Grandparents' Day & Tortellini Soup

Rhett with his Bobba & Grammy

Yesterday Rhett's class celebrated Grandparents' Day by inviting Grandparents to come spend part of the day at school. Lane's parents were able to visit, which was great--Rhett was so excited! I wish I could have been there to take pictures, but they reported afterward that they had a great time. Rhett was lucky enough to be King of the Jungle yesterday (one of the classroom roles that they take turns doing...others are Polite Polly, Ziggy Zebra, and my personal favorite Hygiene Hippo). Grammy said that when they walked into the classroom, Rhett was wearing a crown and sitting on the throne. She said his eyes lit up and he ran over to give them hugs. They also did a handprint craft, a family tree craft, the class sang a Grandparents song ("You are my Grandpa, You are my Grandma" to the tune of "You are my Sunshine"). They had their picture made and then had lunch together in the cafeteria.

After the morning at school, they came to our house to see Crosby and Alexee. The weather was gorgeous, so after I picked R up they played outside for a while.

Playing bumper cars with the Big Wheel and the stroller:

Alexee laughed and laughed--she loved this!
Rose Mary and Crosby relaxing in the shade:

(I just planted these mums earlier this week--one of my favorite things about fall--mums on the front porch. I'd like to add a nice fall wreath on the door.)
Rhett on the Big Wheel:
Alexee riding in the stroller:

Thank you for coming to be a part of this special day!

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Since we were having company for lunch yesterday, I made tortellini soup. This is the recipe from my friend, Ali. She made it for us when Alexee was born and I thought it was delicious.

Tortellini Soup

3 cans chicken broth

1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 can (15 oz) navy beans, rinsed & drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 T red wine/cider vinegar

shredded parmesan and ground pepper

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a oil. Stir in tortellini. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans, tomatoes and basil. Simmer 4-6 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in vinegar. Sprinkle with parmesan and pepper.

Serves 4-6.

Last weekend

Last Saturday Lane had to be at the hospital early, but he didn't have to stay very long so we were able to take the kids to get donuts and go to the zoo. We went to Krispy Kreme this time...sometimes we go there, sometimes we go to Shipley's because it's usually not as busy. Lane thinks KK has the best donuts. I really like the hot ones at KK, but if comparing cold, plain-glazed donuts, I prefer Shipley.

Here we are at the entrance while waiting on Lane to go back to the car to get my ID because they wouldn't let us in without both adults' IDs--annoying rule (especially when one child is crying and two are fighting to get into the zoo first).

The kids like riding the carousel and always run around the circle to find just the right horses.
After baths one night they got the idea to dress up a bear and a frog in PJs. Alexee never plays with dolls, but she did take good care of her frog. Rhett "fed" his bear using one of Crosby's baby bowls and spoons, and then I saw him burping him.
I love the 6 months size--it's so fun to see him sit and reach for toys. He still falls over some, so I surround him with pillows if I'm not sitting right beside him.
Sunday evening Alexee was invited to our neighbor's birthday party at The Little Gym. Crosby went with us while Lane and Rhett went to Home Depot and went to dinner. Alexee had fun at the party. She was shy when the party leader asked her to stand up, say her name and do a trick. She liked the big, colorful parachute. There was pizza and cute Wizard of Oz cupcakes with pretty pink icing...a fun night!

6 months old

Crosby at 6 months:

-Rolling over front to back and back to front

-Sitting alone, playing with toys

-Reaching for things, grabbing hair, earrings, etc.

-Eating cereal, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes and sweet peas. (and still nursing.)

-Laughs out loud a lot, makes cute noises

-I find him sleeping on his stomach or his side more than on his back now.

-Sucks his thumb sometimes, takes a pacifier when sleepy but doesn't really care about it at other times

-Has slept through the night a handful of times, but still not consistent. He slept from 10:30p to 6:30a last night...that's encouraging!

-Likes the exersaucer, Bumbo seat, swing, still likes to sleep in the car seat when we're out

-He's a snuggler--I love it!

-He's ticklish, especially under his chin

-No teeth yet

-Not much hair yet, but what he has is blonde

-Size 3 diaper (just moved up to those yesterday) and mostly 6-9 mo. clothes

-Sweet, sweet, SWEET!

Here are the pictures I made of him yesterday, on his 6 month birthday:

This outfit was originally Rhett's and was one of my favorites.

He does this little thing with his mouth a lot right now...teething, maybe?

Big brother giving him a kiss:

Laughing--he's such a happy baby!

He had his well-child visit on 9/29. He weighs 17 lb. 8 oz. and measures 26". He got several shots, including his flu shot. He's healthy and happy!

