Preschool Days

Joel is still loving preschool. He eagerly anticipates every Thursday and Friday when he gets to go again. Here he is with his first homework assignment, an All-About-Me Robot poster. We discovered he is like me in that he has a difficult time narrowing down "favorites." Here are his responses.





When I grow up I want to be: a fireman, a zoo keeper, and a daddy
Something I like to do at school: centers (especially the bean table)
Something I like to do at home: play outside, play in the little pool, swing, play soccer
Favorite Food: corndog and pizza
Favorite Color: blue and red
Favorite Animal: dog
Favorite Book: Can I Bring My Pterodactyl to School, Ms. Johnson?
I Help Others By: sharing, by bringing things when people need them, helping them up if they fall down, cleaning up, setting the table
I Am Special Because: Mommy and Daddy love me. God loves me. I'm a good big brother. I am nice to other people.

It was Crazy Hat day today, so yesterday we created a crazy hat for him to wear. I love that he still thinks my ideas are great, no matter what they are. He got so excited and had so much fun finding things around the house to glue onto his hat. He colored paper with crayons and cut pieces with zig-zag scissors to glue on between the snakes, glow-in-the-dark bugs, wiggle eyes, and puff balls. He wore his Crazy Hat with pride.  



Two soccer players

The kids had their first official soccer game last Saturday, and they did great! Kari is an old pro now, of course, with a year of soccer under her belt. She is doing really well on defense (she doesn't want the other team to score). She's into it and "gets" it this year. Watching 4-6 year olds play is so entertaining. At one point Joel was on the field pointing and looking up at the sky, watching an airplane fly overhead while the rest of his team chased after the ball. He's not a very competitive little guy, so it's ok with him if the other team scores. :) He has a smile on his face when he's playing, so he's having fun, which is what matters at this level, or at any level, really.












I was trying to capture the high five they were giving each other, but obviously, I missed it.

Look at what I caught

Smiles from our six-week old (6 weeks tomorrow)! He's just starting to interact. He knows we're here, and he likes us! A precious smile from your baby goes a long way and does a lot for your morale when you're exhausted and weary of crying. Looking at these photos, it's difficult to believe he's ever unhappy, isn't it? :) He is getting happier, though. Tummy troubles seem to be the primary cause of his fussiness, so hopefully once his little digestive system matures a bit, he'll do even better. I am loving having a little baby around again (my last one! sniff, sniff)--snuggling with him as he sleeps, his little head nestled on my shoulder, his soft hair against my cheek--but I also love my sleep and look forward to the days when I get more than 3 hours at a time. Know what I mean?








This third photo makes me wonder, "What kind of kid are you going to be, little mister?" Looks a little mischievous to me! :)

Which antibiotic do you want to use this time?

That's what the doctor asked me when I took her in on Friday. Poor baby has another sinus infection and fell asleep like this, still clutching "Bunny" at 6:30pm.

Left Behind

Before I forget, my baby smiled, as in really smiled, at me today! He is 5 1/2 weeks old, and this morning he was happy to see me and gave me a big grin. The chances of catching a smile with the camera are slim at this point, though, so no photo yet. I don't really want to take pictures of him now anyway as his face and head are still all rashy. It's looking a little better, but it's still pretty bad. I want my smooth, kissable baby cheeks back! His nose has been the only place on his head that has been rash-free.

It felt very strange to just have two kids at home yesterday morning after we dropped Joel off at school. Grant was sleeping, so it was just Aubrey and I. Our house felt empty, and so much quieter! I had been worried that Aubrey might make a scene that first day of preschool because she was convinced she was going to school, too, but she must have realized the truth at some point because there was no scene--just one sad little girl. I perked her up as we were leaving by mentioning a tea party. It's amazing how a little "tea" (apple juice), some cheerios and marshmallows, and Mommy's undivided attention can change a little girl's mood. We played a game of Candyland, too, so it was pretty much the ideal morning in Aubrey's eyes. :)

First day of preschool

Joel has been waiting for this day for what seems like an eternity to him. He finally gets to go to school like Kari, have a teacher like Kari, carry a backpack like Kari... you get the idea. He even drew a picture of an apple (all his idea) to give to his teacher. He was so cute. When I walked him in to his class he put his stuff away, found his seat, and got right to work. He knows how this school thing works.

The big smile I got when I peaked my head around the door to pick him up made my day. And unlike his big sister, he told me all about everything that went on this morning at school--such a wealth of information! (We know practically nothing about Kari's school days, and I may never know, because this year I am not able to volunteer regularly in the classroom like I did last year.) Joel is still remembering new things to tell me about throughout the day. I'm eating it up. :) I asked him if there were a lot of kids that he knew (there are) and he said, "Mom, I know ALL the kids in the class, but...I don't know their names."

I am so happy that he is already loving preschool. I am already impressed with his teacher, too. Mrs. Mitchell, or "Mitch-wull" as Joel says it, started off well. I think it's going to be a good experience for our Joel-boy.

First day of school--1st grade

Our first grader was up and ready for school before her alarm this morning. She actually was ready last night for this first day to come and go, I think. She wanted to shower and get ready for bed at 6pm.  I drove her to school this morning and walked her to her classroom. She put her things away, and we helped her find her table. I knew for certain that she was nervous when a little boy at her table said, "Hi! What's your name?" and there was absolutely no response from Kari. She wouldn't say a word, but that's what she does when she's in a new situation or is scared. As my dad put it, Kari is an enigma. She has a strong personality but is an introvert. I've been praying that she has a good first day and starts to feel more comfortable soon. I only shed a few tears as I drove away from the school this time. She's riding the bus home (for the first time) with a neighbor girl from across the street, and we'll go meet her at the bus stop in about an hour.


