David is 18 months old! 11-11-2012

Our sweet D-Man is changing by the day. I had forgotten how much fun (& BuSy!!) this stage is. He walks around the house baby-talking & looks at us, lifts his hands as he talks & really tells us stories. It is quite funny. He is saying a few words every now & then, but definitely not a big talker yet. He loves to hug & cuddle - when I'm getting him dressed he always gives me a hug. For a while he cried when we dropped him off at school or at church, but he seems to be over it now - he walks right in his rooms. He loves to stack things & pretend to talk on the phone. He continues to love eating - as soon as I lift him out of his crib every morning, he signs "eat" while saying "e." He also likes to sneak in Kate's room & jump on her bed - until I find him :) It has been so fun watching him play with M & K - they are so sweet with him (well, most of the time :) 

Okie Dokie Daddy Day

All the kindergarten classes at Michael's school had "Okie Dokie Daddy Day" last week. Dads & kids dressed in their best cowboy gear & the dads went up to school from 1 to 3 for biscuits & gravy, cowboy games & a music program. Michael was so excited to share this special time with his Daddy & they even won the barrel race! 

This & That

*As I was telling Michael goodnight he said, "I'll never stop hugging & kissing you, Mommy!"

(So sweet - I'll remind him of this when he's 16 :)

*Kate said, "Mommy, I'm going to look in your mirror to see if I look pretty." 

*At naptime yesterday Kate was crying because she didn't want to take a nap. We had this conversation - I said, "Do you want socks on?" "Nooo." "Do you want to be covered up?" "Nooo." "Do you need a drink?" "Nooo." "Do you want to be miserable?" "Yesss." "Ok, see you in a little while." "Okkk."

*This week David said 2 new words - Thank you (ta ew) & David (day day)

*Michael had a big day yesterday - he had a soccer game at 8am & 2pm - between the games he was invited over to play & have lunch at his friend, Brayden's house. I just can't believe our boy is getting old enough for playdates like that. 

*Mom & I actually took a picture together while she was here!! So thankful for her :) 

*And for the 5 readers of my blog :) here is a little update on Michael - 

On Monday we showed up at the hospital at 8:30 for M's surgery. We checked in & waited over an hour. The nurse called us back to the surgery prep room & took M's vitals, weighed him, etc. 4 sets of wonderful family & friends were in the waiting room & we were emotionally ready to get this over with! Michael was such a champ & was completely calm with it all. Then our pediatric cardiologist walked into the room. He told us that they wouldn't be able to do the surgery that day - their back up surgeon had an emergency medical situation and could no longer practice. The worst part - our dr. had known since the previous week but had failed to call us (even though he had been instructed to do so). Unbelievable. It was such a let down, especially emotionally. So here we are...still waiting to get this behind us. Michael's file has been sent to Dallas Children's & we are waiting to hear from them & get on their schedule, hopefully soon!! 

Art Lessons!

I am excited to announce that I will be teaching elementary art lessons, beginning January 8, 2013. Click here for more information --

http://alisanelsonoriginals.wordpress.com/art-lessons/

Last Game of the Season!

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween, thanks to our amazing neighborhood!! Michael dressed up as a fireman, Kate was a strawberry & David was a soccer player (who didn't feel very well :( At 5 we met in our neighborhood park to have hot dogs & a costume parade. Then everyone went trick or treating. Michael went with a lot of his school friends. David & I walked with some of the other moms. Andy took Kate & I'm fairly certain she thought it was the best night of her life so far :) She made Andy take her to EVERY single house - "Daddy, look the lights are on! Let's go there!" By the end of the evening Michael said, "Well, this has been fun. But I can't wait to get in my bed!" 

Michael's sweet friend, Faydra who lives a few houses down from us & is in his kindergarten class.

Kate walking with Addi, Cole & Morgan in the cute costume parade!

Michael's School Party

On Wednesday Michael's kindergarten class had their fall party. They played a scarecrow game, painted pumpkins & ate yummy snacks. It was a really cute party. I was super impressed with how well the class behaved & how Mrs. Branch managed the kids, even with lots of parents in the room & lots of distractions to their normal day :)

Michael the Kindergartener

I can't believe we are in the 3rd month of Kindergarten already. It is going so well. M continues to love going each day & loves his teacher. He comes home & tells me all that he is learning - "Today I learned about sneaky E!" The other day he got off the bus proudly wearing a construction paper/yarn necklace he had made. I let him buy his lunch one day a week & he loves that. 

Every morning he wakes up around 7 & we eat breakfast & he gets dressed. At 7:50 I walk him to the corner & we wait with our friends for the bus. I think this is still one of his favorite things about going to school. The funny thing about our bus stop right now is that it is 5 girls & Michael. He always sits with some sweet neighborhood girls on the bus (they are all in 4th & 5th grade! It makes me laugh!) They draw him pictures & I'm pretty sure he has all of them wrapped around his finger. I'm waiting for the day when they decide they're tired of a 5 year old boy following them around everywhere! :)

At 3:30 I sit in my garage & wait for the bus to drive by - then I walk to the corner. He always hops off, runs to me & hugs my legs. Then we walk home, get a snack & do his homework on the back porch. He is doing great with reading & sight words. His favorite books for me to read to him right now are Berenstain Bears - we read at least one every day.

In the last month or so, he has started drawing SO much. It is so much fun to watch him draw & hear him explain his drawings.

Sweet Moments

*When I picked K up from preschool on Wednesday she had so much to tell me, "Ethan touched my hand while I was on my nap mat. Willow wasn't at school today. I got to run in PE today. I got to color the letter 'F' today."
*When Michael walks in the house from school Kate will ask him, "How was school today, Michael?"
*If David needs his nose wiped (which seems to be often these days) Kate will say, "Mommy! Bubba needs his nose blowed!!!"
*She told me the other day, "Mommy, I need to blow my nose. Do we not pick our nose?"
*One day last week I overslept through my alarm. At 7am Michael touched my arm & said, "Mommy, it's 7 o'clock, time to wake up." Then a few minutes later when I was getting him breakfast he said, "I'm sorry I had to wake you up." Love my sweet boy :)
*Michael came home from school talking about his Halloween costume. He said he wasn't sure what he wanted to dress up as. I said I thought he was going to be a fireman. He said, "Well, I changed my brain. I want to be something else."
*M & K's FAVORITE song right now is Veggie Tale's Belly Button song. Every time we are in the car they want to listen to it. I love it - it makes me smile hearing their sweet voices sing.
*Yesterday before school M told me, "This afternoon I've got to, got to, got to clean my room!! I can't even walk in there!"

A Few More NM Pics