Kianna's 1st Day of Preschool

Kianna turning in her first "homework" assignment to her teacher. It was a picture of her. Daddy helped Kianna glue green M & M's on for her eyes and gold ribbon on for her blond hair.

Kianna was so excited to finally get her turn at going to school. Since Kaylee started school a couple weeks ago, Kianna has frequently been asking "Do I get to go to school today?". Well her day finally arrived and she was literally jumping up and down. She already knew the teachers from Kaylee going to the same school last year, so there were no tears as she entered the room. Since her birthday was just a few weeks ago it was her turn to bring snacks and a treat. When everyone was leaving she got to hand out the M & M's to her new friends while wearing her birthday crown. It was pretty exciting! When I picked her up from school she was proud to tell me all about her day. She had played outside, colored, heard two stories (one about little kids and the other about Elmo), sat on the yellow and green dots for rug time, and made some new friends although can't remember their names. I hope she continues to be so descriptive. It is much better than the "I can't remember" that I'm used to hearing from...well I won't name any names!

Kaylee's 1st Day of Preschool

Have you ever had one of those days that just didn't turn out like you expected it would? Well today has been one of those days for me. I have been excited all summer for Kaylee to start preschool. Not because I want her out of the house, but because I know she will love her new school and am excited for her to learn and make new friends. Kaylee too has been super excited all summer to start school. Last night was her orientation. She got all dressed up and was ready to go by 7:30 AM even though it didn't start until 6:00 PM. She also, had her outfit for today picked out since about noon yesterday. Needless to say, she was excited to start school and meet her teachers and make some new friends. So how does our day begin you might ask?? It begins at 7:00 AM with Kaylee fully dressed in her new outfit stomping into my bathroom to find me. With some major attitude she says "Mom, I told you I need a S (small) on my shirt and not a M (medium). This shirt is as long as my skirt!" I ignored the attitude and tucked her shirt into her skirt and the problem was solved! This situation was followed by an argument from Kaylee regarding when her bed was going to be made. She decided that she didn't want to make her bed until after her nap at 3:00 PM. I told her that was too late and to make it before going to school. She proceeded to throw a fit and stomped off to her bedroom. I'm not even sure why this was an issue today as she usually makes her bed before ever coming into our room in the morning. However, today everything seemed to be an issue! As if I wasn't irritated enough by my daughter at this point, she then refused to share a necklace with Kianna for absolutely no reason. That was my breaking point. I picked her up and carried her into her room and told her she had to stay there until it was time to leave for school, which ended up being 30 minutes. In between dealing with Kaylee's grumpy attitude, Kianna was throwing her own fits over silly things. Ahhhhh, calgone take me away!

Once we finally made it to school our morning went much better. Kaylee had a good time at school and kept pretty busy with her art project, tracing lines, snack time, and play time outdoors. She reported that she likes both of her new teachers and had fun playing with her friends, Chloe and Lily, who she already knows from church. After this morning, I'm a little nervous about those teenage years, can you imagine what she will be like if this is already happening at 4 years of age????

Updates as Our Summer Winds Down

Girls riding their bikes.Kaylee swinging through air at gymnastics.Kaylee doing a flip.
Kianna flying like Tinkerbell.

I swear that the older I get the faster time goes. I still am awed sometimes by the fact that I am married and have THREE kids. Craziness! Needless to say, it is hard to believe that the summer is coming to an end, but it definitely is as proof by Kaylee starting preschool again tomorrow. We have had a great summer with lots of fun activities. In addition, to our month of daily swim lessons the girls had weekly gymnastics. The girls have been in gymnastics for the past year and both seem to really enjoy it. Kaylee was really excited this past week to learn that she had passed out of level 1. Her coolest new trick came in the form of doing five flips in the air while swinging like Tinkerbell. It is pretty impressive! The first time she did a flip a couple of weeks ago, she scared herself and immediately did a flip in the opposite direction. The look on her face was priceless, a look of sheer terror! Kianna has advanced from the Mommy and Me class to the developmental class where she is with a group of kids her age and has to sit and wait for her turn versus running around the gym like she used to. She has done really well with this transition. I like it because both girls are now in the same class, which makes my life a little less hectic.

