I haven't posted in a while, so here are a few things we've done in the past several months . . . .
We spent New Year's with some of our favorite people in
Wenatchee. Dennis bought these cool lanterns for the kids to light and send into the sky. Really it was quite a flame, so the parents ended up lighting all of them, with minimal help from the kids. They were pretty fragile, but fun and magical for them.
Another picture from our time in
Wenatchee - Taylor's practicing up - lucky for me, she is good with babies and likes them. I think I will assign them each two days a week when they get to be the "helper", otherwise I am going to have to listen to quite a bit of bickering over who gets to choose the outfit, who gets to sit next to the baby in the car, etc. At least until the novelty wears off.....
They all entered a touch
Kumite tournament - this is where they fight, but not with fist - to score a point, you have to touch your opponent with your hand or foot. At their level, the first person to score three points wins the match. Taylor and Emilie both won 3rd place in their age group, and Kimberly, who is actually pretty talented at
Kumite (fighting), went up against a red belt (3 levels above her) and a very good fighter, so lost her match, 2 to 3, but she did a good job and tried her best!
Tuckered out on the way home from New Year's - although I think the one smiling is faking sleep. Really, fine with me, as long as it's quiet!!!!
Taking our sweet nieces and daughters to the Science Center in January.
Some other things of note from the last couple of months:
Our brother-in-law, Paul, died in November. His girls are pictured above at the Science Center. It's been very difficult to see them go through the loss of their dad, and hard for all of us as we loved Paul very much. He was a caring father, and a good brother and friend to Dennis & I. His last words to me the day he died were "I REALLY love you!!!" accompanied by a big hug, which was very characteristic of him. We miss him very much.
The girls and I spent 4 of the last 5 weeks at my parent's house while Dennis painted like a mad-man at our house, getting the baby's room done, some bathroom remodeling done, and lots of trim painted. It was an interesting experience not living at home, to say the least, but I am fortunate to have such gracious parents who obviously love me and the kids. My dad made breakfast for all of us most mornings, and lots of great dinners for us. I was pretty spoiled for 4 weeks. Some things I learned during this experience:
1. Living two blocks from my kid's school is a God-send. Driving 15 minutes to school feels like a huge waste of time, not to mention 15 minutes back the other way to karate, then back 15 minutes to pick up child #1, then back 15 minutes to drive her home, then 30 minutes to drive child #3 to swim lessons, etc, etc, etc, all without the help of Dennis. I spent half my day in the car. I didn't realize how "green" my car activites were until I stayed with my parents. Not to mention the ridiculous amount spent on gas, and how many times per week I had to fill up.
2. I really like my husband and have Dennis-withdrawal when he's not around. This might seem obvious but sometimes you don't understand how much you like something or someone until they aren't available to you.
3. My parents are even nicer people than I thought, and I thought they were pretty nice to start with.
4. Having my house finished feels really nice - and I do feel more inspired to keep it clean. I'm hoping this is a result of the "house-finishing" and not just a nesting instinct that will pass when the baby is born. :)
A great February to everyone!!!!
It really looks cute - especially with the long hair sticking straight up on top.
Tyson and Grandma
Grandma and her grandkids
Austin holding and meeting Tyson for the first time. He had to wait longer than the other cousins because he had a virus. While we were waiting for baby to wake up, he kept telling me very sweetly and seriously, "I love this baby." and reassuring me, "You know, I know how to hold this baby." And he did.
Austin checking out Tyson while Tyson checks out Austin.
We named him Tyson because we liked the name Ty, and while looking up different variations on this, we found that Tyson means "son of Dennis", if you can believe it. We got a little chuckle out of that. Julius is in honor of our friend and worker, Julie.
The girls meet their brother...
Taylor holds Tyson for the first time...
Emilie....
Kimberly....
Daddy took good care of him...
Tyson meets Isabella, Paul & Amy's oldest daughter...
Best entertainment around...
We had this little insert for the car seat to keep him snug, but he was so big he didn't fit. I had a good laugh at this...the car seat itself is snug.
Coming in the house for the first time...
Several someones to watch over him...
Another picture from our time in Wenatchee - Taylor's practicing up - lucky for me, she is good with babies and likes them. I think I will assign them each two days a week when they get to be the "helper", otherwise I am going to have to listen to quite a bit of bickering over who gets to choose the outfit, who gets to sit next to the baby in the car, etc. At least until the novelty wears off.....
