First Day of School

So, I am a little late ... Riley's first day of school (Pre-K) was over a week ago. It went great and so have the subsequent school days. He goes to school from 8:20 - 12:30 MWF at Trinity Christian Academy in Willow Park. His teacher is Mrs. Bryson and you can tell that she loves little boys. He did tell me last Monday that he "accidentally got a time out" because he wouldn't be quiet when the teacher told him to (got that from his Mommy). I told him that it is sometimes hard to follow that rule and at times you just can't help yourself! The first thing he told me after his first day of school was that he knew all the rules, like no running, chasing or pushing ... I am thinking that those are the ones that he broke! He told me that his friend's name is Bud and that none of the girls in his class are his friends.

He does seem to have grown-up overnight now that he is going to school. Lately we have been talking alot about Jesus, who he is and what he did for us. He informed me the other day that Jesus is God (which is true with the Trinity). I guess he told one of his little friends at church this, because the next morning at breakfast he told me that (name deleted to protect the innocent) "so-and-so at church said that Jesus wasn't God and that he died two months ago, so I said no he didn't, he lives in heaven." Just awesome that these little 4 year olds are having theological discussions, isn't it?! And also, "heaven is in outer space, a far ways away." Too cool!

Who's the Big Girl?!!

Victoria has graduated to the high chair! She is a little short for it so we put a folded up towel under her. She is just lovin' this eating thing. So far she has had cereal, oatmeal, green beans, acorn and butternut squash and apples. I have been able to make the vegetables and fruit myself by steaming, pureeing in the food processor, and freezing in ice cube trays. It is really quite easy and a whole lot cheaper (thanks Kip for the inspiration!). Victoria loves it all, but especially loves the green beans. She gobbles those up in no time!

We bumped her up to 3 meals a day ... she just seemed to be starving. Breakfast is usually a flavored cereal or oatmeal, lunch is green beans straight up and squash flavored cereal, and dinner is green beans straight up, squash and apple flavored cereal. We will be introducing sweet potatoes and pears over the next week, and then we will probably wait another month or so before we introduce anything else.

I am ready to eat Momma!

Mmmm yummm ... greener beaners!

All done!

Our Vacation

Here are some pictures from our vacation we took up to Michigan to visit Carey's family:

Feeding the giraffes at Arbuckle Wilderness in Oklahoma (or Africa as Riley called it).



Riley riding a camel in "Africa."

Walking on the streets of downtown Chicago.

Carey, Riley and Vader at the Lego store in Chicago
(Vader was made entirely out of legos ... very cool)

Riley playing Guitar Hero at Cousin Tyler and Corbin's house.

Our Glamor Girl with Grandpa watching Uncle Craig play softball.

Riley testing out the waters of Lake Michigan.

We had a super time. Carey and I both were sick for part of the trip, but fortunately our sicknesses did not overlap. We had so much fun hanging out with TylerCorbin, going to the cottage to swim and boat, and just chillin' with Grandma Great and Grandpa and Grandma and the gang.

Peace Out Grandma Great

Riley is keeping cool in Grandma Great's sprinklers.

You can probably guess what Uncle Craig
is teaching Riley to do! Thanks Craig ... paybacks!

With pretty Aunt Mandy!

Victoria says "This is MY Grandpa!"

"And this is MY Grandma!"

Here we all are hanging out on the front porch of Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Victoria is Almost Five Months Old!

Well, between getting ready to go out of town, VBS and Mommy and Victoria getting sick, I managed to miss posting that Victoria's four month mark, so I thought I would get a head start on five months. She will be five months next week and is doing fantastic. She weighed 14 1/2 lbs and is just over 25 inches long. That puts her in the 75% on height and weight ... so a big girl, but in proportion!

She rolled over for the first time just the other day ... back to front. I don't think that Riley ever rolled over. For those of yo that knew him back then, there was alot of him to roll over. We started feeding her cereal last month and just introduced green beans last night. She loves to eat! She took to cereal and green beans like a champ ... I can't wait to give her more! She eats two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. She still nurses about 5 times a day and will usually take one bottle in the evening to give Mommy a break.

