4

My facebook status read "I can NOT believe how fast these 4 years have flown by!" On the other hand, it sometimes seems like it has taken forever to get to this point. Jefferson, my poor middle child (like his mother), has always been the difficult one. This isn't necessarily a negative thing. I believe he got a bit of stubbornness from his namesake. He is very emotional, which can be hard to deal with, but it also means he is so sweet and eager to please. Almost from day one he was dubbed our sour patch kid. He has really high highs and really low lows (another thing like his mama??). If you ask his dad, Jefferson slept through the night at 6 weeks and was potty trained at 18 months. Mom, on the other hand will tell a different story. A very difficult pregnancy led to a beautiful, very temperamental little boy. He needed everything juuuust right before he'd go to sleep. He was the earliest of our kids to walk- he's very determined to do what he wants, and if he's denied, watch out! He has always been super picky about which cup, spoon, plate he uses and always has to have his blanket a certain way. See? Difficult. But again, he knows what he wants, lets you know, and doesn't stop until he gets his way. Being his parent, it can be hard to deal with, but I think this trait (definitely a trait from his father) will serve him well later on in life. So I may say my JR has been difficult, but it's not a bad thing. If raising him had always been a breeze, I wouldn't be able to look back and see how far we have come or see how all of our battles are shaping our little man and teaching me that some battles aren't worth fighting.

Happy Birthday Jefferson Riley Danger Gay!!

newest Gay

Friday I was checking Craigslist for Halloween Costumes and decided to check the pets section (okay, okay, I often look at the pet listings there). There was a listing for a free 8 week old puggle puppy. Levi called the number and was told the pup was ours. I went back and forth second-guessing all morning- should we? shouldn't we? As you all know, we haven't had the best luck with dogs over the past year. I was thinking that having a pet wasn't in the cards for us. But I still miss my Little Bit. a lot. So I decided to go for it. We aren't taking any long trips any time soon (taking a dog on a long trip isn't something I really want to do again) and since she's a pup, we can potty train her (instead of dealing with an older dog that is sorta kinda house trained). The owner was going to bring the pup here, but got lost, so Levi ended up meeting her a little down the road. He said she just rolled down the window, said 'I don't know what I was thinking,' handed him the pup out of the window and took off. (He called the next day to ask her about shots, etc). The pup had lots of fleas, so she has had several baths over the weekend until we can get her some flea meds. She is tiny and so cute! She loves to take naps, but also loves chasing the kids around when she's awake. She has taken a very big liking to Levi. She stays (sleeps) right under his computer chair or naps with him on the couch and when he gets up, she follows him where ever he goes. When he left for work this morning, she whined for him to come back. We don't have a crate yet (mom is bringing one when she comes to visit next week), so she has been sleeping with us. The first night, we tried to have her sleep in our bathroom, but she wasn't having it. She cried and cried until I let her out. I put her up on the bed and she went right to a pillow, laid down and went to sleep. She's definitely a cuddle bug. The kids are really good with her. I think the newness is starting to wear off, so they leave her alone to sleep or hang out by herself. Well, she's starting to wake up from a nap, so I'm off to take her out to potty.

After two whole days of discussing (and changing) names, we all finally agreed on

Daisy

School and Soccer

It's been a month since my last post and, yep, still busy!! The big things right now are school and soccer. Both Kira and I have been super busy with school. Kira is adjusting very well to school- every day is 'great.' She loves getting to choose what she has for lunch every day, whether it's buying lunch at school or having me pack it for her. Kira's teacher has been great about working with her advanced reading. Right now she's reading AR books at home at night and taking the tests in the mornings during her reading time at school. Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up soon and I can't wait to hear how she's doing! Tomorrow Kira is supposed to read a book to her class- 'Some Smug Slug.' I wish I could be there to see it!!
My school is...school. I'm taking two history classes and one sociology stats class. Fun stuff, let me tell you. Only 3 months to suffer through it, then no more school for me!!!

Now on to the fun stuff- soccer! Kira has so much fun. She doesn't have much intensity, but she plays while she's in the game, laughing and squealing the whole time. Jefferson is now the opposite. His first game was a lot of crying about the ball being taken away, but after explaining how the game works (I don't think the practices quite prepared him for an actual game), he was a superstar in his game yesterday. He knows 'I have to take the ball away from the other team and shoot it in my goal,' and that's exactly what he did. It's so funny to watch both kids with their different attitudes- one playful and carefree, the other intense and aggressive. Needless to say, dad was proud of his boy ;)

Next month we will probably be making a trip or two to Covington/Memphis. I know I was just saying how glad I was to be done with road trips, but I miss my family and friends! And speaking of family, in about 2 months my new nephew, Harrison Miles, will be here!










you may want to watch this one w/out sound- there's a loud, excited, yelling dad

Busy, Busy, Busy

July was very busy, and it looks like August will be pretty jam-packed as well. I know my last blog was in April, but I'll still use busy as an excuse for slacking.
We spent two weekends in a row in Memphis for the wedding and wedding festivities for my friend Lauren. She is a pretty amazing person and I'm glad we were able to be there for her important day.



