Sweetness times 3

I'm so very thankful my sweet 3!

1 Year Old

"I'm ONE!"

~ I FINALLY figured out that if Colin has this green blankie with him in the car, he will suck his thumb and not cry.

It's amazing.

It's equally amazing that it took me 11+ months to figure this out.

~He is still not walking, but will run around with the walker. 

~He slept through the night for 3 weeks and then thought that was enough and has been getting up once at night or at 5:30am.

~Another tooth as popped through on the bottom and he's starting to mimic more words.

This morning he reached for my coffee (he loves to dumb it over) and I said "hot, hot!" and he looked at me with that super cute smile and said 'hot' back to me.

~He hates cold bottles and whole milk, so we've continued warm, high calorie formula.

~I'm torn between feeling sad and excited that this baby stage is coming to an end.  It's getting easier to take all the kids places and I'm looking forward to Colin being able to participate in our adventures.  However, I'm sad the snuggles during a bottle feeding will soon be gone.

Father's Day 2013

This is the moment Ben became a dad; 

the first time he held his beautiful baby girl.

Almost 6 years later, this is the card that baby girl brought home from school:

"Well, he does like hunting"

was her retort.

I can only imagine what her teacher must have thought.

This one is much better:

'You are strong like a super hero'    'I will give you money'

Happy Father's Day Ben!

I'm so thankful our kids have you as their superhero!

Pool time!

This might be our last time in this little pool.

Makes me sad.

So many wonderful summer days have been spent on this deck.

 I love it.  

I love that it's right next to the house if I need anything.  

I love that it's only a few inches deep for my little chillin's and I love that I can soak up the sun, while they play in the shade.

I love that Alison can go down the slide, while the boys play cars in the fountain.

But most of all, I love that they're right there...contained.

I don't have to worry how about 3 kids going in 3 different directions in a dangerous setting.

To that, Colin just laughs.

'Oh, mom.  Don't you know we're growing up and this little pool is not big enough for us.  Don't you know it's time for us all to learn to swim and fall in love with diving for rings.'

Yes, I think he's right.  It's time to move on.

Eagle Harbor pool, here we come!

Colin's 1st Haircut

The mullet is gone and he's as handsome as ever!

 

Don't those pictures make it look like it was easy-peasy cutting his hair?

Just 'cause I like to keep it real, here's what it really looked like:

Colin's trying with all his might to escape that chair and Eliot's running around with a towel over his head, pretending to be a dinosaur.

Colin's 1st Birthday!

We got some donuts, we headed to the zoo.

traditional picture on the turtle

 

 

 

 

The kids were so calm as we strolled through the zoo and just quietly looked at the animals.

While Colin napped, Alison and Eli helped me clean up the house and decorate for our party.

We made funfetti cupcakes and they helped me decorate the top.  It's hard to see, but there's little letters on some of them spelling Colin.  They looked prettier in my head than in actual execution, but that's just the story of my decorating life.

Ben came home early from work, just as Colin got up from his nap and we were ready to party!

 

Ben and Alison picked up a pizza for us...

And then it was time for presents

His first bag consisted of: a snack trap, a new KU outfit and Nana and Granddaddy's card

Look!  He can stand for a second by himself!

Like a typical 1yr old, Colin didn't care too much about his presents.  

He was most excited about this blower that he could chew on.

 Alison and Eli, on the other hand, were thrilled with his presents. 

We really hit the present jackpot this year.  Elizabeth and Kent sent Colin the car with a bonus trailer and Ben and I bought a gas tank to go with it.  It was marvelous; no wrapping and all 3 kids had something to play with.  They would take turns pulling each other or being the "gas attendant".

The only downfall to the gift:

Ben, the night before...some assembly required=complete understatement

 We finally tore the kids away from the gifts to dig into the cupcakes.

I forgot how hard it is to do candles and 1 year olds...especially with Colin.  

He was quick to grab/eat the fire, so no cute pictures of him trying to blow it out.

