Updates!

BRENLEY

As of tomorrow Brenley will no longer be a 2nd grader. She has had a fantastic year. Reading has gotten better and that has made everything else better. Brenley has really enjoyed school and loves her teacher. Friends have been a little harder. She is now at the age where boys want to play with boys and girls want to play with girls....except Brenley still wants to play with everyone. This has been hard on Brenley but she is adjusting. Brenley has also had some tough experiences with peers at school but is learning that it is ok to have a voice that is different than everyone else.

Last week the whole 2nd grade put on a dance festival. Brenley's class did an Italian dance. Skirts were even made for the occasion. It was so fun to watch.

This summer Brenley will be reading one chapter book a week and will be learning how to bake bread, do laundry and will do lots of playing!

HALEY

Well Haley is back on 4 wheels instead of 2. She can ride without training wheels but is afraid to. So she is zooming around our street training wheels and all. Every moment of Haley's day is about playing. "Mom can I see if Kilyn can play?", "Mom I am going to see if McKinlee can play.". This goes on through all of her friends and I hear it all day. She LOVES playing with her friends. Haley is learning about not hitting and telling the truth. She is very dramatic so sometimes it takes a few tries to get the real story. Haley is very into clothes and make-up and how she looks. She has an incredible knack for accessorizing! We think Haley has a talent for making things look good together. We are however trying to get her focused on looking at the inside of herself and those around her... trying to help her understand that it is the beauty inside that truly counts. So if you see Haley please compliment her on her personality or a talent she has that you have witnessed.

This summer Haley will be learning to recognize her letters and numbers, learn her sounds, learn how to make smoothies, do laundry and have lots of fun playing of course.

CAMDEN

Well where do I begin with our little super boy? I decided Camden is a little like Stitch in the movie "Lilo and Stitch". The part where he builds a pretend city and then destroys it....well that is pretty much Cam. The other part that reminds me of Cam is the end of the movie where Stitch shows how much he loves his family. Camden is the sweetest boy I have ever met. He is full of manners and loves to hug. So inside of that cute little tornado that sweeps our house each day is a big heart full of fun and love! I just don't know what I would do without him. I do know my day would be very boring!

Some time ago I posted about Camden taking off his poopy diaper (when I thought he was napping) and spread the poop all around his room and all over himself. Well since then this has been a regular occurrence. So much so that I finally had to keep him in zip up pj's for nap time. I pin the inside so he can't get them down. This has solved the painting with poop issues. Recently one day I thought I would see how he did without zip ups. Opps....he did it again..but this time as he puts it "Look Mom, I cleaned it up!". Sure enough...he found wipes in his room and he picked up the poop and put it back in the diaper. So there actually was minimal mess for me. Rather than scolding him....I saw the humor and saw my sweet little boy understanding that Mom hates the poop out of the diaper...so he fixed it. We still do zip ups but that little experience helped me see that my little boy loves his Mommy!

This summer Camden will try to escape to the front yard every chance he gets....because that is what he is already doing. I think he is with his sister all safe so I take a shower. I get out and check and guess who is on his little bike across the street all the way down on his way to the park? Oh yes....little Camden. So what will Camden be doing all summer? Running away from Mom. I guess I can look on the bright side...running helps me lose weight!
This is what Camden does when he is past the point of needing a nap...he just sleeps wherever and whenever he needs. It is such a good thing that he still takes a nap! Goodnight Super Cam!

I just had to add to this post before I published it. As I was waiting for the the video to upload (unfortunately it didn't work) so I could publish I went up stairs to find a poopy mess. Not a terrible one but it wasn't fun either. As I was cleaning up I was wondering what Camden was doing and where he was sitting....I call him to come and he is fully dressed with underpants on and a clean bum. I was really surprised. It turns out that my little Haley had given him a bath in the sink and then dressed him. All of this had taken place in the few moments I sat here to type. She is such a cute little "mother" to her baby brother. It is moments like this I think ....we must be doing something right!

BABY A.

Little A. is growing so fast. She is now about 10 weeks old and is almost out of her 0-3 month clothes. A. loves to smile in the mornings...and I am so lucky because I get 99 % of the smiles. I can tell I am her favorite person and I LOVE that!!! It is so amazing to witness bonding taking place!

A. is now sleeping through the nights more and more! YEAH!!! I was a zombie for a many weeks so sleeping is very welcomed!

A. is still in the sleep, eat, poop mode..but she stays awake alot more and enjoys looking at her hands, toys but especially loves to talk to us. She is such a sweet baby that we all love very much!!!! I don't know what I am going to do when she leaves our family! I still wish with all my heart she was staying but I know that isn't happening so I enjoy all I can while she is here!