Isaac's in Preschool

So, I never thought the day would come when I have THREE kids in school!  What am I going to do when ALL of my kids are in school.  Heaven help me...I'm going to be a sad mama.

Well, today was the day that my sweet little Isaac started pre-preschool.  First year of preschool...so he's only gone for two hours, two days per week.  Doesn't seem like long, but it does to me!  Any time away from these little ones is hard for me...as stated in the post for Noah and Leah!  I'm not coming to terms with the fact that my kiddos are growing up!  

The good thing is that Isaac has been SO excited for school and has been asking when he gets to go for 2 weeks...when Noah started school.  Last night he was so thrilled that it was *finally* his turn.  We laid out his clothes and he received a blessing from Doug...it was official...he was all ready to go!

This morning he woke up early and we made him his favorite breakfast...oatmeal with fruit.  He devoured every bite and then promptly jumped in the tubby to get ready for his big day ;).

Once he was ready, he told me "Mom, now it's MY turn to get pictures in the front yard!"  Smart kid...he knows the drill!  And he was hamming it up for the camera too...he is SOOOO handsome...I can't stand how cute he is!

And then we were off!  When we got there, he jumped out of the car and ran in so fast!  He is very familiar with his preschool, so he wasn't nervous at all!  He hung up his backpack and found his cute little placemat and started to play with his play-doh.  He wouldn't even look up for a pic...he was so into it!  And then I was off!

And, guess what...I didn't even cry!  Go me!  He was just too happy for me to be sad.  I knew that he was going to have a fabulous time!

And the house was sooooo.... quiet when we got home!  It was so weird just having the girlies home with me.  But we had fun and played, and got all ready for the day....and then it was time to go get Isaac.  He had such an amazing time, and he LOVES his teacher!  Heck, we all do!  She is as great as they come...we sure do love her to pieces!  

And, just like that, I have 3 kiddos in school!  Crazy talk!  Our school year schedule is in full swing, which is just great!  We look forward to all the fun things that are yet to come...yay for school!!!

Leah's in Kindergarten!

My little princess is officially in kindergarden {sniff, sniff}.  Leah has been excited to go back to school, but the unknown of what it was going to be like made her a bit nervous.  

Leah goes to school in the afternoon, so it was nice to relax in the morning and take our time getting ready.  When the time came for me to do her hair, I noticed she was a bit sad.  I looked at her in the mirror and asked if she was OK...then she started to cry.  Heaven help me...this was going to be hard!  I tried my hardest to keep it together, but I just started to cry with her, which I know didn't make things better, but I couldn't help myself!  I was NOT ready for her to go to kindergarten...I was so sad about it!  Well, I took her to my room and we sat and cuddled for a good 10 minutes.  I told her how great she was going to do and how much fun she was going to have...but she was still so sad.  She was as nervous as can be...she was shaking all over and it was hard to calm her down.  Poor thing.  After a while she finally calmed down and I was able to get her ready.  And I put on my happy face...I didn't want to make this harder then it had to be, even though I was so sad inside.  

She was finally good enough to go outside for some pictures.  She was her sweet and sassy little self and I got some darling pics of her...so cute!

And as soon as we finished taking these pictures, she started to cry again!  Then I asked her if she wanted to ride her scooter to school...and that seemed to fix it.  She grabbed her scooter and off we went to school :).

And then we got there, and it all started again.  Poor girl.  I even tried to get a pic of us together, but that didn't really work out.  

But as soon as she started to notice all of the other kids and saw that they were laughing and having fun, she started to cheer up.  When it was time to line up, she walked over all by herself.  I went and gave her a big hug and kiss goodbye, and then she was off to start her first day of kindergarten.  I was pretty exhausted at this point!

And I totally sobbed the whole way home.  If she wouldn't have been so sad, I probably would have been better, but she wasn't.  I was so worried for her...but I knew she was going to do great.

Then the time *finally* came to go get my girl.  She walked out with a smile on her face...it was a successful first day!  Yay!

