Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Olivia is 11!

 Wow! The year flew by and Olivia grew and grew in all the ways! We love our girl! She devours books--lots of fantasy and mystery, but really all genres. She got into anime this year and especially loves My Hero Academia. She rollerblades, bikes, swings, and just likes being outdoors. She wanted to try a different middle school, and put in the work to apply to Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy. We are excited for this next chapter as she grows!

Right now, Olivia plays piano and is happy for her lessons, but a little less so for practice. She’s very responsible and can ride to the library or the school by herself to pick up or drop off books. She visits friends’ houses in the neighborhood, and helps with puppies down the street occasionally. Olivia is a good helper in the house and folds clothes and puts away dishes without much complaint. 

Olivia marches to the beat of her own drum in many regards—she reads what she likes, she watches what she likes, and she listens to what she likes without hooking onto the trends of her friends.

Olivia is now 5' 2 1/4", which is in the 97th percentile for height. She weighs 106 lbs, which is in the 78th percentile for weight. She's going to be a tall one! I think she grew over four inches this year.

Olivia had a great day at home for her birthday! So thankful for friends and family showering her with love and gifts!

















And we went to the beach for a day over the weekend to celebrate her!












1. How old are you? 11
2. What makes you happy? Cartoons, reading, and anime
3. What is your favorite animal? Turtleduck
4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Noodles & fruit
5. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Radishes and beets
6. What is your favorite thing to do? Read and swing
7. What is your favorite TV show? The Owl House
8. What are you really good at? Texting
9. What is your favorite movie? Mary and the Witch's Dragon
10. What is your favorite color? Red, black, blue, and purple
11. What is your favorite song? Warriors
12. Who is your best friend? Malin
13. What do you and your Mom do together? Listen to Ava Max
14. What do you and your Dad do together? Watch movies
15. What is your favorite sport? Swimming
16. Where is your favorite place to go? The mountains or a fantasy world
17. What is your favorite book? Section 13 (series)
18. What do you want to be when you grow up?  Archeologist, Egyptologist, or start an orphanage

Friday, February 26, 2021

Leo is nine!

 What?! I can hardly believe Leo is nine! How quickly this year has passed and how much Leo has grown is amazing. Leo reads more than two hours a day now regularly. He was gifted the Wings of Fire Series from grandparents, and he is in the process of reading the first ten for a second time now. Leo loves video games; this year he has beaten Mario Odyssey, Link Breath of the Wild, Pokemon Sword and has played a lot on Minecraft. Leo loves riding his ripstick and monkeying around on the ninja line. He loves Astro very much! Leo loves hot chocolate and brownies and chocolate donuts, but doesn't love cake. So, for his "yes day" birthday, he had video games and sweets. Here are some pictures from his celebrations:







And here are some pictures from the year because I have become the worst blogger, but still want to throw in a few good ones!












Here are Leo's physical stats as of 2/10/21:

Height: 4' 6.75'', 80%

Weight: 72.5 lbs, 77%

BMI: 17, 64%

Blood pressure: 104/66

Vision: L 20/20, R 20/20, B 20/15

Non-fasting Cholesterol: TC 169, HDL 58, TRG 97, LDL 92, non-HDL 112, TC/HDL = 2.9


Finally, the birthday quiz!

1. How old are you? Nine
2. What makes you happy? Hyrule Warriors and Breath of the Wild
3. What is your favorite animal? Killer Whale
4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Pizza
5. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Green beans
6. What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
7. What is your favorite TV show? None
8. What are you really good at? Ninja line
9. What is your favorite movie? None
10. What is your favorite color? Blue
11. What is your favorite song? None
12. Who is your best friend? Aiden
13. What do you and your Mom do together? Fight
14. What do you and your Dad do together? Run
15. What is your favorite sport? None
16. Where is your favorite place to go? Defy Apex
17. What is your favorite book? Wings of Fire
18. What do you want to be when you grow up? Gamer

Jason is six!!

 Jason is six and what a year it has been while he was five! He grew and changed, learned to read and started Kindergarten. Jason lost several baby teeth and gained his two adult front teeth, which make him look so much older! He plays video games with Leo now...not just watching. He rides a bike without training wheels and is the boss playing Beamo (frisbee) and soccer. He loves his dog and his family, macaroni and cheese and strawberries!





Here are some photos from the year since I didn't blog:










Here are Jason's physical stats as of 1/26/21:
Height: 3' 11'' 78%
Weight: 56 lbs 90%
BMI: 91%
Blood pressure: 92/58
Vision: 20/20

Finally, here is the birthday quiz!


