Dorothy

This morning when we were running errands at the store, a lady stopped me to tell me that she thought that Amber looked just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She said that the sparkly pink shoes, blue dress with white shirt, and pig tails made her look the part. She then asked Amber what she was going to be for Halloween. Her reply? A superhero! Who knows what super hero she wants to be. Yesterday she told me she was going to be a ballerina. :) Fall has officially arrived here. It has been nice to coolish the entire past month. Today the high is 55. The trees are changing and it is hard to believe that the month is over!!! It has flown by so fast!

Catching up......

Things have been so crazy busy here at my house the last few weeks. From school starting, to going camping, to coming home and doing 2 birthdays, to leaving out of town for Melissa's baby to be born, to coming home again, to my birthday, to the RS meeting that I was in charge of, to Brian's birthday, to attempting to catch up on the laundry and cleaning that was set to the back burner while I was gone, to everything else in between, my blog and posting has been neglected! I did post 2 posts tonight and hopefully will get a few more in over the next few days!!! Check back often if you want to see some pictures of the craziness that we call life!!! :)

Sweet Little Claire

For my birthday, Barth arranged for me to take a trip to see my newest little niece that was due on August 30th! I left Cincinnati on Thursday Sept. 8th around 2 and got into Dallas at 3:30 their time. As it turned out, Melissa was being induced that day and still hadn't had her baby!! :) I got there just in time for everything to happen!!! After laboring for 20 hours naturally, and then getting an epidural and laboring some more, at just before 11pm, they decided that she needed a c-section. My sisters-in-law came up for the birth and we had a fun time hanging out in the hallway waiting to see that sweet little baby girl!!!!
Austin came out with baby Claire right after she was born to show her off and to let us know that she was 8 lbs, 13 oz!! :) She was as pretty as a picture!!! I was so excited to be there when she was so new and fresh from heaven!
We finally got to go into Melissa's room after a while and Momma got to work tending to Melissa right away while the rest of us checked out sweet little Claire. By the time we left the hospital and got back home, it was 1:30 Dallas time, or 2:30 my time. I was beat, but it didn't matter! I was so happy that I got to be there to see my sweet little sister and her adorable little baby girl.
My dad is a big baby person!! I don't think that he could get enough of sweet little Clarie-belle, as I like to call her!!
Momma (or Grandma) was pretty smitten as well!!! Melissa was so nice to let all of us hog her baby while we were there!!

Melissa looked and felt better with each passing day! We had a fun time talking and visiting and oohing and aahing over sweet Miss Claire!

It was so fun to be able to hold and love on sweet Claire and know that my own precious children were being well cared for by my awesome hubby! He arranged for me to come for 5 days all by myself!!! I think that he deserves Husband of the Year for that one!!!

While I was there, I got to see both of my older brothers and my nieces as well. Here is Ansley holding Claire. Claire was born on her birthday!!! They will share a special bond for that I think!

Melissa was so sweet with her first little baby! :) She has had lots of practice over the years with all of her nieces and nephews!! I am glad that she has a baby of her own now!

The new family!!! :) Austin was so gentle with his baby girl. It was touching to see. He will be a great daddy!!

With a Mommy with red hair and bald as a baby, and a daddy with blonde hair and bald till he was 2, the last thing we expected was that Claire would be born with a full head of hair!!!!!! She had tons of it! We are all wondering if it will fall out and turn really light like Evan's did! I guess only time will tell! Baby Claire, I am so glad that I was able to come and meet you and share in the joy surrounding your birth!!!! I miss you already! Don't grow up too fast before I get to see you again!!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Amber!!

The day after Labor Day, our sweet Amber turned 4 years old!!! She had a great day!! She was so excited to be so big! We celebrated by first going to her favorite place to eat......Old MacDonald's.....as she likes to call it! :) Then we came home for presents and yummy cake!
Each one of the children made Amber a birthday card. Here is Aaron reading his card to Amber. The funniest thing about the cards and the presents had to be when Amber "read" the cards that she got from both sets of grand parents. She read on and on in those cards saying things like, " Dear Amber, I love you! You are the best girl ever. You are so cute and smart. I think you are beautiful. I like to come and visit you. I like to swim with you at the pool. I like it when you ride your bike. Love, Grandma and Grandpa. " It was so funny!!!

