It's almost time....

I can't believe she is over 5 1/2 already!  This girl amazes me every single day with her smarts, beauty, and talents!  Right now, she loves to draw, watch TV, and ride her bike... but not for too long.  She's so generous, and is always drawing pictures or making cards to give to her friends and family.  She loves to hang her artwork throughout the house, or in the van.  Her bedroom door is covered in papers, and they always spill into the living room or line the walls up the stairs.  If I make it down to the scrapbooking room, she is always right beside me on the floor making projects.  When she is excited about something, she doesn't always show it, but wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to things or people that hurt her feelings.  She's very sensitive, and punishments are pretty easy because she has a tendency to punish herself when she's done something wrong.  She's very direct in what she says to people and we are always working on making sure we say things in a nice way so as not to hurt people's feelings.  Amelia has a pretty good sense of humor, and definitely takes after the Gipson side with what she finds funny.  She has this rubber rat that we are always finding under our pillows, sneaky girl...

Last week we had Amelia's appointment at the pediatrician for her Kindergarten physical.  I'm proud to announce that she's the most perfect 5-year-old and she did a great job!  There were minimal tears (from both of us), so it was definitely a success! 

In the waiting room!

When we got there she received a sticker book where she placed stickers she received after completing each "station" in her appointment. Miss Amelia is 44" and 41 lbs. She's a string bean! She had her blood pressure checked....
 

She had her hearing tested: 

She received her "Class of 2026" shirt.... *tear*

Then she got her shots where she did cry, but didn't make too big of a fuss (not gonna lie, I want to cry everytime I get a shot too!).  She did an amazing job (no pictures of her tear-stained face.... sorry)!!

Dr. Bargen came in and checked her out.  She asked her questions like where she lived, her address, numbers, colors, etc... Of course, she did great answering all the questions.  Dr. Bargen is such a great doctor and she said, "I'll bet this is a bittersweet moment for you... Sending your baby to Kindergarten!  I'm just her doctor, and it makes me sad how fast she's growing up!"  THAT'S the point where I almost cried... Thanks a lot Dr. Amy!!!  (Just kidding.... we love her to pieces!!)

After the appointment, she was able to go to the party room where she had a snack and made a couple of projects.  Even though this appointment was about her, she really wanted to make sure she got her friends at daycare some stickers, too....

Amelia at 5.5, and at a few days old:

 

Kindergarten....

So Amelia is starting Kindergarten this fall.... Un.Believe.Able.  When did she grow up?  Why didn't someone let us in on this?!

We had kindergarten orientation Tuesday, May 14.  I was getting Amelia and I ready while we waited for Luke to come home so we could go.  I fixed her hair and got her dressed and while I was changing my clothes, we caught a peek at A in the kitchen putting on lip gloss after she was just downstairs picking out a necklace that matched her outfit.  You have to understand, this girl would LIVE in her pajamas if mom and dad let her and if it were socially acceptable (not sure at all where/whom she gets that from.....ahem).  To see her excited enough to be concerned about her appearance was nothing less than a shock.... she's growing way. too. fast......

We met a family from church at their house so we could walk to the school together.  She and Brennan are both starting this year.  I'm so glad they have each other :)

Here are two of the members of the class of 2026.....

                                                                    Amelia and Brennan

Meeting one of her teachers

Amelia was super excited to visit the school and was bummed that we couldn't/weren't staying longer.  They took the kids to see the classroom area while they oriented us parents.  And I'd just like to put this out there--I was not one of the crying mothers when the kids left the cafeteria (this time).  First day of school, however, I will be a snotty mess--I guarantee it.

What a big boy!! (P's 30-month check-up)

Our sweet boy turned 2 1/2 on Thursday, July 11!  He is a sweet, charming, stubborn, strong-willed little boy.  He loves sports--every.single.sport.  I'm not sure where this love comes from, as we are not really involved in sports beyond attending a few Saltdogs games and Husker football (GBR!).  But he is so obsessed that he will watch anything from wrestling to tennis to baseball.  He's full of energy--all boy, all the time.  He loves Blue's Clues, Team UmiZumi, motorcycles, everyone's flip-flops, and his bat, glove, "real" baseball, and scooter.  His favorite foods are macaroni and cheese and hot dogs and popsicles, but he will eat nearly anything, or at least try it. 

