Mel's first (actual) movie

Mel & Joey's daycare was closed today for just the second time since we've been going there (five years!); we didn't even know it was closed until Jeff went to drop them off, and I was on my way out the door to go to work.  I stayed home with them, and Mel begged all morning to go see Grandma & Papa.   We plotted a way to go visit, leave Joey with them, and go see a movie.

The third time must be the charm!  In the past, I've tried to take Melanie to the cinema to see "Rio" and "Puss in Boots" - both times we were not able to stay for the movie - the loud, the dark....who knows.  This time, "The Croods" was a success!  It must have worn her out, as she was asleep just as soon as we left Grandma & Papa's to head home, and stayed asleep once home!

Bowling!

Action Shot

Pretty excited

Like watching paint dry

Talking strategy

Melanie and her friend Grace had never been bowling before, so we went along with Erika and some friends for dinner & bowling this past weekend.  We had the bumpers in (which helped Jennifer & me as well!) - and it was funny to see just HOW slow these girls could get the ball down the lane.  Mel's ball stopped one time, and the manager had to go out and retrieve it.  We all had a great time, and Melanie can't wait to show Joey how to bowl!

Random Pictures

I love how he looks to her to figure out what he should be doing....

Joey got (one of) the Purdue Pete books out during Purdue's conference tournament loss.
Melanie was happy to read it to him.

Snuggling with Daddy and the iPad

Teamwork.  Melanie has become quite a master of following the Lego
directions and designing cars, houses, etc

They asked for their hair this way, and then asked for a photo...
Goofy kids

The kids are growing more and more into playing with each other, on their own.  Melanie is a constant stream of playing school and pretend, and assigning everyone their roles.  She is very interested in the move, her new school, and making new friends in the new neighborhood.  Joey is very interested in whatever Melanie is.  We were headed to a waterpark this weekend, and Joey got disciplined and couldn't go.  I am not sure if he was more upset by the fact he couldn't go swimming, or that he couldn't go with Melanie.  As for her, she loves loving on him, and needs to learn the idea of "personal space."  She's such a little mother to him, calming him when he's upset (one example was on an elevator this weekend - he didn't like it, and she patted his head, saying "It's okay, Joey, I'm right behind you.")  I know all of this will change, so I'm just documenting it now while it lasts :)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

On the way downtown, we stopped by the green river. 

Partly-green pancakes

The kids had St. Patrick's Day parties at school on Friday, so the rest of the weekend was very green-themed!  Melanie would be upset if I didn't mention the green jello; it was a big hit.

Rhythm Discovery Center

We inadvertently timed our visit to coincide with a field trip of 50 middle schoolers.

Jam session

Who knows why Melanie won't take off her coat.

Making noise is right up Joey's alley

Fun times!

Making beautiful music

Joey's turn!

Kids were getting a little sleepy.

After trying to visit Indianapolis' percussion museum a couple of weeks ago, only to learn of a power outage and museum closing, we tried again this past weekend.  After the kids got over the NOISE, they happily jumped in to make their own noise.  I'm not sure who had the most fun - the three kids five and under, or Aunt Julie.  It was a great exhibit!

Moving!

One of the things that we've been spending the most amount of time on, since mid-January, has been our move to Zionsville!  We sold the house in about six weeks, and the same day we sold, our new home came on the market in the Fieldstone neighborhood of Zionsville.  Provided everything keeps moving the way they have been, we'll be moving at the end of April.  My favorite part of the new house is that we're five houses away from the elementary school!
The kids didn't go with us when we looked at it, so we took Melanie to the inspection, so she could pick out both bedrooms.  She picked the smallest bedroom for herself, which I think is because it's the closest one to ours.  Over the weekend, I talked her into the biggest one, which she had tagged as the playroom.
Lots to do in the next six weeks!!

Birthday Girl!

We started the birthday with breakfast at the hospital - the birthday girl's favorite!

A mid-day Shamrock shake

Ready for her birthday dinner - steak!  Yes, she's wearing her bathrobe. She wore it all day, including to McDonald's, the store, etc.

Cheesing with Daddy

Another round of cake

Mel wanted to wear matching jammies with Joey for her birthday

Birthday hugs

Where did the time go - our baby girl is FIVE years old!  She is suddenly such a little girl, and taking her age very seriously. Overall, I think the big birthday weekend was a success!  When asked, Melanie said her favorite part of Saturday was all of her family coming over, and her favorite part of Sunday was "snuggling."  I'd say that sounds like a pretty perfect weekend!  She's already starting to make requests for her sixth birthday.

For whatever reason, I didn't get ANY pictures of adults this weekend with the kids.  Melanie celebrated her birthday with not only her three cousins and brother, but also Aunt Julie, Uncle Randy, Aunt Cory, Grandma & Papa W, Gigi & Poppy, and Aunt Sandy & Uncle Rick!  The pictures here are from Grandma & Papa's house Saturday evening after a full day of partying!

Birthday Party

Pizza with the cousins

This was where Joey was during the whole party.

Uncle Randy served as a good jungle gym for most of the kids

Waterpark Birthday!

She was in the water before I even got my shoes off

Joey unexpectedly got caught under the huge bucket that dumps water on unsuspecting children.  It was pretty entertaining, and he rallied well after his tears.

Kids were a little chilly.

Taking a break with snacks

Excited for her snacks

Papa with all grandkids except the birthday girl

We started Melanie's birthday party with an outing to Caribbean Cove water park.  Melanie lasted a solid 30 minutes before getting cold and deciding to watch the rest of the festivities.  We got the deal of the century, as we only ended up getting charged $10 for everyone!  That offset the drama that when we arrived, before it even opened, we were told the park was at capacity due to hotel guests and they weren't selling day passes.  I think I nearly had a heart attack, we would've had one disappointed birthday girl!

The night before the party, this was a conversation we had.

Mel: "I have a question. Can I read my Bible on the way to the water park, and then leave it in the car when we get there?"

Me: "Sure."

Mel:"That's okay? Okay, I just wanted to make sure."

Neighborhood Fun

Some kind of recital they were all excited about

Group sing

Snuggling with Ellie

Looks like Joey is cheating

I just wanted to post some random pictures from a few different evenings of fun with neighborhood friends.