First Day of PreSchool 2012

This post is a little overdue but I wanted to write it. Blake started back to preschool this year at the same school he went to last year. He schedule has changed a little because instead of going in the morning, he now goes in the afternoon. We did this so he can have the benefits of daycare and preschool. His daycare is amazing and I have loved it since he has started there. During the normal school months, they have scheduled learning curriculum each morning. So now Blake can have the daycare curriculum in the morning and the preschool in the afternoon. Another reason is by doing this, it eliminates his nap which he really doesn’t need.

I can already see a difference in him. Within the first month of both schools, he knows his seasons, days of the week, can write his name with no help, and is so interested in learning more! I had some worry with him about being behind because of his speech but that too has taken off this past month.

Probably the two biggest accomplishments in my book is that he can write his name and HE IS POTTY TRAINED!! Completely….like through the night and all. It just clicked for him one day and he decided to do it. I guess it was all or nothing with him and Aaron and I couldn’t be prouder. He is very proud of himself, too!

So Blake has had a big month and I can’t imagine what the next year is going to bring when he starts Kindergarten. I can’t believe I am even saying that!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Happy Birthday, Kylie Rose!

Sunday was Kylie's 3rd birthday! Just amazing that she has blessed our lives for three years. She is such a little princess and we are so lucky to have her. She is such a little diva so I can only imagine what she is going to be like in 10 years.

 

Here is a little bit about our little princess:

- Favorite Things: lip gloss, fingernail polish, and earrings

- Favorite Foods: Chicken, rice, cheese, salad

- Favorite Drink: Juice and white milk

- Favorite things to do: play house with her dolls, play with Blake, cuddle with mommy and daddy, watch Dora & Doc McStuffins, dress up in her princess dresses, go to gymnastics class

- You are completely potty trained and has been since Christmas last year

- You love to sing. Some of your favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me, The B-I-B-L-E, Amazing Grace, ABC's, and Twinkle, Twinkle

- You love your big brother so much. There are times that you all fight, then quickly make up so you can play together again. You all can't live without each other!

- You are weraing a size 4T right now and size 9 shoe. You weigh about 40-41 lbs and you are almost as tall as bubby.

 

Kylie chose her birthday party theme back in April when Katie had her birthday party. She was set on a princess party from the start so that is what we had. We had her party on Saturday and then on Sunday we went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch to celebrate and play again. I think she had a great weekend.

 

 

A few pictures from Sunday at Chuck E Cheese. Kylie was so excited to tell "Chucky" that it was her 'Happy Birthday'. When Chucky wasn't out in the play area. She would walk around and call for him and get upset because she couldn't find him.

 

 

Here are a few pictures from the last three years:

 

2 weeks old

 

1 year old 

 

2 years old 

 

3 years old

 

 

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kylie Rose!! You are such a beautiful, smart little girl and I cannot wait to see how much you change this next year. Mommy, Daddy, and Blake love you so much!

 

Our Hiatus

Like I have said previously, we have been so busy and I have been trying to spends time with Aaron and the kiddos as much as possible since completing school. I thought it would be best to do one post on what we have been up to this summer just to catch-up.

So I will start in June (yes it has been that long). On June 4th, Aaron and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. We had a nice weekend away and went to Belterra Casino and Resort. We love going there because it's not too far away and we love the casino and they have a Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse which we love.

 

On September 9th, my mom, sister and aunt donated breast tissue to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at IU Simon Cancer Center. My maternal grandmother died of breast cancer so it meant a lot to all of us to do this. It was for such a great cause and if it was going to help research breast cancer, I was all for it.

 

One that same day, we had our Annual Alumni Dinner and Dance for my high school. Many people my age don't go but my whole family goes and we all have a great time. My high school alumni association is the largest and oldest alumni in Indiana since 1886 which is pretty amazing!

 

 

 

On June 10th, one of my best friends had a beautiful baby girl!! Amelia Jane White was 8lbs, 15ozs and 20 inches long. I got to go down and visit her a couple weeks after she was born and I loved that I got to hold her! I am having Amelia withdrawals so I need to make another trip down to Nashville to hold her again!

 

 

 

We celebrated Father's day on June 17th. I will be blogging later about all of the amazing men in my life. However here is a peek at the father's day gift I made my dad and father-in-law. I think they turned out pretty darn cute.

 

 

 

In July the kids made a trip to the dentist. They weren't that bad, but they weren't on their best behavior. No cavities so hopefully next time Aaron can come with me so it will be easier.

 

 

 

Also in July, Blake's daycare class took a trip to the Louisville Science Center. Being a chaperon, I was in charge of Blake and my niece Katie. It was a great trip and I think we all had a great time! We will be making a trip back very soon.

 

 

 

We also signed Kylie up for a dance/music class. She liked it but it was kind of slow for her. She still got to act like a ballerina. She is not one bit shy but she always acts shy in classes like this for the first 10 minutes or so. She was much more outgoing towards the end of the class.

