Kindergarten?!

Last Thursday, Loren and I went to the school for a Kindergarten info session.  Kindergarten?!  Kindergarten?!?!  Yes, Kindergarten.  Andrew will be going to Kindergarten next year.  Next August.  His summer will be nearly a month shorter this year since preschool starts after Labor Day.  Regular school starts mid-August.  CrAzy.  On one hand I can't believe our first baby is growing up so fast, but really...  he is attending his fourth year of preschool.  He wants to call preschool Kindergarten.  He likes to play school and started calling me Mrs. Garrison (on occasion and mostly when he is school mode).  He dreams of riding the bus.  Every bus we drive by is his bus.  A year ago I envisioned driving him to school every day for Kindergarten.  He told me NO.  He wants to ride the bus.  I asked him one day when we were talking about Kindergarten, "What if Mommy wants to drive you to school?"  He said I could...but only 4 days.  Really.  Our first born child is Mr. Independent.  It's okay.  I imagine I will be a complete wreck on his first day of Kindergarten (ugh...I can't even think about it without tearing up!), but I have warmed up to the idea of him riding the bus.  It picks up and drops off right in front of our house.  He will only be on the bus for maybe 10 minutes or so.  All of the Kindergartners sit up front.  He. will. be. okay.  I have to keep telling myself that.  Aside from the whole bus thing, I am actually very excited for him to start Kindergarten!  The school is awesome.  He is going to love, love, LOVE it.

and now Andrew's new look!

First it was Austin with his new hair.  Now it's Andrew with his new glasses. Stop growing and changing already! :)

the new 'do

He was begging for a haircut.  Seriously.  "Haircut like Andrew!"  When I said I didn't think we could go that short he said, "Yes!  Look!" as he took both of his hands and pulled his bangs straight back.  We waited a few days and made sure he really did want a haircut...and not just a little trim.  He still insisted.  

a few days ago

Today...Austin's new 'do! 

It isn't as short as Andrew's, but he was happy.

Xmas Card Outtakes

Getting a good Christmas card picture is a LOT of work! :)

the boys' stats

The boys both had their 5 year and 2 1/2 year checkups yesterday.  It was a normal visit to the doctor (a rare one for the boys) with one major exception.  Andrew had to get his 5 year/Kindergarten shots.  It wound up being a very interesting experience, to put it delicately.  I'm pretty sure Andrew is forever traumatized.  Hopefully he will forget by the time he has to get shots again!  I was told he has until age 10.

Back to the stats...

Andrew
weight:  45.6 pounds - 79% (the exact same percentile as one year before)
height:   44.5 inches - also the 79% (up from 70% a year ago - he must really like the number 79!)

Austin
weight:  30.8 pounds - 56% (up from 40% at 2 years)
height:   36 inches - 42% (down from 51% at 2 years)

Ashley didn't have a checkup yesterday, but I was able to get her weighed while I was there.  She is 14 pounds, 5 ounces.  She is holding steady at her 7th percentile. :)

Andrew turns 5!

This year was a little different.  Andrew turned five yesterday, on Tuesday, the 15th.  His party was on Saturday, the 12th, and because Loren left for an England/Germany/back to England work extravaganza on the 13th, we had our family celebration on the 12th as well.  After the 2 hour party this simply meant Andrew got to open his presents 3 days early.  :)


Andrew wanted a Nascar/race car themed party, so that is what he got.  He invited 6 friends, and the party was filled with coloring a race car, build your own race car with stickers, pin the tire on the race car, roll the inflatable tire races (we ended up having just one team with no clear winner), toss the bean bag into the inflatable tire, red light/green light, and it wouldn't have been complete without a race track cake...and of course ice cream.  It was a fun time!

(Nov. 12th) 

 I had no part in making this cake.  Sometimes it's good to know people. :)

Nov. 15th...Andrew is officially 5!!

