Second Half of September 2017--Catch all post

This is the wonderful day that Sophie rubbed diaper cream all over her face.  

       

She is too funny (and a bit exasperating-ha!)

Making a special box for Grandma. 

I'm not an early riser (and even less so now that I have kids that tire me out and wake me up multiple times a night), but I always think God is so good when he rewards me with these beautiful sights on the days that someone drags me out of bed at dawn.  

We joined a homeschool co-op at our parish and it is going really well so far.  The two oldest are in 3 classes (a choir class, a STEM class, and a nature study class) and Ava is in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and some nature study/games and activities.  My shy little Ava has had some tears over being separated from me, but she settles right in and has a good time.  

Talking about how the day went with our fearless mom-leader, Angela.  She's a huge blessing. 

kids reading (my favorite is that Sophie is totally engrossed in a chapter book....)

Kolbe got his first haircut.  It was so cute, but shaggy, so Chris decided to give him a cut.  My heart was totally against it, but I deferred knowing he would be cute no matter what.  

 

          

 

He was totally intrigued by it all and sat very still (which we didn't expect him to do).  He munched on a graham, which helped but he was mostly just enamored with the noise of the clippers.  

There is your proof, Chris, that his hair was not blond.  It was fine and often looked golden, but it was indeed a light brown. 

and of course he is. 

The toilet in the girls' bathroom was having an issue which we thought was a small one that Chris could fix in five minutes.  Turns out that when he started taking things apart, it was actually rusted and cracked and needed to be totally replaced.  bummer. 

 

And they had grouted it to the floor which was a real treat for Chris to deal with. 

There's the rusted out, old toilet (the water color and markings are RUST).

 We replaced it with this toilet that Chris installed himself (because he's amazing).  It was a harder job even than it should have been because the space in the bathroom is tiny so there was little room to move at all in there.  Thank you, babe, for working so hard and getting that toilet replaced.  You are incredible.  

 

The weather turned very fall-like for about a week/week and a half right as fall arrived, so we had to wear warmer clothes to Mass.  I love warm weather, but that's one thing I love about the cooler temps is leggings under a dress and a cute cardigan.  I'm fortunate enough to get the cute baby in all seasons. 

Just a typical Sophie moment.  She loves her new outfit from Grammy and Granddad and she added the fun boots and hat for fun (and because of those cooler temps I mentioned). 

She sure does have a happy heart.  

Stealing her sister's ballet bag and getting herself ready for her imaginary ballet class.  This girl is full of personality with tons to spare.  

Additionally, she finally decided to actually pottytrain and has been day trained for almost a month now.  She's too deep a sleeper to make it through night and naps currently, but she nearly a pro during the day now!  yay!!

I love to catch the kids reading, especially the baby.  so sweet. 

         

Chris began a new position (lateral move in the company) this month and had training in CA, so he was gone a few days.  We sent him silly selfies and face-timed him when he had time a few evenings he was gone.  

and Kolbe got croup (this is the first we have experienced croup--which surprised the Urgent Care doctor immensely) and we had some tough nights.  I finally realized what it was and he was sounding awful one night.  Luckily I had invited a few ladies over for a girls night and they were so good and offered to stay and hang out with the sleeping little girls, so I could take Kolbe to Urgent Care.  We had a wonderful experience, they gave him a dose of steroid, and by morning he was nearly his old self again (minus the lingering cough, but it was much improved also).  

It was not a fun experience, but I'm grateful I had community to support me since Chris was out of town.  I was feeling so helpless and everyone stepped up to help and support which was invaluable.  

 

We've been noticing tons of butterflies in the area and many in our yard the last few weeks.  The kids love dancing around the yard with them and trying to sneak up and get a good look at the designs on their wings.  

            

Kolbe's fav activity

        

We have been trying to plan more dates (out of the house, but also in home) that are a little more effort than the usual, "let's have dessert and watch a show" fare.  I found a steal on Ahi tuna and scallops and Chris whipped up this delicious meal for the two of us to share one evening for a late dinner after the kids had been put to bed.  

