First day of Jr. High

Today is it! The day Rebecca has been waiting for with excitement and the day I have been dreading. Rebecca went to Jr. High for the first time. This was a 7th grade only day at her Jr. High. They wanted the 7th graders to have a day to get used to the school and the new kind of class schedule before they were thrust into the claws of the beast (otherwise known as 8th and 9th graders.) She came home with stars in her eyes and a resolve to make this year the best year ever. We'll see if she still feels that way when she starts getting homework from all those "fun" classes. She has signed up for Drama and Choir classes and there are already auditions for the school musical this week. She can't wait to audition so she hopes this week doesn't drag on. I'm so happy that her first day went so well and I hope that she continues to love school and that Jr. High is all she hoped it would be.

Visit with Grandma

We were so excited to have CJ's mom come to visit with us. She is usually able to visit once a year and we look forward to those visits with great anticipation.

What a lively group.

For some unexplainable reason CJ's eyes are always closed when his picture is taken. I have looked and his eyes are open when I take the picture but they are never open in the pictures. He even tried to hold his eyes open for the camera and only one of his eyes stayed open. I think he is allergic to having his picture taken.

For the last day with their grandma the girls wanted to have a tea party so we made treats and had "tea" (sure tasted a lot like water to me though.) It was so much fun and the best part was even their dad joined in the tea party this time. Everyone had so much fun. We all can't wait to do it again.

Temple trip

The girls have been looking forward to joining the Young Women ever since they were little. One of the things that they looked forward to the most was finally being old enough to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead. This is something that they have felt so strongly about and looked forward to their first trip with excitement. Last night was the night they have waited for for so long. It was both Lizzie and Rebecca's first time to go on this temple excursion with the youth in our ward. You would have thought it was Disney Land the way they talked about it.

There was a mix up or something and they were only able to do a few names but their youth group plans to do many trips so their will be plenty more opportunity for them to go back and do many names. Their goal is to do our family history and have their own names to be baptised for.

Lots of Alexander Pics

Here are some fun pictures of Alexander that I just love. If you think this is a lot you should see the number that I didn't post. I just can't help sharing the sweet little man that we have.

Our grass is green and soft and so inviting...so why does he hate it so much. Okay, he doesn't hate the grass but he doesn't like it either. He will tolerate it but only on his hands and toes. He looks like a little monkey walking around trying not to let the grass touch his belly or his knees.

He has recently taken to learning how to drink from a cup. This is his first attempt at the cup and just like eating he did so good. He would have done better if it was formula or juice and not just plain old water.
He looks so tiny in his big crib. He likes playing in it just as much as sleeping in it...most of the time.
Harry Potter is known as "the boy who lived". Our little Alexander is known as "the boy who smiles...a lot".

I think he has gotten in to the cat food one too many times. He is starting to act more like the cats everyday. He crawls in and out of the cat house all the time now and I think I even heard a little "meow" yesterday.


What kind of mother would I be if I didn't put one of those cute but potentially embarrassing bath pictures in.

The girls tend to sneak the camera and take pictures and videos and then put the camera back so that I don't know what they were up to. The only flaw in their plan is that they leave the evidence on the camera. I couldn't stop laughing when this little gem popped up on the camera screen.

He's so busy now with all of his crawling, exploring, eating, playing, pooping, and sleeping that he keeps a schedule on the fridge so that he doesn't miss anything.

It's hard work being a 7 month old. Sometimes exhaustion just sneaks up on you when you least expect it.

11pm at our house

Tonight is one of those late summer nights where we just hang out and enjoy each other's company for as long as we can. It's after 11pm and here is what is going on:

Alexander is busy exploring the house with lightning speed picking up every little thing he can get his hands on to put in his mouth. He is strong too and he will fight hard to keep his mini meals.

Megan is doing her best copy cat routine by picking someone and doing exactly what they are doing right down to the same facial expressions. It would be annoying if it wasn't so darn cute and fun to watch.

Dakota is on the Wii fit playing a game that she is so good at none of us even has a chance at beating her score. She makes it look so easy. I'm pretty good at that game and I don't even come close to her score.

