School Supplies

Last week I posted about already buying school supplies, well we have got about 1/3 of what we have to have so far and here it is....



Here is Caleb's stuff (we still have quite a few things to buy for him). He loves his Batman lunch box, I must say it is pretty cool as it has a cape on the back :)



And Madison only needed a backpack and lunch box and of course she picked Dora



And of course Taylor's stuff (which we have most of)



There are things that teachers will request and we won't know what those are until Open House and there are also items that each room needs like Kleenex, hand sanitizer, etc that we still need to get but since we still have 3 weeks I think we are doing pretty good and will have it all by then :)

Madison went to VBS!

This week is VBS at Farragut. Taylor and Caleb love to go to this one b/c they get to see all their friends at that Church. We don't see them as much as we used too. This church allows 3 yr olds to come. Madison wanted to go to VBS yesterday but I hadn't signed her up since I figured she wouldn't go. Well she was upset when the others went and she didn't. She kept saying "I go VBS too". So this morning after taking the older 2 and dropping them off I went back home and got Madison ready and took her up there (The church is less than 5 minutes from our house so this was doable).

She was excited about going but the whole way there kept saying "Mommy go to VBS with me, you stay with me mommy". I kept telling her that I couldn't stay with her b/c I was too big for VBS. I reminded her that she was going to see her friend Abby and have lots of fun! Well when we got there she walked in like such a big girl. We went and found her class (they were having snack since we were a little late) and she went right with Mrs Michelle to find Abby and sit by her! I was so proud (and a little sad). She doesn't even like me to leave her at home or at her grandparent's house :) She didn't look back so I slipped out the door. I didn't hear any crying start so I took that as a good sign and off I went to run errands by myself :) Her teachers know her and me and won't hesitate to call if she cries very much (or for very long) but hopefully she will see how much fun she can have with other kids in a "structured environment" (like preschool is going to be next month).

Here she is enjoying a popsicle while waiting for me to pick her up!



Showing me her "craft". When she was walking to the car she kept saying "I made this"

School supplies, sidewalk paint and playing in the rain

Tuesday the kids and I went over to see Melanie and Carter. Madison and Carter got in some much needed playing time. Carter also had a lesson on sharing his toys :) He did very well for a 2 year old. I got some much needed Carter love :) The kids and I really miss him. Caleb wanted to know if Carter could come to our house again, so we are having Carter over to our house next week for a playdate! I meant to take my camera so I could get some pictures but forgot it. Caleb got a splinter in his finger from the wooden deck and he was such a big boy! He let me hold him and Melanie "dig" it out. He was very brave :) We put a band-aid on it and of course Carter needed a band-aid too. He decided his should go on his forehead :)

Afterwards we stopped by Target to get a few items. I decided rather than wait until the last minute (and then have to fork over a small fortune) I would start picking up "back to school" items as I see them. One thing that is hard to find in Knox County is Elmers Glue Sticks. The schools specifically ask for the Elmers brand for some reason. Any way I never can find them so I stocked up when I saw a bin of them at Target. We also got crayons, pencils, scissors and pencil boxes. The kids were so good and Taylor so helpful that we looked through the clearance items and found some Crayola sidewalk paint and paint supplies. The kids were really excited about using it.

Here they are enjoying the sidewalk paint (minutes later it started to rain so that activity was cut short. We will be doing it again though.





We also ran over to Toys R Us. They were running a sale where if you bought a backpack you got a lunch box free. Madison is going to have to have both of those this year for preschool so that was a good deal. Caleb and Taylor also needed new ones as their's were pretty beat up from last year (things just don't hold up as well now it seems).

The weather hasn't been to cooperative for swimming the last few days so we have just been sleeping in, playing inside and watching too much TV. This morning when we woke up it was so dark outside and not too much later the bottom fell out of the sky and it started pouring. It eased up for a little bit and the kids enjoyed playing outside in the rain. I was surprised that Madison wanted to do that, it was her idea and she was the first one out there. I wanted to video it but our video camera is full and needs to be downloaded before we can film anymore :( They really had a good time!

"Raindrops keep pouring on my head"



Don't you just love the "bed-head hair" and jammies :)



Running through the rain!



Standing in the small river flowing from our gutters



Caleb was "cold" in this picture :)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Not sure about anyone else's garden but ours is growing quite nicely. We have harvested a few cucumbers. Our tomato plants have lots of tomatoes on them that are green. They have the longest harvest time of anything we planted (78 days). Our pepper plants have numerous peppers on them they just need to get bigger. And our eggplant and zucchini plants have blooms so they should have plants soon. The kids have enjoyed taking care of their garden and enjoyed watching things grow. The cucumbers barely make it in the door before they are peeled and consumed!

