My Little Penguin and Garden Gnomes!

We had a fun Halloween and it was so much fun trick or treating in our own neighborhood! It took MUCH talking and bribing to convince Ciena to be a "Garden Princess" for Halloween this year. She really wanted to be a mermaid and was so jealous of her cousin, Betty, who was a beautiful mermaid for Halloween (I'm such a mean mom)! I think my days of picking out costumes for the kids are officially over! I had to get one last year of cute matching outfits in for the twins! I couldn't resist the Garden Gnome costumes! Coen thought he was Santa and went around saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas"! Dre was easy, he had his heart set on a penguin since Oct. 1st. He has a little obsession with penguins right now, not sure where it came from but it's pretty cute.

Tick or Treating with Cousins in Grapevine!

Ciena's First Spa Pedicure!

Lucky for Ciena her Aunt runs the Spa at the Great Wolf Lodge! She had her first Spa Pedicure with her cousins Katie and Betty!

Dresden's Field Trip!

I got to go along on Dresden's first field trip to the Environmental Center. We split into small groups and the cutest elderly volunteers took us on a tour of the center and woods area. After touching the animals and reptiles we went on a walk through the woods and along the way used our "5 senses" to explore the woods!

Twins Field Trip!

The twins field trip to the Dallas Farmers Market!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRESDEN!

I can't believe my little boy is 6!  We had a fun weekend of Birthday celebrations.  Thursday we had a family party at Top Golf (driving range), Friday my mom and I surprised him at school to eat lunch with him and share cookies with his class.  Saturday we had his birthday party with all his friends at Top Golf (mini golf), and then today on his actual B-day he got to choose his favorite dinner followed by ice cream and presents.  I think it's safe to say his birth has been well celebrated!  And so it should, words can't express how much this little guy means to me.  I am so proud of him and constantly impressed by the little person he is becoming.  Love you Dre!   

TEXAS STATE FAIR 2010

Ride the Rides, big and small -- Check

Eat lots of food including: corny dogs, lemonade, cotton candy, and yummiest cinnamon rolls -- Check

Visit the Petting Zoo and feed the animals -- check

Watch the Light Parade -- check

Win a GIANT stuffed animal dog -- Check

Give a wave to Big Tex -- Check

Spend way more money than you thought you could spend at a Fair -- Check

That rounds out yet another year of visiting the Biggest Fair in the World! 

Loving this Fall Weather!

The weather has been beautiful and we've been going on lots of outings!  This was a recent trip to the Dallas Zoo.

Still Swimming...

Still swimming in October, I think it's safe to say we've gotten good use out of the pool this year! 

Homework Already!

These two had their first homework assignment -- they had to color a cutout of their bodies traced on paper and decorate.  I cut out the shape of their bodies and told them to go ahead and color in their body parts and clothes.  The first thing Ciena did was color in a pink weiner...  should I be concerned??

Pumpkins at the Arboretum

How cute are Bat Boy and Bat Girl!  They love to get their faces painted when we visit the Arboretum!  Ciena was set on having her face painted as a princess until she saw Coen's Batman face and then insisted on being his partner in crime Bat Girl!  Also, check out how long her hair is getting!  It still has the natural curl in it -- hope it stays! 

They also loved the Petting Zoo!  Coco loved brushing the goats and Ciena stayed right by the bunny and was a little obsessive with it!  She got mad when any other child tried to pet it! 



FLOWERS

So I had to do a quick post on our Flowers before they die away!  I didn't plant them nor can I say that I really watered them (I let the sprinklers do that) but I must say I'm pretty proud of our blooming yard!  The best part is it attracts all sorts of butterflies so I feel like the kids have their own butterfly garden!  

               

First Day Pre-school!

The twins could not wait to get back to their little pre-school class and see Miss Judy!  This is our 4th straight year with Miss Judy (2 with Dre and 2 with the twins)!  So glad they love it and I get to have 2 and a half hours to myself -- WooHoo!!

I'm here in New York with Kelly visiting Kamilah and meeting little Laila for the first time.  Being here has been so much fun and even though we came here to help it's been super relaxing!  It's nice to wake up with literally nothing on the agenda but to help take care of this sweet little baby.

Being here has made me reflect back on my three and marvel at how fast they really do grow!  I also can't believe how quickly you forget the stages of their growth, yet while you're in the moment you think you will never forget.  I thought I would take this opportunity to write down what each of the kids is doing now and characteristics of their ever changing personalities!

Dresden:  My biggest boy!  Still can't believe I have a Kindergartner on my hands!  His first few weeks of school have been great, he loves his teacher and new friends.  They use a clip method in his classroom where every child has a clip that starts on green and if there is a discipline problem like not listening the clip gets moved down to a different color.  We have made it his goal to keep his clip on green all year long and each day when I pick him up from school he can't wait to tell me if he got a sticker that day for staying on green.  Dre's personality is so type A/first child syndrome!  He is a pleaser, always trying gain our approval and praise.  Dre is a worrier!  He worries about everything and his prayers at night can get pretty long, "bless we won't have any fires, kidnappers, robbers, bad dreams, tornadoes..." and it can go on and on!  He is also a natural leader, I am amazed at how he can come up with and organize games to play and then get his friends to follow.  We have a neighbor who lives across the street, Jacob, who Dre loves to play with and even though Jacob is two years older I have noticed Dresden is the one to initiate and lead in what they play.  One of Dresden's favorite things to do is go to Top Golf with Chad and they usually go at least 2-3 times a week when Chad gets home from work.  Dre is a scary good at golf!  He knows just how to hit the ball and can out drive me for sure!    He's also a natural at baseball.  Chad has pitched the ball to him since he was two and he now goes to the batting cage and hits ball by himself that come at him at 35 mph.  Most people comment that they can't believe it when they see this little kid in the batting cage hitting ball after ball that is pitched his way!

