in no particular order...

 Food truck Fridays have become a regular happening around here...

flank steak grilled cheese sandwich.  

Biscuit starts asking on Tuesday if we 'go to food trucks now Mama"

A couple weeks ago on a random Sunday we took the kids to Grandfather Mountain.  Everyone returned home in one piece (though I aged about 10 years).

family hike.  marcus was a nervous wreck.  i was prepared for someone to bash their head in and bleed to death on a rock.  we made it about a mile before turning back. 

gorgeous weather.  the kids have been obsessed with going again and keep asking about the mountains.  must be the latent Andean genetics.

the mile-high bridge.  also known as the "swinging bridge" (for good reason).  also known as "where mama nearly died of fright when javier decided to race across it".  there are some boulders you can climb to go to the overlook (sans barrier).  javier was incredibly pissed that we didn't let him go.

These chuckle-heads have started 3 day 2's at St. John's Preschool with Ms. Josey & Ms. Teresa

They love school and are annoyed on Mondays and Fridays when they don't go.  Javier especially loves it.  They have lots of friends from last year in their class and were just invited to their first birthday party solo (as in not as Emi's tagalong brothers).  They are un-potty-trained and, as evidenced this weekend, are COMPLETELY uninterested.  I promise to announce it to the world when they are potty trained, but really, I'm not worrying about it any more.  In January I'll be signing them up for gymnastics/tumbling (once they've turned 3 they can start participating in these things).  Javier is a speed demon on his balance bike and Andres loves his scooter ('cooter) more than life itself.

August

Again - mostly unedited pictures....

For the girl's fifth birthday we were fortunate enough to have Grandpa in town to celebrate with us.  It was also the first time we had an "offsite" birthday party and honestly, I'll never have a birthday party at home again.  So easy!  Emi's friend Elizabeth had her birthday party at a nearby indoor swimming pool which E loves so that's where she chose to have her birthday party as well.  First, we celebrated at home on her actual day.

On her party day Emi chose to invite her special pal Kyrie for lunch at a Japanese steak house close to the house and near the pool as well.  Total hit.  The girls loved the "show" they do at the big grills and frankly ate more than I thought they would!

the chopsticks were a hit as well.

Then it was on to the pool...

 lined up to swing into the pool like Tarzan.

Finally, after a l.o.n.g. summer it was time for the first day of school.  Out to the front yard tree for the usual pictures...

I thought she would be upset seeing many of her friends heading off to Kindergarten but she couldn't have cared less.  Reinforced my belief that we had made the right decision for our girl in holding her back one more year.

These two were headed off to school as well...

I couldn't possibly get all 3 to smile for me at once, could I?

Nope.

first day of fours

Finally, FINALLY the day we’ve been waiting for since May arrived!  Emilia is in the 4 day 4s class and will be at St. John’s Tuesday thru Friday.  There are a lot of kids in her class so they are taking over two rooms, and have two teachers with an assistant.  She’s thrilled to be in class with several friends from last year (Jackson H., Lake, Elizabeth, Ray,Olivia), and sad that others have moved on (especially Jackson J. and Elliot).  As far as I gathered today was a good day – didn’t eat her hummus, but was super psyched that there are 3 pet fish in her class.

clearly the ‘first day photo shoot’ wasn’t going well.

can you tell the lens was dirty?  oops.

dress from Grandpa, necklace from Abu, breakfast from Mama :)

Happy back-to-school my sweet girl… it’s going to be a great year for you!

then and now

*tear*

one day

One day I’ll be one of those mamas who arrive places looking all put-together-casual-cool and effortless.

One day I’ll be on time for stuff, regularly.

One day I’ll remember Gleneagles Rd. is closed because of this.

One day all three kids will be sunshine-y and smile-y.

One day we’ll all sing “Cumbaya” on the way to school, instead of me trying to tune out the whining and crying in the back by turning up the Ceelo Green a little more.

One day…

clearly, today was not the day.

Seriously, this was essentially the best picture I got today… Javier drinking his bottle, Andres a slobber-y mess, and Emilia making her world famous ‘cheese’ face.

Further proof…

back off lady – don’t even look at me.

No, today was the typical last-minute-mad-dash-out-the-door, wearing an old top I bought ‘pre-Emi’, pitting out of course, with hair that has seen better days.  But we had to power through nonetheless.  Today was “Muffins for Mamas” day at Emilia’s school. Of course, I had to schlepp all four of us to school.  Really the girl wanted me by myself, but it wasn’t to be.  In yet another ‘mother-of-the-year’ moment, look where I parked them…

the hall outside emi’s classroom.  andres chillin’', javier catnapping.

showing off her present for mama – not sure exactly what it is – a cross between a butterfly and a ladybug?

today, however, was the day I remembered to ask a friend to take a picture of my girl and i.  bless you, reyna!

case in point – this is my friend laurie.  look how polished, how put together, how nice she looks.  even andres is enamored with her.  so much so, he promptly vomited all over her sleeve.  today apparently, was the day for total mortification as well.

my gifts.

donuts with dads

Emilia’s school had their annual “Donuts with Dads” day on Monday and Tuesday.  Basically it’s a nice little event the preschools use to lure the dads to sit in those itty-bitty-hard plastic chairs (preferably while all dressed in their business attire for the day) offering them donuts (sadly Marcus reported, not the Krispy Kreme kind) and the chance to see their kidlets in action.  Emilia has been SO excited about this day.  Seriously she’s been talking about it for a week and went to great lengths to pick out her outfit (one papa would like) and explain to Marcus exactly what was going to happen. (“First Papa you go in and you have to hang your bag in your cubby…”)  I l.o.v.e. Marcus that he actually went to this and recognized just how important it was to our girl and, as Ms. Paige described, Emi was “beaming” with pride.  Some quick shots.

nice face marcus – he looks like he’d rather have a root canal. 

not the outfit I was hoping E would pick out, but whatever.  you can tell she thought this was a big deal because she let me put a bow in her hair.

nice fake smile.

I sent Marcus to school with the camera in the hopes that he’d come back with some cute pics. This is what I got.

again with the dress up – Jackson H., and Elliot.  Love Elizabeth and her dad in the background.

classmates – Jackson H., E, Lake, Olivia, Elliot, Elizabeth, Charlie and Will.

card made at school.

In an unrelated topic this morning I’m taking Javier to the pediatric GI doctor to see if we can get his reflux/heartburn/general tummy upset under control.  Perfect example… I’m dressed for the day, he ate at 6:30 and has cried and spit up all over me.  It’s now 8:10 and both he and I need outfit changes before we leave and he’s passed out asleep.  Poor boo. 

And in another installment of ‘this-is-where-he-fell-asleep’…

I have mentioned that he only naps in swings or in his car seat.  In my mind it’s because a) he likes to be kind of snug and cozy and b) he likes to be kind of sitting upright because of his tummy.  Last week when I came home from my ‘morning off’ when Ms. Anne was here he had finally (at noon) fallen asleep for his nap in the swing in the kitchen, going at ‘full speed’.  He napped here for almost 3 hours (I did cover him with a blanket and turned the swing off).

Sorry Andres… I’ll get you next time.