Someone's 5!

My little guy turned 5 today!  For some reason five seems like such an age jump from four.  This probably has to do with the fact that he also started school full time this year too.  This kid continues to be the most caring, kind, smart, creative, and loving boy I know.  His smile lights up a room and he makes us laugh every day! 

We are so thankful to have him in our lives.  God blessed us when he gave us our only little boy.  There really is something to say about the relationship a mother has with her son.  He is our Boo and we love him more than he'll ever know! 

Isaiah got his crown from school today!  He LOVES school and LOVES his teacher! 

 

I made a slide show of all the parties he's had this past weekend.  We went to the Playground in Ankeny for his "friend" party and had our family over on Sunday for another one.  What birthday wouldn't be complete without dinner from Hickory Park!  We went there too.  This kid got LEGOS, LEGOS, and more LEGOS for his gifts.  All but 2 sets are put together and I kid you not that he got 10 different sets.  He worked on the Lone Ranger one tonight and loves every minute of building! 

 

Enough blabbing...enjoy the slide show...LOVE the new birthday option!

Happy 5th Birthday Isaiah!

My Three Happy's:
1) I guess I can say I'm glad I'm awake right now.  I've been up until almost 11 working on school stuff lately and have been waking up around 5:30 and sometimes earlier.  I guess we have some early risers at our house plus it takes me that long to pack 2 lunches, snacks, make sure backpacks are ready, lay clothes out...need to do that still, and get my self presentable for school.  Wow!  Life is busy but oh so fun!
2) I found a yummy recipe for raspberry lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!  Have all the stuff but need to make them this weekend with the kids.  Also found a fun recipe for monkey bread that calls for butterscotch pudding.  Sounds like this might be breakfast on Saturday morning.
3) My babies are growing like weeds!  Isaiah is 5, Ava is getting taller by the day and just lost another tooth...that makes 6 so far...and Violet is such a big girl, sleeps great, and loves her baby food!  I love being a Mommy!

My Favorite Thing:
**My new GAP boyfriend cut jeans...so comfy!!!!!!!

First Day of School! First Day of School!

 

First Day of School!  First Day of School!  These are the famous lines quoted by that cute little clown fish Nemo!  He's so excited to explore the deep sea and all that it contains.  This year marks my oldest two loves embarking on a new learning journey into first grade and early kindergarten.  Ava and Isaiah were thrilled to start school today.  This morning was probably one of the very few mornings where they popped out of bed and got dressed in record time.  I love that they are at school with Andy and I all day.  We can pop our heads in to see how they are doing and I get to see Ava at recess and lunch everyday!  This year is going to be so much fun for them and they will learn a ton!

 



Miss Violet started going to Julie Emerson's house for daycare and she's been doing great!  Julie seriously has the magic touch! When I picked her up today her little notebook showed that she took one 2 hour nap in the morning and one 2 hour nap in the afternoon!    Go Violet!

Ava and Isaiah ready for their first day.  Mr. Isaiah did shed a few tears when Andy dropped him off but when Andy checked back he was happily involved in the different activities.  When we got home from school, Mrs. Astarita his teacher, sent some questions that we could ask Isaiah about his day.  He was thrilled to share about what crafts he did, what stories he heard, and what activities they did.  Ava showed me her "OWL" binder that Mrs. Schroeder sent home and the two activities that they did today.  She had a blast!

Me and my two loves before school started this morning.

Andy and his little babies...all grown up!  I must say that my husband looks very handsome in this picture!

 

 

The first week of school is absolutely exhausting but I love my job and there's nothing else I'd rather do!  Some of my little kiddos are going to be a challenge this year and I have the most kids I've had in 13 years!  But I know their little minds are eager to learn and are so excited to be at school. 

 

Happy 1st Day!

 

My Three Happy's:

1) I made it through the first day of school...it was a half day of school...but sooooo busy!

2) I planned some yummy meals for dinner this week. Tonight I made spicy chicken tacos.  These were made of shredded chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, and spinach.  The kids devoured them...I did leave the spinach off theirs.  Yeah...another recipe they love!  Tomorrow is slow cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu.

3) Miss Violet is starting to sit a little bit on her own.  She flops forwards sometimes but she's doing great!  I'm so proud of her!

 

 

My Favorite Thing:

 

 

My Aunt Barbie gave my Mom these earrings and she didn't care for them so they got passed onto me.  I love these fun orange earrings from Chicos.  There's something about adding a little bling to your outfit!

Top 5

I am so sad that summer is coming to an end...less than two weeks to be exact.  I love my job but I've been home since April and going back to reality just doesn't sound like much fun.  I can't wait to have both Ava and Isaiah at school with me and I know Violet will do great at Julie's house (the kids daycare provider) but it's going to be terrible taking her for her first day.  She'll make so many new little friends, will love Julie's two puppies, will have more toys to play with than she can imagine, and Julie will love her to pieces.  She'll get used to it but I think right now it's going to be much harder on me than it is on her.  I'll get through it...once 3:30 rolls around we'll be zooming over to pick up our littlest love.  Breathe...just breathe Amy...it will be okay!

