Gwennie the Pooh

Several people have asked how Gwen is dealing with the recent changes at home. With Adam and Tessa both at school in the mornings, Gwen has to stay at home with boring, old Mom. We have tried to make our mornings fun and I tired to capture a few things from the last few mornings. 

 Gwen is usually ready for a snack around 9:30am. She loves to eat while she watches her favorite cartoons, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sofia the First. I will usually take advantage of this half hour to get something done and then I get to clean up whatever mess Gwen has made with her snack. She likes to dump whatever is in her bowls all over the benches. Occasionally, I will cave and put on her absolute favorite movie, "Air Buddies", which we can all quote now. She constantly asks for, "Puppies!!"

 Gwen has fallen in love with her baby dolls. She pushes her favorite doll all over the house in the baby stroller and will snuggle it while we watch her shows or read stories. It's seriously the cutest thing. 

 She loves playing with the Potato Head pieces. 

 We build and knock down block towers. 

 We do puzzles. 

 Gwen's other new favorite thing to play with is cars. It makes me feel like I am playing with baby Adam all over again. 

 She is like her sister and has to stand right in front of the TV. 

 And of course, we read and read and read and read. This little girl loves her books! Her newest favorite is, "Are You My Mother?" We read it at least 4 times before we pick Tessa up from school and at least 6 more times throughout the rest of the day. 

 We've had fun going on walks in the "wee" (that's what she calls the stroller) and riding our bike to go get Tess from school. 

 Running errands with Gwen is less than fun. She will not stay in a cart-at all. So I either end up carrying her through an entire store (and when I'm dragging a shopping cart full of groceries behind me, my arm goes numb after about 20 minutes of that) or she's screaming bloody murder cause she wants to run free. My new favorite is when she yells, "HELP" at the top of her lungs. I've gotten some awesome looks for that one. Occasionally, I bite the bullet (about every 2 weeks) and we venture out for our big shopping trips. I usually end up a sweaty mess by the time we get home from struggling with Gwen the whole time and my purse has been depleted of every snack I have ever packed. But, we always survive. 

 Today was our big Walmart shopping day and Gwen was super excited about her new shoes. 

 We have had a lot of rain this week. Gwen loves to watch the rain. She yells, "rain!!" whenever she hears it falling. She is not a fan of thunder and runs for cover if she hears it. She loves to splash in the rain puddles as soon as the rain stops. She ends up soaking wet, but so happy!

To sum it all up, I think she is surviving without her brother and sister around. Honestly, I think she likes to be able to get into anything she wants-especially Tessa's toys. It's kind of nice having her all to myself without other kids needing my attention. Gwennie loves to snuggle with me, so I take advantage of that and we snuggle a lot-especially when we are reading her books. I am grateful we have this time together and grateful to have such a fun and spunky little girl!

Remembering....

Today we remembered....

Nothing elaborate or exciting. But, I am grateful my kids know the importance of this day and that they are always wanting to understand it a little bit more. I will never have all the answers for them, but I can teach them to honor those who lost their lives, the importance of forgiveness and healing, and what it means to be an American. 

 Adam wanted to build his own version of the Twin Towers. 

 Since he was about 4, Adam had always been fascinated with a book I have on 9/11-full of pictures and stories from that day. Occasionally throughout the year, he will pull it out and look through it. But every year on September 11th, he devours the book and reads through it for hours. Pages 29-90  have completely fallen off of the spine- it has been that well read. I am glad that he has such a desire to learn and to understand. Today he tried his best to answer all of Tessa's questions about the pictures they were looking at. 

We thank all those who serve our country and especially those who lay their lives on the line so we can enjoy the freedom and safety that we do. We are proud to be American's!

BYU Stadium Party

Last night we went to the BYU Stadium Party! We love our Cougars and are so excited to cheer them on this Saturday.

 Adam's first stop was the basketball hoops. 

 We were able to tour the locker room again this year. 

 All 3 kids tried hiding in the coaches lockers. 

 Our future football player!

 Tessa tried the pads and helmet on too. She had to keep her arms up or the pads just slipped right off her shoulders. She's so tiny!

 Adam showing off his muscles and Tessa practicing her gymnastics on the bar. Gwen was a maniac all evening and we could hardly keep up with her. 

 One of their favorite parts of Cougar football-eating Cougar Tails!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Tessa's big day!! I think it's fair to say that she has been waiting for this day for years-ever since Adam started school, she has been ready and waiting. The day finally came and this cutie-pie started Kindergarten! She couldn't have been more excited. She carefully picked her outfit out last night, completely down to her nail polish. She was the first one up and ready to go this morning. Kindergarten couldn't come fast enough!

 She wore her backpack all morning-even while doing her chores. 

 She requested pancakes for her first day of school breakfast. She even helped with the flipping and we made a few fairy pancakes just for fun.

 She didn't want to take pictures this morning. She wanted to get in the car and go! But, Mommy insisted on some pictures for the big day.

 Her darling dress was made by her Aunt Dee and Tessa has been waiting for weeks to wear it to school. She said she wants to wear it everyday.

 Finally at school together.

 Mrs. Hales was happy to see her this morning. Tessa quickly found her backpack cubby and her desk. 

 When did they grow up? 

Adam was so excited for Tessa!

 I felt silly as I walked out of the school and was clearly the only mom crying. I thought it would be easier to leave her after doing it once already, but I guess not. I don't think I will ever get used to leaving my babies with someone else. Gwen and I came home and played blocks and read, "Are You My Mother?" about 4 times and I actually read a chapter in a Mommy book! Something that rarely happens anymore!

When we picked Tessa up, she said she had a great day and can't wait to go back tomorrow! She was very happy that she didn't have to pull any school tickets and that she stayed on a green card all day. She said they read books and sang some silly songs, drew pictures and had a fun recess. We are excited to see you blossom this year and hear about all of your Kindergarten adventures. We love you so much, Tessa Boo!!