Creative Arts

Branden and Jace both entered the creative arts contest in school this year. In my day it was called the "Reflections" contest. They came up with their idea's and did them almost entirely by themselves (I helped with things like spray paint and hot glue). I am so proud of them. They both did an awesome job. Jace got a participation ribbon, and Branden won 2nd place for his grade and category. He was so excited!

Here is Jace's ultra cool art work. He used my star punch, but the rest was done by tracing circles and cutting them out.

And this is Branden's paper mache' globe. I tried to talk him into trying to make the continents look like the real ones, but it was a no-go. I still think that he did a wonderful job

Here are Branden and his friend Jarom receiving their awards. I am pretty sure that it is the coolest trophy ever! At least that is what Branden thinks! Good job boys! We love you so much! Oh, and for all of you who are thinking, "I haven't paper mache'd in a long time, that sounds like fun" No, it isn't! Just a friendly warning!

Picture princess

My cousin had this on her blog, and I thought it would be fun. Shabby Apple is having a "Picture Princess" contest. I may be a little biased, but I am pretty sure that Keira is the cutest baby girl ever! Keira has brought a light into our home that is unexplainable. Her beautiful blue eyes and gorgeous eyelashes are so perfect. She has the cutest dimples which help to emphasize those chubby cheeks! I love the way that her face lights up when her brothers come into the room, and the adoring way she looks at her daddy. She has a way of grabbing the attention of everyone she sees. There is no mistaking her "Princess" status in our family. We love her so much! The little girls and little girls dresses from Shabby Baby are so cute, I love this one.http://www.shabbyapple.com/p-84-queen-of-hearts.aspx I think it would look so perfect on Keira! I am sure that Keira will always be a picture princess!

Fun, or something like that

This past weekend, we got to go to Chuck E. Cheese with my family. It was a birthday party for my niece Paige (3) and my nephew Conner (1). Fun was had by all! Thanks Lori and Becca for inviting us and including us in all of your fun!

LIAR!!

What a liar I turned out to be! I told Keira that avocados were yummy, apparently she does not agree!

Poor baby! She just held them like that in her mouth untill they all got pushed out by her slobber or her tongue.

What a stubborn little stinker! I wish I knew where that trait came from!:)

Shots and Razor blades!

While getting the boys hair cut last week, our hair dresser finds a mole behind Jace's ear with a black spot on it. I am pretty paranoid, and I know that the spot wasn't on it during the summer when I buzzed his hair, so we went to see the doctor.

When we got there, I told him in the car what a black spot could mean and that the doctor was going to have to cut it off to test it and make sure he is still healthy. He FREAKED OUT! He was NOT going to go in! He decided that he would rather have cancer than get his mole cut off! So, I offered him a piece of gum. It worked! He did really good. His eyes got good and watery when they gave him the shot to numb it, but nothing spilled out. He said later that he couldn't even feel it when they cut it off, and it still didn't hurt. What a trooper. He earned his favorite candy bar for all of his bravery, a plain Jane Hershey's bar. We will know in about a week if they find anything wrong.

Money

My little friend Ashton is way more observant than I give him credit for. We got a giant #3 balloon for Gabriel, and on the way home, Ashton asks why he didn't get a #5 for his birthday. I didn't really have an answer for that, so he asks me if he can have the #3. I told him no, it was for Gabriel. Gabriel wasn't going to get any birthday presents, so he gets balloons. He then tells me that we could just bury Gabriel's presents and then he would get them in heaven (we buried Gabriel, and he is in heaven, so why wouldn't it work for presents?). I told him that it just doesn't work that way. After we got home he brings me a penny and says "Hey mom, I'll give you my penny for the #3 balloon." I said no, and that I didn't need his penny. So his reply "Yes you do, because you are running out of money." Well, you are right Ashton, but unfortunately your penny isn't going to do me much good! Funny kid!

Happy Birthday Gabie!

Today is my sweet angel's birthday. Not my favorite day of the year. This year I delt with it a little differently. I didn't insist on just sitting around crying! There was crying, but not constant. On Saturday, we went bowling with Grandma and Grandpa Bateman, and Grandma and Grandpa Pettit. We only had one lane, something we will have to fix next time, but had a great time anyway. It would have been more fun if the birthday boy could have attended his party, but we made the best of it. Today, the kids and I took a banner and some balloons to the cemetary.

We let one go from each of us, and tied the rest up.

Then we went and had dinner, cake and Icecream at Grandma Gail's. I am so greatful that I have them here to help me through this stuff. The Cake was not real extravagent, but hey, I don't really feel like cake baking today! I'll do better when he can tell me what he wants on it!

We missed daddy who was at school. Hopefully he'll be able to attend next year's party. We love you little man! We desperatly hope to see you soon!