Leapin Lizards!

We are being taken over by critters down here! Thank goodness the roaches are staying away for now but we've been noticing lots more bees and crazy little lizards. I didn't realize that these ugly things actually change colors. Just another way to freak me out even more when I see something move that I didn't expect!
But of course the boys are fascinated. They followed this little guy around for a good 15 minutes. They would get brave and move in a little closer, then a little more. Then they would grab whatever stick or bat or ball happened to be laying close by and whack the table then hurry up and run away as the lizard scurried around. It was great entertainment ;)

Yuck!

Mood Swings...

Happy-go-lucky

Moments later... Not so much

My 18-month-old baby, I mean toddler

It's hard to believe this little guy is 18 months old already! He's such an active little guy. He and his brother wreak havoc for me all day long. I try to stay one step ahead of them but often find that they have outsmarted me again. They are definitely partners in crime!
He runs, jumps, tries to skip. He climbs, throwns, swings anything that might be suitable as a baseball bat or golf club at whatever is near.... We are working hard at developing his talking. He is a bit behind here. Guess he's been spending more of his energy perfecting his fine and gross motor skills :) But, we spend lots and lots of time looking at books and reading. He'll sit for extended periods of time with a book. He points to the pictures over and over and we practice saying the words. I am so happy that this weekend I've gotten him to say "duck", 'choo-choo", "ba-ba" (bottle), and "da-da" (more frequently-he had said this once in a while before). He also tells me when he goes #2 - he says "I poo" and pulls at his diaper in the back. Hey, it's a start!
I decided to pick up a new potty while I was out getting diapers. It was a big hit! I think I'm actually gonna need to get another one. It's shaped like a frog and is much more suitable for little boys than the one I have. Luke sat on it immediately when he saw it. After I got a chance to put away some of my groceries I took off his diaper and let him give it a go! He sat there for about 10 minutes until he peed! He was very proud. He brought me Jaden's potty book which has sticker rewards in the back. I gave him a sticker and he took off running to their bedroom to put his sticker on the calendar. Then, he clapped for himself! This is the second time that he has peed in the potty by himself. He is very encouraged by Jaden. Now, I'm hoping Jaden will be more encouraged by Luke! Jaden can totally do it - it's just a matter of will at this point.

Here are my sweet Cowboy's stats from his doctor appointment:

Height: 35 1/2 inches tall (above 95th%)

Weight: 30 lbs. 14 ounces (90-95th%)

Doc says "he's a big boy" ;) But, fortunately he is doing well and is healthy. We are so thankful for this gift.

The Kissing Bandit

We have been very lucky that Luke has been such a good sleeper. Well, luck and "On Becoming Baby wise" (I highly recommend this book! It worked like a charm and we didn't even start it until he was 5 months old - very late!) are what I credit with his good sleep habits. But, there are rare occasions- usually unknown and not the typical teething, illness- when he just cries and cries and won't go to sleep. On these occasions I indulge myself and let him sleep with me. I let Anna and Jaden sleep with me way too much because I love having them there but Luke just sleeps much better by himself. In this new situation he takes a little to wind himself down to go to sleep. I do the usual and read some books then it's lights out. He wiggles and squirms for a bit before knocking out. He also showers me with lots and lots of kisses. It's so cute - he feels around for me and then my face in the dark before planting one on me. It goes on and on. I try so hard to be quiet and not giggle. I can't even bribe him to give me kisses during the day- though he'll readily give them to Jaden, Sissy, Daddy....Leo (the dog). But in the darkness, fighting going to sleep he makes up for it!

He woke up when I was taking pictures of Ava. Not wanting to be outdone or miss an opportunity for Mom's attention he actually was happy to sit still for me and let me take his picture. I love this ornery but sweet expression - looks like "I didn't do it..."

Some more baby pics

I didn't have much luck with the lighting on this day. Just one of those things that happens sometimes. Still, this little 10-day old beauty is just too pretty not to share. She's an itty bitty too - just about 5 lbs. 11 oz!

I love that she still has her umbilical cord and you can see it in this picture.