Plus she has the most amazing teacher!  That always makes things better ;).

And instead of walking home with me, she headed off with Noah and our neighbor friends.  She's officially a big girl now...or so she thinks ;).  I don't have to go and pick her up this year, although I will every so often for my own well being!  

Yes, it was a interesting first day for Leah, but she did it and is now LOVING school!  She can't wait to go in the afternoon and getting ready for school is so smooth.  I'm thankful for my sweet little Leah.  She has grown so much lately and I know that this is going to be a great school year for her. 

Noah is in Second Grade

Well, I blinked and summer was over. This was by far the fastest summer so far...I'm assuming that all summers are going to go by at lightning speed from here on out, and I'm not ok with that. All the more reason to cherish every moment!

Noah has been looking forward to going back to school so that he could see all of his friends. Plus he LOVES to learn, so he was excited to go for the main reason for school, which is great ;). Plus what kid doesn't *love* recess!

Even though Noah was excited to go back to school, he was also a bit nervous, which is understandable.  I don't remember not being nervous on the first day of school, so I knew exactly how he felt.  I wanted to try my hardest to make the morning go as smoothly as possible, so we started off the morning with Noah's favorite breakfast, homemade waffles.  That sure made him happy...food is the way to this kids heart ;).  

Then I made his first lunch of the year...oh the joy of school lunch.  Good thing he prefers home lunch to school lunch ;).  He definitely prefers fruits and veggies to other foods.

Then we got ready for the day and headed outside for the obligatory first day of school pictures.  He's such a handsome boy...love him!

Then it was off to school...and I'm thankful that he was OK with me and his little siblings walking him to school.  I think he knew that it was what I needed to make my day go a little better.  And there he goes...

Then I headed home with the little ones.  And the house was SO quiet!  It's crazy how the dynamics of the house changes with the absence of one person.  I don't really like it...but I'll get used to it.  And, yes, I totally cried when we walked in the door.  I miss not having Noah with me 6 hours every day...it's hard to let go!  

I told him to hurry home after school cause I was going to miss him so much and would want to see him.  The kids and I went outside early to wait for him, and I was just as thrilled as could be to see him run home.  And then he tackled me and gave me a huge hug...made my heart swell with happiness!

I make cookies every Monday that the kids are in school, so Noah was, of course, thrilled to come home to a warm and yummy treat!  He told me all about his class and what he had done on his first day.   I'm so happy that he enjoyed it...makes letting go a little easier ;).

Rugby {Noah}

Noah played rugby this summer, and it was SO fun!  He has been begging to play football, which I'm not really thrilled about, but I was willing to let him play rugby with all the boys in our neighborhood.  Their coaches were our two neighbors who used to play rugby, and they were so great with the boys.  They taught the boys so much about the game and they made sure the boys were really prepared for their games.  And it worked...they did so, so, well at their games.  By the last game of the season, it was evident that they were working well together as a team, as they won the best team in their age group.  It was pretty fun!

A week after the last game, we had a big pizza party with all of the families.  The coaches handed out trophies to each of the boys and we were able to get a group picture.  And then the fun really started when we had a boys vs. moms game!  Oh boy...it was SO fun!  The moms, of course, let the boys win ;).  Good times!  We look forward to playing again next summer!

Itty Bitty Soccer

I have been looking forward to signing Isaac up for Itty Bitty Soccer for a while now.  He had to be three years old to participate, so I was really happy when I saw that it was being offered after his birthday.  He has been looking forward to going all summer...  He was pretty thrilled when the day finally came!

I didn't know what to expect on the first day, but he did so great!  He was listening so well to his teacher...he really wanted to learn!  Isaac is a pretty obedient little boy, and it was so funny to watch him look at the other kids that were running around and not listening.  It confused him to why they weren't doing what they were supposed to do...made me smile.  He also would get a little irritated when the kids would pick up the soccer ball.  He knows that you are NOT supposed to touch the ball, so he would go up the kids and say, "put it down...we're suppose to kick it, NOT touch it"!  He really said that...over and over.  It was hilarious!  

