Working Hard for that DS and Breaking a Tooth

I'm a little slow in posting this, but I just wanted to congratulate G on finally acheiving his goal of getting a Nintendo DS. He worked his toosh off since the beginning of the school year to get good grades on his school work, spelling tests, receiving tickets for his good behavior, and also getting chosen by his teacher to receive an award for the quarter (two get chosen out the class each quarter). We are proud of him. He is such a good kid and has not once asked for us to bend the rules on his DS playing time. Well done, G! You deserve it!

On a side note, because of his award, G got to have a special surprise breakfast at his school and we were invited. While he bit into his donut, his front tooth cracked and started bleeding. I knew it was doomed and wouldn't see the end of the day. That night, he spent the night at grandma and grandpa's. He called me while we were at dinner to inform me that his tooth fell out and landed on his pizza. He asked if I could write a note to the tooth fairy, asking her if she'd leave him a surprise that night and come pick up his tooth the following night, since he was not at home. The tooth fairy agreed. The following night, he got all of the sudden sad. When I went to say good night to him in his room, I noticed that his head was buried into his pillow and he was wimpering. After much prodding, I found out that he had gotten so attached to his tooth that he didn't want to give it to the tooth fairy. I felt bad for him. I told him I'd write her another note and I'm sure she would be willing to let him keep it, but she asks that he's a good boy in return. He was so happy. The following school day, he put it in a jar and had it passed around for his class to see (don't ask where he gets these ideas). Here's a picture of him with his front tooth gone...look at that mischievious smile...

Happy Birthday, Little M!

It's hard to believe we just celebrated our M's second birthday. I still think of her as my baby. She still will be my baby until the next one comes! Two years ago, I was scheduled to go in to have a c-section with Miss M. I was terrified and had no idea what to expect. That same day was also election day. I remember that there was an important marriage amendment that was on the chopping block in VA(kind of like Prop 8) and I thought it was my civic duty to go vote. So off I went to vote, slapped my "I Voted" sticker on, and made my way to the hospital to have my sweet M. The memory is so clear to me because of the elections we just had.

As you all know, I always do a shout out to my kiddos on their birthday. Here's to Miss M. She our cuddlebug. We can always count on a hug and kiss from her. She is the most easy-going girl ever. Maybe it's because she's had to get toted around her whole life to her older siblings' activities. You will never hear a peep out of her. She's always just happy to be out and about with us, no matter what the activity. We are so grateful that she goes with the flow of our family. She is a smart little gal. She can already pick out letters of the alphabet in books, count to 12, and even count backwards from five. She speaks in complete sentences now and usually composes 4-5 word sentences. She is my little helper...always looking for things that should be put away or is out of place and does it without being asked (now if her older sibblings could follow that example). She is our singer and dancer. She is definitely our princess. She is known for testing out "poofiness" of dresses by twirling around to make sure it fits her descrimination and approval.

We love you more than words can say! Here's to you, "Mootsie," Happy Birthday!

We took her to good old Chuck E. Cheese for the birthday.

Here's a little clipping of M blowing out the candles (a little early)...

Field Trip Re-do

T's field trip for preschool was on the same day as the Palin rally (see below posting). After the rally, the roads were jammed up and it was extremely cold outside. I was supposed to get home and take her to her field trip, but given those factors, I had her skip. I felt very guilty because she was excited to ride the bus, but I told her I'd make it up to her. G man had his field trip to a farm a few days beforehand (it was in the high 40's most of the day). He actually had a blast and wanted to go back, so we decided do a field trip re-do for T on a nicer day (70 degree weather). There were huge slides that the kids loved. T convinced us to pay extra to ride a pony there. I normally wouldn't have (I am so against paying an admission fee and then additional fee for other stuff, but that's another story), but I was still feeling guilty for having her miss the field trip, so I caved. She loved it. Being right after Halloween, they had these people on these platforms very high up in the air throwing pumpkins down and smashing them. I think that was the highlight of the day for them...watching the pumpkins hit the ground in a loud bang and see the bits scatter all over the place. Maybe we could have saved some money and just let Cedric climb up on the roof of our house and smash all of our old pumpkins! I don't think that would have been as cool, though. Hopefully, we made it up to Miss T okay. By the look on her face throughout the day, I think we did.

Halloween

You got a sneak peak in our header picture, but here are some more, in case you wanted to take a look. We had a fun time at our ward party, trick-or-treating at the mall during the day, and then around the neighborhood afterwards. For some reason, this year, the kids barely got any candy around the neighborhood. Their baskets are usually overflowing to the point where we have to dump candy out for them mid-way. This time, after the entire night, they didn't even fill up half of their buckets. Is the bad economy to blame for people skimping? Believe me, it was plenty, though! I cannot complain. I have hidden their candy in a safe place. Surprisingly, they haven't asked for it. It's almost like they have forgotten. Then, I use it as a prize or bribery later and it works every time! Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

M was a cute princess...

G was a Redskins player...

T was a Redskins cheerleader...

Here are all the cousins before heading out...

Cedric was the Incredible Hulk for our ward party (poor man's costume put together in 5 mins.)

I was a pumpkin (since Cedric decided to dress up, I had to also, so I wouldn't feel left out)...