Back To School 2012

 

It seemed like the first day of school came super quick this year!  Gavin is now in the 5th grade.  Ms. Sjursen is Gavin's teacher this year.  Whitney also had Ms. Sjursen when she was in the 5th grade.  Chris was super excited about the AZ Cardinals football jersey that Gavin is wearing.

 

 

I have noticed lately that Gavin has become very concerned about his "image".  Ashlyn thinks Gavin is the best thing ever and always hangs all over him.  He has started to become embarrassed of this behavior when out in public.  And that expression on Ashlyn's face was made on purpose. 

 

 

We found the perfect pink sequined skirt for Ashlyn's first day.  The picture doesn't really show how sparkly it truly is!  I always think her glasses are so deceiving because they make her look so mild mannered and mousy.  Ashlyn is in Mrs. Newcomb first grade this year.  She was super excited that her BFF Valerie from kindergarten is in her class again this year.  Ashlyn really wanted a new back pack even though there was nothing wrong with her old one.  I told her if she did well on her behavior chart for the first two weeks we would buy a new on.  She is now the proud owner of a Justin Bieber back pack.

 

 

Whitney for the first time ever was not ready for school to start up again.  She is now in the 8th grade.  She was very honored when her math teacher Mr. Scafede asked her to be one of his T.A.'s (teaching aid) this year. Whitney was bummed to not have any classes this year with her BFF Maya.

 



A Lost Tooth For Ashlyn

Typically most kids loose their first tooth in kindergarten.  All year long Ashlyn had been waiting (impatiently) to loose her first tooth and make it onto the loose tooth chart at school.  Ashlyn got her teeth very late so I knew she would be late loosing them.  She had tried sawing at her gums with dental floss picks until they were bleeding to try and loose a tooth.  We had several cases of wishful thinking where she convinced herself her tooth was loose.  There was much gnashing of teeth over when was she going to loose one. Reports on who had recently lost a tooth.  And extreme envy of those who had lost multiple teeth. So on May 21, 2012 when she said her tooth was loose I did not even check. 

I was surprised when the very next day she came home from school with a missing tooth!  With only two more days of school left she was cutting it close for making that chart!  I figured she had been wiggling that tooth all day long.  When I asked her if she had been wiggling it she said, "I wiggled it all day long!"  This was quite the turn around after Whitney and Gavin who could literally have a tooth dangling by a thread and refuse to pull it out.  I was happy for her sake that she got to loose one during kindergarten.

Ashlyn's Birthday Vacation/Pre-Celebration

One of Ashlyn's many birthday wishes was to stay at a hotel for birthday.  The kids have a week off school for fall break the week prior to her birthday so we decided to take a quick trip to San Diego.  Ashlyn still talks about how she misses Alabama.  One of the biggest things she misses about it is the beaches.  The first thing we did upon arriving was go to the beach.  The water was too cold for swimming but we still had fun hanging out.  As we drove away Ashlyn declared California beaches inferior to Alabama's beaches. That girl's heart still belongs to Bama!  I thought it best not to point out that it was Florida's beaches she remembered so fondly.

Look Mom!  A seashell!!!

Whitney is never one to miss out on having her picture taken.

Landon loved the beach! He takes such joy in everything he experiences but sand & mud are a lethal combination for him.  He actually got down and started rolling around in the sand like a dog at one point.  Then he discovered the joy/humor of throwing mud at all of us.

After we were done enjoying the beach we headed back to our hotel for pizza and swimming.  Also on Ashlyn's wish list.  She specified many times that our hotel must have a pool.

Back to School 2011

August 8th was the first day of the 2001-2012 school year for my kids.  Gavin is in Mrs. William's fourth grade this year.  When we went to the open house I noticed that Gavin was not much shorter than Mrs.Williams.  Mrs. Thelen his gifted teacher said he can't grow anymore cause she doesn't teach kids taller than her.  Ashlyn is in Mrs. Howard's kindergarten class this year.

Ashlyn and her giant backpack!  I always forget how big they look on the kindergartners.

Gavin at his desk.  Ashlyn's teacher was not allowing parents in the classroom.  I guess she was worried about getting a bunch of over anxious parents out of her classroom.  I swung back by Ashlyn's classroom to sneak a peak through the window on my way out.  She already had her glasses on and was hard at work coloring. 

Whitney started the 7th grade at Tortolita Middle School.  There are around 1,200 7th and 8th graders at her school!  This is just mind boggling to me!  The thought of that many kids is just crazy to me.  Notice the shirt, it reads: Chick with Brains. That's my girl!

I teased her about coming in and taking pictures in front of her locker and the school sign.  I really wanted to. . .but decided not to set her up for that kind of humiliation.  I have been driving her to school in the mornings and it has become our time together.

