A2 9 month well check

well... she is getting longer. Her weight has actually gone down in the last 3 months, from the last 2 weeks even. 3 months ago she weight 16 lbs. 8 oz. 2 weeks ago she went in for something else and she weighed 16 lbs. 10 oz. Yesterday she 16 lbs. 4.5 oz. She is moving around a lot more- she does have 3 older siblings to keep up with, so she is burning a lot more calories. Her head size and length are still moving up the charts so there is no need to worry. She still is on the small size for her age; between the 15Th and 20Th percentile.

She is probably our happiest baby. Hours can go by without her making a sound. She does very well going to bed on her own now and sleeping through the night. HALLELUJAH! I thought that day would never come! The past few weeks she has even started eating from a spoon. She picks things up with just her thumb and first finger and feeds herself. A couple days ago we pulled down the push walker, she can take a few steps with it before she chickens out and just starts crawling. She walks along furniture and if I hold her up and walk with her. She is such a joy in our family! A1 loves playing with her and no one can quite make her laugh like Sassy. It's interesting to watch how she interacts with each one of the older kids. She loves to cuddle with K. Whenever C is lying on the floor, she likes to climb all over him. And Sassy can just sit and entertain her like no one else. They are all such good helpers!

Silly girl!

Last year A1 cried all the home after dropping off "her" boys. This year she wasn't phased in the least. Perhaps having A2 around to play with helped. I was working on something not really paying attention to what A1 was doing to make A2 laugh so hard. They were playing this game for a good 20 minutes before I pulled out the camera. Just shows you it doesn't take much to entertain a baby. They were having such a good time. It got more funny when A2 got the hiccups and couldn't laugh the same. What a workout Sassy was getting!


After dinner, I had to show Cheeto the movie clip from earlier. The boys thought it was pretty funny too. C went to get in the bath when K decided if Sassy can make her laugh, I can too! He pulled the stool out, made sure it was in the exact same place, carried A2 away from her dinner and made her stand up to the stool, to watch him jump off the stool. Yep... she still thought it was funny! Maybe not as much as earlier... but still. I do have to add one last thing. My baby girl did not stay in a diaper all day! I had just change a MAJOR runny diapers before both clips. I do not have ghetto children- I PROMISE!!!!

First Day of School 2009-2010

They were both excited to get new backpacks, lunchboxes, and school supplies but when it came right down to it... neither of them were ready to say good-bye to summer! C especially! He wanted to ride the bus and K wanted me to take him. They both seem to have good teachers.

K has only one kid from his class last year. He was ok with that though. He is a very "go-with-the-flow" type of child. He will have a great year. The only thing he got upset about was that most of "his" school supplies went into a community basket. He was so sad that someone else was using "his" scissors. He got over it quick though. He's struggling with the getting up at 6am. Why is that when there is no school they are all up by 6:15am but when they have to be for school they want to sleep longer? It makes no sense!

At least C smiled this year. Last years photo he had a grumpy pouty face on. He has team teachers this year. He will be taught in two different classrooms as well. Maybe this will break up his day some. His teacher has been teaching for 16 years. This is a change. All of his other teachers were in their first couple of years of teaching. When we went Monday to find out where his classroom was and who his teacher would be, we ran into last year's teacher. She is back to teaching 5th grade. C had a different teacher the first couple weeks of school last year. I was worried about who would replace her. The new teacher turned out to be a perfect fit for C. She was great to tutor him some, she was a very bubbly-happy teacher, she was also a HUGE Panther's fan. I really feel like having her last year was an answer to my prayers. I believe she was moved to 3rd grade just for one year for him! Funny how our prayers are answered huh?

C turns 9!

My sweet C is growing like a weed! I felt like he grew a lot this summer but on the first day of school he still doesn't measure up to the other kids. I do have to remember that he IS THE YOUNGEST in his class. There are kids that are more than a year older than he is.

He was so excited for his day. In years past, we have had issues with him being selfish and grumpy on his day. This year he was very kind and mellow the entire day! Most of his birthday was him getting to go to the Panther's Fan Fest weekend with Cheeto. He was a bit concerned he would have NOTHING to open on his birthday. Thanks to fabulous aunts and uncles who love him he had plenty of good gifts. He had a Steelers/Panthers party last year. This year it was all Panthers. He even called and asked everyone to wear their Panther's gear. Even his little sisters dressed for his party! I love it when I already have so much stuff to decorate with! A2 was not cooperating while decorating his cake. After 5 hours of fighting with her and trying to decorate at the same time I just gave up and did it very basic! Ah well... he thought it was awesome and that's all that matters in my eyes! I made him happy- SUCCESS!!!!

