The Kid Update

Jocelyn just started in 2nd grade and her most exciting news is that she will be turning 8 at the end of this month!  In our church that is the age that an individual can be baptized.  We have been having family home evenings about baptism and she has been meeting with the sister missionaries once a week to answer any questions/concerns she might have to prepare her for baptism.  She is scheduled to be baptized on October 11th and we are all getting pretty excited for that.  Here are some pictures that my sister in law, Tausha, took for us in anticipation of her baptism.  She borrowed a dress from Jared's cousin and she looks so old that I can hardly stand it!!

 

 

 The week before school started Jocelyn and I also joined our neighbors for a hike up the nearby El Toro hill.  I honestly don't know the distance of the hike, but it is pretty intense toward the end. You have to pull yourself up with a rope the last part of the trail; and on the way down I even fell down on my bum a couple times it is so steep.  I think if it had just been our family Jocelyn might not have stuck with it, but since her friends were there and enduring to the end she did as well.  We had a lot of fun and felt accomplished in the end!

The crew at the top of the hill

Looking out over Morgan Hill from the top of El Toro

I told the girls they could each pick two after school activities so that we weren't so crazy busy this year. Jocelyn chose (with my encouragement) piano lessons and began taking lessons from my friend Angela. She complains quite a lot about practicing but seems to feel proud of herself when she completes a difficult task and comes out happy after lessons so those are both good signs.  She also signed up for MAD (music art and drama at the presbyterian church) Fridays again with our neighbors so she is looking forward to starting that again this week.

Lillian seems to be doing well in first grade.  The adjustment to waking up earlier and staying at school longer has gone a lot smoother for her than the adjustment into kindergarten last year.  She wanted to sign up for art lessons and MAD Friday for her two choice activities so it looks like we will be skipping dance this year.  Lillian is turning into a good little reader and her teacher sent me an email saying what a good worker and sweet girl she is.  I am glad she is doing well after all my anxiety about staying in kinder last year. 

After seeing a good deal on this play kitchen from Costco, the kids decided to combine their money and buy it.  It took jared a good couple hours (with "help" from the kids) to set it up while I tried to keep Emma otherwise occupied and away from the excitement.  I told Jared that is one positive side effect of always buying our furniture and kids items off of craigslist...we don't usually have to assemble them!  This was somewhat new for us.  The ironic part of it all is that for the couple days following the purchase the kids played almost exclusively with the box and styrofoam

Lillian next to the kitchen (and Jonas inside the washing machine :)

There have been a couple exciting developments in our house recently...Two birds built a nest in one of our trees out front. The kids reported to me one day that they were pretty sure some birds were building a nest, as they saw them scavenging around our yard for sticks, etc.  I told them it wasn't the time of year for that but, what do I know??  Apparently it is time because a couple days later we had two birds residing in our front tree. The kids sent our neighbor Daniel up in the tree with a camera to capture it on film so here are our new pets....Fluffy and Daisy

bird nest from a distance

Fluffy or Daisy? Your guess is as good as mine...

Jared, with the help of our neighbor, added in a gate in between our yards much to the kids' delight.  Now they can run back and forth to their heart's content and Miriam and I don't have to text all the time: "girls headed your way around the corner, please text when they arrive" or "sending kids home now, please confirm."  Overall it has been a positive thing although we are trying to establish ground rules about my kids "just going over to show Sara something really quick!!" before homework and chores are complete.  I have also had a couple pretty good heart attacks when I round the corner toward the kitchen and I have a neighbor kid in my sun room unexpectedly asking if the kids can come out and play!

Lillian by the gate in our backyard

Jonas started preschool today and he is thrilled about that. We are doing a co-op group again this year with 5 boys for 3 days a week and it seems like it will be a good group.  Here he is by the circle time calendar that I put together and his backpack on and ready to go!!  I think Emma and I will miss him a lot when he is gone as he keeps us both entertained during the day.

Jonas also really enjoys having Uncle Greg close by and was so excited to help Greg and Maren move in.  He loves working on projects (like fixing up cars) with his Dad and uncle and brings his own tools to work right alongside them.

Jonas smashing down all the wrapping in the moving boxes

Working on Greg's car with the "guys"

Emma putting on her new shoes with a cheesy grin

Little Emma has been growing up a lot!  She is talking a lot more and although I feel like I am playing the guessing game all day trying to figure out what she is saying, at least she's saying something now!!  She also has a shoe obsession.  She actually shoplifted from Payless a few weeks ago when we were in there getting a couple pairs of shoes for the kids.  After paying for the shoes we had selected, I saw that she had taken off her own shoes so I stuck those in my purse, got distracted running Jonas to the bathroom for a potty emergency and then picked Emma up and left to go home.  I didn't realize until halfway home that she had selected a lovely pair of pink shoes (2 sizes too big) and was wearing them! They somehow didn't set off the sensor/alarm out the door, until I went to return them, of course, without a receipt.  I think we totally confused the worker but now we are honest law abiding citizens again.  Emma loves her other pair of pink church shoes that we bought her and sneaks them on her feet any chance she can get. She even had a fit last Sunday morning when I was putting on her black shoes (which matched the dress she was wearing). I finally realized she was demanding to wear her pink shoes instead.  What a fashionista!!

She also loves her blanky just like Jonas loves his "dainty".  Here they are snuggling with their blankies in the morning.  I have to put the blankets on a "time out" if they make it downstairs.  They are only supposed to get them when they are in bed but they are constantly sneaking them out or asking for them when they get hurt, etc.