September 10, 2015. Drakes first haircut.

I gave Drake his first haircut today! Not the most professional job, but it looks cute. Now it is easier for me to nibble those cute ears! He's such a cutie!

August 18, 2015. Almost crawling!

This little man is so close crawling. I don't know whether to be excited or sad, cheer him on or push him down! One thing that is for certain though is that I love him like crazy! My little man is getting so big!!!

Aug. 13, 2015. First Day of School.

The kids started school today! The kids and I were excited for the new school year. We got our new school clothes, our new shoes, registered at our new schools and were looking forward to all the adventures that we would have this year. As it got closer and closer to the 1st day however, I had a lot of anxiety about the kids starting school this year. Especially about Sophie starting 6th grade in an intermediate school. I was trying not to project my anxiety on to the kids and instead we would talk about how awesome the school year was going to be. And I really think it will be! All the kids came home and said they had a great day! Sophie didn't get lost going to any of her classes. She likes her language arts teacher the best so far, and she said the day flew by! Collin has a male teacher this year who loves math and science...just like him! His favorite part of the day was getting his own Chrome book to use this year! Ruby has such a sweet teacher. She got to be the mystery student and bring some things from home to share about herself and she is adjusting to going to school full day. She said the day was so long it felt like two! Ha! Love that girl! So proud of each of my kids. I know they will have a great year! Tomorrow we will tackle riding the bus!

December 19, 2014. Smiles!

This cutie has started to smile and oh my goodness it is the cutest thing ever. I practically have to stand on my head to get a smile out of him so I feel so lucky to have finally captured one with the camera. Even if it was just my cell phone. I can't wait until he smiles all the time! Although he's pretty darn cute even when he's serious.

January 22, 2014. Potty Training!

Lyla has been showing signs that she is ready to be potty trained (mostly taking off her diaper every time she goes) so one day I decided to run with it. I put together a fun little morning for her and Elmo. At the beginning of the day Elmo wore diapers just like Lyla but soon they were both in their big girl underwear! Yeah! And both Lyla and Elmo got to have a potty treat when Lyla used the potty. What could be better!!! She thought it was so fun to go potty with Elmo!

Lyla did really well and still does when I stay on top of it. But she still needs to go so frequently that I tend to just put her in diapers most of the time. Lets face it, diapers are so much easier. Looking at these pictures though is reminding me that I need to get back at it again! Hopefully soon I can post a picture of her fully potty trained! Then we might need to have a party. It would be the first time in 9+ years that we haven't had a kid in diapers. That's a lot of diaper changes!

Collin loses a tooth!!

Collin lost his first tooth last night!! He was eating a frozen yogurt pop and it came out.  When he showed it to me I said "I didn't even know you had a loose tooth!" His reply was "I didn't either!!"  Such a cutie.  He was excited to leave it for the tooth fairy and get his money.  Now he has two gaps in his little mouth...the other is from a tooth he knocked out earlier this fall.

She's a walkin'!!!

My baby girl has started walking. She is still very much in the beginning stage, but she is getting better and better each day. I know that one day soon she will be walking more than she is crawling. She thinks she is pretty cool up on two feet. She is smiling and laughing anytime she is walking somewhere. I just love this girl!  She's the cutest.

potty training

We have been doing some potty training around here the past few weeks.  For the most part it has been successful, however there has yet to be any poop in the potty.  I got Ruby this new potty doll and some fun little prizes and we made a day of it.  She enjoyed choosing her prize each time she went and playing with her new doll all through out the day.  My hope was for her to be trained in one day (we have been working on it off and on for months) and for the most part she is trained...if only she would poop in the potty.  sigh!

sitting pretty

Baby girl is sitting all on her own...I like to put the boppy pillow behind her because she will spontaneously decide to throw herself backwards.   She is loving the new view of the world!  I can't believe how much she is growing a changing.  Love her!

First Bites

Lyla started eating solids!! 

I have been totally dreading this.  Up until this point she has been such a struggle to feed that I haven't want to add any additional feeding times to fight with.  But it was time.  And she has been doing great.  I decided to start with pears instead of the traditional cereal.  She wasn't quite sure about it the first feeding, but has loved them ever since.

I have been wanting to venture into making my own baby food, but can't quite bring myself to give up the convenience of the jarred food from the store.  I am thinking I might try a combination!  

She sure is a cute little eater!

Lyla Smiles!!!

