Two Wheels

On 12/13/14 Ryan learned how to ride a two-wheeler! The pieces fell into place, and with Burke's help, something clicked for him! I went out for a couple hours to go grocery and Christmas shopping, and when I came home, everyone was excited to report that Ryan learned how to ride a bike. I was NOT expecting that to happen while I was out. I love that Ryan accomplished this goal in the middle of December. Who is out practicing to ride a bike in the cold? Such a unique detail in Ryan's story. 

Happy, proud boy ready to show me his new skill!

Look at that balance!

What would a blog post about learning to ride a bike be without a video or two?

Still learning to stop, resulted in minor collision at end of video.

Everyone was okay!

I love this picture because Burke & Ryan are way up, and little brother is back a bit wanting to be involved and keep up. The story of his life in a single image.

My sweet, athletic, highly competitive child - I'm sure it will not be long until you're on two wheels too!

[If you have trouble viewing the video, trying opening the blog in a browser other than Safari. It should work then.]

Evan Turns Five!!

We began celebrating our Little E over Thanksgiving weekend with my family. We all went to Chuck E. Cheese's to play some games, run around, and eat some pizza. My friend Vicki and her family also came to hang out. The boys got tons of tickets to redeem for awesome prizes. [Also, Joey, Vicki and I got really excited about playing the video game version of Deal or No Deal.]

F * I * V * E

Look at all those tickets!

Caleb figured out the trick to scoring big points on skee-ball. 

Only a cute baby can get away with being on the lane. 

When we got home from Chuck E. Cheese's, Evan opened presents.

New bike from Grandma & Grandpa!

New "nemnas" from JCC & Ryan!

Sander's Bumpy Cake

A Ponka Favorite

Before we headed home after a lovely Thanksgiving/Birthday weekend, 

Evan took his new bike for a spin.

Ryan had to try it out too!

At 4:34 AM, the wee hours of the morning on December 1, Evan officially turned FIVE!!

[Holy moly, these birthdays are passing by too fast!]

Preschool birthday cupcakes

He very deliberately decorated his birthday crown, as friend Karissa watches. This kid had a vision for his special crown. It was fun to watch him work on it.

Birthday boy with a couple classmates. [Look at how Karissa is looking at Evan. There are at least 3 little girls who have declared they are going to marry him. Oy!]

He chose DQ, the one with the indoor playground, for his birthday lunch.

That evening, he opened more generous gifts from the Lokey/Kile families, in addition to gifts from us. Here they are looking at a card Ryan made for Evan. 

Nana & Lolo don't want Ryan to be empty handed. 

They sent him this lovely book that is right up his alley.

Evan's Birthday Loot

We had birthday brownies and ice cream!

Playing with one of his gifts, Kinetic Sand, the next day.

In mid-November, he worked hard addressing party invitations for his classmates.

On December 6, we had the last of Evan's birthday celebrations. 

A bowling party with his classmates!

[He'd been eye-balling this cake at a local grocery store. I told him we'd get it for his birthday.]

Ready to bowl!

Colin, Ryan, Evan, Kaylin, Devan

Ready for pizza and cake.

one end of the table

the other end of the table

He's the man of many silly faces!

Not surprisingly, Evan bowled the highest score. 87 - with bumpers, but still...

[Mr. Competitive]

His party guests signed his souvenir bowling pin, a fun keepsake.

Well, Little E, you are FIVE now! It's so much fun watching you grow and learn. You are our smart, silly, firecracker of a kiddo and we love you so much! Keep "telling your brain" to make good choices and keep your "pretend sister" under control.  XOXOXO

Thanksgiving

It's already been a week since Thanksgiving. Before we get too caught up in the Christmas crunch, I thought I'd share some Turkey Day highlights.

On November 21, Brown School held their annual Thanksgiving Feast at lunchtime. They sit with their buddy class (Ryan's class is buddied up with fourth graders this year). Parent volunteers set place settings and serve the kids turkey and all the traditional sides. It's a festive event that builds community in the school. The kids really seem to like it. 

Evan's preschool holiday art.

My favorite addition to our made-in-school-holiday-decor collection.

Mrs. Meyer organized a trip to a local food pantry around the spirit of giving. The class donated many items. Each child got to pack a bag...

...and empty the contents of their bags on the shelves at the food pantry. 

This trip provided a special experience and a great life lesson for little ones and adults alike. 

We spent Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's house. Christine and Burke like to run and were thinking of doing a turkey trot of some sort. The boys also wanted to participate. But we didn't want to pay a lot in race fees. So Christine came up with the idea of mapping a course around the neighborhood and having The First Annual Ponka Family Turkey Trot. Christine and Burke ran a 5K and Joey, the 3 boys, and I walked a mile. It was so much fun, we did it again on Saturday. 

Pre-Turkey Trot

Caleb's ready to race and even sported a festive blanket. 

He got so cozy, he took a nap.

Evan's off!

Ryan & Evan just had to pick up sticks that littered the ground from a recent wind storm.

Home stretch!

Race to the finish.

Christine even provided us with finishers' medals.

(Caleb had a cold and was very tired. Poor baby.)

A game of Skip-Bo with Burke's signature rum cake in the foreground.

Feast!

Evan had a vision for how he wanted his food arranged. 

Looks like a little food clock.

Then Evan (and Joey) wanted a little bit of every dessert that was offered. Peppermint pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, and rum cake. He made an appropriately disgusted face when he got a taste of the rum cake. I happily took that off his hands. Yum!

We concluded our trip with a birthday celebration for Evan. We had lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's and a few fun gifts, including an awesome new bike from Grandma & Grandpa. 

When we came home, we jumped into action - unpacking and making space for a Christmas tree. We picked a Scotch pine. It's beautiful! We had a relaxing, enjoyable Thanksgiving and now we're in the Christmas spirit. 

Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day and is enjoying the holiday season!

(Evan's 5th birthday post is forthcoming. Stay tuned.)