Harry Potter

Miles just finished his first Harry Potter book!  Yay!  He brought home book number 3 last week and I told him nope of course.  He had to start with the first one.  So he got it from his teacher's library and finished it off this morning (thanks to a stomach-ache that had him up early and home from school. . .).

Now he'll get to watch the movie with Ben and I.  I'm totally excited!

My Running Buddy

I could make this post really long and talk about how my exercise routine has to change with the darkening of the mornings. . . but that's really pretty boring.  To make it sort-of short:  I now do exercise videos and lots of jumping rope in the mornings.  But I still long for my runs - other than my treasured Saturday morning long runs.  So lucky me, Emmy goes to a co-op preschool twice a week in the mornings.  Once a month it will be my turn to host it at our house.  But the other three weeks I'll be able to take Lucy and go running - YAY!  We had a literal trial run today and it was. . . fantastic.  Here's to running with a buddy.  Yay for me!

Soccer Stars

 The Coach and his daughter.

The head-tilt?  It's totally genetic.  She gets it from her Aunt-E.

Emmy's team, which has been named Grass Stains, was coachless.  So. . . Ben is now the coach.  Go Ben!  He's excited and so is Emmy.  They had their first practice tonite and it sounds like how a practice with a bunch of 5-year olds would go.  :)  But they are still both excited about it and so that is a very good thing.

Go Grass Stains!

Hare Today, Goon Tomorrow

They got a lot of great comments at school from the principal, teachers, and students/friends.  A lot of sarcastic "Whoops, you are in the wrong class," or "Who are you," or "Where is Jonas?" or "Let's welcome the new kid in class."  When Ben picked up the boys from school, Miles teacher told Ben that she literally had to do a few double takes to figure out who that boy was.

I'm going to spare the long details of why they cut their hair - it's nothing much than wanting it, really.  And as much as I love their long hair, it really looks best after they wash it.  Which we don't do super often and never do before school.  So it always looks like a rat's nest, etc.  So until the boys start to want to look good with good hair, maybe short is the way to go. . .?

And a random, unrelated video that should be titled, "Here's what happens when Mom goes to book-club:"

As Always

As always, we had a good trip to Littleton over the Labor Day weekend.

I pretty much ended up with pictures of just one event:  the Family Fun Night at the children's botanical garden.  It was an enjoyable evening and we were lucky to have Grandpa Max and Grandma Diana join us, too.

 Making a noodle necklace.

 Sporting a noodle necklace.  Beautiful.

 Checking out the pond.

 "Cooking" with rocks.

 Standing on a really big (and fake) log.

 The "spring" was a huge hit for all the kids!

 Busy like beavers. . .

 And that's what they were:  beavers building a dam.  Miles was definitely in charge of this - he even recruited other kids to help.  Awesome.

 He's so handsome. . . when he smiles.

 Miles had to have his picture taken here.

 Lucy charging through the tunnel (her clothes were soaking wet from the "spring").

Eagles.

The pictures I didn't take because I am lame:
*  The kids with their grandparents - as well as with Great-Grandma Dee.
*  When the 3 oldest kids and we parents went to Chatfield Reservoir and had a grand time frolicking in the water (ok, I didn't frolic; i was suffering from a major headahe. . .) and finding tiny shells (Miles collected more than 200)
*  Ben and I going out for frozen yogurt both Friday and Saturday nights
*  Blasting off these most amazing of amazing homemade rockets - http://www.craftinterrupted.com/2012/08/fun-jar-friday-17-bottle-rocket-shooter.html
(How amazing might you ask?  Ben could blast a rocket a couple hundred feet in to the air.  Miles probably got it up to 50+ feet.  It was so cool.)
*  etc., etc.

As always, good times with good people.

Emmy's 5th Birthday

Oh what a day.  It was packed full of fun things, that's for sure!

 Good morning 5-year old!

