August, September & October highlights

In my planner I write the highlights from each month and would like to share them here too :)

AUGUST
- we moved all the kiddos into the same bedroom! It may sound silly because we have enough rooms for the each of them to have their own, but we are loving it! Bed time is amazing - we are able to read scriptures, say prayers, read our book and cuddle all together at the same time. In August/September we read them 'Mrs Piggle Wiggle.' We love bed time :)
- we played a lot of Disney Scence It! Its so fun that the kiddos are getting old enough to play games other than memory and BINGO :)
- Nola started coming to 'cooking class' with 'Chef Jess'. These are some of my favourite and greatest memories so far. She would leave 'her house' and got to 'cooking school' where 'Chef Jess' would teach her how to cook. She would tell 'Chef Jess' all about her life - it was so sweet! She helped me do pretty much all of the summer canning and learned how to bake bread. Seriously, such precious memories. I love being in the kitchen with my girl!!
- we had tons of family bike rides!
- we spent LOTS of time in the garden and dealing with produce! Between our garden beds, Trev and Jo's garden and our weekly food share from Noble Gardens, we had produce everywhere! But we are not complaining - I was in my element!
- The kiddos re-discovered 'Jam Time with Eleanor', a CD Eleanor made as part of her goodies bag at one of her birthday parties a few years back. The kids would last it downstairs at full volume and dance, dance, dance! They particularly loved Geronimo - Sheppard; Best day of my life - American Authors; Put a ring on it - Beyonce; chicken dance; Mermaid Party.
- Robbie discovered 'Zackscottgames' on YouTube and will spend hours (if he is allowed) watching videos of a guy playing nintendo. Sounds fun....haha! He discovered Pikman and was obsessed for quite some time.

SEPTEMBER
- John re-discovered Play-Doh and played it pretty much every morning before school for the month of September and October!
- Robbie found a new knack for drawing this month, and he is doing great!! He drew pictures of R2D2, groot and our family.
- Nola and Robbie went to Euans birthday party, which was Star Wars themed, and Robbie fell in love with Star Wars! I think it was mostly because he loves Euan so much, and if Euan likes it, Robbie must too, because Robbie doesn't really want to watch anything Star Wars, he just likes the characters. His favs are R2D2, C3PO and BB8.
- It's a new school year and all three kiddos are in school! What?!? John's in Pre-K, Robbie in Kindy and Nola is Grade 2.
- With the start of a new school year Nola has made a new friend! Lexi Pierson is in grade 3 and in Nola's 2/3 split class. She really is a great girl and we love having her over here to play! They also walk to school together everyday (How is Nola old enough to walk somewhere without me?!?) Nola also loves to go play at Lexis house. I know Lexis mom Jen - they are great people :)
- We spent a lot of time in September cuddled up in my bed reading library books. Such precious times :)
- we also spent many of our evenings going for walks/bike rides/ jeep rides around the lake. Nola LOVES her bike, Robbie and John LOVE the jeep and Doug and I LOVE walking hand-in-hand while the kids do their thing.
- we started 'Fun Fridays' which will be a post all in itself :)

OCTOBER
- we went and saw the Lego Ninjago movie. It really was great - we love the Lego movies! They are equally funny for the kiddos and adults, which is a win-win. Garmadon was hilarious!! I still think Lego Batman is my number one, but Ninjago was really great.
- Taste testing 'Fun Friday'
- Robbie would do this hilarious impression of a robot. Everytime he would do it we would laugh so hard!
- at Robbie and John's family party Ali was so cute! We pushed her highchair up to the tale so she could eat with all the other kids and she just thought it was the best thing ever! She was smiling, giggling and trying to make eye contact with all the kids! Gosh, I am just so in love with that little one!
- We got a new car - my folks Prius - and with that we spent a lot of time listening to the radio. The kids each found a song that they loved and would go crazy anytime it would come on the radio! Nola's was 'What lovers do' Maroon 5, Rob's was 'Bend' Ria Mae and John's was 'Thunder' Imagine Dragons.
- Robbie lost his front tooth!
- John had his special birthday snack at Pre-K. He was SO excited about it!

John and Robbie's family birthday party :)

Since Rob's birthday is September 29th and John's is October 26th, we have a family party in the middle of October to cover both boys. We have done this because the kiddos don't get to have friend parties until they are in Kindy. As I have thought about that, I have realized that 2017 will be the last year for family parties for my kiddos! Can you believe John will be in Kindy next fall?!? Oh, where has the time gone?