Seems like this one was just 6 months old!

More miscellaneous phone pictures

Uploaded pictures tonight...here are a few that I wanted to share:

How sweet it is to get to peek into the stroller and see this precious face. I love how he's holding the little toy hippo in his sleep.

One day after school when we met friends at the park:

Crosby sitting alone and playing with the toy train that Rhett had when he was a baby:
Sweet big sis playing with him:
In drop-off line at school. I miss him during the day!
Alexee looking at the goldfish in the pond at church:
Today was a busy day, but one of the highlights was getting to have lunch with R at school. Here's Crosby waiting for his big brother outside the cafeteria doors:

R's teacher let him choose one friend to eat with us at the special guest table. It was so cute watching him go ask J to join us. I introduced myself and asked J about his family. He's just a few weeks older than Rhett, and he's also the oldest of three children. I picked up personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut for lunch. PH wasn't actually open (at 9:15 a.m.) when I went through the drive-thru to place an order, but the nice guy getting things ready for the day came to the window and asked me what I wanted to order. He said to just hang out there in the drive-thru and he'd make me two mini pizzas really fast! I thought it was really nice of him to go to the extra trouble. I'm sure he thought I was strange for wanting to eat pizza that early in the morning, but the Kindergarten classes eat at 10:30! No wonder Rhett is hungry when he gets home from school!
Rhett then went out for recess and Crosby & I went to the car so he could eat. He'd had a long nap in the car seat and was in a great mood after eating. Look at these cheeks!
After school, we met friends for milkshakes. Lawson, Garret & Rhett:
We didn't think Lane was going to get home in time to see the kids before bed, so we took this picture to email to him to say "goodnight". He did make it home in time though, which they were excited about.

Salt map

When I was in GAs class at church as a kid, we made a large salt dough map of one of the countries we were studying. I thought it was so fun then, and I thought Rhett would enjoy the project now. The dough is very easy to make. It only requires flour, salt and water.

We used the recipe/instructions below:

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Make Your Salt Dough

1. Step1

   Mix equal parts of flour and salt into a bowl. You will want to use three to four cups of both salt and flour for an average size map.

2. Step2

   Mix enough water into the flour and salt mixture until you get a consistency like Play-Doh. Gradually add the water in so you do not make the mistake of making the dough too sticky.

3. Step3

   Place the dough on the pizza box to fill in the map. You can add valleys and mountains using a topographical map as a guide. It is alot of fun shaping building up the map into the different shapes. You can also consider adding some pieces to your map like a volcano or erections of famous buildings. Be creative.

4. Step4

   Put your finished map in the sun for several hours to dry. If it is too cold outside, you can put it in the oven at 200 degrees Farenheit. Be sure to watch carefully if using the oven. You want the dough to be hard enough so that when you press on it you won't leave a mark.

5. Step5

   Paint your map different colors to show different points of interest. Let the map dry completely.

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   Making the dough

After it dried in the garage for a few days, Rhett painted it with acrylic paints.

And I think his favorite part was writing things on the map. We didn't label all the states, but labeled the Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, oceans, Canada, Arkansas and Texas.
Writing "U.S.A." at the top.
A fun indoor activity to try! We might do another one soon of Arkansas or something else.

Game day attire

This evening we went to Chili's for dinner, and I dressed the kids in their new football outfits in honor of game day. I got full on chips and salsa (yum!) before my meal even arrived. As a group of three was leaving the table beside ours, one of the ladies stopped and said, "Your children are so good." I said, "Oh, thank you!", and she replied, "No, thank you!" After she left, Lane and I agreed that she should probably just stick around for another twenty minutes or so and she could see some fireworks! All three kids did have one of their better restaurant nights tonight, which was nice, and I appreciated the encouragement from the nice lady. I usually feel like we make a big scene everywhere we go and feel like everyone around us wishes we'd just get our food to go!

My pictures didn't work like I'd planned on the Razorback blanket, but I'll try again soon. I've been looking for a plain white turtleneck for Alexee's outfit-I'd like to have an 'A' or 'Arkansas' monogrammed on it, but I can't seem to find a turtleneck anywhere. Maybe it's still too early in the season? I thought that would be easy enough to find?

I kept saying, "Rhett, are you SURE you can hold him?" R was laughing and saying (in a strained voice), "Yes, but hurry and snap the picture!"
I forget what Alexee got mad about--I think she tried to run away and tripped over the blanket on the floor and fell down.
He is such a HAPPY little guy! I love love love this sweet, cereal-covered smile.

