Sweet Saturday

Happy Labor Day weekend! We survived our first full week of school. Allie said so many funny things about school that I couldn't keep up. She is loving it, but what's not to love about no homework, going out for recess 3 times, and doing crafts all day long. It's her perfect life I suppose. She was, however, very excited for SATURDAY! It was nice not having to get up and out of the house.....and we all love a PJ day once in a while. The hubs is working this weekend, so we are going to lay low. For all my Rochester peeps (who I miss everyday still!), you are probably getting out your sweaters for the approach of fall, but it is still sweltering hot here and will be for a while. Below is a funny video we took last night after we'd set up the baby pool for the girls. This was THEIR idea, (I know that's where we as parents are supposed to come in), and it looked like great fun although not the safest thing!




I mean is he not the CUTEST??!!!!

Poor Boy

Poor baby Garrett has no idea what he's up against. I know he's not the first baby brother that has navigated the treacherous waters of having 2 big sisters, but it will be nice when he's able to defend himself! For now he is very entertained by Allie who always loves an audience. The video below is of Garrett CRACKING UP!



This pic is significant because you can see his tongue which has not made many appearances because he has a "tongue tie." The Dr. said it would hopefully stretch out some, but if not we would have a simple little procedure to clip it. We are seeing it here and there, but that is about as far as he can stick it out!

Me and my Mary

Well, thus endeth our first "week" of school, even though it was only 2.5 days long. Allie LOVED it. Today when she hopped in the car, I said, well...how was it? Was it GREAT? (her usual response to things she really likes), and she very sadly said...nope mom it wasnt'. I said...aww what happened, and a big smile came over her face, and she said, "IT WAS SWELL!"...HA..GOTCHA MOM, DIDN'T I"! Ha...such a joker that one has become. Anyways, she explained that she went to art class today, and they had show and tell, and someone brought a real live kitten, and oh how she wishes we had a kitten, but she knows Hannibal would eat our kitten, so she won't even ask for one...blah blah blah!

All that to say....this week I spent some really "swell" time with my Mary. Those of you who know her, know she's a funny one. She actually talks quite alot when sister is not around. She didn't ask about Allie until today actually. She said, "I go my school??? I ready go my school". She went one day last year, but this year she'll go 2 days. I'm so thankful both the kids love being away from me..ha!!

School Days are here

Well, today is the day. I had to drag her out of bed this morning ( a very rare occurence which only took 5 years to achieve). She was very exicted; it was pouring down rain, so not exactly the best time for first day pics. As we drove into the parking lot, she said in her very "Allie fashion",
"Just drop me off mom, I'll be fine."

My reply: "Oh good grief, Al, act like you at least want me to go in!"

So we walked in and found her cubby, and she said, "OK, mom, I'm fine, I'll see you this afternoon."

My reply: " Allie, I'm going to go into class for a few minutes, they are having a mommy activity too. "

Allie: "Oh, well alright, if you want to come in, that'll be fine".

Don't worry, I'm not at all surprised. She's not the least bit shy about new situations. So that was that!! The teacher read a book to us, and she traced my hand and made a necklace out of it to wear for the day.
Ready for the day.
Let's go already!

"The Kissing Hand"...the book Mrs. Arce read to all of us.


When I came home, Faber asked, "What are you going to do with all your 'free' time". I think I'll probably find something:)

Rainy day fun

Today couldn't have come at a better time! On the eve of starting school, it is only appropriate that it rained all day for the last day of "summer." It gave us a chance to stay in all day and just be laid back. Allie met her teacher last night and did not understand we left right after we arrived. She was bouncing off the walls today, but that's not unusual. She's been in her bed since 7:05 waiting to fall asleep! No I did not make her get in bed that early!

Any day we stay in, the girls pop on their tutus and ask to paint.


We did walk over to our neighbors to play with their toys a little while.

