I may be a cheapskate, but....

I may be a cheapskate but, Life Touch school pictures... SUCK. They're overpriced, and really just kind of awkward. Total waste of money in my new opinion. Let me demonstrate why...

#1. I don't get to choose when they take the picture.


Jaden had a pretty awkward couple of months with his 2 front teeth protruding straight out in front of him because his big teeth were coming in. Am I a fan of holding on to memories that are awkward and embarrassing? You bet. So long as it's not me. Haha. But really. This is a time where if I wanted to capture that moment in time, I would do so with my own camera... for my own blackmailing purposes. But make this the poor kid's "First Grade School Picture?" Not so much.

#2. I don't get to pick the pose, or make sure my own kid is smiling.


Yes, this picture, does depict how shy Kaleb is in classroom settings, but it does not show how happy he is this year. He loves his school, and he loves his teacher. But do we look like we are having fun?

#3. The price is ridiculous.
I spent about $28 on each kid. But look what I got for Bradley:





I went to Walmart to have Brad's pictures done. I haven't gone there in the past 6 years because of a bad experience with Jaden's baby pictures. (Remember that, Sherrie?) I kind of boycotted the place. Well one day, my frugal instincts won over, and I'm glad that they did. Walmart had totally changed the way they do things since my last visit and I love the turnout.

For each of Jaden and Kaleb's $28 bucks, we got:
~ONE class picture
~ONE crappy 8x10

For Bradley's $28 bucks we got:
~4 different poses
~my choice of day for the picture
~CUTE outcomes
~(3) 8x10s
~(4) 5x7s
~(5) 3 1/2 x 5s
~(8) wallets
~(10) minis.

Next time they're all going to Walmart (or wherever I can find the best deal) and they can have a $5 class picture. Or even better, I'll have my dad or Shanade do them for free. Lesson learned.

First Swim Lessons

I know, we're kinda slacking with Jaden, but we finally got him and Kaleb in for their first official swim classes. Jaden was in Level 1 with a good friend of his, "Big Caleb." He did awesome.

(Doesn't this dude look like he's belching right in Jaden's face?)

You could tell that his Aunt Alli had worked him him that summer. Alli used to be a lifeguard and a swim coach. In fact it was a little painful to her to come and watch some of these lessons. She noticed many coaching techniques that could have been well-improved upon. She thought they did a horrible job. Darn. At least the kids had fun, even if the teaching sucked.

Kaleb was in Pre-Level 1, but didn't have any of his friends in class with him.


This was just a "Water Exploration" class, so really all they did was play games, and float around with their teacher on a big noodle. He was, as always in these situations, extremely shy. But I thought he did surprisingly well anyway. He may not have spoken, but he participated. Unfortunately he did not receive a passing grade, but we don't really care. It's not the water he's uncomfortable with, it's strangers. So to us, he did just fine. The only thing he wouldn't do for his teacher was go down the alligator slide. But you know what? He does it for us. :) You go, Kabe!


Bradley did pretty well with being left out. He insisted on wearing his swimsuit, just like his big brothers, even though he knew he couldn't get in the water. Don't worry, buddy. Your time will come. :)

Bradley's Hidden Talent

He may be small, but he's got a strong set of lungs.



This is nothing, actually. Most of the time he'll blow it up so big that it's about to pop. But I have to admit, it's nice that he can do it himself now. It spares us the constant feeling of lightheadedness... well, my mom in particular. She's way too nice to him :)

Survey Says!

Before we found out the gender of our baby, we had been asking the boys what they thought it would be, or what they wanted it to be.
Jaden: BOY!
Kaleb: Boy! We hate girls!

A little bit later my mom had taken Jaden to Walmart with her and as they were passing some girly aisles, Jaden said, "Ew! Why do we have to look at GIRL stuff?" My mom said, "Well, now that Kare is having a girl we need to start. What about if YOU have a girl in your family?" Jaden said, "Yuck! I don't WANT a girl!" Then he leaned closer to my mom and whispered, "But really I do."

