Growing Up!

I took Evan and Amelia to the doctor 2 weeks ago (time is getting away from me on this blog).  Evan was there for his 6 year checkup, and Amelia is 4 months old (can you believe it?!?!).

We’ll start with Evan:

Height: 44 inches- 39th percentile
Weight: 41 lbs.- 21st percentile
Favorite Food: Pizza, Quesadillas
Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Toys: Legos, Hot Wheels, Monster trucks
Bad Habits: Evan likes to say, “What the Heck!”  whenever he is mad these days.  I have no idea where he learned it, but I’m determined to make it stop.
Good Habits: Evan tells great jokes and loves to come up with clever puns (he takes after Glenn).  He also loves the jokes that Derek tells and often will come and tell me the joke just minutes after I heard it first from Derek.  Evan is really good about practicing the piano without complaint (and actually does it without me asking/reminding him).  He is also great at taking care of Amelia.  He really hates to be tickled, just like me.  He is turning out to be a brilliant little boy and is doing really well in school.  I love this boy!

AMELIA
Height: 24.2 inches- 40th percentile
Weight: 11 lbs, 7 oz.- 5th percentile
Head Circumference: 16.1 inches- 60th percentile
Favorite Food: Milk
Favorite Activities: Amelia is a super smiley baby and is starting to laugh (I am mostly able to get her to laugh when I kiss her neck).  During the past couple of weeks she is suddenly very unhappy when we leave her laying on the floor.  She wants to be up and part of the party!  She has also just recently started gurgling and blowing bubbles and saying “aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.”  I think she’s beautiful, and I am loving having a daughter a lot more than I thought I would!

Here is some proof that she’s growing (and her skin is getting lighter, apparently).  The first picture was taken on her first night home, the second was last week.  She takes up quite a bit more of that little crib!  It is shocking how fast the time has gone!

It is fun to watch our kids growing up!

Ropers On Ice 2013

I went on my yearly ice skating date with the boys on Saturday.  It is one of the highlights of the year for me every year!  The one moment where I get to live my childhood dreams of being a famous ice skater!

It was such a gorgeous day!  So warm, in fact, that the ice was melting in a sunny spot on the rink.  I love warm weather in the winter!  First I took Derek.  We like to have fun coming up with our “routine.”  It usually involves lots of falling along with a few cool pairs skating moves.  He also doubles as a photographer and can hardly hold the camera straight from laughing so hard while I show off my amazing ice skating skills.  He obviously doesn’t appreciate true talent!  We should have had him take the picture of us together, since the sweet old lady who took it didn’t quite get it in focus.  Oh well!

After lunch Evan and I headed back to the rink.  Evan progressed this year from hanging onto me for dear life to actually inching all the way across the rink by himself!  I see some impressive skating moves in his future!  And, there must be something about Evan because once again this year a newspaper photographer came and asked if he could take pictures of us skating.  We’re yet to see if we actually make it in!

The highlight for the boys is always stopping at Maggie Moos for ice cream afterward.  After all, we need something to make up for all those calories we burned while wowing the crowds with our grace and athleticism!

I love my boys and I love that they humor me every year and actually act excited about going on a date that I know is really all for my enjoyment!  There’s nothing quite as great as being a mother!

Happy Birthday Boys!

Glenn and Evan celebrated their birthday on Friday!  Evan loves to remind me over and over again that he is growing up.  He keeps making sure I know that he is now SIX years old, AND he has a permanent tooth! 

H really is growing up.  He loves to talk to Amelia and is proud of the fact that she is his twin.  He thinks he is Amelia’s second favorite (after me, of course) due to the fact that, in Evan’s words, “she smiles every time she sees me because she thinks she is looking at a statue of herself!”  Evan is carrying on the Roper family tradition of being a bookworm, and while I write this blog post he is sitting on the couch in the living room reading one of Derek’s science books.  He is doing really well with the piano, and seems to love kindergarten.  We have parent-teacher conferences tonight, so we’ll hear the real scoop!  Evan has a quiet personality until he gets around Derek, then the two of them are like wild animals.  He is cautious when trying new things and loves to be warm and wrapped in blankets.  He has a fierce temper.  I love my Evan!

For the birthday morning we started off with a delicious breakfast.  We don’t often eat breakfast together on school mornings (Glenn is already gone at work, and the boys trickle in as they wake up), so it was fun to be together.  That afternoon we invited a few boys from his kindergarten class over to play.  We had pizza and ice cream for lunch.  The boys had a great time playing outside (this has to be Colorado’s nicest winter ever) and making creations out of the homemade scented play dough that Evan and I concocted for the occasion.  It is fun to watch my boys with their friends!

It is always fun for both Glenn and Evan that they share a birthday.  I was pretty proud of myself that I made TWO cakes this year!  Instead of sharing with Evan, Glenn got his own blueberry cheesecake (for the first time since Evan was born).  Evan requested a B-2 bomber.  I think they were both happy.  I sure love my birthday boys!