 

 

 

My beautiful cousin got married in July also. She was such a gorgeous bride and her wedding was so pretty. It was also a pretty fun wedding with a lot of dancing going on. I am so happy for her and her new hubby, Chad.

 

 

 

At the end of July, my sister and one of our best friends took a road trip to St. Louis to see our favorite bands play - Train. It was amazing! It felt like we were 16 again. Not only did we have front row seats, we got to go on stage and sing with the lead singer for one of their songs!! They asked folks coming to the concert to submit videos singing this one particular song. So we did, jokingly, and we got picked! It was so much fun and it will always be something that all three of us will remember forever.

 

 

 

August started of great with our amazing cruise. I did find one more picture which is the picture they take when you are first getting on the ship. It is not the best of my dad, but good of everyone else.

 

 

 

On the 18th, my family had our first annual Corn Hole Tournament to benefit Alzheimer's. We started it in memory of my Grandma and it was such a success. So many local businesses donated and we made almost $3,000 that day! This Saturday is the walk and we will be donating $4,500 to the Louisville Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. I think this is so amazing and I know my Grandma would be so proud.  

 

 

 

To finish off this very long post, this weekend is a huge weekend for us. Kylie turns 3!! We have her party, the Alzheimer's walk, and Blake's first soccer game....all on Saturday!

 

Until next time....

 

 

The Month of August

It has been a very busy month and summer to say the least. My first news is that I FINISHED SCHOOL!!! For me, this is huge because I can now say I can live a normal life with knowing I don't have to go to class 2 nights a week or that I have a huge paper or presentation for class coming up. It is a great accomplishment but also a huge relief for me. When I do something, I give it my all and I dedicate a lot, if not most, of my energy to it. Now I am able to focus on the kids, my family, my friends and my home life. I guess work fits in there somewhere but that is a given.

 

I actually finished school on July 31st and we left for a family cruise on August 4th, hence the reason I am very behind on blogging. I needed a break from everything since I am on a computer 8 hours a day for work, then usually a few hours a night for school. So now I can say that when I get on the computer it is to do a fun project for the kids or the house or to blog about the happenings for the day.

 

The cruise was amazing. Grandmom and Grandpa Roger came up and kept the kids at the house which was a life saver. We skyped with them most nights which helped me. I know they were very well taken care of and had a great week getting spoiled. Hopefully the kids didn't wear them out too much. I know I was happy to see them when we got home! Below are some pictures that Roger took of their week together.

 

 

Our cruise was so nice. I hated to leave the kids but it was nice to spend some time with Aaron. My whole family went minus all of the kiddos - Mom, Dad, my sister and her husband, my brother and his girlfriend and my youngest brother. We stayed two nights in New Orleans (which I had never been before) and then 5 nights on the cruise. We were supposed to have 2 stops in Mexico, Progreso and Cozumel, but because of Hurricane Ernesto, we only stopped in Cozumel. I was fine with this since that just meant we had another day at sea laying out. In Cozumel we went to an all-inclusive deal and hung out on the beach with a very nice pool all day. It was probably the best day of the trip. We only took a few pictures the whole trip but we had a great time.

 

 

 

Oh and I got to celebrate my 31st birthday on the cruise! It was such a great week.

 

In other exciting news, my brother and his girlfriend Laura got engaged!!! It happened on her birthday when we got back and I am so happy for them. She will be leaving for one more year of Law School at Georgetown University this weekend so they have a lot of changes going on in their life right now. They both took the bar right before we left for vacation so the relaxing week was much needed for them as well. No word yet on wedding plans but I cannot wait for them to get hitched. They are so good together and I can't wait to get another sister!

 

 

Well that is all for now. I have so much more that has happened this month so I will update shortly!

One Year Later

One year ago today our lives changed forever. Someone very special to us left us here on Earth to be with Jesus. It’s still so surreal. Seems like it happened yesterday, yet still feels like a bad dream that I am going to wake up from and everything will be back to normal.

If you are reading my blog for the first time, HERE is my post from last year after my mother-in-law Paula passed away suddenly of a pulmonary embolism.

You hear it all the time – Only the good die young or God takes those who he needs with him in Heaven. But it still doesn’t seem fair…we needed her here. Blake, Kylie and John need their Grammy.

I keep thinking about all of the things that she has missed over the last year.

-         The birth of her 3rd grandbaby, John

-         Kylie’s 2nd birthday

-         Blake’s 4th birthday

-         Aaron graduated from Graduate school

With everything that Emma and Nathan had to go through for that little baby – preterm labor, preterm birth, many, many nights in the hospital – I am a firm believer that she was with them the entire time, just not in person. It is amazing what that little 3lb, 4oz little boy has grown to be.

Paula is missed by so many every single day. I know that my father-in-law Roger misses her so much as well as her mom, Grandmom. I can't even image losing my husband or my daughter. And Aaron and Nathan lost one of the most important people in their lives, their mom.

Paula was a very important part of my life and I miss her very much. I do know for certain that I have a guardian angel watching over my family and I every single day.