Christmas pics :)

Air Force Ball :)

So...minus the tan lines....not a bad pic :)

Life :)

Walking along Turkey Creek :)

 Seriously, the boy has issues.... :)

 So, after forcing him to eat carrots....and then finding out he was actually having problems swallowing them (Mom of the Year award goes to me), I let him pick out a new hat :) He chose this awesome Batman fedora. In my defense, he doesn't like a lot of food. Meals are ALWAYS an issue in our house. I always have to put a timer on for his meal time. So, when he started telling me (seriously after one tiny bite) that he just hated carrots and couldn't swallow them, I told him to take smaller bites and try a little harder. Then his eye started to swell shut. Way to go me. I didn't actually buy him a hat because I felt bad, but we did happen to be in Target the next day. And he has been really wanting a new hat for awhile :)

 We love building tents! Is there anything better than watching a favorite movie in an awesome tent??

 Our first day of kindergarten!!!! She was SOOOOOO excited!!! She got to ride the bus and everything :)

 It wasn't too difficult letting her get on the bus........

 But when the bus pulled away, taking my baby girl with it....I might have welled up just a bit!!!! She was sitting in the very front seat, just beaming!!

 I had to make these cute owls for one of my classes :)

 They turned out pretty cute!

 Alex loves dancing around singing polka dot afro!

 We went over to Jacksonville this past weekend to visit Cousin Erica. Her baby, Abigail, is so fantastically cute!!!

 While we were there, we went to a cabin on a lake. The kids had so much fun. I was really happy the snakes didn't decide to come out and play!!!

 My baby girl lost her first tooth the other day!!!! Let me tell you, this was one fabulously excited little girl!!!!!

 We see this guy almost every morning as we walk to the bus stop.

 We had our annual cowboy night last night. This year, only Alex was involved since Cara no longer goes to the same school. He had such a blast!!!

We have had a very busy, but successful, first three weeks of school! Cara is adjusting to Kindergarten quite nicely. She loves going and loves her teacher. Her teacher is focusing on a lot of writing, which I love! Cara has homework she does every night...she doesn't like this as much, but it is life!! Alex is loving PreK. He got a new teacher this year, and she is fantastic!!! I was a little worried because he has been with the same teacher for the last two years. He gets a little wonky when his routine is messed with, but the new teacher is so awesome!! Alex has actually made his first friend too!!! He is kind of a loner, but he has actually made a friend that he loves and just waits for him to arrive at school :) My school is....well....school :) The bachelor program is filled with a ton of group projects and homework!! I, thankfully, only have class one day a week, but that day is a long day 9-6. I will start student teaching in the next few weeks too. Blake is super busy at work as well!!! Between all of our schedules, I see why people don't get a lot done during the week!! Life is busy, but it is good.

End of the Summer

        So, it has been awhile since I've posted anything more than just pictures! Life moves by so quickly these days :) I can't believe our summer has ended and school begins in one short week. We have had an amazing summer, though! I decided that the kids and I needed a break from school. The daycare the have been going to for the past two years is not really a daycare so much as it is an accelerated learning center. They were both in the same classroom for the first year, and then last year Cara moved over to the PreK room. This year, Alex will be in the PreK room, and my baby girl starts Kindergarten!!!! How is this possible??? Where did my little girl go? She has grown up so much this past year.

      With Cara, we have gone from little kid to the start of big kid-ness. While this is awesome in certain ways (the movies she enjoys to watch....foods she likes to eat....activities she likes to do) the attitude issues are NOT so awesome!! I thought that the slamming of doors, the rolling of the eyes, and the "I know it all" attitude, were things that showed up around puberty. Apparently I was gravely mistaken!!! She not only knows everything right now, she is pretty sure she needs to be the boss of everyone. Oh, how she hasn't enjoyed learning how incredibly wrong she is :) It's "kinda" funny! Some things that I absolutely love about Cara and the age she is at right now:

                             1. Her movie choices. I am loving the fact that she loves Heidi (Shirley Temple), she adores Sound of Music (who doesn't??), Ella Enchanted, and other "bigger" kid type movies. She still loves ALL the Barbie movies as well....but one can only hope that the Barbie stage will soon pass! I haven't sold her on Star Wars yet....don't know that I ever will :( I am, however, contemplating introducing Anne of Green Gables. Yay!! Blake has had the kids watch The Avengers with him...she also loves Black Widow with a passion..........

 

                            2. She is such a big help! So, most of the time, Cara is the biggest helper ever! I was telling Blake, I can see why people wait until their children are three or four to have another child. She is seriously awesome :) Sometimes she helps out a little too much, though! I will get up in the morning and she will have literally chewed (with her teeth) the poptarts open for her and Alex for breakfast.....We are working on that :)

 

                            3. Her ever changing sense of style. Now, I know a lot of parents will somewhat dictate how their children leave the house dressed. I do this on certain occasions if there is a need for pristinely dressed children. However, for the most part, I allow both children to dress themselves how they wish to be dressed. This makes for some very very interesting clothing choices at times! She is starting to really be able to put outfits together though. I love watching her develop what she thinks is beautiful! Sometimes I agree....other times....well...I pretty much have to tell her how interesting I think her choices are :)

 

                           4.  I love that she is completely NOT flexible and she is slightly (and by slightly, I mean totally) tone-deaf! It is difficult to have a child who is just not musically inclined. She LOVES to sing, don't get me wrong, but let me tell you how much she is NOT the next American Idol. Seriously. She makes her joyful noise unto the Lord everyday, and I love it :) She was in gymnastics this past year. She had fun, and that is all that really mattered, right?? She is SO not flexible. She might take after me. I have never been able to stretch and touch my toes, and she is completely the same! It makes me laugh.

