They really do listen!

Every Wednesday in Ava's class they have computer time, which involves three things - drawing a picture using a kid-friendly drawing program, drawing 8 items that begin with the letter of the week, and listening to a story, then drawing a picture of their favorite part of the story along with a sentence describing why it's their favorite. Then a paper is sent home (along with the illustration of the favorite part of the story with sentence) which tells the parent how their student is doing in each area. Each task is rated with one star, two stars, three starts, or four stars - one being the lowest, and four being the highest.

Ava's been really good at the first two tasks, but not so much on the third. Which was odd to me, since she loves drawing pictures! She wouldn't draw a picture, and only write half a sentence. I finally had a talk with her about it last week, about how important it is to listen to the teacher and complete classwork.

Yesterday when I picked her up from class, she was bursting at the seams to get something out of her backpack and show it to me. She presented me with her weekly computer center paper, only this time she had FINALLY completed the third task! Illustration AND complete sentence! She was really proud of it, and I was happy that she finally did it during class.

So kids really DO listen when you talk to them about things!

Star of the Week

Every week in Ava's class, a student is chosen to be Star of the Week. This was Ava's week! She filled out a poster with pictures of her family, and all her favorite things - like her favorite food (carrots - which I wouldn't have guessed!), her favorite animal (a unicorn - definitely my child!), and what she wants to be when she grows up (a car driver - she must get that from Mason). In addition, the chosen Star of the Week takes home the class bear over the weekend, Beebear, and writes in a journal what they did with him over the weekend. Since we had Beebear last weekend, we had all sorts of Halloween fun with him.

Today she presented her poster and her Beebear journal entries. Such a fun weekly activity to do with the students!

PSA

Just in case you didn't know, we are expecting baby #4 in April.

I'm currently 16 weeks, and we find out in 3 if it's a boy or a girl.

Whoo hoo!!

Lovely Language

Today Norah surprised me with the phrase:

"I burped out of my butt!!"

*facepalm*

Faith in the future

Today at church we had fast and testimony meeting. I was really impressed by the testimony of one of our youth. She mentioned that for a recent school project, she and her classmates were assigned to do a "Me Board," where they share different aspects of themselves. One part of it was to include who they would like to emulate in the future. She said that many of her classmates spoke about wanting to be like celebrities or business moguls. But she didn't feel like she could do that. She wanted to put on her board that she wanted to be like Christ and Heavenly Father, but part of her was afraid of sharing her testimony.

But when it was her turn to present her board, she had a picture of the temple and Christ on it. She talked about how she wanted to emulate Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because she had felt their unconditional love in her life. She felt the Spirit present, and was so glad that she followed its promptings.

After hearing that, it gave me renewed faith in the future. I'm amazed at the strength of our youth, and the courage they display in sharing their testimonies and standing for what is right. Sometimes I get bogged down in the doldrums of life, and get a bit pessimistic. But then I hear testimonies like these, and I know that if we keep the faith, hold to the rod, and endure to the end, everything will be alright.

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Ava's first day of kindergarten. She was so excited that last night I thought she would hardly sleep at all. Here she is with her new shoes, new outfit, and pony backpack. Norah got new shoes too, so we took pictures of her. Norah was bummed that Ava would be eating lunch at kindergarten, so I took her out to McDonald's as a special treat.

Oh,and both Ava's and Norah's shoes light up when they walk.

Keira - 15 months

As of her 15 month appointment a week and a half ago, here are Keira's stats:

Weight: 20 lbs (10th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (30th percentile)

She still is a tiny baby, but to us she really chunked out the past month or so. She's now walking, and consequently getting into everything. Ava and Norah love playing with their Ponyville and Polly Pocket toys (which have very, very VERY tiny pieces), so I'm constantly telling them to play with them on the kitchen table, or else close the door to their room. So far Keira hasn't swallowed anything, and Ava and Norah are very pretty good about keeping those tiny things out of her reach.

Keira loves to dance, pull out all the DVD's from our TV unit, and snuggle with her various stuffed animals.