His actual birthday was pretty low-key, but still special. Andrew went to preschool (it was brown day!).  I delivered cupcakes to Andrew's class during snack time.  I really enjoyed seeing him in his classroom.  Now I can totally picture him there!  I arrived a few minutes early and Andrew's face turned bright red when he saw me in the hallway during their restroom break.  Very cute.

After preschool we had lunch at home and then my mom came and spent the afternoon with us.  She stayed for dinner and we ordered pizza from Hot Box (Grandma Margie's treat - or if your Austin...Ma-Margie).  Andrew's choice was pepperoni.  I must say...it was really good!  


Once he finally admitted he was 5 (he argued with me a couple of times during the day about still being 4) Andrew said to me, "Mommy, 5 year olds listen to their Mommies and Daddies."  I kid you not!  However, it was followed up shortly after with "5 year olds know everything."


Just before bedtime Andrew received phone calls from Grammie and then Gpaw & Grandma Cyn.


The new 5 year old woke up this morning with a smile on his face and a good attitude.  He listened well, did what he was supposed to without complaint, and got mad at me when i started picking up toys from the night before.  "Mommy!  You're supposed to ask ME to clean up the toys. Mommy, every time when it's SO messy ask ME to clean up the toys!"  


Seriously?!?! What was in that pepperoni pizza??




a blast from the past (one of my favorites)...
Andrew at 14 1/2 months

There is a WASP on Ashley's head!

So, several weeks ago (more like a month ago) I spotted two wasps huddled together at the very top of one of our living room windows.  They probably came in by way of the screen from the porch door (that leads to the yard) being ripped to shreds over the summer from certain 2 and 4 year old boys coupled with an open sliding glass door (which goes from the porch to the house) being left open.  I may have been to blame for that because, well, I like to be able to hear the boys when they are playing in the back yard.  Well, that's not a big deal (actually, I texted my friend Nikki and said something to the effect of "there are two wasps in my living room...aaaahhhh!!!").  I'll just pull the blinds all the way down hoping to trap them in there and pretend that the old 'out of sight, out of mind' adage would apply and work in this case.  Well, it did.  I totally forgot about those wasps.

A few weeks later when Nikki happened to be at our house, we spotted the wasps after pulling the blinds up while watching our boys play in the backyard.  Oh, yeah!  I forgot about those!  Only one was inside and the other was trapped in between the screen and window (bizarre...might have to look into that!)  I probably should have swatted the remaining wasp, but I didn't.  I eventually pulled the blinds back down.  Fast forward to a few nights ago, I can't remember the day, but it was late last week.  Loren had come home from work, I was making dinner, the boys were somewhere, and Ashley was in the living room getting a little fussy because she was suddenly left alone.  Well, that may have been why she was fussy...

Loren popped into the kitchen, looked into the living room and said, "there is a WASP on Ashley's head."  What?!?!  I quickly walked towards the living room and stopped in my tracks when I, in fact, saw a WASP! on Ashley's head.  Oh. my. gosh.  I stared for a second contemplating what to do (or maybe I was just scared)...and then I did what any normal, sane parent would do.  I, without further hesitation, swatted the wasp off of her head with the unopened string cheese in my hand.  Loren immediately grabbed my current  hardcover library read and threw it on the floor where the wasp had landed.

Done.  Ashley's head was free of wasps.  We checked for evidence of her being stung (thankfully, there was nothing that indicated as much).  Phew!

We are such cool parents.

Halloween 2011

We started trick-or-treating around 5:30.  All 3 kids had a great time.  Austin was a little tired, though, because he refused to take a nap earlier in the day (he has started to nap more lately).  Andrew actually napped for an hour or so during the day, and was still tired by 7:00 when he declared he was done.  Ashley did really well - she seemed to enjoy the ride in the stroller and watching all of the kids running around, especially her big brothers.  She also reached her limit, though, at about 7:00.  We did learn one important tip...if you are around the age of 2 1/2 and trip as you walk up to someone's front door, you get double, if not triple, the candy!  This happened at least 3 times for Austin.  He was also referred to as a girl at least 3 times.  I don't get it, but it must have been the bangs.