She smiles ALL the time! She just got used to laughing and is starting to do that more, along with squeals, squeaks and gurgles ... just so adorable. She went swimming with some friends from church today in Pops and Gigi's pool (my parents) and just loved it! She would just watch everyone and get so excited! She smiles when she hears her big brother and Daddy and looks everywhere for them. She hates to be alone. If by some chance we leave the room for just a second, she gets very upset.

She wants to sit up really bad, but I think that we are still a month or so away from that. She loves to stand in your lap and prefers that position to any when she is awake. She is still sleeping through the night and is taking 2-3 naps per day. She is getting to where she can be awake in the evening now for about 4 hours.

She is our little princess!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Last week Carey and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary! It has been an amazing 10 years and I feel so blessed to have experienced it with my wonderful husband.

We started out the 10 years with 3 cars (paid for), $110 in credit card debt, $700 cash, a Uhaul full of wedding presents, one bachelors degree and no job for either one of us. Not to mention, we moved to Michigan 10 days after we got married. Here we are 10 years later and again neither one of us has a job, we have 2 cars paid for and one not, 2 bachelor degrees and a law degree on the way, we have bought and sold two homes, moved 8 times, said good-bye to 2 grandparents, and were given 2 of the absolutely most beautiful children.

We have also learned some invaluable lessons over these past 10 years that we would like to pass on ... (1) ALWAYS get full coverage auto insurance on any vehicle in which you still owe money on, (2) when hiking 3 miles into a national lakeshore campsite, remember the can opener, (3) we don't do wallpaper, (4) three year olds hear everything you say, (5) the human body CAN function for a year on only 5 hours of sleep a night (2003 - Riley's first year), (6) don't expect to close on the purchase of a home and move-in on the day scheduled, (7)be prepared for anything on a car trip to/from Michigan (snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice, high winds, an exhaust leak which requires the windows down in the middle of winter with no heater), (8) ALWAYS get the extra warranty on anything you buy when you have children, (9) God will always provide for our needs, and (10) God is full of surprises (Victoria!).

Here are some then and now pictures for you amusement!

THEN 1994 (So thin!)
NOW

So we celebrated our anniversary with an evening out and to my great surprise, Carey gave me pearls! It was such a shocker! We aren't really gift givers. It seems that we always are saving up for something or trying to payoff something, so we just get something little for each other (usually a card and a night out). So needless to say, I wasn't expecting anything big. So I wore the pearls to work the next day ...

What a special gift from my husband, who is a wonderful gift from my Lord.

Victoria's Ballerina Room

I just finished up Victoria's room a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share some pictures with everyone. I was able to sew everything myself. I don't think anyone was as surprised as I was. It looks homemade and in the long run wasn't much cheaper, but it is exactly what I wanted and it is special since I made it!

She just loves her ballerina room.

Ballerinas Everywhere!!

This is her most favorite spot in the house!

Victoria has been sleeping through the night now for a few weeks and we officially moved her into her room at night last week. She has been doing fantastic (except for last night, but that's ok). We put her down around 9:30PM and she sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00. It's great! We are ALL sleeping in our own beds now thanks to Daddy. Carey decided that it was time for Victoria to sleep in her crib and had her doing it the first night with very little fuss. I think we definitely have a Daddy's girl here!

She has had a recent growth spurt. I am putting her at 15 pounds and 23 1/2 inches tall (but that is just a guess). She will have her 4 month check-up in a week and a half ... so we will see what the official measurements are then.

Carey is deep into finals right now. Please be in prayer for him. He is set to finish up his internship next week. So we are all excited around here that we will get to spend more time with him and make a trip to Michigan on his break!

Oh by the way, did I mention that we will be able to enroll her in dance classes in just over a year! I am so excited! (Carey says that I am living vicariously through my daughter ... so what if I am!)

Time to Eat

We introduced Victoria to solids yesterday and she took to it as expected. She wasn't quite sure about what it was and I am not even sure if she swallowed any, but I was a grand mess and of course we have pictures!