Coen:  This kid truly melts my heart!  He is the most high maintenance of the three, but for some reason has a soft spot in my heart.  Something about him is irresistible to me and I swear I kiss him 100 times a day!  I always tell Chad that I hope there is no side affect from being kissed too much as a kid!  If anyone asks Coen what his name is he will reply "Coco Bear" because that is what we call him.  He is very verbal if you talk with him one on one, but most people would think he doesn't talk a lot because he is more quiet in a group.  Coco's favorite thing is his blanket that he calls"tee tee" and if he could he would take it everywhere with him.  He loves to do the "Bear Dance" holding his blanket and dancing around while humming, we always know he's happy when we see him doing his Bear Dance! Coen loves to read books and play with his trains and balls.  His best friend is, of course, his twin sister Ena and they are true partners in crime.  Anytime it is too quiet in the house I know they are up to something and I have to check quick to see.  They love to get into my make-up and recently poured foundation powder all over my new bed!  Despite the trouble they get into together, I must say I am finally seeing the benefits of having twins.  They always have a playmate, which is so great especially during the hours Dre is in school.

Ciena:  Our little Princess!  This girl cracks me up daily with the things she says!  She is very head strong and definitely the leader of her twin brother, but loves to listen to Dre and follow him around.  She's a girly girl and loves to play dress up and all things princess.  She has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger, of course!  She was so excited about her pink bed and to have her own "girl" room in the new house.  The first night she was excited to sleep in her own bed, but sure enough just as I thought a couple minutes later she was sneaking back in with her brother!  Those two have slept in the same crib most of their lives (they would climb into the others crib to sleep) and are so attached I think it will be a while before they can bear to sleep in separate beds!  I love it when I tell her to do something and she says in a strong voice like she's in the military "YES, Mam"!  She also calls Coen her, "Boy" and usually refers to him that way, "where is Boy" or "come here boy" always in a demanding voice!  One of the funniest conversations with her happened a few weeks ago when I was trying to explain to her why she could not stand up to pee like her brothers.  I told her that girls don't have wieners so we have to sit to pee.  She looked at me and plainly stated, "But I want one!" Followed by, "can you go get me one at the store?"  I was laughing inside and wanted to clarify what she said so I told her, "you want me to go to the store and buy you a weiner?" and she replied, "uh huh, a PINK one!"

Here we are together again!  We have a tradition that I love where we fly out whenever there is a new baby, in this case it NY to welcome Laila Santana! 

Beautiful Laila!

Check her out!  Is this not the most beautiful baby!  I have loved being here in New York to help welcome Laila!  I thought I was coming to help, but Kamilah does not need any coaching!  She is truly such a natural and the BEST mom!  Congrats Kamilah and Dereck!  

FIRST DAY KINDERGARTEN!!  

I sent my little guy off today for his first day of Kindergarten!!  Isn't he adorable!!  I didn't cry, but definitely felt torn inside-- excited for him and also sad because I'm gonna miss having him by my side all day.  I feel like some of the innocence is lost when they start school!  He's bound to pick up on other kids bad habits, get teased, bullied, and go through all the other stuff that comes with being in school!  It's also a huge mile stone for moving forward, he starts today and who knows how many more years of school he'll have ahead of him (hopefully lots)!  When I walked him to his class he was nervous and sat down at his table and whispered "you'll be back in 3 hours, right"?  Umm, yeah -- didn't have the heart to tell him it's more like 7 hours!  As I'm typing this now the twins are asking me when we can go pick up Dresden so it looks like it's gonna be a long day!

Cowgirl!

Me and some of my favorite girls on a recent trip out to see Sarah's new land!!  Congrats Ben and Sarah!  I'm a Waxahachie fan!

WE MOVED!!

I know, I know, you would think we dropped off the face of the planet! I have been horrible at keeping up on the Blog lately and the only thing I can attribute it to is that we have moved!! I am just not the type of person who can keep all balls in the air (is that the right phrase). Well anyway, I have a hard time doing anything until I feel like my home is somewhat in order. I can't believe the Summer is already almost over and I have missed out on lots in the blogging world so I'll have to play catch-up!

The House

Here it is!  Totally contemporary and not at all what I thought we would end up buying, but after almost a year of searching this is the house that makes sense and is a perfect fit for us!  Lots of people have asked us why we stayed in Dallas instead of moving out to one of the suburbs like Plano, Frisco, or Coppell.  Here are some of the top reasons we stayed:

1)  Commute:  Simply put, if we lived more than 10 min away from the city we would NEVER see Chad!

2)  Character of Neighborhood:  One of my favorite things about Dallas is the huge trees that line the streets and the well developed neighborhoods.  Every house is unique and has its own character, you don't see the "cookie cutter" style homes you find in the suburbs.  

3)  Schools:  This one is huge for us since Dre will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall!  Dallas has some of the best schools in the nation!

4)  Safe/Strong sense of Community: Since we have moved in we have received so many invites to Play dates, Mom nights, and activities for families and kids.  

5)  Ward:  Technically we should be going to church a few hours later now, but for the time being we are staying in the ward that has really become like a family to us!  

6)  Shopping:  Kidding ...  well sort of!  Really we are just minutes away from some of the Best shopping and restaurants! 

So there you have it!  And if in a few months we start to have buyers remorse I can always go back and see why we ended up here!   The kids have loved having more space and I think I love their huge playroom even more than they do!  Decorating has been fun, but it is definitely a work in progress and I'll have to post as I go!  Oh and did I mention the 

We use the pool daily in the hot Texas heat!