Then Kaleb changed his mind too. Whenever we asked the boys what they wanted, a brother or a sister, they always said, excitedly... "A sister!"

I don't know what made them change their mind, but I'm glad they did. :)

Now that I seem to be over the initial shock, I can blog about this week's news. We're having a girl!


I still don't quite understand the orientation of this next image. During the ultrasound I was so busy looking for a piece of "manhood" in the picture that I forgot to look for the other possibility: "3 white lines." I had seen the evidence so quickly with Bradley that I was sure I'd spot it fast with this one. But, kinda hard to spot what's not actually there. :)


Since this was most likely my last baby ultrasound and my memory sucks, I'm going to write a little bit about it while it's still fresh in my mind.

First of all, it began with agonizing pain. They make you drink 32 oz. of water an hour and a half before your appointment. Kinda crappy, when water makes you nauseous. Not only that, but you can't relieve yourself until after the first part of the appointment. To a pregnant woman who pees like every 15 minutes... that is what I call cruel and unusual punishment. I was cursing myself for not bringing a change of clothes. I was positive I was going to pee my pants. And then having them poke my bladder for the first 10 minutes of the ultrasound? I was sweaty and close to tears.

Then I was given the green light for relief. Ahhhh... As Jaden says, "This is paradise."

So then I went back out and laid down again to finish the ultrasound, but I was exhausted. It had taken so much energy to hold all that in. I kept having to tell myself, "Do not fall asleep right now, do not!" But this sonogram tec was either new, or just really thorough because he took forever. I remember that my ultrasounds with all the boys seemed to last only 30 minutes tops. This one lasted an hour. Which would be awesome if I wasn't dead tired and he didn't insist on waiting till the end to tell us the sex.

Anyway, long story, short, we learned that baby looked good, and then finally he said, "Okay, last bets... girl or boy?"

I said, "Boy."

Charles said, "Girl."

The tec said, "It's a girl."

I said, "Oh my gosh!"

Charles said, "I know, I saw it at the beginning when you were trying to figure out the baby's orientation."

The tec, said, "So did I. There was a pretty clear shot right there at the beginning."

What?! Charles knew that whole time and didn't tell me? Muffed.

Anyway, here are the boys' reactions when we told them:

Bradley: "Baaaaby! Giiiirl!" (He also points to his own tummy and says he has one too.)

Kaleb: (Big smile and elbow dance) "Bradley's gonna fall in loooooove. Bradley's gonna fall in loooooove."
Me: Are YOU gonna fall in love?
Kaleb: I'm already in love. With Brooke and Kalissa. And Jaden is in love with Kaitlyn, Kyla, and __(I forgot)__."
Me: Oh, so Bradley will be in love with his sister, huh?
Kaleb: Yep. Bradley's gonna fall in looooove. Bradley's gonna fall in loooooove.

I guess that's not so strange considering Bradley doesn't have friends his age. :)

I was really sad that I had to wait till Jaden came home from school to tell him. I thought about going to his school, or pulling him out for the day just so I could tell him quicker. But then I realized I would probably just embarrass him. :(

When he walked through the door, I asked him how his day was and gave him a hug. When he was done talking:
Me: Guess what? We found out! Do you think it's a boy or a girl?
Jaden: (Wide eyes, crouching down a little, and pulling his fists to his chest,) Girl! Girl! Girl!
Me: You're right! It's a girl!
Jaden: (Throws his arms up in the air, his head tilting back) YAAAAAAAY!

Kaleb has been so sweet about his little sister. He kisses my tummy many times throughout the day, and says, "I love my sister. I'm gonna kiss her everyday." He also has gotten a headstart on the protective role. He has informed me that, "if anyone is mean to her, I will betect her! If they don't stop, I will punch them! And sword them! Right through the stomach!" He has also taken it upon himself to teach Bradley that she will be so so so so little. And that you have to be so careful and soft with tiny babies.