Don't worry...the box says 4 months and up. I know he's only 3, but Abby used it this past weekend, and it was just out, so I plopped him in there. He loved it! His feet easily touch, and he was trying to jump (of course I know that is a reflex for his age), but I can pretend that he's way above the curve right!

Sleep over!!!

All summer, Allie and Emma Cate have been scheming, asking, and ploying to have a sleep over. With school starting just days away, we are going to be enforcing an early bed time, getting up early, and out the door. I told Allie we would "make good" on our promise to let her have a sleep over. WOW, I didn't realize how independent those two have gotten. I'm loving "5"! Maybe it's because on the one hand, I've got one who can't eat or even sit up on his own, on the other hand, I've got one who still can't climb on to the potty alone (her speech to herseld, "be careful Mary, don't fall off da potty"). So everything is RELATIVE, and relative to my other 2 kids, Allie can do ALOT by herself! Emma Cate had to go support her brother in his karate ventures, and then arrived about 630ish. Allie was waiting from her bedroom window, and with her "quiet" voice, exclaimed..SHE'S HERE!!!!!! They played for a long while, and I didn't hear a peep out of them. I bathed Mary and Garrett, and then they explained to me, that they could take showers, get their pj's on, brush their teeth and hair. They did JUST THAT!!! This was very enlightening to me! Guess who I won't be bathing at night anymore. They popped popcorn, and watched some TV, and finally made it to Allie's bedroom. They both wanted on the top bunk, so they easily worked it out....they BOTH slept up there! I think they fell asleep by 10! Shewww...you who know me know that was alot for me to leave them alone and let them fall asleep when they could! They woke up around 7, and Amy brought dough nuts over. We took the girls with us to have our toes done, and I didn't have the heart to leave Mary behind. They LOVED it! Oh and did I mention the best part...all 3 kids are down for a nap at the SAME time today!

The girls sporting their matching pj's from their birthday party they had together.
Waiting for the popcorn to pop

Sharing a chair. Emma Cate chose a very bright pink. Allie chose yellow...of course.

They giggled the whole time.

Mary wanted pink too.



Ready for school!

Circle what is missing..

Do you see it???? There's something gone in this pic! Yep, her front little tooth. It was pretty loose, and after days of begging her daddy to yank it out, he finally did. She was squealing for joy the whole time he was pulling. I wish I would have filmed it because it was as exciting to her as Christmas morning. Tonight we met her kindergarten class. She ran up to me and said, "Mom, I recognize 5 people! One from my soccer team, one from my prep school class, one from my dance class, and 2 from church. I'm going to love my new class." She of course hasn't a clue about starting school, but I was glad for her to know some other kids. Yikes, how can my baby seem so big right now!

3 at 3! ...and the rest of the beach pics

Well there were varying opinions among family this past week as to just WHO baby Garrett resembles. We had votes for Papoo, Allie, Hudson, and Mary so far. I believe that he most closely resembles Allie! Of course these were all taken at 3 months, and he will change completely within a few months. So in case you haven't figured it out...these are in reverse order: Garrett, Mary, then Allie.





Look at my big boy! Today he is 3 months old, and I can feel the haze lifting. He's consistently sleeping until 6 or later....just in time for school to start:) As you can see, he's fat and happy. This month he started rolling from tummy to back, and as of this morning he rolled from back to tummy..but just once. He never makes a peep unless he's hungry or tired, and I'm surprised we haven't left him somewhere at this point. Half of this month we were on the road it seems, and he can handle 10 hours in the car...no problemo. I guess if he can handle two screaming sisters he can pretty much handle anything.


Full body shot!

Don't guess we will get another shot of him on top of the lamb for a while. Don't worry, I caught him!

Lake fun, Laughter, and Lots of candles!

