Rice Cereal 101

Last week I gave Juliana her first taste of rice cereal!  True, it was more breastmilk than rice, and it was more of an intro to the spoon than the food on the spoon, but hey, we've got to start somewhere!

The verdict:  she didn't NOT like it!  She was extremely interested in the spoon, the basket of napkins on the table, and, really, the table itself.  Cubby is going to get the high chair out of storage tomorrow so we can try again, hopefully with more interest in the cereal itself :-).

Of the other three children, Christian was the only one who liked the cereal somewhat.  I have high hopes for Miss J though!  It's hard to believe that she's already big enough (5 months this Monday!) to be moving toward solid foods--oh boy!

Bend it like Christian

Christian's first soccer game was last weekend.  It was a beautiful morning and he was VERY excited.  Originally, he was going to be on the same team as his best bud, Henry.  But, another team needed a coach and they asked Henry's dad to be said coach.  So, the boys ended up on different teams...playing one another in their first game.  Did this cause a problem?  No way!  Christian and Henry were both thrilled to be playing against each other!

 Through both the warm ups and the game itself, Christian ran full-out, with a HUGE smile on his face.  The.whole.time.  It was so cute.  He was just having so much fun!


Here is he his, getting ready for a "corner" kick

 

 The first half of the game he played forward...with the rest of the team.  (They're learning about different positions, but they're 5 yr olds and still play "bunch ball.")  However, the second half of the game, when he saw the other team scoring too, he decided he wanted to play defender and had a couple of really great saves!  Again, smiling the whole time!

They don't keep score, so honestly, I'm not sure who won.  And, by the look on Christian and Henry's faces, I don't think they know either!  Go team(s)!

Slice of Heaven 2012

Last Friday night we went to the Flynn's orchard for our annual apple-picking!  A couple other of our friends' families came along to check out for themselves why we call this place a little "slice of heaven." 

 The weather couldn't have been better.  I mean, we're talking one of the top 10 evenings of the year.  Perfect for picking!

 This was also Juliana's first trip to the orchard!  She did great!

 Here are the obligitory kids-having-a-ball-in-the-orchard pictures.  Big smiles, big time fun.

 Kari-belle.

 (She was the only one of our kids to actually eat an apple.  Yes, my kids are weird.)

 Emily

 Here is Kari and her best friend, Alexa (or, "Lexi" as she calls her).

 Emily and Miss Brooklynn.

 Here is our little family!

 Almost all of the kiddos from the evening (Em's friend, Ella, came late from a volleyball practice).

 How many kids does it take to fill a gator?  (I'll let you figure it out.)

And, here is my sweet baby and me! 

What a beautiful night.  What a wonderful blessing it is that we get to go make such great memories with our children and friends each year.  We are truly thankful to the Flynns for always being so generous in opening up their orchards and sharing so much with so many.

Gold Medal Performances

This summer brought the 2012 London Olympics!  The kids really enjoyed watching the various sports and on more than one occasion, re-enacted what they had seen.  (And I got a front row seat!  For FREE!)  Yup, I definitely got the deal of the century. 

Now, in this picture, each had given a gold medal routine (the individual sports that they were representing are alluding me at the moment...gymnastics and diving??).  They then held relay races around "the loop" of our living/dining/kitchen areas.  Yeah, we were waiting for Daddy to get home from a trip and it had gotten a little late.  Kids got crazy :-). 

 The REAL gold-medal performance, however, was the following night when Emily sat down and read to her younger brother and sister.  So.very.sweet.

In my book, my kiddos are all winners.  Not only for their killer couch-diving skills, but also for the little ways they are learning to love and serve one another.

Baby Pictures

Aren't these just the sweetest pictures of the sweetest little baby??  A very sweet gal named Melanie took them and she did a great job! 

Normally, Juliana is very smiley and she actually enjoys photo-ops.  However, the morning we had scheduled to do the pictures, she decided that she was going to be fussy and not very cooperative.  Undeterred, Melanie kept snapping pictures and here are the finished products; completely precious and oh-so-pretty!

First Day of School 2012!

School is back in session!  (And just in the nick of time...mom was completely worn out from the summer!)  Emily is now a second grader and Christian started Kindergarten!!!

 Both were pretty excited and picked out their very own clothes for the big day.  Of course, we had to do the customary "first day" pictures...

 Looking so grown up--and with a "messenger bag"-style back pack that she wanted.

 And check out this big boy!  Two days before school started his old shoes became very small.  Turns out, his feet had grown TWO sizes.  His feet are now bigger than Emily's.

 "Woo-hoo!!!"  Not kidding, this is what Kari was saying during this picture.  (I had asked her what she thought of the big kids going to school--ha!)  Honestly, she misses them and is pretty excited at the end of the day when they get home.  But...on the flip-side, she is LOVING the extra Mommy-time and she screeches a whole lot less through out the day with no older siblings to tease her!

 Here is a half of our little neighborhood gang; all ready to walk up!

 Christian, walking into his first day of kindergarten!  (Sniff, sniff!)  Cubby took the day off and had walked them up.  True to form, as soon as they were out of sight, I burst into tears.  I just can't believe that the first little chapter of his life is over and the next is already beginning.

 The first day was a 1/2 day and so the kids got out before lunchtime.  We went over to our neighbor's home for a picnic and all of the kids got to spend the afternoon playing.

Here is the gang!  (Kinda' reminds me of the Sandlot!) 

Both Emily and Christian reported back that they had a great first day and really like their teachers.  And, now that I'm writing this post at the end of the second week, I can report that both are still bringing back good news!  Christian has randomly said things like, "Today was really good!" and "This day went by really fast!"  Both are completely exhausted by the end of the day/week so I guess they're getting their energy out! 

Also, both are already bringing home the good reports and being recognized for their good behavior.  We're so proud!  Funny enough though, Cubby and I told the kids that we were going to set up a good-behavior system like they have at school.  Exasperated, Christian shouts out, "No!  I'm already good all day long at school!  I don't want to be good at home too!"

Hmmm.....

So happy school is back IN!

Dino-mite

 Another nice morning last week took us to the dinosaur exhibit over at Fontenelle Forest.  The kids all did great and we had a really fun morning walking the boardwalk and looking at all of the "dinosaurs."

 And here's everyone climbing in the tree house-fort.  Good stuff.

 Below is the view from the boardwalk.  Very pretty.  You can see the zoo and downtown.

 Here is Emily pointing out the zoo to Kari.  A sweet teaching moment for Big(gest) Sister!

 Ah, lest we forget, sweet Juliana.  She enjoyed the fresh air....

 And then decided she'd had enough and fell asleep.

 After the boardwalk, we ventured downstairs where they have some fun areas for little kids (dress up, a puppet area, and a "dino-dig" area with rubber pieces (rather than dirt or sand).  Kids had fun down there for a bit and then it was getting close to lunch so we went home.  All around, another successful morning outing with the munchkins!

(Kari had a "Tiny Pteranadon" hat on (from PBS's Dinosaur Train), but it kept falling off.  Take my word, it was hilarious.  Still, Christian's face is pretty intimidating, wouldn't you say?