Halloween 2009

Updates

So many updates:

Walker stood by himself for 10 seconds.

Carys lost her second tooth.

Helen gave a dance concert in the basement, western style.

I've got a few pics, I'll upload as soon as I can.

Walker, Everywhere!

Walker is on the move! He is all over the place and very curious. His favorite activities are chewing, picking up floor lint and fur balls, banging, throwing and invading his sisters room to play with the pink piano.

Pizza Time

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Spaghetti; a Mom and Kids Best Friend

Tooth Fairy Purse

The night Carys lost her tooth we whipped up this little tooth fairy purse for under her pillow. It has a little pocket for the tooth and a big pocket for the cash. Inflation has hit the tooth fairy hard.

Helen Time

With Carys in school during the day, Helen gets to be the big sister and have some time with Mommy and Walker to herself. I'm trying to make the most of this time before her school starts to do some fun things with her. We've gone to the conservatory yesterday and the zoo today. I'm not sure what's on the agenda tomorrow, but I'm going to try to make cookies with her tomorrow. We're also reading, working on her writing and playing at home.

Another First-Tooth Fairy Where Are You?

Carys has had a loose tooth for a few months now. After almost a year of talking about it (because one of her school mates lost one at 4 yrs!). She finally managed to wiggle the tooth free tonight without tears. According to her she was in the closet when she finally managed to break it loose and heard a "crack" (her words). She showed me and I must say I did not expect my stomach to feel so queasy, but it did. So I offered to try to pull it out-eek. Napkin in hand, I tried to yank it halfheartedly, I admit. Carys was adamant, I was not to yank it (OK, no problem) but I could pull it. So we agreed she could continue to wiggle it until it fell out (it was literally hanging in her mouth). After playing with it while I cooked dinner, it came out without a frown.

So she's on cloud 9, Helen is happy for her and a little jealous of the impending tooth fairy visit, and I'm glad I did not have to do minor surgery before dinner. We made a little tooth purse for it and currently, it's under her pillow with a little baby Carys tooth waiting to be exchanged for some tooth fairy goodness.

First Grade for Carys!

Carys is officially a first grader! We started the morning alone reviewing some of her baby pictures. I'll have to put some here b/c I was not blogging at the time and she was such a little doll as they all are. We had a breakfast taco breakfast and the entire family walked Carys to her first day of school. We all had a little tear in our eye and lump in our throat this morning after she filed in the school building with the rest of her class.

Carys was quick to inform me that they did have snack and they did not do math. It was a short day so I think they just gave them all a tour, accounted for their school supplies, and the kids got to make name tags for their desks. Her teacher seems to be a more seasoned veteran, I'm a little glad for it. I think Carys will need some quick assessment to make sure she stays challenged and does not lose interest in reading and her other skills she's been developing.

Tomorrow is her first full day, we'll see how the family fares once we are in full swing. For now, the kids are in bed, her lunch box is in the freezer and I still have breakfast taco fixins to pull out in the morning.

Basement Play

We need to babyproof the basement, Walker is an equal opportunity toy grabber and the girls toys have small parts, just small enough for little fingers to want to grab and little mouths to want to eat. It's a little scary.

Walker on the move

Walker has become very skilled at getting where he wants to go although he's not crawling on his hands and knees yet. He's an expert army crawler and can turn any direction and get toys quite easily. Of course, he seems to also prefer to chew the corners of rugs and grab power cords. We are reviewing our babyproofing needs ASAP.

Walker can push up in what Carys and Helen's gymnastics calls the "Bear Crawl", belly and knees are off the ground. He does not crawl this way but if he tucked his leg under he could sit up by himself. He will figure it out pretty soon.

Carys' first loose tooth

Carys has a loose tooth on the bottom. She's been waiting for a few months for this occasion, some of her younger friends have already lost teeth. She now never fails to remind me when she's eating something that it bothers her loose tooth. At the moment, she has banned all hard foods from her diet that would require her to bite and hurt her loose tooth.

Baird, TX Photos

There were so many good ones, here's a sample. Kelley has become an excellent photographer.

Baird, TX

Besides running through the Dallas airport there and back, my July Texas trip with the girls was a success.

We had all the elements; friends, animals, good food and christian fellowship. It was wonderfully relaxing in spite of toting around 4 kids in 108 degree weather. A bonus was that the kids were able to see up close most of the indigenous (and non-indigenous) animals except the diamondback rattlesnake. Luckily the four geese probably keep enough noise and activity around the house, they don't want to nest there.

Water is getting scarce so if you can add "rain for Baird, Tx." to your prayer list, please do.

Kelley took many wonderful pics and as soon as I get them, I'll post the best. My camera ran out of battery the first hour I was there. Somehow, it always happens that way.

Piano

We purchased a piano for the family and we are very pleased to have it. Carys can practice properly and Helen loves to plink around. She is another budding musician. I love to play Carys' book and can't wait until she can play better than me so she can teach me. (It won't take long, probably the next book she gets!).

Poppy said it best when he walked by the piano, it looks and feels like it's always been here. It's just right for us.

Walker has begun eating table food. It's been a while since I've had to monitor our diet to include soft foods but I'm slowly recalling what passed for baby table food. Here, he's getting some reduced salt peas and a little help from his assistant. I had to shoo his assistant out of the area after she encouraged him to try more than one pea at a time.

Walker on the Move

It's about to get MUCH more interesting around our house. Walker is now scootching off his blanket and rolling about the living room. He was very interested in the floor speakers and I'm sure he find MUCH more interesting stuff in the girls room. Hmmm.

Tea Party

Swim classes were cancelled for the second time. So we set out a little tea party. We're not going to be invited to the Queen's for tea anytime soon which is just as well. We need to work on our manners a bit more. Things were going well, taking turns pouring the applejuice and taking bites from the tray very civilly. But then, I turned around and back in a few minutes and the entire treat plate had been divied up at once into separate bowls. I take it there was a scuffle but a very quiet one because the girls know they have a hungry Momma.

Walker Sitting Up

So, Walker is sitting up, with the help of his big sister. Carys loves to entertain Walker and sometimes she'll move him around in different positions. She's put him in a sitting position and rather than just lean completely forward as in the very recent past, he's very proud to be holding himself up. See that smile?

Watermelon Popsicles

I had some homemade popsicles left over from Helen's party. They are helping sooth his gums quite nicely. He ate an entire popsicle himself sharing a few licks with his sisters along the way.

I Saw a Tooth

Walker has not been sleeping well and I thought it may be from traveling but Poppy called it and Walker is teething. Now we can actually see one cutting through so hopefully he can sleep once this is through, until the next one!

Happy Birthday Helen!

Helen had a good birthday morning. She opened her present. She got a baby crib, tub and toilet complete with flushing sound. We took Helen out to lunch at a new family restaurant we found and she and Carys played at a park and in the yard with the pool. We were so pooped today, we forgot to give her the birthday card that plays music and her cupcakes are sitting in my pantry. I think we've had enough celebration for the next few months!

Helen B'day

So we had to move Helen's birthday party to the basement. I'm sooooo thankful for the basement! We decorated party bags, had free play, play doh and a picnic. Then all "you know what" broke loose and the kids began to run through our small house. Luckily, the sun came out and we were able to go outside. Thanks to Tamra, we had outdoor activity, tubes and tents and bean bag toss for the swarm of kids. I have to say, I must get better about organizing parties but Poppy and I literally worked our butts off for the last few days prepping for Carys' graduation and Helen's b'day party. I'm happy to be sitting down. Tomorrow is Helen's real b'day, much more low key and more pics will come. It's just family and her special day. Love you Helen!