A New Chapter

August 2004

In August of 2004 Sam started pre-k, and after a few weeks decided he liked school. Today was Sam's sixth first day of school. He started fourth grade. It's his last year of elementary school. He is part of the "biggest kids at school" group. Watching him leave for school this morning was hard. How is he growing up so fast and how can I stop it? How do I only have nine years left until he graduates from high school. The past nine years have flown by. How do I make the next nine years slow down?

And Benjamin . . . how did he get to be so wise, so confident, so funny? Just yesterday he was a tiny little boy, and now he's in second grade. Next year he'll be at school all by himself. How is it possible that my little Benjamin is big enough to even be in school?

I'm so excited for the boys. They both have great teachers and they have great friends. They are going to have a fantastic year. Still, I can't help but notice the quiet in the house this afternoon. I don't have to break up any fights or broker any peace treaties, but I also don't have my buddies to hang out with. I don't have Sam to show me what cool things he just invented or Benjamin to share some odd fact he just read. It's the first day of school and I miss them already.

It's going to be a long year.

The Nature of the Beasts

Having Sam and Nicholas together is like having a lion and tiger together. Both frightfully strong willed and stubborn. Both eager to fight and assert dominance. And even though Sam is five and a half years older that Nicholas, we can never really be sure who will win the match. Nicholas got the point this time, and we all got a good laugh.

(Nicholas is the one wielding the water gun and Sam is the one trying to escape.)

I can't believe it's that time again

Last Friday was Eliana's second birthday. It's hard to believe that in two years, our beautiful little princess has grown from this
to this.

Round four of the terrible two's.

Bring. It. On.

Ellie's Birthday Party

We had Ellie's birthday last Friday. It was really simple and she loved it! She had definite ideas of what she wanted at her party . . . some worked, some not so much. We started off with bubbles, which were a big hit - even for the older boys.
Then the girls got their tutus and wands for dancing.

Ellie LOVES to dance. She loves to twirl and prance and all sorts of girly things. However, at her party, she would not dance at all. I even put on her favorite Wiggles song - the Shimmy Shake. But we had no shimmying and no shaking. We had catatonic stares from Ellie and Chole, and crying from Reagan. Thankfully Riley busted a move and made the dancing worthwhile.
Then we had cupcakes and fruit and cookies -- all per Ellie's request. We even had a princess tablecloth that she picked out. The boys were disgusted by the tablecloth and complained about it every time they walked past the table. What do they know?
After cupcakes came presents. Little girl toys are so much fun! She got a little Belle dress-up doll, a my little pony with a movie and stickers, a pink bubble machine, and a pony with its own purse. She was in HEAVEN!
Ellie's last request for her party was stories, but as soon as the presents came out, the stories were forgotten.

{The only picture I was able to get with all four of them in it. Two year olds do NOT hold still for anything!}

It was a fun little party. She loved it! And I'm glad we got to have it before her little friend Reagan moves away. (although there's still time for Reagan's mom and dad to change their minds and realize that Waco is WAY better than Vegas. . .)

{Reagan and Ellie, after Regan had some of my famous drugged cupcakes}

{The only time Reagan wasn't crying . . . I think she's still mad at me because I tricked her into going to nursery at church and then left her to fend for herself}

Thanks for coming girls!

An Almost Birthday

We've always had a party for the kids when they turn two. I'm not exactly sure why because at two, they could really care less about having friends over. And they only kind of get the present idea. Or maybe that's just boys . . .

Eliana's birthday is a few weeks away. We're having a party early because one of her little friends is moving. When I asked Eliana if she wanted a party, she got really excited. Really excited. She said, "I want cookies and cupcakes and juice and fruit." And every time we go to the store, she asks if we're buying things for her party. She is constantly talking about the party - currently, she's added bubbles and dancing to her list of party ideas.