This gorgeous little thing is 5 1/2 months and all of about 14 pounds full of non-stop energy! She is into everything. I have no doubt that she will be crawling and wreaking all sorts of havov for her parents in the next couple of weeks! I just love her!

Isn't she lovely

~One day old~

I had the privilege of getting to snap some pictures of my friend's gorgeous and oh-so-tiny newborn baby. She was an itty bitty 5lbs. 9 oz. when she was born and widdled down to an even ittier bittier 4 lbs. 14 oz. by the time she went home! But, she's in the positive now and gaining those precious ounces! I look forward to sharing more beautiful photos as she grows and changes. Can't wait to see those chubby cheeks and fat little baby thighs :)

~Five Days Old~

I am thankful to live close by so I can get lots of practice taking pictures of babies and hopefully get some wonderful photos to share with her family :)

Our Newest Preschooler!

Jaden officially started preschool this week. He has been soo excited to go to his "Big School". He even asked today if he could ride to school in "Sissy's seat" since he's a big boy now too. Unfortunately, I had to squash his sweet request because he is still required to be strapped in to his car seat. He handled it well. He continued to smile the whole way there.

It has been a much easier transition than it was with Anna. It really helps that he has been looking forward to going to school for such a long time. Seeing him so excited makes us even more excited for him. Also, we've known that it would also be tremendously beneficial for him to be around the other children to encourage his speech. It was too hard for me to do before he started talking. I was worried that he would be scared and wouldn't be able to express it or that he couldn't ask the teacher to help. There was too much uncertainty. Plus, since I didn't know anyone I wasn't comfortable leaving him somewhere that I could not be at least very close by. But, in the past 6 months he has made huge strides physically and verbally. We are so proud of how far he has come.

When I look at this picture I can't help but think in my mind "Trouble and Double Trouble". These brothers are so darn cute and so darn ornery!! They are definitely giving me a run for my money and it's only the beginning!!!

I'm interested to see how Luke does with this time that we will have alone together. It's never really been just he and I. I think we will be spending a lot of time working on developing his speech. He is behind as well. Good thing I've got lots of practice in knowing what to do with Jaden. Still, he may need some extra help as well.

Jaden and his Mommy on his first day of preschool.

Just three short years ago, we lived hour to hour then day to day. It seems like just recently we've really been able to relax and breathe again. When he was born we had no idea what the future had in store for him. It is more wonderful than words can describe to see him so happy, so healthy, and so full of life. He is truly a blessing. We hope that he has an incredible year at preschool growing and learning about God, making new friends, becoming more independent, and developing a love of learning. We are so excited about his new chapter!! We love you soo much Jaden, our Big Boy!!

My "Bat-men"

Who's that masked man?

It's just Luke :)
Jaden is very independent. He's often heard saying "Me do-d it". Tonight he insisted on dressing himself for bed. Instead of standing over him supervising and fighting my urges to help I just left. Soon after I heard "Julie, come look at Jaden". Instead he came to me and fortunately my camera was right next to me. I did such a good job not laughing so he would work with me to take his picture. I told him to "show me his Batman face". Apparently Batman is in a very good mood :)

Here's a closer look at his pants...

So cute! He was very proud :)

Meet the teacher day

Jaden has been sooooooo excited about going to school. He has been talking about it and talking about it. He has to get dressed in the morning "like Sissy", and put socks and shoes on "like Sissy", and brush his teeth, etc... "like Sissy". He has even been wearing his SpiderMan backpack every day, all day since Monday morning. I am afraid that he is going to be disappointed that he will only be going two days a week for 3 hours. I really hope that school lives up to all of his expectations!

Finally, this Thursday we got to go to the school to see his classroom and meet his teacher. He was such a big boy who behaved well and spoke to his teacher when she asked him questions. I was very relieved. Especially, considering the events immediately preceeding our departure from home...
I was very proud of myself for getting myself dressed, makeup on, toes painted. Then, I got the boys changed and dressed, teeth brushed, hair brushed - all on time! They were clean, they looked cute. Score! I had just a few minutes to spare so I ran into my bathroom to put my shoes on and apply a quick coat of clear nail polish. Soon after the boys came into my bathroom (we're never apart more than 2 minutes) and Luke's face, hair, some of his shirt had been colored with yellow marker and Jaden was carrying the evidence! Oh my gosh! I hurried up and washed him up as fast as I could and threw them in the car. It was then that I noticed that the marker drawing was not confined to just his face! It was all over his arms and legs. Then to make things better in the daylight I realized I didn't do that great of a job getting the marker off of his face either! Nice first impression...