It was a fun night!

Andrew in swimming lessons

Andrew has been in swim lessons since the end of April.  Once a week  for the past 6 + months we have made the trek to Noblesville.  Here are a couple of videos, one from near the beginning and one from more recently.  Andrew has made a lot of progress!  He is being supported by the instructor in the first video and not at all in the second.

May 24, 2011

October 13, 2011

Andrew advanced to level 2 within a couple of months or so, and I think he is getting close to advancing to the 3rd level.  Having said that, after this month we are going to take a break from swimming lessons for the winter and play soccer.   I am really hoping he doesn't lose what he has learned in the meantime.  Surely swimming is like riding a bike, right?

Pumpkinfest 2011

We attended our 4th Annual Pumpkinfest this year.  We have been every year since Andrew was 11 months old, except for last year when we decided to skip it.  It is a little pricey, but I think it is worth every penny.  There is so much to do!  The boys rode ponies, Andrew rode a big old-fashioned trike (Austin couldn't reach any of the pedals), they slid down the giant hill slide, all 3 kids picked out their own pumpkin from the "pumpkin patch", we found our way through a corn maze (and no one got scared!), we played in 2 corn boxes, the boys rode in a cow train, the list goes on...

I think my favorite part was listening to the bluegrass music, watching Andrew practice his moves on the dance floor (which was quite comical), and watching the boys and Loren play corn hole.  We could have entertained ourselves all day, but after a couple of hours we were all worn out.  The Pumpkinfest will still be there next year!

             

 This is where you have to humor me as I take a look back....

                                       

   

                                                                                                                       

Austin is pedaling!

On October 12, 2011 Austin Tyler Garrison figured out how to pedal his tricycle.  It was the cutest thing!  Up until that day he insisted on scooting along Fred Flinstone style, and he was getting really good at it.  I kept encouraging him to pedal, and he kept saying "NO" and insisted on doing the way he knew how to.  It made sense.  If his way was seemingly better, easier, and quicker, why try Mommy's way if it's more difficult and slower?  Well, after playing in the leaves for awhile, Andrew decided he wanted to ride his bike.  Austin decided he wanted to play with the chalk.  After a few moments, Austin walked up to the garage, grabbed one of his trikes, walked it down the driveway to the sidewalk, hopped on it, and immediately started pedaling.  It was a little awkward and slow-going, but he kept at it.  Before, he would go 2 rotations and revert to scooting.  This time he had a look of determination (and pure joy) on his face and he finally realized he could do it.  It was priceless.  

Bubble Baths - a good distraction

Okay, I'm going to try and get caught up with blogging.  Wish me luck!  So, this is almost 2 months old, but I thought it was too cute not to post.  At the beginning of September Loren went to England for 12 1/2 days.  Well, he wasn't physically in England for 12 1/2 days, but he was away from the house for 12 1/2 days, so to me...he was in England for 12 1/2 days.  We all managed really well overall.  I'm not saying there weren't tough times, because there were.  One of the major differences with Loren being gone is handling the dinner and bedtime routine by myself every night, which on good nights is between 5:00 and 7:00.  It may have even been stretched to 7:30 or 8:00 several nights.  We just had to go with the flow sometimes.  I tried to make it special and interesting by letting the boys have super fun bubble baths in Mommy and Dadddy's Jacuzzi tub.  Cool, huh?

I had visions of filling up the tub with Mr. Bubble, turning on the Jacuzzi and letting the bubbles form and multiply before our eyes before letting the boys "jump" in.  Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy's bathtub never, ever gets used and I couldn't (warning, this is a little gross!) get the pipes clean to actually run the Jacuzzi for a bubble bath.  I filled up the tub with just water, ran the Jacuzzi, and so much gunk from the pipes filled the tub.  So. disgusting.  I tried this over and over and over again and while I made a lot of progress, I couldn't get it so that nothing would come out of the pipes.  I ended up pouring the bubble bath in while the water was running the old traditional way and even though the bubbles weren't as big as I imagined, they were big enough for a 2 and 4 year old to have a blast with.