I decided to make tutus for all her guests instead of a goody bag. I started on them when Eliana was napping, to lessen the amount of helping hands. When she woke up and saw the tutu, she was overjoyed. She ran to it and said, "Oh! It's for my party! I'm going to be a princess!" She had to have it on immediately. And then she begain dancing around on her tip toes (it's the honest truth!)

But the best part came after the dancing stopped. She twirled around for the last time and said, "I look so pretty. I'm a princess! I love my party!"

I can only imagine how excited she's going to be at the real party. Who knew girls could be so fun?

Vacation Slide Show

About five hours south of Waco is a tiny little beach town called Port Aransas. Last week, we went there for the first time. It was wonderful! We went to the beach as soon as we got into town - and the kids loved it! Every morning, as soon as they woke up, they would ask when we were going to the beach. Eliana would practically jump out of her carseat as soon as she could see the ocean. It was a fabulous vacation! We're already planning our next trip to the beach.

All of the kids tried body surfing. Some were more successful than others, but here are some highlights.












We were also able to visit the Texas State Aquarium. They have a small dolphin pool where they show you how they train dolphins.

Daddy's Girl

The other night when dinner was over, Josh got up from the table. Eliana, who was still in her high chair, said (without any prompting) "Father, Don't leave me!" We all started laughing, so she started saying it over and over. Josh came back and took Eliana out of her chair and the two spent the evening together.

Eliana is becoming a Daddy's girl. She asks for something and he delivers. Last night, for example, Josh was putting her to bed. She didn't want to go to bed, she wanted to stay up with everyone else. So she started to cry. Josh tried to soothe her by reading books and playing puppet theater with her stuffed animals. That wasn't enough. Eliana didn't want to be left out. Josh finally asked her if she wanted him to stay. She said yes, stopped crying immediately, and Josh spent the next hour in her room.

I'm working on teaching Eliana to say "Father, would you please buy my mother some new clothes."

Need a laugh?

Teacher Appreciation

This year, both Sam and Benjamin have had outstanding teachers . . . not that there was anything wrong with their previous teachers . . . all teachers need to be applauded . . . but this year was perfect! I couldn't have hand picked better teachers for my boys. We were so blessed that way.

We wanted to make sure that our teachers knew we loved them. So, we decided to make the last seven days of school our own teacher appreciation days. I thought I'd share our ideas, in case anyone is still looking for an end of the year gift. A lot of these ideas I've found on the internet and saved to my "one day I'd like to do this" file. So, I apologize for not having any sources to give credit to.

I need to warn you that these are all very cheesy ideas. (must double underscore very.)

Day 1: A notebook with a homemade flower pen (you know the kind that has the gigantic flower on the top and the pen is wrapped in floral tape.) On the inside the boys wrote down their favorite memory from the year. Now here's where the cheesy part comes in - we attached this note -

Day 2: A bag of soup mix and a can of soda, with these notes -


Day 3: A bracelet made the boys, with this note -

Day 4: A bag of Sweedish fish and an almond joy, with these notes -


Day 5: A milky way bar and box of junior mints, with this note -


Day 6: A few books that the boys picked out for their classrooms. They wrote why they picked the books for their teachers. And of course, a note -

Day 7: No cheesy note . . . sad, but true. I had the boys write words to describe their teachers, using the letters of their teachers' last names. Then we matted and framed them.

It's almost Summer!

Just two and a half weeks until school is over. Two and a half weeks until the craziness that is summer begins. Two and a half weeks until our house is consumed by extraordinarily loud children, happy and laughing or angry and fighting. Two and a half weeks until all four kids are home ALL day long.

I can't wait!

She looks so grown up!
isn't it amazing how a little thing like pig-tails can add 6 months to a girl's life?}

The New Face of Two

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For your viewing pleasure, may I present the beginning of the terrible twos.

A real throw yourself down on the floor, legs kicking, back arching, ear-splitting scream fest. What a feat to be accomplished at only 21 months!

I'm sure this is only a small indication of good things to come.

How fantastic is toddler independence?