My boys are the cutest. They will make AWESOME big brothers to this little girl. I love how pumped they are. I'm really excited and Charles is too... deep down... underneath all the anxiety. :) I can't wait to meet her.

Halloween

This year's Halloween was pretty busy because the kids had lots of cousins to share it with, and lots of chances to go trick-or-treating. There was school, church, Grandpa's work, and regular trick-or-treating. The church held their "Trunk-or-Treat" the week before Halloween, which was fine by us because it meant cousins from CA would still be in town. However, it started right after Kaleb's birthday party ended, and we were so pooped from the party, that we almost decided to skip the Trunk-or-Treat. That, and the fact that it was raining. But being the amazing parents that we all are, we sucked it up, dressed the kiddos and headed out anyway.

The kids played games in the gym...



Then because of the rain, the trunk-or treating was moved indoors. It was pretty fun. Short and sweet when you get there as late as we did! Haha!


The following weekend was the real Halloween. My dad invited us to his work to go trick-or-treating, and man do they give good candy! Here's the superheros... Batman (Bradley), Robin (Nathan), and Grandma. :)


Here's Dad at his station. Lol. Doesn't he look awesome? He put his costume together all by himself and was so proud. Too bad you can't see his studded boots or his leather jacket. He was most excited about his "tats." You rock, Dad! :)


And here's Alli, surprising Dad with one of her own creative costumes. Can you tell who she is?


An hour and a half later, after attacking only about 1/6 of the building, it was time to call it quits. Nathan was asleep, my feet were killing me, and Bradley just wanted to eat all of his suckers. But Jaden and Kaleb could have kept on goin'!


On Halloween night, it was also raining. I really didn't want to take the kids out in it, (not to mention they were extremely ornery) but I didn't want to be a lame mom, so I got the kids dressed and ready to go.



Once we started to walk out the door, the boys decided they didn't want to go out, and so they set up their own trick-or-treating around the house. They got bowls, and pots filled them up with the candy my mom was handing out, and put them at doors all around the house. Then for over an hour, they took their buckets around the house, "Trick or Treat! Thank you!" When their buckets became too full, they dumped them back out and went again. Alli was fun and decided to hide with her pot of candy and make the kids find her if they wanted some. How this activity was so fun, for as long it was, is beyond me. But between this and handing out candy, they had a blast.

A Tale of a Bully

A few weeks ago, Jaden came and said he needed to talk. This is how it went:

Mom, I forgot to tell you something that happened at school a couple days ago.
Okay, what happened?
I got in trouble at recess.
For what?
It's cuz there was this bully. The bully wouldn't leave us alone. They kept chasing me and my friends all around the playground and we didn't like it.
So what did you do?
I did this. (He demonstrates that he twisted the kid's arm behind his back)

I have to admit, I'm actually feeling a little proud of him at this point for standing up for himself and for his friends. Not to mention that Hapkido lessons are finally paying off!

So is that what you got ion trouble for?
Yes.
What happened?
The bully told on me and the teacher said if I did it again I would have to sit on the curb for the rest of recess.
So, tell me what the bully looks like.
(He gestures a measurement to his shoulders) She's about this tall.

She?! Oh my gosh, I was trying so hard not to laugh. So then we had to have a little talk with him about how to treat girls... especially ones who are a foot shorter than him!

Kaleb Turns 4

Kaleb finally turned 4. I say finally, because just like when he turned 3, he had been counting down for like... 364 days. Even now, he can't wait to turn 6. He is just trying so hard to catch up with Jaden. Good luck with that, buddy! :)

The first of the birthday festivities was a family party. Since we have 4 birthdays in one week's time, we had a big ole bash! Kare and Curtis came to town, and they both have a birthday on the 21st.


Poor Alli has a birthday on the 19th, but we won't see very many happy shots of her because she had JUST had her wisdom teeth pulled... ouch.


