Kid Update

I've been waiting to get some current pictures updated before I did a kid update, but..... SO, I'll do one without pictures.

Joshua- Is one smart cookie. He's reading like a crazy man. He read a level 8 reader today in about 3 hours. He amazes me. I love it! Robert came in the other night at bedtime and said he thinks Joshua has a reading problem, LOL! I told him it isn't a problem, it's an addiction. One I'm supportive of. My only problem is keeping enough stuff around for him to read. He's read the full Robin Hood and Three Musketeers twice in the last week. That's my sign I need to get some more books in the house. I love when he walks up and gives me random bits of trivia he's picked up in his reading. It's fun.

He's also started his soccer career. His Daddy has played for about 35 years, and judging by how well Joshua is doing, he might be a similar addict. He's played two games so far and scored 4 and 5 goals in each game. It helps that his team is a power house, stacked with big 6 year old boys. We'll see how that holds up when he's on a weaker team. Robert and he are enjoying the boy time together since R is coaching him. Go Blue Sharks!

Leah- is a joy. She really is at a great spot. She loves helping. Me, Hannah, Robert, whoever. She loves loves loves to work!! I see it all the time, but Robert was really impressed with her work ethic as we put in our garden, 15 trees, 4 rose bushes, a blackberry bush and mulched the flower beds. She just works and works and works her little heart out. I love to see that dedication from her at such an early age. There are many times she comes to me and asks "Moe, what can I do for you?" Does a Mom's heart good!

I think she is also teaching herself to read. Apparently, she's given up on waiting for me, lol. I kept telling her that she had to learn all of her letters and sounds before I could teach her to read, so task given, off she went. The next thing I know, she's asking me to help her spell out words in the car. She's doing really great. Hopefully, this summer I can sit down and get her launched before the baby gets here. She loves having Joshua to read to her and I think that is really helping her progress. I honestly didn't expect her to be such an early reader like her brother, but looks like she just might. I know if she decides she's going to do it, she will.

Hannah-is our adorably little Toots! Although, she isn't real fond of us calling her Toots anymore. When I do, there are times she tells me "I your Panny Poe! You call me PANNY POE!!!" It is the funniest thing ever. She'll also randomly tell anyone, "I'm Moe's Panny Poe!" Of course, they have NO IDEA what Moe is or what Panny Poe means. It fun. She is definitly a third child and has not had the early training that the other two children had, and so is a bit more of a hanful than they were. Thankfully, there are four of us to watch out for her, so it isnt too much trouble....yet.

She's a pretty smart cookie herself. She can count to 12 with no problems and sometimes can count higher. She also knows all of her colors really well. We worked on potty training, and she did great. She figured the system out and didn't have any accidents, when she wanted to, but after about a week, she said she wanted to wear diapers. I'm ok with that. She won't wear them forever. She's our little comedian and keeps all of us laughing all the time. People constantly tell us how cute she is.....and we agree. :-)

Spring is Springing

I saw the very first bluebonnets of the season today!!! Made me sooo happy and thankful to be back in Texas. March was very hard on me in Ohio. We were still trudging through snow and that was pretty lame, but worse than that was that Ohio never has bluebonnets. I would change my windows wallpaper to a field full of bluebonnets with a little indian paint brush scattered throughout but it just wasn't the same. I missed two years of adorable kiddie pics in the bluebonnets on the side of the road.....and all of the memories that go along with that. Like massive fire ant beds to avoid in the gorgeous flowers and the deadly traffic flying by on the highway while my sweet gifts from God toddle around. Ah, memories. LOL! But man those are some good pictures! I might even order special little dresses for the girls this year just because it will be Hannah's first bluebonnet pics!

Spring also reminds me of one of the funniest newlywed memories for us. We bought our first house about a year after we married, (yes remember, we were older when we married) and I had only been living in Houston for two years. Spring came around and I was thrilled to throw open the windows and air out the winter gunky air in the house. It was marvelous. Our subdivision was new and so there was very little traffic....a HUGE difference from the same subdivision today, so we left the windows open at night too. It was glorious! (the Houstonians reading this are now giggling, as you see what's coming)

Remember, I grew up in W Texas. We had some trees. Ok, we call them trees, but most people know them as mesquite bushes. The only time we had to worry about closing the windows was when a dust storm was blowing in, and you could clearly see that coming as the sky turned bright RED! Easy to spot.

Well, Houston is different! Not only do you boil in the summer, literally, but Houston has these things called PINE TREES. Lovely, evergreen things that cover the land. I like them. Except for two weeks of the year. Right at the beginning of spring, these lovely evergreen creations of God dump MASSIVE amounts of YELLOW pollen. It covers EVERYTHING!!!! And I mean E V E R Y T H I N G!!!!

Seasoned veterans know that you DO NOT open your windows during the pollen dump. Silly, newlywed wives not from Houston do not know this. And our beautiful new home, that I meticulously kept clean was COVERED in yellow. EVERYWHERE!!! I vacuumed yellow out of my carpets for years. There was nothing I could do to rid it from every area of our home. It wouldn't surprise me if the current owners still find weird spots of yellow in places no one would imagine!

So, yesterday morning I noticed a tiny little hazy dusting of yellow outside and will be dutifully keeping our windows closed for two weeks. No matter how beautiful the day is!