Rebecca is busy making her really good and healthy peanut butter oatmeal cookies. They are so soft and yummy. We can't wait until they come out of the oven and we get to finally eat these yummy cookies that we have been smelling.

Lizzie is busy hanging out and making me laugh. She is chasing Alexander around and making sure he doesn't get a hold of something that he shouldn't be eating (like the cat food he can't leave alone.)

CJ is in his usual state of mind after the clock hits 9pm. I have to say though he lasted pretty long tonight. He made it all the way to 10:15 this time before his eyelids just wouldn't stay open any longer.

So there you have it. A late night in the Thompson household. Next time you should come and join us. You would love Rebecca's cookies.

Back to school

It's that time of year again. Parents are busy getting the kids ready for the first day of school and the kids are hoping each remaining day of summer can last a little longer than it is supposed to. That is what we are doing too except two of the kids can't wait for school to start and one is hoping that by some miracle it won't have to start at all...ever again. There is another however that is preparing to go back to school as well. Me. I have started the registration process with Utah Valley University. I will be starting classes in the spring and I am very excited. The thing that makes me the most excited is that I have finally decided what I want to be when I grow up. I have wanted to be so many things that I know I would enjoy I just couldn't pick one to focus on. I have gone to school before with just a general major because I kept changing my mind about my real major every semester. I wanted to be a Teacher, a Nurse, a Secretary, a Photoshop Technician, a Police Officer, and a Psychologist. I also enjoyed biology and genetics and thought that would make an interesting career path. I didn't want to pick just one, I wanted to do them all...somehow. Well with much thought on the matter and after many prayers I have actually picked just one area I will study and graduate from. Yea me! My major will be in Administration Information Management. I picked the Secretary. Not just a Secretary though, eventually I want to become an Executive Secretary or an Office Manager. I hope to start out working for the school district either in the elementary school that will be built right next door in the near future, or in another school in the district, or in the district offices themselves, while I still have children in school. That way my schedule will match theirs until they have all moved on and started working on their own career paths.

I went to a scholarship class tonight that my church offers for anyone interested in going to school without debt and it was amazing. I can't tell you how much better I feel about going back to school at this time. The hardest part about applying for scholarships is that they all require an essay. I love school and don't have any problems with any class EXCEPT English class. I can't write essays. I have attempted English 101 two times and failed both times. Something about that class terrifies me and I just can't do it. Now not only do I have to get past English 101 essay writing but if I want to apply for any scholarships I have to write essays about myself too. I am so grateful that the office who gave the scholarship class has offered to help me write my essays too. Now I just have to find the time to write, write, write. Wish me luck.

Megan measures up

Today was Megan's 3 year check up with the doctor. Everything is going well just like I know it is. I am so grateful for such great medical care that is available to us. Even though I know she is doing well physically it is so reassuring to hear it from her doctor. Mother's intuition tells me when there is something wrong and I need to take my children in for medical care and my intuition was telling me that Megan was just where she should be health wise but I still love being able to take her to the doctor and have him concur with me. It doesn't hurt that they have the best Pediatrician ever either. I am so glad that I found him. I have been through many Peds doctors over the years...some I liked and some I didn't. This doctor however is fantastic! He was so good with Megan even though she is SUPER shy and didn't want to open up.

I was hoping that she would not have to have any shots this time but unfortunately she did. She was so brave. She tried so hard not to cry but it hurt really bad so she couldn't keep it in any longer. She didn't cry very long though. She did however baby the leg that got the shot. She pulled her shorts up so they didn't touch the shot site and slowly limped out of the office. She looked soooo pathetic. The whole office staff had to see her because it was so funny. She limped around babying her leg for two days. I felt so bad. I know that the shots hit her hard because when she had her six month shots she wasn't able to use her legs for three days. I started to worry but then she slowly began to use them again. She is a tough girl and a super sweet one too. I love my sweet Megan and am so grateful for her good health.

Happy Birthday, Birthday, Birthday, Birthday

I am going to take a break from blogging for a little while but before I do I wanted to post about four of our summer birthdays.