Here's Nathan getting his turn with the Happy Birthday glasses.


When Kaleb opened his presents, he surprised us all by being THE MOST grateful kid ever! I was so proud of him. He was genuinely excited and expressed his gratitude to everyone, for everything.


Kare and Curtis gave him a card with 4 one-dollar bills inside. He jumped around yelling, "I'M RICH! I'M RICH!!" and danced his pants off... literally. Then Kare asked him, "Kaleb, do you know why you got FOUR dollars?" He just responded matter-of-factly with, "Yes. Cuz I'm broke!" We all got a good teary laugh out of that one.


Here he is opening his gift from Alli. He was hugging it and rubbing his face on it before he even knew how cool it really was.


Alli made Kaleb a quilt of all his favorite things: Mario Brothers, pirates, Indiana Jones, Wall-E, Batman and Spiderman. Very nice, Al, very nice. :)


Kaleb was so much fun to watch. Usually I'm worried about my boys being ungrateful, and fighting, and just being selfish. But Kaleb kept telling his brothers that he would share with them, he kept telling everyone how much he loved them and a couple times he called out to everyone, "I Hyte you guys!" (Hyte is one of Kaleb's made-up words that means, "hug.")

(I have a video of this, but will have to upload it later when my computer stops having issues.)

He was SO excited. In fact, I think he was a little overwhelmed with excitement because a few times, he just didn't know how to react. He would open a present, look at it, and then kind of grab his head and make kind of a frustrated sound. It was the funniest thing. We all knew he was happy... maybe the happiest any of us had ever seen.

(I have a video of this too.)

He got lots of cool stuff. Grandma Ashton and Alli said they had a little too much fun in the toy aisles, and that they were pretty sure I would kill them. :)




The next day was his Friend Party. He decided to have an all-boy Pirate-themed party.


There were 11 little boys, and one scalawag girl at his party, (his cousin, Katee-Jo). Kaleb really lucked out having so much family from out of town here on his special day... 3 cousins from CA and 1 from AZ.


Such a good Daddy...


Such a good uncle...


Such a good Grandpa... :)


There was pizza...






Pin the Tail on the Donkey...



Presents...





Cake...


Ice Cream...


And a pinate...




Here he is sharing his Joker's Playhouse that he got in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Socci.


I'm pretty sure Kaleb loved his birthday. :) He was a joy to celebrate.

Kaleb at 4:
-Looks up to Jaden and wants to be just like him, but is also very original.
-Comes up with the funniest and most random comments.
-Becoming a very loving and nurturing big brother to Bradley.
-Extremely shy in church and at school, but has just started talking at school. :)
-Loves his new school, Sunshine Square.
-Makes up his own words and their meanings: "Hyte: hug, Foey: a straight yellow line, Alien Squant: jumping on the bed, tuh-day: Jaden..."
-Favorite toys are: Batman, pirates, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, legos, swords, guns, knives, bow and arrows, light sabers...
-Has a bear (who he named, Skinny) and 2 blankets that he has had since he was born and sleeps with them every night.
-Is still extreme, but mellowing out. (Extremely sweet, extremely volatile, extremely grateful, extremely stubborn, extremely cute, extremely funny)
-Made up a secret handshake with his 2 year old brother.
-Is hilarious. He keeps everyone laughing... (when he's in the mood.)
-Has so many funny facial expressions.
-Loves to pray.
-Favorite book is "Naughty Little Monkeys."
-Loves to play "tougher," "I can do it, Oi-yah!" and have weapon battles with Daddy.
-Prefers the wiggle cars to learning to ride a bike. Ruins his shoes at record-breaking speed by dragging them on the cement while riding a wiggle car.
-Is timid. It takes him a while to try something new like go down a slide, ride a bike, or swim.
-Is so little. He's so skinny and seems so fragile.
-Most tantrums and timeouts revolve around dessert.