Christmas School Party

The girls and I had our homeschool Christmas party today. We spent the whole day at Chuck E. Cheese. I was very proud of the girls and their behavior. They were so kind to each other, sharing rides and tickets.

Each of the girls got a necklace for their Christmas gift. It wasn't much, but they were happy to have a present. It's a lot of fun for me to not only be their mom, but also their teacher. This was our "school party", but I got to enjoy it also as a mom. I'm not sure when our next official homeschool party will be, but I'm already looking forward to it!

Aliya's 6 yr Birthday

Today is Aliya's 6 yr birthday. She now considers herself a big kid. She is no longer a small child. There are so many things that you get to do when you are six--you can make your own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you can wash dishes, ride big kid rides, loose more teeth...the possibilities are endless!

I still remember when she was just a little baby. She had those cheeks that you couldn't resist kissing!

This is my favorite picture of all three girls together. The stair steps are not as spread out as they used to be! They are ALL growing up!

Happy Birthday, Aliya! WE LOVE YOU!

Daddy, Mommy, Niah, and Kiahna

Family Farm Fun

Today we went to a local pumpkin patch. It started off being a little chilly, but it warmed up towards the end.

We rode the hayride to the pumpkin patch where we each got to pick our own pumpkin. I helped Kiahna get hers. Niah and Aliya were very picky--they were one of the last ones to be done selecting their pumpkins.

We also got to pet several animals in the petting barn. The girls were a lot more brave then I wanted to be!

After all that fun, we rode the carousel. We also rode the train around the 101 acre farm, but I didn't take any pictures of that.

We spent almost an hour at the pedal-car race track. That was a lot of fun! Kiahna never did get the hang of the pedals. I pushed her around once, and then told her that was it! She just sat on the car the rest of the time, "pretending" she was racing her sisters.

Kiahna and Aliya loved digging in the sand and getting dirty.

Niah and Kiahna wanted to sit on the horse, but Aliya preferred the wooden train. Even though we were only at the farm for 3 hours, we ended up having a WHOLE DAY of fun!

Happy Birthday, Ballerina Princess!

Kiahna turned 3 today. This was a fun birthday, because this is the first birthday that she's really been aware of what it is and what it all entails. She had a Diego Princess party (very original!), and she enjoyed the whole thing. She loved every present she got, and each present had its own special reaction.

Happy 8th Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 8th anniversary. Kiahna and Aliya recently saw some of our wedding pictures from our album (we finally got to unpack it!), and Kiahna started crying because she wasn't there. She was really upset that she didn't get to go! I tried to explain to the both of them that they weren't even born yet, but it didn't go very far. They didn't understand why Niah got to go, but they didn't! I guess this is one of those things that will not be understood until later on in life.

We're Expecting!

We went for our 20 week ultrasound today and we found out that...

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! I was shocked! I was more shocked at myself for finding out because I have NEVER done that before. I am still in shock. I won't probably get over that one for a while.

We are very excited. The girls are happy, though Kiahna still insists that she's going to have a little sister! We DO NOT have any boy names picked out yet. I guess we are going to have to put away the pink books and dust off the blue ones!

Fishing By the Lake

TJ and Niah woke up this morning and went fishing. It's very nice to have a lake in your own front yard! They did a little bit of "real" fishing before Kiahna and Aliya joined them.

Kiahna was excited to get to do "big girl things" like her sister Niah. Kiahna is so proud of her big sister!

Aliya was doing an excellent job casting her line. She really has this fishing thing down...well, maybe not exactly the noise level...and maybe not the clothing attire, but she can cast a line and reel them in!

It's Harder Than You Think...

We found out today that it is harder than you think to build a bird's nest. We have been learning about birds in our science studies, and we have also been learning how they build nests for their babies (except for owls--they don't build their own nests. They just steal nests that other birds have already made!).

We spent an hour searching for all the things that birds use to build nests--pine needles, grass, feathers, etc. This was a lot of fun! We were followed several times by flocks of geese wanting to see if we had any food for them...which we didn't.

After we gathered our supplies, we stopped at a bench and began building them. It definitely was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Aliya wanted to plant her nest on the ground between two trees. She was very proud of her nest and was sure that a bird would decide to lay her eggs there.

Show Offs

The girls made mini sculptures of Adam and Eve. I am so proud of their abilities! Aliya's turned out great, and Niah's is VERY creative.

Kiahna's proud of her work, too. She kept bringing me "poo" that she made. It WAS pretty funny!

