Kermit Turns 8 and is Baptized!!! The Family Goes to the Temple!

Not so recently Kermit turned 8 and 4 days later he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!  On his baptism day, before the actual baptism, we had a wonderful opportunity to attend a temple open house.  What a neat experience it was to take our children into the temple once again! 

Kermit is such a great kid.  He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met, he is extremely talented in sports and is a year ahead in his math.  Kermit is extremely excited to be a cub scout now and looks forward each week to attending his den meetings.  We couldn't ask for a better son, we love him so much and are so thankful that he is apart of our family!  Now for the pics!!!

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Master Chief and I celebrated our 12th year of marriage last Saturday.  We celebrated by attending a dinner theatre!  We had a delicious dinner and watched Something's Afoot.  We had a great evening!  So I thought I would post what my top 12 highlights are from our awesome marriage!

1 - Angel Baby - She made us parents!!!
2 - Trip to Sea World because Master Chief didn't have any idea that Shamoo was really that big!  He was like a little boy there!!!
3 - Dave's Graduation - WAHOO!  We went out and bought a car afterwards!
4 - Adopting Kermit - What a blessing in our lives he is!
5 - Miss Piggy - How scary it was to have her, but thankfully she is healthy!!!
6 - Moving to our current home - FINALLY HOME OWNERS!!!  (Lived here since 2005)
7 - Baby Girl - What a welcome suprise!
8 - Playing board games all night long!
9 - Master Chief's dinners he always likes to try out, they are all so yummy!  (Aren't I lucky to have a chef!)
10 - The way Master Chief always likes to suprise me with chocolate and Diet Pepsi!
11 - The way he makes me laugh - It's the things he says and does that make me laugh years after he's done them!
12 - Making plans for future event with each other.  Master Chief has some fun ideas on house plans (far in the future, lol), trips to take, cars we want.  It's fun to have our ideas come together and see how we are like a well oiled machine!

I love you Master Chief, I look forward to eternity with you!

Kermit, The Football Star!

Kermit has found his favorite sport.  FOOTBALL!  He has finished his season and is sad.  He played flag football this year as a Defensive Lineman most of the season, sacking the quarterback several times!!!  He pulled lots of flags and scored a few touch downs even!  On his last game, he was breaking through the line so well, the other team had to put 2 people on him to try to keep him back.  He is a little bull dog! Way to go, Kermit!!!

 

In 100 Years...

We have been growing lots of carrots all summer long in hopes of a great harvest to can this fall.  Friday was our harvesting day and what we thought would take a few hours ended up taking a lot more!  We had tons of carrots!  In the end, we had 24 quarts and 17 pints of sliced carrots!  YUM.

Canning these carrots came with a trip to the ER though! 

We had a perfect set up.  Kermit and Miss Piggy would wash carrots, hand them to Master Chief and he'd do a second wash, he'd put them in a bowl and Baby Girl would carry the bowl over to me and I'd slowly and carefully slice them on our mandolin slicer. 

It was a perfect set up!  I could see why families have lots of kids... to help with canning, lol!  I had 3 pints full, so just the beginning, when I came upon a rather large carrot.  I got to the top of the carrot and because I was going so slow in my slicing to stay safe I couldn't slice through this large carrot.  I turned my hand and used my thumb to push it through, gave it a good push and realized that my middle finger made it to the slicer before the carrot did. 

I said, "This is bad, this is really bad!"  We couldn't get the bleeding to stop no matter what we did and Master Chief thought it went to the bone.  Since I'd already hit my deductible this year I decided I'd better go get stitches. 

3 stitches later (And we found out 3 days later that I needed at least 4) I was good as new! 

This created a problem when it came to canning though.  I couldn't get my hand wet and I couldn't bend my finger so I couldn't slice carrots.  What were we going to do with all these carrots! 

We ended up putting Kermit and Miss Piggy on the job as scrubbers and Master Chief was the slicer, while Baby Girl still carried carrots back and forth and I carefully prepared the jars.  This worked out very well! 

As the night progressed, the kids were being hilarious!  They'd give each other break times and treated it as if they were at a real job.

Then Kermit said something to Miss Piggy that we are still snickering about...

Kermit - "In 100 years we can get together and say, 'Do you remember when we had to scrub all those carrots!'"  LOL!!!

Thank you to my sweet children for helping us out.  Without your help, Master Chief would still be canning those carrots!

Kermit Had an Eventful Week

Kermit's week started out with a friends birthday party.  Mama sent Kermit off to the party and then came home.  A little while later Mama got this feeling that Kermit was going to get hurt at the party so she said a prayer that he would be okay and about 10 minutes later the phone rang.  It was the mother of the birthday boy.  She said, "Now don't freak out."  And at this point Mama thought, "Oh shoot he's broke a bone!"  And then she found out that Kermit was playing in the bounce house and one of the kids accidentally kicked him in the face and it knocked a tooth out.  Thankfully it was a baby tooth!  Later when Kermit got home he told Mama that he didn't realize his tooth was kicked out until he took a bite of pizza and and the crust felt funny, so he spit it out and there was his tooth.  Of course this happened 2 days before school pictures!  He is still pretty cute and quite funny to listen to as he talks with missing teeth!  Thankfully he wasn't hurt and now he has a pretty great story to tell of losing a tooth! 

