Emma's as Giddy as a Schoolgirl

In other Steed news (see the last two posts), Emma started kindergarten. Here in Goergia the cut off for starting is September 1, so Emma missesd the cut-off by one day last year making her the oldest kid in her class this year. Georgia also has a peculiar school schedule so Emma started school Aug 6, so she's an old pro now.

She likes school, has made new friends and enjoys her teacher (and her aid). Her teacher is great and is a good match for Emma. We love Mrs. Lindeman!

Here's Emma her first 5 minutes in the classroom. We were in Texas for her open house (which is why I'm in the classroom, to fill out papers) so this is a little overwhelming for the poor kid.

Emma feels like a big kid riding the bus. The bus comes right up to our house, which is nice. We only live a mile from the school but sidewalks in Georgia are funny. They have them in some places but not most and there are no sidewalks and there's steep hills along the sides of the major street we have to take there. So, unfortunately walking to school is not an option (at least not with a stroller).

After being in school two weeks, Emma came home one day and tells me, "I don't want to go back there tomorrow." I was surprised by this statement because she had been enjoying school and doing well. When we got in the house she handed me her behavior folder and things became clear. After weeks of "exceptional and very good" behavior Emma got a yellow, not happy face for talking. We had a talk and I convinced her that she could go back because "tomorrow will be better." And as you can see, she never went back to that unhappy yellow man again.

We're still here (and here's where we are)

So it's been awhile. Sorry we've just had plenty of stuff occupying our time and keeping me from blogging. So I'll try to catch you up with what we've been up to. First off, we moved. Here's some pics of our new (old) place:

Love having a covered front porch! Just makes me want to go out and buy a swing (or at least some rocking chairs).

Not very pretty but a good-sized kitchen and the appliances are new. There is wallpaper throughout our house. Most of it is fairly tolerable but I have no pictures of Emma's room here because the paint/wallpaper job offends me so and our bathroom is hard to wake up to in the morning!

We have a large dining room off our kitchen that we made into a playroom. The room has double doors to the kitchen and another set to the hallway (pictured above). I love this because I can keep an eye on the kids while I'm working in the kitchen but we can close the doors to hide the room when guests come. Our loveseat cover had a pen accident in the dryer so the loveseat is now property of the playroom.

Our backyard. Big porch, big trees (magnolia tree in the corner). I love how cool it gets back here with the shade but don't forget the bugspray

Our "magic" treehouse (my kids love those stories). Bought an old grill off the neighbor.

Our house is in there somewhere. We have a long driveway again. There's a two-car garage on the right side there that connects to the basement.

There's a better view of the actual house. Our front yard is very woodsy and we're trying to think of what we can do to make it more appealing.

Here we go again...

Apparently we have house committal issues or something! We are moving again this weekend. Trust me, I don't enjoy moving but somehow it keeps coming up. So here's a rundown of our residence history.

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4010 S Pearl St. (Jan '02-Jul '03) If you follow the path to the right of that car you'll find our cute little newlywed studio appartment. The whole apartment could fit in the living room we now have. There was barely enough room to walk between the couch and bed and only one person could occupy the bathroom at a time. We loved it there but there was no way to fit a baby!

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448 Spanish View (Jul '03-May '04) - Yeah baby, look at our big house! Uh no actually zoom in on that window at the bottom, that's our basement apartment. But boy that apartment looked huge with two bedrooms and we even had a washer/dryer unit! We brought baby Emma home to this apartment and layed her on the table by that window to try to cure her jaundice.

Mom's House in Summerlin (May '04-Dec '04)- For awhile we lived with my parents while we finished school and taught and tried to save money. Emma and Nana became best friends and they both cried when we moved. Apparently Mom's gated community kept googlemaps out.

Grandmother's House (Dec '04-Aug '05)- Jamie's grandmother needed to move into a nursing home so we moved into her home for a time. It was nice to be in a real house all by ourselves even if the garage and yard we're unusable. We felt useful in the ward's youth programs and peeled off a whole lotta wallpaper in that home.

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Terrasanta condo (Sahara & Sloan) (Aug '05-Aug '06)- Jamie had just recently gotten a job teaching English at LVHS and we were thrilled to find this condo for rent just down the street. This is the home we brought Weston home to.

Canyon Willow Condo (Aug '06-Feb '08)- We finally owned our own home and loved this beautiful condo with it's fun paint jobs and large rooms! It's a good thing we love this condo because I think we'll end up having the blasted thing forever! It will be a great place to live when we retire and still haven't sold it. Andrew was born while we were here (just before Jamie moved to Georgia).

4112 Wells, Douglasville, GA (Feb '08-July '09)- We were thrilled to get a huge backyard, basement and carport with this house. It has suited our needs amazingly and we are sad to leave! Love those beautiful fall colors here in Georgia!

