Eli's First day of Preschool

Eli has been awaiting this day all summer.....I've been a little nervous all summer...would we really get to see this day?? It was all dependent on getting this boy potty trained....WE MADE IT!


With Eli you can never really be too sure how things are going to go....I was a little apprehensive going into today, trying to brace myself that I may in fact have to peel him off of me and run out the door leaving him behind screaming.


But that is exactly the OPPOSITE of what happened.....


I walked Eli into his class, helped him hang up his things and then tried helping him engage in an activity before I left....but I guess that really wasn't even needed....he looked right at me and said "bye Mom"....like...you can leave now.


We are so proud of you Eli and can't wait to see all the new things you learn this year!

A 'swingin' good time...

First Day...Back to school

Ana had her first day "back" to pre-school today!


She was VERY EXCITED...and not the least bit nervous this year....She was going back to the same classroom and the same teacher....


Poor Ema begged all morning to go to school too after Ana left. Soon Ema, very soon you too will be going to school.


And tomorrow is Eli's big day....wonder if it will go as smoothly as Ana's day did??

Ana's soccer debut.....

Ana decided that she was not interested in ballet this year (can't say I was too upset to hear that)...and instead wanted to try soccer this Fall. This past weekend was her first practice and game...the schedule is the best - 30 minutes of practice prior to the game - all on Saturdays for 6 weeks.


Geared-up and ready to go....



The "practice"


And the "game".....there are 8 girls on her team...so they split them up and play 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 for 28 minutes (4 quarters)....or as long as they can make it....these girls were pretty tired at the end of the 4th quarter!




Ana and her good friend Alayna got the chance to be on the same team this fall.

Quickly becoming TROUBLE.....

This is how I found Adi about 10 minutes after I put a clean diaper on her...



And she was so proud of herself....


And her latest trick is trying to take her clothes off.....this is as far as she got with her PJ's...that is quickly becoming a regular thing for her....I also found her with her shirt completely off one day when I got her up from her nap...how she did it??...I have no idea!

Ladies and Gentleman....

If you know my kids.....you know they love to perform.....and every performance starts with this little saying of their's.... "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, presenting (fill in the name).....Kaaaachow" (that last word is from the movie "cars") and I have no explanation as to the why??

So Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, presenting Ana, Eli and Ema in their very first recorded performances at Storybook Island,..... Kaaaachow!

Storybook Island....

It's crazy to believe....school for Ana and Eli starts next week and we made it to Storybook Island this summer only 2 times.


Giddy-up....for as much as Ana and Eli pretend that they are horses....this horse was right up their alley.








The "Performing" stage...funny I know, but this is one of their absolute favorite things at Storybook Island...this silly little stage where they can just perform endlessly!




"The brave ones"....Eli is still not brave enough to ride the train...Ema was sure ready though! This was her first time going on the train ride...I wasn't sure if I would be running along side trying to "bail" her out because she suddenly was scared and trying to escape...but she actually did great and loved it!


Snow White, Prince Charming and Cinderella.....


And when there is nothing else to chew on....the toes we'll just have to do!

And their off.....

Ana's training wheels came off last week - a few kids in the neighborhood around her age have just been learning....so Ana was eager to try too!


And their back on!



One trial run...and that was enough....Ana just wasn't ready...which is fine...we put them back on because she just absolutely refused to ride her bike anymore...and she loves riding her bike. I think we'll try again next summer.

8 months and on the move....

Little Adi was 8 months old on Sunday....and she is "B-U-S-Y".....crawling EVERYWHERE....into EVERYTHING....and has an absolute LOVE of chewing on ALL SHOES! I just recently discovered the reason...she is about to cut her first tooth on the bottom...almost 3 months earlier than the rest of the kiddos. She is always smiling, finally eating baby food but her first love is still definitely "our" food - which is just fine....and she desperately needs to start sleeping through the night!!!

The great blog catch up!

I know, I know....you keep opening my blog to see a new post and it is still the same post.....August 3rd..."The Waterslide"....I've been a little busy but I am happy to report I am officially all caught up ...below you will find 5 new posts...you should maybe only read one a day because it may be awhile before I post again! Enjoy!

Home sweet home....

We've been gone for the last 2 weeks in Montana....while Daddy was away.
We are happy to be back home....but since coming home we've had a day with an in-operable air conditioner (froze up while we were gone)...thankfully it was an easy fix and Ema has been diagnosed with Pneumonia....I knew she wasn't feeling well...but I never would have dreamed it was this bad...so once again the "busy, all but normal" life continues.....

While these three played this morning....





This is where Ema was....she was definitely not feeling up to much...if you know Ema she is always trying so hard to keep up with Ana and Eli.....this morning she just didn't care. This pneumonia has sure taken it's toll on her.

Photo Shoot #3......

Can I just say...I LOVE having a cousin who is a photographer!! She can just capture all the cute pictures I could only hope to get.....so be prepared....there are A LOT of photos on this post...but there were just so many it was hard to pick just one....enjoy!!
All pictures are courtesy of Kalin Brook Photography....if you live in Billings and are checking out my blog you should really give her a call.....


Can I just preface this by saying...this was a "good" day for Ema.....she just wanted us to keep taking pictures of her!












Yes, we know Eric is missing in this picture...he was still working out of town...but I thought it would be a fun picture to give him for his desk at work.....Can't say everyone in this picture was "over-joyed" but it was the last picture of the day!! Thanks again Kalin....we'll be back next week for more - ha...Just kidding!