 

                           5.  She's a fish. She has gone from floaties to swimming this year and it is fantastic.

 

   There are many more things I adore about her and this stage, I just need to not make this whole post about her! Sometimes it is difficult to remember all of the great things when we are having a particularly difficult week with her attitude. I am learning to focus on the good! Both of the kids tend to reflect whatever attitude I am displaying. I am learning that when I am having a horrible week with them, I need to look at my self and how I am acting.

 

   Now, about the boy. Alex is awesome. He makes me laugh everyday! I feel as if I don't have quite as many issues with him as I do with his sister. I don't know if that is because she is the oldest, or because she is a girl and he is a boy...I am just not sure. It could be that our personalities are more similar...but in any case, I feel as if he is the "easy" one. Or rather, I thought that up until this last month!!

 

    I realize that because he is kid number two, his little antics slide under my radar! Cara hits all the stages first, she does everything first, she makes mistakes and needs to be corrected first....and Alex just sits back and watches. I think that most of the time, he learns from her mistakes. This is awesome, right?? Okay, so I now have a child that pretends to be compliant. Is he really compliant? No. Not even a little bit. He is a stubborn little trouble maker!!! Yes, he makes me laugh every day, he loves to cuddle, he does what he is told....as long as it is something he wants to do. He started out with what I call the Eeyore look. Anyone who has ever seen him, knows this look. His head and face slump down to where his nose is almost touching his chest, and his voice starts with the "woe is me" tone, and he conveys his thoughts that somehow life is horrible because he cannot do what he wants. I hadn't realized how bad this behavior had gotten until just recently. It is what we are working on most at the moment :) He seriously thinks that when life doesn't go his way, he can go and pout and somehow that will magically make things better. I am SO over pouting. He hates to color or draw and is currently in speech therapy because he won't speak correctly. He can speak correctly, but he chooses not too because it is difficult and he likes to do things the easy way. So frustrating!! So, I am working on the same thing with him as with Cara. I focus on what I love about him most! Here are a few:

 

                                     1. His love of Star Wars....and anything science fiction-y :) He loves Star Wars. He chose an R2D2 lunchbox for school this year, Boba Fett is his favorite. He voluntarily wants to watch Star Trek (yay!)....he is just a kid after my own heart :) He wants a Star Wars birthday party, which I am SO excited about!

 

                                     2. He is so creative. He may not lie to color or draw, but he loves to build things. His brain is just always on. He loves our globe and can point out the United States, Africa, and South America. He (along with Cara) know our entire address and both mine and Blake's cellphone numbers.  He is awesome with numbers and can even do some basic addition. Lego's and numbers are totally his thing.

 

                                     3. Katy Kangaroo is his favorite book. This makes me happy. I had the book when I was little, and one of our friends gave it to us, and the boy adores it. He just loves books and I love that!

 

                                     4. He is an early riser. Okay, so I honestly don't love this. He wakes up at 5am, no matter what! While I don't love the hour in which he awakes, he is the happiest kid I have ever seen when he wakes up. Like ever. In the world. It fills my heart with such love for the kid!!

 

   As with Cara, there are so many things about this kid that I love. I just can't name them all!!! I would be writing for days :) I just wanted to write down some of the things I think about with them. It has been a difficult last couple of months with learning and teaching and everything! Life as a parent is SOOO much easier on paper than in real life. Knowing that I need to teach these little people the skills they need to be competent and well adjusted adults is scary! I don't want to raise a bully, but I don't want to raise a kid that gets bullied either! I feel like real life is now starting with Cara starting Kindergarten next week, Alex in PreK, and me starting the bachelor program. Ahhhh!!! I can't wait until I know how life will go. One more week and I will know :) One more week and my baby will get on a schoolbus......one more week and the boy starts school full time, five days a week. One more week. That is it. Well, this turned into a ramble, now didn't it???? Sorry!

A few shots from the last couple weeks :)

We checked our the zoo that just opened in our town....it left much to be desired! The kids had fun, which I guess is all that matters....but a lemur jumped on my shoulder and it took about an hour (and we looked through everything twice) to go through it...Oh well! I guess we will just drive an hour to the bigger zoo :)

 We bought a pool pass for the summer! We have gone swimming almost everyday! It is awesome :) Cara has gone from a floatie girl, to a little fish! She can totally swim (as long as she has her mask on) like a fish and it is fantastic! Alex is still in floaties, but he at least likes to swim this year :)

 

 

 

 We had cousins come down and stay for 6 weeks :) Cara and Alex were in heaven!! They were so sad when the girls left. We are looking forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving or Christmas!

 We had a fun time taking pictures....Cara wanted to try on her Christmas dress. I think she looks pretty in green :) Alex just loves his lego ninja shirt!

 We had a princess tea party :) Cara and I dressed up in pretty dresses, tiara's, make-up, and jewelry. She had a blast with the make-up and jewelry!! It was pretty cute. Alex joined us for the tea party, but did not dress up like a princess. He was quite adamant :)