Field Trip

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Alyssa went on her first field trip this week at school to Gentry’s Farm. It was a lot of fun to hang out with her and see how she interacts with her teacher and friends. They learned about pumpkin patches and the stages of the pumpkin. Did you know that all pumpkins start as a yellow flower with a small ball on the the end? I sure learned a lot. Also that cows like to eat pumpkins too. Here are a few pics of the outing. In case you haven’t discovered, I usually put more in the photo gallery 🙂

Verbs of the weekend

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Celebrating

This weekend my friends joined me in celebrating the upcoming arrival of Audrey. Amanda hosted the event and was a wonderful friend: pampering me with gifts, delicious Julie-approved food and a sweet blessing. It was great to be able to share this time with new (and old) friends, since most of mine are so far away. I received fun goodies for Audrey including this amazing diaper cake (or whatever they call them). Thank you girls for celebrating this new life with me.

Preparing

After I came home from the shower, I enjoyed showing the goodies to Ethan and the girls. And I just can’t do that without really getting excited about her arrival. So the next few hours of my Saturday were spent finding and unpacking the baby items. The room has been ready for awhile. Diaper cloths, blankets, and clothes have been packed in the drawers too. But I had yet to get out the supplies. So I unpacked and washed the covers for the swing, bouncer and car seat. There is a part of me that wanted new things. I mean, the swing was for Blakely and is from 2001. Good thing they do not have an expiration date on those. (I am ignoring the one for the car seat.) But I also love the fact that all my girls will use the same “equipment”. I remember bringing each one home in that car seat. I just feel warm inside to get this stuff out and look forward to using it again. I told Ethan surely after 3 kids, we have got our money worth out of this stuff.

So, of course, after the things are assembled, the girls had a good time playing with them. I am afraid that Megan may push Audrey right out of that swing. We will have to make sure she is always buckled. Each one also took their turn in the car seat. A 5 yr old in the car seat is quite funny. So, for now we are ready for Audrey.

Playing

Of course we had soccer again too. Alyssa and her team scored once and the other team… well, we lost count. But they are having fun and I love to see a new side of her come out.

Audrey at 34 weeks

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We had our final ultrasound today. One of the signs of Downs is a slow in growth, and I wanted one more look to measure her and see that she looks healthy. And that is what we got today. Audrey measured right on for her estimated date and showed us all how active and limber she is. She spent the majority of the time sideways with her feet and hands by her head. It is so surreal to see your child moving around inside of you. It is just miraculous that this whole thing actually works. Thank you Lord for giving me the signs that I need to trust that she is healthy. Thank you for making her in your image and I know she will be perfect whatever that is. At our house, we can’t wait for Halloween this year. Because after Halloween comes Audrey!

Amanda took these great pictures for us to document this special time.

A Love for Learning

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Alyssa comes home from school each day full of energy. I hear other kids that are pooped, in a daze. Alyssa is the opposite. Ethan thinks that school is so stimulating for her that she is almost on a high while she is there. She enjoys almost every moment. She loves to learn. And loves to show you what she has learned. She has always been bright. Knowing her letters and sounds and writing at age 3. Sounding out words as early as 4. Now at 5 with some real training, she is picking up on reading and writing so easy. I would say I am impressed, but honestly I am not. After school today, she sits right down by me and begins writing sentences. They teach them to sound out the word and write the sounds they hear – even if it is just the first and last sounds. She has a little bit of her mom in her and is constantly asking if that is how you spell something. So it is hard for her to write it down knowing it may be wrong. But she is doing great. See how well you do:

This is a “sneaky e”. He goes over and tickles the other vowel and makes him say his name – “i”.

I love my family. She says it is “lie” because she knows how to spell Julie and they both sound the same.

The AT word family

Tired of me asking her things, she writes: I can’t write any more words.

And once more, because I asked her to write it on another sheet of paper so I could scan it in. This one of course, she got right.

33 weeks

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We are approaching the final 6 weeks. You would think the fact that none of my clothes are fitting would be a good indication that Audrey is growing and thus, so am I. But my goodness! You really don’t realize how big you are until you see a picture. This may be the last one I pull Ethan off the couch to take.