Tuesday Kermit came down with a strange rash and we thought it was a heat rash.  Wednesday it seemed better, not gone but better!  Thursday morning the rash was back and when he got home from school on Thursday it was all over!!!  We all the sudden thought it was chicken pox!  He was vaccinated, so he shouldn't get it and the Dr's office was sure that wasn't it but they couldn't tell us what it was until they saw him.  They were so sure it couldn't be chicken pox, they told us to send him to school before his appointment the next day.  Turns out it wasn't chicken pox!!!  It is some random non contagious bacterial infection coming out as a rash.  He is on an antibiotic and the rash is going away!  Phew!

Kermit has been working very hard in school to be a good listener and let's face it, he's a 7 year old boy and he's learning to keep his hands to himself!  The first week of school was very challenging for him and while he was at school for 4 1/2 days, he had his name on the board 4 times.  Not a great way to start his 2nd grade year.  But in the last 2 weeks he's not gotten his name on the board once and has even been told that he's having awesome days by his teacher!!!  On Friday he was rewarded for his hard work and was given "Citizen Of The Week"!!!  His teacher wrote this about him,

"What a guy!  This young man never fails to do the best he can.  He's one of the best when it come to attentive listening, and shows his great attitude with his smile glistening.  Honesty and integrity are character traits to be admired.  With a character like that he won't ever get fired.  His work is always completed on time.  It's a delight to have him in this class of mine!  Way to go, Kermit!!"

Also on Fridays at school they pass off math levels with mad minutes.  He's been in 2nd grade for 3 weeks and he's passed 2nd grade addition and will be one of the first in his class moving to 2nd grade subtraction! 

And finally, at football practice Friday night, Kermit generally blocks for defense and has also been used for offense because he's a pretty good blocker.  His coach gave him a chance to be the quarterback and he made his first touchdown!!!!!  WAHOO!

2nd Grade Begins!

The kids are off to their first day of 2nd grade!  We aren't too sure who their teacher is this year as the 2nd grade teacher last year was having some health issues and rumor has it she may not be back!  So this morning I offered to take the kids to their classroom, which they wanted, but they were not having the kids go to the classroom, only having them wait outside.  So the kids visited with their friends and caught up on their summer adventures and then it was time to line up.  They didn't even say goodbye to me!  I had to go find them and hug them.  Stinkers!  I am sure they are having a great day though!!! 

Ham and Cheese

Kermit wrote a story today during sacrament meeting that made me giggle, so I had to share.  I will write it exactly as it appears!

Ham and Cheese

Ham and Cheese were maried.  Oh no Cheese is going bad what do I do?  Should I kiss her no said a voice it was the holly gost.  Then what should I do said Ham?  You should stay with her as long as you can ok and then the power of Jesus made Cheese beter and they lived happily ever after The end.

August 10, 2002 - The end of Angel Baby's journey in life

Today our little Angel Baby completed her mission in life and returned to live with her Heavenly Father.

This morning we woke up to the phone ringing at 6:15. Master Chief answered it and it was Kristi, her nurse. There was still no change. At 6:30 the phone rang again. Another nurse was calling to tell us they had one last drug to try to help Angel Baby and that we should probably get ready and come down there. So we did. We got right up and threw our clothes on from the day before so we could hurry down there. While we were dressing the phone rang again. They told us to come NOW, and asked if we wanted to do everything to save her. Of course we did. We drove as fast as we could to the hospital. Upon our arrival we were told that our sweet little angel had returned to live with her Heavenly Father.

They took us back to her bedside and they put me in a rocking chair and they placed her in my arms. The only thing I could think of was that she looked so peaceful. They took us to the family room and we got to hold her for nearly 6 hours. The hospital took lots of pictures of us and gave us a beautiful white dress, some socks and booties. They also gave us a purple memory box with everything of hers in it, like her blood pressure cuff, her stethoscope, her bath soap. She was wearing a pretty purple dress and she was beautiful.

Handing her over to the nurse to leave was so hard. So final. They offered for us to help bathe her again, and to come back to the hospital at any time to hold her again. Then they took her away, cleaned her up, took more pictures (which were horrid, I wish we had a "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" person) and they made a lot of copies of her foot prints, even a clay moulding of them. They snipped a small piece of her hair in the back for us to keep. They did everything they could for us.

That afternoon we made our way to a mortuary. We picked a beautiful white casket that looked like a baby's bed. There were flowers, programs and arrangements like that to be decided upon.

Sunday we went to visit a cemetery with a baby land. I was so sick while I was there I wanted to throw up. I didn't know if it was because no mother should bury her baby or if it was just not the right place to lay my baby to rest. We visited another cemetery and while it was several thousands of dollars more, it was so much more of a happy feeling there. We picked the second place and even have plots for Master Chief and I to be buried with Angel Baby.

Monday I dressed Angel Baby. Both of her grandma's came to help me. We made her look so beautiful. In her white dress the sleeves kind of flared out and she truly looked like an angel with her little wings. We put a diaper on her, socks and booties. The final touch was a little white bow I had tied. I stuck it in her hair with a little honey. Then I placed her in her casket with her stuffed frog, moose and daddy's Teddy bear. Then I placed her pacifier next to her. She was surrounded by all the things she loved.

