Friday, August 24, 2012

My Three Children


It feels a little weird to have three children.  I still keep them in the categories of "The Girls" and "The Baby".  I love when I read back through my blog books and I've written down silly things my kids have said or done,  the problem is I can barely remember my name at the moment.   Here's a little update about each kiddie, as we gear up for a new school year.

Emory never ceases to amaze me.  I can't say she's growing like a weed, because she's not.  Her accomplishment for the summer is that she finally weighs 40 lbs.!  She's a very tiny 7 year old and we love her "Skinny Bones" as we affectionately call her.  She's still our reader, constantly learning new facts about everything under (and around) the sun.  Some of the things she particularly liked reading about this summer was Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea (which is actually pronounces with a hard "g" sound, rather than soft "g" or "j" sound.) and Sperm or "Cells with Tails" as she calls them.  When my family came to visit, one of the first things she told her Uncle Josh was that he was lucky to have "cells with tails".  She loves to make up plays with her friends and is generally the narrator.  We are letting the girls participate in an extracurricular activity during the school year, and Emory has chosen Karate.  She'll be starting 2nd grade, at another new school, and I have no doubt she'll be at the top of the class again.  She loves Primary and church, and one of my favorite moments of the week is when she takes Tessa's hand after Sacrament Meeting and says, "Don't worry, mom.  I'll get her safely to her class," and they skip off.  I had a goal for her to learn how to ride her bicycle this summer.  Not going to happen.  She REALLY doesn't want to and I think I figured out why.


Tessa is seriously our Ham.  She is also my Little Mom.  She helps me do everything.  I don't think I've had to get or throw away too many diapers this summer.  She love, love, loves Fischer and kisses him a kagillion times a day.  She's progressed in her reading skills and is so excited for her second year of preschool to start.  She still loves to take naps, but gets pretty angry if you wake her up before she's ready.  Tessa chose to participate in dance and I know she's going to tear it up, as the child has better moves than most adults I know!  Unlike Emory, Tessa is growing and can basically share clothes with her sister.  She loves to wear skirts, but also asks for her C3PO shirt every time it's out of the laundry.  Both girls watched Star Wars this summer and they're obsessed.  She is also a master chef.  I always ask her what we should have for dinner and she usually comes up with something good and helps make it, but she has to be wearing her apron.

Fischer is our Little Buddy.  He's growing up so fast, and I'm scared and happy at the same time.  He was pretty tricky in the beginning.  It's nice to be getting 6-8 hours of sleep in a row, and to finally have him eating well.  He is such a sweetie, as long as he's fed, dry, and not tired.  He's known for his epic flatuating abilities and is starting to swing and grab at his toys.  He hates his car seat, and LOVES to be outside.  His favorite time of the the day is Bath Time.  2 month stats are: 25 3/4 inches long (95%) 14 lbs. 13 oz. (90%) and 41 3/4 cm head circumference (75%).

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Preschool Graduation

I missed one thing in May, Tessa's Preschool Graduation.  
She attended a Preschool at our high school that is taught by high school students.  (If you go to the link and then click on Preschool Pictures there's some fun ones of Tessa.)  It's cheap and the kids get a ton of attention since there are so many Student Teachers.  Tessa loved everyday of school and is already looking forward to next year!

Tessa and the "Teacher" Teacher, Ms. Sheehan.



Eating cake with her BFF.



Funny Story:  The kids put together a babysitting list, so you could use some of the student teachers as babysitters this summer.  Some of them listed that they'd babysit anyone, but a ton of kids specifically said Tessa and Tessa only!  Looks like she's a hot commodity!

What's after June?

July!
We had a fun filled Fourth, with a Ward Breakfast and softball game.  
There was a really cute Parade of States, that each kid dressed up as something from the state they picked.


Emory was a Wisconsin Cheese-Head and Tessa was a Nebraska Corn-Husker, just for her Uncle Adrian. 


(Don't be fooled be her sign.  I don't know why they gave her Alabama!)


The girls watched a movie at home with friends after the game, and then we headed out to Party with more friends.  We had an awesome BBQ, with yummy food, fun, and Fireworks.  You could seriously see 5 firework shows from our friends balcony.  I made my mom's ever popular Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers.  She likes to mix the packet of cream cheese with a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cheddar cheese, doesn't use a toothpick, and bastes the poppers with BBQ sauce (we love Sweet Baby Ray's) before cooking at 275 degrees for 45 min. and then 350 for 15 min.  Seriously, make them and you'll never take home any leftovers.

That weekend we had our first trip back to the coast with Fischer.
Cory and Wayne surfed and the kids were even crazy enough to get into the water.




Jackson, Emory, and James.


We had a fun day at our friends with water balloons and silly Plays put on by the kids.





Lots of playgroups at Splash Pads.


Proof that Fischer and I sat through all of them.
  

Handsome boys ready for church.


Tessa had a couple of days where she could barely make it through dinner awake.



First Real Smile caught on camera.


Fischer Fishing with a straw pole that Emory made him.


Blue Steel?


I love taking pictures off my camera.  Always a surprise random shot!


I used to Blog.

I used to Blog.  Then I had a baby.  The end.
I've gotten some guff from family that lives far away, for not posting enough pictures of the little ones or the amazing things that they say.  I'm trying to be better.

Where were we?  Oh, June.  The first week in June, Emory lost her first tooth.  One night she walked up to me and said, "Mom, I think my tooth is loose."  She opens her mouth, and it was dangling by a thread!  
(Guess that's how out of it I'd been.)  Her dad told her to just keep wiggling it, and 5 minutes later, it fell out during scripture study.  


She was very excited and got a whole dollar from the tooth fairy! 
 


Obligatory Tessa photo.



Emory also had her 7th Birthday in June!  She got some fun presents, went to McDonald's, and Dad made her Aebleskivers for Birthday Breakfast.






The size 6 dress that was a tent on this tiny 7 year old.



They also had chocolate cake for breakfast, cause I'm GREAT like that.


Fischer continued to grow and make weird faces.



First smirk caught on camera.
  



We watched a fun preview for a play at our museum.  This was the Prince and Maleficent.


Father's Day!


We also went on our first trip as a family of five.  Cory had a retreat for a position he has on a medical board in Bend, so we tagged along.  It was really fun, and we definitely want to go back out there again.  We had an awesome condo and enjoyed an Emory/Tessa photo shoot.

Fischer and Mom were tired from the drive. 


Tessa was also tired.


Dad lost the ability to control his tongue and eyes.



So did Emory.


While Cory had meetings and went rafting, I took the kids to the High Desert Museum, which was really fun and entertaining.  We loved learning about raptors or birds of prey.

Golden Eagle.


Bald Eagle.



Snapping Turtle.


Bobcat.


Prairie Dog dig.


Spider devouring a Fly.


After their nightly hike.

 

 The reason I didn't go on the nightly hike.  That isn't dust that is covering that table.


 My seasonal allergies kicked into high gear right after I had Fischer and haven't let up since.  They were especially bad in Bend, thanks to the fine coat of pollen that covered everything.


Add in a billion feedings, diaper changes, Phineas and Ferb filled afternoons and that was June.