New house DV, GA (Jul '09-? Wanna take bets on how long we'll last this time?)- I'll post pics when I can. This house is certainly more space than we need but cheaper than what our current landlords are asking. So we have room for anyone wanting to visit! We're excited for a garage, an outlet in our bathroom, groundfloor laundry (opposed to the basement), treehouse and less grass to mow.

So yeah, we have issues. I think we need to sit down and get psychoanalyzed sometime so we can settle down someplace where we can plant a garden and actually be there long enough to enjoy the ripe vegetables, hold a stable calling, and let our kids stay with their friends (especially now that Em's starting school). Anyone got any theories? But each home has brought new memories and experiences I'm glad I didn't miss. I've made good friends, admired great examples, and served with different people in each ward and grow each time. So, good has been done I suppose, but honestly...I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to shoot for two years this time, a record for us.

"Because of what someone did for someone else"- Christopher Robin

For those of you who were disappointed that I skimmed past Emma's heroics and focused the last post on the camera, fret not, Emma had her recognition. We decided to throw Emma a "Hero party" (remember "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day"?) We had pizza and pudding parfaits (no cake, my baking supplies are already packed), then we tossed her in a blanket and carried her on our shoulders all the while singing and cheering. Then we shared our favorite scripture hero ( it was FHE) and drew pictures of our heroes. Emma did a story board telling the story of her heroic act. In the beginning humble Emma was telling me she wasn't the hero because she didn't get Weston out of the pool but after awhile she decided that the party wasn't enough to pay tribute to such a saint as herself.

Emma-"Where's the balloons and the presents? You didn't even decorate!"

Mom- "Well it's not a birthday party, it's a hero party"

Emma- "Well then you should have some hero presents like a big hand that could help save people."

Then, she got upset when she was temporarily de-crowned so Daddy could get his hero moment after fixing the van. She was very proud of her crown and her achievement and wore it to bed and the next day so all her friends would know just how wonderful she is.

By the way, these pictures are courtesy of Emma's Fisher Price digital camera from a few Christmases ago. Thanks Grandma!

Casualties

Yesterday Weston got a little pink from sitting out watching the parade. Then he came home and crashed his trike riding at full speed down our long steep driveway and got some minor cuts and bruises on his face. Typical Weston moment. Then last night we were at our friend's for their 4th of July party. I took the kids into the bathroom to change into their swimsuits and on our way out the door I stopped to peek at the game going on in the kitchen. As I stepped outside Emma comes running over yelling, "Weston's drowning!" Except she's excited so I think maybe she's kidding or dramatic but run to the pool anyway. And sure enough he's underwater! I quickly jump in (fully clothed) and pull him out. He coughs up some water and whimpers for awhile, clinging to me. He was fine but he didn't go back into the pool last night. I sat down with him, kinda shaky, trying to figure out what just happened. After sitting awhile it occurred to me that I had something bulky in my pocket and I remember I had our camera in my pocket. Camera's don't like water. Before it's immersion, the camera had a fuzzy screen and I could never tell what I was getting until I put the pictures on the computer so I was starting to get itchy to buy a new one. But I was talking myself into being a good frugal girl and waiting until it was completely dead. I'm thinking by tomorrow (unless my tearing apart and drying efforts prove successful) I can officially pronounce the time of death. Don't get me wrong I was really trying to make the thing last but this makes it a little easier. At least it died nobley.

I've been wanting to upgrade our camera. I LOVE taking pictures and photography is just awesome and I want to learn how to do it well. Originally I had this plan of doing all the research to decide what camera I was looking for, then watching prices and waiting for the right deal to come along to buy. But I'm not sure how long I can go with NO camera. These kids have too high a cute photo-op frequency. So, long post, but I want to ask everyone what kind of camera you have and what you like about it and what you would recommend I get. And in the future I will keep my kids and my electronics away from the pool!!!

Dr Emma quotes

I made this book many months ago because I had a free photobook offer. I haven't shared it because I had hopes of making a more affordable one using another site. But that's not happened yet. If you like the idea and there is enough interest I will look into making that cheaper book. If you're a die hard Dr. Emma fan and money is no object to you, feel free to order the original.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Worth it

Emma was asking me the other day how babies get out. In the most gentle way I could, I explained that mommies have to push the babies out of their bums (because that's our word for the back and the front hole). Her face was a mixture of horror, amazement, and disgust (and yes, all these reactions are appropriate for any age). She then asked me if it hurt. "yeah, it hurts a lot," I told her honestly (especially without an epidural but I think she's learned enough for one day). But then I decided to take the opportunity to let her know how special she is so I told her, "it hurts a lot and it's a lot of work but you know what...it's worth it! Because now I have you and Weston and Andrew! And all the pain, I was glad to take so you could be in our family."