Kaylee and I have continued to work on the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". My goal has been to complete 2 lessons per week, which currently puts us on lesson 21. It has been "fun" seeing her progress, although I can't undermine the elements of frustration felt by both of us along the way. I have more respect for mom's who homeschool their kids, because I have learned that I DEFINITELY lack the patience for that. I have found it frustrating in regards to hearing Kaylee sound out a word such as "R-A-T". She says all the sounds correctly and then I"ll say "Say it fast" or "What word is that?" and somehow she comes up with words like "me, the, and it" and just starts guessing." She gets frustrated when she doesn't get the words right away or can't remember the right sound and then just stops trying. I get frustrated with her giving up and being distracted. Like I said, her progress makes it all worth it, but I'm not cut out for this long term. The past week or so, we have been seeing more progress and a little less frustration which has been great. Today, she actually read "This cat is sick. This cat is sad." (with a little help). She was really proud of herself. Kaylee has also said some funny things lately and has become the queen of cliches and funny words. Some of our favorites are: No way hosway, oh dear, balance bean, "streamer" when trying to describe a finish line, and speed lemon (speed limit).

Kianna is really growing up and maturing. Her fun new thing this week is that she started chewing gum. She feels very grown up with this newest achievement and does quite well keeping it in her mouth. She also is becoming a very gracious little girl. She got a new bike with training wheels for her birthday and while riding it has told me several times "Thank you so much Mommy for my new bike. I love it!" It is nice having her be appreciative instead of always having the "gimme" attitude. Kianna is starting to ask "why" questions more and more. It is to be expected, but can be a little overkill after having just explained the same things to Kaylee in detail, answering her multitude of questions with Kianna standing a foot away from me only to ask "why?" after I have just finished giving my explanation. Ahhhhh, kids you gotta love em'!

Trace too has learned a new trick. Last Friday, I laid him down on his back and came back a minute or two later only to find him sitting up. He repeated his new trick 2 more times that day and then took the weekend off despite multiple attempts on my part to show Daddy. Then of course, this morning I laid him down on the ground only to find him immediately moving himself into the sitting position. Daddy doesn't believe he can really perform this muscle bound feat, but the girls and I have all witnessed it!

Trace is 7 Months Old!!!

Trace on his hands and knees.
I'm getting sad that my baby is growing so fast! Really I don't mind if he stays immobile for awhile longer. Unfortunately, I think that crawling is right around the corner, as this past week he began getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth repeatedly. He is quite proud of himself. Today I even caught him moving his hand while in that position right before wiping out. Despite not being able to crawl, Trace is getting around although he tends to move backwards instead of forwards. It isn't uncommon for me to find him 5' from where I laid him, whether that be via rolling, turning, or pushing himself backwards. He has mastered the art of pivoting, where he turns 360 degrees on his belly with ease. He has also become a great sitter. He can even catch himself when off balance, although he still falls backwards occasionally.

Trace has successfully made it through all the fruits, veggies, and meats at this point and still LOVES eating. It is amazing how fast he can eat! Schedule wise Trace is still on the same schedule but has been cutting his naps down from 2.5 hours to 2 hours in both the morning and afternoon. He used to fall asleep pretty easily while running errands, but now is staying awake longer and fighting his nap unless he is in his bed or in the car. I can't complain though, he is a GREAT baby! People are always telling us what a happy, smily baby he is and it is true. He is constantly smiling and rarely cries. He loves making eye contact with people and is often staring at someone just waiting for them to look at him, so that he can smile at them when they finally look at him. He is precious! We all love him so much!!!! The girls are great with him. They really enjoy playing with him and talking to him in their sweet little voices. Trace has quite the voice on him. Man is that kid LOUD!!!! We love you Little T man!