Another funny part about Amber opening her presents was that just before we left to go camping I had been out with her and Evan looking for something else for Evan for his birthday. I happened across a few things that I knew she would like for her birthday. When I put them in the basket, she asked if they were for her, to which I replied that I was getting them for her cousins for their birthdays. When she opened those particular presents, she handed them over to me, letting me know, quite seriously, that those were not for her, but were for the cousins!! Ummm.....I guess that I can't use that one anymore!!! She is too smart of a cookie for that! :D I had to explain several times that those were, indeed, for her before she would believe me!

After the presents came the PINK cake at Amber's request! :) She wanted the cake to be pink, with princess candies on them, so that is what she got. She is like her Auntie M though and doesn't really care for cake. Mostly she will just lick the frosting off and be done. And no one liked the strawberry cake much at my house!! Oh well, it looked cute!

Make a wish and blow out those candles!!!!

Happy birthday sweet girly girl!! I am thankful to have my sweet little girl. I am glad that she loves to dress up and wear bows in her hair. I am glad that she likes pink and dresses! I am thankful that she loves to be where I am, and do what I am doing. I love that she is independent too though and has a strong will and mind of her own. I love that she can wear dress ups and play bakugan all at the same time. I love that she loves reading and playing outside. I love that she enjoys going for walks and helping take care of Evan. I love that she loves all her brothers and is a Daddy's girl! I am thankful to have Amber in our family! I love you Miss Amber Lynn!!! You are a special little girl!

Happy Birthday Little Evvy Miester

We will be camping this weekend when our little Evan's birthday really is, so we decided to have his party tonight after the kiddos got home from school. Evan knew his birthday was coming up, and he was soooo excited when he saw all of the decorations this morning! :) My camera seems to have kind of defunkified and these were taken with it. Some are blurry, and I am not sure that it will ever be the same. But for now, it will do. Evan was so cute opening his presents. He is getting so big. He would say, "Oooooo!!! Wow!" as opened each thing. He wanted to play with each thing he got (except the clothes) and it was sweet. I love this stage. When they are big enough to talk and tell you what they want and are still little enough to cuddle!! :D
While we were at Toys-R-Us the other day, we saw this Thomas pillow pet. Oh. My. Word. is all I can say. He LOVED it. :) He was so happy about all of his train things and this huge pillow train, that he was having a hard time falling asleep tonight. He kept body slamming it up in his bed!! Such a silly goose!

He thought that it was fun to try and ride it around the house too!! I am so glad that we got it!

He thought that it was fun to get to open everything himself!! He enjoyed sitting on my lap while opening his things.

It was a fun night. We went to CiCi's for dinner since Evan loves pizza! I think he ate 4 pieces and a cinnamon roll!

After presents it was time for cake. Evan knew just what to do! He has been walking around singing, "Happy Birthday to you," all the time since Aaron had his birthday. He was so happy to have us sing it to him.

He didn't wait for us to finish singing to him.......he blew out the candles during the middle of the song! And he did a fantastic job on it too. He didn't need any help at all!!! :)

It is hard to believe that my baby is nearly 2 years old! Where have the last 2 years flown by to? I am so thankful for Evan and his sweet little personality. I love his hugs and kisses. I love his busyness. I love how he laughs and runs in the other direction when I try to get him. I love how he loves to help me with everything! I love hearing his sweet little voice say to me, "Mommy!" I love that above all else. I never get tired of it! I love how he climbs and gets into everything (most of the time) because it means he is healthy and strong. I love everything about my sweet little guy! Happy Birthday my little Evan from Heaven!! I am glad that you came to our family!!!! I love you little one!

Ready for Birthdays!

Here are the birthday outfits courtesy of my phone. Ready to roll for Evan and Amber's big days. They are, of course, not professional by any means, but I like them and so do they, so I guess that is all that matters. :D Right?!? I used a pattern for Evan's shorts, but they came out kind of short. I might just let them down and make a very narrow hem if I get time tonight. We are celebrating his birthday tomorrow since we will be camping this weekend on his real birthday. :) It is hard for me to believe that my kiddos are getting so big!

Lately

I wish I had some pictures to post with this, but the fact is, I haven't taken any this week, and..... while I was giving Brian his piano lessons this morning before school, Evan climbed on top of my computer desk (you know, like he scaled it) and got a hold of my camera. And then he tuned it on. And then, you know, dunked it in his bowl of cereal. With it on and the shutter open. Did I mention that I got it last year for my birthday and that means I haven't even had it a year yet? Anyway...... looks like I will just have to take my pictures with my phone for a bit until either mine dries out and begins working again (which is honestly not looking very good right now) or I get a new one. Who knows?!? Indeed, Evan is one busy little guy! :) Love him and his sweet blonde hair though!!!

