Little Photo Snippets

September is nearly finished and I have not done a fantastic job at all of keeping the blog updated. I think part of it is because I didn't think we did anything too out of the ordinary, but after looking through these pictures below, I'm reminded that part of the reason for the blog is to treasure the memories that come from the normal days. So here's a little snippet of our life over the past few weeks. 

 Avery set up her fairy dollies in the splits. 

She's such the sweetest sleeper! She'll cuddle animals and dolls all night long. 

She's certainly at the age where anything remotely interesting is an opportunity to "take a picture!" She constantly says "Hey mom! Take my picture!" and poses accordingly.  This particular morning she had stacked up some unicorn stamps into a tower. 

And on this particular evening, she styled her own hair using items from an old Kit-n-Caboodle of mine that we found in my parents' garage. 

Sometimes, I ask the boys to smile for me so that they'll be in my camera roll too! :) 

I guess I'm super afraid of being late to dance class, so we inadvertently always arrive significantly early. We get a good parking spot and relax in the truck until it's time to go inside. What a cute smile!

She bought a diary this summer and loves to write and draw in it. 

Progress on the land! We had a temporary power pole installed (via Aaron) and shortly thereafter, the power company came by and installed our real power poles on the property! Improvements!

While checking out the power pole, we spotted a baby watermelon far from the patch!

Kindergarten is hard work!

Being an old puppy is hard work!

Avery needed to make an "all about me!" poster and include a photo of her pet, so we grabbed a couple new shots!

Storytime with Dad is always fun!

We enjoyed going to a birthday party at church for one of our friends!

Flinging around a sticky dinosaur back and forth with Dad was a high-light as well! 

Oh the magic of the lighting aisle in a hardware store. :) 

And that's it for September Photo Snippets!  We celebrated my mom's birthday and Aaron's birthday this month and we get a little bit of a break from our 5 week birthday string before we celebrate our wedding anniversary in early October. 

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba 

Summer Fun, So Far!

 While I certainly meant to write more in May, it doesn't equate to the level of fun that we had as we closed out a school year and began another summer!  We love summertime so much and here's just a few snapshots of the fun we've been having lately!

Our town had a touch-a-truck celebration a few weekends ago.  Noah had a blast! Avery joined him for a few photos. Michael was present, but preferred to stay right by my side instead of venturing into the vehicles. 

The next day, a local church had a food truck party to kick off their VBS! We made a quick stop at the ice cream truck.

During Michael's last art class of the year, the younger two and I wandered around our downtown and tried out a "new to us" drink place. We ordered a pink flamingo in honor of one of my best friends (whom we call "Flamingo"). I especially appreciated the mantra written on the cup!

An unexpected few days of rain finished out our school days, and Avery enjoyed getting to wear her rain boots and jump in muddy puddles like Peppa Pig!

My mom made a delicious low carb berry pie to ring in Memorial Day!

Yesterday, I took the kiddos to the art studio for its 15th birthday party. All three of them made these really cool water paint portraits. They each chose three colors and squirted them into a tub of water. The art studio associate then dipped a piece of thick paper into the water, and when she pulled it out, the paint design was on the side that was pressed into the water! How cool!  I love these so much. They express the personality of each of my kiddos so well. 

(Avery's, Michael's, Noah's)

As I'm working on school work for myself at various points throughout the day, I try to do something fun with the kids to make sure their summer retains its relaxing atmosphere. This morning, we made a run to Krispy Kreme! 

Oh these kids. I love them ever so much!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Kiddo Update

 It's been a while since I shared an update on my kiddos, so here we go!

Michael: 9 Years

Michael is such a joy to be around!  He LOVES to offer encouragement to others and gives the best hugs!  He is still a fan of video games and likes to try out new games with new scenarios.  He's an awesome reader and likes to read historical fiction as well as comic-esque novels.  I was struggling recently with figuring out what items I could assemble for an Easter basket for him since he's not a little boy anymore and doesn't necessarily like the trendy items of "big boys" so I had a thought to look up "tween Easter basket ideas" and I found SO MANY great things!  Now I'm super excited to give him his Easter basket (which essentially is a "Spring essentials" basket of fun things to do together this Spring and Summer!  

