The Dentist

I am a little behind on the kids teeth cleaning. I made up for it today. I took Ella, Jack, and John for their check-ups and cleanings. This was John's first trip and i was interested to see how he did. They were all great. Ella and Jack had x-rays and had their teeth cleaned and John just had the cleaning. All of them have deep bites that may lead to braces later. Their teeth were all great. No cavities, no concerns. It took about an hour to get us in and out. The kids got their goodie bags that had a toothbrush, floss, coupons, and toothpaste. In Ella's words, "it is all i ever wanted". Now i know where to take her for her Christmas gifts. :) I am so thankful to have kids that are well behaved at the dentist and the doctor's office.

John's 3 Year Check-up

Today was John's check-up. I wish i could say he had been cooperative today. Knowing the mood he was in all day i thought we were in for a rough visit with the doctor. Luckily, my kids LOVE the doctor and dentist. We are there every three months or so for someone's well child check-up. John was happy to get all the attention from the nurses and doctor. He weighted in at 30 pounds, 50th percentile, and was 37 inches tall, also in the 50th percentile. His vision was good and he was right on track with everything else. He is a curious little man. He definitely keeps me on my toes. The nurse asked him if he could peddle his tricycle. His response, " I I I can ride my bicycle, i can ride it weally fasssttt!"

In other John news, today was the day we finally let go of the last swimmie. He started trying to swim underwater with Jack and Ella and realized the two swimmies were holding him back so he began wearing only one. In order to go underwater he would have to hold one arm up and then duck his head. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't just take off the swimmie. Well, today i asked if i could blow some more air into it and he said yes. I really wanted to take some

air out. Then he just asked if he could swim to me and put the swimmie back on. He swam back to the steps and removed the swimmie and then swam back me. He never put the swimmie back on. He can swim from the shallow end to the seat in the deep end. The other two wanted to show off too. :) My biggest fear when we moved here was the kids and the pool. They had never really been in a big pool, not since Ella and Jack were babies. Now my fear is what i am going to do with the kids when i have no pool.

Here are the three little fish in action.

Happy Father's day

I am only running a few days late. Eric came home late Friday and i have been enjoying what little time we have together. He was going to be staying for a few days but had to leave early. Oh, the life. :) Not sure when he will be back so i took a few days off, from everything.

Father's day was great. As great as it can be from a mom's perspective. It started with me getting up with the kids and he got to sleep in. I made breakfast and he ate it in bed. The kids joined him.

They swam. We ate out for dinner and then home for bed. Nothing super special but we were just glad he was here. Eric is an amazing father. There are somethings that he is not so good at, like he forgets the kids are...well kids. He wants them to act like adults and dicipline for a 3 year old makes no sense to him. I try to explain that spanking is not good for John. Eric doesn't seem to get it. Now when John hits and i get on to him he says that he was spanking. HA! Still, he is a wonderful Dad and my kids are blessed.

Can't end a post without wishing my Dad a special Happy Father's day. I have been known to be a bit of daddy's girl. :) I love you Daddy.

Wishing all Dad's a wonderful day. ( a little late, i know.)

Random

Another random moment brought to you by........

John.

Father's day post is late but coming. My update in it continues to change. Lots going on here.

John turns 3!

Today was John's 3rd birthday. Eric got in late last night so the day started off with a wonderful surprise. Jack asked him what he was doing here. HA! First on the agenda was to open the box Melissa sent. It arrived yesterday and i tried to sneak it in but i was caught. He was so excited. I think we are at the stage where he likes to rip all the paper off and open everything and then go back and look at what he got. Melissa sent him a cool Buzz Lightyear cup, two paddle ball sets so the kids wouldn't fight over them,

and a cool Woody and Buzz Lightyear t-shirt. Can you tell someone loves Toy Story (John not Melissa)? Next on the birthday to do list: Toy Story 3. He loves going to the theater. We got settled in for the 10:30 am showing

As the movie began the Mom asked Molly to donate some toys to the daycare. She removes a book from her shelf and finds Barbie. Ella begin to yell "Nooooo, not Barbie......not Barbie!" It was a desperate plea from a little girl who never even plays with the dolls she has. HA! We just laughed and i told her to take it to a whisper. Even the lady at the other end of the row laughed. It was a good movie and the kids loved it. Ran a few errands while we were at the mall and then home for some rest. I headed out to grab the cake and the kids took a swim. After dinner we allowed John to open his gifts from us, cards, and the gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

He was thrilled. He again ripped all the paper off without even looking at what was inside. He got a Buzz Lightyear and towel from us and Woody from Grandma and Grandpa. He got "dollars" from Nana and Papa and Mawmaw Cain. He was thrilled about those as well.