Lyla has been smiling for a while now,  but I haven't ever been able to catch it with my camera until now.  She has been pretty stingy with her smiles ... and every time I pull out my camera she looks at me like I am an alien.  However, the other night she was watching me do the dishes {fun I know!} and she was so smiley so I thought I would try to capture her cute little grin.  And what do you know, I got it!!  Love this cute little girl.

Big Girl Bed

Ruby finally {I say finally because it took forever for the furniture to arrive} made the transition to her big girl bed. It was super easy. For the most part she lays right down and goes to sleep. The biggest obstacle has been having the girls get used to sharing a room ... although I know it will get better with time.

I wasn't sure she would give up her crib and thought that maybe we would have to take it down before the new baby arrives, but she LOVES to sleep in her new bunk bed and now calls the crib baby Lyla's bed!

The first night I put her to bed I didn't put up the guard rail {on the bottom bunk}. I wanted to see how she did without it. As Logan and I were going to bed that night I decided that maybe I would put it up so I didn't worry about her falling out of bed all night. We walked into her room and she was snuggled up nice and cozy on the floor. She had fallen out and it didn't even wake her. It was the funniest and saddest thing.

I can 't believe how big she looks all tucked into her big girl bed. It is hard to see her grow up. I still see her as my baby. {sigh!}

For Sophie

You woke up today so excited that it was your last day of school,

yet so sad that you would be leaving your teacher.

It was a bittersweet day for sure.

You had a wonderful 1st grade year.

You learned so much

and grew up more than I could have imagined.

You said that your favorite part of 1st grade was your teacher.

Daddy asked you what you liked most about her, and you said ... "She likes fluffy things just like me!"

Your teacher loved bears ... and you loved that about her.

She was a perfect match for you!!

You became an excellent reader this year.

Your favorite author is Daisy Meadows ... you can't read enough about those silly fairies!

You often surprise your Daddy and I when you ask if you can stay up and read in your bed at night.

We came to your classroom today.

You were so excited to show us a movie of your 1st grade year

and the scrapbook that YOU had put together all on your own.

I LOVED looking through all of your treasured work.

I am so proud of you.

What a big accomplishment!

Yeah for finishing 1st grade and moving on to 2nd!

but for now HOORAY for Summer!

Love you!

Mommy

For Collin

This week you had a very big day!

You graduated from pre-school.

You have been practicing and preparing for this day for weeks.

And you were ready!

You brought me your part and asked if we could practice it ... and by the end of the evening you knew it. I remember you telling me you practiced that night in your bed.

I laughed when you told me a few days before "Teacher says there is only one rule, NO picking your nose!"

You were so sweet as you sat in your seat, sang your songs, and spoke your part in the microphone.

I was so proud of you.

I couldn't help but smile as you helped keep the rowdy boys next to you quiet,

or as you sang the loudest in the group.

You are so special buddy and I am so pleased with what you have accomplished.

My heart almost burst with happiness as I saw photos of you playing with friends

and loving your school experience.

I know this year wasn't always easy for you.

But you were brave and overcame your fears. And through it all you grew ... and we grew too.

Your teachers made you a book and a graduation hat.

You were so proud and wore your hat almost the entire day.

Of course Mom forgot her camera ... but you agreed to let me take some pictures at home!

I am so proud of you Collin.

I am excited for you to start Kindergarten next year. You will love it!

I love you.

Mommy

No More ...

... Binky Baby!!

In preparation for the new baby Ruby needed to lose the binky. I have been dreading this. I think it may be the worst part of parenting. Taking away something that your child is so attached to is awful. Looking back it hasn't been all that bad. Only nap time has been a little rough. She refuses to nap unless I lay by her until she falls asleep ... which is a shame because she was taking 3 to 4 hour naps everyday.

To give up her binky I took Ruby to build a bear. She was so excited to choose out her very own "care bear" as she calls them. She chose her bear ... had it stuffed ... and was ready to pay! No need for clothes. As I payed for the bear I had her give the cashier her binky in return for the bear. She willing gave it up. I was so proud. However she is so smart. She knew there were more at home. As we were walking back to the car she said, "My B is gone. I need get nother one at home!" Little did she know I had thrown the other ones out before we left.

Now that the binky is gone Ruby talks and talks and talks. Especially in the car. I didn't realize how much it was keeping her from expressing herself. The other day I heard Collin say to her "I don't want to talk to you anymore!" She is talking our ears off. I love it!

The Tooth Fairy ...

made a visit to our house last night!

You might have thought it was Christmas given the amount of excitement that Sophie had about it this morning.

Silly Girl! She does look pretty cute with that gap!