Avalanche it is!

Rhett suggested Avalanche yesterday before Ben & I left to get the dog. I thought it was good in theory, but too long. Somehow I had a one syllable name in my head. But Rhett and the puppy have bonded so well, so quickly, we thought we'd go with Rhett's choice of name. Welcome to the family, Avalanche!

A new friend

Introducing...

Well we don't actually know yet. We can't decide on a name for this "little" guy yet.

Ben may not have been ready for another dog yet, but Momma was. Basketball starts next week and there will be more late nights for Dad so adding another man to the house was necessary.

He's a yellow lab-great pyrenees mix and one of the cutest guys I've ever seen. He will be 10 weeks old tomorrow and is going to be a BIG guy. He was one of nine and the last one left. The people we got him from said he was pretty calm once all the others were gone. He was good with the kids today and they were really good with him.

He's not really fast yet. Ben says he doesn't run like a dog, more like a steer. Pyrenees are nocturnal herding dogs. Full-grown, males weigh over 100 lbs. I never thought we'd have a dog like that! But once I saw the pictures of him, I was sold. Have I mentioned how cute he is?!

Here's what Wikipedia says about Great Pyreneese:

In nature, the Great Pyrenees is confident, gentle, and affectionate. While territorial and protective of his flock or family when necessary, his general demeanor is one of composure, both patient and tolerant. He is strong willed, independent and reserved, yet attentive, fearless and loyal to his charges both human and animal.

Here's to hoping for a long, loving relationship with what's-his-name.

(we'll keep you posted on that)

A good friend

We got Scar last year, Thanksgiving weekend. He was 8 weeks old. What a cutie!

This picture was taken this summer. He was a fun puppy. Rambunctious. He loved to play catch with a tennis ball or frisbee. He could catch a frisbee out of the air! Ben & Scar would play lots of catch together.

Scar was hit by a car in front of our home just after dark on October 14. The homestead has been pretty quiet since then. The cats are coming around more often and closer to the house. Ben was in a funk for a good 3 days. Scar was his first dog and they were good friends. He said he wasn't ready for another dog quite yet...

Halloween 2011

We celebrated Halloween Friday with the grandparents. Ben didn't have school so we traveled northeast for the weekend. Here's my "fighter fighter," candy corn, and Tinkerbell posing for Papa and Gigi.

Trick or treating downtown with Big Papa and Grandma Sauce.

Visiting Great Grandma Flossie.

We carved pumpkins Saturday night with Big Papa and Grandma Sauce. We put them out tonight incase we had any trick-or-treaters. We had none.

It was a beautiful day. Bring on November!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, Leah and I joined Rhett's class on their field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a sunny, WINDY day, but we had a lot of fun. Rhett was most excited to ride the school bus. He can't wait until kindergarten when he gets to ride the bus everyday. Leah's favorite part was going down the big slide with mom (sorry no pictures of that). I have to admit, it was pretty fun! Today is Rhett's costume party at school. A big week for my little guy!

Birthday Girl!

A little late with the birthday post. This is our 3-year old on her birthday, September 22.

Momma and Daddy got her a fairy dress up costume.

Love the pose, Leah!

A week later, we had her party. It was also the day of Whitewater's Fall Festival so we went into town for the parade.

Leah waiting "patiently" for the parade to start.

Leah has been wanting this pink scooter since she first saw it in the spring.

Thank you Big Papa and Grandma Sauce!

Leah was pleased with her Barbie cake. Momma was not. I'm glad we got this cake out of the way while she won't remember what a pain it was for her mother to make!

Rhett has some big news to share!

We are NOT pregnant. This is waaaaaaay better news!

Where has the last 6 months gone?!

Trey is such a happy boy! What a joy to all of us. Rhett continues to be protective and Leah continues to smother. Trey is not short on attention.

He had a good check up Thursday. He weighs just under 17 lbs (37th%ile against 6 month olds, 77th against those with his due date) and is just short of 27 inches long (69th%ile against 6 month olds, top of the chart against his due date).