Aliya also has something else to showoff--the big gap in the front of her mouth! She lost her second tooth last Friday night (September 12th). The tooth was already getting loose, but then it got knocked out when Niah tossed a book towards Aliya.

Niah has something that she wants to show off--Jordan's new tank! She bought the tank with her savings, and she is very excited. The tank DID NOT look this nice when we got it, but we spent 12 hours cleaning, staining, and oiling the tank/stand. Now it actually looks really nice. Jordin is very happy, and so is Niah.

We still have to make a cover for the back glass so the wires and tubes don't show. I will probably do that in the next week or two. I have to get out the sewing machine to make some curtains and repair some other closes, so I will probably also do the cover then.

School Project

Today for their science project, the girls had to create an animal from play dough, and then describe the different characteristics. They also had to name their creation.

Niah put a lot of time and effort into her project. Aliya put a lot of fun into hers! She spent most of the time playing with the play dough. Kiahna played for a while, and then took a break to watch Diego on TV.

Here are Niah's Zebra Striped Star Fish.

These are Aliya's assorted collection of not-so-original cut out animals, but she did provide interesting, unpronounceable, names for them.

Aliya Lost Her First Tooth!

Just a few minutes ago, I helped to pull out Aliya's first tooth. Her tooth was bleeding, and it was twisted to the side. She wanted me to finish pulling it because I think she was a unsure what exactly would happen.

We are saving the tooth to take to Oklahoma tomorrow. Tomorrow night we will put her tooth under her pillow--I can't have her put it under her pillow tonight because I don't have any cash! Aliya is so excited! She thought it would NEVER be her turn to lose a tooth!

Kiahna's First Sleepover

Last night Kiahna had her first ever sleepover. She has been looking forward to having HER turn ever since Aliya got to spend the night. Even though I was not there, I did leave my camera with Betsy so she could catch the highlights.

Apparently a time of dress up and fun was on the schedule! How could it get better than that? Well, it did...bath time!!! I wish that I could post those cutie pictures, but I'm not.

Finally, it was time for bed. Betsy said they all went to sleep without a problem. I thought it was smooth sailing from here, but then I got a phone call a little after midnight. Kiahna woke up, and she was crying for her Mama. I had to go pick her up and bring her back home. Overall, I think it was a pretty successful attempt.

We LOVE Braum's!

On Thursday, July 31, 2008, we went on a Braum's factory tour with our homeschool group. I knew it was going to be a good trip, and I was right!

We got to ride the cow bus to the factory. We didn't tour the milking facilities, but we could see all the cows and the milking stations in the fields.

I was really proud of my girls. They were very well behaved. The lady tour guide asked each of the children what their favorite flavor of ice cream was, and even Kiahna boldly announced her choice--which is stawawbarry.

We got to see a lot of things being made--nutty ice cream cones, milk, cottage cheese, low fat vanilla ice cream, ice cream containers, and milk bottles.

When we finished the tour and arrived back at the starting point, we were each given an ice cream on a stick. Not a bad way to end the tour!

End of School Party

Last night we had our End of School Ice Cream Party. First we had dinner, followed by the awards ceremony.

Each of the girls got a diploma for the year of school that they completed, and they also got various rewards and honors for their special achievements.

Taya was our special honorary student. Her parents will have to keep up with all these festivities when she really is in school, or she will think she's getting the short end of the stick!

After the the awards ceremony, we played a few games (duck duck goose, musical chairs, and hide-n-go seek). We were all laughing so hard that some of us adults would not have qualified to receive the potty training certificate like Kiahna did! After we played the games, we had the ice cream party. Everyone got to decorate their own cone, and they each got their own candle to blow out. It was a pretty fabulous party!!!

I'm a Big Girl Now!!!

Kiahna is officially potty trained now! We started this process on May 24th, and it took a few days before she got the hang of it. By the end of the first week, she had accidents only on occasion.

She stayed completely dry on our road trip back to Arkansas--I did have to stop twice for her to go. Of course she gives no prior warning, so one of those times I just had to have her pee in the grass.--she thought this was hilarious.

Now, for the most part, she is accident-free. She has had to accidents where she peed in the grass outside (with her clothes still on!). I wonder who taught her that?!!!

Kiahna is very proud of her Dora panties. She wanted to have Diego undies, but they they only make them for boys. I'm just thankful that she's in big girl panties now. Another HUGE milestone has past.