Cascade Springs

We headed up to Cascade Springs yesterday for Labor Day and enjoyed a gorgeous morning wandering around. I was disappointed that they don't let you picnic there anymore. Oh well. The kids loved touching the cool spring water and hearing the rushing sound of the all the little waterfalls.

Luke was trying to reach out of his stroller and touch the water, so Ben scooped him up and flipped him upside down before I could say, "what the heck are you doing to my baby??!!" Gotta love daddies. Luke was pretty happy touching the water, though, so I guess it was worth my fear.



Emma actually took these pictures. Thought they turned out pretty good.

Eleven Months

I love this almost-eleven-month-old baby so much. SO SO much. He is such a boy--rough and tumble, sturdy, strong, curious, playful, and tough. And yet he is such a big cuddler. He pulls up on me and lays his head on my shoulder all the time. I love snuggling with him--there's so much of him to love!!! :) And he cracks us all up. He makes the most hilarious faces and noises and acts completely crazy sometimes! We all just love him to bits! Can't believe he's going to be a year old in a month. Oh, and did I mention he can stand now? Not for too long, but definitely at least five seconds or so.

Big-girl Bed

In the midst of all the excitement surrounding Emma starting school, I forgot to blog about Rachel's big milestone: moving to a big-girl bed! She loves it and is doing really well staying in bed and not climbing out and driving us crazy. :) I'm working on fixing up the girls' room and making it cute. I'll post pics when I get it finished. Here is my sweet Rachel; she looks so tiny in such a big bed! I have to say it was hard to say goodbye to the crib; it was like her one last tie to babyhood!

Going-to-Kindergarten Party

The class of 2022 (boy, that's weird to say)
Rocco, Lauren, Kelty, Emma, Sunny

For the longest time I have been wanting to host a party for Emma and her little friends, not a birthday party, but a fun holiday-themed party. So I decided to put on a Going-to-Kindergarten party and it was a blast. I invited all the little kindergarten buddies in our neighborhood that were going to Manila. Poor Rocco was the only boy to show up, but he was a good sport and had fun with all the girls.

First, we did games.
Duck Duck Goose

Pin the worm on the apple (you know, apples and school go together, right?)

Trampoline time. We also did an obstacle course (it was a little lame, but I tried).

Next, the kids decorated cupcakes and enjoyed putting lots of candies on them.


Mmmm....doesn't this look appetizing????

Emma is a class clown! She was cracking everyone up by gobbling up her cupcake like this.

We ended with crafts. Decorating their own bookmarks and pencil boxes to take home. The kids LOVED it! They probably spent a good 30 minutes working on them. What creative cuties!


It was a great party and I'm so glad I did it. The kids had a great time. We will have to do a Halloween party for both Rachel and Emma and their friends!

And off she goes....

First day of kindergarten 2009
Waiting in anticipation


We're so glad Daddy got to be there for the big drop-off. Rachel was so cute--she kept yelling, "I get to go to preschool next year!!!" She can't wait to go.


Emma and Lauren get to be in the same class--hooray! Good luck you cutie-pies!



She had a wonderful first day of school and excitedly said, "I can't wait to go back again! Do I get to go every single day?" Yes, Emma, you do, and may you always love learning just as much as you do now.

Thoughts

My little bookworm



So Emma is starting school in a mere 6 days (although, if you ask Emma, that is an ETERNITY--she cannot wait!). I am struggling a bit with it, as I'm sure most moms do when they send their firstborns off to the big school. It really hit me when we attended the school open house a few days ago. We found her cubby with her name on it and I had to fight back the tears. Emma's teacher is Mrs. Butterfield, who is very pregnant and due in a few months. It was weird because I used to teach kindergarten and I was pregnant with Emma the whole last year that I taught. And now Emma is as big as those kids that I taught. It was a weird "circle of life" moment.

Emma is such a wonderful little girl. Sweet, smart, helpful, funny, and clever. She and Rachel have become such great little buddies this summer and I know Rachel will miss Emma as much as I will. She is so fun to have around. She can make Luke and Rachel laugh harder than I can! It will be hard to say goodbye and to watch her have more of a life outside of our home, a life I won't know much about. I will miss her so much! But, at the same time, I am elated for her to start school! To find her niche, to discover new things she's good at, new things she's interested in, to learn to make new friends, etc. And I can't wait to enter the world of PTA, Scholastic Book Drives, Dance Festivals, class parties, parent-teacher confererences, and yes, even homework.

So I am ready and not ready, excited and sad, all at the same time. I guess this is just the beginning of many bittersweet growing-up moments.
At least I still have my Ray-Ray and Lukey at home.....

Our Eighth Anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated eight years together. We are now "oldyweds." We got to go out on a date Saturday night (thank you grandma and Aunt Sue for babysitting!) and enjoyed Mexican food and some delicious frozen yogurt (that Red Mango frozen yogurt place is amazing!). Our anniversary present to ourselves was new bedding. So we spent the rest of the evening store-hopping and picking out our favorite bed set and accessories. Happy anniversary, Ben! I love you!