 I just started this new tradition:  the kids make (someday maybe they'll actually buy the candy, too. . .) a candy-gram for their birthday-sibling.  I bought some candy and worked with Miles on it (Jonas, ahem, was supposed to help.  Too bad he had a no good, terrible, horrible night and was unable to have such a privilege. . .).  Translation:  Dear Emmy, You are not an *airhead*.  You do great *tricks* on the bar.  You are great at *rolos.*  We'd fly to the *milky way* just to see you dance.  We love your *many* smiles.  Happy Birthday, Miles, Jonas, and Lucy.

 The birthday breakfast made complete with fancy chair and yummy, special cereal.

 Her first present of the day:  a balance beam made by Ben.  Cute, huh?  The kids all loved it.  I think it's pretty spectacular too - even though I took a nasty fall (so lame!) on it last nite and totally bruised up my shins.  We're thinking a little more padding might be a good thing. . .

 They're adorable.

 Lucy demanded (yes, demanded, she was in that type of mood today) her "ballet clothes" be put on.  Alrighty.  She was super cute on the beam.  She so loved it and kept wanting it to be her turn.

 One of her many fabulous tricks on the beam.

In the late morning Ben took Emmy to the Coffee Trader for a little daddy-daughter time.  (He lucked out and had today off.).  Emmy, whose own bike is totally flat and who opted not to ride Jonas' bike, got to ride in Lucy's seat.

 What a sweet ride!

 Ben and Emmy both chose Hot Chocolate.  Sillies, it's still totally summer.

While they were gone I started to work on Emmy's cake.  Lucy was a little of a handful and luckily Ben and Emmy got back so he could watch the girls while I finished.

 Sooooo it's not my best work.  But the kids all loved it, especially Emmy.  And that's what matters, right!?  (But I sure would have loved it to look a little prettier. . .)

I then took the girls to McDonalds to play and eat.

 My kids get Happy Meals on only 2 occassions:  1.  Their grandparents buy it for them.  2.  It's their birthday (though I don't think any of my other kids have ever gotten one on their birthday. . .)

We came back home and I got Lucy down for a nap.  Then it was off to *surprise* the swimming pool!  Emmy has been begging for a week to go swimming and so this worked out. . . well. . . swimmingly.  It was just me and Emmy.

Here she is ready and happy and striking a pose.  We really had such a good time!  We were pretty much the only people in the pool for most of the time we were there.  It was perfect.  We went down the outdoor waterslide about 2 dozen times.  No joke.  We went for a straight 35 minutes once - up and down (as soon as we splashed in the water:  "Can we go again!?").  It was definitely a highlight of her birthday.

We came home, the boys came back from school, we had snack, then it was time to open presents:

 This is how Lucy was for most of it.  It was pretty difficult not be allowed to open any of Emmy's gifts.

 She's so cute.  Here she is modeling the snazzy socks and flip-flops all the way from Japan.

 Another cute picture.  Jonas is totally in her face because she just opened her very first Lego set.  She always sees the pink lego box at Target and wants it (most likely because it's pink and girly).  But she hardly ever plays with Legos.  So I thought we'd start smaller.  Hopefully tomorrow she and I can work on it together.

 Ben giving Emmy some basic driving lessons.  (She got a cute remote-control Lalaloopsy car.)

 Lucy wanted to model Emmy's soccer socks.

After opening presents all the boys headed out for gymnastics class.  Emmy played while Lucy whined and "helped" me with dinner.  Emmy requested "spaghetti and meatballs."  But she had told me at least a dozen times (just counting today!) not to put meatballs in her noodles.  The meatballs were for everyone else.  Pretty sweet and thoughtful.  She scarfed down 3 bowls and meatless spaghetti and meatballs.  :)

After dinner the kids watched an Angelina Ballerina show I checked out from the library.  That was fun.  Then it was time for cake and ice-cream (or in Jonas' and Emmy's case:  cake and cone.  They opted to have a cone instead of ice-cream.  I limited them to 2 items out of 3:  cake, ice cream, frosted cones).

She did great in blowing out all her 5 candles.