This past week I had my tooth pulled. I have 4 baby teeth (okay so just 3 now) but a few years ago I had a cavity in one. Got it filled. Turns out, not all of the decay was gotten out. It got bigger under the filling until the filling fell out. I had it filled a year ago and they told me that I might have to have it pulled. But I was still hanging onto the hope that the tooth would last me. After 8 months of an infection in the gums above my tooth, I finally went in to the oral surgeon about getting an implant. That was a Thursday. They pulled my tooth the following Monday because I had a big abscess. I am thankful that the big filling put in a year ago had killed the nerve because the abscess didn't cause me any pain. The process of pulling,healing, placing the screw, healing and then getting the fake tooth of an implant in the upper jaw bone takes 8 to 9 months. Nice. I finally starting feeling better from my tooth being pulled around Saturday afternoon. I didn't really think it would take that long to feel better. I went to my dentist and he fitted me for a flipper. It is just like a retainer piece that fits in the roof of my mouth that has a tooth attached where mine is missing. It looks great when it is in. I like that I have it so I don't feel so self conscious, but it makes me feel like I have gum stuck on the roof of my mouth that I am hiding. :D Eating is very different. I am sure I will get used to it!

Last week, I also decided to paint out living/dining/ kitchen area. Our house still has the flat builder paint in it. After trying to touch up the walls right before I went to TX and then figuring out an hour later that it was the wrong paint and then trying to cover it with another paint that still wasn't the right color. (The can I had been using the last 4 years was getting to be like jello, but there were 2 other cans that they left that were "supposed" to match, or so I thought.) So, I decided that since my walls were now tri-colored, and I was going to have to paint anyway, that I needed something scrub-able!! The kitchen is done and I am now working on the bay in the dining area. Next will be the family room. I think that I will probably end up doing the entry way too.

Birthday season is about to be in full swing at our house and I decided that it would be fun to make Evan and Amber some cute little birthday outfits. I made Evan some shorts and a shirt that says, "I'm 2!" and Amber a skirt and a shirt that says, "I'm 4!" I just have one more thing left to do on Evan's before they are complete. :) That also means that I have been working on getting gifts for the kiddos.

School is in full swing which means homework and multiple school runs. Piano lessons. Reading with Aaron. Scouts on multiple nights and lots of busy things. I am enjoying it. I prefer to be busy. Hopefully, my camera dries out and de-funkifies (not sure if that is a word, but it was looking pretty bad this morning but slightly more promising tonight - although the shutter still doesn't open and it still isn't telescoping, but at least the screen on the back turns on when I push the power button.) soon! Until then........Happy almost Labor Day!

What happens while I blog.....

Yesterday while I was uploading the pictures about the fishing, Evan got into the fridge, got out a pudding cup, and ate it!! To say that this crazy little guy keeps me on my toes is a huge understatement!!! Gotta love him, mischief and all!!! :D

Uncle Aaron Fishout

This past Friday, we headed out as a family for a picnic dinner and an evening of fishing in honor of my brother, Aaron. It was his birthday. He would have been 31. Fishing was one of his favorite things of all time. He called himself the "master fisherman!" :) It was a perfect day. Not too hot. The high was just around 80. The children enjoyed their lunchables for dinner and then we set out to do a little bit of fishing. We went to a small lake place that we have been to before, but were in a different spot. Across the lake was a YMCA camp.
We had lots of bait stolen, but not many fish. Aaron liked fishing and watching the ducks at the same time.

Evan mostly wandered from person to person with a stick or with the hot dog bait, throwing most of it in the water!! He is a busy, busy boy!!

Weston did some lure fishing at first, and then changed over to bait. He had a fun time.

Amber had fun casting the line out a few times and then wanted me to "help" her. That meant that I casted and held the pole and she stood close by and handed me bait as needed!! :)

Brian had a hard time casting at first, but then got the hang of it and had lots of fun. It was a beautiful, calm evening. It was the perfect way to spend an evening together and remember Aaron.

So serene!

The only fish of the entire evening was caught by me! :) And it was a whopper too as you can tell!! Amber was so happy that we had caught a fish.

Evan wanted to touch the fish and see what he felt like. No fear for this little guy!!

As always, I was glad that we went. I am thankful to be part of an eternal family. I look forward to the day that I will see my brother again!

And I am thankful that my own little family can be together with me forever too!! I love them all dearly. Each one is precious and special to me. I am one lucky girl!!!

I have so much to be thankful for! Happy Birthday Aaron!! I love you and am glad that we could remember you on your birthday!

