Max's 6 year old molar!

Tonight as I was brushing Max's teeth I noticed that he had a tiny little adult molar popping in! Crazy! He hasn't lost any baby teeth yet but seeing that first permanent tooth made my heart break just a tiny bit. He is getting older and while I am just weeks away from welcoming baby #4 it is a bit sad that my first is growing and getting big. I know he has major mile stones ahead but for some reason this one hit me a little hard! He was SO excited when I noticed and showed him, he has been kinda sad he hasn't lost a tooth yet and lots of kids in his class have but this made him feel super special and was showing everyone in the house :) Love that boy of mine, and slightly glad he still has all those baby teeth and hope he hangs on to them for awhile longer so he doesn't have those funny smiles as well as protecting those adult teeth that will eventually come in! Big night in the Harris household.

Currently with Max...

(Transitional Kindergarden  2015)

Max is almost 5 1/2 and he is so awesome and I just love him more and more! He is a great big brother, and really cares about his siblings. He is kind, and shy at times and still particular but he has really grown into his own little personality. He tries his hardest to obey and does a really great job at following rules and is a good example. Here are some more awesome things about him currently....

• Still LOVES legos! 
• Loves star wars and talks and acts it out continually 
• Has about 5 lightsabers :) 
• Can dress himself and always wears what I pick out! 
• Loves playing outside and exploring the rocks usually acting out star wars 
• Loves school and his friends
• Can read really well and practices 20 minutes a day 
• Is getting better at writing and cutting! 
• Starting to really draw different things and color 
• Has a great vocabulary and imagination 
• His memory is amazing..I can tell him something from years ago and he will bring it up. 
• Spending time with his cousins is his favorite 
• Loves to walk and scooter to the park 
• Likes soccer, isn't really good but never complains 
• Knows most of the primary songs and sings them continually
• Loves listening to scripture stories and tells me all about them 
• Continually talks about star wars, legos, his friends, and things he learns at church 
• Is helpful, grabs me a diaper, tells me is Scout is naughty, ect. 
• Still loves blue and into changing into different costumes often. 
• Loves pizza, root beer floats, carrots, yogurt, toast and grilled cheese 
• Super creative with anything he plays with has a great imagination and tell storying 
• Still hugs and kisses me when he goes off to school 

We love Max so much! It is sad to see him grow up, but it is also awesome how independent and funny he is getting. He is joyful, and innocent and wants to do his best and I love all his little things that make him tick. I am still blown away by his memory and I am amazed at how well he is really catching on with reading and writing which had been a struggle for him. He is still really incentive driven which is great and he loves to meet those goals and get his prizes. He treats Noah and Scout really well and is excited for the new baby. We love having him in our family and are excited to see how amazing he becomes! Love you Max!! 

Fall Photos 2015

We had family pictures done a few weeks back and it is so fun to see the kids grow. I wasn't super thrilled with taking pictures 20 weeks pregnant because I look chubby not very pregnant but not myself. BUT this is me growing another human during this moment in time so I don't want to make that a reason why we don't take pictures so I suck it up and I am happy we did. I know we will be getting a new family member soon but I figure we will just take more when she arrives because I think having photos of your family good or bad (hopefully some good) are priceless. It is amazing to see how much they all have grown in just one short year. The boys were a bit hyper and Scout is going through the phase of not wanting to sit still or stand for 2 seconds but we did manage to get a few shots! It was also a hot 90 degrees in the evening when we were taking these so called "fall" shots. After we treated the kids to in-n-out and were happy to be done till next time! I love my family. 

 

 

 

 

Baby #4!!

I've been busy with normal life and forgot to mention we are having another sweet baby!! We got pregnant shortly after my d&c that happened in April. I was all sorts of worried for a few months but the morning sickness came on and stayed and after 2 ultrasounds we were so excited to feel out of the danger zone! Today I had an appointment and my dr. couldn't find a heartbeat for awhile...she said she could hear the baby moving around but couldn't pinpoint a heartbeat. After she could tell I was getting nervous she pulled out the ultrasound machine and found that the baby is super high up and that she was down too low. She figured since this is technically my 5th pregnancy this baby has a lot of room to move around so we might be searching until I get bigger. I had felt the baby kick the other night so I knew things were probably okay but after what we experienced in April I am a bit more nervous about things. I am 17 weeks along and we will find out in a few weeks what this baby is! I am excited and feel SO SO blessed that we get to welcome another baby into our lives and our family. I am sure it is the hormones but I have been extra grateful for my beautiful children. Most days I am doing great we have are bad cranky days both the kids and I but mostly I am so grateful for my family and my healthy smart and loving children! I can't wait to welcome another one into our family and to see the kids smother this one with love as well. So sweet baby #4 we are thrilled to meet you and hope that you are growing nice and healthy in there! Can't wait for early March!! 

