Summer Fun

We've had a lot of fun thus far this summer. Here are some recent pics :)

This pic is a crack up. Too bad it was taken on my camera phone :(

Nicole, Shane, Cadence, Brielle and Abigail left the hot state of Tx for a few weeks to visit in Ca. We met them for a fun day at the beach:

Thomas loves "pretty shoes." Dressing up for swimming lessons:

The kids w/ Maycee and Natalee playing hospital.

Playing in the backyard on their new "motor bikes" as they call them. Shad bought these things for Christmas last year and we decided not to give the things to them, so he's been dying to pull htem out. So the girls got them as early bday presents.
I'm in love with this picture

Crazy kids.

This pic was actually taken upside down as she zoomed by me on her swing whatchamacallit.

T and his "Bo" Happy Birthday, Grandma!

The Toon clan got my girls tap shoes for their birthdays. They love them!

18 months old

Thomas has officially had his half-birthday! He's 18 months old. The last few months have brought several changes in him. He has a temper, he expresses his anger, he moves more. Some things are the same, he smiles a lot, is very friendly and outgoing and he remains a constant chatterbox.

Thomas loves Wow Wow Wubzy, Elmo and Thomas the Train. He loves to play outside and loves his dog. He says everything you can think of, is trying to sing the ABCs (he gets to E) and knows what the number 2 is- pretty cool. Someone asked him how many eyes a baby had and he thought for a minute and said "TWO!" I think that's about the only number concept he has, but he has it down! The boy amazes me with what he knows, what he remembers, and what he says. This age is great- so full of exploration and emotions and kisses and hugs too. He's learning that his voice carries, that we listen, that his feelings count. It's really neat when you think about all that's going on at this age. Fun fun!

He still doesn't like to eat much. He likes goldfish and cereal and sometimes macaroni and cheese and pizza. He's about 22lbs, still wearing 12-18 mos shorts- in fact he's wearing the same shorts he wore last year- so some 6-12mo size.

He's a great boy. People either say how sweet he is or what a little devil he is. I think he's a little bit of both. He knows what he wants and as long as everything goes his way, he's happy as pie. Even with his little temper though, he loves his mamma :)

Kingsburg

Another year has passed. Our favorite vacation of the year is over :( We had a good time camping in Central Ca at the Ca state shoot. We took the kids to the Sequoias, which were pretty amazing. Emmy swore the trees were fake.Shad took off Emmy's training wheels and wouldn't give them back. She fought us at first, but a day later, she was riding her bike (and whistling at the same time). If you know Emmy, you know what a big deal this is. Emmy is the most cautious kid. She was afraid to ride her bike with training wheels at times. So I'm super proud of her.

Emmy still hasn't lost a tooth yet, but look here, her adult tooth is coming in. I thought this was really weird and cuase to see a dentist, but when we got to Kingsburg, we saw that another little girl Emmy's age had the same thing going on (she ended up losing her tooth up there).

Callie in a little ice chest. She's still so little.

Emmy lou, happy about riding her bike:

Emmy trying to teach Callan how to ride a bike

Thomas pouting about something.

Thomas grabbed the camera and told me to take a picture, here it is!

The girls with Delaney, a buddy they see around the country at various shoots. They play so well together (thank God). Mean boy face:

School's Out For Summer!

Whew, the week is over. It was a fun one, just super busy.

Emmy with her former teachers, Maryhelen and Jean. She was with them from 3-6 1/2 and we're so thankful she was. Callie's with them now for the next two or so years, then Thomas will be there, so they're practically family. They are hard workers and take care of our babies so well. Our girls love them and love going to school.
Callie, our Kindergartener:Emmy Lou, our second grader (wow).Callie with a few of her buddies at school: Singing songsThomas getting all sandy at the end of the year party This boy LOVES being at school. He has no regard for mamma when he's there, I slow him down, ruin his game.
Camp Montessori! Twice a year the school camps out on the playground. What a great time! This was our first experience, the first time the girls had ever wanted to go. I was leery but I'm SO glad we did it. The girls had a great time and so did Shad and I. Thomas was a little trooper too.Shad and the girls made pancakes for the group in the EARLY morning Then we helped with the school's something garden: Thomas had a BLAST playing in all the frest poo and water. He got a bath in the sink afterwards- he was full of all sorts of stuff:

momy i know this is an erly mothers day presint but its just will you help me clean up love emmy . the thing i relly woud like to do an art project. what shuod we clean up first. what shoud we clean up secound .what shoud we clean up third .you chouse! thank you. (I left my comp w/ the draft of this post on the screen, I came back and Emmy was typing away :)

Here's Emmy with her friends at her end of the year bowling party:

And now some random pics over the last couple weeks:

Thomas on a leash (they think this is great fun)
Callie and her outfits lately:

The girls figured out that Thomas fits in the bear's wheelchair as well as the various doll strollers :) So he's sitting in that in this pic, though you can't really tell.

Emmy's Recital

Emmy played "The Chimes" at her last recital. She does pretty well on the piano considering she doesn't EVER practice. We basically pay for her to practice with her teacher a half-hour every week.... Oh well. She does play on the piano and teaches herself songs, but rarely does she open her lesson book.

She jumped up and introduced herself and her song so quickly I couldn't get my Flip turned on quickly enough, but i caught her song, here it is :)

We Are Loved By God

"We Are Loved By God"

God's love is with us
God's hope is with us
God's heart is with us
God's heavens are with us

By Emmy Lou 5/09


Emmy brought her journal home from school and I found this poem. She may end up a nun.