We also got to spend time with my family and had a very short visit with Meera and Liz & fam (boy do I miss my girls!).

My mom and niece came to visit the next weekend,

and the weekend after that we road-tripped to North Carolina. We had lunch with Kim on Friday before she headed out to Michigan to celebrate Casper's first birthday.
Steve and Ronda had a pool put in and we were lucky enough to be there as soon as it was finished. The kids absolutely loved it. I had no idea what good swimmers they are! I love the freedom of having older, more independent kids!

The boys had no fear

Okay, for the most important news...
August 9, Kira had her first (1/2) day of kindergarten!!!


They go 1/2 day for the first 2 weeks, then start full time Aug. 20th (tomorrow!!). She seems to like it so far. She was so excited to go, and her eyes light up any time anyone asks her about starting kindergarten. She's not great at giving details of her day, but she talks a lot about going to gym, and the exercises they do. She had her first homework assignment and was giddy the whole time she was completing it. We scored a bunch of books at Goodwill yesterday, so she's been in her room reading her new Junie B. Jones book. Levi checked out some books from the library for her last week and she went through those in 2 days. I love, love, love reading with her. It was always my favorite thing to do growing up (still is when I can find the time) and I like that she has that love as well. Math is a whole other story, which will be Levi's territory. I can't wait to see what interests the boys have as they start getting ready for school (thankfully they have a couple of years).


And lastly (is that even a word?), we signed Kira and Jefferson up for fall soccer... because, you know, we really needed something else added to our schedules. Jefferson is on a 3 year old team, and Kira is on a 4-6 year old team. When she played last summer she was 4 and very small and young compared to the others playing. Maybe this year she will feel a little more comfortable. I have no worries that Jefferson will be timid with his playing. Their first practices were canceled Tuesday due to rain, but they have practice again tonight. Of course there will be pics and videos galore in the coming weeks.

Oh, and yet another thing... I'm taking my last 3 classes this fall semester, so in December I will (finally!!) be a graduate from the University of Memphis!

Road Trip

Friday morning I decided we needed to run away from the severe weather headed our way. So we ran away to Uncle Kasey and Aunt Tracy's house. We were happy to hear that Grandma Warren, Aunt Pam, and Kendy were also visiting that weekend. We left as soon as Levi got home from work and arrived at midnight. I love that as the kids get older, road trips get easier. Levi's family is spread out all over, which means road trip for pretty much any holiday we spend w/ his family. For about 5 years I have dreaded these long car trips, but I have to say, this one has been the easiest yet. Actually, the one to Steven and Stephanie's for Christmas last year was easy, but it was at night and the kids slept the whole time. So anyway, I plan on taking more trips and having a lot less stress about it.
We pretty much just hung out at the house, except for a mandatory trip to Portillo's and a walk down to the neighborhood park. We left Sunday afternoon and drove home in constant rain. There wasn't a time during the entire drive that I didn't have my windshield wipers on. We made it home last night and everyone went straight to bed. Thankfully the kids slept in a little and have been really good, despite being off schedule, having later bedtimes, and being totally spoiled all weekend.
I have to say, it makes me happy to hear how sweet, snuggly, and well-mannered my kids are. Maybe I am doing some things right :)


Looking through the pictures, these sum up each kid's personality pretty well

More fundraising help for Brooke

'Want to win an Ipo.d Touch? $5 enters you to win one, and brings us $5 closer to bringing our girl home from an orphanage in Ukraine.'


Go HERE to enter to win an iPod and give for a great cause!!
I plan to enter (a few times) myself. I have one, but can't seem to keep my husband or kids away from it, so I think they need one to share ;)

Two

Mason turned two yesterday!! As the cliche goes, time flies when you're having fun! I'm not going to post the million pictures from the weekend on here one by one- I put them in an album on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=200915&id=754652153&l=32ec639f7b

Yesterday I was thinking about our lives when the other two kids turned two...

Kira
We were living in Collierville. Kira was two and Jefferson was a month old.

Jefferson
We were living in Covington. Kira was almost 4, Jefferson was 2, and Mason was 8 months.

Mason
We are living in Portland (TN). Kira is 5, Jefferson is 3, and Mason is now 2. No more babies!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Easter!

We have had a really beautiful week this week and we took full advantage of it- Easter parties and egg hunts and lots of time outside!

shorts!!!!!!!!!

Last weekend Beth was in town for a rugby tournament, so we went to see her and hang for a bit and watch some rugby. Then we headed to the church for an afternoon of egg hunting, bouncing, and other fun stuff. Here are some pics from that day:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=196536&id=754652153&l=759cb11a25

Today we dyed Easter eggs. It didn't go as smoothly as I hoped, but better than I was expecting ;)

before

patiently waiting

dyed eggs!!
(the purple was a gross color, but the kids insisted on using it)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!!