Kindergarten!!!!!!!!!!!

Lauren is LOVING kindergarten!  She has been so hyper the last two nights after school because she is just so excited to tell us all about what they did that day.  She LOVES the pick up line system they have at school for when we pick her up.  We don't get out of the car, we just drive around and they call her name on the walkie talkie and she comes outside to us and gets in the car.  She asks to ride the school bus daily but we live so close that we can use that as an excuse for her to not ride the bus yet (she is just too little in my eyes).  She LOVES taking her lunch each day and is so proud to help me pack it each morning.  After the first day I asked her how it went and she said one of the best parts was that they don't take naps anymore!  She had a grin on her face when she said it almost like "mom did you know that" or "guess what I got away with today!" so it was pretty cute! 

I will admit I did ok the first morning and didn't even cry...however I had Kraig and Taylor with me and we had a busy day ahead so I never had time to stop and think about it.  We were also able to walk her all the way into her classroom so I knew she was nice and safe.  Tuesday, Taylor and I took her to school without daddy and she was already like "ok mom see ya later"...that's when it hit me that she is at the first age of "I don't need you as much as I did in the past" so I made it to the parking lot so she would not see me and I started tearing up.  My baby girl is growing up too fast!  Today I walked her to her hallway (instead of her classroom) and tomorrow I'll walk her to the door and by Friday I'll just drop her off in the car line and let her walk in all by herself (she asked to do that today).  So little by little I can get used to the idea that she is a big girl.  :-)  One step at a time people.  LOL

We are so proud of you Lauren for being so independent and just going in and being the big girl you are becoming.  You light up our lives with all your funny stories, smiles, laughs, etc and we love you more than you will ever know!  Here's to a wonderful year of Kindergarten!

Little brother getting in on the action showing me his car (even if it is without clothes on)

Singing in the car on the ride to school the first day

Day 2

Just us girls

Miss Schleisman with Lauren

Day 3

Super happy to be wearing a dress today with her new Twinkle Toe shoes!

She had P.E. on Monday and Tuesday so we made her wear shorts those days.  :-)

Walking down the hall by herself

Play Date with The Rogers and Judkins

Saturday the boys had their annual Football Draft at Greg and Jen's so Lori, Jen, Julie and I decided to get together with the kids.  It seems our kids are the perfect ages to play together as Lauren and Katie are best friends, Cole and Colton play great together and then we have Addy and Ryan.  :-)  So glad we are all close enough now (thanks to the Rogers moving back from TX) that we can get together and hang out!

You can't see it here but the girls were inside holding hands watching TV.  :-)

Swimming with the Family

Kraig played in the SCC Swingfest golf tournament this weekend so Sunday morning I met up with Kristen, Brian, Ryan, Lisa and the kids to swim for a bit.  We had a great time and after our swim party we had lunch outside on the patio at Las Fajitas so the kids could run around.  This was Taylor's first lunch out!  Thanks for the pics Kris!!!  As you can see the kids all had a great time together!

Kraig and Jason Fields won 2nd in the tournament and won the Calcutta overall!  So proud of you babe!

Visit from Katlyn and Austin

Katlyn, Austin and Aunt Tammy came by to visit so the kids could see Taylor.

Taylor is One Month Old!

Taylor turned 1 month old on 8/5!  I can't believe it's been one full month already!  Time really does go by too fast!  She just started taking a paci on 8/5 and has yet to take a bottle which limits what Mommy can do...but that's ok...I know it's just a phase and one day she will be "too cool" to even want to be around me so I'll soak it all up when I can!

We love you Taylor Marie!

My little chunker weighs in at 11 lbs 3 oz!

We visited Aunt Tammy Thursday to get a weight check on Taylor.  Thanks Aunt Tammy! 

My chunk a monk!

Olympics At Bright Haven

All week before the big parade Friday, Lauren kept saying "I get to carry the torch" because I've been good all week!  I sure was hoping that when Friday came she was the actual torch carrier because she would have been so disappointed if she didn't get to.  The teachers apparently put the kids name in a box every time they were doing good things and the kid that had the most names in the box got to carry the torch.  Lauren must have been on her best behavior all week because she got to be the torch carrier!  Colton's class mad mini torches so they could all carry one but the parade started early (for the first time ever) so I missed his class walk around.  :-(

Since Colton's class had already gone around the building I decided I would take his photo with his gold medal when we got home.  Future Michael Phelps anyone???

Love this boy!

So proud of our little Olympians!

Fourth Week At Home

Sleeping Beauty in one of Ava's outfits

Aunt Lisa, Uncle Ryan and Cousin Kieran visited this week

Look at that smile!  I think Kiki is ready for a little brother or sister!

Lauren's Gymnastics

Lauren said she wanted to try Gymnastics.  Since dance is over until September we thought we would give it a try.  In September she gets to pick either Gymnastics or Dance but they way things are going I think she is going to pick Gymnastics over dance. 

She started on 7/26 and Kraig and Colton stayed home while Taylor and I took her so we could see what it is all about.  It's at Hope and Dreams Gymnastics in Springdale and Lauren had NO problem going out on the floor and meeting all the new people.

Before we left Kraig told her that some of the girls have been doing this for a while now so they might be able to do more than she can right now but that's ok.  On the way to gymnastics Lauren said "mom, even though the other girls can do more I'm still going to try it all" and I almost cried!  Such a big statement from such a little girl!  Go Lauren!  We are so proud of you for being so independent and such a go getter right now!  I hope that never changes!

Third Week At Home

Things are going great.  Some things are easier than I thought and some things are harder than I thought.  The hardest part is still keeping Lauren and Colton away from Taylor.  We do baths right when they get home from school but then they just want to be all up in her business until they go to bed.  I think they assume that every time I sit down to feed her it's time for them to come talk to her so I'm learning I have zero personal space now but it's all worth it!

Taylor's sleeping habits are random right now.  Some nights she will go 2-3 hours between feedings and then other night she eats every hour.  She loves to be held upright.

Nana bought the girls these dresses from Tuesday Mornings and so we of course had to model them!

Colton got this motorcycle!

Have a great week everyone!