Her funeral was Tuesday. It was lovely. Both grandma's spoke along with Jared and our stake President. It was really the happiest funeral I have ever been to. It was knowing that Angel Baby is back living with her Heavenly Father, in the celestial glory she deserved. I know I will be with her again and that Master Chief and I will raise her after we are resurrected.

Angel Baby was laid to rest in a beautiful and happy cemetery on Tuesday August 13, 2002. As a tribute to her we all released pink balloons into the air after the ceremony. As the balloons were released Grandma (Master Chief's mom) said, "There she goes" and my Aunt said "Here she comes."

Angel Baby we love you so much. We can't wait for the day that we can all be back together again. We are so thankful for the blessings of the gospel and the knowledge of the plan of salvation. It really is the plan of happiness.

We have a huge blessing in our lives because of this experience. If we hadn't lost our Angel Baby we never would have adopted when we did. We now have our sweet son Kermit. He healed our broken hearts and filled our empty arms. He is such a ray of sunshine in our lives. We have a beautiful little Girl, Miss Piggy. She is such a joy in our lives and we have our suprise, Baby Girl. Baby Girl looks a lot like Angel Baby. She's got the dark hair, the darker skin, the same eye lashes. It's so neat to see the similarities. We wonder how Angel Baby's personality would have compared to Baby Girl or Miss Piggy even.  Our family is so happy.  We look forward to the day we can see our sweet daughter again and give her all the hugs and kisses we can't give her here on earth. 

August 9, 2002 - Day 9 in the life of Angel Baby

Today was not so good.

The hospital called me at home around noon (let me tell you, when you've got a baby in the NICU, each time the phone rings your heart drops for fear it's not a good phone call. Up until this point, the phone calls were all good). The nurse told me that Angel Baby had some type of infection and they gave her 3 different antibiodics to help her and they had to put her back on the ventilator.

I hurried and went up to see her. They were just starting a blood transfusion for her. It's a good thing too because she went from being my pretty pink baby to very pale but I watched her color come right back into her with the transfusion. Thank goodness, now we just needed to get all her levels up. I came home worried but comforted knowing that she wasn't pale anymore thanks to the transfusion.

Then around 4:00 I got another phone call from the nurse again. The medications weren't working and they were trying new meds. I was so scared. I grabbed our friend Philip and my mom and I met Master Chief at the hospital to give Angel Baby a blessing. In her blessing she was blessed with a slow recovery and that she would tolerate her mommy's milk. What a relief. I was still really worried and really scared.

We went up to see Angel Baby Friday night to say goodnight and to tell her that Mommy and Daddy love her. They had put her sunglasses back on because she didn't want to sleep and they wanted to make it dark for her. She was so precious. Kristi, our favorite nurse, was on that night so we called to check on Angel Baby before we went to bed. There was no change but she was going to call us in the morning before she went home.

I don't think I've ever prayed as much as I did that day and night. We were so worried about our sweet little girl.

August 8, 2002 - Day 8 in the life of Angel Baby

HAPPY 1 WEEK BIRTHDAY!!!

The nurses wanted to increase the amount they were feeding her but decided not to because her stomach was a little bigger (they measured it each day) and they were worried about pushing her too much. Besides the night before her blood sugars had gone up but they were able to bring them right back down by adjusting her nutrients.

Angel Baby was so much fun to come visit. She knew when her Mommy would come visit because she would react to her voice and her touch. She also reacted to her Daddy. She recognized our voices and we felt so bad when she'd cried but it was so cute. It was also cute when she'd sneeze while on the CPAP. We love her so much.

Tonight Daddy was able to come up. It was Mommy, Daddy and Angel Baby. Our happy family. It was Daddy's big night!!! First Mama taught Master Chief how to change Angel Baby's diaper. He was so nervous but he did such a great job. He was so careful and thought it was fun. But that was nothing compared to the fun he had while holding Angel Baby. Mama has never seen Master Chief so happy in all her life. Master Chief told Angel Baby the story of the wide mouth frog. Angel Baby was so cute. She was really sleepy but we think she was trying to stay awake in her Daddy's arms because her eyes were so droopy and heavy but she kept opening them back up. Then Master Chief started to quietly say her name and the sound of his voice put her right to sleep. Master Chief was going to wait until Saturday to come up and hold Angel Baby but something told him on Thursday that the things of the world didn't matter, his family mattered and his family was eternal. So he chose to strengthen his bond with his daughter. What a great choice.

They stopped Angel Baby's feedings tonight because she started to have bile come out of her feeding tube. Mama was sad but we were told a lot of premie babies have problems with feedings so we figured it would get better soon.

After Master Chief got done holding Angel Baby we stayed to watch them try to put her catheter in again. This time it was a snap, we were so relieved. We really wanted those umbilical lines out - the chance of infection on those lines were really high. So they were pulled and we were feeling better about things.