It certainly took their minds off of Daddy being away...for a little while. :)

Look at her go!

Crawling?  No.
Army crawl?  No.
Scooting?  No.

What exactly is this?

FYI - I uploaded this video to a Picasa album.  It seemed a a lot easier than uploading directly to the blog.

https://picasaweb.google.com/118388874702958185483/Videos#5659352742744533266

6 Months Old

Well, Ashley Grace turned 6 months old yesterday.  So hard to believe!  She's an itty-bitty thing weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces (7th percentile) and 24.7 inches long (10th percentile).  Everyone says she looks so happy and healthy...and she is!  That's the important thing.

She is SO strong.  She puts herself through rigorous workouts everyday as she rolls, wiggles, does push-up and lunges (gets herself on her hands and knees and then literally lunges forward to get closer to a toy) around the living room.  She isn't crawling (although, she's seriously thinking about it), but she gets where she wants to go.  The boys were all flustered and aggravated the other day when Ashley started reaching and grabbing for their cars.  "Stop it, Ashley!"  "Mooom, Ashley is having bad behavior!" Ha, ha...just wait until she is crawling and moving much, much quicker.

She sits up really well and for long periods of time, but I like to put the Boppy around her since she still falls back or to the side quite a bit.  She loves sitting on the ground rummaging through a basket of toys.  This can keep her busy for a long time, or at least until she loses her balance and awkwardly lands on a toy.

I'm still nursing her and probably will be for awhile since Ashley really doesn't like or appreciate the bottle.  I started introducing the cup to her and she gets really excited when she sees it, but it's more of a toy to her than anything else at this point.  She is starting to eat solid foods.  She loves oatmeal!  Yesterday I discovered she loves sweet potatoes and today, after gagging at them a couple of weeks ago, Ashley decided she likes apples.  I have also offered her bananas and pears, but she didn't take to those too well.  I'm sure she will eventually like them like she now does the apples

Two nights ago Ashley flipped herself out of the side of her Bumbo (yikes!), something the boys never did or really even tried to do.  She has been trying for awhile now, arching her back so much that her bottom almost comes out over the top of the leg divider thing that also keeps babies from falling forward out of them (sorry, that's a poor description, but those familiar with Bumbos will know what I am talking about).  I happened to catch her as she was slow-motion falling head first towards the kitchen floor.  Wait!!  That sounds horrible.  The Bumbo was sitting on the kitchen floor (not the counter top) and it was a very short fall and, like I said, it was in slooow motion.  All's well that ends well.  I caught her.  My point is that she is a squirmy, active, motivated little thing that is already keeping me on my toes.  I am still holding out hope that Miss Ashley doesn't turn into the climber that Austin was and STILL is.

She wakes up 3-4 times at night still, and I feed her because well, it's easy and she's small so I think she needs it.  The doctor thinks I can be little more strict, but at 1:30 or 4:30 in the morning all I want to do is feed her quickly so I can go back to sleep.

That's about it for now!

Ashley wiggled and scooted around until she found herself under the couch yesterday.  She seemed to like it there and hung out for awhile.  

(Love that smile!)

She's a motivated one!

What you need to see is in about the first 3 seconds of this video.  Ashley isn't even 6 months old and she already thinks she wants to start crawling!  Exciting?  Yes...in the "our baby is about to (or so it seems) reach an important milestone" kind of way.  Nerve-racking? MOST DEFINITELY...in the "I really don't want to put the baby gates up yet and worry about every little thing that touches the ground" kind of way.  Not to mention that our baby is growing up way. too. fast!  

