Snug as several bugs in a rug

James hurt himself the other day and decided what would make himself feel better was to climb into our bed with Carter and Lindsey to watch a show.    Lately whenever he gets hurt that is his request.  So far Carter and Lindsey are willing to drop what they are doing and honor his request.  Not sure how long that will last but it makes me smile that he asks and that they are willing.  

Last day as an 8 year old

Carter is going to be 9 years old tomorrow.  I really can't believe it.    He is growing up more quickly than I could have imagined.  I am super proud of the young man is becoming.    

 

Karate James

James started in the Tiny Tiger class last week. He is more excited about the uniform and the belt than he is about learning karate.

Halloween Photos

Halloween Morning.   Carter had to go dressed as a historical figure for school.  He is Jimmy Carter, Lindsey is a cowgirl and James is a knight. 

Picking Pumkins in Half Moon Bay

Soccer Season

We are in full soccer mode in our house. Carter is playing on the Electric Glow Sticks in the under 10 boys division and Lindsey is a Green Feisty Kitten in the under 8 girls division. James isn't on a team but don't tell him that. Carter and Lindsey have each had two games and are enjoying playing.

2nd Tooth

Lindsey waited a long time to loose her first tooth but didn't have to wait long to loose the second one. It came out less than a week after the first. The Tooth Fairy arrived but thankfully left the tooth and a dollar. After her first visit from the tooth fairy Lindsey left another note which said, "Thank you but can I have my tooth back?" Thankfully the tooth fairy returned the tooth and the second time around left both the tooth and a dollar.

Lindsey's 1st lost tooth

Lindsey lost her first tooth on August 28th, 2008. It had been loose and wiggly for quite a while and she was really ready for it to come out.

1st day of school

Today was the first day of school for all three kids. Carter started 3rd grade, Lindsey started 1st grade and James is in year number 2 of preschool.

Under water

The kids have been taking swimming lessons on and off all summer. James loves being in the water but until this past weekend he was hesitant to put his head under. At the Y pool this past Saturday he decided he was ready. Googles are must as is his victory stance afterwards.

On two wheels

Lindsey has recently mastered riding her two wheeler. After some practice going straight on the bay trail and then practicing turns in an empty parking lot she was ready to hit the road. This past weekend Matthew had James as his co-pilot on a bike seat, Carter on his bike and Lindsey on hers. The group pedaled 5 1/2 miles with stops for haircuts and then lunch at Armadillo Willy's. It was a big day.

A boy who loves his ice cream

Yummy!!!!

Blue Belt

On Sunday, June 29th Carter passed his test to earn his Blue Belt in karate. It was a long test lasting about 5 1/2 hours. Carter was tired but very happy at the end. We are all very proud of him and his hard work.

A break from my normally kid centered posts......

Thanks to my friend Karen I have become addicted to a series of books by Stephanie Meyer. The final book called Breaking Dawn comes out in August. I would never have picked this book on my own but I am so thankful Karen gave me the first one called Twilight for my birthday. It is a great read! I borrowed the 2nd book, Eclipse and read it as fast as I could. I finished it at about 8pm and frantically left a message on Karen's voicemail that I need to get the next book from her in the morning. Fifteen minutes later Karen rang my doorbell in her jammies with the 3rd book, New Moon in her hands. We have both shared the book with many friends and are having a party when the book comes out on August 2nd. There will be no more sharing as we will all be grabbing up our own copies at midnight at the San Mateo Barnes and Noble. If you start reading now you have plenty of time to finish all three books and join us on the 2nd.

First day of summer vacation

Lindsey and James played dress up this morning. Lindsey is a princess and James is a unicorn. Carter turned a box into a time machine and went for an adventure.

Last day of school

Thursday June 11th was the last day of school for the kids.

Carter finished 2nd grade, James finished his 1st year of preschool and Lindsey finished kindergarten.

New Hats

I picked up new hats for the kids today.

Old School

What are they watching?
Tom and Jerry!