Michael is tall-- nearly 5 feet at 9 years old.  He wears Adult Small or Youth XL shirts, and size 14/16 pants.  His shoe size is now bigger than mine, and I have a feeling that he'll pass me in height within the next year.  

He still has the prettiest thick blonde hair and he's getting to the age of wanting to buy body washes that will smell good and stay scented throughout the day.  I used to think I'd dread the tween and teenage years, but it's so much fun to think about how he's really developing his own sense of style and preferences.  It blew my mind a week ago when we went to his endocrinology appointment and he was able to handle some of the medical preparations entirely by himself!  He's really shaping up to be a great person and I'm so proud of him.  I love you so much, Michael-buddy!

Noah: 8 Years

Noah is as spunky as ever!  He thrives on one-on-one time and will forever be my best independent player out of all of my children.  He enjoyed a recent solo trip to the strawberry patch with his grandparents and was quite the successful picker!  He still loves all things police and is constantly on the search for any new police car toys and still gets a thrill when we see police cars driving around.  When I searched for Michael's Easter basket items, I also found some great things for Noah and I'm super pumped to give him his Easter things too!  

Noah is still my most sensitive kid as well and struggles with whiny voices some of the time.  He just can't quite let go of not being the baby, even though he hasn't been the baby for over four years.  He benefits from quality time and words of affirmation.  He is doing fantastic with wearing his glasses, and a recent trip to the eye doctor determined that once he outgrows his eye muscle issue, he most likely won't need glasses ever again.  He's my brown haired baby and his smile still lights up a room, almost as much as his big light blue eyes do! 

Noah is pretty tall (although I can't remember exact inches), and he's skinny.  He can still fit into size 6/7 pants in the waist, but they're too short.  He needs size 7/8 pants for length, but wears a child small in shirts.  He'll be tall and thin when he's older.  He aims to please those around him and he gets continual high-achievement marks at school.  He's a blessing to be around and I'm so glad he's my middle child!  I love you so, my Noah boy!

Avery: 4 Years

Avery is a treat.  She's a sour patch kid for sure.  Sometimes she's super sweet and kind.  Other times, she's exerting her own method of spunkiness and sass.  Sometimes she's great playing by herself and other times, she needs constant company from whichever adult is nearby.  She LOVES stories and the show "Bluey" on Disney plus.  She is still utterly enamored with unicorns and mermaids.  She's a great pretend mommy to her beloved doll, Baby Pat Pat.  

She has been a stellar participant in ballet class and I feel like we've found her niche. She practices her moves and the proper terms when she's not in class.  She plays ballerina with her Barbie and we read books about ballerinas.  She demonstrates her new moves and likes to look back at video clips of her performances.  She has an upcoming recital and I'm really looking forward to it!

She is on the taller side of average, and wears size child small shirts but can easily transition from pants anywhere from size 5T to 6/7.  She loves dressing up, singing (real songs and made up songs), eating and baking sweets of any kind, and cuddling.  She has a few "must haves" at bedtime like wearing her hair in a bun and singing the same couple songs.  

It's a joy to be around her because it's a constant surprise of what she'll do or say next!  Avery, you're so sweet and special.  I love you!

Well that was fun!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba

Sayings of my Children

Here's another rendition of silly sayings of my children. 

Me: You'll need to write some thank you notes.
Michael: I'm going to write a poem for mine!
Noah: I'm going to write a hate note to h-e-double-hockey-sticks
Me: That's not what I meant


Avery: When I close my eyes, I can't see. I need glasses

Anytime Avery wants to do something at a future time she'll say "to later."  Example: "Mommy, you see that? You need to get a big bat and get it. To later."

(While watching a show with my 3 y.o.nephew. The show host asks 'what's your favorite food?')
Avery: Watermelon
W: No! Not watermelon! Pancakes!

(When my nephew was getting in the pantry for a snack)
Me: what's up, snack attack?
W: I'm not snack attack! I'm a big boy


Conversation I overheard between my 8 y.o. nephew and my sons:

G: Did you guys know that Michael Jordan is now the coach of his own team?
Noah: But he's the president

(When Avery fell asleep in the car)
M: She's probably dreaming about telling someone "no"
N: She's probably dreaming about U.S.
Me: The United States?
N: No. U.S.
Me: Us?
N: No! Unicorns! Starts with a "u," ends with an "s."