Soccer – week 2

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Today was our second game. The girls gave a good effort, but it was very obvious, even to them, that the other team kept scoring goals. The girls play 3 on 3, on two fields. On the field I was watching, the score must have been us: 2, them: 20 ? At least we got a good lesson on defense. Alyssa had a few set backs today. She was trampled on the ground once which led to a brief pitty session. But she was up again and fell at least 3 more times. I told her that meant she was in the mix and trying to get the ball. While she had no quick break aways, she does hussle back to the goal each time to block the kick. Or the idea is to block the kick. Now if Daddy can just teach her to kick the ball away instead of just protecting the goal. Win or lose, I am so proud to see her out there trying. She runs and runs, and then still has energy to goof off with her friends. And I love to see her play with friends. Friends that she has made all on her own. The bonus incentive to get her back on the field was Nana and Papa were here to watch today.

Already Two

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Today, Megan turns 2 years old. Though if you ask her she says, “I’m four!” I am continually amazed at how much our children change in such a short amount of time. Currently, she is into Elmo, Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse, Curious George and pretty much anything else big sister likes. She is talking very well and at least I can understand most of her comments. Though there are always moments where we all look at each other wondering if anyone else understood her. She asks about the hummingbirds and gold finches that come to the feeders, the ladybugs that we have caught, and the flies that get in the house. She will walk around with the fly swatter saying, “Where bug go?” She knows her colors and can count up to five, then can get number 10. She tries to sing songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Twinkle Twinkle” and “If you are Happy and you know it”. She sleeps in her twin bed just like Alyssa and they do pretty good at bedtime. She is usually the one keeping them both awake with all her questions. “Sissie? Sissie? (Alyssa has been instructed not to answer) Where’d mommy go? Sissie? Where lumpy? (stuffed animal) Sissie? More music? ” We are enjoying every moment of these two  girls and can’t wait to see the love that Audrey brings too.

We celebrated Megan’s birthday last night with friends, and had a great evening. Oma was able to celebrate with us this year and bought her a tricycle. We will work on the steering and hopefully she can chase Alyssa down the sidewalk in it soon.

Happy Birthday Megan!
(and to our friends Trey and Dawson)

Birthday Video and more pics

Another run at soccer

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Let’s recap: At 3, Alyssa sat on the sidelines refusing to play. At 4, she did great the first few games, but disliked soccer practice every week and by the end was playing very little of each game. We started the spring season again, but after 2 horrible practices, we took her out. Here we are at 5. And the way they say that 3 is worse than 2, I can say 5 is so different than 4. Now that she is in school, Alyssa is a little more social, able to make friends pretty easy, a little more apt to try new things and bringing home all kinds of new attitude. Well the first three I think are helping when it comes to soccer. She has done great at each practice, actually running the drills, and playing with the other girls. While this team may not make many goals, she looks to be having fun. She is number 10. Here is her first game this season.

Sweet Megan

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Those aren’t words that go together too often. Yes, she is adorable and lovable, but she is a silly, rambunctious, screamer of a kid. She definitely loves her mama, but does not sit and cuddle for too long. However, after her nap the other day, she laid on the couch with me for a good hour. It could have been she just loves me or the fact that she likes the Backyardigans, either way, I soaked up every minute.

I also thought it was priceless to have the same picture that I have with Alyssa while I was pregnant with Noah. Same red couch, grey shirt and all. Some things never change. Except apparently I wore makeup a little more often back then.

My mom

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Sunday, is my mom’s birthday. I think as you get older, you want to celebrate those days with your parents as much as you want to for your own kids. We love it in Tennessee, but it is occasions like this that make me wish we were just a bit closer. To be able to drop by and bring a cake or flowers or something to let her know that we love her. So how about a post on the infamous blog? Does that count?

My mom is one who loves deeply. She loves her family by calling and wanting to know what is going on in their lives. She loves her friends by encouraging and supporting them every step of the way. She loves her grandkids by spending time with them, calling them, buying gifts and telling them she loves them. Most of all I see her loving her dad. I can see where her love comes from when I see the love her parents gave to her. Almost every day since her mom died in 2004, she has called her dad just to say “hi.” He talks about the same thing most days. He tells how he took flowers and visited Nanny’s grave, he talks about church, he talks about his sisters that he takes care of. It is not that they have anything important to talk about, but she makes the effort each night to let him know she loves him. I have wondered if I could ever take time out of my life to do that for someone, like my dad, and I just don’t know that I have the strength or commitment that she does. So to a wonderful mother, loving grandmother, devoted wife and daughter, Happy Birthday Mom!

Here is the closest we can get to you today: Happy Birthday