August 7, 2002 - Day 7 in the life of Angel Baby

It was yet another fun and exciting day today. Mama made it up to the hospital to see sweet Angel Baby. When she arrived Angel Baby was just laying there. She asked the nurse why she was so quiet and the nurse said, "Oh don't worry, I was just in with her and she was very fiesty. Angel Baby has quite the attitude!" Way to go my little Angel Baby!!! She was taking after her Mommy already!

It was day 7 and Angel Baby had another head ultrasound to check for brain bleeds. This ultrasound came out clean as well!!! Things are looking so wonderful for her.

Mama got to give Angel Baby a bath this afternoon. It was so much fun. The nurse got a blue plastic bowl full of warm water and Mama carefully washed her face, taking time to let her suck on the cloth. Then she put a little baby soap on her cloth and washed her hair. This was Mama's favorite part. It was neat to see her hair move around! Mama's mom was on the side of the bed and was holding Angel Baby's arms and legs down because we didn't want her to use all her energy. Once Mama got down to her bottom and legs, she took off her diaper. Gram-Gram said 'Uh, there's a little spot on her bum, either she's already done something or she's about to!" Well, she was 'about to'!!! The nurse came over to check and all the sudden Angel Baby exploded! She pooped all over her nurse! Then it spread all over her bed and it went up and down her legs and feet! It was that blackish tarry mess. Gram-Gram was so glad that Mama didn't miss out on that part of motherhood! Lucky for Mama it wasn't hard to clean because it was fresh and she had soap and water to clean it with! Giving her a bath was so much fun. Angel Baby was so wiggly and she'd push her feet against Mama's hand. Plus if Mama put her finger inside Angel Baby's hand she'd squeeze it. She was so strong and it was such a delight.

When Mama left that afternoon they were going to try to put her catheter in again. They tried to thread it through her leg but it wouldn't thread, so we'd have to wait another day.

Mama got to hold Angel Baby again tonight. This time Mama told her the story of the Three Little Pigs. Then she told her about her family, all her aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas. She fell asleep on Mama while she sucked on her binkie.

Angel Baby started to get Mama's milk today. Mama got to feed her tonight and she could tell Angel Baby was hungry. She was restless, but once that milk made it to her tummy she settled right down. What a cutie!

August 6, 2002 - Day 6 in the life of Angel Baby

Today is FULL of fun things!

Mama went to visit Angel Baby before going to her own Dr appt to have her staples removed. The nurse told her that Angel Baby was doing so well that they were taking her off the ventilator. Also they had taken the lights off of Angel Baby and took her little sunglasses off of her eyes. She had the most beautiful eyes! They were a dark blue. She would just look around and try tot ake everything in. She had the most beautiful eyelashes. They were a golden brown color and they were long! Mama was delighted!!!

By the time Mama got back from her Dr appt Angel Baby was breathing all by herself!!! She was on nasal CPAP. That was such a big step for her and it would usually exhaust a premie, but Angel Baby was doing great. Infact, she was doing so well that after resting during the afternoon Mama got to do three major Mommy things that night. The nurse showed Mama how to make Angel Baby more comfortable. She showed her how to clean around her eyes, nose and mouth. Mama learned how to clean out her nose and mouth, and then the nurse showed her that when Angel Baby gets her mouth cleaned that she likes to suck on the wet cloth. It was like eating ice chips to her. Then Mama got to change Angel Baby's diaper for the first time. Mama carefully undid the stickies and gently pulled her diaper off. Mama cleaned her up and put a clean diaper on. Then after taking care to make sure Angel Baby was comfortable, Mama was rewarded!!! She got to hold her little girl for the first time!!!

To hold Angel Baby there were a few requests from the nurse. First she needed to hold her for an hour and she should be held skin to skin with Mommy. So Mama sat in a cozy chair, unbuttoned her shirt and Angel Baby was placed on her chest, skin to skin, so that she could hear the familliar sound of her heartbeat. Mama was in heaven - cloud 9 for sure! Angel Baby was so cuddly. They ask that babies are held for an hour because the process of taking a premie from their isolet to the parent is like a 30 minute cardiovascular workout for a premie as small as Angel Baby. Angel Baby did very well. Her heart rate sped up until she got situated on her mommy. Mama wanted to tell Angel Baby a story, so she told Angel Baby the story of Cinderella. Then she told her over and over again how much she loved her and how special she was to her and how thankful she was to have her for her daughter. That hour went by way too fast. When they took Angel Baby off Mama's chest she cried. She didn't want to leave her Mommy! That was also the first time we heard her cry. When she was on the ventilator she couldn't cry, but on nasal CPAP she could. Angel Baby had the cutest cry. It was really feminine and she would crinkle her forehead and give a scowled look. Angel Baby would also move her mouth like she was sucking so the nurse gave her a pacifier. It was purple and so tiny. Angel Baby loved it. She went to town on that thing.

Angel Baby was supposed to have a catheter put in her vein for her nutrients - then they could take the lines out of her umbilical chord. But the nurse couldn't do it that night, so it would have to wait until tomorrow.

What a joyous and successful day for both Mama and Angel Baby!

August 5, 2002 - Day 5 in the life of Angel Baby

Mama was dying to get back to the hospital today to see Angel Baby. When she got there Angel Baby's diaper was open so the lights could hit her entire body. Her diaper was clean, but after 5 minutes she had her first little poop! The nurse had told us the day before that tiny babies like Angel Baby don't have BM's. Well guess what? She was wrong!