Skills are about 5 months but not a concern at all.

He has been eating yellow veggies and cereal. We will be starting some fruits next week after we visit the store. He takes 3 naps a day and sleeps 11-12 hours at night. He is an ANGEL!

Silly Leah!

Leah definitely tries my patience... frequently. But she is a blast to have around!

I love it when she covers her mouth and laughs when she thinks something is funny.

I may be biased, but I think she is so pretty. And this makes me nervous. Pretty and fun to have around? She may not be allowed to leave the house as a teenager.

Trey smiles and laughs at her all the time. She talks baby talk to him and he loves it!

This is Leah winking at me. Silly Leah!

Not to be left out...

Here's what our tubba wubba is up to lately. He wants so badly to sit up. Tonight I moved him from the "infant" side of the tub to the "toddler" side of the tub where he can sit up more.

Another picture of our happy boy!

SOOOOO Excited!

Today was Rhett's first day at his new pre-school. He is a peer model at one of the early childhood programs where I work. He was so excited all morning (and for the last 5 days or so).

He kept asking when we were leaving for school. He'd really like to ride the bus, but that's not an option this year. We went on our usual Monday morning shopping trip, he said, "Mom, just go by Wal-Mart and take me to school." Trouble was, we weren't even in the same town as his school.

I continued to explain to him that after he ate lunch and Kaylei got here to watch Leah & Trey, we would leave for school. He only ate half his lunch and then said he was done and ready to go to school. He was kind enough to put off leaving for a few pictures.

The apple with the glare on it... that's Rhett's :)

He walked right in, hung up his backpack and went right to the trains. He found these quickly last week at Meet the Teacher night. I had given him a job to make a new friend and learn their name. As soon as he came out the door when I picked him up, he said, "I made a new friend! His name is Luke. But not my cousin Luke."

The only disappointments were that he sat on the letter Y on the rug and he wanted the R. And then his teacher told me he asked what bus he rode home and looked disappointed when she said I was picking him up. I think there is a field trip in October when he'll get to ride a bus. This kid loves school buses!

Here's to a great year, Rhett!

Leah's Music Video

Our little performer was on point this evening. It was a nice night so we went outside after supper and before baths. Rhett asked Daddy to ride bikes with him. Skar wanted Daddy to play Frisbee with him. And Leah just started dancing. Boy, does she have moves! She was singing some "Light Up the Sky" by The Afters mixed with a little Bella Dancerella. Lately she's been shy when I bring the camera out, but tonight she was ready. It was hard to decide which of the 3 videos I took to post. Hope this doesn't disappoint!

Down by the creek

The kids like to walk down to the bridge over a little creek north of our home and throw rocks into the water. Before it got too hot this morning, the four of us headed that way. Rhett on his bike and Leah & Trey in the double stroller.

I think Trey had a good time.

We have worked a few times with Rhett riding his bike without training wheels. Today he went with the training wheels raised a bit so it was a little wobbly. And since we were on a gravel road, he was pretty tired when we got home.

Although Leah is "potty trained," she doesn't tell us when she needs to go. Instead she sits down with her legs straight out in front of her and rocks side to side. She did this in the middle of the bridge... So I took her over to the edge of the gravel and held her little fanny over the grass. She was a little shy to start but she finished great... no pee in her socks!

Congrats, Leah on popping your first squat!

Relieved!

The other night at dinner, Leah said, "oh Jesus." Ben and I looked at each other... did she really just say that?! Ben took over, "Leah, we don't say that." "But Brother Bear said it," she said. Rhett pipes in, "Yeah, on the Berenstain Bears and the Truth." Grandma Sauce sent home a Berenstain Bears video and the kids have been watching it pretty frequently lately. I'm pretty sure that Brother Bear doesn't say that and I'm also pretty sure that Grandma sauce wouldn't own a video that said that either. We left the conversation at, even if Brother Bear did say it, we don't say it.