Happy Birthday 5-year old!  Love you!

P.S.  Emmy's outfit count for the day:  4.  Not a record-breaker or anything.  But just in case you were wondering. . .

To My Dearest Emmy

Happy 5th birthday!  What a year it has been.  You are just growing with each new day and becoming a lovely, lovely little gal (with some unpleasantries, of course, too).  I think your beauty increases on a daily basis.  I often just stare at you and think, "You are so beautiful."  Your face, your petite body, your short hair that has only needed one haircut in your entire life, the way you move, the way you dance.  It's all beautiful.

When I think of you I think of a spirited young girl!  Indeed you are.  Spirited in sweetness - as well as spirited in angst.  You are such a lively, active little girl.  You are the first of our children to actually have some hussle in you!  I love it.  We went running on the track a few times this year and you were a super-trooper of a runner.  You beat Jonas twice (in running/walking a mile) and the last time Jonas was encouraged to keep up with you, so you did it together.  I can't wait until you are old enough to do Girls on the Run.  We'll have so much fun together!  One spring evening we went out as a family for a soccer practice.  Jonas' practice had been canceled so Ben wanted to go and do some practicing with Jonas.  You pretty much were the only one practicing with Ben.  You ran, kicked, tried to get the ball away, etc.  You were awesome.  And, you get to play soccer this fall - yay!  I can't wait to watch you.  I have a feeling it might be a bit more thrilling than watching your brothers.  :) 

You are doing gymnastics again this year.  You are a delight to watch.  You love it.  You are happy doing it.  You try hard.  You giggle tons at your coach.  And, you're good.  You're a great little cruiser on your 2-wheeled bike.  You love riding around and going on bike rides, just like your brothers.  You are brave.

Your spirited natures also manifests itself in your screams.  Wowzers.  Your little body producing such a volume is almost astounding.  It's almost as if you have gotten a degree in Tantruming.  Yes, you are that good.  I will say you don't do it super often (thank goodness), but more than you probably should.  Sometimes (when I'm in a good mood), it's amusing.  Other times?  NOT AT ALL.

You still like all things girly, yet you are not afraid to get your [painted] fingernails dirty.  In fact, you and dirt are really good friends.  You're just a wonderful mix of girl and dirt, I think.  You love pink, sweets, dress-up, dancing, "girl books," ("Did you get me girl-books?" is a question you ask everytime we go to the library), lip gloss, painting your nails, playing princess, playing school, and shoes.  You'll also dig in the dirt, hold worms or toads, draw chalk all over your face, and hike a mountain.  Oh, which reminds me, you were such a spirited little hiker this summer, too!  You rocked it for a 4-year old.  Your dad and I were super-impressed with you.  Go Emmy.

I think you are even a better big-sister than you were last year.  You are so good to Lucy.  Yes, you have your moments with Lucy (well all do!), but I think you have a lot of patience and kindness when it comes to Lucy.  Oh she still adores you so much.  So much.  She's in to everything you are in to.  Tutus and mud and the like.  When you wear your dance clothes, she demands to as well.  So you'll find something for her and even help her put it on - all while I'm doing the morning dishes.  It's so great.  You and Lucy put on many dance performances on the fireplace for me.  You look adorably beautiful as you dance in your frilly dance-outfits.  You get really serious during your "performances."  Too cute.

You have been counting down the days to your birthday since "12 more days until my birthday!"  I hope your birthday is a delight for you!  For you delight me.

I love you Emmy girl.

Love,
mom

How could you not love this face?

Oh, the hard life it is for a first-grader!  Two days ago a young girl in Jonas' class was trying to kiss him.  It was his favorite part of the day he had told me.  Though he did tell me that when he turned around to see what she was doing he said (and I quote), "What the heck are you doing?!"

But today. . . the said girl doesn't like him anymore.  He's a little bummed about it and so we were talking about it.  He told me how I (that's what I'll call her) likes another boy and how she won't sit by him anymore and how he tried to tell her something and she wouldn't listen.  Poor kid.

