Catching up yet again

Seems like I am always playing catch up on the blog…. ugh, but I refuse to let this go….

We did celebrate a birthday in July… my baby is SIX years old… this year he wanted a Panda Bear cake so we went with Kung Foo Panda.

Kaylee was recently fitted for a head gear and looks just adorable in it….  she is young enough that she LOVES it.  She feels special because it's an experience she doesn't have to share with her siblings.

 Addison is now missing her two front teeth (she lost one on the last day of our annual beach vacation)… this time the dentist didn't have to pull them.  The finally came out on their own.

Cody took a spill in the house… running…. I had just said "NO running in the house when he went down.  Several external and internal stitches resulted.

A quick picture of the girls at church holding some of the new babies….  

Sea World II

The kids got out of school a week before public school so Jerry thought it might be a good time to take the kids to Sea World again.  The last time we went Cody had just turned one and the triplets were almost three and in the middle of potty training.

WOW… Jerry was brilliant… we literally had Sea World to ourselves.  We parked right at the entrance had a blast.

As we pulled up the 1st day (the 1st week of June), Cody lost his 1st tooth!!!  WOW!!  So the tooth fairy had to find us at San Antonio.

All Addison wanted to do was ride the BIG roller coaster the Steel Eel, but I wouldn't let her.  The next day she was mad at me all day… but we finally rode the Atlantas Express (or something like that), it is a smaller water roller coasted, but still pretty big.  I was brave enough to get on with them and the one big "drop" which goes backward… got their attention!!!!!!  I could see it on their faces, but while three of them loved it, it scared Addison to death.  The rest of the day she thanked me for not letting her ride the Steel Eel.  We rode the water roller coaster a couple more time but Addison did not like it and was a bit teary on the last ride.

It was a great way to start the summer!!

Moving Along….

Sooooo much has happened and life became super crazy busy when we purchased a new home and moved yet again February 28th.  I had been leasing a photography studio for 2 years and loved the studio, but was looking for a way not to have to pay rent… and we wanted a quiet street and more room for the kids.  We found a home that met all our needs.  On nearly 2 acres and a huge apartment/studio we took the plunge and moved again and we moved the studio.

It seems every home we buy needs a lot of work and this one was no different.  Every inch has been scrubbed, painted, and fixed up in one form or fashion… but now we have a new awesome home and a rent free amazing studio space!!!

We have two beautiful horses next door and tons of room for the kids to play:

It wasn't long after we moved in that the kids finally learned how to ride a bike without training wheels.  We all own bikes now and regularly ride around the neighborhood and over to my parents house…. yep… they are right down the road!!

Shortly after moving in we also learned we have about a 1/2 acre bluebonnet field… Gorgeous!!!!

"M-I-S-E-R-Y" It's not all about winning….

On Sunday, Jerry ran the Houston Marathon for the 6th time.  The last time he ran it was in 2005, ten years later and having just celebrated his 50th birthday days earlier, he proved he's still got it.

On Tuesday, Jadon participated in his first spelling bee.  He was one of three chosen from his class to participate which was an accomplishment in and of itself.  We studied on and off, but the night before the bee Jadon expressed some concern over potentially not winning…

Jerry talked to him about it….  

"Jadon, you know how I ran the marathon the other day?"

"Yes"

"Did I win?"

"No"

"Were you still proud of me"

"Yes"…

the message was received.

Jadon did AWESOME in the Bee!!!  Each time it was his turn… he walked over to the mic with a bounce in his step and huge smile on his face.  He made it to 4th place before missing the word "Misery."  He spelled it with an "a".  

Before the Bee was over every single child misspelled one word.  The winner spelled a word wrong, then the second place finisher spelled a word wrong.  So they each got another chance…. 

Jadon walked away very proud of himself…  I have to say I walked away a nervous wreck!!!!  It was stressful sitting quietly and holding my breath with each letter.

Santa Visit….

How long before they think sitting for a photo with Santa is silly….  so happy they still B-E-L-I-E-V-E….  but the time is going by way to fast….

FANGS!!!

Today (backdated the post date to December 2nd)….  Addison went to the dentist and had two teeth pulled….

Kaylee and Jadon lost their 1st teeth well over a year ago now I'm guessing and have actually lost several teeth at this point.  Addison has stood by and watched the tooth fairy visit many times over and has had a GREAT attitude… no jealously or tears to speak of…

A while back her bottom permanent teeth starting coming in behind her baby teeth (same as Kaylee and Jadon), but the baby teeth never fell out or were even that loose.

Well…  at the semi-annual cleaning the dentist thought it best to pull them.

Addison was brave and actually VERY EXCITED!!!  When the teeth came out they looked like fangs!!!  The roots had not resolved yet… so it was going to be a long time before they might come out on their own.  I hope we don't have to have all her teeth pulled based on this.

Needless to say, she came through it with flying colors and FINALLY got a personal visit from the tooth fairy.

Naughty or Nice?

I took the kids over to the studio the other night with my Mom to try and get some images for the Christmas card.

Do you think they were naughty or nice?

They were actually excellent and this image was their reward for good behavior.

He Shoots… He Scores…

Occasionally there are moments in your life that you record into your memory and you replay over and over again….

Last Saturday was one of those moments.  Every Saturday we watch the kids play soccer and Cody who is on a team by himself is a little rock star and scores a significant amount of goals for his team.  The triplets play together on another team….  they are not the strongest players…

Addison has improved over the season and recently even scored a goal and I was thrilled beyond words, but the other day Jadon made a goal.  Jadon has always tried, but just isn't an aggressive or competitive little guy.  A few weeks ago however he found a strategic spot where the ball comes to him from time to time and he can take it down field, but he is always overcome by the other team….  but it has built his confidence.  On Saturday, he got the ball several times and even started to get in the mix and fight for the ball a little.

Well, they were getting killed by the other team (they have never won a game), but at the end of the last quarter Jadon and Addison took the ball down field toward the goal, Addison kicked but the goalie stopped it and kicked it back… it went to Jadon… he kicked…. and it WENT IN!!!!!!!!

His reaction is etched into my brain!!!  He surprised himself and stopped in a moment of disbelief, but when he realized he had actually scored he did a quick fist pump (I guess that's what you'd call it) and he seriously couldn't contain his smile.

The final whistle blew and while we lost the game…. we walked away on top of the world.  He walked down the line congratulating the other team with a huge smile…

but my smile was bigger!!!!

The Pretty and the Scary

We thought the rain would spoil the activities and school was even cancelled at 1:00 due to weather... but when the witching hour arrives, the skies were blue and the evening gorgeous!!!

We ventured out this year with a Peacock Princess, Strawberry Shortcake, The Crypt Keeper and Scary Bones.  Strawberry Shortcake (Kaylee) got a run in her tights before leaving the house and we had to contend with the meltdown... but the rest of the evening was perfect!!!

SEVEN

The last seven years are gone... they are no longer babies... now they are 7.... SEVEN!!!  This year we had a simple birthday at home with family only.

Friday night we took the kids to Willies for dinner and some playtime in the sand, then Saturday was a day of soccer... some awesome soccer I might add.  The kids played their best games ever and lost hoarse from cheering and screaming.  I'm sure I was obnoxious!!

After soccer we took the kids their favorite restaurant at Mi Rancho then went home to open gifts.  We didn't get to bed until late but they didn't mind.

The cakes this year:  Addison (Veterinarian cake), Kaylee (Sophia the 1st) and Jadon (Halloween)