Her brothers were both 9 months old when they started crawling.  Naturally, I thought we had a few more months to worry about this.  This is not cool, Ashley.  This is not cool.  Okay, it is.  But, really, it's okay if you slow down a little and enjoy the sedentary life a little longer.

back to preschool!

Today was the first day of Andrew's last year at Kid Central.  Today was Austin's first day at KC.  They walked in together hand in hand.  My heart absolutely melted watching Andrew be the great big brother that he is, showing Austin the way.  No tears were shed by anybody.  Austin experienced KC over the summer with their new summer program.  He also went to a Mom's Day Out program last year at a different school, so it's not like it was the first time I had dropped him off somewhere.  But, still.  This was a special 'first' day.  Andrew is already looking forward to Kindergarten and riding the school bus (possibly...still to be determined) next year.  He was beside himself with excitement last night and this morning.  He was seriously bouncing off the walls at 7:00 this morning.  Austin was also excited, but much more reserved.    

The token 'first day of preschool' pictures...

There they go!

They were all smiles (and yawns) afterwards.  They had a great first day!

Bunks!

We didn't have plans to put the boys in the same room anytime soon, but when Costco all of a sudden started selling super cool bunk beds at a super cool price...and when the supply eventually dwindled down to 2 (between the 2 locations) we decided we HAD to get them...ASAP.  Our original thought was maybe we wouldn't move Austin over right way, but who were we kidding??  Austin is a smart kid.  He new that bottom bunk was meant for him.  Loren drove to Costco Friday night, squeezed the bunk beds into the Pilot, brought them home, and assembled by lunchtime on Saturday.  The boys started rooming together Saturday night.  They took an hour or so to fall asleep the first night, but since then they haven't had a problem going to sleep in the same room (knock on wood).  They enjoy playing in there and "napping" in there.  They ran up to take "naps" (the quotes are necessary because they only ended up taking pretend naps) after lunch everyday this week.  However (go me!!!), I was successful in getting them both to take very much needed real naps today...together. in the same room. at the same time!  It was beautiful.  My favorite thing about Andrew and Austin sharing a room is overhearing Andrew say to Austin, "I'm right up here, Austin.  If you wake up, you don't have to call for Mommy and Daddy." 

Yes, you can say it...Awwwwwww...so sweet.

a slip 'n slide demonstration brought to you by Andrew and Austin

  

Ashley Grace - 4 Months

It's hard to believe it has been 4 months already!  At the risk of being redundant, Ashley is a super sweet,  happy, baby full of smiles, laughs and coos.  She loves watching her brothers play, even during their wildest times.  She holds her head up very well when placed on her tummy and often rolls over front to back.  She loves playing with her hands and grabbing at things that are nearby.  Austin gets really excited when she holds his finger.  "Mommy, mommy...finger!"  Ashley really enjoys being outside, probably because there is a plethora of new things to look at and discover.  Unfortunately it has just been TOO hot for baby Ashley to spend much time outside this week.  I'm slowly starting to put her in her crib, but mostly for naps...when we are home long enough for her to nap here.  She still sleeps in the pack 'n play in our bedroom at night.  She has slept through the night several times, but I have to say I don't remember the last time she did.  She gets up 1-2 times a night and after eating goes back down easily, often falling asleep on her own when I lay her down awake.  I still remain firm when I say she has the best 2 older brothers she could possibly have.  I can't wait to see them play together when Ashley is older.  But, let's not rush things...

Oh, and for those you want to know, 

weight - 12 pounds, 2 ounces (18 %), a bit of a slip from 42%

height - 23.8 inches (32%), up a smidge from 28 %

(The pediatrician isn't worried about her weight since her length and head growth are fine.)

