Guess who's three?!

Charlie celebrated his third birthday last weekend at our neighborhood playground with friends.  Thanks to all for the birthday wishes and surprises!

Life with Two

OK, so life with one was manageable. Life with two is crazy! Help, I can't keep up. Sorry for the delay in posting to Ben's blog. Ben turned 6 last month, can you believe it?? Ben invited lots of friends to a party at a local bounce house and he continues to learn lots in kindergarten. We had a very busy holiday season, starting with a feast of food and friends at Thanksgiving. The Christmas season started with a visit from Grampa (who made it to the bookfair!), a holiday parade in Hillsborough, a holiday concert at the daycare, a fieldtrip to the mall to see Santa, and a holiday luncheon with Auntie Lynn at the Carolina Inn. The day before Christmas we hit the road for Michigan. We made it in time to see Nana! And then Santa came, bringing lots of exciting new toys. Thank you to all for the wonderful birthday and Christmas gifts. All four Kinnairds in North Carolina were spoiled. Ben loves all of his new games and iPod touch and Charlie can now really be Jack Black on Yo Gabba Gabba. I see a motorbike in his future and valium in mine.

We were lucky to spend a week in Michigan visiting both Marantette and Kinnaird sides of the family. I got a trip down memory lane with an afternoon and evening in Ann Arbor. Ben and Charlie could not get enough of all of their cousins. They had fun at museums, arcades, gyms, bowling alleys, and good old fun running around the house and yard at Aunt Laurie and Uncle Paul's. Next year maybe we will get to see the west coast relatives? Check out some photos from the last month!!

Halloween 2011

Fall Fun

We are having a very fun fall! The weather, up until this weekend, has been fantastic. We've been wearing shorts and even had an afternoon water war in October. Today we had to wear pants though and it looks like the summer weather is finally over. This month we got to go to a corn maze with Abby and her mom and baby brother. We had so much fun we didn't want to leave. We also got to go the State Fair. We had a great time riding rides, playing a game, and eating fair food. Charlie wasn't so sure of the carousel ride. Going round and round didn't go over too well. But he sure liked the Wisconsin style fried cheese and cotton candy! Me, I liked that I got to drink soda and eat a fried orea and ice cream!! My favorite ride was the roller coaster I did with Dad. At first I was scared, but then it was awesome! Me and Charlie both won a prize when we threw the darts at the balloons even though the balloons didn't pop.

We are gearing up for the Halloween festivities. Tomorrow we have a parade and party and then on Monday I get to go door to door and beg for candy. This is the coolest holiday. I am going to teach Charlie how to really pick out the good stuff. Get ready world, I am really starting to learn to write my letters and do math. And because I grew so much over the summer Mom and Dad even had to buy me a new pair of jeans today. They made the shopping trip more exciting by buying us 3 new books! I am still having fun at school and learning new things everyday. Mom even notices a lot of improvements with my writing and math and homework is getting easier (especially when mom lets me use the colored pencil!). Soccer is also fun, but today's game got cancelled. Next weekend is our last game. Charlie has been a great cheerleader for team Tunisia. Maybe next year he will get to play too. Mom says she'll try to get Halloween pictures up soon.

Team Tunisia

Surviving Kindergarten

So I've been in kindergarten for about a month and a half and I still love it. Although, I am not loving the homework. I am making lots of new friends and am learning lots from my teachers Ms. Carson and Mr. Gilbert. So far I've learned about patterns, fall, and the sounds letters can make. My writing has gotten much better too. I loved having Nana here when I started school. Maybe she'll come back soon.

The Rocket Pledge

Mom and dad were so proud of me! I knew the Rocket pledge by heart and was so excited that Nana is here to see me graduate and play hookie with me before kindergarten. Mom says she will post pictures of our summer trip to Michigan soon.

Graduation 2011

Ben and three of his buddies are ready for Kindergarten!

Ready for Michigan!

Only a day and a half until we get on the plane for Michigan!

Hard at Work this Summer

There is no rest for the weary in the Kinnaird house. Mom makes me and Charlie earn our keep. We had to wash the cars and fix our bikes. The Kinnaird boys make a good team. Mom says it's preparing us for our Kinnaird Brothers Racing Team. Charlie and I still can't decide who is going to be the driver and who is crew chief.

Annual Duck Race and Saxapahaw

Charlie turned 2!

Charlie is 2! Charlie had a great birthday. We gave him a huge chocolate cake and even took him to Red Robin for cheeseburgers. He had fun playing on the wiggle board from Uncle Keith and Aunt Siobhan, reading new books from Grandma and Grandpa, and with the t-ball set from Aunt Christy. Me, Mom, and Dad literally bought Charlie the farm (and then spent all weekend putting it together). Mom couldn't pass up a deal at Costco. So far Charlie and I like playing together with these new toys. The best part of the weekend was getting to try out Kyle's motorcycle. Charlie really wanted to go for a real ride. He's very serious when it comes to motorcycles, which are his favorite. Don't worry Nana he knows that you have to wear a helmet to stay safe!

Charlie passed his 2 year well child visit with flying colors, well sort of. He actually was pretty sick during his doctor's appointment with a virus. Then he gave it to me and I was sick. Charlie also got to go visit the doctors at UNC and now he is going to get little Carolina blue tubes in his ears. He is scheduled for OR on June 27. Mom says the doctors will take very good care of him and maybe he won't get so many ear infections anymore.