Monday night Master Chief came up with Mama. We think she was so excited to see both her Mommy and her Daddy because she just seemed to be so content. What a sweet baby she was!

August 4, 2002 - Day 4 in the life of Angel Baby

It's Sunday today. Angel Baby's nurse came to Mama's room to chat with her. Premie babies always need blood transfusions within the first day. Angel Baby hadn't needed one until the 4th! Also there is a muscle in the heart of a normal baby that closes but in a premie it doesn't close, causing a murmur. They needed this muscle to close so they gave her a medication to try closing it. If that didn't work, they would have to surgically clip it. Angel Baby's little muscle closed on Monday! No surgery needed.

The nurse also informed us in premie babies they worry about bleeding in the brain and so they do ultrasounds on days 4, 7 and 10. Angel Baby had her 1st ultrasound today and everything looked great! We were so proud of our little girl.

Mama was released from the hospital today and it was so hard to leave. We went and saw Angel Baby before we left. Mama remembers telling her that "Mommy was doing better and that I was going home but that I would come visit everyday." Mama wanted to go back that night, but it was just too much for Mama, so we waited until Monday to go back up.

August 3, 2002 - Day 3 in the life of Angel Baby

It's a Saturday. Mama is still in the hospital. Mama was able to make two trips to see Angel Baby today. Angel Baby is doing very well. She's stable, and a very content baby! Nothing remarkable happened today. Mama was so proud of her little sweetheart though. It was so amazing to have such a perfect daughter.

August 2, 2002, Day 2 in the life of Angel Baby

 

This was such an awesome day! Mama got to meet Angel Baby for the first time! Mama didn't get to meet her until 8:45pm, and Angel Baby was already almost 44 hours old.

I was wheeled through the NICU with my oxygen tank and my IV med pole. Her isolet (incubator) was towards the back of the room. She was in the middle isolet in her row. Master Chief helped me to stand up to see her. I'll never forget that feeling (I can feel it now!) of seeing her for the first time. She was beautiful, and beautiful doesn't even begin to describe her! The feeling of an over abundance of love pouring out of me. A mothers love. A love I'd never experienced. It was so strong, stronger than anything I've ever felt. My heart was so full. This was my little girl! She had big hands and big feet! Her hair.... oh was it beautiful. Her skin was the perfect color, like velvet. Her tiny lips, so tender. Her nose was so tiny! Her eyes and ears were covered due to the biliruben lights, but I was sure she was just as beautiful with the coverings as she'd be without.

And then I sang to her. While pregnant with her I made up my own words to the primary song I Often Go Walking.

Dear (Angel Baby) I love you, my dear sweetheart (Angel Baby).
And I can't wait to hold you, in my arms so dear.
I can't wait to hold you, to hug you, to love you.
Dear (Angel Baby) I love you, love your Mommy dear.

I of course cried the whole way through the song. I put my hand inside her isolet and touched her velvet skin. She had several wires and tubes connected to her for her ventilator, her temperature, her blood oxygen levels, her blood pressure and all the blood lines in her umbilical chord stump. These didn't matter though, she was so pretty.

I couldn't stay long, but she gave me hope. She gave me the strength I needed to go on. I was so excited... she was MY little girl!

Happy 10th Birthday Angel Baby

10 years ago today Master Chief and Mama's lives changed forever. Our first child was born. A beauitful little girl with brown hair, blue eyes, gorgeous eye lashes and velvet skin. Born at 26 weeks (14 weeks early) she weighed 1 lb, 12oz and was 13 1/4 inches long. Angel Baby was born at 1:12am via emergency c-section. Mama was terribly sick with pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome and about to die. The only way to save Mama's life was to deliver our baby.

Angel Baby came out screaming! She was soon placed on a ventilator just to make sure she was okay and able to breathe on her own. Master Chief and a close friend Jared came and gave her a blessing that morning. Instead of placing their hands on her head, they very gently touched her foot. She was an angel sent straight from heaven to our family.

Mama couldn't see her yet as she was too sick, but Master Chief made sure to get a couple polariods for her bedside. But Master Chief told Mama how cute she was and how perfect she was! Angel Baby didn't want to be on the ventilator. She'd reach up and pull on the tubes to pull them out! The nurses had to tape washclothes over her arms and legs to keep her contained so she wouldn't pull her tubes out! Can you imagine having to contain such a little baby!

Mama is going to enter each day the milestones Angel Baby reached through her life. So check back in for her whole life story.
Happy 10th Birthday to my sweet Angel Baby.  I can't believe you'd be a decade old today!!!  I have thought of you so much lately.  This birthday you are extremely lucky and you get to share it with your Grandpa Greats.  I hope you know just how much your family loves you. 

Baby Girl NAUGHTINESS

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Baby Girl is more of a handful that Kermit and Miss Piggy were put together.  She is fast!  And sneaky!  And she has perfected the blame game, while lying about what she did.  But today's naughtiness takes the cake.  I'm embarrassed to even tell everyone this, but it's a day we'll all remember. 