Indians Game

We went to an Indianapolis Indians game last weekend.  There were a block of tickets for sale where half of the ticket price benefited the Indy Humane Society.  It seemed like a good night to go, so we bought 2 tickets (for Loren and I) in the reserved block and planned to buy the boys' tickets once we got there.  It turned out Austin didn't need a ticket and we bought a season pass (definitely worth the money) for Andrew.  We knew full well that we would sit in the outfield (as in beyond the outfield in the grass) instead of the stands.  We went to one Indians game last year and had a great time.  There was plenty of space to spread out a blanket, sit next to friends, our boys played with their boys.  It was fun and relaxing.  If you have young kids you almost have to sit in the grass, which is fine by me.  We did the same thing this year, but with the 3rd child, things were a little more complicated.  We knew we didn't have to get there right on time, but we were going to try and get there close to the start of the game.  The game was slated to start at 7:10 pm, I believe.  (Please note that the boys normally go to bed around 7:00/7:30 and Ashley is usually down by 8:00).  We made sure that both boys took a nap earlier in the day...and they did.  We ate dinner, got everything ready and left the house a little after 6.  We needed gas, so we stopped at Meijer across the street and since Ashley was already crying, I went ahead and fed her.  We then drove to the stadium (after waiting and waiting in traffic when we got really close) and, even though we were already late...not that it really mattered, I fed Ashley again in the parking garage.  Phew!  We got everyone together.  I put Ashley in the Bjorn, hoping she would eventually fall asleep.  The boys and the 'gear' road in the wagon and we walked across the street from the parking garage to the stadium.  All was well.  We had been told by a friend, who was already there, that right field was the place to be.  We went to right field....the farthest corner of right field.  There was room, but it was completely in the sun.  The entire grassy area was packed, but we decided to mosey on over to the more shady left field and hope that we could squeeze in.  We ended up finding a spot closer to center field and the people we were squeezing in next to ended up leaving as we were setting up, so we ended up having plenty of room.  Nice. Ashley fell asleep pretty quickly.  The boys began enjoying themselves.  It was the third inning when we arrived and we left during the 8th, I think.  I'm pretty sure the Indians were winning when we left, but I don't know if they ended up winning or if their opponent (the Louisville Bats) won.  It was just cool to be there and enjoy the out of doors.  None of us payed very much attention to the game, but, like I said, it was fun just to be there.

Here are some pictures of our time there...

and just for laughs, Austin got a hold of my camera (and wouldn't let go!)

this was his view as he snapped pictures...

Our 4th of July

We went to a friend's house around 3:30 or 4:00, not knowing what the afternoon/evening/night would bring.  I really wanted the boys to stay up for the fireworks (the first time for even Andrew), but there was a point later on when we just weren't sure what we were going to do.  Stay...or leave.  You see, the boys normally go to bed around 7:00/7:30 and the fireworks were slated to start at 9:45.  Well, we stayed.  We saw the Indy fireworks from about 16th street.  We were far enough away that we couldn't hear them, but we could still see them and appreciate them.  Before the fireworks, Andrew and Austin practiced their baseball skills, the boys and Loren practiced their 'beach' volleyball skills, we hung out with some people I knew and many that I had met for the first time, and I took care of Ashley on the side while taking photos here and there.  Andrew loved watching and playing volleyball, he loved hanging out with a certain older woman, and trying to hit a baseball as various people (in particular, Ott) pitched to him.  He loved the fireworks.  Austin loved trying to hit a baseball while Tim pitched to him.  He also loved playing volleyball with Daddy and Andrew.  When some people nearby later started setting of fireworks, he tiredly pointed to the car and said, "home!"  He eventually got used to the noise and even dozed off a couple of times.  He woke up in time, though, to see the big show from afar.  Ashley was awake to witness some of the baseball/volleyball/hanging out action earlier in the evening, but she slept in the bjorn through most of the hoopla.

To sum it up, it was a good 4th!

Grandpa turns 90!