There is the little peanut back in August! Such a miracle, we are calling it our rainbow baby! 

Halloween at Target!

Well I caved and put up our halloween decorations this week. I couldn't take it anymore with the 90 degree heat still blazing I just wanting something to feel cooler! We are really getting into halloween this year Max and Noah want to make the house all spooky and we have been talking about costumes for a good 2 weeks already! After a few trips to Target I got the house in order. After soccer on Saturday we took a long trip to Target and let the boys let loose in the halloween section. Star Wars is huge this season with the 7th movie coming out in December so Max who has gotten into it the last year and has now seen all 6 movies is loving all the different costumes. Currently he wants to be Luke and Noah wants to be the hulk. We will see what happens we halloween gets closer but really there is parties starting in about 2 weeks so I better get on top of it!

 

 

 So scary right?! These 2 most of the time are really great buddies. Honestly there is very little times that they fight and as Noah has gotten better at sharing and Max has gotten better at communicating the fighting is rare. We are really trying to make treating our siblings kind a priority in our home and it is paying off. I love that they have each other to play in target with and I love that we can spend a saturday afternoon together laughing and pretending to me scared! 

Pizza and the park

The last 2 wednesdays we have picked up costco pizza and taken it to the park we like to call the bunny park. Max gets out early on this day so it worked out perfectly. Today Larry joined us for lunch. The weather has been so hot and summer is just hanging on so we spent a few hours at the park trying to get energy out. Scout is all over the place and has been fussy as she is breaking some one year old molars in so a park and pizza is the perfect distraction. Max has gotten so big he eats 3 slices sometimes! I decided until the weather turns cold we will continue our wednesdays pizza and park days soaking up the sun.  This really is such a typical day for us park and food! Also we are so lucky at the moment that Larry works close to home because we can meet him for a quick lunch at least once a week! 

 

 

This picture is horrible but it describes this stage of life perfectly with Scout crawling up onto the table every chance she gets, I pull her off and not more then 2 minutes later she has climbed back up trying to get into everything and pouring all the drinks out! Bless my heart the next 2 years of toddlerhood with her are going to be hard!! 

Joy School & Cows

Today was the official start of Joy school. This year Noah will be doing joy school with 6 of his friends and then next year when he turns 4 will go to LMNO preschool! I am teaching the first 2 weeks then have 10 weeks off while he goes to the other houses. He did great and I am so excited to see him learn to take directions from other people and hopefully learn a thing or two! After school we picked up Max and went to lunch to celebrate. We hit chickfila because it is our favorite spot really and everyone eats and plays it's perfect. Larry joined us and Noah told him all about his first day of preschool. Big moments in our lives! I love hearing him speak he is very articulate and can express himself really well. It is neat to hear things from his point of view, he might be crazy and wiggly but he is getting SO much better at taking direction and obeying and is in time out less and less. 

These 2 are just the best buddies! I love their little budding relationship. They are both protective of each other and think of each other when one isn't at a place...like at the dentist if one is there they want to get an extra price from the box to bring to their brother. I love getting pictures of them when they are cute together. And this baby below is just the cutest little sweet thing ever. I could eat her up with that tiny pony tail. She is becoming a good little eater and loves all the blueberries that come in the fruit cups that the boys think are awful! Ha! 

 

Max First Day Of School!

Max set off on his first day of school this week! He is doing transitional Kindergarden at Brooks school, the same elementary school I attended when I was little. He was super excited to go to his new big kid school and meet all his new friends. We went back and forth on sending him to regular kindergarden or doing a 2 year program that our school now offers. We decided to give him that extra year to really learn and transition and I think it will be great fit for him. He is learning to read slowly and is excellent at numbers and there are a million reasons why we chose to do TK but one is that we hope instead of being in the middle of the pack he will be at the top academically as well as have more leadership opportunities as he grows. We were concerned with him being a boy and one of the youngest, and now after he has been there a few days I think it was  a perfect choice. There are some other boys who are newly 5 as well and he has made some great friends. As you can tell it has been a choice that has weighed heavily on our minds, Larry and I both know how important school is and what a difference a year can make in a young kids life.

