A Little Bit of Nostalgia

I found these pictures on my computer today and could not resist posting them after my last post about Grace. Here she is at 3 years old.

(and yes, that is Lucy in the stroller. She is just a week old!)

Grace

Look at this sweet girl! Where has the time gone? She is so grown up and so beautiful. We were watching some home videos last Sunday of Grace when she was 1 years old. It seems like she is growing up way too fast. She has always been so cute with those full lips and beautiful eyes. We just love our Grace!
Here is an update. She is loving 1st grade and especially loves spending time with her friends. She has made some great friends at school and I am so grateful for that! She is getting really good at reading and spelling and I love helping her practice her spelling words after school. She has started swim team again and is such a great swimmer! Last night I was watching her do the butterfly and was so impressed. That is a hard stroke. She loves camping and riding her bike but also loves just relaxing at home. Grace is such a great helper and friend to Lucy. After school she is always sure to ask Lucy how her day was and how Lucy's preschool went. Then she takes Lucy in her room to play school. She is also so great with Jake. She loves to hold him and play with him and feed him. She is going to be such a great babysitter and mom!

Grace is also my little chef. She loves to be in the kitchen helping cook dinner and taste testing! She is going to make a great chef one day.

Grace is so fun to have around. She is happy and pleasant and makes a great shopping buddy! I feel so lucky to be her mom.

My Stubborn Kid

I love Jake. I love him as much as I love the other 3 kids in this crazy household. But there is something about this kid that has me all stressed out and emotionally drained! He has such a strong personality and has made me think out of the box as I struggle to keep him happy. But I have to say, when he is happy he is so charming. Just look at that smile! I adore this sweet baby.

Dogs.

I have never been a big fan of dogs. I have sworn that I will never own a dog. But after seeing my kids (and Aaron) play with our friend's dog, I am tempted to rethink my position...

Catchin' Frogs

Whenever we visit my family in Idaho, the Moyes and Smith cousins are always out catching frogs and toads. Well, my kids have sort of shyed away from such adventures and I have wished that they would get over what seems to be a fear of toads and frogs. Aaron has also been hoping for one of his children to get as excited about animals as he is and has been waiting for the time when one of his kids would join him on a hunt for any type of small creature.

Well the time has come.

While camping last weekend we had a serious breakthrough with Noah.

This is hilarious.

We are so proud of you Noah!

The rest of the weekend Noah was on the lookout for frogs, toads, fish, and turtles. It was so fun to watch him get excited and it was even more fun to see Aaron finally have a hunting buddy! Noah and his friend Jackson went with Aaron on a few excursions to the pond to catch some critters. In the end they caught 10 toads, 2 turtles, a few frogs and some goldfish. They were so excited about their great catches, they insisted on bring them home. I was not so sure about this idea, but after seeing Noah and Aaron's excitement, I decided to let them do as they please. So I now have 2 turtles and some goldfish living in my garage in a fish tank. Thankfully the toads and frogs remained at the campground! Noah has loved it and goes out each morning before school to feed his animals. The turtles have been named Fred and Fluffy. (Noah informed me that Fluffy was named that because he had some hair on his neck and arms and legs...) Aaron plans on returning these animals to the wild as soon as Noah gets bored.

Lucy's BIG Week!

This has been a very big week for Little Lu. On Wednesday she started preschool at the YMCA and she was so excited! Can you just see the excitement on her face? She could not contain herself as we went into her new classroom. She was giggling and I asked why she was laughing to which she responded "I am just soo excited!"

This is her new backpack that has been sitting by the door for the past 3 weeks just waiting to go to preschool! It is almost as big as she is...but she thinks it is perfect.

Well, after her first day, which was perfect, She had another big event to look forward to. Her first day of ballet/tap class! To top that, she had preschool right before and it was her day to take snack. Life just doesn't get any better for this 3 year old! Taking snack to preschool with ballet to follow is her dream come true. So with snack in hand she walked proudly into school smiling the whole way. When I picked her up after preschool she was still smiling as she told me they got to paint. (I had already guessed that was the activity of the day as she had paint on her face and elbows!) So we drove to her new ballet class and she changed in the car. I took her picture in front of the building (not the best background) and we headed inside. There are 6 little preschoolers in her class and they are all so so cute. She was in heaven! She came out saying she had 5 new best friends and I don't think she stopped smiling from the time she woke up this morning until we got home and had lunch.

Lucy has been waiting for a long time to be able to go to ballet. She has watched Grace go every year and has tried to learn every dance Grace learns. She is always wearing her leotard and skirt and starts dancing whenever she hears any sort of beat (even if it is just in her head!) So starting ballet is a HUGE deal and I think I am just as excited about it as she is. She is going to be such a beautiful ballerina and I cannot wait to see her on the big stage next spring!

Jake is 7 Months Old

Jake has reached a few milestones at his 7 month birthday. The most significant one is that he is crawling!

He likes to crawl/walk with his right foot pushing off and his left knee moving forward.

It is time to baby proof!

He was so proud of himself when he crawled over to the stairs and looked over the edge! Time for a gate.

He has also had his first dress up session with Lucy. She made him "fancy" and he was a good sport through it all.

While he is still my greatest challenge, I love this cute kid! He still doesn't sleep through the night and I cannot get him to eat solid food. This kid just wants to nurse and he is very stubborn! He also needs my full attention at all times and makes it hard for me to get anything done. But we love him and the kids still can't keep their hands off of him! He has started babbling and says "dada". The kids are convinced this is his first word even though I try to explain he is just making sounds. I still love it that he prefers me and that when I pick him up he always gives me kisses. While I find myself wondering what to do with such a stubborn kid, I am so happy that Jake is a part of our family.