The toys respond to your voice so they NEVER stop talking. Of course, John continues to talk back. John even had them join him at the table for cake.

Buzz said "is there anyone out there?" John said, " Yeah, I am eating my cake."

They are all playing with them as i type. I might be in for a long night. :) Thanks for the cards, calls, and gifts. It has been an enjoyable day and i can't wait to see what the next year has in store for our John.

What we are doing now

Ella has been out of school for a full week now. Seems so much longer! Kim has already come and gone, Eric is finishing up his last project and we are preparing for a busy weekend. Saturday, little John will turn a BIG 3! Sunday, we will spend the day celebrating Eric.

The boys love having Ella home. We sleep in a little, i realize that 8 to 8:30 is really late to some people so i am very grateful. We eat breakfast and then workbooks.

I am an awful mother for making my children do workbooks to be prepared for the next school year. Oh well. Jack LOVES his. I am guessing he might finish two workbooks this summer at the rate he is going. Ella is not as fond of hers. It requires her to write quite a bit and is more difficult than i had anticipated but she still likes to do a few pages everyday. She also checks out books from the library and gets one reward point for everyone she reads by herself. It is like her summer reading program.

When the kids aren't working they are usually swimming. Jack and Ella have started swimming and diving with no goggles. John still uses his swimmies but has started putting his face under while swimming. He already jumps in and goes under the water. I feel sure he can swim but he likes the swimmies so i guess he will get there when he is ready. Ben is in the process of bidding his bottle farewell. I realize it is a little late. I haven't let the other three have one past 12 months. It is so much easier to shove the bottle in his mouth. HA! Anyway, it is time for it to go. I can't say i am going to miss having bottles in the house.

Like i said before, Eric is finishing up the last of the three jobs in Georgia. He will be home briefly and then back to Augusta to tie up a few loose ends. He has already passed inspections for the other two. The CEO of the Tucker hospital sent an e-mail to Eric's boss expressing what a wonderful job he had done. We are all so proud of the job that he is doing. I will be glad when he is home. :) Looks like the next job may be in Kansas. Things can always change and we won't know for sure until closer to time. The job is short so we are up in the air about whether the kids and i will travel with him or if we will stay behind. We are praying for guidance so if you have a prayer list put us on it. This time of uncertainty is often exciting because i know the Lord has plans for us and it is always amazing to see the path he has for our family.

Kim came to visit.

FINALLY! I only had to beg for three months before she shuffled her schedule and penciled me in. She kept feeding me some line about having to work or something. :) She flew into Melbourne on Ella's last day of school so Ella had lots of surprises when she came home. We had so much fun. We did what Kim and I do best when we are together, nothing. Thursday, we swam all day. Mainly Kim and Ella.

It could be why they both got sunburns. I think Ella's was a mix of sun and rash from the strep but Kim's was definitely all burn. We found other things to do for the rest of her trip. We went to the library,

dinner and shopping at the mall,

to the movies to see Marmaduke,

(Ben loved it. Twizzler in one hand, popcorn in the other.)

and then it was time for her to return home. She did get in some snuggle time with Ben

She gave John his Sea Turtle nightlight for his birthday.

He LOVED it. (Please note the light on his face is from the flashlight Ella is shining on him. I guess she thought we needed a little extra lighting.)

Finally, i gave her the coolest 80's prom hairdo ever. Thanks again for giving me the spiral curling iron. I will use it often.

A great trip that could have lasted a few more days. Thanks for coming and staying Kimmie. She is the most amazing, best friend, ever.