Ken's Grandma Passed Away

We received word yesterday that Ken's grandmother, Alice Pierson, age 92, passed away peacefully in her sleep. She was such a sweet woman who really loved her family. I remember many times after visiting with her, when Ken and I were saying good bye to her and heading back to wherever we were living at the time, that she would get choked up and have tears in her eyes. She would often hug and not let go for a while.

I always enjoyed talking with her at family gatherings. She was very sharp and enjoyed crossword puzzles and other mind challenging games. She never missed a birthday or special occasion.

She had diabetes and she would often say, "I'd love to, but I can't" in regards to delicious food around her. Every Christmas I always looked forward to her strawberry jello salad. It was a tradition. At every family gathering, she was a peaceful presence. She usually didn't say much but seemed to enjoy watching and listening to everyone else.

She enjoyed playing Bingo and hanging out with her friends at the senior center. She did not like having her picture taken so we have relatively few photos of her. I am thankful that we do have a few with her and Sky and Brad.

She was the last of Ken's living grandparents and she will surely be missed.

Weird Day

So today I was supposed to meet some other Talbot wives at the children's museum for a play date. At the last minute, no one else could come so I went alone with Brad and Lila. When we got there it was closed for renovations. Brad was very disappointed but hung out with the dinosaurs for a while. Then we went to Chuck E Cheese and discovered that when you're the first one there in the morning, the machines spit out lots of extra tickets as they're being turned on. So Brad got a basketball which he picked apart and ruined before we even got home. On the way home, I finally mailed out the birth announcements. That felt good!

Then I saw a pregnant friend of mine waiting at the bus stop. So, we stopped and gave her a ride to and from where she needed to go. It is way too hot out for anyone, never mind a pregnant women, to be sitting at the bus stop. I walked Sky to and from school today and felt like I was melting. It's been triple digits for a few days now!

On Saturday we are hosting a birthday party for 2 friends of ours (their boys are each turning 3). It will be a big deal with jump house and all. So, tomorrow is my cleaning day.

Princess Sky

On Saturday Sky participated in a princess play date/photo shoot. A friend of mine from church has written a book about princesses and she will be using the pics from the photo shoot in her book as the illustrations. Sky was one of 8 princesses. She had a great time trying things on, etc.

It's Quiet-Do You Know Where Your 2 Year Old Is?

Sky's class has a behavior note system in which students earn a colored note to take home each day so that parents are aware of their behavior daily. A green note means "I had a great day!" A yellow note means "I had several reminders" and a red note means "I had a rough day!". This program started on Friday and Sky received her first note, a green one! Here she is proudly displaying it.

When things are quiet, chances are Brad is into something. The other day Ken found him in our bathroom having unwrapped all the bars of soap and even eating some. Yuck! Last week he filled our toilet with foam letters. The picture above shows blue glue stick dots. Sky was making a leaf collection book and Brad got a hold of the glue stick. The picture below shows how he drew on the hallway wall with a pencil. He is a very active boy!

It has certainly been an interesting week! Ken and I are completely exhausted from the rigors of the new routine of getting Sky to school, everyone out the door before 8am, etc. On top of that, it was a very full week for me. On Tuesday I had MOPS, a doctor's appointment, and Talbot Wives meeting. On Wednesday I had Bible study and on Thursday I had a friend and her 3 boys over to play and that night was parent night at Sky's school. Brad and Sky both had colds by Friday. Lila is still getting up 2-3 times during the night too and with the new schedule, naps are almost nonexistent. I hope I don't sound too whiney-I'm just trying to describe our lives right now.

Today Sky participated in a princess photo shoot. A friend of ours has written a book about princesses and she wanted some of the girls from church to come to a park for a photo shoot dressed up as princesses. She will presumably use the pics in her book. Anyway, Sky had fun dressing up and playing with friends at the park. I also had Lila with me while Brad and Ken stayed home (Brad got into some trouble-see pictures). Then Ken took Sky and Brad to Splash while I ran errands with Lila. We were also supposed to go to a Talbot Wives Mexican Fiesta tonight but we totally forgot until it was over. Craziness!!!