In the past month both Carter and Lindsey have developed an interest in Tom and Jerry. It is the first time they have watched a show that I remember watching as a child. It is fun and new to have them experiencing things I can actually remember from being a child.

Fun in the sun!

Yippeee!!!!!!!!!!! It isn't super warm but the sun is out which was enough for my kids.

Saturday morning at our house

Last Saturday morning this is how the kids were entertaining themselves.

I look pretty!

On his own after dinner, James went into the bathroom and came out with Lindsey's bowl of hairclips and rubber bands. He tried to put them in by himself but couldn't. I volunteered with excitement to help him already thinking it would make a cute picture once we got them in. He was very pleased with his look.

Milestones

UGH! I really don't know what I am doing when it comes to putting photos on this blog. Last night my internet connection disconnected me 4 times while trying to upload the photos. Now that I finally got them here I can't figure out how to move them around. But I really wanted to get a post up.

First night on the top bunk.

The photos are from the day we got the bunks over a month ago but the big milestone is that Carter slept on the top bunk for the first time. He was more than ready. I just hadn't gotten around to making the bed. I made the bottom one so that is where he had been sleeping.

The kids have been having a blast playing up there but now that Carter is sleeping there he isn't allowing the other kids up to play. A friend suggested we turn the bottom bunk into a kind of fort so I might try that.

Where did the week go?

Seeing as it has been a week since I posted I don't seem to be meeting my goal of getting something written every other day.

But I found myself watching a bit of TV to unwind after work and came across one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. I decided to make a list of some of my favorites.

The Princess Bride
Shawshank Redemption
Die Hard
Much Ado About Nothing
A Fish Called Wanda
The original Star Wars Trilogy

Bedtime Fun!

Before bedtime last night Lindsey decided to go on an adventure. James as usual was a willing companion. They went all around the house searching for the forest. They would stop and say to me, "Excuse me, can you tell me where the forest is?" or to Matthew, "Excuse me, old man can you tell me where the forest is?" It was very cold in this forest as the kids needed the hats and scarfs as well as socks on their hands to be used as gloves.

Already a day late

I love this picture. It was taken almost a year ago but it is still one of my favorites. It was not the best beach weather but the kids really wanted to go. My husband enthusiastically packed a picnic and off we went. Within about a minute of getting to the beach we realized the only picnicking would be in the car but we went out to play for a few minutes. I think we were at the beach for a total of about 10 minutes but the kids had fun and I got a great picture out of it.

Being Positive

I am someone who vents. I vent about my kids a lot because my life is mostly about them these days. I think venting can be a good thing because I really feel as though some days I might explode if I don't. But on the flip side it becomes easy to focus on the negative aspects of kids behaviors rather than their good qualities.

I am making an effort to focus more on all of of positive qualities that my kids possess.

To get started:
Carter is 8 years old which seems unbelievable to me. It really does seem like it happens in the blink of an eye. A few of his great qualities are that he is empathetic, curious, dedicated, big hearted, hugable, social, and passionate.

Lindsey is in kindergarten and will be six in a few months. She is artistic, nuturing, friendly, creative, social, helpful, kissable, and talkative.

James is 2 1/2 and as with most kids of that age he is at alternating moments fantastic and completely aggravating. For the most part he is funny, energetic, and ethusiastic about just about everything.

2nd Post

Moments after I created this blog and posted my first post I had a revelation. I am not a huge writer. I am rarely at a loss for words when speaking but I have a fairly large fear of writing. Somehow it seems so much more permanent than speaking. I am sure people around me remember the stupid things I say or when I misspeak but there is no permanent record of it. I think that is why it has been over a week since my first post. I am now ready to conquer my fear!

I am setting a personal goal and posting it here for all to read. (Well no one actually reads this blog yet so I guess that isn't a lot of pressure.) My goal is to post something every other day.

More to come on Thursday!

Blogging Novice Gets Started

I have been a blog reader for quite a while but have not had the determination to get one started. Today that changed. I hope to update frequently but will probably only manage occasionally. My hope is that this blog serves as a family diary for me as well as for friends and family to keep updated with our lives.

Happy reading!

Leslie