Kaylee's Date with Mommy

Kaylee with her loot.Kaylee finally got her turn to go school shopping. She chose McDonalds for her special meal. Don't tell the girls, but next year I'm hoping for some more exciting restaurant choices. Apparently, McDonalds is tough to beat due to them having a play area complete with tunnels and slides. After dinner we began our shopping extravaganza. This was the first year that Kaylee actually had a school supply list, so we had fun filling our bag with all of the necessary items. Her favorite purchase was the electric pencil sharpener, which honestly wasn't even on the list. However, it seemed like a good purchase since we have to pre-sharpen all of the colored pencils and pencils not to mention all the ones we sharpen at home. Did I mention that we have to individually label each item? That includes each individual crayon in a box of 24. What happened to kids learning to share???? Just a thought... Anyway, we had fun shopping for some clothes, with her favorite clothing item being her new Barbie and Ariel panties. Tough to compete with that! I must have worn the poor girl out because my offer to go to one more store to find some jewelry to coordinate with her new skirt outfit was turned down with "I'm too tired Mommy". I guess I don't have to worry about her being a shopaholic, at least for now!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kianna!!!

Our little Tinkerbell
Well today is Kianna's 3rd Birthday and I want to take some time to reflect on our little Nana Bear, as we like to call her. Kianna is a precious little girl. God has truly blessed us! Kianna has a smile and a laugh that light up a room. She loves to have fun and be goofy. Kianna has lots of energy and enjoys going for walks, riding her new bike around the block, playing legos, doing puzzles, reading books, coloring, watching cartoons especially Dora the Explorer and Diego, and singing. She loves playing with her big sister, Kaylee. Together they are very creative and enjoy playing babies, dollhouse, Barbies, and restaurant to name a few activities. Kianna adores her little brother, Trace. She is frequently asking if she can hold him and is anxious to help him in anyway possible.

Kianna is a very outgoing little girl and loves being around people. She loves going to church and playing with her little friends. Kianna appears to be pretty athletic and quite aggressive from what we can see so far. She enjoys gymnastics and frequently practices her back flips at home off of the ottomans. She LOVES her pooh blankey, stuffed animals, and snacks or "nacks' as she likes to call them. She loves playing tickle monster with Daddy. She loves cooking with Mommy. Kianna is scared of mascots, but likes the scary things in cartoons like snakes, dragons, and witches. Kianna can be very stubborn, as she likes to challenge authority and test her boundaries. Kianna is super excited to start preschool in a few weeks. She knows her colors really well and can count to 11. She gets a bit confused with the shapes, but is making progress. Kianna loves life and loves Tinkerbell.

Happy Birthday Nana Bear! Mommy and Daddy love you with all our hearts! We are proud of you and look forward to watching you grow and mature.

Kianna's Amazing Day

Grandma Becki and Kianna getting pedicures.Elizabeth and Kianna
Mackenzie, Elizabeth, and Kianna
Little fairies

Talk about a lucky little girl and that would be Kianna. Tomorrow is Kianna's birthday and in honor of her birthday Grandma Becki took the day off work so they could spend some special time together. Kianna was treated to her first professional manicure and pedicure. She sat in a cute teddy bear chair and watched a movie while getting beautified. (Mommy was a little jealous.) Afterwards, Grandma Becki took Kianna to work with her and they made a surprise visit to see Daddy, which made his day. Their time together concluded with lunch at McDonalds and time spent in the play area.

As if that wasn't a fun enough day, Kianna invited two of her little friends, Elizabeth and Mackenzie, over for her Tinkerbell Birthday Party. The little girls were all dressed in their fairy outfits and they had fun making bubble wand crafts. They also had a little pool party outside and got to play with some water balloons for a special activity. The night concluded with Kianna opening her gifts (Tinkerbell doll, dangly earrings, Dora backpack, and a doggy with its own carrying case). It was a fun filled day and tomorrow brings even more excitement for our lucky little girl...