a good pic. We have been so glad to have some sunshine and nice weather!

4/20 A beautiful day for the park...

We took a long hike with the Sutter's today at Amen Park. We had such a good time, and we saw tons of wildlife. This included a big long snake and a small snake. Not my favorites mind you, but it was pretty cool that we happened to cross them. There was even a horseback rider out on the trails. The woman stopped and let the kids (Kaleb :) ) touch the horse even. The kids had a ton of fun running, climbing, throwing, petting dogs, and learning about the outdoors. We even found some Morel mushrooms, which we left for someone else to discover. We saw some people out hunting that had a big ole bag full!

Playing outside...

Some more "cheese" face for you...It's either that, or you get this...
There is no in between these days.

I guess I just have to accept that for now.
Kaya's good friend Joanne. AKA: Jo JO

Spring is really here!?

Hopefully these are the last pics. with a jacket on in a while. :) It is supposed to continue warming up, and we love it! Kaya has been loving to be able to be outside so much more.
My baby turns 2 and a half years old in 2 days.
That is crazy to me! She is just so incredibly fun these days, I am amazed by her everyday. For those of you who haven't seen her lately, her vocabulary is absolutely amazing. She carries on full conversations with you about practically anything. She is also getting very tall, but still oh so skinny. Her favorite thing to do is sing, and she'll sing you almost any song you want. SHe has even been making up songs, and making up hand gestures to go along with them. It is so funny to listen to her and watch. My favorite thing ever is to lay in my bad and listen to her putting herself to sleep throught the monitor.
It is the cutest thing ever to listen to her when she thinks noone can hear...

A trip to the Carnival...

Kaya and I took a trip to the carnival in the Roger's Plaza Parking Lot. It was a little on the scary side, and seemed almost like we were in a foreign country, but besides that we had tons of fun!! We had been driving by it all week and she kept talking about wanting to go on the ferris wheel. She decided she was too scared when it came time to go. I figured that. This ride in the pic we went on 2x together. It was her favorite. She got to go "Way up high in the sky. Higher than the people and the cars, mommy!!" When we got home Jer asked her if she went on the ferris wheel, and she answered saying, "No, I wasn't scared." Apparently, she didn't want him to know that... Yes, I made the carnie take our picture! :)
A beautiful backdrop.

Tagged by Kelly

Tagged!?! Ok Kelly, only because it is you...
Here goes...

4 People Who Email Me Regularly
1. Sara
2. Marne, sort of, consistantly inconsistant :)
3. Missy
4. My boss, pathetic I know...

4 Places I Would Like To Visit
1. St. Augustine, FL- to see Sara, Addi, and Colin!!
2. Flagstaff, AZ- My old stompin' grounds
3. The Redwoods in CA
4. Hawaii and Alaska, I guess I have more than 4, 'cause there are even more than this!!

4 Favorite Restaurants
1. Outback Steakhouse
2. The Thai House in Flagstaff, AZ
3. The "old" San Chez, this new and not-improved stuff is NO good and so not the same.
4. The Dungeon, me and my hubbies favorite hole in the wall.

4 Things I Am Looking Forward to in the Next Year
1. This summer!!
2. Hopefully putting our house on the market, if there ever IS a market...
3. Getting to see baby Colin again, before he gets TOO big!
4. Trying to keep my weight off and stay healthy, and to keep not biting my nails (it has been 6 weeks!)

4 Things I Am Not Looking Forward to in the Next Year
1. Another long MI winter (I'm with you Kelly!)
2. Working every day while Kaya grows up too quickly (Again Kelly!)
3. My baby growing up so fast right before my eyes
4. Watching the MI economy continue to crumble

And Kelly, I have no friends who blog either except Sara and Abby and they are SO not going to do it even if I tried. So, poop on them, and the tag stops with me I guess.

New and Improved...

Old, dirty kitchen...
Clean, New Kitchen!
Thanks to my handy husband, and a little bit of income tax money, we have new countertops and tile backsplash now! I love it, and we have been wanting it done for a long time so it feels great. If you need some work done, my husband needs sidejobs. Or just know of a job period, he's for hire, and does it all. :)

Rainy night= Craft night

We finally painted our suncatcher that Sara had sent to Kaya along with my b-day package weeks ago. Thank you to Sara for sending Kaya this fun little craft. She ofcourse LOVED it and went to town. She was not very fond of having to allow it time to dry, but as you can see there was paint leftover for her to use up on other things. She is all about making a "D" right now.
"A l o n g line, and a BIG bump!"
She says it just like that every time too b/c Grandma Myra said it like that 1 time. It works, she's got them mastered. A lot of the things on her paper above were D's to start, but she filled in the middle of them all.

Headline News...

Kaya is using the big girl potty! Today is day 6 in DRY big girl panties. She has been doing awesome, and has had great success on outings and playdates even. I am a very proud mommy. :) She pulls em down, hops up, does her thing, wipes, flushes, and even washes her hands all by herself. Her favorite line is, " Can you hear it mommy?" I have to listen when she goes, or she gets very upset with me. Great progress is being made. She is still in diapers at night, and is having some issues with #2, but the road is being paved. Small steps at a time, but we are headed in the right direction at last. Go Kaya Go!

Past due time for this!!

The winter months have dragged on and on! I have been waiting for this day for months and months- the first cookout and bonfire of the year!! We went to the Sutters and had such a good time. Kaleb and Kaya always love getting together and playing.



The kids and their daddies enjoying the fire.

A perfect day for the park...

It was absolutely beautiful outside today and we took full advantage of it!