Octoberfest

Whenever we go to my in-laws the kids love going to this pond in the forest to catch fish. It's very peaceful! My in-laws have been feeding the catfish and they also go fishing in the pond even without the grandkids. A couple weeks ago Marcus' dad, Marcus and Austin decided to have a "man night" and put up a tent by the pond. They even call it the "Secret Pond". It's really great for me when they all take off and leave me at the house to read my book!!

Austin's a pro!Cali catches fish after fish!!! (mostly little perch, but she LOVES it!!)I did head out for a bit to see what all the fuss was about...if I didn't have the kids, I'd bring my book and park it by the water in peace. Yeah right...no kids?? fat chance!A couple weeks ago, Austin was playing at a friend's house and got hit in the eye with a stick! (I didn't get pictures of his eye...sorry) We were at the pediatrician's office for an hour and a half! After that, they refered us to an ophthamologist and set the appointment for that afternoon. I didn't have enough time to go home, so we grabbed lunch, ate at a nearby park, and headed to the eye doctor. We were there for THREE HOURS!! Towards the end of this blessed event the kids were getting restless (duh) so I whipped out some bubblegum...that's what's in Peyton's hair! So...this was the end to a perfect day...ugh...This is Cali's funny face...not her best effort, but you get the idea. :P
My sister told me that I have the smiliest kids...I just don't see it!
This is my little munchkin that I swear is a big girl in a little girl's body! She gets into anything/everything she can and is already wanting to do EVERYTHING herself...she's only 14 months old!! sheesh! But she sure is funny!Our family home evening this week was finally getting to carve our pumpkin! Yay!I tried to catch her sucking her thumb (which is pretty much how she lives) but she's become such a ham when the camera comes out that she was smiling before I could catch her. She's a quick one!My poor little man has BAD allergies just like his Daddy. We finally got him tested this week...I promise we weren't torturing him! We found out that he's allergic to EVERY grass, cats, and dust/mites!! Just like Daddy. Of course we've been keeping up with our team...Go Ducks!!! I hope this wasn't too much in one sitting...soak it all in and I'll be back with Halloween Spooktacular asap!! Boo!!

Skool Dayz

My big girl has started preschool!! Ahhh...where does the time go? I can't believe she's even old enough to go. She's only going 2 days a week and loving it! The little girl sitting next to her is a friend that I've babysat while her mom (my friend) was pregnant and having to go to doctor appointments...they became close buddies. Funny thing is, the teacher didn't even know how close of friends they were when she put them next to each other at the beginning of school. But it definitely made the whole thing even more exciting when she walked in and saw her bff!!

It's perfect for me too. I get two days a week that I can schedule appointments for myself or Peyton, get grocery shopping or errands done with only one kid, or get some cleaning done while Peyton's sleeping. Niiiiice. Oh, and Cali gets to learn stuff too.

Day of Firsts

Tuesday was Austin's first day of First grade!! My little man...*sigh* We went Monday to meet his teacher and I really like her. I have friends that actually know the teachers and I've heard nothing but good things about her. Before she was the "GT" teacher, she was the one that all the parents requested for their kids to get!

Yeah for Us!!

When we walked in Tuesday morning Austin was dragging me to his room, quite excited, and knew exactly where he was going. A little different then last year when he was looking to me for where to go and following my lead...this year he took the lead. He went straight over and hung up his backpack, unloaded his lunch and sat in his seat (which we found the day before so he knew right where to go). I kept asking if he was ready for me to go, "Not yet" was what I got. I stayed for a couple minutes, but since his teacher already had stuff for them to get started on, I asked again if he was ready for me to go..."Not yet Mom". He finished his coloring and they were supposed to get a book and wait for the rest of the class to finish..."Can I go now?" "Now you can go Mom. I was born ready for this." What a character!!

Peyton and I walked to the end of the driveway to wait for the bus, but I didn't factor in that it's the first day and they would take a little longer to make sure everyone knew where they were going. So after waiting, and sweating, we gave up and headed back to the house. Not 2 minutes after walking in, the bus pulled up and I didn't even make it halfway down the road to meet him...ugh! But he was happy that we were even out there. He asked why the bus couldn't drop him off at the house like he did last year...we actually lived right on the main road last year. Now we live on a little dirt road with nowhere to turn around...silly boy.

And that evening Austin lost his FIRST TOOTH!! His first tooth on his first day of first grade!! Phew!! What an exciting day...I'm pooped.
I was actually the one that even got to pull the little booger out! Yay! He was wiggling it and wiggling it...and wiggling it, but it never really seemed to get any looser. He really wanted to lose a tooth, especially after seeing all his friends back at school and all their holes. (peer pressure already?) I told him it might hurt a little, but he wasn't worried. I started asking him questions about his day as I was wiggling it and kept his mind occupied. I got my nails under and popped that sucker right out! And Marcus REALLY wanted to be the one to pull it out...he walked into the bathroom right as I pulled it, so he was a witness. (a little bummed that he didn't get to, but excited for Austin!!)

The Tooth Fairy came and left him 2 quarters. We debated on $1, but hey, we're poor...we gotta have room to give more with each tooth. ;)

Yeah for Austin's day of Firsts!!!

The New 'Do'

My sister and I have been talking about donating our hair to "Locks of Love" since last Thanksgiving. We were going to do it in June, but she wasn't ready yet, so I cancelled my appointment. The summer was going by and I was ready for my hair to be gone, so I made another appointment, and this time I stuck to it. Cali needed a trim since I hadn't cut her hair in about a year, so she got the royal salon treatment...shampoo and everything. She even got her hair straightened and boy did she look grown up!!

What a pretty little girl...if I do say so myself!!

Then it was my turn...13" from scissors to tip!

In the end, she had cut just over another inch off for the style. I was a little sad to see it all go, but much cooler than when I walked in that morning! What do you think?

Happy 1st Birthday Peyton

Today my littlest peanut turned 1 year old!! She's such a crack-up and I love her SO much...how could you not love that face?A few things about my little ray of sunshine!!

Peyton has a couple different names: Peyton Queen, P-nut, PeyPey...it all depends on who's talking and what she's doing. She is a fun, crazy little girl that gets into just about anything she can get her hands on. She loves digging thru the drawers in the kitchen, throwing shoes that she finds, pulling apart my purse if I leave it too low, etc. But it's never in a mean way, just checking things out. She has toys of her own, but she prefers to play with the big-kid toys (of course) and she's favoring cars, brushing pony's hair (and her own), books, block...she's a big girl in her mind. She's just started taking steps on her own last week without holding onto the couch, and she's really taking off! She does the funniest little scoot when she's not trying to walk, I've got to get it on video. She's crawling, but she gets her right foot out in front like she might sit down, but pulls with that foot and her left knee...it hurts my hamstrings just watching her!!!

The BEST part of the whole birthday celebration, especially on their first, is the cake. (or in our case, cupcake.) She really went to town on that thing!! If you follow the pictures from top left around to the bottom right, you'll see the progression of...well...mess! And she couldn't get enough...she had 2! I don't think she ingested the equivalent of a whole cupcake, but she sure tried her very best.After we "hosed" that girl down, we had a couple presents for her (her siblings) to open. Each sibling got to "help" with one present, but as you can see from the picture where Peyton is just standing there watching, they simply took over. But she was just fine with her new little baby...she kept hugging and kissing her and even patting her on the back. She's so sweet!Please pay NO attention to the way we/I look...it's been a loooong day!! ;)