Go Hogs!

Daily routine

Well, I have not been very good about posting lately! We've been busy, but just with daily routine type stuff. I haven't taken many pictures lately either. Here's a catch-up post (probably not very interesting to read).

Rhett:

Today is R's half-birthday, 5 1/2! He is still liking school. He has received a sticker on his chart every day since the first full week of school (I was a little worried that first half-week because he kept getting in trouble for talking and once for screaming in the bathroom because of the automatic faucets, but I think he's figured out the rules now and is good to follow them.) In fact, he told me about a week ago, "Mom, I might make a mistake again once or twice, but I think I've got the hang of this". He seems to love his teacher, and he doesn't complain about going to school. Every morning on the 8 minute drive to school we say a prayer for the day and then go over "our rules":

(He fills in the blanks and Alexee knows them now, too, so sometimes they fight over who gets to say them.)

1) Obey your _______ (teacher).

2) Be kind and sweet to _______ (everybody).

3) Do good in __________ (school).

4) Make your papers ________ (neat).

5) Make good _________ (decisions).

6) Work ________ (hard).

After the rules, they both want me to "try to stump them". For Alexee, I say animal sounds and get her to guess the animal or ask things like "What is green and grows on trees?" Rhett's are more like "What state is directly above Arkansas on the map?", "What planet has rings?" or "What is the landmark called with the faces of the presidents carved in the mountain?" Drop-off line doesn't take too long anymore. He looks so cute walking in wearing his backpack every morning--I watch in the rear view mirror for as long as I can before the car behind me gets too close. :)

Alexee:

She is doing great at MDO (two days). She hasn't been crying at drop-off, and she's now old enough to go to pick-up line in the afternoons, which is SO nice for me (I don't have to get everyone else out of the car!). She has only napped there once, and that one time shocked me. I thought maybe the teacher put the wrong child's note in her bag. She must have been exhausted that day. Her teachers say that she's sweet to just rest on her mat with her blankie though, no fuss. On her non-MDO days, we're working hard on potty-training. She's done great this week. She's had two accident-free days where she only wore a pull-up at nap time. We're adjusting to the new school-days schedule and she's actually taking better naps now than she was before we had to move the timing around a little bit. (I shouldn't even type that because I will surely mess it up by saying that!) She's getting a little better about not being quite so grumpy when awakened from her beauty rest. :) While there is always laundry, ironing, etc. waiting for me around the house, I try to leave those chores until her naptime and read books, play with her, color, etc. in the mornings. All too soon she will be in kindergarten! Rhett has always loved using glue, so today I decided to let her try glueing shapes on a piece of paper. She worked very hard and told me to "put it up on the counter to dry" when she was finished with it.

She also arranged all of her animal cards on the table and said the name of each one. About some of them (such as the lion and the alligator) she would say, "They're not scary, they're friendly." She also saw a snake in a book today and told me that it wasn't scary, that it was non-venomous. She definitely listens to everything Rhett says, both good and bad!
Crosby:

He's approaching the SIX month mark! :( Slow down time! He's enjoying his cereal, but still not sleeping through the night. I think I'll start carrots next week. He's sleeping on his tummy some now. It's so cute to go in his room and see him asleep on his tummy with his head turned to the side and sucking his thumb. He's sitting up a little better, but he's still not very stable. He can sit for several seconds if he's focused on a toy. He likes the Bumbo seat and the exersaucer and the swing...but his first choice is to ride around on my hip and look at things. So I hold him a lot. He was on a quilt in the living room floor on Tuesday and I went to the kitchen to do something. When I came back around the corner Alexee was changing his diaper by herself and he thought it was funny--he was all smiles!

Lane:

L is on surgery rotation this month and next, so he has a difficult schedule. His days start way too early! He's doing great and seeing and learning interesting things though. We were thrilled when he called at 4:30 today to say that he was on his way home. That hasn't happened much at all lately, so we celebrated by going out to eat pizza. Crosby slept through most of dinner and the older two played in the arcade and carried their pizza around with them (germs, I know!), so Lane and I got to sit and talk and eat--what a treat! :)

Garner kids

Today before going to a friend's welcome-home party: (Thank you, Phillip, for serving our country!)

Alexee was so excited to wear her new doggie dress and bows. She loves dogs! I love to hear her say "see my pretty dress?". She likes to go show Lane once she gets all ready/clothes on/hair fixed--it's so cute. When I got dressed for the party today, she came in the room and said, "You look pretty, Mommy." :) Made my day! Yesterday she told me, "You my bef (best) friend." That made my day yesterday!