BUT, thats not what I am here to blog about today. Here is the pics from the family party! It was the same as always - hot dogs with all the fixins', cake and gifts. I made the cakes this year and they actually turned out great! I also bought WAY too many gummy bears, but we were not complaining - they were gourmet and SO yummy!

Cant believe these boys are now 6 and 4!! I love them both so much. Happy birthday boys!

Robbie's 6th birthday party!

Robbie had his first birthday party with friends from school!! It was a big success! He decided to have a Mario themed party, which worked great since his family party last year was also Mario and I kept the decorations. Score! The children who came were Euan, Eleanor, Bitty, Tise, Landon, Jaiden and Journey. I made a bean bag toss game and we also played hot potato. We had hot dogs for lunch and an ice cream sundae bar instead of cake. Robbie had such a great time and was so happy to have his friends over!

Happy birthday Big Guy!!

Happy days :)

These are some pictures that remind me of particularily happy days over the last little bit. How truly grateful I am to have them :)

For the first day of school for the boys, Journey joined us as we walked to class. This is such a memorable day. All three of the kiddos were happy and excited, the weather was beautiful and I had so many tender moments of genuine joy as I witnessed the growth of my sweet children. These pictures are so precious to me :)

At the public Library there is a large stuffed bear and a little Paddington bear with a note on him that invites children to read to him. Nola found one of her favourite books, "The Book With No Words" by B.J. Novak and read to Paddington. I was the CUTEST thing I have ever seen! Oh gosh, just thinking of it and seeing these pic's again brings tears to my eyes.

I know that there are a lot of these kinds of pictures on my blog, but they really are so special to me. Making silly faces is one of my favourite things to do with anyone, especially my family. There is nothing better than my kiddos climbing all over my lap while being silly and laughing together. I just love these boys and all the goofiness that comes with them :)

Back to school!

With the close of summer comes the beginning of school! This is a big year for us! Nola has begun Grade 2, Rob is enjoying another year of Kindergarten and John, my baby, has started Pre-K. That means I have FOUR afternoons a week to myself...ahhh! I can blog more about my 'free' time later, 'cause I want to focus on my three amazing kiddos!

Nola is in Mrs Fraser's class and it has been a bit of a journey so far. She went to school excited and ready to go, however her anxiety was getting the best of her for the first month. With some changes at home as well as some changes in the classroom, she is now coping quite well. She LOVES school. She loves Mrs Fraser and being in a class again with Eleanor!! She is learning so much and loves to craft and tell me all about what she is learning in science. She can read well, but its not her favourite thing to do. She runs in the running club and sings in the choir. I adore every little thing about this girl - she truly holds my heart. I love you Nola!

Robbie is back with Mrs Fender and I could not be any happier with our decision!!! Oh, it just feels so right. He is at the same level as his peers now and he is happy!!! He actually WANTS to go to school! That very rarely happened last year...I just don't think he was ready. But, he is ready now and loving it! He has become quite the little artist and he loves to draw. He is learning some sights words and has made a few friends in his class. He is in the afternoon class, which I said I would never do, but I don't know why - I LOVE IT!! You are growing so much Robbie, and I am so proud of you! I love you DuffMan!

This guy is in school! Ahh!! He goes full-time, which, again, is something I said I would never do, however it is absolutely the right decision for him. It has been great for him to listen to other adults, interact with more kiddos and get used to not always having Mommy around. He happily goes to class everyday, expect for the 3rd week, where he cried every time I left. Now we have a routine for when I drop him off - I go into class with him and we draw a picture together. Once the picture is done, we hug, kiss and say goodbye. We usually draw a silly guy named Steven, the Hulk or a jack-o-lantern. It is a cherished moment of mine for each day :) He still loves play-doh and usually comes home with a backpack full of drawings and crafts. He is learning new songs and comes home signing them. The other day he sang 'The Button Factory' and I nearly died - he is too cute! John, you are adapting so well to the world around you. Just watching you in class makes me beam with pride. I love you, baby Boy!

Now like I said, I have to figure out what my life looks like with this new 'free' time! It feels weird, to be honest, but I trust I will figure it out, as I do in each new life stage.

Hooray for school!