 

It was SO good.  

September was a busy month, but definitely another very fun one filled with lots of good memories.  

First Half of May Recap

These months in spring when school is ending, we have the impending move ahead of us, I'm in the middle of an online scoring session, and the weather is up and down all the time make it difficult to keep a routine.  And without at least a basic routine, my nerves fray rather quickly.  

And I get behind on blogging.  ha.  

 You've seen a few blog posts this month covering a few hikes and Kayla's First Holy Communion, but we also did a bunch of other things in between.  So here I am to fill in the missing excitement from the first couple weeks of May.  

We joined a soccer co-op that some friends started.  We had planned to let Elise play in a league, but for far less money and a more workable time commitment (one hour a week) we could let all three of our girls try out soccer and learn the basics.  Basically two of our friends are "coaches".  The rest of the parents of kids involved help out by taking turns volunteering to be "assistants" at practice.  And all our kids between ages 3.5-7 learn how to kick, dribble, pass, and all that jazz.  

 

It's a great way for the girls to get an introduction to soccer and see if they enjoy it without wasting tons of $$$$.  So far, Kayla loves it and is doing quite well.  Elise also enjoys it and has learned a lot in just a few weeks.  Ava, our shy one, usually has a meltdown about halfway through where she just won't do the drills (usually because they involve her having to work with another player and she's just too shy...).  But she's also learning a bit during the part of practice where she will try dribbling and passing.  So it's a definite win all around. 

 

Kolbe.

This little guy is into everything these days.  He is ever smiling when he's awake.  He hates to sleep, wants to be part of the action at all times, but eventually gives up and even falls asleep just sitting with Kayla.  (see picture below)

 

More on him in another post soon....

 We closed on our house May 2.  The papers are signed, the house is ours, but we had agreed upon a rent back option for the sellers for a couple months since they are building a house, so we don't actually move in until July 1. Still, it's very exciting to finally own a home of our own again and we can't wait to move in and meet the new neighbors and settle in!

Our wonderful realtor, Jonathan, was so great throughout the process.  And he got us some local(ish) whiskey to congratulate us on the new home, so that's pretty great too.  ;)  

The relics of St. Padre Pio came to the area and were on display for veneration at the Cathedral for a couple days.  The girls and I were able to get down there one afternoon.  The line was long, but some friendly Focus missionaries were kind and helped me keep Sophie from running all over the church at will.  

 

This Focus missionary was kind enough to let the girls look at pictures that he'd taken of the cathedral on his camera so they would be entertained and quiet.  

 

And then we got to venerate the relics and ask for the intercession of a very holy man.  It was a little difficult with the kids.  I was a little worried Sophie or Ava might knock something over.  But they didn't.  My friend Megan and her family were also there (see above picture) and she held Kolbe (who starting crying just before our turn).  Another dear friend, Andrea was there as well and both of them snapped a few pictures of the girls and I as we prayed and asked for Padre Pio to pray for our family and our loved ones.  

 

The day before Mother's Day we had dinner with friends and roasted s'mores over their fire pit (first of the season!).  This is the only picture I took of the night, but Megan and Kolbe are best buds.  

Mother's Day was (mostly) lovely.  I wore a new shirt I found at a consignment store that I love.   The kids were not great at Mass, but we'll leave it at that.  Kolbe was full of smiles.  The kids showered me with love and chocolates.  Chris made a fabulous brunch after Mass.  And in the evening we had a BBQ with another family.  It was low-key and a really nice way to spend the day.  We usually hang by ourselves, so it was fun to get together and celebrate with another mama (and her family) too.  :)

 

And I just have to share these sweet tidbits the kids had to say about their grandmas and great-grandmas for Mother's Day....

 

 

I want to remember stuff like this (and not the Mass behavior that day) forever.  Just so sweet. 

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all!  We have the best moms and grandmas out there and I'm so so grateful for them.  Our lives would not be the same without each of you wonderful, strong, faith-filled, kind, and generous women.  We love you dearly.