Andrew was by far, my most traumatic labor ( I had a seizure during labor) but that only made the sight of that healthy baby boy all the more emotional for me and oh how I was grateful he was here and he was well. And I was glad that all the pain and difficulty was mine alone and not his. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and love (even more so than my first whose labor was relatively easy). It gives me a small understanding of how our Savior can love us so much, because he suffered so much on our behalf.

Then the other night I was kneeling and noticed some spider veins in my leg. They've been their since I was pregnant with Andrew as well as some other choice marks on my stomach. Physically this child has taken his toll on me in many ways and the effects are longer lasting than expected. But I rarely think about these marks and count them as proof of my love for these little ones. Because physically the affects of motherhood aren't pretty but emotionally, spiritually you will never know love and understand your Heavenly Father and Savior like you will when you have children. Sacrifice is giving up something good for something better and I have found that something better. So, yes my dear Emma, it will hurt but it is worth it!

Butterfly Festival

I have four brothers and they are all adventurous outdoor type of guys and we grew up hiking and camping and stuff so I have this sense of bad parenting and guilt when I think about how little I get my kids "out." They don't hike, they've never camped, none of them remember ever going to the beach. I'm sorry guys, I've failed you! So when I heard about a butterfly festival yesterday at a nature center, I decided it was a good place to start my repentance process. The kids had a great time at the "butterfly party" where they did a lot of butterfly crafts, listened to live music, and learned about insects.

Oh, and guess what else they had...

They gave the kids paintbrushes soaked in Gatorade to attract the butterflies in the tent.

My tough kids show off their insect tattoos and butterfly wings.

Andrew enjoyed eating dirt and rocks during the "concert." His shirt is perfect, it reads "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Yeah, my kids experienced some nature! Now am I good to lock us up for the rest of the sweltering summer?

Tropical Flat Emmy

While her family sweats it out in hot and humid Atlanta, Emma left the mainland and headed for beautiful Hawaii!!! Jealous? I know we are! Can't you just feel that breeze blowing through the trees and the sand between your toes? Ahhhhh

Her balcony at Kalapaki Beach.

(Diane, how could you let her stand on the rails like that?)

Digging her feet into the Kalapaki Beach- best snorkeling

(but Flat Emmy doesn't do well in water)

With her travel companion, Aunt Diane at Waimea Canyon

"Spouting Horn" in Poipu

Working on her tan. Yeah, this is the life! Thanks Diane!

Westonisms

"I'm a bad guy and bad guys don't snuggle"

(while playing with a googly eye in the car) "There's an eyeball in my nose!"

"You're my bad mom, I want my good mom!"

(When I caught him shaving-pic above) "Mom, I have an itchy face so I have to do this."

Flat Emmy Stomps through Stamford

This week Flat Emmy decided to go back to New York since she liked Albany so much, but after flying with some very rude people to White Plains; Emmy decided to stay in Stamford Connecticut instead. She was surprised to find in Stamford a memorial to World War I veterans (first picture and Second pic).

Sister Annie has been a lot of places and they always have WWII memorials and never WWI even though that war changed history more than WWII did

Flat Emmy really liked the buildings in Stamford they were all sorts of shapes and sizes

The old buildings were blended into the new buildings

In fact they had a church that was built on that spot since 1776. It burned down a couple of times, but since 1816 it has stood there (fifth pic). Stamford's first library still operates out of the church.

Flat Emmy's Nevada Travels

My mom and dad ("Nana and Pop") sent me this:

"We took Flat Emma with us on our exciting drive to Minden, Nevada (anyone who's driven up through NV can smell sarcasm here) to visit Carson and Hunter. We made stops in Goldfield, Beatty, and our capital Carson City. I posted some Flat Emma pictures on my web gallery:

http://gallery.mac.com/russcannon

Here is Emma with Nana and Pop visiting the state capital building in Carson City.

Here is Emma waiting for the train in Beatty (gateway to Death Valley)

Here is the old steam engine train that used to stop in Beatty.

Here is Flat Emma with some of the famous aircraft that has flown over the Nellis Bombing Range and Nevada Test Site (aka Area 51).

Emma with an old fire engine in Goldfield

Flat Emma behind the wheel of the old fire engine in Goldfield.

Flat Emma in front of the Ore House (not to be confused with the other brothels we saw in Tonepah)"

Weston Wonders...

What happens if you walk through the car wash?

What happens if you eat naked?

(Jamie taught Weston how to pee standing up) Can I poop standing up?

Will this worm bite me?

(to his buddy we're babysitting) Cole, do you love me?

Does Heavenly Father eat oatmeal?-Weston

No.- Emma

What does he eat?-Weston

Bread and water.-Emma

Flat Emmy flys through Philly

Uncle Brent and cousin Brighton pose with Emmy at the Philadelphia airport on their way home from their "visit to the dr." Brighton must really love his cousin smiling like that because I hear this was not an enjoyable journey home.