So this morning the kids were cleaning their rooms.  Kermit insisted on Baby Girls help, and every once in a while Baby Girl actually is help.  Well today Kermit was playing with putting his Nerf gun away.  He was shooting Baby Girl with it and I overhear her tell him, "If you shoot me one more time I'm going to poop in your room."  I thought, "Oh gosh, I should talk to her about using potty words (something we don't do at our house), but I'm going to let it go."  Choosing my battles today.  So I went to brush my teeth and Kermit came to find me and said, "Mom, Baby Girl just peed on my bed."  WHAT!!!  So I went to see if he was joking and he was serious.  I caught Baby Girl pulling up her pants and a huge wet spot on his bed.  I asked Baby Girl if she peed on his bed and she said, "No."  I asked her again and told her not to lie and she was silent.  I asked a third time and she quietly said, "Yes, he wouldn't stop shooting his gun so I peed on his bed." 

I mean REALLY, who does that!??!! 

I've decided that when Heavenly Father created her, he made sure to add in extra cuteness and lots of cuddles, the world's best hugs and most wonderful kisses because He knew she would be a naughty one.  It's a good thing we love her!

Update on our Summer Bucket List

We have had such a fun summer.  We have accomplished many of the items on our bucket list.  We still have just under 2 weeks left before school starts to accomplish just a few more things...  The * is next to the things we have done.

Summer Reading Program*
Art*
Play Teacher*
Eat Healthy Stuff*
Go to a party if invited
Keep our rooms clean*
Be safe*
Play the piano*
Play outside*
Make a cake*
Play with friends*
Go to a restaurant*
Go to Jump House*
Feed Pets*
Go Bowling
Go Swimming*
Go on a Bike Ride*
Go to the Library*
Go camping in our camper*
Go to the Aquirium
Go to the Zoo
Go to a Park*
Exercise*
Plan a party with friends*
Go to the Theatre*
Stay up late, eat pizza and watch a movie*
Go to Museum
Play date with Gabe*
Go to local favorite play place*
Go look at pet store animals*
Dinner with Missionaries*
Go fishing
Go to Grandma Kunz's house without mom
Make a new treat (doing this on July 4!!!)*
Make ice cream
Find a new park*
Gymnastics*
Swimming Lessons*

Kermit and Miss Piggy Stats

Going backwards yet again!  When school got out in June I took the kids in for their 7 year old well checks.  Yes, the kids were nearly 7 1/2 at the time and now that I'm journaling this... they are coming up on 8... anyway!!!

Their stats...
Kermit
Weight: 63lbs, 8oz, which is the 89%
Height:  50 1/2 inches, which is the 74%
Kermit is growing very tall and doing wonderfully!

Miss Piggy
Weight:  39lbs, 6oz, which is the 3%
Height:  45 inches, which is also the 3%
Miss Piggy is not growing much, lol!  It's been a year and a half and she's hardly grown in height so we are going to watch her for the next year to see if she grows in height or not and then if not, look into the growth hormone.  That being said, I know she is growing because at the end of the school year her pants were getting short and she was even outgrowing her pants in the waist!!!  I never thought I'd say that about her.  So, she is fabulously small.  Hey, dynamite comes in small packages!

Our Summer Bucket List

In an attempt to do really fun things with the kids all summer long, we asked the kids to come up with list of things they wanted to do together.  After that we got a big poster and listed them all out with a calendar of dates already set!  We are having a blast this summer.  We started out by getting new bikes for the kids and a bike trailer for Baby Girl to be pulled in.  This has provided hours of family fun! 

Here is our "Bucket List".  The ones with * next to them, we have already done!  Many of them will be repeated.

Summer Reading Program*
Art*
Play Teacher*
Eat Healthy Stuff*
Go to a party if invited
Keep our rooms clean*
Be safe*
Play the piano
Play outside*
Make a cake
Play with friends*
Go to a restaurant
Go to Jump House
Feed Pets*
Go Bowling
Go Swimming*
Go on a Bike Ride*
Go to the Library*
Go camping in our camper
Go to the Aquirium
Go to the Zoo
Go to a Park*
Exercise*
Plan a party with friends
Go to the Theatre
Stay up late, eat pizza and watch a movie
Go to Museum
Play date with Gabe
Go to local favorite play place
Go look at pet store animals
Dinner with Missionaries*
Go fishing
Go to Grandma Kunz's house without mom
Make a new treat (doing this on July 4!!!)
Make ice cream
Find a new park
Gymnastics*
Swimming Lessons*

We are looking forward to a great summer!  I feel like now that we have hit the month of July our summer is half over with, we go back to school in 6 weeks, BIG BUMMER!!!  We have too much fun playing together!

Jack-O-Lanterns in June

June 25, 2012

Kermit officially became our Jack-O-Lantern.  The bottom tooth came out in May and I'm not sure why I don't have a picture, probably because it was bedtime, as in... he was in bed, got out of bed and asked me to pull his tooth out, so I was probably trying to hurry him back to bed so he wasn't too tired at school the next day.  I didn't even know his tooth was loose, and looking at it now, I still don't think it was loose.  There is still no tooth growing in the hole! 

