Thanks!

I want to share a little to say thanks to my sweet family for a awesome birthday!

Steve and the kids spoiled me and made it a great weekend! Every time I turned around there was another present or handmade card, I love those little treasures! Steve made a nice Sunday dinner for me, which is not too unusual, but he did the dishes too! Then they all cooperated for family pictures. Awesome!

By Monday night I had already had a cake and two b-day dinners, so I told Beave I didn't need another cake... He came home with this surprise, he assured me that technically it's not a cake, it's a really big cookie.

Together, Johnny and I got all the candles out.

Monday the kids and I went to play at the Mall, Kyla told everyone it was her mom's birthday, she had to tell them my age too... thanks. :)

No really,

THANKS FAMILY!

A Little Dental Work

Kyla was eating an apple today and when Steve looked over he noticed something was missing... a tooth! Kyla didn't even notice when it came out! We actually don't even know where the tooth is. She and Leo where sharing the apple so it may be in Ky's tummy, Leo's tummy or anywhere really! Ky decided to draw a picture of a tooth to leave under her pillow for the tooth fairy.

She is super excited about loosing her tooth. She has been drawing pictures all day of how she looks now, with a missing tooth.

And here it is, the new smile.

"I forgot to brush my teeth at Jade's yesterday, so my tooth fell out."

We tell them their teeth will fall out and they will look like pirates if they don't brush their teeth... glad to know she is listening. We've assured her, she doesn't look like a pirate. Such a beautiful little girl!

Dash

Johnny was "dashing" yesterday and Steve had the camera, they got some cool pictures. This was Sunday afternoon, after staying home from church with a yucky cough... I think he was feeling better.

"I was doing a monster trick while I was dashing and running so fast to catch a bad guy while I was doing my monster trick."

SUPER FAST!

Going Undercover

So now that our oldest is in school and I am not very discreet with our family's details on this blog, we are going to make our blog private.

This just means you need an invitation from me to view the blog. So email me if you want an invitation.

ameliaseamons@yahoo.com

Miss Kyla is 5!!

Need I say, "I can't believe it!" Where have the 5 years gone?! Last night when I was putting Kyla to bed I told her about when she was born, it was a sweet thing for me to remember that time, how excited we were to be parents and for Ky to come to our home. I loved how excited she got hearing about her birth. I think I did pretty well at making the birth story kindergarten rated... :) Kyla is a beautiful sweet girl, I'm so lucky she is my daughter, forever. During the same discussion last night, Kyla told me when she grows up and is a mom I can be her kid's grandma, YES! I was hoping she would save that job for me. I said I would always be her mom, even when I am a grandma, and she said, "Yeah forever, like until I am 10!!"

Kyla loves cats. She has a couple stuffed ones that she takes everywhere with her. One of which is white, that one gets washed every week...

So for her party this year she wanted a kitty theme. I made this cute pink kitty cake for her. For some reason it was a bit tricky for me, OK it was the ears... I saw one online with similar ears but without instructions of how they got them to stay, see following pictures for my results. Ky loved it though, that is what matters.

"Mom do I look like a princess?" Yep sure do!

Ky and the boys right before the party.

I didn't get any pictures of our fun activities... 9 kids and one mom, enough said.

They decorated their treat bags with kitty stickers and their names. Went on a mouse hunt, I drew a mouse on Easter eggs and hid them. SO FUN! Played cat, cat, dog and mother cat. The mother cat had to find her kitties by listening for their meow, all the kids covered their mouths and only two meowed.

Then she opened some fun presents.

All our Kitty Friends. "MEOW!!"

Ky and her Kitty Cake.

And there goes the ear. She got all the candles out though...

Happy Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet Kyla girl! We love our Gooberella!

TEETH, quick someone dial 911...

... or the dentist. We had another adventure with teeth today but Leo didn't feel the need to alert the authorities this time.

When I picked up Kyla from school she said she had a loose tooth. I didn't believe her and told her she would be older before she lost her baby teeth. We went back and forth on this the whole ride home, 10 minutes. When we got home, I checked her tooth and what do you know, it is loose!! I was sure it wasn't from natural causes so I asked if something happened at school, nope. I called Steve, then I called the dentist.

"And how old is she?"

"Almost 5, next week."

"Yep, that's normal. Kids start to loose their teeth between 5 and 6."

"Are you sure? It's so young!"

"Yes."

So, yes, my reaction to a loose tooth was to call the dentist. :) I still think it is young to be loosing teeth, but since the "professional" said it is normal I'm going with that.

The first tooth to go. Bottom middle.

Leo has to get in on the picture action.

Little Miss Kyla.

Homework

The first two weeks of school Kyla didn't have homework but that has passed, it is homework time... super hard stuff like making a pattern. Cat, ball, cat, ball...

We hope homework stays this fun!!

Scotland

So for the second year in a row Steve had to travel to Scotland for work. Last year his dad went with him and they had a great time. THIS year, was my turn... YEAH! It had a lot to do with no nursing babies... My amazing parents came down and watched the kids while we were gone. We had a great time, I'm going to get some pictures on here... soon... Just as soon as I get over this jet lag and can stay up past 8 pm...

I did a post of our trip home, planning on working backward but that is as far as I got for now. Rather than wait to get the whole trip up I am going to post the trip home.

Layovers in Paris and New York... I know right?!

We were so excited for our trip home from Scotland, two layovers one in Paris, 23 hours, and one in New York, 9 hours! We were less excited when the time came and we just wanted to be HOME with our kiddies, but we made the best of it and had a good time.

Not re Dame

My mom said this was a must see in Paris, it didn't disappoint, it was incredibly beautiful. The great part was that all the information signs were in French and English, so we could read about the building's history, unlike the rest of Paris... Beave and I is just two uncultured Americans who don't speak no French...