On to the Top 5!  Here are 5 things that have been going on at our house.  It's funny how we haven't done much this summer but at the same time it's been crazy busy.  I must say that having Andy home with me has been a lifesaver!  We've spent lots of time as a family and that means the world to me!

#1) Tuesday marked the day I married the amazing and loving man!  Andy and I have been married for 8 years.  We spent this anniversary taking care of two kids who were throwing up...good times!  I love this wedding picture...if only I could look like this again.  Maybe someday!

 

#2) We made homemade dinosaur egg piñatas.  The kids filled them with candy and Andy hooked them to a tree branch.  They LOVED breaking it apart and collecting all the candy that fell.  

They're all ready to go!

Andy raising Ava's egg into the air.

Swing away!

One, two, three...

...whack!

Violet and I cheered them on from the sidelines!

Just a random picture of Violet in her swing.  If she's in here anywhere close to her nap time...that girl is out!  She reminds me so much of Ava because Ava would crash in there for a snooze too!

 

 

#3) Summer=Jammies...Andy took a few pictures of the kids looking all cozy in their pajamas.  

1 love, 2 loves, 3 loves!

"What are you doing Isaiah?"

Our beautiful Vee Vee!

 

#4) Miss Violet had her 4 month check up today.  More details on that when I do her 4 month post on Sunday.  Her doctor said she could start some eating some vegetables and fruits.  It's funny because in Ava and Isaiah's baby book it says that they started rice cereal and oatmeal at 4 months.  Dr. Foster-Wendel said that she really doesn't need the starch right now and that trying the fruits and vegetables will help her acquire a liking to the flavors.  

We did some strained carrots tonight.  She LOVED them and Andy and I were both saying that we thought she ate them like a pro.  You would have thought this kid had eaten with a spoon a hundred times.  She was so happy when we were feeding her.  After a few more days we'll try either some squash or sweet potatoes.

Ava helping me feed her.  We're working on not "shoving" the spoon into her mouth. 

So yummy!  I've been waiting for this for a  long time!

Isaiah's turn...I love that the kids are old enough to be involved!  If they had it their way I should have left the room and they would have fed her every bit.

I can't get enough of this!  Today marks the day I discovered two things...my tiny baby can now eat foods and I now have to shop in a new section at Target for 12 month stuff...bye bye to the baby area.

 

 

#5) This week our church had their Bible School program.  We went on Thursday and Friday because everyone but Violet developed the flu this past week.  It was a short virus...thank goodness...but not fun!  The kids love going every year!  They enjoy everything about it: crafts, story time, games/snacks, and music time.  

Isaiah and Ava right before it started.

Pastor Emily talking...it was a fun carnival theme and the message was about being a good neighbor and friend to people.

These kids are all about crafts and were lucky that we got to take home the three we missed from earlier in the week.

Time for some games.

Ava singing and dancing with her group.  She did a great job!

This guy didn't want to go up so he sat with me.

I love how praising God was so much fun! We bought the CD of songs so now we can continue the singing and dancing at home.

 

 

My Three Happy's:

1) The kids went to Adventureland this past weekend with my parents and sister's family.  We were all supposed to go but I got sick and Andy stayed home with Violet.  It was a yucky weekend but the kids had a blast!

 

2) I'm finally reading my new Sophie Kinsella novel, Wedding Night.  She is my favorite author and so far this book is hard to put down. 



 

3) We had the first five ears of sweet corn from our garden the other night.  Love it!

 

My Favorite Thing:

**School supplies...I love the look and smell of brand new crayons, pencils, notebooks...all of it.  Last week we bought all the stuff Ava and Isaiah will need for EK and 1st grade.

Cupcake Wars

Cupcake Wars is a fun and creative show on the Food Network where teams compete to bake the most delicious and decorative cupcakes.  At our house this morning, you could say that we had our own little version of the Cupcake War.  We love, love, love the Family Fun magazine that we get each month in the mail and it's always filled with great ideas!  In this issue they had a beach themed octopus cupcake that looked like fun.  The kids love baking and cooking with me, but they both don't care for cupcakes or really cake for that matter.  They're all about the frosting, candy treats on top, sprinkles, etc.  So what they really enjoy doing is eating the toppings off.  We made chocolate cupcakes...I don't know what it is but since I became pregnant with Violet, I started liking chocolate cake instead of vanilla.  Go figure!

 

Here's what you need to make these yummy treats:

-cupcake flavor of your choice...bake as directed

-blue frosting and blue sugar sprinkles (water)

-large gumdrops or fruit slices cut into circles (body)

-sour gummy worm cut in half (legs)

-black frosting to make eyes and mouth

 

Ava had fun decorating these before swimming lessons this morning.  What a beautiful smile she has!

