Back To School

Yesterday we went to the Meet and Greet at the school so the kids could meet their teachers. This was total chaos as I lugged 5 bags of supplies, the diaper bag and Lochlan to two different classes on opposite sides of the building. We started on the primary side and went to see Celtin's teacher, Mrs Ellis, first. She is around my age with a 4 month old baby girl at home and very nice. We sorted out his supplies to the community bins then she had a little scavenger hunt for him to do. Next we stopped by Ms Robbin's class so Anika could say hello then went over to the elementary side to find Anika's class. Anika had to sort through and organize her supplies into desk, art tote, community bins and backup supplies. I was so tired by the time we got out of there. Anika's teacher, Ms Bucher, had called on Monday to talk to her and tell her how excited she was to meet her. Anika loved that she got a phone call from her. She is very sweet and has been teaching for several years.

Anika started back to school today. I can hardly believe she is in second grade. This morning we started off with a special breakfast. I made french toast and hash browns. (Use your imagination...it is supposed to be a butterfly-she loved it!) She picked out her clothes, backpack and hairstyle all by herself. The boots were a must! (I paid a little more for them than usual but she really wanted them for her first day of school) She looked so cute and grown-up today. I was very proud of her as she walked over to line up with her teacher, she didn't appear to be nervous at all. She was all smiles even though her dad is still out of town and she is kinda bummed she did not get to see him this morning before the big day. Hopefully he will get home tomorrow to see Celtin off to kindergarten.

Happy Birthday Adam

Adam had a birthday last Friday! I hate that every year I get older but I love that one month later he gets older too. :) There is something great about the fact that he will always be 4 years older than me. His birthday was a little lame this year. We went to my sister in laws and ate the usual angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream and much to his chagrin sang Happy Birthday. Then we left the big kids to sleep over and headed to the mall. After shopping for an hour or so we finally found what Adam wanted at Banana Republic (work pants that are not too dressy and not too casual). Did we buy these perfectly casual dress pants....no of course not because we have cashback bonus on our discover card that if cashed in for Banana Republic certificates will give us $25 for every $20. We will be going back in a week when we receive these gift cards and hope that those exact pants are still there and still on sale. I would like to remain completely oblivious to the fact that the saving will be somewhat offset by the amount of wasted gas and time.

On the way home Adam wanted to eat a delectable Italian Beef Sandwich, his new craving-thanks Ryan. On our quest for this sandwich we decided to try Sammies; we will not be going back there again! The sandwiches were not great and the inside of this restaurant looked and smelled like my 60 year old elementary school with mustard yellow tables and brown panelled benches. I would totally deal if it had great food but how does this place stay in business? We headed home and enjoyed a quiet relaxing evening together. Adam had an undisturbed night of sleep (I still had to get up and feed the baby) thanks again Carli for keeping Anika and Celtin all night.

Happy Birthday Babe!! We Love you!

Spray Park...Again

I know what you are thinking! "Not another spray park post." What can I say it is good, cheap fun. This time Lochlan actually crawled around and played in the water. He loved the little puddles and even crawled into the heavy mist. I think his hat blocked some of the downpour. Anika and Celtin had a blast as usual and thanks to my sister in law and some of our friends, who came with their kids, I had a blast too! I love chatting with other moms as my kids run around and get worn out. This should be the last spray park post for this summer since school starts next week...I am not making any promises though!

Stake Meeting

We had a special stake meeting this past Sunday. We were lucky enough to hear from Elder Richard G. Scott. He spoke on priorities and teaching our children. He said that we must not worry about doing everything even if they are all good things. We should make a list and be sure the most important things get accomplished. Sometimes when people try to do it all and be perfect wives, mothers, church members etc they fail and give up entirely. This is something that really touched me...I worry too much about doing it all and then don't accomplish the truly important things. I am so grateful for the lessons we learn and that if we listen the spirit will direct us to the things we need to hear.

Lochlan is feeling much better...thank goodness!

Sick Little Monkey

Lochlan has been sick...Sunday he had a low grade fever, Monday it was around 102.5 and the Tylenol was not cutting it so we went and got some ibuprofen. Tuesday morning it increased to 103.2, I gave him some ibuprofen but he threw it all up and after 2 hours of him being so hot I decided to call his doctor. We went in and of course it is probably a virus so we were sent home to wait it out.

He is usually so happy but the past few days he just whimpers and cries. He has been doing lots of cuddling and sleeping. Adam left early Monday morning for a work trip to Salt Lake for four days so it has been a little difficult. Anika and Celtin have been so patient, since I am consumed with Lochlan. They have been playing well together (for the most part) and keeping themselves entertained. Yesterday my sweet friend took them to the park and then to her house for the majority of the day. I am so glad to have good friends when family is so far away; the kids had a great time and it was good for them to get out of the house.

Here is a picture of my sick little monkey! The only way I can get him to sleep comfortably is in his car seat, with a cool rag on his head, while I bounce him on my knees. He has become attached to this little blanket ever since our trip to Utah. It was the only blanket we took, so I nursed him under it for the entire two weeks, now when he is fussy we give it to him and he instantly calms down.

6 months old

Lochlan is now six months old. He had his doctors appointment a few days ago. Every time I set him down on the paper table he would begin to cry...I think he knew what was coming. He was a trooper and survived his shots! :) He is up to 16 lbs 10 ounces and 26 1/2 inches tall.

He is a champion crawler now and goes from my room down the hall to see what the big kids are doing rather quickly. He has also begun pulling himself to standing. He even lets go with one hand so he can turn around to see what is going on. Here come the bruises! Once they are mobile and pulling up they seem to fall over and bump into all sorts of things. I am so happy for him and enjoy watching him accomplish new things, but I am also kinda sad that he is growing so fast...I wish there was a way to keep him a baby just a little longer. This video was taken about a week ago and now he is twice as fast. He really keeps me on my toes. His favorite motivators are block towers, paper and flip flops (we can't leave these lying around or he will try to eat them-GROSS!).

Round Lake Beach

We went to the beach over the weekend. The kids had a blast playing in the water with Adam. Lochlan loved the dry sand and kept grabbing it and trying to eat it, he even got in the water. He was not sure what to think at first but was happy as long as we held him tight. When the waves came he would get a little nervous and turn and grab us around the neck. Anika and Celtin are becoming great swimmers and they love the water as much as fish. It was a very nice day and we all had a wonderful time. Adam leaves tomorrow for a 4 day work trip to Phoenix so we will miss him a lot.