Anyway, last night we watched The Tooth Fairy, a very cute movie by the way!  After that, the kids were trying to pull their teeth out like crazy!  Tonight Kermit succeeded and pulled this one out himself!  He was so excited and all we can do it laugh at his cute smile!  He's toothless!!!  He did earn $6 from the tooth fairy though for pulling it out himself!!!  Master Chief and I are slightly sad though, this tooth that came out was his chipped tooth from when he fell on the bars at the park broke his leg at the age of 2 and we can no longer call him "Chip".  I guess "Jack" will do for now!

Our Citizen Of The Month!

June 4, 2012

Each week at school they award a Citizen of the Week award.  Both Kermit and Miss Piggy earned their award during the year!  You get a paper award given to you in the classroom by the principal. 

They also give our a Citizen of the Month award and this is HUGE!!!  It is awarded in an assembly in front of the school.  Parents are invited to attend, but we are hidden away in a room so the students don't see who the parents are and then figure out who has won the award for the month.  We got a phone call inviting us to come watch Miss Piggy be awarded Citizen of the Month and we were so excited, I'm not sure how we kept it a secret! 

The principal at our school is beyond amazing.  She is so actively involved in the students academic career, she serves them lunch and then sits with them to eat her own lunch!  She was the one to award the Citizens of the Month and she suprised us by breaking out in song for some of the awards!  The creative teachers would write speaches to song and the principal actually sang the words.  It was so much fun. 

Mis Piggy's award was not to a song however, it was a poem!

Some would say we have saved the best for last. 

She certainly has ended this year with a blast.

As warm breezes blow and rain clouds depart,

She keeps on working with all of her heart.

While others might daydream of the summer ahead,

She remains focused on being a good citizen instead.

With kindness and friendship,

She helps those in need,

I know I can always count on her to do a good deed.

When the year is over and all is said and done

She'll feel proud of herself and just relax in the sun!

 

 When she turned around she was BEET red!  It was cute!

That afternoon, she got to leave campus and go to lunch at a local pizza restaurant with her principal.  Her principal asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up and she told her "A McDonalds worker".  Later I spoke with the principal and she was impressed with her answer because other kids answers were not realistic and Miss Piggy's was an answer that was realistic.  Miss Piggy later told us she was embarrassed by her answer, that she really wants to be an art teacher.  No matter what she does, she'll be great!

A Sneak Peak Into Our Summer Fun!

June 1, 2012

Our kids are so excited to swim this summer.  We've got our little pool all ready and swim lessons scheduled!!!  Only one more week of school before the real fun begins!!!

End Of 1st Grade Awards

May 31, 2012

Kermit and Miss Piggy worked hard this year.  They attend a Charter School, which is a public school, but you get in by lottery.  They have stricter rules, less students in the classroom and more teachers available.  They had a fabulous year.  They attended PE, Music and Computers.  The cool thing about Charter schools are that it seems they teach at an accelerated pace.  Comparing their kindergarten class to their 1st grade class is like black and white.  Kinder seemed like a preschool classroom, whereas 1st grade at the Charter school was hard work, lots of homework and an extreme amount of learning.  It was just what our kids needed.  By the end of 1st grade, Kermit was reading at a 2nd grade, 4th month into the year level and Miss Piggy was reading at a 2nd grade, 5th month into the year level.  Kermit was digging into 2nd grade subtraction even!  They work on Hall of Fame awards throughout the year and at this assembly they were awarded for their hard work. 

Kermit was awarded Addition, Subtraction, 2nd Grade Addition and Phonogram Stars.

Miss Piggy was awarded Addition and Phonogram Stars. 

Their report cards earned them donuts at Krispy Kreme.  Kermit got 6 donuts and Miss Piggy got 5.  The kids came home with comments on their report card that makes a Mama proud! 

My favorites were from the music teacher.  Kermit's said, "Kermit has continued to grow in maturity and self-control this year.  He has a sweet spirit and is full of positive energy.  I truly believe that he loves his time in the music classroom.  Make music a part of your summer fun, Kermit!"
Miss Piggy's said, "Miss Piggy has been a blessing to her music teacher on so many fronts this yar.  She models excellent behavior and shows an understanding of musical concepts that is rare for a child her age.  I wish her the best in her furure musical studies, as I know she will pursue this interest!  Make certain music is apart of your summer fun, Miss Piggy!"

Way to go my sweet children and best of luck in 2nd grade!!!  (how did you get so old!!!??!)

Memorial day 2012

For Memorial Day we had the awesome opportunity to go visit the graves of Mama's ancestors.  The trip allowed for us to stop along the way to see where my grandparents were raised.  It was one of my favorite days because I love my family history.  I am so proud of my family, how they have taught me many things and shaped me into who I am today.

This is the home my grandma grew up in.  There were 13 kids in her family and they all lived in this cute house.  It is a one bedroom house with a living room and later they added on a bathroom and kitchen.  All the girls slept in the bedroom with their parents, they had two large beds, and the boys slept in the garage.  Not all of the kids were at home at the same time.  3 children passed away and grandma's big brother got married 9 days before my grandma was born.  Nobody lives in the house now.

 We visited my grandma's parents grave.