Happy Birthday Buddy! We sure love the young man your growing up to be!

idaho group sunday dinner

...minus a few. Cheeto's Grandma died a few days before so Lettie, Mom, Dad, and Marcos were all in Mexico. This dinner has been planned for months. Some friends, who haven't all been in town for years, were finally all together. When Mom left they wanted to cancel but I felt like Cheeto and I, with help from my parents, could still pull it off. I make beans and rice on my own all of the time- no big deal. And my dad is excellent at the grill- so he did the Cardne Asada. The only part I felt uneasy about was the guacamole- which still turned out good. We did it and I thought it was fine. We missed those of you who couldn't make it but we had a lot of good laughs and the kids had a great time! I suppose the second generation of Idaho kids will still have Carne Asada. :)

Cousin Fun!

Adam and Melissa's kids were in town for a week or so. Our kids just picked up where they left off at Christmas. They played so hard outside in Dad's yard, the mosquitos had a blood fest with them- too many to even count. They didn't stop the kids from playing their hearts out. One night they came over for one of our "Wii Parties"! It was so funny to watch them! Our kids were sad to see them go but know it will only be a few months before they come back for Christmas! Lil "L" is such a funny little thing. A1 and here were quite the little princesses! Lil' L would do whatever A1 would ask her to do. She is such a mommy sometimes.

sad to see G'ma and Papa C go...

The older kids really had a hard day the day my parents left. A1 had a few breakdowns wanting her Damma and Dampa! She has been the one that no matter how long it is between visits that she can still jump into their arms and feel like it has been only a day. She never forgets them! With the boys, there was always a "warming up" period. We had a great time with them. Our house just isn't big enough for us let alone guests. My parents refuse to take our bed and say this extra high air mattress is really comfortable. I would agree- I sleep great on it. My kids were all wanting to sleep there the night after they left. A1 fell asleep holding our "Puff the Magic Dragon" book. My mom sings this to each one of them every night when she is with them. A1 missed her so much that she slept with that book and has been carrying it around for days!

They spoil me of course! This time... my dad was my hero and fixed my leaky kitchen sink. Isn't it pretty!?!?!? I'm sure Cheeto could have fixed it eventually. His work schedule leaves little time for a "Honey DO" list. AND... I LOVE HIM... but he is not a Mr. Fix It kind of guy. He will get the job done but he very often gets frustrated and mad in the end. It's just easier for me to ask Dad when he comes. I love that he willingly does so! I ALWAYS have a project that needs his assistance. I LOVE YA DADDY!

I think the older my kids get, the harder it is getting for them to be away from my parents and siblings kids. They talk constantly about them constantly and wonder why we just can't go visit them all of the time. Of course, they don't fully understand the value of money and that it costs A LOT to fly and have no idea what 36 hours in a car would feel like. I hoping and praying that driving out next summer will become a reality. The plan is to have my mom drive out with us and then have Cheeto fly out there and drive back with us. If I do this, it's seriously going to be an entire summer that I spend out there. It will feel like a long time, but if I'm going to drive, I'm going to spend as much time out there as I can. The boys are just dying to live on the farm for awhile. The summer is a great time to spend on the farm- four wheelers, golfing, watching things grow, riding in the truck with my dad, golf camp with the cousins, OH- I'm getting so excited just writing it down!

Oak Island Vacation

K excited to finally get to the beach! We are so grateful for Cheeto's partner that allows us to go to their condo. It's a sweet place to spend a vacation!So excited when Tio got there! We were sad he was the only one who could come with us!

The first night was a perfect night to go swimming. I was grateful that Marcos was willing to help out. The water was the perfect temperature and the kids were needing some time to wear themselves out before bed. Every day we were there without Cheeto they would ask why he couldn't come. It was for 2 reasons. #1 being work and #2 he was going to pick up my parents at the airport on Wednesday.

You don't have to ask my kids to ham it up for a photo op. Who do they belong to? :) Hee hee!

Cade doing his dead man float with a noodle.

Fort Fisher Ferry
We missed the ferry coming back so we had to drive back up through Wilmington.

Loving the boat ride!

Damma and mi ninos!

We thought we only had a few minutes to make the ferry back so we didn't spend too long at the aquarium this visit. Just got through the reptile room. The albino aligator was pretty cool. We thought it was really neat watching them feed and clean the aligator tank. We also got to watch them play with snakes. I DO NOT LIKE SNAKES!!! EW!!!!