(While playing)
Noah: It was shot...
Michael: Twice
Noah: No...
Michael: Thrice
Noah: No.  It was shot... three times

Avery: Akuna wanted his rope. So I gave it to him.
Me: That was nice
Avery: So... I am great
Me: You are great

(While the boys are flipping through the channels on a TV in a beach cabin)
Noah: (flips channel...it lands on a commercial)
Michael: Ad
Noah: (flips channel...it lands on a sitcom)
Michael: Old show
(My boys learned the art of not being able to choose the TV show since it's not a streaming service)

Avery calls Pocky "chopsticks."

So in children's church today we talked about blood sacrifice & how Jesus paid the price for us. One of the questions I asked was "do you think you could do enough good things to earn your way into Heaven?"
Noah's response "Well, you'd have to die first"

Avery calls pretend tattoos "bad-toos."

Noah: Do you have a sew at your house?
Me: A sew? Like things to sew?
Noah: Yes
Me: Yes I do.
Noah: Good. I need you to sew my blanket

Avery: What day is it?
Me: Thursday
Avery: What?! We had a Thursday last week!


Avery: The brothers are watching something scary on the chromebook
Me: Did you tell them to turn it off?
Avery: No. You're the parent. I'm not the parent


(My parents gave me a bouquet of flowers to commemorate starting another school year.)
Avery: I see roses!
Me: Have you smelled a rose? (I hold the bouquet to her)
Avery: Mmm! It smells like red!

Noah: I can spell chocolate
Me: How?
Noah: Chocklit

Me: Happy birthday!
Avery: (gasps) Thank you for saying that, Mom!

Michael: Happy birthday!
Avery: Thank you!
Michael: I can't believe you're 4!
Avery: (deadpans) What?.... why did you say that? I am three!

Avery: I want to watch a dee-bee-deeb! (Dvd)
Me: Oh yay! I love dee-bee-deebs! Which one do you want to see?
Avery: No. I just want to watch it

Avery calls mascara "eye-scare-ah."

Avery: You're a grown up
Me: But do I want to be a grown up?
Avery: Yeah because you're big! Not huge but totally big!

Avery: I need to tell you something (spreads arms wide) SO MANY!  So..... how was your day?

Me: (to Aaron) Do you want to taste this cream cheese frosting?
Avery: I want to taste! (takes a small taste) Mmm! It tastes like frost!

Michael: what are you watching (on the chromebook) ?
Noah: a tornado warning
Michael: well turn it down
Noah: I will not turn it down. I'm trying to have a VR tornado experience

Me: I'll take your plate to your seat. You can take your orange juice cup
Avery: Ugh! You have TWO hands!

Avery: Why do some people like cookies? Yuck. But they're still yummy though.

There you have it!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

 

Michael is 9!

Today, we woke up with a 9 year old in the house!  Michael turned nine today and I can just hardly believe it!  I can totally remember everything about his birthday.  He was born at 4:32 pm and weighed a surprising 8lbs 14oz! He was a very long baby and wore newborn clothes maybe twice. :)  He's since grown to be a thriving big boy who loves to give hugs and smiles.  Especially with the week we've had, his smiles and hugs have been a comfort to many.  Michael is a treasure and I'm so beyond blessed that God placed him into our home to be our first child. 

Dear Michael, 

You are so full of life and for this I am very grateful!  Since you're my first born, I often struggled with knowing "am I doing this parenting thing right?" and "wow, how can this be going by so quickly?!"  You've overcome SO many struggles in your life so far and I know that God has been with you through each one of them.  You are braver than you believe, son.  Your life has shown me so.  You are the most timid of your siblings and I credit this to your way of processing things around you since you've walked roads that neither of your siblings have had to walk.  With that being said, you're the most generous with your hugs and your smiles.  One of your many gifts is to be a comfort to others.  You're very empathetic and offer many words of encouragement.  