After surviving meet the teacher day - just barely - I rewarded the boys with Shipley do-nuts!!! Really, it was just an excuse for me to satisfy my cravings. It has been a long time since we've indulged ourselves so it was a nice treat for all of us.

The woman who waited on us asked us if we were going to stay or get them to go. We were going to stay but I figured we'd have some leftover so I'd take them in a to-go box. I bought 6 do-nuts and 1 dozen donut holes. I had nothing to take home. They devoured the tasty treats!!!

Do-nut number one. The best - the "bulls-eye"- yummm!

Luke at pretty much all of the do-nut holes. These are sort of "his thing". He always gets these plus another do-nut.

Do-nut #2: Strawberry Iced. Seriously, if you are ever near a Shipley's do-nuts you've got to stop in and try some. They are sooo good!

Next thing I knew Jaden had gone ahead and helped himself to a few more do-nuts...

Sugar high coming on....

Now I need to find another excuse to go back to Shipley's...

We've got a first grader!!

Well, I'm happy to report that Anna made it through her first week of school! It was a little touch-and-go there the week before. When I asked her if she was excited about going back to school she quicky replied "NO!" Then, "I want to rub my hands in poison ivy and go to the doctor so I don't have to go to school!" First of all, the girl has never had poison ivy in her life. If she had she would realize what an incredibly STUPID wish this is because there are not many things more miserable than having poison ivy - including going to school! Second of all, she HATES going to the doctor so she must be really serious.
Personally, I think this strong reaction to going back to school is just a reaction to the impending Disney channel withdrawl...

Good morning Sunshine!

Fortunately, the Froot Loops and OJ were enough to put her in a good mood for the start of school. She was even completely cooperative with having her picture taken.

Chris stayed around long enough for us all to walk Anna to school - our first day of school tradition. We love being able to walk. It reminds me of my chilhood when I walked to my elementary school.

Ready to learn!

Kindergarten year memories

I like to do beginning and end of year interviews with Anna. This year she was just not cooperative so this was all that I got:

1. My teacher this year was: Mrs. Burns
2. My favorite subject was: Art
3. What was your least favorite subject: No answer!!
4. Tell me one thing you learned this year:

A. "About frogs"

Q. What about them?

A. "First they are in eggs, then they crack out of the eggs and turn into something like a fish. They're just tiny like this (she shows me). They live under water. In a couple of days they get this big (she shows me)..." Guess she needs a refresher. I can't believe she is done with her first year of school. I didn't think I'd make it through her first day. You can read my thoughts and feelings from her first day here: Kindergarten post

What a difference a year makes! She was still my baby when she first stepped through those doors and now she is my beautiful little girl, growing up a little more every day. To say that I'm proud of her doesn't seem like enough.

Super Tangle Update:

Maybe it was my mistake for asking my 6 1/2 year old daughter to brush her own hair? When I walked back to the bathroom and found her with that comb all tangled up in her hair I was so mad. Surprisingly, she was laughing about it. I think she was a little proud of herself. For what I have no idea. It wasn't so funny after I started trying to untangle it. It looked like it should have been easy at first but she somehow wrapped her crazy, long hair around and around all of those little teeth on that comb. It was really a mess.
I managed to get the comb untangled from Anna's hair with lots of detangler spray, a little patience (surprised myself that I had any left by Friday afternoon...) and a whole lot of luck - without having to resort to scissors. I did have visions of how in the heck I was going to manage to eek out enough hair to cut bangs. I am very thankful that I didn't have to cut it. We've done bangs before and it just didn't work. Anna's got such a little face that the bangs were overwhelming and they grew so fast I was always having to trim them. Plus, growing out bangs is no fun. Alas, we are good to go until the next crisis...

Wish me luck...