Too Soon in my Opinion

So last night was our first PTA meeting. It was fine. Eric and I paid our dues and are now official members. It wasn't quite as catty as I thought it may be. Anyway, not the point. We were able to take the kids and they got some pizza for dinner and were to watch a movie while the meeting was going on. We get there and sit down and almost IMMEDIATELY two little girls come up to Andrew and say hi (one of them is in his class). He was excited to see them and said hi back. About 5 minutes later both little girls came back and each one sat on opposite sides of him and said hi. Getting right in his face and smiling real big. Andrew hardly knew where to turn. Two cute little ladies hanging out with him. I think it is entirely too early to be dealing with the opposite sex. I would much prefer Andrew think that girls have cooties (Mom and sister exempt of course). I had to smile at it all but I am now living in dread of the years to come when dating and kissing and crushes and all that comes into play. This is all TOO SOON people!

Happy Anniversary to Me! (Eric too I guess)

In honor of Eric and my 7th anniversary I thought I would treat you all to a show of the two of us through the years. It is funny, I think that I haven't changed much but Eric looks much older! Plus I added some baby pictures of the boys in, just so it would qualify on this blog and all! :)

College Sweethearts

Happy Wedding Day! 9-22-01

Lots of presents!

The First Cruise

Sweet Little Family

Andrew's First Cruise

Zane's First Cruise (Manzanillo Mexico)

If you couldn't guess cruises are big business for us. I have more pictures but I thought these would be the most fun. Plus most of you have seen what we look like lately. Fun to look back at how young we were!

I Love These Three!!!

I have been so tired tonight! I think it is the rain. Fall has finally arrived and I can feel it. I always start craving soups and stews and biscuits and all those types of hearty comfort foods. I was sitting on my couch tonight watching the boys play hide and seek and I just was overwhelmed with a feeling a deep satisfaction and joy.

These little people keep my life so busy and crazy but they are so much fun it definitely is worth it. Even when I have bad days with them I still know what a huge blessing they are in my life.

I thank God for every day I have with them knowing that eventually the day will come when I have to completely let them go.

Until then I will soak up every single crazy fighting filled, tantrum-throwing, snugglicious filled day and consider myself fortunate to have it!

Genetic Snaggletoothness?

So I was looking at the kids baby books today and writing down that Lucy got a new tooth in the handy tooth getting section and I got curious about how Zane and Andrew got their teeth. Lo and behold both of the boys were snaggletooths too! How did I not remember that? I guess there is some definite worth to having a baby book to help me remember these things. I mean that is the best way I have to recall all of those things that happened before the era of this blog. I also noticed that my kids cut teeth in sets, very few days in between the same tooth coming in on either side. Lucy has a corner of other tooth through already. Andrew I don't remember being so bad with teething but Zane went on a crazy spree with 6 teeth coming in in only 5 weeks. My house and sleep schedule were totally out of whack for that month. I seem to be destined to have snaggletoothed babies. It is a fortunate thing they are so darn cute!

6 :50- 6 :55

6:50- Andrew begins screaming in the back yard. I look out the window to see Andrew crying, clutching at his mouth and Phoenix looking incredibly guilty. Apparently in a fit of puppy energy Phoenix mistook Andrew's face for a play toy.

6:52- While dealing with a sobbing Andrew out in the back yard, Lucy begins screaming in the house. Apparently she crawled over by the tv and pulled the baby monitor receiver down on her head. I pick Lucy up and head outside.

6:55- Go outside with Lucy to confirm all is well with Andrew. Screaming begins from Zane while I am trying to put Lucy down to play. Andrew has been playing on the swing and Zane walked right behind him. Laid Zane out flat. Zane lays there and screams. Once up off the ground with a mouth full of sand and grit he throws up while trying to spit out the sand. Fortunately not on me.

Oh the fun adventures in the land of three kids!