We start with CJ's birthday in June. The girls baked his cake for him. They have been watching Cake Boss lately so this was their attempt at the fancy cakes they see made and I have to say it was really good. They know that he loves chocolate covered strawberries so they made him a double layer strawberry cake with chocolate and strawberries in the middle and on the top. The strawberry sauce in the middle made the cake so moist and yummy. Their dad really loved the cake too and that is what they wanted. I'd make some joke about how old he is getting but since I am older than he is I am just going to point out how young he still looks.

Next was Rebecca's 12th birthday. Our tradition is for the girls to make and decorate their own cake. This is something they look forward to every year. Since Rebecca has assisted in so many cake bakings I decided it was time to let her fly solo on this one. I wasn't even in the kitchen so that I wouldn't be tempted to help. She did really well. She made a two layer cake and the layers looked and smelled really good when they came out of the oven. When she was ready to put them together she was having trouble getting the cakes out of the pans so I stepped in to assist. I had trouble too and asked if she had greased the pans. "Oops", she said. I did manage to get the cake out of the pans still looking somewhat like a cake and encouraged her to still decorate it. Cake is cake, it tastes the same no matter what it looks like. She did the best she could with the icing and even put Sour Patch candy on as well. I thought she did a great job on her first cake and I love that she didn't give up even though she wanted to. She is growing into such a beautiful young woman. She is so compassionate and helpful in all that she does. I still have a hard time calling her my 12 year old. She is in Young Women's now and is LOVING it. She will be starting Jr. High this year and I am nervous about sending my sweet child into the lion's den. She is excited about school so I am happy for her and can't wait to see her blossom even more.

When the girl's hit certain ages we let them have a party with all their friends. This was one of those ages for Rebecca so she actually got to have two birthdays this year, one with us, and one with her friends. She had soooooo much fun with her friends.

The day after Rebecca's birthday is Elizabeth's birthday. Since we had just had cake she decided to bake a birthday brownie instead. Okay by me since brownies are one of my absolute favorites. We are now officially parents of a teenager. Lizzie is 13...emphasis on the teen. It is great that she is growing and becoming more like the adult she will be one day but I am already missing my little girl. She is almost the same height as me and looks so grown up so sometimes it is hard to believe that she is only 13...sigh. She loves to fix hair and nails and is loving her iPod. She takes Megan and many of the neighborhood kids (Megan's age) to the park often. It is such a nice break for me and the other moms. She is so good with kids. I know she will be a wonderful mother.

With all the talk of birthdays Megan was so excited to hear that it was her turn for a birthday. She asked me if she was going to get to blow out the candles like everyone else. She got a birthday card from my parents that talks and she loves it. She takes it with her everywhere she goes and calls it her "birthday cake". We took her to Toys R Us on her birthday so that she could get the balloon and crown and she had so much fun.

Since there had been so much cake already this month we got her a little cake just big enough for everyone to have one piece. She didn't care as long as she got to put on the candles and blow them out. Our little sweetie is 3. She is so funny. She is still trying to get the hang of this talking thing (there are so many words to remember) and can sometimes say the funniest things. I think it is interesting to watch her little face when she doesn't quite know what word she is trying to say and she searches all the words in her vocabulary for the one she needs. She loves to play outside but not as much as going to her friend's house. Right now she is missing Grandma and Grandpa and keeps asking when she gets to go to their house. Since they live in Arizona it might be a while before she gets to go. She had a fun birthday and I had fun seeing the excitement of a birthday through a child's eyes.

