A few things....

A few things that we have been up to lately....


An adult only trip to Napa Valley. Ben went to his annual conference in San Francisco. I met him out there on Thursday night and we spent Friday and Saturday in Napa Valley and Sonoma. We spent a little time in San Francisco on Sunday and I flew back late that evening. Ben's parents came and took care of all 3 munchkins. (Which is not an easy job!!) We had a wonderful time. We were able to relax and enjoy some delicious wine and food and actually spend some time with each other.

 

 

 

Soccer. This is the girls 3rd season to play soccer and it has finally clicked for them! Not to get all braggy mom but they are doing SO good this year. They are kind of the best ones on the team. : ) There have been some games where the two of them score all of the points for our team.  It is fun to see them working together on the field. They will look for each other and pass it to each other. We are so proud! I guess I have been so busy cheering them on that I haven't taken any pictures. This is all I could find on my phone. They have two games left in the season so I will be sure to take some more.

 

 

future soccer player???

 

 

 

 

 Kindergarten Fun. There is SO much that goes on in kindergarten! I couldn't possibly begin to blog about all of the things they have done in kindergarten in the last couple of months. I am going to attempt to hit the highlights (or the things I have pictures of).

 

 

The first week of school they learned about scientists. Then this happened:

 

Conducting the experiment. Mixing dirt and hand sanitizer and stirring it with popsicle sticks.

 

 

 

 

Hat Day

 

 

Dress like what you want to be when you grow up day. I could not pull together a flight attendant uniform for Ava so I talked her into a doctor.

 

 

 

 

 

The Fun Run for their school fundraiser. This is Macy and her friend Kaitlynn.

 

 

 

 

Field trip to the Pumpkin Farm. I took off work to go with them and was so glad that I did.

 Obsessed with animals!

 

 

I was in charge of these 3 cuties. Ava, Macy, and Aubree. : )

 

Hayride

 

 

 

picnic lunch

 

These are all kids from Ava's class (plus Macy). Macy joined with Ava's class for the day so that I could be with both girls during the field trip.

 

Ava strangling... I mean hugging... a goat.

 

 

Ava's class

Macy's class

 

 

Fun times in kindergarten!  They are loving it and really doing well. I think we have finally all adjusted to the craziness of "real" school. I was shocked at how fast paced everything felt and all of the extra things that go along with school. And I work for the district!!! I have no idea why this was so shocking to me! I have realized that they hit you really hard in the beginning with fundraisers and PTA and volunteer opportunities and a million (slight exaggeration) different "dress up" days. That may not sound like a lot but it totally overwhelmed me plus the girls had a bit of a rough time adjusting to the demands of school. They have been perfect at school but we had a rough time at home in the beginning. They were EXHAUSTED when they got home and we had some major fit throwing and just down right BAD behavior. But... knock on wood... they have been really good lately so I think they have adjusted and are handling it really well now. It is amazing to me how much they have learned in just a couple of months. Their reading and writing is improving so much already. Can't wait to see what they are doing by the end of the year!

 

 



 



 





9 months

Life is a bit overwhelming these days. 3 kids, work, kindergarten, Ben's travel schedule, and soccer are wearing this mommy out. Not to mention the day to day stuff like grocery shopping, cooking dinner, laundry, and making lunches (my most despised chore of all!!!). Because of all that, blogging has had to be put on the back burner. However, I did not want to miss Aubrey's 9 month post! She is less than 2 weeks away from 10 months so I have to get this done!

This started happening:

 

 

She pulls up on EVERYTHING. ALL THE TIME. She isn't letting go yet or cruising but it won't be long.

 

 

 

Watching sisters play soccer.

 

 

 

 You probably can't tell in this picture, but she is clapping. Clapping is her favorite thing to do. If you sing pat-a-cake, she will stop whatever she is doing and start to clap. She will also clap when she hears music from the TV or radio. A lot of times when we try to get her to wave bye bye, she gets confused and starts clapping. : ) She has started dancing too. There is nothing better than a dancing baby!

I didn't do the pic with the 9 month sticker on the onesie. Just haven't had a chance to do it. But I love the above pictures of her! Such a happy girl.

 

We went to the dr. for her 9 month check up. Everything looked good. She is huge! She is now off the charts for height!! Above the 99th percentile. She is 85th percentile for weight. 22 pounds!! Her head circumference is 91st percentile. Big, healthy girl! : )

 

She is eating more real food and less baby food. Like her sisters, she is a good eater. She has loved just about everything that we have given her. Her favorite is probably macaroni and cheese. She gobbles it up!

 

Happy 9 months (almost 10 months) Aubrey!

 



Kindergarten Kids

Ava and Macy have finished their first week of kindergarten! It is going really well so far. They are in separate classes which has been harder for me than it has been for them. They are so dependent on each other so I worry about them being apart, but I know it is definitely for the best. The Thursday before school started we went to meet their teachers, see their classrooms, and have kindergarten orientation. Both of their teachers are great. So sweet and nurturing. Ava has two friends in her class. Clara (our next door neighbor who the girls play with all the time) and Savannah (one of their best friends from pre-k). Macy has one little girl that she kind-of knows named Carla.  I felt bad for Macy that she didn't have any close friends when Ava has two of her besties, but I would much rather it be Macy that has to make new friends than Ava. Macy tends to be more outgoing socially and could care less how many friends she has or who likes her and who doesn't. Ava is way too aware of that kind of thing which makes me dread middle school since she is already so sensitive to it at 5 years old!! Anyway, here they are at meet the teacher night:

 

 

Our bedtimes stories the night before kindergarten: 

The book on the far left was mine when I was little. My Aunt Sandy gave it to me before I started kindergarten.

 

Ready to go:

 

 

 

 

I started this tradition last year. On the night before the first day of school, I ask them what they want to be when they grow up and put it on their "first day" signs. Macy said "karate girl" of course.

Ava said, "one of those people that give you the drinks on an airplane." Funny thing is that I wanted to do that too when I was a kid! We have never even talked about flight attendants, so I was surprised when Ava gave that answer!

 

Ava and her teacher, Mrs. Khan.

Macy was so excited that her teacher gave her play-do to play with.

Macy and her teacher, Mrs. Benton.

Ava hugging daddy goodbye.

and hugging Aubrey goodbye.

Look at her sad face. : (

 

 I knew that Ava would probably have a hard time saying goodbye. She always does at the beginning of school after being with me all summer. So we made a plan that Ben would take Macy to class and I would take Ava then we would switch and say goodbye to the other one. I thought Ava would separate easier from Ben so I wanted him to be the last one to say goodbye to her. Macy did great. She was excited to have some play-do. She said goodbye to Ben, said goodbye to me, and was good to go. My plan failed though because after I said bye to Macy I ended up back in Ava's class. So we were BOTH there to say goodbye at the same time which made it even worse! She teared up and said she wanted us to stay. Of course I teared up too which didn't help. It was so sad and I was already so emotional anyway! We talked her into coloring the picture on her desk so that distracted her a little while we left. We peeked in after we walked out and she was fine. She told us later that day that she didn't cry anymore after we left and she has been fine every day since. I cried all the way out of the building but I have been fine every day since. : )

 

After getting over their first day jitters, they have really enjoyed it. They love their teachers and are already talking about new friends. My neighbor, who has 3 girls at the school,  takes them to school every day so I can get to work on time. The girls told me that Ava walks Macy to her class every morning before going to her own class. So sweet. Hoping some of this time apart will make them miss each other and help them get along better at home!