Day Camp

This past April, I was making plans for the summer, and noticed a a couple empty weeks, right after school got out, and before our travel or any VBS's would really begin.  I'm the type of person who needs a full calendar, something going on all the time (no rest for the weary, right?  I thrive on chaos!).  I wanted something scheduled for my kids during that time.  So, my brilliant idea: do a day camp!  I talked with my friend Teresa, who leads the Las Cruces Playgroup (found on meetup.com), and she agreed to help me make it happen.  We scheduled it for the first week of June, came up with themes for each of the five days, enlisted help with snacks and crafts and activities, and invited everyone we knew with kids.  It turned out to be such a great week!  Our first day, we had 40 kids!  The numbers were a little lower during the middle of the week, but by Friday (Water Day), I'd estimate 50 kids at least.  Sure, there were a few snafus along the way, and it turned out to be a LOT more work than I'd originally anticipated, and I hardly slept that week out of anxiety... but, from the feedback I heard, all the kids (mine included) had a blast.  Which was my goal.  So I'm happy.  And already planning for next summer!  

One of my favorite pics from the week: Kate, in the middle, enjoying chocolate pudding from her "dirt cup" on Farm Day.

"Adventurous Eater" Chart

I'm sure I am not alone in my exasperation with my picky eater.  Much of the time, if what's on his dinner plate looks a little different, Jack refuses to even touch it.  So, our "Adventurous Eater" chart was born!  Every time he finishes his plate of something "new," he earns a sticker.  Ten stickers down, and we get to enjoy a meal out, at a restaurant of Jack's choice.  So far, it's working!  He's still a picky eater, just a little less reluctant.

The End of Jack's Preschool Career

We are so proud of Jack and all he accomplished this past year in school.  Here are some of my favorite of his school projects.

An end-of-the-year portrait done with his teacher Miss Molly.  Black-and-white picture, colored with pastels.  I think it turned out super cute.

Last Day of School

Jack is officially a kindergartener!  He missed his preschool graduation ceremony due to a 103-degree temperature, but was able  to join his class for a water day on the last day of school.  The girls came along for the fun!  Jack's "Elephant" class in the pool with teachers Miss Jen, Miss Diane, and Miss Molly in the back. Kate snuck in there, too.

Love how, even when there are scores of other kids around, my two oldest still gravitate toward each other.

Tons of mud... always fun.

SPLASH!

 

Eleven Months

My ravishingly beautiful girl, just one month shy of a year, is showing herself as a comedienne.  Sometimes, while thumbing through books in her carseat, she'll start giggling.  To herself.  She can be quite a loudmouth.  And she's showing an early love for animals.  We often point to each individual animal picture hanging in her room, and I tell her the animal's name and what sound it makes, and she just grins.  She still cracks me up with those huge "toofers."

Almost All My Mothers' Days

We try and take a special Mothers' Day portrait of me and the kids every year.  It's getting more difficult to catch a GOOD picture the more kids we have and the bigger they get: there's always someone blinking, crying, or picking his/her nose.  But here's the best we have!  First one's from 2007 and taken in our backyard in Lathrop, CA; Jack was almost six months old.

Not sure where our 2008 pictures are!  We have them on a backup CD somewhere.  But the next pic is from 2009, in Mammoth Lakes, CA, when I was VERY pregnant with Kate.

2010, when we were living with my parents in Lewiston, ID, for two months:

2011, in Las Cruces.  Again, VERY pregnant, but with Maggie this time:

And, finally, 2012's picture, in Las Cruces.  Taken in a hurry because we had people coming for dinner.  And it was hot and bright and... well, we were a bunch of complainers.  But just look at this gorgeous bunch of children!  I really have no reason to complain.

Ten months

Maggie was ten months last month (I know, I know... I'm getting behind on my monthly baby posts, but at least I'm posting, right?!). Already I'm planning for her first (and Kate's THIRD) birthday party in June! She is 28 inches tall and 15.3 pounds as of her last check-up... quite a lightweight still!  Jack walked at about ten months and one week, and it seems as if she'll start walking in the next couple weeks too. She is into EVERYTHING... and throws an absolute fit when we take something away from her.  She still plays happily in her crib after waking up in the morning or from her nap (this habit of hers is what keeps ME sane!).  But when we enter her room to retrieve her from the crib, she gives us a huge grin, bounces around, and talks like crazy.  She has especially expressive reactions for big brother Jack, who runs to her every day when we pick him up from preschool, exclaiming, "MAGGIE!" while she bounces in my arms.  She's transitioning into her one-nap-a-day stage (earlier than my other two did), and just started drinking from a sippy cup and saying "dada" when she sees Brian. Here she is, enjoying sweet tickles.

Concrete pouring day

One year in our house and we're finally making something out of our backyard!  The concrete truck was here last Thursday afternoon to pour a new patio.  Of course, the kids were glued to the window watching... and when my father-in-law arrived, he invited Jack to join him in the outside supervision.  Next phase of the project?  Putting in a sprinkler system and then, hopefully, some nice green grass.  More pictures to come!

 

 

First pony rides

Forgot to post these when they happened a month or so ago: Jack and Kate's first pony rides! We were at the Farm and Ranch Museum's Cowboy Days event after one of Jack's soccer games. Jack had never ridden a pony before; whenever he'd been given the chance, he was too scared. But after Kate decided she wanted to ride, Jack followed his little sister's lead.

Easter

Well, I was nervous about our Easter weekend trip up to Rio Rancho--Maggie and I hadn't been anywhere besides El Paso since last July, when she was just a month old, and she's not been a great traveler for even small distances. But, turns out, I shouldn't have been nervous. She did just fine! I made sure to pack lots of snacks for her, and of course her special lovey. She didn't sleep the entire way up, even after it got dark and the big kids had zonked out, but she was still content.
ANYWAY. We had a great weekend. The kids spent plenty of time with their Grandma Kathy and cousins Matthew and Marissa. I got my Trader Joe's fix. Brian and I actually had a date night (dinner at Chili's and "The Hunger Games"... thanks to Kathy for babysitting!). And we visited Bob and Yoli's church, Paragon Church, for Easter, and then had a hurried lunch and egg hunt before we loaded up for the drive back home.