I'm in trouble now!!!

Alternate title: Um, Melissa, I think the stork brought me your child by mistake!!!!

Today after naps but before we picked up Weston, I needed to make a call to my dentist. I walked into the dining room so as to not have the kid noise, and came back to find Evan like this. Scaling my cabinets and going after the pan of brownies. Before I got after him, I had enough sense to stop, laugh at the situation, and take a picture! My phone was the closest, so these are a bit blurry. He stopped to give me a "cheese" when he saw the camera! Such a goof-ball!!
Um, yes Mommy! These look very, very yummy to me!

Going in for the kill! I used to set the things that I didn't want Evan to get into on the kitchen counter because they were out of reach, but not anymore!!! Things are not safe around here anymore!!! At least he is healthy and will keep me on my toes!!! Auntie M, just know that he takes this after you!!!!! :D

How the day went...

Weston was the first to get home. School gets out for him at 2:35. I told him I would be there at 2:40 since he would need to get his instrument first and go to his locker. I figured that way I could get up Evan and Amber from their naps at 2:30 and then get to the school. I didn't get to the school right at 2:40 as I had planned because I had no idea that they used the same 30+ buses for the high school and middle school students!!! It makes me that much more happy that I drive Weston to and from school, even if it is early in the morning. There is NO WAY I would want him riding with 11th and 12th graders!!!!!! Way to much of an age difference for me! Anyway, so I got to the stop sign just as these 5 million buses were leaving the high school and going to the middle school. There was an officer there stopping traffic our way so that all the busses could get through at the same time. It caused me to be delayed 4 to 5 minutes. It was fine though, Weston was out and waiting and happy about his day. He liked all of his classes. Had friends in all his classes. :) Liked the teachers. Loved his advanced math teacher!! He liked being able to get nachos for lunch from the Mexican line, but it took so long that once he went through, he only had 6 minutes to eat it! We will see how lunch goes tomorrow when he brings his lunch. I think that it is nice that they have a half hour study hall between 5th and 6th periods! :) Hopefully that means that he won't have to take as long doing homework at home. Overall, he had a great day and is excited to go back tomorrow!

Brian had a great day too. Enjoyed sitting by his friends in class, eating with them at lunch, and playing with them at recess. He likes that he has recess right after lunch. His lunch is at 12:05 this year. He had art for his "specials" today. It is one of his favorites. They did interviews of their classmates today which Brian thought was fun. He liked his teacher. Of course, he has no homework since it is the first day of school, which is nice! :) Overall, Brian had a great day as well!

Aaron had a good day. He thought that it was so fun to eat in the cafeteria. There were only a few children in his class that were in his class last year. That meant that he wasn't sure who to play with at recess or who to eat with at lunch, but he is a friendly guy, so I am sure that he will have some new friends here in the next week or so. He liked his teacher. He liked all the people at his table. He kept saying that he made a new friend of the boy he sat next to at the table, but he can only remember his last name. :) He liked being able to go to the big playground at recess today. He liked snack time at school. He said that they did lots of "hard work that was fun!" His "special" today was Health and Wellness. He liked that because they also got to go to the gym during health and wellness. Tomorrow he has library which he is very happy about! :) Overall, Aaron had a great day too! It was a successful 1st day back to school over here at our house!

1st Day Of School

Our day started out bright and early with Weston getting ready for his first day of Middle School! It starts at 7:35 here which meant that left our house just a few minutes after 7. Here is Weston all ready to roll with his backpack and french horn!! He was anxious and excited all at the same time. I was just anxious. :) I had a fun time in Jr High and I know that he will like Middle School, but still, he is my baby!! :D I am anxious to see how his first day went.
So grown up! He was excited that he will have at least one class with his friend from church. He is also quite excited for lunch time. He will be buying more often in Middle school and he is excited about all the cool lunch lines that they have offering Mexican, Hamburgers, Salads and Subs and then a regular lunch line! Oh the options!!! :)

Aaron was super excited to be starting 1st grade! He will also have someone from church in his class this year! :) Aaron says the best 2 things about starting first grade though, are the fact that he gets to eat his lunch at school, and that he no longer has to take a nap!!!!

Brian was excited for school this year too. He has his best friend and 2 other good friends in his class this year. Not only that, but at meet the teacher night, they got to pick their desks for the first few weeks of school, so he is sitting by all of his good friends.

Here they are, ready to roll this morning. Barth worked from home for a little bit so that I could get all the kiddos off to school. :) I can't wait to hear the reports on how the first day went!! I will keep you posted!