Rhett & Leah watched the video this morning so I sat and listened carefully to see if I could identify what they were talking about. Brother Bear says, "aww gee, Sis." Whew! Glad we got that figured out!

One Proud Momma

Yesterday, Leah & I were making popsicles in the kitchen. Trey is moving around a lot on his mat lately. He was moving closer to the fireplace. I said out loud, to no one in particular, "Trey you're about to hit the fireplace." I noticed Rhett ran down the hall. Before long, he came back with a blanket and laid it against the fireplace to keep Trey's head from hitting the brick. You can see it in the picture. What a great big brother Trey has!

Trey is getting so much stronger. He is so happy, too, smiling and laughing for much of his waking hours. Mommy makes sure he has plenty of tummy time every day. I probably should move his mat away from the fireplace now, because he can scooch around all over that thing on his tummy or back.

Leah LOVES to dance and sing. One of my friends gave her a DVD called Bella Dancerella Pop Star when Trey was born. She asks to watch it every day and it is so fun to watch her perform. Here is one of the songs she likes to do the best. She can do the whole thing without the video, but since she was watching it this morning, I took advantage to video her. Enjoy!

Reading Rhett

Ben's Aunt Connie retired a year or two ago after teaching 1st grade for over 30 years (forgive me Aunt Connie for not remembering the exact details!). When cleaning out her room, she divided up her books and things between her great nieces and nephews. We received some early reading books and Rhett & Leah have enjoyed listening to them. Rhett has shown some signs of reading so tonight I asked him to read to me. Turn it up loud and listen carefully.

We are so proud of you, Rhett!

Swimming Lessons 2011

Rhett & Leah are taking swim lessons for the first time this summer. Our friend Jayne is their teacher and her daughter and a friend help her out. Both kids have come a long a way since we started last week. Rhett wouldn't even blow bubbles the first day and Leah wouldn't let go of Katrina. Now, Leah is all about doing it on her own, so don't ask her to do anything but keep your eye on her cause she will do it when she thinks you're not looking. There are still 2 days left but we are so proud of both kids already and can't wait to see what they'll be up to next summer!

Trey 4 months

Seems like our big boy has stalled out a little. He weighs 14.4 lbs. I haven't measured him lately and we couldn't get in for his 4 month appointment until the 21st so we won't know his percentiles until then.

He is starting to talk a lot and take notice of more things around him. He is getting stronger, too. He has tried rice cereal a few times and isn't doing too bad with it. Our mama kitty enjoys eating his leftovers. He has been pretty slobbery lately and it looks like he may be teething already. Geesh!

Big Papa and Grandma Sauce took Rhett & Leah home for a few days. It was nice (and easy!) to be at home with Trey. Sounds like Rhett & Leah had a lot of fun, too. Leah's favorite part was playing with Aunt Cindy's old Barbies. Grandpa even played Barbies with Leah! Rhett's favorite part was playing monster trucks. Sounds like Rhett had it pretty good... he had 6 trucks by the end and Grandpa only had 1 and it had a broken wheel.

Quick Trip out West

We made a quick overnight trip to western Kansas last weekend. My Grandma Warrenetta (Gramma Netta) is one of 9 and they all get together every summer for a reunion. My dad is one of 28 (if I counted right!) first cousins. The reunion was in Meade but we decided to spend some time in Dodge City on our way out. We intended to do Boot Hill but it was too hot to have Trey out for too long. My Grandpa is a member of the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame at Boot Hill. But we did enjoy the hotel swimming pool and quick tour of the Harley Davidson shop there. This was Trey's first time swimming. He and I were only in a short time and then we had fun watching Daddy, Rhett, and Leah. The kids all slept well at the hotel and we headed to Meade the next morning for the day. The kids had some more water fun at the reunion and Ben played pitch with some of my great aunts and uncles. All 9 siblings had wrote down some of the memories they had growing up. It was fun to read those. We left Meade about 7:15 and drove straight home to be here by 10:45. We saw lots of fireworks from the car on our way home.

Bath time fun!

