Katelyn- Kindergarten and 6th Birthday

How can my baby be old enough for kindergarten?  She is enjoying school so far.  Her first 2 weeks were a complete blur to me.  We were finishing up renovations to the house, school started Monday, we moved out Friday... Crazy few weeks!  Luckily Nanny was here to keep the kids alive and fed, helped pack the house, keep me sane, etc.

Katelyn's teacher is Ms. May and she has been teaching kindergarten for 20+ years.  She knows what she is doing and Katelyn is enjoying it.  Her favorite part of school is recess and music.  Oh, and riding the bus!  I fully intended to take her each morning and pick her up each afternoon, but she wanted to ride the bus (and the stop is right around the corner).  I think she likes that she gets the chance to talk to friends on the bus more than at school!

Katelyn had her 6th birthday a few weeks ago.  She wanted a rainbow party, so she got a rainbow fruit tray- worked for her!   

She has moved up to using 2 hands for her age- ugh!  She is so old!  and wonderful!  Katelyn is such a sweet, joyful, blessing.  She is so independent.  She started picking her clothes out the night before and putting them in the hallway outside her door.  She told me she didn't want to disturb Adelyn in the mornings- how thoughtful is she?!?  I have had to wake her up once, every other morning she wakes on her own, without and alarm or anything!  She comes downstairs when she hears me in the kitchen, and we get a few minutes alone before Adelyn and Colson get up most mornings.  I cherish that time and miss Katelyn while she is at school.  

She did swallow a penny Wednesday afternoon- the look on her face, priceless.  Of course it won't be priceless if the penny doesn't come out on its own :/  She has started Sparks, and I'm sure she will enjoy that!  She asked for a camera for her birthday and is quite the photographer.  She takes the camera on walks to document all the nature she encounters.  Yesterday instead of a camera, she brought a journal along.  Katelyn also started her second season of soccer.  She is the only girl on her team, but I know she will hold her own.  She is rough and tumble when she needs to be!

Adelyn- Preschool

I can't believe my sweet Ada-girl is old enough to be in preschool!  She is growing up so fast and LOVES preschool.  She asks each morning if she gets to go to preschool today.  She loves her teacher and is learning a lot.  She has been working on letters A, B and C.  She also started cubbies this week and can't wait to get her vest- such a girl!   

Colson- 19 months old

Well Friends, it has been a while!  The last post was July 11, but according to my calendar it was either yesterday or 3 years ago.  Life has been crazy, but I can proudly say- things are slowing down- slowly :)

We are officially all moved in to the new house and beginning to settle.  Our routine is coming along and life is good!  So, on to Colsy-Wholsy:

Colson has grown up so much the last few months.  I am so thankful he is at a point where we haven't had to completely baby proof the whole house.  No gates needed for the stairs, and only 2 cabinet locks (for cleaning chemicals under sink and bathroom sink).  He is into everything, that is for sure!  I have decided that moving with an 18 month old isn't much fun.  He thinks that every closed box is just a stool to climb on and every open box is full of toys and he must empty it :(  We have had some fussing as of late, but that is to be expected at this age (at least that is what I tell myself).  He knows what he wants and either a) cant communicate it b) doesn't yet understand that you don't always get what you want... Sorry buddy- mean mommy here ;)

Colson makes me laugh often.  He makes silly faces, and has a way of doing something really wrong in a hilarious way (making it hard for me to get onto him). He is all boy, that is for sure!  Below is a picture of him using the girls detangling spray as a gun, "Pew, Pew, Pew!"  A remote also makes a great gun!   

Below is our shoe box and pile of shoes from the old house.  He was (and still is, but shoes are out of sight for the most part in the new house) obsessed with shoes.  I should go ahead and put this out there- he has put my red heels on more than once ;) 

Colson loves his sisters and they love him.  He does get into Katelyn's things which she doesn't appreciate much though!  The current favorite game is playing chase around the kitchen.  They all just run around and around laughing at each other.

Here is Colson's "cheese" face.  Such a sweet boy!  He could still drink a gallon of milk in no time flat.  I have actually started waiting to give him his drink until the end of his meal, because he will fill up on that.  He has slowed down on his eating, but I don't expect that to last long.  At his 18 month well check he was 95% for height, 80% for weight and 90% for head size.  He is a big boy, and is growing taller by the second!  

Little man keeps my hands full and I am loving watching him grow.  He has started to use lots of words.  It melts my heart when he says "I youuuu." (I love you)  He probably has about 30-40 words.  His favorite part of the day is probably going to drop Katelyn off at the bus stop and picking her up.  He loves the stroller and he loves to see the "BUS, BUS, BUS!!!"