But don't we look cute... :)

Eiffel Tower

I was so excited to see the Eiffel tower! Ky has been all about Paris since Fancy Nancy introduced her and I wanted to get some good pics for Ky. Kyla calls the really big metal power poles the Eiffel tower, turns out it isn't much different. ;)

View from the top. I'm not really scared of heights, Beave is, don't tell I said so... it doesn't stop him though. I got a little uneasy as the elevator started up, something about it being glass and outdoors.

Happy Tourists.

Statue if Liberty

Our second LONG layover was in New York... but this wasn't there, it is the one in Paris and it is tiny. We had to walk the extra couple miles to take a picture with it so we could say we were at both in one day.

So when we got to New York we were DONE, done with trains and done walking and done being away from home so we made the most of our 9 hour layover and sat in the airport the whole time. We didn't even make it to the Statue of Liberty... good thing we saw that one in Paris. We did have some great company though!!! Steve's mom and dad are on a mission in New York and they came to the airport, it was so great to see them! I think Ky and John were most jealous of this 6 hours with Grandma and Grandpa Seamons' than anything else on our trip.

Then we were HOME, and so happy to be. I missed my sweet kids so much. At the same time I am so glad we went, I don't know that we will ever get the opportunity again. I am so GRATEFUL to my Mom and Dad who came to stay with my kids, they had such a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. My Mom did it alone for a week, and I have to give her props, mommy is a big job! And THANKS to great friends who helped out too!!

Alien Boy

John dude decided he needed some serious protective gear to ride his bike... He is so cute and funny! He looks like a little alien.

GO Johnny Boy!

And He's Off!!

Wwwhhheeerrreee's Johnny?!

I went in to check on John last night and couldn't find him... he wasn't in his bed. Here is where I found him. Silly boy.

It was a perfect fit.

School and Bus Reviews

Kyla has weighed in with her official opinion of school. Steve asked how it went and she told him, "School is so much fun!"

And when I asked her about riding the bus yesterday she said, "It was so cool!"

Looks like things are going well for our little miss Ky.

I hope the rest of the year goes as well!

get onto the bus...

A lot of my titles are one liners from songs... so can you name that tune? I don't know if Beave gets to guess, I am sure he knows every song I do, except maybe that 90's country music that I love... :)

Kyla rode the bus for the first time today. I think putting her on the bus was harder than the first day of school, yesterday... She, of course, was super excited to ride with Kaitlyn and Ryan, again, I am SO glad she had someone to ride with!

Waiting for the bus. It works out pretty well, the bus stops a half block from our house and our stop is the last one before heading into school, no extra time driving around the neighborhood!

Off she goes. All morning I have been having panic attacks, thinking about whether or not she made it to her class... OK not really attacks just the worries. I guess I am a worrier, some is genetic, thanks Dad ;), and some just comes with being a mom.

First Day of School, First Day of School!!

Kyla started Kindergarten today!! It was a rough day for mom, starting with a little insomnia... but Kyla was nothing but excited for school! She has a great teacher and a girl from our ward in her class. It is going to be a great year!

Ky and John, they always want pictures together, they are such good buds! We are going to miss Kyla while she is at school, BUT Leo will be in the buddy to play with stage soon... Yeah!

Kyla Ballerina. She is so adorable!

Waiting for the bus. Kyla didn't actually ride the bus today, I took her, first day and all. She is so excited to ride it tomorrow. I am so excited that our friend, a third grade boy, is going to take on the role of big brother on the bus! :)

As hard as the change is, having Kyla gone 4 hours a day, I am really excited for her to go to school. She is going to love making friends and learning!

"Mom, do you want more pizza?"

"No, I'm full."

"All the way, up to your brain?!" -Johnny

Steve dropped something and Ky says "smooth, Dad" with just the right amount of sarcasm... isn't she too young to be doing that?!

"Tickle, tickle, tickle!" -Leo

It fits that one of our gigglie boy's first words is tickle!!

Cute or Creepy?!

My neighbor came to my door last week to pick up her little girl and when I opened the door she informed me of a little furry friend taking a snooze about the door...

BAT!

Steve and the kids thought it was so cool!

I am afraid I have to vote creepy.

A few "to do's"

This has been half made in my someday box for years. Part of the reason it was stuck there is that I couldn't figure out how I wanted to hang it. I decided to go with the raw look... raw edge with a decorative stitch a quarter inch in and some upholstery tacks and TA DA!

Steve thinks it is funny that I put birds on it... I have an irrational fear of birds, don't like them much... But little fabric ones are kinda cute. :)

This is the powder room.

I saw the idea for this message board online and wanted to make one, so easy, just a frame, cute paper and a dry erase marker! We had to do a last minute Mutual activity last week, so guess what we did... made these cute message boards!!

They turned out pretty stinkin' cute, and so useful!

I felt so accomplished that day, I went on to paint Leo's wooden L, stain a frame, and make a few hair bows. I didn't make it to painting the stool, but I did dig the paint out from under the stairs, so there is a really good chance it will get done... soon. :)

Happy Happy Birthday Daddy-O!!

Steve had his b-day the end of July. The kids were so excited to have a party for dad! Dinner, games, presents, and cake... crazy cake! It is a Seamons' tradition to have chocolate crazy cake on birthdays. When Kyla and I were talking about making a crazy cake, she said,

"Yeah, cause our dad's crazy, right?!" Yep, that's it!

33 candles!

Steve re-lit the candles a few times so Ky, John and Leo could have a turn to blow out candles too.

First Steps!

This is mostly for the Grandma's out there...

Yeah Leo!!

The boys.