Celebrations

I was a real-life pre-school teacher for the better part of this past year. (From September to February) It almost feels like it didn't happen because I didn't ever really document it here, and because it seems like a lifetime ago that I was pregnant with Lindy, trying to keep up with all those little rascals. I can't believe it was only 3 months ago! I went back to The Winner School with the kids to show off Lindy and see my pre-school kids a little bit ago, and at the end of May I got to go watch their graduation program. It was nice to just watch and enjoy, and not have to be involved at all. They were a really cute, well-behaved class. I totally lucked out.


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Miles "graduated" from our little joy school group at the end of May too. We kept it really low key and just watched a little slideshow of pictures from the past year that one of the moms put together. I handed out hats and diplomas, then we ate some food and played outside. In the pictures it looks like he doesn't care at all, but he's been very particular about how his diploma hangs on the fridge ever since. While watching the slideshow I was impressed with how much we crammed into such a short time. I'm excited to do it again with Gwen's age group this upcoming year! So many fun moms and kids to play with!


Richie's brother Ross is gettin' himself hitched this Summer. We have loved getting to know his fiance, Amanda. She and Ross are a perfect match! Currently they are in that all consuming phase of being in love that makes everyone else sick cause it's so sweet. ;) We threw her a shower a weekend or so ago and I think it came together great. She and Ross are both bookworms, so we went with a book theme. I should have got a picture of the invites my mom designed. They were super cute and made to look like a library book checkout slip. We decorated with old books, suitcases, bird paraphernalia (something else Amanda's in to) and flowers. She's also a big advocate of healthy eating so we had fresh yogurt and granola parfaits, homemade crackers with yummy dips, and fresh fruit. We mostly just chatted and ate, but we also tied a quilt, learned a little bit more about the two love birds, and opened presents. Gwen was extra excited to tag along to the girl party. :) Miles and Dad were at Father's and Son's campout that weekend, so we had some girl time complete with painting nails, brownies, and a just-for-girls party.

Kid update

Just wanted to jot down some things about these kids, because I know I'll forget them sooner than later.

Miles
This kid...Man, what a sweetheart. He's officially "graduated" from joy school (pictures later) and he's so excited to do kindergarten at home. (Yessss!) I've noticed a lot lately how introverted he can be.(Like me) He's really good at being friendly and he gets along well with others, but he really needs his alone time, otherwise he gets grouchy. When he's around too many people for too long, he'll either have a freak out tantrum or he disappears to somewhere quiet to be alone. I can relate. If we are ever somewhere where there's lots of noise or people, he gets sick of it really fast and asks to go home. I think he's Lindy's favorite. He could smile and coo at her all day. Sometimes he'll say something and when I respond, he'll say "No mom, I was talking to Lindy." As the pictures show, he's not always happy and attentive, but I'd say 90% of the time, he is strictly obedient. It's amazing. I rarely have to ask twice when I need him to do something. He'll respond with a "yes sir" and a salute. No joke. (And no, we did not teach him to salute to us) He's had an ear infection for a while now and it's really plugged up one of his ears. Even after having the doctor remove a to of wax, he's still having a problem hearing. That's been frustrating to both of us! He's growing up so much. I can really reason with him a lot now. When he was younger (3-ish) He would fight us to try any new food. I'm talking, sitting at the dinner table for 3 hours straight because he wouldn't eat a green bean. Now it's like a flip has been switched and he tries everything, and likes it! He'll see something random in the store or at dinner and say, "Oh! I like that now!" Big parenting pay day there.





Gwen
This little chica is sweet and sassy. She can be gentle, soft, tender and understanding. She's really good at being happy. When she's happy, she's over the moon! Her favorite phrases lately are "This is the best food I have ever eaten in my entire life!" and "This is the best day ever!" She can also be bossy, too smart for her own good, and over-talkative. :) Sometimes she catches me in something I've said, and I have to re-think the punishment, or the rule or whatever, because she has found an injustice. She continues to love books and reading, dressing up and being outside. Lately she finds old peach pits from the compost or somewhere in the garden, digs a hole somewhere in the yard and then plants it, hoping a peach tree will grow. She has no problem getting dirty, playing with bugs and can tell a front end loader from an excavator. Her imagination is boundless. She even has an imaginary family with names. According to her, they live in Riverton, Utah, in a palace. Her imaginary father's name is Binky-Unkuh (spelled like she says it) Her imaginary siblings are Bah-Da-Dee, Eek-Oh-Bah-Day, and May-dee. She definitely knows the difference between real and pretend, so when she talks about this "other family", I'll say, "That's nice, but they are just pretend huh." She insists that they are real. One day I said, "Ok, if they are real, I'd love to meet Binky-Unkuh. Can we go see him?" She said, "Sure, just let me check." She "called" him on her mermaid phone and after a brief conversation told me that we couldn't see him today because he is sick. I asked her what he looked like. Apparently he has brown eyes and black and yellow stripes hair. Yikes! She really freaked me out one day when we woke up and I was feeding Lindy in bed. She woke up, came into our room, and then went into the kitchen. When she came back she said, "Where's Dad?" I told her that he was already at work. She said, "Then who's that man in the kitchen?" Yeah...only slightly freaked me out. Where does she get this stuff? She's sweet with her little sister and wants to hold her all the time. She like's to tell me what Lindy's coos really mean. One day, Lindy was making noises and I said, "Oh, I think she's ready to go in the swing for a little bit." Gwen replied, "No, she want to have some girl time on the couch with me!"





Lindy
What a little angel. Perfect 3rd child so far. I haul her with us wherever we go, interrupt her naps, push back feeding times out of necessity and she handles it like a champ. She is the most spitty baby I've had so far. She has at least 2 outfits per day, not counting pj's because she soaks them all with drool and spit up. My clothes usually get hammered with it too. If she's coordinated enough to find her hands, she loves to suck on them. Uh-oh, might have a thumb sucker on our hands! She is generally so happy and talkative, but she can go from completely pleasant to screaming mad in 1 second. She cries out of no where and so intensely that you think something is hurting her. It never is, she just flips out for a second and then you can calm her down pretty easily. She's getting so strong and likes sitting in the Bumbo, LOVES the swing, loves being outside, can use her legs to "stand" for long periods of time, goes to sleep like a champ, getting really good at keeping her head up during tummy time and has even (I think accidentally) rolled from front to back a few times. She's getting so chubby! Even though she's just barely 3 months old, I have put away her 0-3 month clothes and brought out the 3-6 month set. It was a little tender as I packed them away, not believing she's grown so quickly and wondering if we'll ever have another girl wear them. She's bright eyed, and keeps them open WIDE, always looking around and trying to control her heck muscles well enough to look around at everything she wants to see.