On the second to last day, he was not having much fun.  I think that all of the kids there just overwhelmed him and he did not want to be a part of it.  He opted to sit on my lap most of the time, which was fine.  He didn't want to leave early because he wanted his sucker at the end!  

Due to his behavior on that day, I was a little nervous to how he would act on his last day.  He actually didn't want to go at all, but after talking to him, he told me that he'd go as long as he could wear his new shoes!  We were saving them for school, but I totally caved and let him wear them if it made him happy!  And it did the trick!  He was SO happy the entire time!  He had fun playing two soccer games, duck duck goose, and just playing hard!  

They even had Lenny the Lion come and see the kids, which was a huge hit!  I thought Isaac would be scared, but he totally wasn't...thank goodness ;).

And then he got his Itty Bitty Soccer Certificate.  He has it hanging in his room and talks about it often. I look forward to the many soccer related things that we will have in the future with this little guy.  Soccer runs in his blood...that's for sure!

Kate {at 15 months}

 

 Our sweet baby Kate is 15 months old!  The 3 months since she turned one flew by way too fast for me!  A 15 months, Kate...

...is finally walking!  It took awhile for our girl to get a hang of it, but, with due time, she figured it out all on her own.  It seems like she didn't want any coaxing and when she was ready, she took off.  Her right foot curves inward a bit, so we need to keep an eye on it, but our doc said that she should be just fine.  I'm sure she'll be running around in no time!

...can climb up and down stairs with no problem and no help.  She actually will push you away if you do try to help her.

...is very independent.  She does not like much help and prefers to do most things on her own.

...is a cuddler.  Whenever I am sitting on the floor while we are playing, she'll always climb over to me and cuddle up in my lap....every time.  And if the other kids come close when she's sitting there, she'll become very protective and push them away.  It's pretty funny to watch.  She also loves cuddling up when she's in our arms and puts her head down on our shoulder all of the time...especially with Doug.  So sweet.

...loves her blankets.  She's not attached to any specific blanket...she loves them all.  And she is known to grab a handful at a time and drag them around the house with her.  She loves curling up and snuggling on them.  Pretty cute.

...is, by far, our best eater.  She will eat anything!  And she *loves* to eat.  There are some times when I am feeding her and I will feel like she has eaten way too much, yet she's still hungry!  She's our little bottomless pit.  I guess the one thing that she doesn't really like is baby food.  She likes food with flavor, and there's not much of that in baby food that is watered down.  I'll usually make my own purees for her and she likes those just fine.

...is oh so silly.  She is quite hilarious and loves to make us laugh.  She will laugh at pretty much anything, and she loves to laugh as much as possible.  She's also very, VERY, ticklish and loves it when I tickle her chunky thighs or belly...her laugh is definitely contagious!

...loves to play with her toys.  She is known for sitting in her room, or going downstairs, all on her own to play with her toys.  She will pull everything out and just play, and play, and play.  I love sneaking in on her and watching her explore everything...and she'll usually babble all the while.  It's adorable!

...loves books, just like her siblings.  She loves to pick out certain books and will bring them to me to read.  Love that she loves to read!  Hopefully it sticks.

...is our little dancer and loves music.  Whenever music comes on, she'll stop what she's doing and come and dance for us.  Oh my...it's so precious to watch her wiggle her little body.  And watching her in the car is just flat out hilarious!  There's this One Direction song that she just loves, and whenever I play it she pretty much freaks out.  I need to get it on video...

...is so loud!  She babbles and talks all of the time, and she's not quiet about it at all.  If she wants me, she'll scream "MOM" at the top of her lungs over and over again until I come to her.  She takes after her sissy!

...can say mom, mommy, mama, dad, daddy, nanny {banana}, hi, that, boo, and....Isaac!  She won't say Noah and Leah {the easy names}...but she'll say Isaac!  It's so cute when she says it to cause you don't expect it from her.

