Five months!

I truly do not know where the time goes. How is it possible that my 3rd child is already 5 months old? I don't know how it happened, but it did. Emma was 5 months old yesterday.
What a sweet little girl Emma is! Laughing at her silly brother and sister is a favorite activity, as is playing with her toys and eating! She loves to eat, especially her cereal and fruit (veggies not so much, but she is warming up to them). Emma makes us smile all of the time, and we are so grateful that she is a part of our family.
Ben and Grace love Emma so much, and spend alot of time playing with and taking care of her! The smile that Emma gets on her face when she sees one of her siblings is the cutest thing! We fear that she may become a bit spoiled, as they do not let her cry, and do not feel that it is acceptable for me to ler her cry. Fortunately, Emma is so sweet that she could use a little spoiling:)

First Day of School

Last Tuesday (I know, I know) was Ben's first day back to school. This is his second year in the same preschool class, and so far he is doing well. 5 of the 6 kids were from last year, so Ben started out knowing the kids, as well as the teachers. He went willingly onto the suburban, and had a great first day, switcheroo and all! We are so proud of Ben, and know that he will work hard this year to get ready for kindergarten.Here is the first day of school outfit- I love Ben in orange and blue!
Grace was very sad to see her brother go, as they had gotten very close over the summer. She waited all morning for him to come home, and when he did he was so crabby that she wished his day would have been a little longer. The second day she was not quite as anxious for his return. However, after the first day or so of being very crabby and tired, Ben and Grace seem to play better after that small time apart each day.
Waiting for the suburban, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension!

Happy first day of school, Ben! We love you!!!!!!!!

Four months!!

Happy 4 months Emma!!!!!
I cannot believe that Emma is already 4 months old! These past 4 months have gone so quickly! Emma is such a sweet baby, always laughing and smiling-so happy! She loves her play gym and exersaucer, and her favorite little moose named "moosie". Emma loves her brother and sister, who are always willing to read her stories, play with her, and hug and kiss her. Grace tells everyone who talks to Emma "but don't keep her! She is our baby!" Grace kisses her goodnight every night and good morning every morning! Even Ben has found her to be a wonderful audience for all of his stories- the more he talks, the more Emma smiles!
Emma started eating solids this week, and responded as babies usually do. "What did you just put in my mouth? Blech!!!!!"
It did not get much better that first night, but by the third night, she was actually chewing on the spoon and eating the cereal willingly! Go Emma!
It has been a fun-filled four months watching Emma grow develop into the sweet baby that she is. WE LOVE YOU EMMA!!!!!!!!!!!

A New Playground

After about 2 1/2 years of research, multiple rec and council meetings, and more hours than I would like to admit, Buhl finally has new playground equipment. It is safe, it is fun, and it looks great! We are so excited to have a safe place for children from our community to play!

The playground has 3 slildes, multiple climbers, a storefront panel, and 2 fun spring riders. Lots for kids of all ages to do. We still need swings and a ramp (the surfacing is accessible, but I forgot to order a ramp for access to the accessible surfacing).
I should mention that as the (soon to be former) park and rec director, this was my project from start to finish. Lots of work, but totally worth it for my kids and all of the kids in our town!

Nature vs. Nurture

I am always fascinated by the nature vs. nurture debate, and love to find examples to support each. ( Can you say Psych major?)Anyway, today we met a friend from our ward and her twins, a boy and a girl, at our new park. Ben and Grace were super excited. Grace kept telling Ben that he has to play with Jared and she has to play with Lydia. I thought that this was just Grace talking, but it actually worked that way. The boys had started wrestling in the grass, and Grace thought they were dancing, so she and Lydia started playing ring around the rosy. Watching the boys wrestle and play the "Mean Game" while the girls danced and sang was so funny, and got us Moms talking about the whole debate. Both boys are only boys, and Jared has a twin sister and two older sisters. Yet they are both such little boys, rough and tumble. How does this happen? How are those traits instilled in someone? It was really funny!

Funny, Funny Boy

OK, so Ben is a very funny boy, especially when he is not trying to be. A few weeks ago we were talking about moving, you know the "we need a bigger house and better neighbors, etc." discussion. This did not make Ben happy at all-he suggested that we just make our house bigger. He then siad "if you talk about moving one more time, I am going to say a naughty word". "Which one?" I asked. He put his hands on his hips, glared at me and said "Shut Up". (read this with the most attitude a 4-year-old can give) Seriously, that is the worst word he knows? Shut Up??!!!! I will take that anyday!
Fast forward to yesterday, another day, another argument with a feisty four-year-old. Ben was mad about something (as usual) and looked at me and said "If you do that again I am going to go potty somewhere that is not the potty OR a tree". I guess that in his mind there are TWO acceptable places to go to the bathroom. Thank you, Papa Jim!

memory tag

This is from Melissa's blog- Here is what you do:
1. Post a memory that you have of me (all good, of course). It doesn't matter how long you have known me-it could even be a blog memory
2. Post these instructions on your blog and wait for the responses-should be fun to see. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. I will come to your blog and post my memory of you!
Have fun!