This Land is your Land

Abbi went to a dance a combination tap/ ballet class at Expressions Dance. She had a lot of fun, it was part of her personality to ask everyday of the week if it was dance class or preschool, the two things that she most enjoyed. She got herself dressed for dance and she loves to wear make-up. So the night of her recital she was enjoying herself getting all fancied up. It took a long time to do her hair, she didn't whine or scream, just let me know when it would hurt and would ask me if i could be done soon. Such opposite personality of her sister.Her performance was towards the end of the program, each tap and ballet class had a holiday theme, Abbi's class's holiday was forth of July. She was definitely our little firecracker up on stage tapping and dancing to This Land is Your Land. It was really fun watching her through the window in her class for many weeks and months before her performance. Seeing how she did in class, following with the teacher occasionally, and looking at the floor or the friend next to her and then seeing her on stage, seeing how much she really was paying attention to the teacher and how AMAZINg she was. What a proud mother, what a beautiful Abbi!

11 months

Jesse you are such a sweet baby, growing so fast and learning so quickly. This past week you decided that you would be interested in your sippy cup. It has been given to you since you were five months old, but you didnt want anything to do with drinking from it, you did love the sippy with the soft tip, biting on that was comforting for your gums that were welcoming in those cute little teeth, otherwise the sippy would end up on the floor. You even caught Mommy drinking from a big cup and decided that you needed it more than mommy and started drinking from a big cup with help, what a big boy you are!

You had your first hair cut last night.
before pictures: I wanted to get your haircut when we were at Great clips the day before Easter, but Daddy said he liked your hair. But I decided you at least needed it trimmed around your ears and so I did, and it turned out great! You loved the clippers that I used on you. I put it on your hand and let it vibrate there for a minute, and streaked across your face came the biggest grin ever! You were really good, you didn't scream and were very calm. Just a little wiggly and that is to be expected. You are now in to everything, you have to know what is going on with every noise that you hear and thing that you see.
You love to climb stairs, whenever we go somewhere and you see stairs, you head straight for them. Here you are at Abbi's recital this past Saturday, You and I enjoyed playing on the stairs. and stand up next to things, especially next to cupboards and doors to pull everything out of the cupboards. The pots and pans and the movie cupboard seem to be your favorite.
You had your first real popsicle this past week, grape flavored! You loved it. You held it by the stick and you wanted to try to turn it around and hold it the other way, but when you felt the cold and the melting popsicle in your palm, you must have known something was not right and turned it right back around to hold the stick. Your fifth tooth popped through this past week as well, Friday I think is when it really broke through and was above the gums, and you have been such a trooper especially with having ear infections for almost two months straight and cutting in new teeth. And you have all ready put that new tooth to a lot of good use. New foods have been introduced such as corn dogs and apples with their peels removed you seem to using these new foods to break in your new tooth, chewing them up in to bite sized pieces and leaving them in a pile either on your lap or on the table, what a talent! Though I am not sure how much of the food that you are given is actually swallowed, I am glad that you are putting it to use.

budding photographer

Abbi got a hold of my camera earlier this week, I walked in to her taking pictures in her bedroom. I thought that she had just grabbed it, but she must have had it for awhile. There were quite a few pictures on there. Kacen was her model :)

I promise that nose does get wiped!

she captured him playing hide and seek in the covers too. I love his expressions with his sister taking pictures!

I asked Kacen if he remembered Abbi taking pictures of him, he said,
"yep those are my nekkid pictures 8)!"
I guess if his shirt is off then he is nekkid, so I shall have a very nekkid boy this summer!

Then this morning while we were watching Robyn, Abbi asked if she could take pictures with my camera. Of course, with how well she did last time, and she asked this time, I didn't want to diminish a love for something. So now she tells Mom, when I grow up I am going to be a Mommy and take pictures!

childhood

I got some news today that one of my siblings is having a really rough time. Of which I wont disclose on here.
But after I hung up the phone with my aunt. I started thinking why I was I so lucky and not my siblings. I remember my childhood, I remember my dad before he killed himself. I remember my mother when she still cared, she even took me to a mothers day brunch for merry miss when i was 10, it was my birthday and mothers day. I remember my brothers being little and sweet. I remember playing with my friends in the neighborhood in Sunset and taking my brothers with me.

My siblings arent so lucky, they arent blessed with happy childhood memories. One sibling doesnt remember my dad being alive, doesnt know what my mother was like before drugs and bi-polar. Doesnt remember living with his sisters that cared for and took care of him ehen we were put in shelter homes and foster homes. They were hurt in different ways that children should not be, and I wasnt. And one brother got schizophrenia from my dad. And my oldest brother whom I have never met is doing amazing right now, despite all the things that he has gone through.
Even though I have never met him, I am proud of him. And I hope and pray that the one that is having a rough time right now, can know that those memories he is missing are good ones and there are many people that love him... and I wish that I could fix all their pain

aspirations

I love my daughter, and her reasoning.
I pulled out her work from her back pack and this one made me smile.

Our little Garden

Beginning of March we planted seeds into egg cartons as a family. I read the instructions carefully and figured out which ones needed to be planted inside first. So we planted tomatoes, celery and peppers, I even wrote on the carton right by each one what they were with either a "P" , a "C" or a "T". And then we started watering the little seeds. And with the watering the soil began turning the egg carton a darker color. The letters that helped us acknowledge what these little seedlings were had vanished. Being that we grew tomatoes two years ago, we know that our tall plants are the tomatoes, but the other two pots above we dont have a clue. I guess we will be surprised when we see what grows on them!
Two of our three plants are growing fabulously and in a few weeks we will start putting them outside and in the meantime we are getting the ground ready for them. And I am trying to remember to water them every day.

I had all four of the children outside helping me weed the ground this past Saturday. Jesse got his first taste of dirt!



They were all a big help, finding worms!

slacker

I've been slacking on my blogging. And for no good reason. Lots to catch up on :) a little at a time..

Jesse waved for the first time yesterday! I have been practicing with him saying bye bye and helping him wave when we leave places. Yesterday we watched some friends at our house and Jesse waved bye-bye to Mandy :) Here are some pictures of us at the park yesterday!
Wednesday Alona had her first field trip, she went to a farm :) Among her class was the 75,000th person to attend the farm that they went to. So their whole class was given a free t-shirt and had their picture taken, possibly for a publication. She also brought home a little baggie with some wheat in it that she gets to grow. She had a lot of fun.

Today Abbi went on her first field trip! She had been there before, but it was the first time on a bus, with a class of her own without her Mommy! I showed up at her school just in time. The bus pulled in to the school right after me. I unbuckled Kacen and ran to catch Abbi coming off of the bus. Thankfully she was one of the last ones off. She had a lot of fun. I enjoyed talking to her about her trip, trying to help her tell me about it, asking if she had hippos, nooo mom! Did you have Gorillas, nooo! We had lambs! Ohh, did you have camels? No! How about a cow? YES! Oh it must have been a farm! "We had rabbits, too! I had to wash my hands cause I got to feed the rabbit!"

Happy Easter

Kacen and Jesse in matching Easter outfits :)