Snaggletooth Sister

Lucy seems destined to be a snaggletooth sister. She is currently cutting teeth on top. But they are not the middle teeth, they are the secondary incisors. She is going to look a bit ridiculous. Kinda like when you lose your teeth in 2nd grade and are unable to eat corn for about 6 months. Lucy also seems to not have quite the pain tolerance level that the boys did. Eric and I were treated to an hour long crying jag at 2 am last night. We gave her tylenol, oragel and I nursed her. Nothing seemed to immediately help. Eric held her in her room for about an hour and then tried to put her back down. No luck. She immediately started screaming again. I had him bring her in our room and I put her on my chest and she fell asleep within about 5 minutes. She was pretty worked up though. Her little back was heaving like she had cried for an hour. (I guess since she had that would make sense though) Eric was quite disgusted that I was able to calm her down so quickly. I think the tylenol can take most of the credit. Eric moved her back to her crib later in the night and she settled right back down. I could do without another one of those nights though. They are absolutely no fun!

Sweet Zane of Mine

I was happily sitting on the couch tonight with Zane snuggled up next to my legs. Next thing I know he is out cold asleep! I guess being a 3 year old is completely exhausting for him. He has really started fighting naps and Eric and I have decided that unless he was up extremely early or seems extra crabby tired we are letting the napping thing go. Periodically he will fall asleep in the car or on the couch like tonight. He was sleeping so hard that I got to pick him up and snuggle him for a little bit. He didn't wake up for about 15 minutes and he woke up then because we were trying to get him awake. Bedtime is still important in my book. Anyway, it was fun to have a little man all to myself when he was a snuggling machine. Even if it was not by choice!

Hooray for Crystal!

We got a special treat this week. Crystal came back to Lake Stevens to visit all her friends before the big grind of school begins. She is staying with her friend Heidi but she has come over to visit (and use our internet) a couple of times. It has been so fun to see her and I think she may even be up for Christmas this year. The kids were thrilled to have her back in the house even for a visit. She has been shocked at how big all the kids have gotten and how well Zane is talking. Phoenix (the dog she refused to miss) gave here the biggest surprise by how huge he is getting. He is now taller than Calvin and he is only 8 months old! He will be huge for sure. Hooray for visits from Crystal! We love each and every one of them!

Coxsackie Virus Invasion!

This isn't the best picture nor is it actually either of the people in my home who have this terrible virus but you get the idea. Lucy and Eric are sick. I took Lucy in to the doctor yesterday because she has been super crabby for the past few days and I thought she had a cold with an ear infection tossed in. I was wrong. Lucy instead has this horrible virus which I can hardly pronounce without being profane. Eric pronounces it as something else completely inappropriate. (I will leave it to your imagination to figure out what that is) Anyway, there is nothing we can do about this virus, just let it run it's course and give Tylenol for the pain. Poor baby. Now I know why she feels so crabby!

On a brighter note, Lucy weighed in at 18 pounds 12 ounces. Not a huge weight gain since it has been almost 2 months since her last appointment. I think the moving around has certainly helped. It definitely is not because she doesn't eat. The girl can pack away the groceries for sure.

I guess this virus usually lasts about a week. I sure hope so. It would be nice to have my happy family back together again.

Another Minnow in the Family

Tonight Zane had his very first swimming lesson! He was so excited to go. He has very patiently sat and watched Andrew complete lesson after lesson for almost 2 years now. Finally his time has arrived. I was a little concerned that he would be one of those kids in the water, out of the water every 30 seconds. He really surprised me. He stayed in the pool the whole time and chatted up his teacher a whole bunch. He is in a class with all girls too. Rebbecca a little girl in his Sunday school class was also there. It was her first class today too.

Zane trying to back float

As was to be expected Zane was nervous about putting his head back into the water. This is usual for a first timer in class. I think it has something to do with being worried about your face going under. Even with his head on the teachers shoulder he was still pretty stiff. He will get it in time. Andrew took the Preschool 1 level 5 times before passing so Zane has a lot of lessons to go I am sure.