Anyways enough of that...Max was amazing his first day. He gave me a hug and walked right into his room. He is a pro now after preschool really and I felt happy and proud of him. I wasn't sad or worried for him, I know he is in a safe school and that his teacher is wonderful. Plus it is only half way so he wasn't gone to long. Noah did miss him a lot though and acted up like crazy. He gets to start preschool in a few weeks so I am hoping he will be excited to have his own thing. One thing I am excited about is joining the PTA and getting involved at the school. I loved going to Brooks as a Kid and I am so excited to have my kids experience it now. I also am super lucky that my mom offered to watch the other kids every Friday so I can volunteer in Max's class. Sometimes I miss working but I wouldn't be able to do half of these things If I worked so I am really excited to embrace the stay at home, PTA mom, it was what I wanted for so long and what I longed for as I studied my life away in college so it's here this new phase of motherhood and I'm happy to enter into it!

Let's check this cute little guy out! OH I love him so much and am loving the little kid he is turning into! I don't feel like time is flying by, but I do feel like these next few years will fly by because of how fast he is learning, developing, and growing. He is so smart and thinks way out of the box but yet he still cries when he gets hurt, or nervous and he still wants you to lay by him and hold him. I love that little kindergarden face and am so excited to see what he becomes! Get ready for 20 something years of school buddy, buckle in it is a long and wild ride! 

A Summer Evening.

For family home evening tonight we took the kids to get ice cream then went on a walk around town center. We try to do a real lesson every other week then an activity in between. We also have been working hard on reading scriptures every night, we are doing well and are falling into a good routine. Anyways we walked around the kids were happy and the weather was very beautiful, unnaturally cool especially for the hot streak we had last week. 

As I was putting the kids to bed later in the night I was getting so frustrated, I usually put the boys down separate as to give them each their own time and hopefully help them fall asleep better, it is time consuming but it works. Anyways tonight they ended up going to bed together and it took me an hour to get them to finally fall asleep in the same bed. I was frustrated and mad and I thought, geez how do I go from super happy and content in motherhood to super cranky and over it just in a few hours time? Earlier I had been thinking how great things were then the pendulum swings and I want to pull my hair out! 

I know that is why I document the good and the bad, but mostly the good so I can remember when I am at my breaking point wanting to scratch my eye balls because this motherhood gig is hard I can remember nice summer nights were things were great, and everyone was so happy. I do love this family of mine so much even when it seems to hard to continue on! 

 

Happy 4th of July!!

We had the best 4th of July, the kids were in a great mood and we had lots of fun celebrating! Larry only studied 2 hours (typically does 10-12) so it was nice to have him around! We started the morning off with our annual pancake breakfast and parade. 

 

 The kids ate up all the food, especially Noah who has been recovering from the awful mouth virus. He finally ate and ate after days of starving!  Love this blue eyed girl of mine! Can't believe a year ago I was pregnant waiting to have her at this same breakfast! 

 

Max loved doing down this water slide. He cracks me up making sure that I had brought his goggles! He is getting so brave, I can't believe sometimes this is the same boy! 

 

Max even got brave and did the dunk tank. As we were walking over he said "Mom I am a little bit excited and a little bit nervous!" haha so funny. He did it over and over and loved it, It was a proud mom moment for me! I kept screaming a say yay Max!! 

Later in the Afternoon we went to the Martins and had BBQ and swam all afternoon. Max did not get out of the pool for 4 hours straight. The kids made up water slides and Max walked the plank over and over. He is getting SO good at swimming he kept walking then jumping into the deep end and swimming all around without his floaties. He is even better then last year, I am so impressed at how strong of a swimmer he is becoming. I love watching him bob around, do cannon balls and flips into the pool. 

Here is sweet scout who was grumpy from no nap but still loving being in the pool. She loves water, and she loves eating popcorn! Poor girl has been fighting a virus but I know that she will get better soon. 

 

Here is me trying to be good a document as we were cleaning up. This is only a portion of our cousins and friends the Bright Family who played with us too. The kids were getting cranky but I snagged a few of them! We all went home exhausted and full! Such a fun day, we didn't do fireworks because it is illegal in our county and the kids crashed so we didn't have to deal with it! Max had gone with Larry the night before to see the big fire works show in town center and so it was good enough for all! Happy 4th everyone!!