The past 6 months! YIKES!

Well, I have seriously felt guilty for not blogging...I know that's silly, but I know there are so many fun things that I am forgetting.  I really do want to be able to look back and see my thoughts about our life during this season where the kids are growing and changing so fast!   Well...so much has happened since I last posted...we had a great summer of swim lessons, lots of little friends visiting and swimming in our little temporary pool, our little Ava turned 5 and we had a Strawberry Shortcake party for her at Kids Station.  we went to Navarre. FL with the Ziezemers and had a blast on the beach, shopping, fishing (just the boys), eating, and relaxing.  Oh, I almost forgot...Eriik turned 40 in October, that's a biggie!  I threw a surprise party for him at small group, and he was very surprised!

One major change is that when we got back from Florida this summer we added a little Pug puppy into this already crazy family  We named her Izzy...Alec picked out the name and we all thought it was cute.  When we went to the lady's home in Jacksonville to pick out the puppy, there were 5 little Pugs to choose from....one boy and four girls.  One of the little girl pups was super cute, but a little too big and hid under a little table the entire time, two of the girls just weren't as cute, and then there was Izzy the smallest of the bunch and a little fireball of energy.  Alec played with her the entire time, and insisted that she was the one for our family.  We all agreed and sold...she was a new member of our family!  She was soo quiet, and sweet with us the first couple weeks...we never heard a peep out of her and she just sat on our laps and licked our hands.  Then one day she started to feel more comfortable and boy did she come out of her shell!  I'm thinking our kids might have helped her along in the process of becoming so hyper.  But whatever it is....all I know is she is a wild one!  I think we might need to call in Ceaser the dog whisperer to calm her down a little!  Eriik is not so much an Izzy fan right now, but I believe he's going to come around.  We have taught her to sit and wait and come...and she fetches (when she's in the mood).  Anyway, she's added a lot of fun and excitement to our home over the past several months.

Addison is getting so big...she's a sweet little thing with a mischievously side. Still into everything all the time! She loves to dance and watch Dora...she points to the TV and says "watch backpack"!!! She absolutely loves puzzles and books...can't get enough of them. She can say pretty much anything and says three word sentences sometimes...but she is still our quieter one...at least for now! She sings a lot though! She likes to sing Row Row Your Boat, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Rock a Bye Baby, and lots more.  Oh, and she can also identify all the letters of the alphabet, even out of order.  I guess the Leap Frog alphabet DVD has brainwashed her :)  Every Wednesday she goes to Prep school to play while I get a little time to catch up, she really seems to like it, and the teachers say she is doing great!

Another big change to our family is that Ava started Kindergarten in  August!  I have hopes that she is going to do a lot of growing up this year!  She WAS doing great and loving it, but just over the past couple weeks, she has had trouble paying attention, sitting still, and she's been talking out of turn.  We are keeping in communication with the teacher and disciplining Ava accordingly..so we shall see.  I'm afraid she comes by it honestly...I remember often having to stay in from recess in Kindergarten because I was talking and not doing my work (hard to believe, I know)...I was never paying attention.  Hopefully she will turn it around and stop being so much like her mommy!  Her teacher has told me more than once how smart Ava is, and what a good reader...I don't know, maybe she's just bored and that's making her act out?  She had a lot of fun at cheer camp and got to cheer at a Panther football game which she thought was the coolest thing ever!  She is also still doing ballet and loves that. 

Alec is doing great in second grade and is in class with a lot of his friends this year.  He loves his teacher and and loves to read, do Math and writing.  In fact they had a little writing competition over the whole second grade and he and 9 others were chosen to participate in morning practices for UIL creative writing competition!  So, every Tues, Wed, and Thursday morning we have to have him at school by 7:15.  His stories are so funny, creative and descriptive...I love reading his work!  He loves playing with his Ninjago characters and other legos with Kobey our neighbor, or Carson when he can come over.   He will have his last soccer game this Saturday, and has had fun with that. He loves Tae Kwon Do, and just received his brown recommended belt, which is a step above brown belt.  He keeps asking us to buy him real Tae Kwon Do weapons (and he's totally serious)....ummm, let me think about that....NOPE!

Here are some pics from the past 6 months in chronological order!  I can't believe it's been that long!  Crazy!

Too Busy?

Well, the phrase "too busy" has been on my lips too often lately. But it's such a relative term isn't it?  I know back when we just had one baby, "busy" meant that I had more than one place to go that day :).  Now with three kids, my daily task lists have more than tripled...I can't even imagine what it will be like when all three are involved in activities!  So, in case you haven't guessed it yet, I  haven't been blogging because "I've been too busy"  We've been running like crazy and having a ball.  When we aren't running we are playing, and when we're not playing, I'm catching up on everything :) I do want to take a minute and write down a few thoughts on the kiddos, because busy or not, I want to be able to look back and read about what life was like back when I thought I was so busy!

The kids are doing great and growing so fast!  Alec loves 1st grade, he is a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do, and goes 3 nights a week!  He also loves playing soccer this spring.  He is a funny, goofy little guy, but also very sensitive and kind hearted.  He truly cares deeply about others and will look for ways to help others.  He makes me want to be a better person!

 Ava's ballet recital is coming up and she looks so adorable doing her little monkey dance.  She is very much a performer when she wants to be!  She dances ALL the time around the house...flitting and floating like a little ballerina.  She's still VERY busy ALL the time!  I've been seeing more moments of maturinty lately in how she acts with Alec and Addison.  She's getting there...and as soon as she does, I'll miss her being my baby!  A big change for Ava is that she is learning to read, and doing pretty good.  I registered her for Kindergarten this fall!  It seriously snuck up on me, I was totally caught off gaurd when I was sent the Kindergarten registration info!  She doesn't turn 5 till June, so she's a little younger than most of her classmates, but I think she will be fine. 

Now where to start with little Addison (or Addie-boo as we affectionatly call her) She is proving to be every bit as active as her sister!  She is soo funny and sweet.  She took her first steps on Super Bowl sunday, and a week or so after that she took off and never looked back!  She is fast as lightning getting into EVERYTHING.  She's starting to talk some now...although she is quieter than Alec and Ava were as babies.  When she sais something we all get really excited.  For instance, this morning she was pointing at a snack she wanted so I prompted her to say Please and SHE DID...as clear as a bell!  I was so excited, but couldn't get her to say it again.  She does this cute little thing where she will tilt her head from side to side as she looks at you, like she's trying to figure you out.  She also, points and nods her head yes with her eyes as wide as sausers when she wants something.  Also, I think she wins the baby dancing award in this house.  You know how all babies have their own dance style, well Addie actually twirls with her arms up like a little ballerina (she learned from Ava I guess).  I put her hair in pigtails this past weekend...she looked all grown up!  It's going to fast!
 I know there are some family members that don't facebook that would like to see some pics, so I'll post those real fast and get back to life :)

Our first family photo of everyone smiling!  I was so excited!

Nanny and Poppy visited us this past Feb.  We had such a great time with them, but they didn't get to stay near long enough!

We went to Disney World last month, and had a blast!  But that is a whole other blog post if I ever get around to it!  These are just a few of the pics that I was able find (the rest are on my Iphone)