Lila's 2 Month Doctor Appointment

Today Lila had her 2 month doctor's appointment. She weighs in at 10 lbs. 3 oz. now and is 23 in. long. At the last appointment a few days after her birth she was 6lbs. 5 oz. and 20 in. long. Her clogged tear duct has cleared up and her stuffy nose has not affected her lungs at all. We still need to work on correcting the flat side of her head. She also received 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine today.
Brad has been quite a discipline challenge lately. He's 2 and it's terrible. He has done things to hurt Lila (not sure if it's intentional or just exploratory but it's scary either way) and he has been struggling with hitting others and with sharing. Typical 2 year old, I know. I'm hoping to be able to spend more quality time with him while Sky is at school.
Sky is enjoying kindergarten. When I asked her yesterday what her favorite thing about her first day of school was, she said that she liked meeting new friends and she named a girl, Aubrey, whom she had met. Too cute! Yesterday it was early dismissal so today is her first full day.
Ken's classes are going well but he is extremely busy with other responsibilities as well. We're hoping that he'll get some time to work on his Judges commentary soon. This afternoon he and a friend are going to finish the fence/wall project.
As for me, I'm just happy to get some sleep when I can and try to keep up with what everyone else is doing right now. The walk to and from Sky's school twice a day has given me a bit more energy (along with the occasional Starbuck's!). I joined a women's Bible study at church that meets every Wednesday. We'll be studying the book of Isaiah until April and there are 5 days of homework each week. I hope I can keep up!!!

First Day of School

The kindergarten classes have their own playground

Hugging little brother good bye

We just returned from dropping Sky off at kindergarten for her first day of school. She did great-no tears and lots of enthusiasm. Brad is a little lost right now without his big sister at home with him but I'm sure he'll adjust.

School time!

Sky's classroom has a Dr. Seuss theme.

The teacher read a story about saying good bye to mommy and daddy: The Kissing Hand

Sky and her new teacher, Mrs. White.

Sky coloring her name tag for the first day of school.

Sky and her friend Timi

Yesterday we went to a kindergarten tea (it was actually cookies and bottled water). I walked there with the kids (it was HOT). Brad and Lila were in the double stroller and Sky and I walked. There was a 20 minute presentation (which Brad did not appreciate) and then they announced which teachers had which students. I was thrilled to find out that Sky got the teacher we requested AND she is in the same class as her friend Timi (Timi's mom Christine was the one who watched Sky and Brad while we were in the hospital having Lila). Sky was super excited!

My Birthday

Hollywood sign is in the distance.

The city is in the background if you can see through the haze.

Everyone was pretty crabby by the end of the night.

It was a wonderful birthday weekend for me as I turned 35! We went to the Griffith Observatory with the whole family. Sky and I saw a star show (children under 5 weren't allowed). There are some pretty spectacular views of the city from up there as well as the famous Hollywood sign. Ken also bought not one but 2 birthday cakes for me! One was for my actual birthday and one was for the next day when we celebrated with friends. Ken also surprised me with a bird bath (we had been talking about getting one for a while now). Sky made 2 beautiful butterfly projects for me too.

New Pictures of Lila

Lila is growing. Although she still wears newborn size clothes and diapers, she is slowly getting some chubby little rolls on her legs and arms. And the double chin is growing. We love her smiles although they have eluded the camera thus far. She is a sweetness. Brad is starting to feel some jealousy, I think. Lately he has been asking Ken and I to hold him and carry him, etc. We try to accomodate when we can. Sky loves Lila especially now that she can make her smile.

New Wall

The original leaning wall and ugly wooden fence

The work in progress

Our new wall is lower but there will soon be a white vinyl fence on top. These are the workers: Pompelio and his family.

Pepere and Memere's Visit

Memere and Lila getting some face time. Lila started really smiling and interacting this week.

Dinner at Fuddrucker's-great hamburgers!!

Cruise Night!

Memere and Lila hanging out

What a great week we had last week when Pepere and Memere came to visit us. They worked so hard to help us out. Memere replaced all of the knobs on our doors so that they are all uniform (they were all mismatched), did laundry, vacuumed, watched the kids so I could run errands, and helped me keep the peace with the kids. Pepere replaced a shower head, put a peep hole in our front door, replaced an old wooden fence with a beautiful white vinyl fence, replaced the weather stripping on our front door, did some electrical work, put an extra pole in both of our closets (and reconfigured them), and lots of other things that I'm probably forgetting. It was so great to have them around for Ken's first week of school! They also took a day to go to Carlsbad to visit Jeanne's cousin and a 1/2 day to visit Tajunga where Jeanne used to live (they saw the fires up close). We also went to 2 car shows which were really fun.