I think he loved it, although I can't say it was his first bite of sugar.

Sorry 3rd baby.

 

Happy Birthday Colin!

Ironically Right

May, 2012

I'm 8 months pregnant with Colin and Ben is about to leave for ODS.

I make a solo trip to Target to get all remaining baby things that we need.

I had several gift cards and a list of baby items, as well as some hospital bag items for myself.  I'm waddling along, heading to the food section when I stop in my tracks by a display of trash bags.  

Buy 2 boxes (that are on sale) and get a $5 gift card.

Score!

I'm going to need that $5, to take some of the pain away from buying crazy expensive newborn diapers.

I load up my cart with trash bags and head home.

When I walk in the door, Ben says,

"Jennifer Shear!  What have you done!  You just bought a years worth of trash bags!"

(If you know Ben, nothing phases him. ever.  so for him to be startled, you know it was excessive!)

"I just don't want to have to worry about buying trashbags while you're gone"

was my retort.

Oh, the pregnant brain.

Well, I certainly didn't have to worry about it. 

I used those trash bags for the kitchen can, the diaper pail, playroom cleanup and DAV runs. 

And just hours before Colin turned 1 year, we put the very last trash bag in.

Looks like Ben was right.

But hey, I got a $5 gift card out of it!

Kindergarten Graduation

Alison is in the second row from the top, 4th kid in

Alison graduated Kindergarten on Thursday.  

I scored the perfect seat in the front, at the perfect angle facing Alison.  She could see me, and that's all that mattered.

It didn't take long for me to tear up.

She marched onto that stage with a smile on her face and immediately started singing along.

A year ago, she would have starred at the ground with her shy face on and would have mumbled the words.  I expected her to cry, but instead it was me crying.

I was so proud of her and how far she's come.

They sang several songs and then each class came up front for pictures.

The kids did amazing and it was fun to see all the little personalities of the kids in her class.

The program ended and we went back to Alison's class room.

Tyonna, Alison, Madelyn and Harmony

Here's where things got weird.  Her teacher was gone all week, even missing the graduation.  So there were some aids in the classroom telling the kids to clean out their desks and to have a great summer.
Keep in mind that this is Thursday morning and school was in session the remainder of that day and Friday until 1:00.  The aid starts telling parents that Friday is "optional" but Mrs. Zawodny won't be there.  I was really confused and felt like if I left Alison she was just going to be sitting in an empty classroom by herself.
So we packed up her desk, said goodbye to some friends and stood in the hallway for just a minute to say goodbye to Hardy Elementary.



On our way home, I took her to the library to pick out her second chapter book.
She spent a lot of time reading grandma's books while we were in Kansas and came home determined to conquer chapter books.  The series 'Junie B. Jones' was recommended to us and she's been flying through them.  Unfortunately, Colin also loves her new chapter books and destroys them...like eats pages and tears them to shreds...our bill at the library is growing daily!



now it's time for my beef:

 -Each family was only allowed 2 tickets to the program and siblings are not allowed because of "liability".  I've missed everything this year because of my "liabilities".  I was only able to attend graduation because I hired a babysitter. 

-Her teacher has been gone for probably 50% of the year.  They had a long term sub for probably 3 months and then there were budget cuts and instead of hiring a sub, they would just shuffle the class around to different classes.  Alison missed out on several things because she was in someone elses class and it just erks me.  I'm not saying the teacher isn't allowed to have some health problems, but a little communication would be nice.  Like, "Hey, by the way, I won't be at your child's graduation, but I loved having them in my class this year and I'll miss them".  Nope.  I'm so glad that Alison doesn't even know how fun the last day of school is and I really hope that next year is better.
-At the end of their program, the principal got up and said, "Well, we're done.  Please wait here until your child is dismissed."  REALLY?!  That's it?  So much for a sentimental speech about how well they did or even a congratulations. 

