Kids? What Kids?

Mike’s work had a retreat at the J.W. Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn that we were lucky enough to attend, thanks to Mike’s mom, Nancy, and her best friend Patti . . . they flew out to watch the kids for the four days while we were gone.  It was the first time since our honeymoon that we stayed in a hotel together without kids!  There were different activities that we could sign up for each morning, such as hot air balloon rides, repelling, kayaking, going on a cattle drive, etc.  We opted for sleeping in; sounds lame, but I cannot tell you how nice it was to not have someone asking for cereal at 6am.  Mike attended seminars in the afternoon, so I got to lay by the pool, go to the spa, or take a nap.  I should probably feel like a terrible mother because people kept asking if I was missing the kids, and I could honestly reply “No.”  Don’t get me wrong -- I was excited to get back to them after the end of the four days, but it was great to have the opportunity to have some “alone” time.

Noah and I met up with Mike and some of the members on his work team at the Texas State Fair one evening this week.  One of the team members is leaving; they usually have a goodbye dinner but thought that going to the fair would be more fun.  We had never been to the fair before, and I did not realize how “sketchy” it is in that part of town .  After driving in heavy traffic for well over an hour, I was about two minutes away from the parking lot, when a car cut me off.  I had to make a sharp right-hand turn that resulted in blowing out my tire.  I pulled into the first available parking lot, which thankfully happened to have a car repair shop.  The staff was nice enough to change the tire for me.  I only had to wait about 10 minutes before Mike arrived to help me.  However, the comments made by bystanders in that short time period were nothing I care to repeat here . . . worst of all, the comments directed to me were in front of Noah.  Luckily, once we got to the fair, we had a lot of fun (especially Noah).  We ate way too much fried food and went on too many rides, but it was still a blast!  

 

Max has his bottom two front teeth!

Half Way to an Adult

We celebrated Noah’s 9^th birthday on September 17^th.  It’s hard to believe it’s been nine years since Mike and I got to hold him for the first time.  It’s even harder to believe that in another nine years he will be 18 years old!  I’m guessing the second half will go even faster than the first. When I started the journey of motherhood over nine years ago, I cannot express how scared I was . . . but, like any journey, you learn lessons along the way and your confidence builds.  I know I’ve done at least some things right when I look at the person he is turning out to be.

 

On his actual birthday, I woke up early to make him a stack of pancakes (something he has always thought was awesome) with a candle on top.  He made his wish and blew out the candle as Amelia and I sang “Happy Birthday.”  One of the things I love most about having kids is how excited they get over the little things in life.  The day before, I took Noah to the grocery store with me and let him pick out a “Lunchable” and some other goodies for his lunch.  I also let him choose a 12-pack of soda for his consumption only, who would have known grape-flavored Fanta could make someone so happy!  What made me happy was that weekend, while all the kids and grownups on our street were hanging out together, Noah asked if he could share his soda with all the kids. 

The night of his birthday, we took him to our favorite burger joint (the Twisted Root) in a neighboring town, where he got to open some of his presents and eat a yummy Oreo shake.

This past Saturday, we had a birthday party with some of his friends at a local place where they offer bowling, laser tag, and arcade games.  What made it really cool was Radio Disney was there next to our bowling lanes offering cool prizes for the kids if they danced and could guess the names of popular Disney show theme songs.  In total, all ten kids won an extra $10 to spend at the arcade.

Amelia and I played glow in the dark mini golf while the others were playing laser tag.

The hamburger cakes were Noah's chose!

Noah and I finished off his birthday weekend by going to a Broadway musical with my friend, Susan, and her two boys who are also friends of Noah's.  We saw "Peter and the Starcatcher."  Both Susan and I read the book to our boys, so we were all excited to see it on stage.  It was good, but I think we all agreed we liked the book better.

We love you, Noah.  Thank you for making us better people and for being such a great example to Amelia and Max.  You are a wonderful son, an awesome big brother, a true friend to others, and you have amazing character!

First Day of School

I cannot believe the day has arrived . . . Amelia started preschool!  It was very bittersweet; she was beyond excited to start going to school, and I was looking forward to having more one-on-one time with Max.  Despite that, it was a very emotional thing for me.  I didn’t let Amelia see me cry, but you better believe I had big ol’ sunglasses on when we dropped her off that first morning.

 "Meet the Teacher"

She immediatley started playing and we had to pull her away when it was over.

Amelia and Ms. Deborah., she has two teachers and 13 kids in her class.  She is one of four girls, three of which names start with the letter "A".

All the kids get the same canvas bags, we were encouraged to decorate them.