Beach

A few weeks ago we headed out to Santa Cruz. Ava has been dying all summer to go to the beach, but we've been having really mild weather (and when it's mild where we live, it's just cold at the beach). But we went anyway. Of course it was overcast and chilly, but we still had fun. Ava and Norah loved wading in the surf with Mason, and I chilled in the sand with Keira.

Keira and me



Just Keira



What is Ava pointing at?



The crazy mass of people going for an organized swim in the freezing ocean




Mason and the girls

Fourth of July

Next to Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Good food, friends, family, and fireworks! Plus, I love having the chance to be patriotic and feeling overall thankful for the country that I live in.

Some of our Fourth of July decorations

Our backyard table set up for our holiday bbq!


Ava waving the flag

Backyard Fun

Today we decided to try out our new sprinkler toy. It was a bit too cool at the beach, but it was warm at our house, so we played in the water. The girls had fun, and we had fun watching them. Now I want to get a Slip 'n Slide!

Sleep?

Last night this is how I found Ava and Norah asleep as I checked in on them before I went to bed myself:

I sooooooooooo need to make a collage of all the crazy sleep pictures I've accumulated over the years. How they fall asleep like this is beyond me.

7th Anniversary!

Last Monday (May 31st) was our 7th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been seven years already. With a lot of love, good times, and three kids, the time sure does fly.

A perk this year was that our anniversary fell on Memorial Day, so Mason already had the day off. We took advantage of that and headed up to San Francisco for the day (our daughters stayed with Grandma and Grandpa). We rode the cable cars, shopped, and ate dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. It was fun having a day to ourselves.

I love my husband dearly, and hope to have many more years together!

Conversations with a 3-year old

Last week for dessert our girls discovered the joys of making hot fudge sundaes - complete with sprinkles and peanuts. A few days ago, my husband was eating some peanuts as a snack. This is the convo that followed:



Mason: Ava, would you like some peanuts?

Ava: Uh, no thank-you.

Mason: Norah, would you like some peanuts?

Norah: Yes, with ice cream please!

Keira Turns One!

Wednesday was Keira's first birthday! Yes, she was born on Cinco de Mayo. And as I made dinner that night (stroganof), it occurred to me that last year on May 5th I was making THE EXACT SAME THING for dinner when I realized I was in active labor. Bizarre!!

So here are her stats as of today when she had her check-up:

Weight: 15 lbs 13 oz (yes, she's not even tracking on the 5th percentile for weight, but making her own curve below that one!)
Height: 28 inches

Still petite, but cute as ever!

Wednesday night we had a family get together for cake and presents. Ava and Norah were very excited to help Keira open her presents. As Ava said, "Norah will open one, and I will open two!" Um, right.

Here are some pics!

The Cake

Cake and Presents

Keira and Mommy

Opening Presents

Eating Birthday Cake

Where's Grandpa?

Last month my dad had knee replacement surgery, so he hasn't been to church in the last few Sundays while he's recovering. But apparently my girls miss him, because here's what the conversation was in the parking lot this afternoon as we were getting ready to go home:

Norah: (sees Brother Thompson across the parking lot) "LOOK!!! There's Grandpa!"

Me: "No, that's not Grandpa."

Norah: "Yes, it is!"

Ava: "Norah, that's not Grandpa. That's someone else. Grandpa looks different, and his name is "Gary."


Yes indeed Ava!

Keira - 11 months

I haven't weighed Keira, but she can't be more than 16 pounds - seriously. She's such a lightweight that people ask if she's 3 or 4 months old, and they are always shocked to hear that she's nearly one year old. But it doesn't really bother me - it means she stays a bit more baby-like longer!

She's now beginning to cruise, as well as bop up and down once she's standing. When we hold her, she loves to nibble our noses. It's only a problem when she tries to do it to Ava or Norah - they run away screaming that Keira tried to bite them. It's kind of funny, but I guess I should be more sympathetic, LOL! It's just hard to when Ava and Norah are so melodramatic about it, and Keira just looks like an innocent lamb.