Grandpa, I hope you don't mind me doing this!  90 years is a big deal!  And it's a 'private' blog so not too many people will see it. :)

July 3rd, 2011 was my Grandpa's 90th birthday.  Wow.  90 years.  And he doesn't look a day over...well, he looks a whole lot younger than 90, I'll just say that.  I can only hope, wish, pray that I will live to be that old  young.  He (for now) still lives by himself, drives himself where he needs to go...he takes care of himself.  He has lived to see 6 great grand children born, the youngest being Ashley Grace (two, unfortunately, couldn't be there that day).  He is a wonderful man and I hope we have many, many more of his birthdays to celebrate!

 

(Ashley, Andrew, Austin)

(cousin Blake, Andrew and Austin)

(Grandpa, my brother Jeff, Blake)

3 of the great grand children playing together

Here's to many more birthdays, Grandpa!!

the museum

We are members of the Children's Museum.  Well, we were up until the end of December when we let our membership lapse.  We used to go quite frequently, but we found ourselves finally going again 2 weekends ago and finally renewing our membership, knowing we would get more than our money's worth in the next year.  I think the last time we went was sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  You know, for the whole Yule Slide experience.

We had a good time as we visited the Dora and Diego exhibit for the first time, visited the "balls" and carousel (Loren took Andrew and Austin on it while I fed Ashley), and then we visited Playscape briefly. It's amazing how little we can see there during a short trip.  You really need ALL day!  I found myself reminiscing, though.  As I pushed Ashley around the museum for the first time, I remembered when I pushed Austin around the museum in the stroller for the first time...

(Ashley: 3 months)

(Austin: 5 months)

I know these seem like another other regular carseat/stroller pictures, but I remember these specifically as 'I was at the Children's Museum for the first time stroller pictures.'

We visited the water table in Playscape, and I remembered when Andrew played at that table for the first time when he was 17 months old...

and now...

 ...a lot taller, a shorter haircut, but basically the same kid in a 4 1/2 year old body instead of a 1 1/2 year old body.  On second thought, not really...he has changed sooo much!!

and just for the heck of it, here is Austin at the water table going on 27 months...

Well, that concludes my brief trip down memory lane.  Thanks for humoring me!

tummy time

I'm not going to lie.  I'm not the best at giving my kids tummy time.  The boys both hated it.  Despised is more like it.  Ashley didn't mind it all in her earlier days.  Actually, she usually fell asleep.  Then she grew to hate it.  A few days ago, I put her on her belly for the first time in, well...awhile.  I thought she would bury her face in the floor and start fussing.  To my surprise (I'm not sure why I was surprised because she is probably the strongest baby of the 3), her head popped straight up and she hung out like she had been doing this every day of her life.  

Yeah, I have 2 older brothers, so it's probably best if you go ahead and not mess with me.

And while looking ever so sweet and graceful,

she....roooolllled

OVER!

I kept putting her on her belly and she kept rolling over, 

and then Austin joined in. :)

7/6

When child #1 begins to take over the pool when he wants to practice his flutter kicks...

A light bulb goes off!  You break out the smaller pool for child #2 (which was thankfully already blown up and sitting in the porch), start filling it up with water, run to the basement (after cursing yourself for not buying the pink kick board for $1 at a garage sale along with the blue one that child #1 was currently using), and bring out the next best thing (but you talk it up like it is THE best thing), get lightheaded while trying to blow it up too quickly, and toss it to child #2 who acts like it is suddenly Christmas morning.

You glance over at child #3 who is at the very same time happy as a clam doing nothing more than staring  at her very own hands...

And then you smile inside and out as you realize, for the umpteenth time, they are each 

oh-so-special in their very own oh-so-special way.

Splash Parkin' Fun

Back at the end of May while in the midst of cleaning and organizing the basement, I received a text from a friend who asked if we wanted to go to a splash park.  I don't know...I should probably finish cleaning.  Sure!  We ate lunch, loaded up, and off we went!  As you can see, Andrew was all about it while Austin mostly observed from the sidelines, but they both definitely enjoyed themselves.  Sadly, we haven't been to a splash park since.  After looking at these pictures, it makes me want to go back!