Going Home

We went to Sabetha for the first time since Christmas last weekend. With Trey arriving just at the end of basketball season, we hadn't been able to go. Here are a few highlights from our weekend. Drew and Tyler were there too since Randy and Amy were on a date weekend with friends. Uncle Brent and Aunt Cindy were also there.

Our Favorite Daddy

Had a lovely Father's Day this weekend. Another filling morning at church, a filling lunch for Daddy (he chose the KFC buffet), naps for all, and playing in the yard after supper.

And a picture of Trey for good measure. He's sleeping through the night!!!

Leah...

Here are a few things we have caught Leah doing in the last week or so...

"Washing" dishes in the kitchen sink.

She carried a stool in from the bathroom and shimmied her way up on the counter.

Leah can pretend that almost anything is make-up. She LOVES make-up. She was hiding behind a chair with a package of markers when we found her this way.

You can see her legs are also covered. Her arms were too but she has them turned back in the picture. I had to get a picture before she got cleaned up and sat in time out!

There is never a dull moment with Leah around. She is definitely in the terrible two's. We haven't found her discipline "currency" yet. She's pretty much going to to what she wants to do despite any punishment/reward we hand out. Just a phase, right???

Date with Mom

Rhett and I had a date a few weeks ago. What a pleasure to spend some one-on-one time with my favorite big brother. There is a mini golf place at the outlet mall in Newton (a mere 7 miles from our house!)

We went once last summer and it was pretty frustrating for this little perfectionist. He didn't want to take much advice either. This year was very different. He let me help him with his grip and show him how to swing.

I started counting swings and keeping score but then I needed the score card to pull watermelon gum off the bottom of my shoe (AGH!)

We were the only people there and had so much fun together. Thanks, Daddy, for staying home with Leah and Trey so Rhett and I could go!

Leah and I have girl dates almost every week to the grocery store. Not as novel as mini golf but fun to have a shopping buddy in my little girl!

3 Months

Trey is 3 months old! He is smiling a lot and talking more and more.

He weighs 13.5 lbs and is 24 in long. He is wearing 3 month clothes and the next time I buy diapers, I'm buying size 2!

He still gets lots of attention from his big brother and sister. Leah likes to play "pack-n-play" where she lays down blankets for herself. This morning she shared with her brothers.

Skar: 1, Turkey: 0

Skar has been spending some time down by the creek. We've seen a flock of turkeys down that way. Now there's one less. Every time we go out there seems to be another "part."

spine

feathers

pelvis

more feathers

Sit around a cry

Rhett asked tonight if we could play "sit around and cry." It's something Ben does to make fun of the kids throwing fits. It usually can turn their tears to laughter pretty quick. This is the first time one of the kids has asked to play it like a game.

Leah's sad face.

Trey did not play. He only fusses when he is tired or hungry, both problems are generally easily fixed. He weighed 13.6 lbs before his bath tonight!

Left Trey with a sitter for the first time yesterday. Ben & I had a wedding so Kaci & Kari came to watch all 3 kids. We had a great time seeing past students and their families. We have another wedding in 2 weeks so Ben & I will have 2 dates in a month!!!

Hodgepodge

Some photos of the last week or so.

We truly completed the school year last weekend with the State Track Meet. My mom and dad came down and helped me take the kids for a few hours on Saturday. They had never been before. If you haven't either, you really should go sometime. All class sizes compete at WSU Cessna Stadium so there is a lot going on and you get to see a lot of talented Kansas kids.

We've had several visitors: Uncle Josh came on Memorial Day. Leah asked to have friends over. When I asked her who she wanted to come, she said Jessi (one of Daddy's ball players who also babysits for us sometimes and who Rhett wants to marry). So Jessi came over for supper and we flew kites afterwards. Rhett wants Jessi to come back when Mom and Daddy aren't here. Mommy wants that too!

I made Rhett a stegosaurus hat and although it has been over 90 degrees, he has enjoyed wearing it around the house.

Trey has really begun to smile a lot and we are all enjoying it!