Keira is also distinctly saying "Ma Ma" and "Da Da." Just some of my favorite words these days!

Ava turns 5!

Two weeks ago Ava had her 5th birthday party (we had it on Saturday the 6th, since her actual birthday was on Sunday the 7th). It was a Lightening McQueen themed party! Truth be told I was kinda bummed that she didn't want a pony party (there's still hope with Norah and Keira, LOL!), but it was fun all the same.

She invited friends from preschool and church (and who am I kidding - they are all from church too!). We played Pin-the-Wheel-on-McQueen, colored pages with the Cars characters, had an obstacle course in the backyard, and of course a Lightening McQueen pinata. The pinata was the pinnacle of the party! Everyone was so excited for a turn to hit it - then once it fell to the ground, it was a bit Lord of the Flies-esque with the ripping to get the candy out.

All in all it was a very fun party! Then on Sunday we had a family gathering for her actual birthday.



Playing Pin-the-Wheel




Eating Birthday Cake




Obstacle Course!




Pinata Time

Norah turns 3!

This past Sunday, the 28th, was Norah's birthday. She's now 3 years old! I can't believe it. We had a family dinner with my parents, then cake and presents afterwards.

Some Norah highlights:
- she loves dinosaurs and animals
- her favorite phrases are "WHAT??" and "Oh my gosh!"
- she loves to be tickled
- her favorite movies are "Bolt" and "The Land Before Time"
- at night she MUST have her flannel heart blanket to go to sleep
- she loves Nursery - every Sunday, halfway through Sacrament Meeting, she always asks "Is it time for Nursery?"
- her favorite things to eat at dinner are stroganoff and mashed potatoes (not necessarily together)
- she prefers bananas over strawberries

The Cake



The Presents


Opening the Presents


Peeking through the Presents

T is for...

Last week in Ava's preschool, it was "T" week. They learned about all sorts of things that began with the letter "T." They also made various projects revolving around "T." One such project was making the letter "T" out of Tootsie rolls. When the teacher presented them at the door to take home, I had a very different thought of what it looked like:









Yes, I thought "T" is for turd!!!

Keira - 9 months

At her 9-month appointment, Keira weighed in at 14 lbs, 4 oz, and measured at 26 inches long. She's a petite baby, but she's growing! And she's proportionate. All around she's just a cute little bundle of baby joy!

She can crawl fast enough to keep up with her older sisters, and she's now pulling herself up to stand. Keira hasn't quite figured out how to cruise yet - but all in due time.

I also noticed that she has not one, not two, but THREE more teeth coming in! That now brings the total to seven. She is a picky eater, so it's been slow to introduce new foods. But in true baby style, she does like to nom on Cheerios.

And to top it all off, she's just as happy as can be! It doesn't take much to get her to smile, giggle, and squeal. Our favorite thing to do is give her raspberries on her tummy. She will then just burst out in fits of laughter. So cute!

Already??

Yesterday I registered Ava for kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN!! I still can't believe that she's nearly 5 years old. And that I have two other girls. Where has the time gone?

Anyway, while registering you'd think it was the Spanish Inquisition. In order to prove residency, I had to have:


1) A copy of our rental agreement
2) A current PG&E bill
3) My driver's license


And if that weren't enough, additional things I needed were:


4) Ava's birth certificate
5) Ava's immunization records



Once I was at the school, I had a small folder of paperwork to fill out. Which reminds me, I still need to get back over there to give them a self-addressed stamped envelope so they can mail out the acceptance letter in April.

Good thing we live across the street! One of the many reasons why I love our new place.

Bedtime Delay Tactics

Normally Ava and Norah go down for bed without a hitch these days. However, lately Norah has developed a new delay tactic. It's hard to resist, for she's very cute. She will now get out of bed, come to us and say "Hug and kiss!" When we go to give her a hug and kiss, she will run down the hall and say, "NOOOO!! Hug and kiss in bed!!!!!"



My, how they get so sly, LOL!