Adios Penguins

Andrew just completed his 3rd year of preschool.  This was the first year I was genuinely sad at the end of the year bike rally.  Not because I was thinking Andrew has only one more year of preschool before Kindergarten, not because our first baby is growing up way too fast, but because this is the first year he made true friends and because these true friends won't be in his preschool class next year.  Andrew has had playdates with these friends...the first drop-you-off-and-pick-you-up-in-a-couple-of-hours type of playdates.  One will be in the Giraffes next year, not the Monkeys, and the other one is going to a different preschool altogether.  It makes me sad.  I don't know why.  Andrew is a very outgoing kid who has no problem playing with others and has an infectious personality.  Every preschool mom I have talked to says "Oh, you are Andrew's mom?  My son/daughter talks about Andrew."   His preschool teachers have told me repeatedly that Andrew always has a smile on his face and is a very happy kid.  I'm sure he will be fine without these friends next year.  I know he will make new friends.  But, still.  I am sad about it.

I can't say I know a whole lot about what he learned this year.  I saw all of the papers and artwork that he brought home each day, but I struggled to get him to talk about what he actually did and learned.  He never hesitated to tell me what he had for snack each day and he raved about recess.  Apparently those were his two favorite things.  I do know that he is way more in touch with his religious side now (much more than the rest of us), due to the simple fact that he attends a church preschool, and he has developed some mad scissor cutting skills.  He is very good at writing his name and many letters and numbers.  Next year will be the big year as he is preparing for the big, exciting, challenging world of Kindergarten.  

I think Andrew thrives with the structure and routine of preschool.  I have noticed this the past couple of days when he wanted to use his preschool place mat at snack time, insisting on using a napkin instead of a plate (just like at preschool), and then afterwards throwing his trash away (just like at prsechool).  I think I'm going to have to set up my own little summer "preschool" here at home, complete with circle time, art time, snack time, recess time, bathroom break time, etc.  Hmmm...I might be on to something here.  The wheels are turning!  Seriously, Andrew would be so excited about this!

The Penguins

One happy kid!

These two rode their bikes around the circle many, many, many times and stayed right with each other the whole time.  It was very cute.  They are really good buds.

Adios, Penguins!  It was a good year.

Ashley - Two Months Old

At her 2 month checkup on Monday she weighed 10 pounds, 8 ounces (42nd percentile) and was 21.8 inches (28th percentile).

Ashley is smiling ever so sweetly.  Melt my heart sweet.

She has the best two big brothers a little girl could ask for.  They give her endless hugs and kisses, Austin especially.  He constantly tries to pick her up and gives me near heart attacks many times throughout the day.

She is so laid back and has developed a good rhythm to her days.  Somehow most of her days are pretty similar...when she wakes up in the morning, when she's hungry, when she has awake time, when she gets tired again, when she wakes up in the middle of the night.  It all just works out.  Getting her down at night can be harder some days than others, but it doesn't usually take too much effort.

Wednesday night she went 11 hours in between feedings and slept a solid 10 hours straight!!  Asleep from 8:30 until 6:30.  Cra--zy. 

She already puts up with a lot from her brothers...again, Austin especially.  He tried to play catch with her today while she was in her car seat!  Luckily it was a very lightweight ball and she didn't seem to mind at all.  Very tolerant.  A good trait to have with 2 older brothers.  

She has started to do the backwards scoot while laying on her back.  She's a mover!  I have gotten in the habit of laying her on my lap with her head at my knees and her feet at my stomach, and I really can't do that any more because she has many times nearly kicked herself backwards off of my lap!

Like her brothers, she isn't a big fan of pacifiers.  Is this a genetic thing?  So weird.  

Ashley Grace is a very happy, laid back, easy to read, and absolutely perfect (the doctor said so!) baby.