We drove Ashlyn & Gavin to school that morning.  Landon was so sad when Ashlyn got out of the car too.  He just cried and cried for his Ashlyn.  He has been really clingy with me since the kids started back to school.  I think he realizes I am the only constant now.  Despite Ashlyn's large smile exiting the bus she is not a fan of the bus.  Most kids love the bus at first but not her!  Gavin is the bus driver's helper and helps all the kindergartners with their seat belts.

Ashlyn is a shopper!  She begs me to buy her new clothes whenever we go to any store with clothing.  I took her to Carter's to pick out an outfit for the first day. She was having a very hard time narrowing it down to one outfit.  But once she found this shirt that was it.  Whitney was not a fan at first but then when she put the leggings with it, Whitney said, "Wow, that's really cute together!"  She does have style.

Completely and utterly exhausted after her first day of school!

Little Swimmers

If June was the month of travels then July was definitely the month of swimming!  Ashlyn had been begging to take swim lessons for months.  But I kept telling her we had to wait for summer to take swim lessons.  Patience is not one of Ashlyn's strong points so we had many conversations about the matter.

  On her first day of lessons she was the only child to show up so she had the instructor ( a college girl) all to herself.   She managed to scare that poor girl silly by going limp and rolling her eyes around.  The girl came and got me and said I think there is something wrong with her.  Upon further investigation I decided that Ashlyn did not want to put her face in the water and was getting tired.  Naturally that required a performance on her part.  I mean its not like she could just say I'm tired or anything like that!  She then told me she did not want to take lessons anymore.  I told her she would be finishing the course.  Things improved greatly after that first dramatic day. 

Towards the end of the course I asked the instructor which level I should put her in for a second round of lessons.  She said, "she's swimming but she still doesn't really want to put her face in the water.  Just put her in this level again."  After our conversation I started thinking about how she hates to have water in her eyes.  She keeps a towel by the side of the tub so she can dry her eyes.  I bought her a pair of swim goggles and from that point on she was like an underwater fish!  It also helped that the instructor for the second course was a boy.  Ashlyn was much more concerned with impressing him!

 



My mermaid girl.

Gavin started out in the minnow course and then moved up to the fish level for the second course.  I had tried to talk Whitney into taking lessons complete with a pep talk about the joys of getting a life guard job as a teen someday.  Whitney was uninspired but Gavin was extra motivated to do well as a result.

Ashlyn Graduates From Preschool

 On May 19, 2011 Ashlyn graduated from preschool.  After the brief ceremony they were having a water party and that was all she could talk about for the last few weeks.  She kept reminding me that Ms. Dana said she needed to wear her swimsuit under her clothes. 

We started off with their usual morning routine.  Ashlyn was the pledge of allegiance helper.  Then each child recited a nursery rhyme.  Ashlyn did Little Miss Muffet.  She did a super job!  She rattled if right off with no problems.



Here she is receiving her diploma from Ms. Dana.  Ms. Dana is an absolute treasure! I had heard rave reviews about her from many people and deservedly so!  Ashlyn improved greatly during the school year.  The way to Ms. Dana's house is the same way we go to the YMCA.  I can't tell you how many times Ashlyn tried to convince me that she had preschool or Ms. Dana really wanted her to stop by for a visit.  The finality of graduating hit Ashlyn at bedtime that night.  She just sobbed and sobbed that she already missed Ms. Dana.  Sometimes moving forward is hard.

 

Maddie, Ashlyn & Ella

There were 5 girls and 5 boys in Ashlyn's class.  Little Ella was the youngest child in the class (Ashlyn one of the oldest).  Ashlyn just loves Ella Bella!  Ashlyn's strong maternal instincts were in full effect.  She was always telling her how adorable she was (in baby talk) and trying to baby her.

Mini Pony Farm

Ashlyn's preschool recently took a little field trip to a Mini Pony Farm. This pony with it's Mama was only 10 days old. The farmer was a sweet old man who looked like he was in his 70's. One of the boys in Ms. Dana's morning class asked me if I was the farmer's Mom. :D Gave me a good laugh and made me wonder why he thought I was his Mom.

The biggest rule the kids were told was not to chase the chickens. Landon had problems with this rule. He doesn't really walk anywhere he mostly jogs from place to place. He was really excited to see all the farm animals.

Ashlyn's with some of her besties, Maddie & Jordis. Maddie wasn't too interested in taking photos that day. These three girls were really worried about manure and took great pains to steer clear of it.

Landon spent a large portion of time trying to drink out of the ponies water trough. I offered him his sippy cup but he just wanted trough water.

Petting the ponies.

Mama goat with one of her kids.