First year is half over :(

I can't believe that it has already been six months since Alex was born. He is on the downward slope of his first year. It has been six incredible months though. What a sweetheart! He is such a happy, busy little guy. He is so fast when he crawls now. I call him lightning because he is already on the other side of the room 2 seconds after I put him down. He is very curious and has to check everything out now that he can. He has finally started sitting too. He won't sit still for long but he can go from crawling to sitting and back to crawling with ease. His big thing he likes to do now is pull himself up. He can get up to a standing position just fine but he still hasn't figured out how to get back down. Sometimes he just falls backwards and goes on with playing but most of the time he will let you know that he is stuck and needs help. He pulls himself up on EVERYTHING but the one that drives me crazy is when he does it in his crib. He is supposed to be going to sleep but he keeps pulling himself up and then calling for me to help him get back down. I lowered his mattress thinking that if he couldn't reach the top rail he wouldn't be able to pull himself up but I was wrong. He just grabs on to the bars and uses them instead. As frustrating as it is though it always makes me smile to see such a little guy standing in such a big bed.

We went to the doctor yesterday and found he is still not gaining as much weight as he should be. He keeps dropping lower and lower on the charts. The doctor thinks that because he is so super active for a kid his age that he is burning calories faster than normal. I have to increase his calorie intake so that he can have all the energy he needs to keep me on my toes. I thought that was pretty funny since he already eats a lot. I guess I know now why he is always so hungry (he has resorted to eating the cat food in between meals whenever he can sneak over there because I don't feed him enough.) I hate to think of his appetite when he starts his teenage growth spurt. Much different than girls, that's for sure.

The one thing that has started in the last few weeks that I am absolutely loving is that he has become a mamma's boy. He gets so excited when he sees me. When someone else is holding him and he sees me coming he will literally jump out of their arms and into mine. He gets so excited at the sound of my voice and will almost always cry if I give him to someone else. I guess I love it so much because I know that all too soon he will be too busy for his mom and I'll have to catch him in between activities to try and get a hug. But not right now. Right now I am the world to him and I want it to last for as long as possible. My favorite time with him is when he is really tired and he just lays in my arms drifting in and out of sleep while I sing to him. After he falls asleep I just stare at him thinking about all the different stages in his life from kindergarten to Boy Scouts to Prom to college to marriage. Then as I marvel at how fast the time flew by and how I wish I could hold my wonderful son in my arms as an infant again I look at my sweet little baby boy and kiss his little head so grateful that I got my wish to have him in my arms again. It's sentimental I know but time really will fly by too fast and this is my way of keeping things in perspective so that I don't miss his baby and childhood because I was too busy myself to stop and smell the baby powder. What a sweet spirit he is and what a joy he is in our lives. I can't wait to see what the next six months will bring.

Megan and Alex have such a special bond. Megan is the only one who can get him laughing this hard. He absolutely adores her and she eats it up. This was taken one morning about two weeks ago.

Shiner

Alex went and got his first shiner. I was sitting in RS on Sunday filling out a paper on a clipboard and he was playing on the floor next to me. He managed to hit his face on the legs of the chair and started screaming. I picked him up and left the room so I could comfort him. I didn't realize just how hard his face hit the chair until I saw the marble sized goose egg just under his eye. That goose egg just seemed to be getting bigger and more purple by the second. I felt so bad for him. I wanted to cry with him. Latter that night the goose egg started to go down but the purple began to spread farther under his eye until it reached his nose. Yesterday his black eye was really dark purple and he looked like we beat him. The picture doesn't show just how dark purple it really was. As you can see though it hasn't dampened his spirits any...he wears his first shiner proudly.

Haircuts

Three years ago Elizabeth and Dakota donated their long hair to Locks of Love. Rebecca wished she could but at the time her hair was too short. They loved the feeling so much that they have been growing their hair since then with the intention of donating it again as soon as it was long enough. With the heat of the summer coming on and a little brother who pulls their hair every chance he gets they decided it was time for a haircut. I got out the scissors and asked them if they were really sure they wanted to do this. They were all so excited and couldn't wait to have hair their hair chopped off.

I put their hair in to a rubber band and measured how many inches (the minimum length to donate is 10 in.) they were about to loose. My cousin Darin was still here and he shaves his head bald so he kept teasing them that he was going to buzz their hair off. They made me promise not to shave them bald.


Dakota donated 12 inches and loves her short hair. She keeps flipping it back and forth saying how much lighter she feels.


Rebecca who had long hair for the first time in her life cut off 13 inches. Her hair ended up with a little bit of a layered look and she loves it so much.