My Boo showing me the first one he made. 

Our yummy treats!

Andy discovered some new buttons on our camera and was experimenting with them.  Violet was his model.  Here's our baby doll!

Love those big eyes!

 

Chillin' with Jackson!

I love my Daddy!

Violet loves her Build-a-Bear princess bear.  She loves holding it when I change her diaper on the changing table. 

Ava cuddling with her little sis!  These two love each other so much.  I love hearing Ava talk to Violet and hearing Violet respond with her little coos.

 

 

My Three Happy's:

1) Violet slept 10 minutes shy of 12 hours last night.  That was great!

2) I am so proud of how much Ava has improved with her swimming abilities this year.  She barely put her head under water last year and is now gliding and doing the crawl stroke.  She's been working really hard on her back glide and back stroke too. 

3) Our family is cuddling on the couch watching America's Got Talent tonight.  Time to relax and unwind from the day!

 

My Favorite:

I love the smell of one of my new Scentsy Bars.  It's called "A Wink and a Smile."

This and That

Click on the link below to see the slide show of other stuff we've been up to.

A Little Bit of This and That


Happy Saturday!

One Way. Forward.

Does anyone know where these words from the post title come from?  Come on...if you're a true Cyclone fan you should...keep guessing...keep guessing.

 

"One Way.  Forward."  This is the theme/title of the new ISU football season.  These three words are on all the calendars and posters this year.  It's crazy to think that the 2013 season will be starting soon.  Every year Grandma and Grandpa Richardson purchase tickets for Ava and Isaiah.  They are official members of the Little Cyclone Club.  They get admission to all home games and invitations to special pregame activities.  Miss Violet is still a fan...but for the time being she is free...we'll take that. 

 

This afternoon we went to the Jacobson Building at ISU to pick up all the stuff the kids get and to participate in some of the activities they had.  They each got a bag with the lanyard and season pass, a new T-shirt, and bracelet.  The kids had so much fun here and the best part was that it wasn't as crazy as the Fan Fest we went to last August.  This was a perfect way to spend a few hours...supporting one great team!  Go State!

 



Here are the kids with Cy.

Ava and Isaiah with Grandma and Grandpa

Ava getting a tattoo from one of the cheerleaders.

Isaiah too!

Violet busy playing with her flower toy.

My Vee Vee and me!  This kid constantly puts things in her mouth.  It's a guarantee that if she has some type of dress on that it will be soaked within minutes.

For some reason I can't figure out how to switch this one to the side.  Here's Ava with her toothless smile.  Her two front teeth are gone and her bottom one is just coming in.  This kid has lost 5 teeth so far!

Daddy and his little Violet

Whoa!  What was that?  She can really open her eyes WIDE!

Our beautiful little lady!

They had free face painting and Ava wanted an ISU butterfly.

When we were driving home and I was looking through the pictures I came across this one and thought, "Oh my gosh...Ava looks SOOOO old!"  How can she be growing up so fast.  She's supposed to be my baby!

Isaiah wanted an "I State" on his face so they painted a large "I" and then wrote ISU across his face.

Sweet!

Three Cyclone fans!

They had a coloring station too.

The Jacobson building was open so Andy took the kids out for pictures.

What a great view!

Go State!

One last picture with all of us...

...and we had to get one last picture with one of the Pom Pom dancers.

Two future Iowa State Cyclones

 

 

The kids decided after we went to ISU that Texas Roadhouse was calling our name. Grandma and Grandpa Richardson took us out for dinner.  I think the kid's most favorite thing about eating there is the peanuts.  What kid doesn't love making a mess with the shells!

 

My Three Happy's

1) I'm trying play catch up with all the stuff we've been doing so I'm putting all the pictures of random stuff into a slide show.  It's taking forever for the pictures to upload so as soon as it's done I'll post it.

2) Violet used to scream and scream and scream until 10 or 11 at night.  For the past month this kid has gone to bed around 7 or 7:30 with no fussing.  Some nights she sleeps straight through the night and other nights she's up around 4 or 5 to eat and then goes right back to sleep until 8 or so.  What a trade off!

3) Our garden has green beans, wax beans, and little yellow tomatoes that are ready.  Unfortunately Andy and I don't get to eat them.  Mr. Isaiah has become a huge fan of beans this year and eats every one we pick.  As for the tomatoes...there's no hope for us!  This kid can eat 20 of these little ones in just one sitting.  He did that last year and I'm sure he'll do it again.  That kid loves his fresh vegetables!

 

My Favorite:

Our family has really started to like watching America's Got Talent together.  The kids LOVE playing this and enjoy showing us their talents.  We put on shows for each other and then give our comments.  It's so funny to hear them say some of the same things that the judges say.  Andy and I get a kick out of the phrases they use.  The DVR is set to record this each week...we love it!