Cameron starts Preschool

It was a fun change from past preschool experiences to have Cameron be so excited about going! He gave us hugs, sat down and said goodbye, with a smile on his face!

He was so excited to start school! Let's just hope his enthusiasm continues!

I sure do love this little rascal!

Celebration...

We had a celebration the first night of school! After a delicious dinner of steaks on the grill, compliments of Dad, we enjoyed fresh fruit with chocolate dip.

The kids liked the dinner, but LOVED the dessert. It was tasty, but it was almost as enjoyable to watch how much fun the kids had eating it!

Cameron was in Heaven and made a sweet little mess!

It was a great night together commemorating a great first day of school for Austin and Brooke!

First day of school

Off they went, with smiles on their faces for the first day of 2nd and 4th grade!

Cam was sad to see them go, of course.

And home they came, safe and sound, right to our driveway. Can't ask for better service than that!

Happy first day of school 2010!

Summertime fun with family

Whether we were home, or traveling, this summer was a great one for reconnecting with lots of family. We enjoyed catching up with "Uncle Charlie" while Emily and kids were in town. We had a fun visit with him and of course, the kids all got their fill of hanging on his back! He's so fun!

Austin and Jordan got a little boy date with John one day while Jordan and fam were in town. They went out for some fishing fun at a little pond near our house. From what I hear, they had a good time... looks like they enjoyed themselves.

They even caught some fish!

This is one of the few that they caught and released. They were proud.

We didn't get up to Kelsi's big sweet 16 bash, but we made our own litle version here with a cake and a few little gifts. Can't beleive how fast she has grown up into such a beautiful young lady! We were glad we got to celebrate with her.

It even worked out that we all got a rare visit from Grandpa Jack. He traveled through while Emily and kids were visiting at our house, so we all caught up for a couple of hours and enjoyed a short but sweet visit.

It was fun to have Emily, Kelsi, Jordan and Mareena here for a couple visits this summer too. It's great that everyone gets along so well and enjoys each other's company. The girls play house and dolls for hours and the boys play video games of all sorts for even longer... Kelsi goes out and makes all kinds of new friends and Cameron tags along with anyone who will welcome him. :-)

Thanks for all the fun visits everybody!

little lady

July was a fun month for Brooke... she lost 3 teeth in 3 days and she got a great new hair cut.

All of a sudden, my little girl is growing up!

She's got her big kid smile growing in and she is starting to seem like such a big kid.

Brooke is still as sweet as can be though. I am so thankful for a daughter like her. I can depend on her to help, to love, to be a good example.

She is kind, smart, she is patient, she's funny and she is beautiful, inside and out.

I don't want my little girl to grow up too fast, but I sure do enjoy the little lady she's growing into.

Cameron turned 3!

My, my how time flies!

Our funny little Cameron is 3 years old!

It's become a tradition around our house to decorate the night before one of the kids has a birthday, so they wake up to a festive morning on their special day.

Austin and Brooke had fun hanging streamers and blowing up balloons the night before Cameron's birthday.

I think they might have been just as excited as he was that it was his birthday!

We got the day started off right... what 3 year old wouldn't want a giant sprinkled donut with candles on it for his birthday breakfast?? It brought a smile to his face, which was just what we had hoped. :-)

It's hard to narrow down all the wonderful things about Cameron, but if I had to choose 3 favorites, they would be:

1. His adorable, contagious smile that lights up his face most of the time.

2. His hilarious sense of humor...he cracks us all up on a daily basis.

3. His sweet way of giving hugs and kisses, just because. He's a boy for sure and he can be a rough and tumble wild one, but he has a very sweet side as well and I love, love, love that.

We LOVE you Cameron!!

Thank you for lighting up our home and filling it with your laughter.

Happy 3rd birthday!

We're looking forward to many, many more!

3D Ultrasound

In the back of my mind, I was a little worried that we'd prepare for a baby girl and she would end up being a boy. I can now rest at ease that we are indeed having a girl. Yay for sisters!


We had a fun family date to get a 3d ultrasound this weekend and not only confirmed that we're having a little girl, but got our first glimpse of her little face. Of course there's nothing like the real thing, but the 3d images are a little more lifelike than a standard ultrasound. We saw her face, her feet, her hands. We saw them all at the same time actually, because she was all folded in half with her feet up by her face! It was a cute little teaser for us... we can't wait to meet her in person soon. Now, if we could only settle on a name. :-)

Her thumb never went in her mouth, but it sure stayed in that area!

Brooke was looking closely to see if she'd have a little thumb sucking sister...

Looks like some chubby cheeks!

Crossing her ankles like a little lady.

Here you see her feet on the left, right next to her hand and face... if she's looking squished now, just wait. We have about 8 more weeks to grow.

Technology is wonderful!

that explains a lot!

It's no secret this pregnancy has really taken a toll on me. I've been exhausted and barely keeping up with my family and responsibilities, not to mention all the friends I have that think I hate them due to my lack of social interaction.

In July I asked my doctor about my fatigue, as it has been more than I experienced with the other pregnancies. The nurse and doctor each have four kids and assured me that it was quite normal to be much more tired with the 4th baby. After all, I'm chasing 3 other kids around and keeping up with a lot more. I accepted that answer and went on feeling yucky.

Last week I had routine blood work done including my glucose test. My glucose test came abck fine, but the complete blood work was done. I got a call the next day that I have extremely low iron levels and need to start immediately on supplements to keep me from becoming completely anemic.

I asked if this could be related to why I have been so fatigued and had trouble completing everyday tasks and was given the answer of a most definite yes. I was so glad to hear it wasn't in my head!

I looked up the symptoms of iron deficiency and found:

fatigue
shortness of breath
trouble Catching breath
dizziness (have had several near fainting dizzy spells)
headaches
irritability
trouble concentrating
etc...

I have been having every symptom I found on every web site where I read about it.
I am not glad that I am borderline anemic. I am however glad that I have a possible solution to improve how I've been feeling. So the plan for the rest of this pregnancy . . . PUMP SOME IRON, of course!

bummed

The end of summer is always such a downer for me. I love my kids company and would love to have them around all the time. I miss them when they are at school and really wish I had it in me to home school them this year. I was soooo close to doing it, but decided it just wouldn't be fair to them right now. They are such bright kids and deserve to have the full attention of a teacher. I am the first to admit that I don't have that full attention to give right now.
So, off to school they go tomorrow. I'll secretly wipe the tears from my eyes and smile and cheer them on, because I know that this is the path that's best for us right now.

I sure hope those teachers recognize the precious little packages we're entrusting to them. I hope they see their strengths and give them the love and support they deserve. I hope my kids have a great year at school!

Pueblo park fun

The kids and I enjoyed our visit to the Pueblo park this summer with Grandma Kathy, Uncle Rob and Annabelle. The rides are always a fun treat and the weather was nice for some running and playing. We got in some soccer playing, frisbee throwing, running races and regular old playing at the park together.

Brooke started off the rides with a fast moving, spinning ride. She and Annabelle loved it so much that they decided to go again. That turned out to be not such a great idea and she spent the rest of the evening feeling a little under the weather... :-(
Austin and Cam had lots of fun riding rides and particularly liked the little roller coaster that they went in 3 times in a row.

Always a pleasure to have the company of Rob & Annabelle!

Cameron was in heaven with so many little rides that were geared toward kids just his size!

Cam loves his Ubcle "Wob." Hey, what's not to love??

Rob entertained us with his acrobatics on the grass in the park.

The kids had a great time hanging out with Grandma! Thanks for a fun outing Grandma.

We love you!