It's Been Awhile

It's been quite some time since my last entry - all I can say is that it's directly related to how busy life has become. Things have calmed down now since we're in town though. We went to Wichita Falls for spring break (when I say "we" I mean myself and the kids - John went to Colorado for a Bible Quiz tournament). Then last week I took the kids to Dallas and then Austin to see my parents as well as to go to Jeremy's concert. (His band was one of the final five in an Austin radio station competition and so they got to play in concert. Check out their music here: http://www.myspace.com/reomusic) They were contacted afterwards by an agent and the radio station wanted their cd to play on the air! Yea, Jeremy!!! I'm proud of you!!!

While we were in Austin, John went to the A&M game with his brothers and dad in San Antonio. They were so excited and had lots of fun even though the Aggies lost by 1 point! I'll post some pictures later from that night.

John David is doing great in school. He doesn't bring home a happy face every day but he's learning. He had to go to the principal's office one day a couple of weeks ago for behavior that has definitely received mixed reviews. Most of the males in our family wanted to high 5 him (with the exception of his daddy)! I have no idea where he learned such a thing from but I'm confident that, after the spanking he earned, there won't be any repeat performances. I haven't posted about it before because I for one am not proud that my son mooned some boys at school but in the spirit of being open and honest on this blog, I decided to mention it. =)

We also had to deal with him kissing a girl in his class. When it was all said and done we learned that it was the girl who was asking for the kisses and even telling him to lie about it so they wouldn't get in trouble. He told her no, he wouldn't lie, because satan is the father of lies! We've had many talks since then (we actually had some before too but apparently they weren't good enough) and we are drilling into him that he has to save his kisses for his wife one day.

His reading is wonderful and as long as he pays attention he does excellent. His attention span has improved alot though. We are considering where to send him next year for first grade. The options are Cornerstone again, Ambleside ( a classical school we wanted to send him to last year but they filled up), or homeschooling. We're still thinking......

Julia is quite the three year old these days. She likes to do things by herself (including going potty which is nice) and she's not quite so demanding. She makes a pretty good "shopping buddy" which really helps me out. A couple of weeks ago I was trying on some shoes at the mall and she decided to do it too. She put on an adult pair of sparkly sandals and pranced around asking how they looked. I wish I had my camera with me because it was just too cute. =)

She loves to help me do things - cooking, cleaning, laundry - anything! She's a wonderful little snuggle buddy and is incrdedible sweet. But don't be fooled - she keeps John David in his place! Unfortunately she has taken up screaming when she wants something and it's not pleasant. We are working on that problem so hopefully it won't last much longer. But I can tell you that it's quite tempting to just give her whatever she wants as quickly as possible just so you don't have to hear the scream. It's just awful!

John David and Julia both adore Aulora and they love to hear her laugh. She has finally mastered rolling over and it shouldn't be long until she can sit up. Her hair is filling in and she remains a wonderfully easygoing baby. She's laying in my lap asleep right now. Her little lips are still moving and I know she's having sweet dreams.

Many mornings we wake up with all three of them in our bed with us and although it's terribly uncomfortable, I can't help but love it. What could be better than being squished on all sides by the precious little babies that you love? Just to hear them breathe and to feel their warm legs tangled up with your own. To see them dreaming or their little lips sucking. To watch them open up their little eyes and exclaim "It's a bright and sunny day!". It's all amazing. Yes, I might get more sleep when they are all grown up one day but I know that I will look back on these tiresome nights with a smile on my face and a longing in my heart to experience it all again. I love these babies!!!

A Quick Reunion

A couple of weekends ago we went to Midland to visit with John's family since they were going to be there for a couple days. Matt and Kara are the only ones who still live there so we got a couple of hotel rooms at Holiday Inn. We ate out a couple of times and played at Uncle Matt and Aunt Kara's house on Saturday. It was fun! The second to last picture is of John David holding up a Star Wars guy with a "very long neck"! He was laughing so hard because he saw us laughing. =)

A Special Visit

In February, Dodie and Granmamma came for a quick visit. It was a very exciting moment when they got here. They got lots of hugs and kisses and it wasn't long before they were handing out presents. We had a great time even though it was short.

