Catching Up

I promise we have not fallen off the face of this earth. I always thought I was so busy with babies (and I was), but it is such a different busy now that the kids are getting older. And, sadly, I only have one in school--I can tell it's only going to get busier. But, it is a fun busy.

What have we been up to? Warning: this is a choppy update.


JAKE AND PAIGE
There is not too much new with us. Jake has now taken on the role of head pastor while our head pastor is on sabbatical for the summer. And, I'm just keeping things going at home and getting excited about summer.


LACI
She is almost done with Kindergarten. This has got to be the fastest school year ever or so it feels. And, I'm thinking each year will feel faster and faster. She has thrived in Kindergarten and has really come out of her shell. She has made some sweet friends at both school and at church. She is very close to losing her first tooth. And that event may lend itself to a blog post all on it's own as I'm sure there will be a dramatic story to come with it. She is reading/spelling ALL of the time now. I can no longer spell something to Jake. In fact, she LOVES to text...(her grandparents and daddy). And, it has come in handy at times. Once I needed to respond to a text, but couldn't because I was driving so I gave her my phone and asked her to do it for me. Because she is the only one school she is confident in the idea she knows all things. For example, she drew a picture of a lizard the other day and wrote "lizerd" underneath it. She asked me if she had spelled it correctly and I said that the "e" was supposed to be an "a," but that vowels can be tricky. Her response, "well, it can be an 'e', too." She does not want to be wrong. I think I know where she gets that from. She loves to draw and color. At church the other day I asked her to draw what daddy is preaching. This was her drawing:

This is a picture of Jake standing behind the podium (you can even see the little microphone clipped on his shirt). She had asked me how to spell preaching, but I thought she said projecting. I couldn't help but laugh when she wrote above her picture, "Daddy projecting." But then I realized what she was doing and helped her spell "preaching."

Jake took Laci to a daddy/daughter dance. They had a great time.

LUKE
He is just loving the friends he is making here. In fact, as I'm writing this blog, one of his best friends is over here and Luke is dressed as spiderman and his friend is dressed as a Jedi knight. And they have agreed that they can be friends. He still LOVES playing with legos and building forts anywhere around the house. I frequently have to hunt down blankets and pillows at the end of the day. And now, he has learned that he LOVES to color, too. Frequently the kids just sit at the counter while I cook and color. He likes his pictures to reflect exactly the colors they are suppose to be. So, if Luke Skywalker has blue eyes in the movie, then he needs blue eyes in the coloring book and it is NOT okay to do it incorrectly. His other big thing is to do and be anything Jake. If Jake likes to watch sports center, so does Luke. If Jake is working outside, so is Luke. He even likes to dress like Jake. I love it and pray he looks up to his daddy for a LONG time.

Helping out at Aubrey's swim lessons. Funny enough, Aubrey hated swim lessons (even though she LOVES to swim) and would just whine so much she would eventually sit out wrapped in a towel. Meanwhile, Luke would be in the water with all the other 1-2 year olds helping them learn to swim. One little girl at swim lessons would only did what Luke told her to do.

Helping my dad blow the grass and leaves off the patio.



AUBREY
Oh, where to start? She is two and half for starters. That in and of itself should give some indication of life at our house. Also, she is kid number 3. She thinks she can and should do everything her siblings do. And the funny thing is...that she can. She is doing things my other two never thought about at this age. She loves to color just like Luke and Laci. Not only does she like to color pictures, but my counter, her books, my floor, etc...She loves to dance and make Luke and Laci laugh, she LOVES to be center of attention. Eating is quite the battle in our home for all three kids, but especially her. So, we try to make it positive when we can. While eating grilled chicken one night we would all clap after each bite she took. The next night, she ate a bite of whatever we were having (I'm sure it was something disgusting) and she looked at us and in a very matter of fact way she said, "clap. clap" Later on that evening she was face timing with my parents and after Laci or Luke had about 5 seconds to see my parents, she would say, "my turn, my turn" and proceed to spend 5 minutes with my parents.
Aubrey recently had her adenoids out and her tongue clipped (she was severely tongue-tied, although you would never know because she is such a talker). She was having terrible colds, or "snots" as she called them, and she was a TERRIBLE snorer. We could hear her breathing/snoring from the living room. It has made the world of difference--no more snoring and no more "snots". I love it. But, what she has picked up now that she can actually breathe through her nose and no longer needs her mouth to breathe is thumb-sucking! And, she loves her thumb.

She went from this ("snots")

To this (post-op)

To this (thumb-sucking). But, hey, at least she is quietly sleeping and breathing with her nose! I'll take it.


Potty training--let's just say we are basically in cloth diapers around here. But, I'm going to stick with it. I haven't bought diapers in months!!!!


Few more pics:

Easter:

Best picture I could get of anyone in their Easter clothes. And, that was my dress once.

We got to have Jake's parents for Easter. It was a great visit.