I was alone with the kids for the afternoon before Cheeto got there with my parents. It was nice and sunny one minute and one minute later these clouds rolled in. I thought it looks neat the way there is almost blue sky right above the bridge.

These clouds you could literally see rolling. Very strange and eary!

Not a minute later you could barely see the bridge.

A1 was getting so impatient. It was a long wait for G'ma and Daddy!

The kids were going to scare G'ma and Daddy. Little did they know that Papa came as well.
As soon as they heard him get off the elevator they all went running,
completely forgetting about trying to scare Daddy.

One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to the USS North Carolina. It turned out to be a rainy, dreary day. Most of the tour is below deck so that was nice. The kids loved it.
Well worth the time spent there!

My parents really like FireHouse Subs. I had seen a sign for one when we were in Wilmington with Nola a few days earlier. So of course, we went there for lunch.
The kids were excited to get fire hats with their meals.

We also hit the aquarium again. We had more time to spend this time but because it was a rainy day this place was PACKED!! It really wasn't enjoyable with that many people.
We got show K what we meant when we said he had shark teeth. He had extra adult teeth that had to be removed. Sharks have rows and rows of teeth so when they lose one they will continually grow back. My mom didn't know that either.

I was trying to get her to be a G'ma's girl but not a chance. This little one is 100% Mama's girl!

We were told this place had great seafood so we tried it.
The kids weren't thrilled but we found a steak on the menu for us to share.
They were good little sports after each one of them had a time out with dad. :)

We drove around the island a bit after dinner. The beach was perfect that night. Not a lot of wind, just a cool breeze, the water was warm, and only a handful of people. I wished we had known to bring our swimming suits. K didn't care... he was wet up to his armpits.

I had promised to take them swimming one last time.
Even though it was 8pm I had to keep that promise.
We left the next morning. It was a great trip. In the beginning I really thought it was going to be a long week with the kids at the condo, but they were really good kids and we had a blast.

The Boys Panthers Weekend

5:00 am...some of us are still asleep (the other kids), some of us are 1/2 asleep (me and Shena), some of us are pretty dang excited to leave (Cade).

Decked out in Panther's gear.

Cade's very first autograph...Brad Hoover. He was a little nervous for the first one, but was all about getting them after that.

Coach Fox. Cade didn't want his autograph because "He doesn't play."

Close up of Hoover's autograph...photo by Cade.

Jordan Gross...Shena's favorite Carolina Panther (he's from Idaho).

Waiting for autographs.

After the morning Panther's practice, Cade wanted to go see the #48's (Jimmy Johnson) shop and the race cars. we don't really watch NASCAR, but he got a matchbox car of the 48 one time and so he roots for it. If there is nothing else on, that is what he wants to watch.

You can tell Cade is Shena's kid in this picture. She is always pulling silly faces like this in our pictures. Chip off the old block.

A hand's on exhibit at the Hendrick Museum. He might not be the guy you want to race fender to fender with...since he can't see over the steering wheel.

There were about 30 of this (politically incorrectly named) "Midgets" at the Hendrick Museum. Some kind of midget owner's club was apparently vacationing together. The one on the left is pulling a motorcycle trailer...the wheels looked like they were off a wheel barrow and the engines sounded like large lawn mowers.

Cade's favorite trophy at the museum.

Bank of America stadium from the 6th floor of our hotel.

The obligatory photo in front of the cat @ the stadium.

Cade thought the garbage cans were cool because they had logos on them...I admit, it is pretty cool. Photo by Cade.

Grinning at being inside Panthers stadium for the first time. He smiled for at least the first 10 minutes, soaking it all in.

We had first row seats (first come first served...we were the 2nd and 3rd people through the South Gate...pretty incredible being that close. Would be awesome to watch a game from there.

The Crown Jewel of Cade's autograph collection. One we didn't think we'd get (and one that I tried to prepare him for the disappointment of not getting)...Steve Smith. Cade's favorite player. That's Cade's ball he's signing in the photo.

Muhsin Muhammad. He was pretty excited to get Moose's too.

A2's first High Chair Nap

The week after I got home from our Newport Trip I started painting this big Christmas project. I was painting almost every hour of every day that week. A2 was being clingy and just wanted to be by me so I put her in the high chair and fed her Cheerios. She wouldn't take a nap that day. It wasn't 2 minutes before she started nodding. Can you tell she isn't that happy with me? Look at her signing "I love you"- that was involuntary!

This is part of the Santa Fence finished product. I still have the assembling to do but I think they turned out so cute. I painted one for my mom. I had to get it done before she came so I could send it home with her. I got all of the Christensen side of Christmas done! That's almost half of it. Feeling pretty good!