But then he tells me, "All I did was what Dad showed us."  What dad showed us refers to the above picture.

Hahahahaha.  I'm still laughing about it.  It's just too great.  Maybe he'll learn by the time he's 16 that that's not what to do to impress a girl you like.

Just maybe though.

Back To School, 2012

* update includes each boys' favorite part of the school day

Well the boys started school today.  They were excited and happy to go - which makes me excited and happy.  Sure, I'm a little sad not having them and their noises around.  Truly.  But I love school (I wish I was going back to school today, too!) and just love it being a part of our home.  Let me rephrase that - I love elementary school.  There.

Here are our traditional photos:

 Jonas, 1st grade.

 These pictures so don't look like him.  I think he struggled with smiling - he wasn't sure what to do without his bottom 2 teeth.  Silly boy.  But still a 1st-grade cutie.

 Miles, 3rd grade.

 Yep, he got to wear his Japanese shirt (no shorts - to pajama-y).  Funny - yet awesome - kid.

 The 2 boys with slightly weird expressions on their faces.  Possibly it was due to the super crazy face Ben was making behind me?  (I did tell Ben to make them laugh.)

 Miles with Mrs. Reich.  She seems pretty fantastic to me - I have only heard good things about her.  Miles had had the same teacher for the past 2 years and so this is a big change for him this year.  I'm sure he'll like her, too!

Jonas and Mrs. Dodd.  Same thing with her, too - she seems super-duper and I've only heard good things about her.  *BONUS* Jonas' seat was right next to the lovely Bella (his friend from Kindergarten.  Ya know, the one he wants to marry?)

And what did I do all morning with the boys gone?  I deep-cleaned their rooms!  Wahoo!  Not only does it look clean, it is clean (ahem, boys, under/behind beds!?  Come on.)

The girls played and screamed.  I reorganized the children's bookshelf and now it looks awesome.  For a day probably.  Then I had an errand and it was easy-peasy with 2 children.

And now Lucy is napping, dinner is being readied, and Emmy is playing with her best-friend and our neighbor, Lily.  Yay!

I can't wait to hear how it goes for the boys.  I hope they have a fantastic day!

* Updates:
Miles' favorite thing about his first day of school:
     Miles reported that his favorite part was when they got all the school supplies out of their backpacks and went through them.  He was super happy that he got to keep a lot of his eraser-toppers and his silver pencils (they were out of the typical yellow ones!).

Jonas' favorite thing about his first day of school:
     Jonas had two favorites:  lunch.  He found his best-buddy Jake (they are in different classes this year) and they ate lunch together.  His other favorite:  the birthday party.  Wow, on the first day?!  I guess those summer birthdays got to be celebrated today - cupcakes, plus a goodie bag of toys and treat.  Yeah, that's a pretty good day.

Ties and TV shows

My parents' 4 grandsons.  Not sure you could find a more handsome bunch, in my not-so-humble opinion.

Ties made by Erin.  I was suppose to help, but didn't want to botch them up since my sis had found such adorable fabric.  :) But they are pretty simple and I can't wait to make some on my own!  I did make some coordinating headbands for the girls that turned out pretty cute - I just need to find some clothes to match the headbands.  :)

Also, on a totally unrelated item:  TV shows.  Wednesday is the day my kids get to watch TV.  They each get to pick one show - via hulu or netflix.  So they watch for about 60-90 minutes total.  I think it's funny what each child picked to watch last Wednesday.

Miles - inspired by the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, he chose Mr. Bean.  And he loved it lots and laughed lots, too.

Jonas - Metajets.  I'm not so sure about this one.  Sure, it's cool to see those flying things.  But I'm not totally into girls punching guys - even good girl versus bad guy.

Emmy - Bo on the Go.  It's a totally cute show - an interactive show where you have to exercise!.  Which is why Lazy-bum Jonas always gets mad when Emmy picks it.  Ha.

I love how different they all are.  Of course all my kids are glued to every show, whether or not they picked it.