 And their children.  My heart just broke for my great grandparents.  They lost their first baby at 13 days old, a little boy named James to pneumonia.  I never knew that my great grandma went through what I went through and I just cried, knowing that she felt the pain that I felt, in losing our first children, our babies.  I felt close to my great grandma that day. 

 Wilda was only 7 weeks old when she passed away from whopping cough. 

 And Arthur passed away at 9 1/2 years old to meningitis. 

We then traveled to see the house my grandpa grew up in.  I remember going to this house and visiting my great grandmother.  I remember the windows being bigger, but as a child, everything is bigger. Grandpa only lived in this house during the school year, during school breaks and the summer he was working up on the family ranch. 

 

 We visited my grandpa's parents grave.  Grandma Ruby was the only great grandparent I remember on my mom's side of the family.  (I do remember my father's, mother's parents)

 And right across from Grandpa's parents are my great, great grandparents grave!  It was raining very hard so we couldn't see the writing very well, but it was so neat to be able to see their grave!

I am so thankful for my family members who have passed away.  I love them and I love reading stories about them and getting to know them through family history.  I love them all so much.

Happy 76th Birthday, Grandpa Great

May 25, 2012

We were able to go visit Grandma Great for Grandpa Great's 76th birthday.  His stone was placed earlier in the month and for his birthday they put sod out on his grave.  It is beautiful up there.

Happy Birthday to the worlds greatest grandpa.  This was an incredibly hard day for us, we wish you were here, healthy and showering us with hugs.  We love you very much!!!

Kermit Plays Little League!

April-May 2012

Master Chief has some great video of Kermit playing baseball which I will upload later since he's not home right now!  Kermit had a great baseball season.  He generally played 3rd base, short stop, but had several opportunities to play 1st and 2nd base and occasionally he played catcher or outfield and pitcher once.  It was a coach pitch team and these coaches were amazing.  They were so motivating and supportive of all the players, it made baseball rock!

Kermit even had a few double plays in a game.  After that game, the coaches gathered everyone up and told the kids they were going to start something new and give the game ball to the player who played the best.  Kermit was the winner of the first game ball, with his double plays and amazing batting skills!  Way to go, Kermit!

At the end of the season the players all got medals and did a great team cheer!  Go Hurricanes!

I think we will be playing baseball for years to come!!!

Baby Girl Turns 3!!!

May 15, 2012

Baby Girl has been SO excited to have a birthday.  She watched Mama celebrate her birthday and mothers day and she has just been 'dying' to turn 3 and not be 2 1/2 anymore!  She now insists that she is no longer a baby but I think we've convinced her that she is a big girl, but will always be our baby!

The day started out great, Gram Gram and Grandma Great came out and while we waiting for Master Chief to get home from work (He was working night shift) she patiently stacked all her presents up in a tower!  Finally the time came and if you can see her face in this picture you will see she is so excited to get a Micky Mouse Clubhouse DVD.  She is very into Mickey Mouse right now!

 

She was so excited to pick out her own cake, she wanted a balloon cake and luckily Costco has a great one!

We celebrated by going out to McDonalds for her to play with her brother and sister in their playland and eat Happy Meals! 

Aunt S, Uncle B and cousins J and P sent her stickers.  Remember the bandaid obsession... stickers are another favorite!  And she never enjoys just one at at time... all stickers must be stuck on one's entire body to get the most enjoyment!

The day after her birthday we took her in to have her well check.  She is amazingly advanced, doing things at a 4 year old level.  She can draw a stick person, and a few letters of the alphabet.  As for her stats...

Weight 25lbs 8oz, which puts her at 4%

Heights is 37 inches which puts her at 50%

We finally moved her to forward facing in her carseat because while she doesn't hit the 30lbs, which is the recommendation, she is too tall to be rear facing.  She thinks it's pretty cool to be forward facing but I'm so glad we waited to turn her around because saftey is my priority!!!

We have so much fun with her.  She is a sneaky little thing, she pulls the greatest faces and is the worlds best hide and seek player.  She can hide in the greatest spots and be as quiet as a mouse.  It becomes scary when I realize she's playing the game and didn't tell us and we can't find her.  We can call and call for her and she stays still with her lips sealed. 

Baby Girl is a sensitive little girl, she tells us when her feelings are hurt and is great to tell us that she loves us.  She's a tease though and knows how to push Mama's buttons by telling me she's Daddy's best friend.  She does love her Mommy, but she is a Daddy's girl at heart. 

Baby Girl loves to dip all of her foods.  If I can provide a dip at dinner, I'm sure to get her to eat.  She loves to eat tomatoes, strawberries, chicken nuggets,fruit snacks, steak and ribs.  Oh and gum, she sneaks that too! 

Baby Girl is a great liar.  Oh my goodness, she is going to get herself in a lot of trouble!  Kermit and Miss Piggy are horrible liars, but Baby Girl can tell her stories with straight faces and true sounding things.  3 weeks ago I happened to walk into her nursery class and her nursery leader told me congrats, that Kaitlyn just said, "My mommy's going to have a baby!"  Luckily I was able to smash that story before it got spread! 

We adore our Baby Big Girl!!!  The last 3 years have flown by but we couldn't imagine life without you!