Look what Sean lost...

Friday, bloody and wiggly (not the best picture I realize)

Saturday, gone! (click to see the hole in his mouth!)

Funny story though! The kids spent the night at Nanny and Grandad's Friday night. We told Sean he was NOT TO LOSE THE TOOTH until we picked him up on Saturday. His first visit from the tooth fairy needed to be here! We wanted to be 'a part' of it. Saturday morning we picked them up and we were both pleased that the tooth was still in. As we were driving home, only two blocks into the drive, I turn around to see Sean holding the tooth! He waited until we picked him up!! Thank you Seany!! He had such a twinkle in his eye!

Here he is telling Nanny and Grandad that he pulled the tooth out, two blocks from their house!

**The tooth fairy did visit last night.**

Week off

We had a great week off! It was so nice having Iain around for an entire week! We went on bike rides, checked out books at the library, took the kids to the movies, and even had a date night with some friends! It was so much fun!

After a game of mud football

Sara was given a bunch of Barbie stuff recently. Hmmm....not sure how I feel about Barbie and her entourage. First of all, what happened to her clothes? She must be cold with the itty bitty outfits she wears. Second, do they even sell clothes to keep her warm? At Target I checked out getting her something to cover her body :-) but all the outfits were just as tiny. They keep Sara busy for an eternity so this is really a tough situation. Did I mention Sara named her Lalee? If only I could find some long pants...

Playing with Lalee and all her "little" accessories!

Date night

I'm thankful for...

Kindergarten feasts!

I could just smoosh him he is so cute! After getting their costumes on, they sang three songs, then enjoyed the feast. A couple of parents commented that he seemed ready to smile every time my camera went up. It made me laugh, but our kids are very use to having a camera in their faces. Not that they all like it (Iain...), but they are use to it none the less!

Singing

Feasting

Feeling hot

Sara isn't feeling well today. Last night she kept saying she was cold (red flag), even in a warm bath. I took her temperature and it was 100. Then at 4:00am she woke up crying. When I went in, she was quite hot, 102.5 to be exact. After a dose of Motrin she was back asleep. Today was a big day at the boy's school. I was suppose to work in both classes and help with the Jog-a-thon. I knew as of 4:00am that I wouldn't be going so my mind started turning with alternative plans. By 7:00am I was on the phone with other moms, getting everything taken care. It's amazing to me how moms come together when it comes to our kids. Within 30 minutes, not only were both classes covered but the jog-a-thon was taken care of and two different people offered to pick the boys up for school. I love moms!!!

Sara was definitely not herself today. She wasn't grumpy but she wanted to lay around. She was happy sitting on the couch reading, cuddling and watching way too much Dora. She doesn't usually sit still for very long so I knew she wasn't feeling 100%. Another big clue was after we picked the boys up from school. I gave the boys lunch and turned around to find her gone. It turns out she walked upstairs and got into bed all by herself! My sweet little girl does not voluntarily take naps!!! I tucked her in, took her temperature (which was 102) and she was asleep before I was out of the room.

Making pumpkin bread earlier in the week (love the tongue). Notice the crockpot in the background? I love crockpots! I can throw ingredients in and voila!...8 hours later, dinner!!! Sara is really into cooking lately and funny enough, doing dishes. She loves loading the dishwasher! Maybe I should nurture that interest!!

Purty smiles

This past week the kids had their 6 month check up at the dentist. The boys have always loved going. Since the first time they each went, at two and a half, they have always been very cooperative. Sara on the other hand does not have a fondness for the experience. Last time we went, the dentist asked her to open her mouth, she shook her head no and refused to open. This visit was much different. All three were very happy to be there! Even Little Miss Hesitant jumped right in the chair and opened up wide!

Iain didn't like having his picture taken while he had hands and instruments in his mouth! I just can't understand why!!! :-)

That time again (picture overload)

I love taking Christmas pictures! I've been waiting for a few weeks now to find a day we could get them done. With this strange weather, it has been hard. We thought yesterday would be good until the fires came roaring through the area. (No, we're not near the fires. About 30 minutes away from the closest one.) The air quality has been quite poor, then add wind to that, not a good day for pictures. Today the winds died down and the air quality was actually tolerable. Not as much ash in the air. I was determined to get pictures done!

Of course I can't leak out the ones I chose for the Christmas card, but here is a sneak peak...

Fun things of the day

Sara and I had a fun morning at Costco. My friend Amy came with us to check out any good Christmas deals. Sara was a ham and a half, which isn't very unusual. She loves the toy aisles. She can be heard saying "Oh my gosh, what a great toy!" or "I love that girl toy Mommy!" She has very distinct opinions on what is a girl toy vs. a boy toy. She enjoys boy and girl toys but they are of two very separate categories.

Sean is quite excited about the upcoming jog-a-thon at school. For the past 3 years, he has watched Iain participate. Kids running in circles for 30 minutes for a cause, something about that is very exciting for him! He came home from school today telling me that "today is November 13th, the jog-a-thon is on November 20th". Exciting stuff! If you haven't been hit up yet for a donation, hang tight, we'll get to you!!! ;-) Another Sean moment, yesterday he told me he'd like another baby. When I started asking him about it, he said he wants a baby brother because he "knows what a baby sister's voice sounds like so we should have a brother to see what his voice will sound like". So cute but no thank you!!