...love to play peek-a-boo.  Will wave hi and bye to people.

...knows where her eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, and teeth are.

...is a great little sleeper.  She started to have a hard time with 2 naps about a month ago, so I took away her morning nap and now I just put her down at 12:30 and she sleeps for 3 hours.  Then she'll go to bed at 8:00 and sleep until about 7:00 the next morning.  Thank goodness she's on a sleep schedule...that's always a good thing for this mama.

We all love this girl SO much!  She has been the best little addition to our fam and we just can't get enough of her!  Love you to the moon and back, little one!

 

Sharing with Kate

We love snowies in our family...like a lot!  They are definitely one of our favorite summer treats.  We don't go and get them too often, but when we do, oh boy, we love every bite!  Noah was kind enough to share his yummy treat with Kate today, and she, too, loved every.single.bite.  We have yet to find anything that this girl won't eat.  She loves it all...especially a snowie!

Great Grandkids

I have 20 cousins on my dads side of the family, and most of them have kids of their own. As of now, there are 25 great grand kids...all 9 and under!  Makes for some fun get togetherness!  I have always been close with my cousins, and I just love when we all get together. I only have one cousin, Jessica, who lives out of state, so whenever she comes into town, we make an effort to all get together. It was so great to see her, as well as all my other cousins and their kids. I'm lucky to have them in my life.

Kate had fun running through the water :). She's my water baby!

Third child...

There's a little joke in Doug's family that the third child is the most accident prone.  Well, Isaac has proven this to be true in our family.  It totally sucks too because anything that involves broken skin and blood is something that I just can't handle.  Isaac fell and got stitches last year on his eyebrow, and that was enough for me to pass out!  I held it together, but I have to admit, it was pretty hard to.  

This summer has proven to be pretty bad for Isaac in the accident department.  I think he has some sort of quota to fulfill, because he keeps hurting himself.  And every accident is on his face!  Drives me nutty!  First he fell and hit his head on the TV stand...that resulted getting the gash glued shut.  Then he biffed it and crashed, head first, into the driveway...this resulted in him hitting his front tooth and getting scrapped up all over his hands and knees.  THANKFULLY, he just bruised his tooth and there was no sign of him breaking it.  Oh boy...that was close!  And THEN, he crashed, again, on his bike and hit his chin!  That resulted in a nice, OPEN, cut that had to be fixed with 7 stitches.  That experience was up there as one of the worst experiences of my life!  Do you know what they do when the give stitches to a 3 year old who won't sit still?  They strap him down!  And then they have a nurse hold his head still while the doc does the stitches!  It's horrible!  And all I can do is look at the floor and rub his legs and tell him that he's ok...when in reality he's totally not ok.  It's the worst feeling EVER to have your child in that position.  But, on the bright side, Isaac was as happy as can be as soon as they unwrapped him from the mummy hold...all he wanted was an ice cream cone!  And he totally got one too!  

He's a pretty brave kid.  I just wish he'd learn not to hurt himself so much...this momma can't handle another trip to the doc for stitches, or worse... 

Little things...

Sometimes the littlest things makes my kids so happy.  We were at Target one afternoon, and Leah and Isaac were begging for these sippy cups.  I caved and bought one for the 3 littles...this was back in June and they are still a favorite item among these three.  Go figure!

Heaven...

There was one day this summer...ONE DAY...when all of the kiddos slept.  It was a little piece of heaven, right in my house!  Noah had been sick that day, so he was up for a nap, and Leah was pretty much forced in to it, because, well, everyone else was going to sleep, so she was too!  And the little ones take naps anyways, so they were obviously easy to put down!  They all slept for 3 hours...THREE HOURS!  I actually laid down with them for a while, but then I woke up and just relaxed...it was totally dreamy!  Man, I love these littles to the moon and back, but sometimes some peace and quiet is what this mommy really needs...even if it was for only one afternoon ;).