She did it.......

 Amelia started first grade on Wednesday. 
Last year, we moved at the end of the year and had to go to school here for about 5 weeks. Every day for those five weeks was torture. It got to the point that I had to walk her in and basically shove her in the class and close the door to keep her from running out. It was all very disruptive for the class and a little traumatic for her. Her teacher was super patient and really gently with her, which really made me feel easier about it. The unknown is really hard for this girl.  On the first day of school there was a lot of anxiety.  I never know if it's better to cut and run or to stay until she is settled and happy. I worry about her feeling more scared or abandoned causing more anxiety the next day if I just leave her (and carrying that on into adulthood blaming me for any of her emotional or social problems). But I also worry about coddling her and setting a standard that since I stayed when she cried then she will use that as a crutch for everything. It's a hard, fine line.


We practiced going to school and dropping her off and leaving for the week before school started. We checked out her classroom and met the teacher. We decided on a reward system like "if you don't run out after me, you can go anywhere for lunch that day" then the next day, "if you can not cry when I leave, you can pick a prize out of the prize box" and then today, "if you can go in the classroom without me going with you, you can have a movie night". The first day she did pretty good considering last year and all her anxiety. She was super clingy, a little teary and almost made it without running after me. She was all settled and I tried to leave but people were blocking the door and in that instant that I was waiting, she saw her chance to run to me. Luckily the teacher held her hand to keep her in the class. I hid behind a door and watched and she clung on to the teacher and calmed down pretty quick. She was still nervous, but not crying. Ben and I decided to set up a tea party for her and her dolls when she got home. We picked flowers and put up a sign and made some cookies. She loved it.

The next day she stayed in her seat when I left, but started to cry so I shamelessly used Miles as my prop. Have I mentioned how much this boy loves his big sister. She is like magic to him. I pretended to have him wave to her and say bye-bye. She started busting up laughing and stopped crying then.

All the classrooms have a door to the playground. Before school starts the kids play outside and when the bell rings, they line up at their door and go in so no kids are roaming the halls before school. Today the inside doors were locked, so I didn't get to go inside with her, which was just what I wanted. I stood with her in line to the door thinking I was going to have to come in with her.  When she got to the door, out of nowhere, she turned around, smiled at me, waved and said bye with that nervous giggle I love of hers.  The teacher and I looked at each other like, "is this really happening?!?" and I took that as my cue and got out of there fast before she could change her mind. I did hide out on the playground for a minute to see if it would last and it did, she was fine.  What a relief. 3 days down, 177 more to go.  I hope this is a sign of a good year.

Ice blocking

When we lived in LA, we usually had people we loved getting together with for dinner, park time, or games. That is something I really loved about LA and haven't found since then. It really made us feel like we belonged somewhere. What's funny is that almost all of those people have moved to Utah in the last year or so. It's nice to have friends from there who "get it" and it's fun to see how their kids have grown up.  We met up with some of them and went ice blocking. It was a blast. I can't believe this was the first time I had ever done this. It seems like such a teenager thing I should have done. why not even in college?? Never too late I guess. The kids had a blast. We raced and slid and when the boys got sick of that, they just rolled down the hill laughing. It was pretty cute. It was a beautiful sunset and we played until dark. It's nice to get together and have a little taste of "home" here.

Dancing in the Rain

It rained today and instead of staying cooped up indoors, I sent the kids out to splash in puddles. They loved it. Accessorized with some boots and a hoodie, they stomped around squealing for about 20 minutes. Then decided they needed to come in and sit by the fireplace because 77 degrees was too cold.......have I mentioned how my kids are going to die in the winter here?!?!?!?

This is one of my favs because you can see how hard it is really coming down and I love how Amelia is just embracing it with wide open arms. She would love a Marshallese shower.

  And then the sun came out and dried up all the rain......

Milo Jo

Our kids started calling Miles, Miley Jo a few months ago, and although I thought it was cute at first, I found myself kind of cringing when I heard it. Not wanting Miles to endure the annoyance of an unwanted nickname (Vern....c'mon, who wants to be called that with a name like Veronica people....) I intervened and said no more Miley Jo. As a compromise we came up with Milo Jo as an alternative. It was a hit. So if you are feeling the urge to call him something other than "Miles", you may call him Milo!!!  And here's some adorable pics of our little Milo Jo around 4 months.....

Cousins Visit

 A few weeks ago my sister and my 5 nieces and nephews came to visit.  We had a blast. I love that we finally have a place big enough for all of us to squish into and space to run around. My kids were totally doted on and Miles was held every waking minute of the day. 

We got to do lots of swimming, movie watching, crafts and games and even had a party which included dangerously popping balloons with sharp skewers while blindfolded.....

which was somehow deemed a better idea than the original idea of throwing freshly sharpened pencils that seemed to somehome bounce right back at them.

There also were colored bubble worms......

streamers.... 

and homemade Cafe Rio, ice cream, rootbeer and cupcakes.

As always, I regret that I only took like 10 pictures, mostly in one hour on the same day posted here.  I feel like there were so many more memories than just that one day. I love that Spencer couldn't stop holding Miles EXCEPT if he spit up or even drooled near him. 

I LOVED building the world's best indoor blanket tent and then watching movies in it. 

I loved watching the kids play frisbee, play do, legos or dolls. I loved watching everyone making shrinky dinks. I loved baking something every day and then having 6 more people to share it with including 2 other kids who don't do dairy!!! I loved how much fun the older kids had going to see Batman with Phil and playing games late at night. **SIGH** If only they lived closer we could do this more than once a year. I am already planning what I can do next year. I'm so glad they all got to come and miss all of them already.

Double rainbow

So last week we experienced a double rainbow. I almost felt like that youtube guy who was crying over it. Check it out here if you haven't seen it (and then click on the rainbow song if you haven't heard it!!!) It was pretty incredible. We saw it in completion from tip to tip but by the time Philip got the camera it was a little less bright. It kind of puts you in a trance and make you to do something you maybe wouldn't normally do......hence Amelia sharing her rainbow painting with the........rainbow???

Ode to the fluff

Oh how I love this baby's hair. He was born with, as I might describe it, a long fringe of front fluff. It sticks up in weird places, it didn't grow in the middle, it cannot be tamed with any product, and for some reason the hair in his widow's peak has come in very blonde and short, making his hairline very.....odd.  It was time to be cut, so you could actually see the blonde hair under that fluff  before it turns brown.  The hair I cut was probably the same amount I cut off Ben when he was 8 months old for his first haircut. He didn't squirm or squawk one bit as I shaved it. The kids thought it was hilarious, and as I was attempting to get the mullet, Amelia yells out, "no leave it so he can have grandpa hair!" I left it, only because I couldn't get that baby fine hair to shave.  In my opinion, now he definitely looks blonde. Sometimes I can't even believe he belongs to me with those blue eyes and light hair.  I will cry the day they turn brown (his hair and eyes) because I am not completely naive and know they inevitably will.  Curse those stubborn Portuguese genes. I will stare at him in awe every day until that happens.
AND, occasionally Philip likes to measure and weigh Miles to check out how he stacks up on the average growth chart. Yesterday he measured in at what an average 8.5 month old should be!!!  I fear he will be bigger than both the kids before he turns 2.
ALSO, Miles rolled over for the first time on Ben's birthday. I guess being strapped in a carseat for an entire day was just the motivation he needed to get mobile. Oh how my life just changed!!