Elizabeth, who has the thickest hair and couldn't wait for relief, donated 14 inches. She loves the fact that it only takes a few seconds to brush her whole head of hair now and not a life time.

Here are my girls now with their new hair (yes, I like to take pictures with one of them seated.) They look so cute with short hair. Rebecca and Elizabeth plan to grow their hair and donate it again but Dakota is still undecided because long hair is a lot of work and she is loving short hair right now.

Fishing buddies

Last week my cousin Darin was visiting from Colorado. He loves to visit with us every year and we love having him visit. One of Darin's favorite activities is to go fishing. Since we have the perfect fishing lake 2 miles from our new home he decided to bring his fishing poles this time. He got a one week license and fished all but 2 of the available days. He had fun teaching the girls to fish. Dakota loved it the best and she would fish with him for hours.

He loved to see that Alexander had a fishing hat just like his.

Dakota and Darin on their first fishing trip.

Dakota caught a fish on her first day and caught the fishing bug.

Megan liked to fish too. She didn't like the waiting for a fish to bite part so she would hold the pole for about 2 minutes and then she would start to slowly real in the line. One time as she was reeling in the line, the line started to fight back. I couldn't believe she had a fish! I wanted to help her real it in because it seemed to be a big fish and she struggled a little to bring it in but she is very independent and let me know that she could do it. I couldn't believe how big this fish was that she reeled in. She got it to shore and then Darin (who couldn't wait to see the fish and was practically biting his hands to keep from taking the pole from Megan) brought it in the rest of the way because it was too heavy for her. She had caught a HUGE catfish. I wanted to take a picture of her with her fish but she wasn't about to get close to it so Darin held it for her.

This is Megan's big catfish.

After catching her fish Megan was done and decided it was more fun to go and feed the ducks. I had a hard time convincing her that she couldn't hold the ducks. We had so much fun fishing with Darin and can't wait to do it again.

On the move.

Alex just keeps growing faster everyday. He is 5 months now but he sure doesn't act it. This is supposed to be a great time with baby because they don't cry as much now and you can set them down and they don't go anywhere yet. Yeah, right! I don't think Alex has stayed still a day in his life. Even in the womb the ultrasound tech said she had to chase him so that she could get all the measurements. I know this is normal for some babies but this is the first time I have had to chase such an active baby. Just trying to change his diaper has become an Olympic event.

He is not just on his hands and knees rocking back and forth anymore, he is really crawling now.



This was actually two days ago. He is so much faster now. It amazes me how fast he can go when he wants to get to something he's not supposed to have. He is a really good eater as well. He loves to eat real food. He loves fruit and some vegetables. He doesn't really like the meat flavor of baby food and he absolutely HATES the green beans but I would have to say I don't blame him...just the smell of the meat and the green beans makes me want to gag. He still begs for our food and it is really hard for me not to just give it to him. He eats so well and acts so much older that I forget his little digestive system is still developing and not ready for prime time meals yet. I'll be so glad the day I can just set him in his chair with a plate of food for him to enjoy. He has also gained so much weight these last 3 weeks. He had to go to formula full-time. He was a skinny little kid (because of low milk supply in my opinion) but not anymore. He has filled out nicely now. He has gained as much weight in the last 3 weeks as he did in the first 4 months. It's amazing what actually getting enough food will do to a little guy. The down side to his new food supply is that he isn't sleeping through the night anymore. Oh well, what can ya do. He is still so much fun! Even though he has enough energy for five babies he never ceases to dig his way deeper in to our hearts every day. He is such a happy baby. He tries to smile even when he is crying. He laughs so much and he loves to be sung to. He has a way of getting into your soul just by looking at you. What a precious little spirit we have been blessed with.

Here are some pics just for fun.


Safe in daddy's arms.


Having fun with Lizzie.

Sleeping with his monkey and his thumb. He is so cute when he sucks his little thumb. He is already starting to out grow it though so I'm not worried about him having to kick the habit.

This was just such a cute video that I wanted to share it.