Landon was more interested in feeding himself bread than feeding the chickens. At one point I saw him pick a piece of bread up off the ground coated in dried manure and pop it in his mouth before I could stop him. Yuck!!! He spit it out pretty quickly.

Ashlyn feeding the chickens.

Four Eyes Part 3

It was discovered at Ashlyn's annual eye exam that she was in need of glasses. My heart sank at the news. In part because I don't want my kids to wear glasses (or pay for them) and also because I was positive she would refuse to wear them. She has a slight astigmatism and mostly just needs them for seeing the board at school. Once again Ashlyn surprised me by being excited to get glasses! Though she refused to even try on glasses in "ugly colors" such as black and brown. She only wanted to try on ones in "pretty colors" such as pink and purple. We were having a hard time finding a pair small enough for her face. (I cannot explain how weird it is for me to have a small child.) The lady who was helping us got quite the kick out of Ashlyn's personality. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, "she's a riot" or "she cracks me up"! I would be a rich woman. If Ashlyn is nothing else, she is opinionated. The first time she wore her glasses she was just sure no one would recognize her. She kept telling everyone, "It's me, Ashlyn, I'm just wearing glasses." Then she would raise them up as proof. Right away the doctor asked me if I wanted to dilate her eyes. We discussed the pros and cons. I said I didn't think she would do well as she was a bit dramatic. Five minutes later he very decidedly declared that we would not be dilating her eyes. :)

St. Paddy's Day 2011

I was trying to get a cute shot of these two on St. Patrick's Day but Landon was not cooperative. Ashlyn giving him loves and posing nicely while Landon tries to wiggle away.

One of the differences between boys and girls.

Notice Landon's devilish smile and Ashlyn's dramatic pose. Nothing says Happy St. Paddy's day Sis, like a bash to the head with a wooden Thomas train.

Because your outfit always needs a little pink even on the biggest green day of the year!

Our Good Luck Charmer.

Photographic proof that I do fix Ashlyn's hair. Because someday I am sure she will ask me why her hair was never styled. Naturally she pulled it all out 5 minutes after I left her at childcare at the YMCA. Even though all the childcare girls told her how cute it looked!

Fairy Tales & Fantasy Ballet

Ashlyn and I enjoyed a fun girls night out last night. We started off the night with dinner at McDonalds. Ashlyn's favorite restaurant. McDonalds and ballet...they just compliment each other so well, do they not? BYU's theatre ballet came to Tucson to perform Fairy Tales & Fantasy. When I saw the posters at church I knew it would be perfect outing for the two of us. Prior to the performance they had a Prince & Princess Party. The children were invited to dress up and meet the dancers. They also received goody bags and served refreshments. I asked Ashlyn if she wanted to wear her ballet clothes or her princess dress. To further her on going campaign of getting new ballet clothes she decided to wear her princess dress. All the while dropping obvious hints that she was not happy to wear either. And that what she would really like is a new ballet girl outfit. She has been complaining that she is tired of her old ballet clothes and wants new ones for awhile now.

Ashlyn with Red Riding Hood.

The pink girl was the first photo she wanted taken. Ashlyn very much has her own ideas and opinions about things. As she munched on her plate of cheese cubes and brownies she took it upon herself to be the fashion police for the night. Yet another instance where I couldn't help but wonder where she comes up with these things. She was saying things like, "What is she wearing?" Why is she in a Santa dress? Christmas is over!" and "Does that girl think she's a vampire? That dress is ugly!" I gave her yet another lecture on how the outside of a person is not what is important. She critiques my clothes as well and has no problem telling me when she does not approve of my wardrobe choices.

To pass the time until the show started I took some photos of us. Ashlyn loves to have her picture taken and then look at them. This entertained her for some time.

They just got better and . . .

better!

At one point they invited all the princes and princesses to come on stage and dance. Probably the high light of the night for Ashlyn. Ashlyn spent the whole time behind this dancer trying to copy her every move.

Curls For Ashlyn!

Ashlyn and Whitney have exactly the same hair. I love their hair but it does not hold curl. This is the complete opposite of my hair. I have spent forever curling every piece of hair only to have it look untouched 30 minutes later. I have tried all sorts of products without much success. I finally bought some of those old fashioned pink foam rollers at the dollar store and ...

SUCCESS!!! Curls galore! When I first took them out her hair was almost too curly. It gradually calmed down over time but was still curly at the end of the day! The only problem now is that she did not love sleeping on the rollers. Though she did not rip out the rollers which was a major victory. Ashlyn wants what she calls "free mermaid hair" all the time. She can't stand to have things in her hair and will rip them out.


She was loving her curls though! That blue ribbon tied around her waist was her finishing touch to her outfit. She has also taken to tipping her head up whenever I take her picture which makes it hard to get a shot where you are not looking up her nostrils.