You love being around people!  You thrive in church "Wednesday work days" and in attending church each Sunday.  You love to greet your fellow church members with a smile, and you dole out your cherished hugs to grandparents and great grandparents.  You love starting out each school year with the mentality of making several new friends and you ALWAYS succeed!  

You're a great joke teller and an awesome reader.  I am so excited to see you so excited about the books your class is reading.  God's hand was so evident in the teachers that you got this year, and I'm relieved each day to see you thriving in school and looking forward to attending each weekday.  

Although you cherish your alone time and probably need more of it than you get, you are still an amazing big brother.  You have never once left Noah standing alone on the side walk after morning drop-off.  You always wait for him to get his backpack and walk inside together. (How do I know?  I hear from your grandmas who take you to school!). :)  I know that when Avery joins you next year that you'll be a great comfort to her as well.  

After school and on weekends, you love to engage your brother and sister in imaginative play.  You are always up for a board game or family video game nights as well.  You're reaching the age where you like to sit down together and watch a movie, and "Secondhand Lions" has become a recent favorite.  

During your visits to the endocrinologist every few months, you like to make a whole day out of our time together.  We frequently get lunch before the visit as well as a treat in the gift shop of the hospital.  You are grateful for these moments together as mom, dad, and Michael, and we are so grateful for special time with you too. 

You're so excited to be nine years old and I am so looking forward to what this year will bring for you. 

I love you so dearly, Michael!

Love, Mom

Sayings of my Children

Here's another collection of funny things my kiddos have said over the past few months. These posts are always so fun to look back on later, and they create lots of laughter in my children when they read about the silly things they've said over the years!

(While I'm putting in the movie Inside Out)
Avery: Are we watching Sin Died Out?

(While watching Boss Baby. In the movie, the boss baby says "Try to say 'chiweenie' without smiling.)
Noah: I can do that. Chi-woo-noo

Noah: Do you know how tanks say thanks a lot?
Me: "Tanks" a lot?
Noah: Yeah! How did you know?!
(5 minutes later...)
Noah: I'm still surprised you knew the answer to my joke, Mom.

Avery: I'm not putting my hands in my mouth so I don't need hanitizer (hand sanitizer)

When Avery is browsing on my phone with me and wants me to go back to look at something...
Avery: Look up! Look up high!

(While reading through her Wizard of Oz book)
Avery: Mom? Do we have brains?

(After bedtime one night)
Me: It's time for you to go to bed
Avery: Why? Are you tired and sick?

Avery: (in the bath, picks up a cup full of soapy water, makes a slurping sound) I drink this just attend (pretend)

Michael: I love the snow! The snow tastes wonderful!
Noah: I hope it doesn't taste like broccoli!

Avery: (while watching Supercross) I would do that! I would win!
Me: You would race those?
Avery: Yeah! On my mini bike! Would you come watch me?
Me: Yes! I would watch you race
Avery: Can you bring the camp chairs?

Noah: These crackers were baked so far away. It says "made in the USA."

Avery: I made you a list. It says "no corn a virus."
Me: Coronavirus?!
Avery: Don't get in it. It's dangerous. With lions and tigers.



(At 6:30 on a Saturday morning)
Avery: I just thought I'd come out here. But I did. But I didn't call you. I called me.

Michael: Ok. We're not playing games, people! We're decorating for Easter! (Three claps). Time to take a break!

(While watching Booba with Avery)
Me: Ahh! A show about Halloween!
Avery: That's okay! We like Halloween! It's not that pooky

(On our way to the beach)
Me: Michael, could you do a cursory check for baby p-a-t p-a-t?
Michael: (loudly) Avery, do you have Pat Pat? 

Avery: Smell my feet
Me: No thanks. I don't want to die.
Avery: (sighs) I won't die you.

Avery: How do you spell wheelbarrow?
Me: W-h-e-e-l-b-a-r-r-o-w
Avery: That's "blueberries!"  Here's how you spell. E-r-s-t-o-s. That's how you spell.

Me: Michael, stop being a know-it-all
Noah: Don't call me a doll.
(I had to stop and think, and eventually realized he thought I told Michael "don't be a Noah doll.")

Hope you've enjoyed this latest assortment!

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba