First Smiles

Liam gave us his first smile a few weeks ago when he was five weeks old. Since then, they have been few and far between. In fact, I just spoke with his pediatrician about his lack of smiles yesterday. As soon as I mentioned my concern to the doctor, Liam flashed him a great big smile (making me look like a paranoid mother)! I actually just caught this smile on my camera a few minutes ago, and just had to share it with all of you. He is such a sweet baby, and I can't wait for more of you to meet him.

Braden is doing so well in school so far this year. Yesterday I met with his teacher for Parent/Teacher Conference, and she had so many good things to say about him. His behavior this year is improving, and his self-esteem seems to be so much better. He is getting straight A's on his report card, and he is reading somewhere between a 3rd and 5th grade level. His teacher said that he and his best friend are the top two students in the class, and that she is working to find things for them to do so they won't be bored.

Liam had his two month doctor appointment yesterday as well. He now weighs 11 pounds 14 ounces, and is 23 1/2 inches long. He is growing well (he gained a little more than 1 pound in one month). He also received his immunizations which he didn't really like.

Lydia is starting to go to school full days on Monday and Thursday. She is always sad to have to leave half-way through the day when other kids get to stay all day, so we are changing her schedule to full days on her two days a week. It is good for her and will prepare her for full-day kindergarten next year.

Morgan has been working really hard on the kitchen. The cabinets had been painted white, all except for the doors, which were stained maple. It wasn't very attractive, and looked like floating doors. So Morgan has stripped all of the paint off, and is going to stain the cabinets cherry. He also pulled all of the orange formica off of the walls, and we are taking out the orange countertops this weekend and replacing them with a pretty green marble design. We're painting the walls beige with white trim. The kitchen will look beautiful when it is finished, and I will post before and after pictures.

Ballet

Lydia loves ballet! She has class every Saturday morning, and she is practicing for their big production of The Nutcracker in December. She and her class will be party guests in one of the scenes. She can hardly wait! I will post lots of pictures when the time finally comes.

Cub Scouts

On Tuesday night, Braden was awarded with his Bobcat at his Cub Scouts Awards Ceremony. Morgan is his Den leader, so he helped with the ceremony by painting the boys' faces. Each image he painted on their faces stands for something that will help the boys in their lives. Braden was also awarded with four belt loops. They earn a metal belt loop (instead of patches) for accomplishing certain tasks and learning new skills. He is really enjoying himself at Cub Scouts, and enjoys having Morgan as his leader.

Little Cuties

Braden and Lydia absolutely adore their new brother. They are such big helpers with Liam. Here they are on Sunday, cuddling on the couch.

Braden Turns 7!

For Braden's 7th birthday he wanted a Space Party. I love planning parties, so we had a lot of fun with this theme. We held it at the New Mexico Museum of Space History here in Alamogordo. I reserved the covered picnic area for the party, and Morgan and a friend of ours took the "little astronauts" on a tour of the museum.

When the guests arrived, they each got a NASA hat (Morgan stitched patches we found at the museum gift shop onto baseball caps from Wal-Mart). We started with a lunch of Saturn's Rings Pizzas which we washed down with Tang. Then the kids toured the museum. After their tour, they came back outside to the party area, and they each had their own moon crater cake (complete with American flags and astronauts sticking out of them), and some freeze dried astronaut ice cream. After Braden opened his presents we gave each guest a rocket launcher toy and a bag of goodies. The boys had a blast launching their styrofoam rockets. Braden had a great time with his friends.

I can hardly believe he is already 7! It seems like just yesterday that he was born. On Friday (his actual birthday), we gave him lots of hugs and kisses at exactly 8:31 (his birth minute), and then watched some videos of the day he was born, and looked through his baby book. He is such a blessing in our family, and I am so grateful that I am his mom.

Morgan and Braden tested for their yellow belts in TaeKwanDo last week, and both passed. On Tuesday night they had their awards ceremony and received their new ranks. I was so proud of both of them. Before the ceremony began, Mrs. Overstreet, one of the owners of the school, did a demonstration for us. Braden watched intently as she broke wooden boards with her hands and feet. Maybe someday . . .

Before & After

First Days of School

Here are some pictures of Braden and Lydia on their first days of school. Braden has started second grade this year, and Lydia is attending Cornerstone Pre-School. They are both enjoying school so far. Braden has a brand-new teacher named Mrs. Wright. She is energetic and really seems to enjoy teaching, and he seems to enjoy being in her class. Lydia goes to school two mornings a week and wishes it were five mornings a week! She is thoroughly enjoying going to a big girl school, and is making a lot of friends. She even gets to eat lunch at school -- I pack her a lunch in her ladybug lunchbox.