Even though she was nervous, I think she really was excited to go back to school and start first grade. She smiled for my photo and happily hugged her brothers and sister good-bye.

Optimus and Bumblebee

Joel has recently enjoyed roping Aubrey into his Transformer play. (Thanks, Wilsons, for the second outfit!) He has her convinced that she's going to be Optimus Prime for Halloween. :)

(See the laundry basket in the background? Just some evidence that laundry is indeed piling up around here.)

Girls in curls

Did your mom do this to your hair when you were little? Mine did.

The girls were so excited to do it. Kari's hair was super curly when she was little, and now it's still pretty curly in the back but more straight in the front. She wanted to make her hair ALL curly everywhere, and Aubrey wanted to be like Kari. I didn't think my 2-year-old would leave them in all night, but she did. This was our practice round.





















After we took the rollers out (we eventually did pigtails but I never got a photo)

















Shirley Temple, anyone?

Almost one month

Grant is 4 weeks old, will be a month old tomorrow. Four weeks finds us tired, as he is up multiple times in the night, sometimes for an hour or more. The good news is that he has been happier during the day, which has been nice. Four weeks finds Grant no longer shedding his skin but with a terrible case of baby acne and, thanks to his sister's cold, a stuffy nose. Poor little guy. Hopefully it'll all clear up soon.

In these first four weeks of his life, Grant has been held and loved by many. Here is a collage of all the grandparents who have come to visit and have held him--grandparents, great grandparents, and even a great-great grandma. Our kids are blessed to have so many grandparents and so many of them close by. My Grandma and Grandpa Arnold were down from Alaska for my cousin's wedding a couple weeks ago. It was fun to be able to intoduce them to Grant and for the kids to get to see them again.

The first and the last

Kari and Grant seem to have a couple of notable things in common. Their resemblance to Daddy is one, and fussy babyhood appears to be another. Although I doubt he will be able to de-throne the Queen of Colic, Grant does seem to be trying to follow in his eldest sister's footsteps. We are getting less and less sleep around here as a result. We shall see what the coming weeks bring for us. School starts in a week. Things could get very interesting!

Isn't this photo sweet? I was Kari's age when my little brother was born, and we have pictures of me in pigtails holding Blake just like this. Kari is a great big sister and loves holding Grant. Maybe they will be kindred spirits.

Leaves, pumpkins, apples, hot cider...

I know it's still August, but I'm ready for fall. Can you tell? I even changed my blog background.

Aluminum Anniversary

It's been 10 years since we stood in front of all our family and friends and vowed to "love, honor, and cherish" each other "as long as we both shall live." Ten years since I made one of the best decisions of my entire life. While there have been days when I haven't liked him and he hasn't liked me very much, I can honestly say I have never regretted marrying Greg. I knew when we first started dating in the fall of '97 that I was going to marry him.  It took him a bit longer to come to that same conclusion, but we got there. :)

young, happy newlyweds (the sky was
beautiful that night)
It was such a fun whirlwind of a day.

We are not going to Hawaii or Mexico to celebrate our big "ten year." We're not going anywhere (well, we do get to go to soccer practice!) as our baby is three weeks old today, but we are celebrating the wonderful ten years we've spent together as husband and wife . What a full ten years it's been--graduating from college, moving 7 times, having four children. Ten years finds us sleep-deprived (loving the baby, just to be clear) and up to our elbows in dirty diapers once again. My heart is joyful and thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon us and our marriage. I'm so grateful for the man I married.

I love you, Greg! Happy 10th anniversary!

Needed to put up some new photos

Don't have a whole lot of time to blog these days. We're doing well but still getting used to our new normal around here. Yes, our house is a mess and laundry is piled up, and I'm trying not to let it get to me too much. :) Grant went from getting up once or twice a night to getting up two or three times a night and not going back to sleep easily, so we're a little short on sleep, but that's to be expected. He's healthy and eating pretty well. He was 9lbs 4 oz at his two week check up, so he gained back his birth weight and then some.

All four kids. This was a week ago or so.

brothers

Almost three weeks old

One of his many faces. (He gets that talent from Greg, you know.)

Zoo day with Daddy

My first couple days going it alone have gone surprisingly well, as evidenced by the fact that I'm posting again.
Maybe this transition will be smoother than I thought. Maybe. :)

On one of the days Greg was home, he took the older three to the zoo. They had a great time, minus the tumble Joel took down the hill into the sticker bushes. The little first aid kit I sent along with them wasn't cutting it, so they had to seek out a larger bandage from the zoo people. They also had to go through the dinosaur exhibit to stop the hysteria (best $10.50 he ever spent, Greg said). Thanks to PBS's Dinosaur Train, the kids know the names of almost all the dinosaurs. Greg was impressed. :) They had a great time pretending to be Dr. Scott, the palaeontologist. The dinosaur fear factor was low and the fun factor high, as this was the second time they had seen the dinosaurs. The first time an excited but timid Joel held my hand pretty tightly almost the whole way through.
(click on the collage for a closer look)
Because we have a zoo pass (and because I was pregnant the last 9 months) we usually don't try to see everything every time we go, but Greg let them stay as long as they wanted, and they got to do and see everything. They pet the goats, touched a cockroach (Aubrey and Joel anyway), sat on all the statues, and saw all the animals they wanted, even the stinky bats.