Amelia's New Trick and the Tooth Fairy Loot.

Amelia has a new trick that she does several times a day now. It starts out innocently enough. Amelia is playing on the floor, underneath her mobile or near some toys.

Then she pivots on to her side to reach a toy or get a better look at something.

It used to stop there, but now Amelia takes it one step further. Before she knows it, her top leg has gone over and she is stranded.

Stuck on her belly. She is pretty good-natured about it for a while.

But it isn't too long before she gets tired of staring at the floor and starts screaming to be rescued!

She has turned back over once or twice, so I am sure she will get better at this roley-poly business.

In other recent happenings, last night Ephraim fell face-first into the pavement. So now he has a scraped up nose and upper lip to go with his skinned knees and feet!

The boys must have spent at least a half-hour laughing about Ephraim's "mustache band-aid"! I have to admit, it did look pretty funny.

Last night the tooth fairy paid a visit to our house after Jacob lost his tooth. (Did you know the tooth fairy stays up WAY too late when her honey is away?). We wrote the tooth fairy a little note and then used it to make an envelope to put the tooth in. Then Jacob put it in his pillow and went to bed.

In the morning they couldn't believe all the loot the tooth fairy left!

She left him an itty-bitty note, a pack of gum, and two whole dollars! A gold one and a paper one. I told him that it must be because it was his first tooth because normally the tooth fairly only leaves one dollar. (I love making up the rules).

The tooth fairy also left Ephraim something in his pillow. He did not get any money because he did not leave a tooth, but he did get a pack of dental floss. I am so glad the tooth fairy brought Ephraim something because he was SO excited! He carried the dental floss around all day and had me write his name on it. He even took the floss to bed. How cute is that?

Hooray for the Tooth Fairy!

Here Comes the Tooth Fairy!

Good thing I made those tooth fairy monster pillows! Somebody's tooth fell out today shortly after we got home from Kindergarten.

First Day of Kindergarten!

Can you believe that my baby is old enough to go to Kindergarten?!

Jacob was very excited to get to go to school. Yesterday morning I got up early to make a special breakfast for the first day of school. I made a yummy blueberry breakfast cake. Wouldn't you know that both of the boys came and joined me in the kitchen at 6:40 a.m.!

So we were dressed and ready in plenty of time to go outside and take some fun first day of school pictures. You could say that basically we did a mini photo shoot in the front yard... complete with signs!

I think somebody is excited to go to Kindergarten! Look at that happy face!

It was fun to take the boys outside and take some pictures to remember the excitement of the day. Besides, don't I have a handsome Kindergartener?

Even if he gets school pictures taken, I think these will be my favorite shots of him this year!

Isn't it funny how big backpacks look on little people?! So stinking cute!

Since we got Jacob a Cars backpack this year and they are bound to be popular, I decided to put his name on it. Yep... I actually sewed it on the backside of his bag. Does that make me a nerd or what?

It doesn't matter because Jacob thought it was awesome.

I also made a sign for Ephraim and took his picture. That way he wouldn't feel left out. Ephraim is having a hard time because Jacob gets to do all sorts of fun things. So I have tried really hard to make him feel included.

He is such a handsome boy! I sure have cute kids.

We even went and bought Ephraim a new shirt for preschool. He was excited for his new cement mixer shirt. And when I made a monster tooth fairy pillow for Jacob on Monday, I made one for Ephraim too.

Aren't they cute? Now we are all ready for the tooth fairy to come when Jacob's tooth falls out, which should be soon because it is VERY loose!

I don't know why I took this picture of the boys' feet, but I love it. Just like I love this one of Jacob goofing around with Ephraim on the front steps, all dressed up for school.

We got to the school with plenty of time. We drove part of the way and then walked. Of course I had to take a picture of Jacob in front of his new school.

Then we dropped him off. Everyone has asked me if I cried, and although I teared up, I didn't really cry because Jacob was SO excited and happy!

After dropping Jacob off we ended up going to play at the Smith's house for a little while because Ephraim was determined that he was going to "preschool" that morning too. We are actually going to start preschool next week, but Brenda humored us and totally made Ephraim's day. We read stories and were just about to go when Ephraim said that we couldn't leave because we had not done our notebooks yet! So then we let him draw a picture of himself in his notebook. Then he asked where his snack was! Sheesh. Is that boy ready for preschool or what?!

It wasn't long at all before we had to go pick up Jacob. He came out of his classroom with a smile on his face.

He told me he had a great day. They played with blocks, read stories and he made a new friend on the playground. He was excited that he gets to go to Kindergarten every day!

We had an eventful afternoon as well. We went to McDonald's to celebrate the first day of school. Then we came home and attempted naptime. I didn't get Ephraim to take a nap, and Amelia's was super-short. Then we went to see Cars 2 again. We got free movie passes from the library's summer reading program.

