eight - a day in pictures

beautiful poetry

I received a planted flower and poem from Sophia today. I want to always remember these little Mother's Day poems. They are so sweet!

Mommy
cooking, reading, sleeping
in the house
at the grocery store
in the car
most pretty, caring, sweet mommy

*sigh* I love it! I think it is funny that she put sleeping - I wish! haha

Here is what Lleyton wrote for me at preschool. It was a fill in the blank.

My Mom is 37 years old.
My Mom's favorite color is purple and pink.
My Mom's favorite food is potato salad.
My Mom is the best at teaching me.
I like it when my Mom plays games with me.
My Mom's favorite thing to do is check out the groceries.

Yes, he knows exactly how old I am and tells everyone he can. :) I love that he thinks my favorite thing to do is to go to the grocery store! Truthfully, when I am getting a great deal with my coupons, it is!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the fabulous note I received from Sophia today. I LOVE it! I think my favorite part is where she calls me "Mama." She and Lleyton still call me that and I hope it never stops. What stumped me was her calling Corey "dada." They never call him that. hmmm...

In case you can't read the note, it says,

"Dear Mom, Would you be my valentine? If you would like, I would be your Valentine! Mama I think you are my favorite valentine yet and dada is also my favorite valentine. I hope your day goes perfectly fine today. I hope you like you your present. I love you!"

awards

We have had some fun award winners at our house, lately!

First, Sophia was given a Jazzy Jag award in December.

Noah got the same award at the end of January!

Then, Sophia was given the "Tipps Citizen" award!
(this one was very exciting - we got to go to school early for a special breakfast)

kung fu

This movie has been quite the inspiration at our house. On Sunday morning, this was my view as I sat on the couch...

They LOVE pretending to do kung fu fighting! And, yes, there have been some injuries because of Lleyton's enthusiasm. Every day, he asks when I am going to sign him up for kung fu lessons. I'm still deciding on whether that is a good idea.

visit #1

Sophia was just a little hesitant.

She asked for a Webkinz bird.
(notice the goodie bag that Mrs. Claus gave her. It was FULL of candy and treats! I guess it is good to know that our HOA dues go to something worthwhile....haha)

Lleyton was SO happy to see Santa Claus!
He asked for a DS and an ipod (um, aren't you 4?!).

The big kids chose not to see Santa this year. I was disappointed. They are all growing up much too quickly for this mama. *sigh*

Sophia's Surgery

Several weeks ago, Sophia had her deflux surgery (for the 2nd time). She was such a good patient! I took a few pictures to help document the experience.


Here she is with her "giggle juice" starting to work. She got very loopy. It was so cute! She kept looking under her blanket at the red light on her oxygen monitor (the one they put on your finger). It was so fascinating to her.
That stuff is perfect. It helped her to relax and not be worried when they took her back to surgery without us. It also has an affect on her memory, making so she doesn't even remember it.
After surgery, we had to document the IV.

Of course, Tarin the bear had to come along. She was allowed to take 2 items back with her. She took her blankie and her bear. They labeled them with stickers that had all of her info on them. She is still pretty out of it in this picture. She was just starting to smile, so the morphine was starting to work. :) They had to give her a couple of doses in her IV to help her feel better.

At this children's hospital, they give you as many yummy rainbow pops as you want! She broke a record with 5!

Sophia recovered so quickly. She was bouncing around like normal the next day. On Monday, we go in for another VCUG (not so fun test) to see if the surgery worked. Of course, our appt with the dr isn't until the 18th, so we won't know until then.
We really appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that everyone has given on her behalf! Please keep it going!

(I was finally able to download pictures from my camera! Yea!)

Library Cards

This summer, Sophia and Lleyton got their own library cards. They were SO excited! We really enjoy going to the library. The strangest thing happened when we went to get their cards - the librarian actually tried to talk us out of getting cards for them! What?! Aren't they supposed to encourage children to get their own library cards? I guess that she was probably trying to save me some time and confusion, since it is difficult for me to keep track of my own card. The BEST thing, though, is that I was able to get a new card that actually goes onto my keychain with all of my store cards. Now, it won't be so easy to lose. :)

I don't have a picture, but Alexandra started as a library volunteer this summer. She works once a week shelving books and helping patrons. She really enjoys it. I think it is great experience for her. She has a schedule, a "boss," and responsibility.

1st Grade Luau

Here is my Sophia with one of her friends.

Can you tell that she got a haircut? She has been begging and begging to get her hair cut short. I finally caved. They cut 5 inches off!! I almost cried, but, I have to admit, that she looks absolutely adorable. It actually makes her look older. *sigh*

Lleyton was having such a great time! He sat with the big kids for lunch. Sophia even let him play a game with her. What a sweetie.

daddy/daughters dance

They had a blast!

more updates

Noah's 1st Pinewood Derby Car! (Last year we did a rocket.)
He had a couple of wins and had a blast. Hmmm...I wonder what his favorite major league baseball team is?

Sophia lost her 2 front teeth!
I still can't get over how much older this makes her look. My baby girl is growing up way too fast.

I won the ward chili cookoff! Pretty funny, since I used the recipe on the back of the McCormick seasoning packet. :) Well, I did add black beans.

For Valentine's Day, I sent an all red lunch for the kids. It was fun to put together and they really enjoyed it.