He loves his "baby" (fox), and likes to "oock" (rock) before I lay him down before nap and bed.  He is hilarious in the car.  If he is starting to fall asleep in the car (which even 2 minutes means no nap at home) I can yell, shake him, turn music up and nothing works- until I roll down the window!  He pops right up and is alert like he isn't even sleepy.  

Well, Happy 19 month little buddy!  You are a joy and I can't wait to see how you grown and change this month!

Colson- Catch up for 16/17 month post

I know Colson isn't quite 17 months, but I missed his 16 month post and since I packed my cord to upload pictures on the computer, I figured today is as good of a day as any.  Colson is growing up so fast and so many new fun things are happening and I don't want to forgot any of them!  I have said it before, but he is ALL BOY!  Yesterday we had a playdate up that he church library then the church playground.  We went in by the offices and Colson saw a pile of balloons that had started to deflate and were just laying on the ground.  Now, KG and AE at this age would have curiously gone over to them, maybe tried to pick one up.  Colson- NOPE- he ran over to them and seriously caught some air as he tackled the whole pile.  Luckily none of them popped which I'm sure would have been a shock to the church staff!

Colson is a great little brother.  He loves to play with the girls and gets really excited to see them after naps or first thing in the morning.  He is usually the first of the children to wake at around 6:30-7:00.  He has a new love for his crib, pillow, blanket, and fox.  He has named the pillow, blanket and fox- baby.  That is what he calls all of them!  He will get them, lay on the ground and tell me "night-night".  He has finally decided that it is okay to wake up and play in his crib (instead of crying immediately upon waking).  He still likes to take a morning nap if we are home, but he does fine without one if we are out.  His afternoon nap has finally gotten longer.  Some days up to 2 1/2 hrs!  Of course this is happening as I am trying to get Adelyn to drop her afternoon nap.  She would still sleep 3 hrs if I let her, but then she stays awake until late at night keeping KG up.

Colson is a good eater most of the time, but he isn't always fond of his veggies- broccoli in particular.  Of course I still make him eat them (even when it means I stick the food in his mouth and force-feed him).  He loves breads, crackers, fruit and MILK!  He could drink a gallon every other day if I let him, and no, I'm no exaggerating.

Colson LOVES to facetime and skype.  When Katelyn was this age she would grab my phone, hold it to her ear and pretend to talk.  Colson will grab the phone and start yelling at it as he stares at the screen, "BUBBA, BUBBA!!!"

Colson loves to be outside, even in the 100+ heat.  He has figured out how to turn on the water so I have keep a close eye on him if I want him to stay dry!

Colson is by far the loudest of the kids.  He likes to yell, and doesn't yet understand that Mommy doesn't like it when he yells the whole way through Target, or Costco, or HEB.  Today we were at Target and he kept high-pitch screaming, just being happy, but still- loud!  I keep trying to talk to him to distract him, give him something to play with, etc. and nothing was stopping him. At one point I was stopped telling him to use an inside voice (he had no clue what I was saying) and a sweet lady walked by and said she loved hearing such a happy little guy...

One of Colson favorite words is Bye, Bye.  At our same trip to Target this morning he would wave and yell Bye, bye to just about everyone we passed.  He also likes to say heyo (hello), baby (blanket, fox and pillow), sissster (KG and AE), dada, momma, JoJo, Bubba, Nanna, PawPaw, SaSa, and baaaa (sheep sound).  My new goal for the next month is to increase his vocabulary of foods, drink, and animals.

I'll end on my favorite thing Coslon does- dance!  All I have to do is start singing and he will bust a move with great joy and enthusiasm!   It is so much fun to watch and he really gets into it, especially if Katelyn is dancing with him!

Sorry there are no pictures.  I didn't really think through when I packed away my cord :(

Oh- update on the house.  We close on the new house next Wednesday, but then they lease it back until August 15.  We close on our current house August 6, then lease it back until August 31.  We were so blessed to get a contract on our house the first day it was on the market!  I prayed big and God answered!  Thankful!!!