After the lesson I discovered the one thing I had forgotten. Was it dry clothing? a towel? a new diaper? No, those are all the things I remembered. I forgot to feed the boy a snack before class and lets just spell out that equation. Hungry Boy+ No Nap+ Didn't get to Push the Emergency Exit Button= Enormous Temper Tantrum. I don't remember the last time I have seen him that out of control upset. I will remember a snack for the next lesson. The whole hungry part was a big bad on me. I can't fully blame him. I just know I do not want a repeat of that tantrum anytime in the near future.

All in all swimming was a success! I am so excited to see him on Wednesday do some more and I know he is excited too!

One Ahead of Schedule and One Behind

Well, you all voted that pulling up to a stand was the biggest milestone. Lucy is doing that already! She is WAY ahead of schedule (at least for my kids) and actually running on the young side of the averages in general. I have very little hope that she will avoid walking before a year. I am desperately trying to keep her from it before 10 months though.

Maybe if I put weights in her shoes it will slow her down.....

Zane on the other hand has yet to decide that he wants to be a big boy and be potty trained. He insists that he wants to be a little boy or a baby. One day he will determine that he wants to be a big boy and wear underwear.

It may be the day before kindergarten. But it will happen none the less!

Soccer Superstars

This weekend Andrew had another soccer practice/game. He is having a lot of fun and his team won yet again! Andrew scored another goal and was very proud of himself. It is so cute to watch them play. Just a huge mob around the ball all the time. There is no strategy and you end up cheering the whole time regardless of who seems in control of the ball. Super cute!

Oh, and I brought snacks this week but did not bring orange slices. According to Teresa I only reach soccer mom status when I bring those :)

Practice Time

Become a Follower in a Good Way!

I have added the followers gadget to my blog. This just allows those who choose to stand up and be counted for this crazy blog. Declare yourself today!

Oh No She Didn't!

Lucy has been getting her feet under her for a few days now. This morning was the first time I have been able to get it on "film." Sad how fast they grow isn't it?

Kindergartener at Last

Today was Andrew's very first day of kindergarten. Andrew woke up this morning excited to get on the bus and go to school. I was a bit nervous and unsure. 8:20 came around and out we headed for the bus stop. Our bus stop is right down the street so there is no worry about having to cross the street in the morning. All too soon the bus arrived and on it went Andrew. I managed to not freak out and wave him away with a smile.

After Andrew got on the bus Zane flipped out. He wanted to get on the bus too. Eric and I informed him that he had to be potty trained first. Anything to get that kid to use the bathroom!

Andrew made it home this afternoon just fine. I knew he would but it still felt like forever until he was back home. He had lots of information to share, including that when you want to talk you have to raise your hand. I guess the basics never change! Now I just have to get up and repeat this scenario tomorrow and the next day and so on until he is all grown up. Sigh..... I wish the baby years wouldn't go by quite so fast!

The End of an Era

Today was my last day with all preschool age children. Tomorrow Andrew will start kindergarten and I am really excited for him and a little bit sad for me. I will put my baby on the bus for school and then get to stew for 3 hours until he is home again with me. I know he will have a great time but I anticipate a morning filled with pins and needles for me. Tomorrow will also begin the era of the alarm clock for me. Until this point I have been happily sleeping until my little people wake me up each morning. No longer the case. I will be on a schedule just like when I was working. I suppose I should have been doing the alarm clock thing all along. I certainly would have been getting more done in the morning. Just chilling in the morning was so much easier though! Anyway, so long! farewell! to my days of little ones only. Let the school years begin!

Rah! Rah! Sis Boom Bah!

Lucy has been sitting like a cheerleader for almost a month now. She seems to think it is the easiest and most comfortable position to be in once she pushes back from a crawl. I think it is super cute and the closest that she will be to a cheerleader if her daddy has anything to say about it. The skirts are just too short for his taste. Plus when I told him how expensive cheer was he looked at Lucy and said NO WAY SISTER!

Lucy is now everywhere with the crawling. We have yet to get the gates up but Lucy has yet to try the stairs either. I am guessing within a week or so we will have to go full force with the baby proofing. The gates are a pain to deal with though so I like to postpone it as long as possible. Right now she seems content to just crawl where we are and doesn't go to explore. This will be soon changing I know and then I will really have to watch her like a hawk!