Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Our little buddy turned FOUR on Thanksgiving. It's so hard to believe...he's already acting like such a big boy, too. All day we were telling him "Happy Birthday!" and he didn't believe it until he blew out the candles on the cake. After he blew them out he looked at me and said, "Am I four NOW, Mom?!"
That is a train behind the candles (a Burlington Northern in case you were wondering.) His favorite because it is GREEN. This was a special request...including the circle green cake. He knew what he wanted.

We are so proud to have you as our son, dear boy. We love you!!

starting young

I hide these stupid catalogs when they arrive. I like to look through them, but I think they do nothing but create covetous hearts in my children and, frankly, we don't need any help in that area. :) Anyway, the other day the two year old was very quiet (which is usually cause for alarm.) When I found her, this is what I discovered. I don't know where she found it, but she sure enjoyed it for about 30 minutes. Too cute!!!

The Celebration

Our dear friends with their precious daughter...

we had to throw a HUGE party. God is so good...

finding the light

i'm working on finding the sweet spots to get that light in the eyes...missed it a bit on the one of C-low, but maybe next time.

baby girl

This little one is such a sweet, sweet thing--even when she doesn't feel well.

friends...

The Race

Our sweet G-Money is in Landsharks this fall! It's a running club designed just to get kids excited about running. Here he is approaching the finish line of his first race! It was 1/2 mile and he did great! We are so proud of you, buddy! (You Bakers...do you see the Schepers chin?! He does it all the time!!! Genetics are truly amazing.)

On a side note...we are not usually quite this bundled up mid-September here in CO. I did see snow today mixed in with the rain we got. I'm not ready for winter yet. I really hope we don't skip fall this year. Rumor with the weatherman is that it is going to be a beautiful weekend! We're going to see the aspens...

Labor Day 09

He has looked forward to this day since we left the park last year. I couldn't quite get a shot of his excited face, but he was SO, SO happy.

Poor boy was really sick. Can you tell? We had a "summer virus" that made him MISERABLE. Lets just say it involved sores in the mouth--but not h, f and m...thankfully. (?!)

We met our cousins there!! Hooray for the bed head, JG!!!

She was just fascinated.

It's the perfect conditions...sunrise, mountains, colors. I love Labor Day in Colorado Springs!!

TA-DA!!!

I promise my floor is not crooked...I just can't take a picture straight. :)
Do you remember the BEFORE shots?

I'm very, very happy with the way they turned out. The vanity mirror isn't finished and neither is the stool, but they will get done soon. There isn't really space to get the mirror up, so we'll store it for a while. I think the bed looks great too, but I'm not ready to move her out of the crib yet. :) No rush there...

SO...if you have wooden furniture at home that you think you just need to "paint" to make it look better, DON'T be afraid of this! If I can do it, anyone can. :)

just about done...

headboard
The final coat of this project was Tung Oil (Formby's Low Gloss is what I used--from Lowes). You can tell the difference in the second shot--the foot board on the left is only Minwax. The one on the right has about 5 or 6 coats of the tung oil--it is a wipe on varnish that leaves the furniture super shiny and very well protected. :) I finally got the shine I wanted! Its a little tricky to use...it streaks some, but I think I got it pretty streak free! :)

Next up...pictures of it in her room. Just have to move some stuff around. :)

Hooray!! It only took me a month or more...but, it's done!!

The new GREEN bike

D-struction LOVES green. (note the shorts.) I think I've told you about this before, and it is still true. Since our little three year old has graduated from his little 12 inch bike to a larger size, we were hoping to find a bike that suited his color preference. The Lord provided one today. He spent the entire afternoon on that bike and loves it. There are several things to note in these pictures:
1. the joy on his face--it doesn't do it justice.
2. the speed with which he attacks the turn in shot 3
3. the scar on his nose in shot 2 (see #2 for speed reference)
4. his shoes are on the wrong feet. he knows it and likes it that way.

Kindergarten

My boy started Kindergarten this week. I thought I would be fine. I really did. He went to this school last year for pre-k and loved it. I loved it. This was going to be "no big deal" and I would be fine.

I was not fine.

They were the kind of tears that came up really quickly without warning...the ones I wanted to stop, but couldn't. And so I let them run down my face as I walked back to the car with my other two in tow. They are coming back now as I think about it...

One more experienced mom said to me, "The days are long, but the years are short, aren't they?"

ARGH! I really tried to savor every moment of having him home. WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?! I'm really excited about school and this new phase of life. I LOVE THE SCHOOL he gets to be at. Everything is great--except I'm just mourning the passing of a phase. I guess it's just the beginning, huh?

When I went back to pick him up after the first day, his first words to me were, "I loved it, Mom. I had so much fun."
That does make it easier.