The boys loved the movie, and Amelia did pretty good throughout. She didn't get a lot of naps yesterday, so she was a bit cranky in the evening. We did get to talk to Daddy on the computer in the morning before school and at night just before bed. Video chatting is awesome because it helps the boys not miss Daddy so much.

The boys went to bed pretty early because they had a big day. I know I was exhausted, but it was a great day!

Weekend Wonders

What a busy weekend it was for us!  Friday was Jacob's Kindergarten assessment, so Joe stayed home so I could go. We had a busy morning at home, at which time I took this picture of Ephraim. Is it just me, or is this kid accident prone?

After lunch I went to Jacob's Kindergarten Assessment. He was a little nervous about it, but I told him he would do fine. And yes I am crazy enough to take my camera with me. His teacher said she wouldn't mind if I took a few pictures. Here is Mrs. Christensen doing the assessment with Jacob.

This is what part of Jacob's classroom looks like. Fun, huh?

Jacob did a pretty good job on the assessment. I was filling out paperwork, but I could hear him telling her which letter she was showing him as well as the sounds. He did pretty good with the sight words and did well with counting too. The only thing he had trouble with was subtraction, which isn't too surprising because he is only 5!

Jacob is so excited to start Kindergarten! Ephraim actually wishes he could start Kindergarten too. He wants to be able to play soccer and go to Kindergarten just like Jacob. We will have to do some fun things with Ephraim so he doesn't feel left out.

Also on Friday I took some dang cute pictures of Amelia. I was working on a photo prompt for my public blog in which I had to take photos of something old and new. So I put my grandmother's necklace on Amelia and took some photos.

Isn't she darling? In these two pictures she was smiling at Daddy while I took the pictures.

We did manage to get her to look at the camera too!

And she even smiled! I love the way my 50 mm lens did with these shots! I think I am going to have to use it more for individual portraits and practice getting the focus right.

When my mom saw the pictures on the public blog she asked how I got Amelia not to grab the necklace. The answer is that she DID grab the necklace! After all, wouldn't you?

 

Saturday we were pretty busy getting stuff done so that everything would be fine while Joe is gone to VM World in Las Vegas for the next week. We went and got some shirts for Jacob and worked on cleaning up around the house.

Then this morning Joe left for Vegas and we went to church. I have to say that taking three kids to church by yourself is quite a challenge! Especially when Amelia has apparently decided that she does not want to nap at church, which means that she gets grumpy!

Later this evening as I was brushing Jacob's teeth, you will never guess what we found!

Yep! That is a TOOTH that is growing in just behind Jacob's baby teeth. Can you believe that? No wonder his bottom-front tooth is loose! We just realized it a few days ago and now there is a tooth back there! I guess his baby teeth will be falling out in no time!

I can't believe how quickly Jacob is growing! His first soccer practice, his first loose tooth, and this week will be his first day of school! What a big boy.

Soccer Practice

It's official! I am now a minivan driving soccer mom!

I wanted Jacob to be able to play soccer this year, but unfortunately I did not get him signed up in time! I was so disappointed. So I signed him up on the waiting list, hoping that he would get a spot for the spring season.

I was so excited last week when I got the call that there was an opening for Jacob! So we got his uniform and went out and bought him shin guards and cleats. He was a little nervous about soccer practice (Mom, what if I kick the ball the wrong way?), but after his first practice he decided he loved it!

Of course I took pictures, so here you go!

I thought Jacob's coaches were really fun. They got to warm up and stretch out when they got on the field. It was so cute!

Jacob got plenty of practice dribbling the ball around, which he is actually pretty good at!

After just one practice I have to say that I love Jacob's coach. He made it so much fun for the boys. They played games and had a great time. Doesn't he look like fun?

Here the coach is showing the boys how to guard the ball. Jacob is trying to get it away from him.

It was cloudy the first half of the practice, and then the sun came out! Phew! It was hot. The boys drank a ton of water, so I guess I had better bring more to practice next week.

I have a feeling that soccer season is going to be so much fun!

Amelia discovers her toes. (Aug 24)

There have been several times lately where I have taken Amelia into the shower with me since it is quicker than giving her a bath. Just the other day after I got out of the shower I put Amelia on my bed in her towel. She was so cute that I just had to get my camera out and take her picture.

It's a good thing I did because while I was taking her picture, Amelia discovered her toes! It was so cute.

Talk about flexible! Check out how she grabbed her ankle and put it up next to her face!

Then she decided to eat her towel- yum!

I see you there with that camera, Mommy!

Hey! Why did you uncover my head? You want people to see all of my gorgeous hair?

Hey! Look at these things on the end of my foot! What are these?

Hey Mommy, have you seen these things? They are so silly!

Hmmm... I wonder how many of them there are?

Too bad I can't count! I bet Jacob or Ephraim would know!

Wow. They sure are wiggly!

Isn't she just about the cutest thing ever?! Would you believe I took about 47 pictures of Amelia while she was playing with her toes? Good thing I cut it down to just 12 for this post! :o)