Back to School

Today is the first day of third grade for Jacob and Hannah! They were very excited to begin school and we did have a great 11 weeks of summer vacation. Here are two pictures from this morning.

Family Day 2011

Two years ago today - on June 1, 2009 - Boston became a Stenstrom and we became a family of five! The picture below is from that day in RMI - right after court.

Now here's a recent picture of Boston, now 4.5 years old!

And here are Jacob, Boston and Hannah together. Fun to think back on our time in RMI in June 2009 and even more fun to see our kids together now every day!

Catching up!

Hi! Happy New Year! It's been over 4 months since my last blog post . I'll catch up a bit with some pictures from the fall and aim to post a bit more often in 2011. Below is a picture of our three kiddos at Christmastime (Jacob 8, Hannah 7, Boston 4).

Boston had a bad fall in the kitchen at home in December and this is how he looked the next morning after Urgent Care gave him 3 stitches!

Our family together on Thanksgiving Day - with a big big smile from Boston!

Jacob as a Ninja for Halloween:

Hannah as a bumblebee for Halloween. Boston was not interested in dressing up for Halloween, but he did like the candy that was around for Halloween!

Eyes and Language

Boston had his first eye exam yesterday. On the way there, I was thinking back to how the eye doctor would test Jacob and Hannah when they were younger - - and it was by showing them cards with pictures for them to name. I wondered if Boston, with his developing English, would be able to name those cards. Well, I didn't need to give it a moment of concern. Here's what happened!

The doctor showed Boston a picture of a house and Boston said "home". Great. Next came a picture of a car. Boston said "Honda"! Since our cars are both Hondas - it was another winner. Then a picture of a tree, which he identified correctly. Next came a picture of a birthday cake. Boston said "Jacob" and then began singing Happy Birthday! I told the doctor that Jacob's birthday was the next day and so Boston was right on it!

School

This morning was the first day of second grade for Jacob and Hannah! They were out of bed and dressed at 6:00 am! They were very very excited for the start of second grade!

We'll hear after school how the first day went in their individual second grade classes - but we're off to a good start here for sure!

Boston's Family Day

This is a picture of the first time we met Boston - on May 30, 2009, in the Marshall Islands.

He officially became a Stenstrom on June 1, 2009! We are celebrating and remembering our first year together! Below are some more recent pictures of our growing boy! We love him and are so very thankful for our family!

Jacob and Hannah will finish First Grade tomorrow! We are looking forward to the summer ahead and a change in schedule. Here's a picture of all three kids taken on Memorial Day in Minnesota!

Birthday fun

Hannah turned 7 just a few weeks ago! It was a fun birthday for sure. She wanted a shark on her birthday cake. Peter remembered me saying I was never decorating another birthday cake again, but I must have forgotten that! Below is a picture of the cake after it was finished late Saturday evening, before her party on Sunday. But this shark was not content to stay on the cake. Late Saturday night, the shark portion of the cake cracked and fell apart.
Peter helped me to put skewers into the cake to try and keep it together for the party. It looks a bit like something out of "Jaws" and a shark being harpooned. But Hannah laughed about it and we ate the cake anyway.

Happy Birthday sweet Hannah! You are seven years old, and almost done with first grade! This past year you've learned to read, tell time, add and subtract. You just lost your 10th baby tooth this week, you are excited about learning Tae Kwon Do, and you are growing into a young lady! What a joy it is to know and love you!!