He told me this picture is of his excited face!

Iain. Oh this child amazes me each and every day. Can I tell you about the newest addition to his Christmas list? (Side note: We have a family in our complex who is facing foreclosure. The mother has been laid off and does not have medical insurance for her 12 year old son. Without getting too far into the situation, the mother has made some very poor choices, the DEA would agree with me, but that again is not my business. Iain does not know any details, except that they boy told him he has asthma but he can't afford to go to the dr) Anyhoo, Iain put on his Christmas list that he wanted Santa to bring that family money for food and so they can go to the Dr. Yep, that's right! He is so sweet!

This picture is from the fort he made himself in the garage. He placed bikes, scooters and skateboards all around him.

Little Miss Sara

Oh' the antics of Sara, she is such a crack up. One minute she is laying her head on my shoulder whispering that she loves me "very, very much" or that I'm her "best friend ever" and the next she is on the ground letting us all know she is displeased about something. She is very emotional but also such a sweet little girl. Her face lights up each day when her brothers get home. They are usually greeted with big hugs or happy shrieks across the schoolyard.

Playing in the rain...

This one cracks me up! She was trying to let me know how unhappy she was with me. The pouty lip was so cute, I ran for the camera. If you look close you can see a bit of a smirk under that cute frown!

When I picked her up from the gym the other day, her hair looked like this! There is a wonderful woman who works in the playroom, who really enjoys the kids. She likes to play with Sara's hair. I thought the 5 ponytails were hilarious!

Turns out mascara looks great on lips too!

Iain

Iain has had a wonderful start to the school year. He is such a bright kid, it truly amazes us what he is able to accomplish, and with such ease. His parent/teacher conference was also very nice to listen too. His teacher raved about his work, his helpfulness and his willingness to try new things! It was such a treat to hear! Look at this progress report...(click to enlarge)

Special award he received this week for helping a new student.

Another big event, his soccer team has made it to the playoffs. Tomorrow (Saturday) at noon they have a big game. Send us lots of "goal" vibes!! He's talking about playing football next year instead of soccer. I've been fighting off the idea for a few years now but I think I'm willing to let him try. Practices are 2 hours everyday from August until November. Yikes! Not sure I'm ready for that but he really wants to! I guess we'll wait and see what he wants to do come summer.

Tomorrow is a very long awaited, exciting night for Iain. He is going to a USC football game! For those of you who don't know, USC is Iain's college of choice. He can't decide if he'll play football or baseball, but he has already made the decision that is where he'll go to school to play ball. Love his way of thinking!!! When these tickets were offered to us, Iain just about fell out of his chair. He is getting a tour of the campus from a friend, he can't wait!

Seany

In an attempt to share lots of pictures in a short period of time, I'm dividing them all up into three separate posts, all about the kiddos!

We had Sean's first parent/teacher conference last week. It was amazing! Of course, sitting for 20 minutes while someone tells you how wonderful your child is, how can that be bad? The teacher went on and on about how bright he is, how friendly he is and said that he is the ideal student! I'll take that any day!!! He does have one little area to work on, apparently since he is friends with everyone, he tends to chat a bit. Yep, that's my boy! I don't know where he gets that, do you? ;-) (Mom, shhhh, don't tell!!)

Another exciting development for Sean, he is now really enjoying art. He has never been big on anything artsy. That has changed drastically since he's been in kindergarten. I think it has to do with confidence. His fine motor has improved greatly in the past two months. He now writes notes to people, makes lists (like mother, like son!!), and enjoys coloring in his free time. It is such a joy for Iain and I to see! This leaf is a very proud project for him. He talked non-stop about the great leaf he made at school. Each time I was in his classroom, he made sure to point it out. The day that it came home was very exciting for him!

(just in case you wanted to see the shape of the leaf)

(Click on this one. He looked at another picture but drew this all by himself.)

So cute!

First digits

Last Thursday, Sean came home from school with something special in his backpack. It was something that I hadn't ever seen come home before. It was definitely something unexpected, but it made me smile. It was this...

You can click to see it bigger. (Of course I had to use a little Photoshop to get rid of her phone number )

Inside was this picture of a mermaid on a rock!

I think the whole thing is adorable! Sean was mildly embarrassed but he doesn't really understand the big deal. He told me he was a good friend to her and that's why she wrote the letter. So cute!

Dinner

A few weeks ago, Iain went to the birthday party of his best friend. It wasn't your average 8 year old party though. They were picked up in an Expedition Limo (yes, limo) and taken to Medieval Times. As you can imagine, they had a blast!

While they were off jousting, we went out for a fun dinner. Iain, Sean, Sara and I went downtown to the pier, walked around and enjoyed some burgers.

Watching the waves (very big waves)

The kids had a great time! They both watched the waves and people surfing on them for quite some time. Of course Iain was in heaven watching too! He could have stood there for hours!

Ladies and Gentleman, may I introduce...

...the Rockstar, The Clone Trooper and Supergirl!!

Iain had to get in on the action too!

The best Supergirl ever...

Rockin' Rockstar

Smiling Seany