Jealousy runs deep

I kept a friends little guy for her one day so that she could spend the day at her girls' school helping out. Ella, as the baby of the family, is quite attached to me. Very much a Momma's girl. So, when Dominic came to play she was okay with him being there, but didn't like having to share me or her toys. She's actually being very sweet in this picture.

She's playing with Dominic's toys here.
Okay....not so keen on Dominic playing with her Handy Manny toy. Can you see it lying behind her back? She snatched it away from him rather quickly and hid it behind her. It was comical to say the least.

Being sweet again.

He was a very good baby and one that I'm going to be keeping again very soon. I just have to get Ella to understand that it's okay to share me every now and then. She would scream and cry when I'd sing her lullabies to him. How dare I sing her songs to another baby. It's like committing adultery or something. Too funny!

Silly girls!

My girls decided it would be fun to make beds out of laundry baskets, so here they are watching TV while laying in the baskets complete with couch pillows and blankets. And they were having a blast.

First overnighter

This was Cole's first overnight trip with the Boy Scouts where parents were not allowed to go. Cole is finishing up his Webelos II year and will be transitioning to Boy Scouts in the Spring, so they got to go with the big boys on a campout to see how they do things. Jason and I were a little nervous letting him go since Jason wouldn't be allowed to go, but our Den leader was going so that made us a little more comfortable. Cole is really good friends with the Den leader's son and they are a strong Christian family. If Randy and his son weren't going, then we would not have let Cole go, but I think he had a great time. This was taken on the morning of departure. I'm still not sure I want him growing up just yet.

Proud Honors

Cole was selected to be in the Academic Honors Club at school this year. In order to be selected, he had to have maintained a 94.5% or higher grade throughout his fourth grade year. He held a 99% all year. This club meets once a month after school and I'm still not sure what they do, but he seems to enjoy it anyway. So proud of him. He's also a member of the chess club which meets twice a month after school and the Hands In Service club which meets once a month after school. Right now the HIS club is collecting blankets to distribute to local nursing homes for the holidays. This one is going to be our overachiever, I think. His fifth grade teacher called him a natural born student. I have to agree. I just wish school would have come as easy for me as it does for him. He seems to really enjoy it and I have yet to see him study for his grades. Way to go Cole!!! Mom and Dad are so proud of your accomplishments. You are a wonderful kid and will someday be a superb young man...just don't rush there.

Jason's Birthday! (okay so it's a little late)

Yes, I know, once again I'm behind on posting. Jason's birthday was officially September 18th and here it is November 24th. Oh well. He got to enjoy his favorite cake...carrot cake. Yes, he's sweatty. He came in from working in the yard for cake and presents.

The look on his face is because as he opened presents he thinks it's funny that he correctly guessed all of them. I didn't find it so amusing. It takes away from the excitement of it, but he enjoyed it.

Cole gave him Hooked for Wii.

Ella gave him an arm strap to hold his Ipod Nano when he runs.

Kelsey gave him a stuffed animal fox. Yes, she's our animal lover, and yes, I did let the kids pick out their Daddy's gifts...with the exception of Ella.

I gave him the Ipod Nano for his runs since my Ipod Shuffle has died.

He's trying out his new fishing game and loving it. The kids even had fun with it.

First soccer game of the season

Kelsey playing in her first game of the season. Of course, the season is over now. She's on the far left. Tall, skinny and blond pony tail.

She's #15. Ironically, so is Cole.
Cole's first game of the season, also. He's smack dab in the middle. My little toe-head.

While at Cole's game, the girls found something to keep them occupied.

So glad the craziness of the season is over. Now we get to stay home a couple of nights a week.

Another Camping Trip

Labor Day weekend, Jason decided to take all three kids camping. Not only was this the second time he's done this with all three kids, but Ella was potty training at the time, also. He took the potty seat, a roll of toilet paper and off they went. They went up to Guntersville, AL and had a pretty good time. Their trip was cut short by a day because Kelsey got sick with what we believe was good ole' H1N1, but had a great time while there. If you look closely, you can see a baby deer laying in the warm coals behind the kids. Apparently, it's mother was either killed or abandoned it. It died later that day, but the kids thought it was so cute, they wanted their picture made with it.

I got my pictures of out of order. These next two photos were taken as Jason and the kids had just loaded up the truck and were heading up to Guntersville. Look at their excited faces. They LOVE camping with their Daddy. I love it when he takes them camping because it gives me a much needed break.

Victory!!!!!

I have many posts to update, but I'll only add one or two a day so as not to overwhelm or bore anyone. I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween with the kiddos. I will post pictures of our kids on Halloween later. But for now, I have a victory to report. Ella is officially potty trained! I am ecstatic over this hurdle. It took me close to a year to potty train both Cole and Kelsey. They were both 3 when they finally perfected it. Ella, on the other hand, has been at it for the past 2 months and has worked diligently with me to accomplish her goal. Did I mention she's 29 months old? That's not even quite 2 1/2 yet. Wow!!! She has remained accident free for more than 2 weeks and I finally took her to the store last Friday to pick out her new panties. She was so excited. In addition to this accomplishment, she's also in a big bed now. Bedtime has become a bit of a challenge since she shares a room with her sister and wants to play dress-up with the clothes in her dresser after I've left the room for the night. She also likes to take all of her clothes off and fall asleep naked. This will pass, I know. But for now, we are reveling in the fact that we are DONE with diapers and pull-ups. Now, we do still keep a potty seat and roll of toilet paper in the van for her to use when at the ball field so we don't have to go to the nasty public restrooms, but she's even staying dry through her naps and through the night as well. There must be something special about this child...or maybe I've just finally perfected the training process. Who knows...I'm just thrilled!