He is one year old!

Well, another major milestone was reached at our home awhile ago and I'm finally getting around to posting about it.

Our little baby turned one year old and there is not much baby about him anymore. Nope, he's all toddler, all the way!

First, a quick (maybe not quick, but cute) look back:

Ready to bring our baby boy home!

Two months old and looking like such a handsome guy!

This is after his first hair cut (3 1/2 months)!

Getting bigger and enjoying his sisters. (6 months)

He is sure growing up quickly! (9 months)

It looks like he knows something fun is going on...

"Check out that cake, let me get my hands on that!"


"See, I told you this would be good times!"


He didn't really understand what was going on but he definitely loved being the center of attention and all the paper that was left out for him to rip and shred. That never happens!

This little man has been a blessing and joy in our life. He is a very easy going guy now and is pretty happy most of the time. He loves people and interacting and his laugh is seriously contagious! He is definitely teaching us a few things about boys and has done lots of things his sisters never did -- I guess that's his job! He'll definitely keep us on our toes but we love him dearly. Thanks for the first year and we can't wait to see what the many more years bring to your life.

Always something

This girl knows how to have fun! What is a toy box for, anyway?

Can't you just see it in those eyes?

Little brother is just wondering how she got in there and how he's going to follow her!

Too soon

This really caught me off guard...


One evening in early September K was complaining about her tooth hurting and honestly I passed it off because I didn't really think much about it. The next morning she came up complaining it hurt to eat so I asked her which tooth, stuck my finger in there and it started wiggling. YIKES, I thought! There is NO WAY I am old enough to have a kid that is going to be losing teeth!! I was really surprised at how much it bothered me. I think there are a couple of reasons; first that is a "big kid" thing and I have little kids. Second, I've always thought that stage where kids are toothless and the next stage when the GIANT permanent teeth grow back in are so goofy looking. I've wondered what I will think of my own children...well, I'm about to find out. Will they look goofy, too? or will I not notice? We'll have to wait and see!

So one day we went to pick her up at the bus stop and I noticed she had a sticker on her shirt and knelt down to talk to her and see what it said -- I nearly freaked out.

Then she smiled at me and I did freak out! I couldn't believe it! She told me the story about how she was sitting at the journal table and just pulled her tooth out. (That's a real shocker if you know what a whimp she is!) She said she just started laughing and laughing and couldn't stop. It was so cute and I loved hearing her tell me about it but a big part of me was sad I wasn't there. I guess this is the beginning of me not being there!

She's off...

to kindergarten, that is! It's hard to believe but our little girl has turned into a big girl and is now off to kindergarten -- and LOVES it!

First we got to take her to Open House where we checked out her classroom and met her teacher. She got to do some projects and have both Mom and Dad there. It was such an exciting day for her!



Then, the real day FINALLY arrived! It was off to her first day of school! Do you think she looks excited?



We got her signed in and her back pack hung up and then it was time for Mom and the little kids to leave.



Yes, we did have a fair amount of tears (even a few from Mom) at parting time but this is getting off the bus -- no tears in sight! (The darn bus drove off so fast I couldn't get it in the picture like I wanted. Oh well!)


This has been a very exciting time for our family and we have been delighted to watch the joy and excitement K has for learning. This is going to be a fantastic year of growth for her and we are very excited to be able to watch the process!

A crack up...

I don't know why but it cracks me up when A eats but maybe it is because this is often the outcome:



What is even funnier is that when she was done she wanted down and didn't think she needed cleaned up at all. She thought she was already clean! We had to take her to the bathroom mirror to prove it and then she thought it was hilarious.

The ER

Well, Mr. S. has had his first run to the ER. I am sure it is the first of many with this little guy. Let's just say that baby-proofing has been taken to a whole new level at our house and we've already survived two other babies. Someone told me to start "boy-proofing" when I was still pregnant. I totally get it now. The story goes...

First he got onto the couch and decided to dive head first off resulting in a goose egg on his forehead. That was OK by me, it happens even though I felt bad. Fast forward a couple of hours and I am cooking dinner with him climbing and crawling all around my feet. He decides to climb the stove, now mind you he can't yet walk (yes my blog posting is way behind). While holding on to the oven door he goes for a ride -- backwards -- ALL THE WAY to the tile floor. Yup, another pretty big goose egg on the back of his head. At least he's symmetrical, right. I'm thinking great now the oven is not only a safety hazard when it's hot but also when it is stone cold. (Yes, we now have an oven lock on it.) Fast forward to bedtime...inconsolable crying. We call the nurse line they encourage us to just watch him and he should be fine. Fast forward to 9PM...the throwing up starts. Now I know the answer, ER here we come. Yup, doctor's orders are to go straight to the ER. So, off we go for an all night adventure of sitting and waiting with a wiggly boy who is beyond tired! After a few hours of that we get the green light and go home, not before we are told that we will probably be back with him because he's a busy boy. Great, that sounds like fun, can't wait!!

So, here's a picture of his first hospital tag...by the time we went the goose eggs were down and I didn't take pictures before.

A new hobby

For the past year or so I have been learning more about the world of couponing. I have to say that sometimes it is exhilarating and sometimes it is overwhelming. I am by no means an expert but I dabble in it a bit and once in a while have one of those exhilarating experiences. Here is a picture of one of those:

Would you believe that the above loot only cost me $5.44?!! I was so excited. I did have to do 3 transactions; 1 was free, another $1.00 and the last was $4.44.

The year of the bees...

For some reason our family has had lots of run-ins with bees this year. It started with K getting stung at Grandma and Grandpa's house during our visit in August, right on the lower lip! OUCH!

She was jumping on their trampoline when it happened and Uncle B. had noticed there were a lot of bees and did some spraying but then after the sting we realized the whole trampoline needed to come apart, check out what we found.

After our trip it was time to sand and restain our front porch and before he started A. found this underneath. YIKES!!!

Then it was A's turn. She got stung after we got K off the bus and were checking the mail, right on her big toe. The crazy bee wouldn't get off either, I had to pull him off!!

We ended with Mom having a turn in the Target parking lot a few weeks later.

I'm not sure what happened this summer but we had our share of bee stings and hopefully we are down for a while now!