1. How old are you? Six
2. What makes you happy? Video games
3. What is your favorite animal? Horse
4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Pizza
5. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Green beans and broccoli
6. What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
7. What is your favorite TV show? Inspector Gadget
8. What are you really good at? Petting my dog
9. What is your favorite movie? Mario
10. What is your favorite color? Blue
11. What is your favorite song? Dance of Doom
12. Who is your best friend? Aiden
13. What do you and your Mom do together? Build Legos
14. What do you and your Dad do together? Build Legos and play
15. What is your favorite sport? Soccer
16. Where is your favorite place to go? Crowder park
17. What is your favorite book? The Book with No Pictures
18. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Gamer

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Olivia is ten!!

Olivia had the best day, given that it was quarantine! She definitely planned and made the best of what there was. And, Nicholas and I peppered and surprises as best we could! Nicholas took the day off to celebrate her! Here are the highlights:

Making her own cake while watching her favorite shows with headphones on! She candied orange slices and lemon slices, and made fondant snails and butterflies!





She woke up in a happy mood, opened some presents, and received happy birthday wishes from grandpa Bill and Tamara!


The first surprise of the day was that the neighbors decorated our driveway and sidewalk with chalk birthday messages!





The second surprise of the day, was a drive-by to some of her friends house where they stood outside with signs and waved. Our van was decorated for the birthday girl!





Then, we went over to Mutti‘s house for a special birthday visit!


I set up a socially distanced play date where she and one friend hung out in the backyard staying more than 10 feet apart the whole time. This was probably her favorite part of the day!



We had her favorite things for dinner, and had a special birthday video of friends and family from near and far wishing her happy birthday.








Olivia is an awesome girl, and we are super proud of how she has managed through this crazy COVID-19 time. We realize how much she loves her friends, and like the way she works with them over FaceTime. We see how much she needs her teachers, too! She’s been great about going to their office hours to check in. She is playing piano now, and still taking dance lessons via zoom on Thursdays. She loves to read, as always, and we are proud of how voracious she is. She loves to play with her brothers, when they are doing what she wants. She is creative and capable.

And now for the birthday quiz!!!

1. How old are you? Ten
2. What makes you happy? Designing clothes
3. What is your favorite animal? Pigs
4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Noodles & olives
5. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Onions
6. What is your favorite thing to do? Play outside
7. What is your favorite TV show? Gravity Falls
8. What are you really good at? Swimming
9. What is your favorite movie? Tangled
10. What is your favorite color? Violet
11. What is your favorite song? Go, Go, Go, Go
12. Who is your best friend? Malin, Lalon, Mallory
13. What do you and your Mom do together? Read Anne of Green Gables (series)
14. What do you and your Dad do together? Ride bikes
15. What is your favorite sport? Horse back riding
16. Where is your favorite place to go? The Bratchers'
17. What is your favorite book? The Deep and Dark Blue
18. What do you want to be when you grow up?  Don't know

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Leo is eight!!!


Leo is such a cool kid! He is a natural leader with his friends, he has a great attitude at school, and his impersonations and observations of people are so spot on! We love him so!

His birthday celebrations begin on Friday, January 31 when his class had a field trip to Chili’s, and then his friend came home for a late over after school.I loved hearing them play and be silly!



Video game break!



Then, on Saturday morning, in typical Kraft fashion, Leo opened his gifts in the morning. Thank you family for spoiling him so!!!







Then, we celebrated Leo and our neighbor turning eight by having a joint play time at the trampoline park!







Then we came home for treats!


And Sunday we had a family party!


Plus some horse back riding lessons. Leo fell off for the first time, fought his fear, and got back on!


The birthday celebrations ended Monday at school with donuts at recess!! Leo’s one special kid and we are happy he is our’s!








And now for the birthday quiz!!!

1. How old are you? Eight
2. What makes you happy? Pokemon Sword
3. What is your favorite animal? Dog
4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Pizza
5. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Green beans
6. What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
7. What is your favorite TV show? Pokemon Sun & Moon
8. What are you really good at? Drawing Poke balls
9. What is your favorite movie? I Choose You
10. What is your favorite color? Blue
11. What is your favorite song? Pokemon Theme
12. Who is your best friend? Weston
13. What do you and your Mom do together? Build
14. What do you and your Dad do together? Beamo (frisbee)
15. What is your favorite sport? Tennis
16. Where is your favorite place to go? Jump Street
17. What is your favorite book? Wings of Fire
18. What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know