As for me, I am getting ready for the BIG school. Did I tell you I got to tour my new school? I thought it was pretty cool and was most excited about the computer room. Mom and Dad also signed me up for soccer already. And best of all the pool is OPEN, so life is grand. I can swim like a shark and I have fun earning "patches" from daddy. Last night I earned a trout patch for swimming the short length of the pool all by myself.

Easter 2011

Not only did the bunny come to Chapel Hill, but so did my cousins from Michigan. Ellie, Decker, and Sam brought Aunt Laur and Uncle Paul for a visit. We had a great time! I got to have 4 Easter Egg hunts this year! So did Charlie. I taught him to shake the eggs to find the ones with jelly beans. At our neighborhood egg hunt I won a huge jar of jelly beans because I guessed the number closest to the number of jelly bellies in the jar. My guess was 1182! I took the jar of jelly beans into school to share with my friends. Charlie found the golden egg so he won a special prize too. When my cousins were here we got to go to the museum, to a soccer game, and I took them to one of my favorite restaurants, Tyler's.

This week is extra special. Today I went on a tour of the school I will go to next fall. And mom registered me for kindergarten. Tomorrow I go to the zoo with my school.

Fun in Sunny Savannah

After a long wait, we finally got a chance to see Grandma & Grandpa in Savannah at their new house. Not only that, my cousins were there too. I love long car trips because mom and dad let me watch DVD's and eat junk food. Charlie enjoyed the ride too even if he was cranky towards the end. Where do I start? Fun with Sophie & Lucy, trips to Tybee Island, the aquarium, golf cart rides, new playgrounds, trips to the pool, movies every night, a walk around Savannah with a trip to the candy store, and we even got to go to a Civil War fort (some of the pictures are mine). You may not believe it but I even got to ride in a hearse (i think that's what mom and dad called it). I heard that only dead people ride in it but we drove around in it and listened to scary ghost stories.

There are so many reasons why I love to go to Grandma and Grandpa's. They take such great care of me and Charlie. Plus, you wouldn't believe Grandma's kitchen (and I am not talking about the awesome gas stove!). She makes sure that the kids are in junk food heaven! Mom and Dad say it's OK because we are on vacation. The first thing Charlie said when he woke up in his own crib Sunday morning was "grandma's kitchen, eat now"!!

I can't wait until the summer time when we go to Michigan. I'll get to see Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Rob, Aunt Beth, and Sophie and Lucy again!

Spring has Sprung

Spring has arrived in Chapel Hill. That means spring soccer, Snoopy dancing, rain drops, a trip to the zoo, and of course basketball. My new soccer team is called the leapfrogs. My buddies Andrew and Sam are on the team. Charlie and I love to shoot hoops. We play every chance we get. We are also getting ready for the big tournament. I taught Charlie how to say boo Duke. Charlie is saying a lot of words now. He really thinks he's as big as me.

Person of the Week!

Last week I was the "Person of the Week" in the Rocket Room!

Think I have enough cars?

Charlie playing in the Stars Room at school.

Charlie is getting SO BIG. I love my little brother and have so much fun playing with him. I am teaching him how to stack cars and line them up for a race. Sometimes he likes to steal my cars. We have fun playing basketball and dancing together too, but he is still a bit of a loco pop.

Mica earned her wings

We'll miss you Mica.

Happy New Year!

And merry belated Christmas.... can you tell I've been busy? (or that my mom has been busy). I just turned 5, yippee! Almost time for the big school. Mom even drove me by the school I might go to and she said I have to do some work to get ready. Already, I've decided I don't like lined paper because it means work.

Me and Charlie had a great vacation and an even better Christmas! Nana came to North Carolina for my birthday and for Christmas. I LOVE Nana and wish she could stay forever. Santa and lots of family and friends gave us lots of fun presents. Charlie's favorite new toy is a ball pit and I love my new guitar and a tanker truck, which I asked Santa for. I saw Santa at the Carolina Inn this year with my friend Abby. At first I was nervous, but finally I wanted to talk to Santa. He was really nice and spent a lot of time talking to me. Charlie was afraid of him and didn't want to sit still. I also got to spend new year's with Abby!

Here are some pictures from our holiday break:

Halloween Fun

Our Halloween started last Friday and went to last night. On Friday my class went to the Carolina House to trick-or-treat. When we got there a man kept singing. My teacher said he was an Elvis person, but I don't know what that means. All I know is that he kept singing and we had to sit still for a long time, but I got a bunch of candy. Then we got to go trunk-or-treating in the parking lot at school. My friends and I wore our costumes and got lots of treats. Charlie liked the popcorn and was a very cute mufasa lion. On Saturday we had our neighborhood parade and party. Me and Charlie had fun on the giant slide and in the bounce house. Then we went to Auntie Lynn's birthday party. I got to run around with my friend Sophia and Charlie got chased by mom and dad all night. On the real Halloween I rested. I was kind of tired out and not feeling very good. But I still went trick or treating and taught Charlie how to do it. He kept wanting to go in neighbors' garages for treats. It was fun that Uncle Tommy and Aunt Elisabeth came over to have Halloween with us!

And I almost forgot to tell you . . . I scored 3 goals at my soccer game on Saturday! mom said I grew wheels and dad promised a toy if I scored a goal . . . so I scored three :) I was great out there!!

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