Quick update

We are so excited to have finally found a new home.  The new home is about 15 minutes down the road and is perfect for us.  It has an office for Jared, a big kitchen for Haley, lots of play room for the kids, an extra bedroom for guests...  With the new house has come lots of packing, staging, and preparations for moving out of our current house.  Needless to say, I haven't been blogging much, and don't see that changing for the next month or 2 while we transition to the new house.  We are in the process of listing our current home (should be on the market tomorrow or Friday).  It is very exciting, and also hard...  It's not going to be easy to keep the house in tip-top shape with these 3 precious kids running around!  The market in Austin is moving EXTREMELY fast, so my prayer is that the house in under contract by next week.  I say Pray big or go home :)

On another note- the kids are all doing great!  Katelyn is almost finished with swimming lessons and is a little fish!  She can swim, do all the different strokes (free style, butterfly, breast and back).  She has also started soccer and is a beast!  She is where the action is and always puts forth 100% effort.  I see lots of sports in the future for this little athlete!

Adelyn is hilarious!  She keeps me laughing all day long.  Yesterday we were talking about the hospital and she said, "I don't want to go to the hop-sicle."  I said "Where?" She said, "The hop-sicle... pop-sicle... MOM, LET'S HAVE POPSICLES THIS AFTERNOON!!!"  She is quite independent and is fine playing by herself.  Actually, she prefers it sometime.  She told me she likes to play by herself at the YMCA instead of with friends. 

Colson is my active, into everything little guy!  His communication has taken off lately.  Even though he still doesn't have many words, he sure can let me know what he wants/needs.  He has started to pretend play (like take a bite of play food or feed it to me).  He has a special place in his heart for Katelyn and Adelyn.  He gives them lots of hugs and kisses. He also enjoys ruff-housing with them.  Today he and Adelyn were playing and he fell pretty hard, I was expecting him to cry (I was actually headed over to pick him up) when he started belly laughing!  ALL BOY!!!

Funny Talk

Katelyn and Adelyn keep me laughing with all the funny things they say and do.  For example, at Adelyn's 3 year well check she had to have 1 shot.  She didn't know what was coming as she laid back on the table.  I was leaning over her holding her arms while the nurse gave her the shot.  As it happened Adelyn looked me square in the eye and said, "WOW, well that really hurt."
Katelyn is a crack up.  Lately she will tell me, "Mom, I got this." or "Don't worry, it's all under control."  

Our Big Trip

We were so blessed to get to go visit SaSa last month.  Katelyn, Jared and I flew to Seattle to drop the little kids off with Nanny and PawPaw and then we headed 1/2 way around the world!  Katelyn did amazing on the flight, stayed in good spirits and had no issues with jet lag!  Jared and I did pretty good on the way too!

We were so excited to see SaSa!  Katelyn was so excited because she got to have lots of sleepovers in her room.  I know that is a special memory that Katelyn will keep forever.  Katelyn has even adopted SaSa's morning routine here at home. 

Katelyn loved the white board and markers in Sarah's office.  She spent lots of time perfecting her artwork!

Here they are getting the table ready for a few friends to come over for dinner.  It was so fun learning the customs and culture.  For example- the table is usually set with "appetizer" type foods when your guests arrive, and it is typically symmetrical.     

They almost always have Naan- the bread on the table that looks like a pizza.  Speaking of Naan- YUM!!!  

We were able to visit several parks and Katelyn quite enjoyed this one...

because it had a VINE SWING.  She will still tell you that the vine swing (it has fake vines hanging from the top) is one of her favorite things!

Here is our only picture of the four of us together.

It was amazing to see the desert like mountains and the grape valley below- breathtaking! 

This is the picture Jared risked life and limb to take.   

He climbed up that tower that you see below.  It was rusty, shaky, the rails were loose... I think he must have been looking for something manly (aka dangerous) to do because we had been dragging him around shopping everywhere :)

It was a very hot day where we were that day and we ended up in a underground museum which was nice and cool. Ahhhh, felt good! Especially since A/C is hardly used there- and this isn't even the hottest time of year!

Here is Katelyn rocking a baby statue in the cradle they use.  It is still used today and they strap the baby down.  They think it is good for bone development I think... i need to ask SaSa to be sure.

Like father, like daughter!

Naan!  Seriously, looking at this picture makes my mouth water!  They had shops like this on just about every street.  They sold bread, fresh fruits/veggies, butchered sheep- all out on the street like this shop. 

Here we are just hanging out in SaSa's apartment.  I'm surprised Catan isn't out on the table!

We had an amazing time visiting SaSa.  We fell in love with the people, the lifestyle and the naan :) But most importantly we got to spend some wonderful, quality time with Jared's favorite sister! I think it is safe to say Katelyn had a wonderful time.  She bawled, bawled, bawled when we left.  She kept saying, "I want to stay with SaSa" as we were leaving in the airport.  We are already planning our return trip!

Thank you Sarah for being an amazing hostess, wonderful aunt and sweet friend! We love you!