He's so very smart, telling us his shapes and colors.  He can count things pretty well, up to 4 without fail and sometimes further depending on his mood.  He can rote count up to 10.  He can participate in pretty decent conversations and loves to pray at the dinner table.  He's pretty good at throwing and very good at riding his scooter, or "motorcycle."  He's not potty training yet, but I'm sure it will come on his own time.  He's pretty good to his sisters, and loves them dearly, but can be rough with E and a pest to A.  If you tell him "I love you," he responds with "Thanks!"  He and A are finally getting to a stage where they play well together, and its one of the sweetest things to see.

Dr. Bargen was impressed with his motor skills and she compared him to a three-year-old or higher.  Our little guy is 11th percentile at 34 inches, and 29th percentile at 27.8lbs.

Our Boy:

Beautiful Babies!!

All three of our beautiful babies at about 7.5-8 months.  Just because I can't help myself.

                                                                            ~A~

                                                                              ~P~

                                                                              ~E~

A Budding Entrepreneur

So a few weekends ago It was a very hot day and I was out mowing the lawn and doing some other yard work.    There were a lot of people on our street because the Highlands Garage sales were going on and a couple of our neighbors had stuff out.  Amelia decided it would be the perfect time to do a lemonade stand!  (see...  She understands supply and demand!)  But the bad news was that we were all out of lemonade.  She was a bit discouraged but decided that it was a hot day so she would sell an alternate product.  She decided to have a water stand.   Not an ice water stand mind you...   Just a water stand...  

So she took to making a table out of a storage tub and even made a sign for the front.  She decided that a 1/3 of a glass of water would be worth about $1 a cup.  When I asked her if she thought that might be too much to charge for a cup of tap water and she said simply "it's a hot day...  people will pay for water."  So she sat out there for about 15 minutes with not even anyone stopping.  But she wasn't discouraged!   Luckily she had a captive customer base since Grammy decided to go out and buy 2 cups from her!   Amelia was ecstatic that she had made a sale!  In fact, she even overcharged her by 50 cents!!!!  (not that Grammy minded I don't think.) 

Pretty soon I had to move to the backyard so Amelia had to close up shop.  But she was pretty happy with her haul from her water stand!   Here are some pictures:

Back in my day we sold Kool Aid for a dime a cup!  (okay, that made me sound old... )

-L

E is 6 months!

We had Eleanor's 6 month check up on May 6th.  Our little roly poly is 16lb 11oz (62nd percentile), 25" (16th percentile), and her head is 16 3/4" (50-75 percentile).  She is most adorable with her little  chunky legs and cellulite-y tush.  She is definitely the most robust out of the three babies.

She is rolling back to front and front to back now and has been trying to get on her hands and knees as of late.  She almost does little baby push ups because she doesn't quite make it all the way to her hands and knees.  At least she stopped being super frustrated when she would roll from her back to her stomach and be stuck there!   She also does this push with her arms while she's on her tummy, and it ends up scooting her backwards.  She can also go around in a circle, which usually happens because she is trying to see something just out of her line of vision, and she has to move to see it.

She's such a happy little girl!  Tickling her squishy thighs or under her double chin will almost inevitably make her laugh every time.  She's a good nurser and a good eater, and we will start on some baby oatmeal this week.

She's also a pretty good sleeper, but still does wake 1-2 times per night.  I think she just wants to be near us.  E loves to be outside, or in the swing outdoors which is much like her brother and sister.  But unlike them, she still won't take a pacifier, so I think I officially give up on that front.  I'll just have to be the pacifiers for awhile longer!

Don't call me four-eyes

So as most of you know, or have already seen, Miss Amelia had to get glasses.  She had to have an eye exam for her Kindergarten entrance, so we set an appointment.  I never even thought she was needing glasses because she seemed to be able to see just fine.

Luke took her to Eyecare Specialties to have her checked and they did an amazing job with her!

She sat perfectly for all the parts of the exam, and the doctor determined she needed a farsighted correction with an astigmatism in both eyes, with a worse one in the left.  She may have Luke's beautiful blue eyes, but she got my vision..... Poor girl.  The doctor said she was exceptional in performing the tasks he asked of her.  She's a smart cookie! 

She's beautiful as always with her glasses and she looks as smart as she is!!

Having her eyes dilated.

Freaky!!!  As if her eyes aren't big enough...

                                                                        Silly girl!!!

                                                            And the ones she ended up with...

PS The pictures look squishy--so sorry, I hope they don't stay that way....