I'm back, I'm back, I'm back! It felt like we were gone for several weeks!!! What a wild and crazy week of fun. We had a great time at the beach, and I'll be posting some more pics, but they are on a different computer at the moment. We traveled 11 hours on Friday to our cabin in the woods to meet up with the husband's fam. We spent the weekend on the lake in Jason's fancy new boat. Everyone was there for Bunny's birthday..numero 6-0! It was the first time the "babies" were all together..and somehow I managed to miss a pic of all 3 of them together. Abby is 11 mo, Zach is 9 mo, and Garrett 3 mo! We had a great time, and Allie skiied!!! That was quite hilarious to see. She was grinning from ear to ear.....but who was grinning the most this weekend??? It wasn't Allie...it was definitely Bunny. Pappy SURPRISED her with a snazzy new jaguar! She was SHOCKED SHOCKED!!! We came home last night and everyone was happy to sleep in their own beds. So where did the "lots of candles" comment come from? I added another candle to the cake today...in my early thirties still thank you very much. My friend Sarah had a baby girl this morning..whoohooo!!! Emma was born this morning, so her birthday will be easy to remember! Congratulations Sarah and Rick!

Garrett taking a dip...needed to cool off. Yes...his hair is almost gone.
Abby LOVES Allie. She just stares at her and laughs...very sweet.

Zack about to take a morning nap! Loves the boat as much as his daddy!

Bunny getting some lap time with Abby.

Mary trying to catch up on sleep. She was NOT a fan of the lake. She mostly said..."no boat"
Faber getting ready to "surf" behind the boat.

Heading to the surprise birthday luncheon in the bunny mobile.

This picture says it all!

Me and My Gang

We are off to the lake. We took our annual group pic last night, and it's getting hard to squeeze everyone in with a normal lens!

Footprints in the sand

Em will kill me for posting this pic, but it is too funny not to. I just wanted to post some pics of our little beach bums. The girls are loving their cousins. They've always gotten along well, but this year, they are old enough to really enjoy each other's company, and it is fun to watch. It wasn't too hot the last couple of days, but today is a hot one, so Garrett needed a break this afternoon.
Em's beautiful feet
Mary loving on Papoo...she's FINALLY not so painfully shy.

Sweet little boy
Staying out late in their pj's

Abigail...now 4 weeks old.

Allie and Maxwell enjoying the waves from Eduardo

Grace and Garrett....babies babies everywhere.

Did you know?

Allie: Mommy, Did you know that everyone has bugs in their mouths?

Mommy: Oh really, who told you that?

Allie: Everyone knows that mom...they are all over your tongue and they help you taste food. They are called taste bugs mom.

Mommy: OHHHHH Taste bugs...right. Got it.

Allie and I had this conversation right before bed tonight and it game me a good laugh. We are about to embark on our annual treck to the beach. This is my 30th time to go...I think. Mom said the August I was born we didn't go...and we missed one year due to her thyroid cancer treatments...seriously mom couldn't you have come up with a better excuse. Anyways...the whole gang is there already....11 adults, 1 babysitter, 5 kids, and 3 itty bitty babies. I asked Mary if she was ready to go to the beach this morning...and she screamed, "YES I ESCITED" I'm ready to get out of this house myself!!! At the end of the week we will head to the lake with the husband's family for his mom's big bday. We'll get to see all the other cousins there too...wowsers..that's truly a record for one week. Now to end this post already....

Did you KNOW?
1 packnplay
2 sleeping bags
1 set of golf clubs
1 beach tent
4 beach chairs
1 portaswing
1 play mat
1 ice chest
2 casseroles
1 chocolate cake
3 suitcases
3 dufflebags
1 cool mamma
1 not quite as cool daddo (just kiddin)
3 kiddos
15 passifiers
160 diapers
and LOADS of fun would all fit in our yukon!!!

WELL NOW YOU DO!

Drum "ROLL" please......

Why is it that something as simple as rolling over is so exciting to every parent? It seems so silly to get so excited, but even with the third one...I was so excited! I guess we waited so long for sweet Mary to do this, that it kind of lost its luster by 9 months:), and I was at work when Allie did it the first time. The other video is of Garrett getting a little bit tickled by daddy. He's the happiest baby yet.