She loved her first week!  When I picked her up from school, she would run through everything she’d done for the day and mention all her new little friends.  When she would see our neighbors, she would say, ”Hey, I was just at school,” in a very cool tone.  She has been talking about going to school for at least the last year, so she was definitely ready.  She goes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 8:45am to 12:45pm, which allows her to eat lunch there, which she loves.

First lunch napkin I ever wrote to Amelia.  I always loved when my mom included these in my lunch growing up!

I bought her tap shoes a few days before her ballet/tap class.  I thought her princess slippers were loud!

Another big milestone, the week prior, was Noah starting the 3^rd grade!  I am very pleased about the person who is his teacher this year, and he is happy to have quite a few friends in his class.  His teacher has a big love of reading, of which I am a huge fan and something I have tried to pass on to Noah.  It will be great to have this same enthusiasm shared by his teacher, as well.

Waling to school with some of the kids on our street. 

  

I had to include this one, they have a deep love for one another!

Max is 6 Months Old!

If I had to describe Max in one word, it would be “happy.”  He brings so much joy to our lives, and I love see him learn new things.

He started babbling a lot more lately . . . he does it mostly when he’s alone playing on his mat or in his OSV (my dad dubbed this an “Over Stimulation Vehicle” a.k.a exersaucer) or lying in his crib.  

He still doesn’t have any teeth (which I love), but I can tell they’re coming soon, since his fist is always in his mouth.  He sleeps between 12 to 14 hours at night and takes two naps a day.

In the last month, he’s really started to get excited when Noah or Amelia plays with him.  He definitely knows who’s family, but he’s still great about letting anyone hold him.

He weighs 16 pounds and is in the 16^th percentile for weight; he’s 26 inches long and is in the 25^th percentile for height.  We introduced him to rice cereal a few days ago.  He did okay with it, but since he’s only breastfed up until now, he has a hard time not pushing the food out with his tongue.  We’ve also tried sweet potatoes and apples, and he doesn’t seem to like either.  He makes the funniest face, like he’s eating something incredibly sour.

He has started trying to crawl, but it looks more like an inchworm moving.  He can get up and move on his knees but has a hard time staying up and keeping his chest off the ground.

 

The one thing that drives me crazy is that he spits up WAY more than Noah or Amelia ever did!  I not only have to change him multiple times a day, but I usually go through a few shirts myself. 

One of the things I love most about him are his beautiful blue eyes and strawberry blond hair.  How lucky am I to have one child with brown eyes, one with green eyes and one with blue eyes?!

Summer Fun

Is it just me, or does it feel like summer gets shorter every year?  I can’t believe that school starts in two weeks.  Noah will be going into the 3^rd grade and Amelia is starting preschool.  She will only go three days a week for four hours, but I know I am going to be a COMPLETE mess when we drop her off that first day.  I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it.  

We’ve had an amazing summer, and I’ve tried to keep coming up with activities for Noah and Amelia so they don’t get overly bored.  If you ask them, the pool has been, by far, the best thing about this summer.

We've had LOTS of tea parties

Cheers!

Here is an update on Noah and Amelia:

Noah feels more like 16 than 8 years old.  He’s a wonderful big brother and overall very responsible.  His favorite things are building Legos, K’NEX, biking, playing Wii and guitar.  He has really enjoyed having friends who live on our cul-de-sac.  We’ve started planning his 9^th birthday party; half of the people on the invitation list that Noah compiled are Mike’s friends (in their thirties!).

Noah built a theme park out of K'NEX

We had Mike's team over for dinner and Noah set up a race track and they had quite the competition!

Amelia is a firecracker; I cannot tell you the number of people who’ve said that to me.  She says the funniest things.  She might kill me one day, but there is one story in particular that I have to share.  She’s a very literal child and doesn’t like nicknames, she names her toys exactly what they are… puppy, kitty, baby, Barbie.  So a few weeks back she started calling Max “Peanut,” and Mike and I both thought that was so cute, since she’s never given anything a nickname.  So we all started calling him that for the next week . . . that is, until one day when I’m changing his diaper and Amelia goes, “Look Mommy, there’s his peanut!”  I realized at the moment she’d been really calling him a penis all along.  I can’t tell you how hard I laughed!

Her favorite things are playing Barbies, dressing up, laying out outfits for herself (she has even started laying out outfits for me as well).  She loves to color and snuggle, especially with her daddy.  She is the first one up every morning, so she and Mike usually get at least 15 minutes of snuggle time before he leaves for work.  She loves to bake with me, and I think she definitely inherited the sweet tooth gene from the women in my family.  

Max is now six months old as of yesterday, but I’m going to wait and give an update on him until after his six-month “well child” check-up next week.