A cucumber



Caleb showing off our peppers!



The tomatoes




NaNa and Taylor checking the cucumber vines!

Sprinkler Park Fun!

Yesterday we met some friends at the local Sprinkler Park for some fun and food! It was a little crowded when we got there as a church group was there, however the left not long after we got there and it wasn't as busy. Taylor and Caleb jumped right on in to the sprinkler but Madison was a little more hesitant. She is too little to remember what it was like last time she was there and the water was cold! She kept to the edges where the water barely hit her before finally "plunging" in and getting wet! Once she got used to it she really had fun playing with her friends Sam, Lauren and Ella. Caleb enjoyed playing with Will. And Taylor just played with everyone.

After playing awhile we ate some lunch and celebrated Madison's birthday with cookies! That was her pick. She has such a sweet tooth, the girl loves anything chocolate! So she had picked chocolate chip cookies (I also brought some oatmeal raisin for anyone who wanted to be "healthy") but mostly the chocolate chip were devoured.

We had a really good time playing with friends. Afterwards we went swimming over at Nana and Pops where Madison fell flat on her face. I tried to get a good picture but they didn't turn out too well. She has a knot on her head that is turning a pretty shade of bluish-purple! Just in time for her 3 yr old pictures on Saturday :)

Playing in the water



Taylor and Caleb



Madison and Sam



Sam getting wet!



Taylor and Will hitting the button to drop a bucket of water!



What a cutie!



Caleb and Will dumping the bucket of water.



Caleb "manning" one of the water guns!



Catching water in a bucket.



Lauren catching water in her hat, pretty smart little girl!



Will "manning" one of the guns!



This is one cute kid!



Taylor dumping water on some unsuspecting (or suspecting) soul!



Madison and Lauren



Ella,Madison and Lauren (Madison is so much shorter :)

3 year old check-up

Three years ago today we were bringing Madison home.

Today she got to go to the dr! This is never a pleasant experience. I think b/c of how many times she went and all the tests, pokes, and shots she tends to freak out more than other kids. Neither Taylor nor Caleb screamed like she does. I tried to get her used to the idea by telling her we were going to be seeing Dr Fogle in a couple of days ago, that didn't help. She was a nervous wreak! She did ok at the beginning. She hopped up on the scales to be weighed and measured. She loved getting to stand on the big ones like Taylor and Caleb instead of sitting on the "baby scales". She kept saying "I don't want a shot" and luckily she didn't have to get any b/c she was all up to date. She did however have to have her finger poked. She SCREAMED the whole time and then when they were going to put a band aid on it she screamed louder. We chose to forgo the band aid and just hold pressure on it with gauze :) That worked.

Then the dr came in and everything went down hill fast! She again SCREAMED the whole time he listened to her heart and lungs, looked in her ears, eyes, mouth and nose. He was kind enough to let her sit in my lap for all this and you would have thought that would have helped, it didn't!

Everything checked out great with her (though I am not sure how he was able to hear her heart and lungs over the screaming). Her iron is pretty low so they recommended an iron supplement. She is also still tiny weighing in at a whopping 24 lbs and measuring 33 inches tall. She was 1% for height and weight but we will take that as it is the first time we have "officially" been on the scale :)

Madison 3 years ago



and today



I can't believe how much her hair color has changed. It was so dark and now it is as light as the other 2 kiddos!

Birthday Celebration and Surprise Baby Shower!

While at The Glade a few weeks ago we celebrate the April, May and June birthdays in our family. That took care of all 3 of my kids plus Aunt Gabby and Cousin Kelsey. We enjoyed the wonderful meal Aunt Rachel and Uncle Daniel cooked, awesome punch brought by Po and Mo (aka Jim and Paula, Rachel's parents), and a wonderful cake from Sam's!

The Birthday Bunch!



Enjoying some yummy cake!



Opening presents!



Madison go this cool coloring book that you can wash and the colors disappear and you can start all over! It is really neat, thanks Aunt Gabby!



We also "surprised" Rachel and Daniel with a baby shower. They have had numerous showers and have lots of stuff but none of us have been able to attend any of those showers.

Lots of pink girly clothes!



Don made this shirt, it says "Made In China" (for those who don't know she was conceived in China) :)



More sweet little clothes



They also got a shirt that says "Born in the USA"



They are going to be great parents to Hannah when she gets here. They have wanted her a long, long time. Everyone has been praying for her for a long time and we can't wait to meet her and shower her with love until October when they go back to China :(