Julia

One afternoon, a couple of weeks ago, I took Julia out to take her picture on her bench. This spot will be much prettier once spring comes. We'll be sure to go back again. Julia loves her sunglasses and loves wearing them for pictures.

There's a Song For This

"Julia, Julia, Julia the Destroyer!" (sung to the tune of Dora the Explorer) I came into the bathroom to find that Julia had lined up every bathroom cup and filled them with water. She then proceeded to "wash" the floor and used up all the towels. No wonder I have lots of laundry everyday.....(this picture was taken AFTER some of the mess had been cleaned up)

Julia at Gattiland

On Thursday I took Julia to Gattiland with a couple other moms and kids. We were there for almost 3 hours! She got to go back again on Friday night with John David and Daddy too. She was in Gatti heaven!

Aulora

Here's a silly picture of Aulora. Nothing fancy.....

Sunday Afternoons

This is what a typical Sunday afternoon at our house looks like. John David playing, Daddy passed out on the couch after watching golf on tv, Julia curled up asleep with Daddy, and Mommy taking care of Aulora and taking pictures. =)

My Princesses

Here are my princess girls. We took these this afternoon with Daddy's help. It's not easy to get both of them to do the right thing at the same time! Julia says she loves to hold her baby sister.....

Ballerina Girl

Here's Aulora in her tutu I made her. It was quite a chore to get a picture of her in it where she wasn't trying to eat it. =)

Aulora

Aulora posed for some pictures today in her room....

Valentine's Day

My parents sent the kids a package for Valentine's and the kids both knew that as soon as John David got home from school it would be time to open it. They were soooo excited!


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"Pineywood Derby"

John David always says pineywood, not pinewood, and it's so cute. The races were last weekend and he had lots of fun! He ended up getting 3rd overall for his age, I think. Here's some video....


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Silly Julia

Here's Julia singing the alphabet....


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The Tooth Fairy Came!

John David recently lost his very first tooth! He was very excited about it and thought it was so cool that the tooth fairy came to see him. The tooth fairy even left him a typed up note telling him what a great tooth it was but not to expect so much money next time - she only leaves lots for the first tooth. (We only had a $10 bill!) =)


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It's Been Awhile

It's definitely been awhile since I've sat down to update the blog. The first reason is that my camera is not cooperating with me (it's taking an hour or more to try to download pictures - time I don't have!) and the second reason is that life is getting more and more busy the older Aulora gets.

She turned 5 months old on Sunday and that's just hard to believe. She's laughing, "talking", getting some hair, almost rolling over (she just can't get her arm out of the way), and eating more than ever. She loves to watch John David and Julia play and often when she laughs it's because of something they're doing. This evening, while I was pushing the basket through Walmart (and all the hundreds of people doing valentine's day shopping) listening to John David and Julia ask for everything and want to know why this and why that or how the end of the Star Wars movie turned out, I looked at Aulora and told her that I sure was glad she didn't know how to talk yet. She smiled sweetly and I think she understood. =) My ears can only take so much! From the rising of the sun 'til the going down of the same the little voices in this house don't stop! That's ok though. I know it will be quiet here all too soon and I'll wish once more for those little voices hollering my name for the hundreth time or screaming because "he blew on me" or because "she took my ninja turtle car". But most of all I'll long for the oh so sweet "I love you, Mommy!" moments, or the times when a little voice whispers in my ear "We're cuddlebugs, Mommy!". They are so so so very sweet that I know all the hard days like this one I've had will melt away.

Proud of My Boy!

Yesterday, John David's teacher came to the car to tell me that she wanted us to know that he is doing an excellent job reading. That bit of news made my day! He really is doing good. We practice spelling and reading words all throughout the day and it's just so exciting to see how much he's learning. I'm so proud. =)

An Exotic Afternoon

This afternoon we took the kids to a special magic show with exotic animals at the mall here in town. We had planned to pay to let the kids play with the baby tigers after the show but the wait was just too long. The line to have pictures taken was shorter so that's what we did. They were very excited to hold a real baby tiger! I'm sad I didn't get to pet him. =(

My Dolly & Her Dolly

Aulora Laughs

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Here's Aulora laughing! She was sitting in her bumbo seat while I made dinner tonight and she started laughing at me. I grabbed the camera to share....