-this song!  I wanted to pull Alison off the stage.  Thank you so much for teaching my daughter how to be greedy.

Okay, my beef is done.  

Overall, I'm so glad we sent Alison to school this year.  Socially, it did wonders for her and she did learn some new things.  I loved that it gave her some independence, while giving me some time with just the boys.  I'm ready to have her home for awhile and hoping Carrollton schools are a little better in the communication department.

Kindergarten is over and I'm ready to celebrate.

We made it!

Here's a glimpse of Alison's favorite song from the program.  I will warn you, though, it was the most painful one:

Nana and Granddady time!

A bonus to going to Kansas was that we got to see Elizabeth and Kent.

They met us one night for dinner and then we went to see their new house in Kansas City a few days later.

Alison and Eliot running in the bubbles granddaddy is blowing for them

When we got there, they had everything ready for a picnic in the park...

it was just what the kids needed!

After a week of being cooped up in a plane, car, hotel room or grandma's loft, they were ready for some fresh air and time to just run around.

 

P.S.  I only stole one picture from Kent...do I get bonus points for that?

Reminiscing

Rose and Colin napping in the car

We traveled every.single.day while we were in Kansas.

We were either going to Newton or back to Lawrence and even threw a short trip to Kansas City in there.  Every day was packing up for 4 people, munching on snack foods, interrupted naps and sleeping in different places.  The kids handled the adventure well and on the bright side, Eliot learned how to potty on the side of the road!

Eliot, Rose and Alison in our hotel room

With all our traveling, I thought this was a golden opportunity to reminisce about my past and document it.  With my fancy-schmancy camera in hand, I planned to get some fantastic shots of my favorite places.

However, these plans quickly blew away with the Kansas wind.

I forgot how windy it is there!

watching the cows at Aunt Karen's

 The kids didn't want to explore the farm because there were dogs at Aunt Karen's house and it was muddy.  So we looked at some cows and that was about it.

They weren't even interested in my stories of playing in the chicken coop, riding horses, playing in the pool or climbing hay bales.  If only they knew the fun they were missing out on.

 

I drove through Newton and by grandma and grandpa's old house.  I stopped the car to get a picture, but it just wasn't the same.  It's uncle Sam's house now and he's made it his own (as he should).  The swing set we played on is gone and the creek is overgrown.

I drove around the middle school that grandma would always take us to, only to find the stage where we would ride our bikes on now has a building on it and the big jungle gym has been replaced with just a few swings.

I ended our tour, driving around the cemetery right by their old house.  Grandma would take us for walks through there when were kids.  I never knew if there was someone specific she was visiting or if it was just a place to let us run around.  But this trip was different than the rest.  This time, I was able to see my Grandma Emile's gravestone for the first time.  She passed away the day Alison was born and I wasn't able to go to the funeral.

Back in Lawrence, my plans failed once more.

The duplex Ben and I lived in when were first married had a big boat in the driveway and a canoe in front of the door.  Definitely not picturesque or how I remember it.

The schools have been remodeling, restaurants have closed, streets have even been renamed.

Places that were for so long, home and comforting, now felt strange and unfamiliar.  

Nothing was as it had been years ago.

Places have changed.

People have changed.

I have changed.

Yuck.

It made me long to be a kid again.

playing baseball with grandpa in the backyard

However, it made me look at the 3 amazing kids that God has blessed me with and I'm so thankful that they can start making new memories of their own.  I handed Alison our old digital camera on our trip and I told her to start taking pictures of everything that was important to her now.  I hope to document for her, what will be important to her later.

I pray that she cherishes, what I learned is most important this trip.  

It's not about the places, it's about the people.

What a gift family is.  They love you throughout your whole life; no matter how many changes you go through.

And if she ever doubts me, I'll show her this picture:

I found this in the windowsill at my grandparents house.

It sits in front of my grandpa's desk, a place I know he visits daily.

20-some years later, I live states away and haven't visited for years...and they still have my picture up.

That's family.