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Sunday, August 28, 2011

We are ready......

for some FOOTBALL (GO COCKS!) .....





and being outside a whole lot more!!








Decorating the driveway!

Stella Ross and Rafe both LOVE to draw and drawing
on something other than paper is even more fun!





Stella Ross is ONE!

Rafe is SIX (for a few more weeks!!)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Breakfast Time!

I am so excited (and impressed!) that my mom saved ALL of my baby toys and clothes. It has been so much fun to pull out things that I remember playing with and LOVING! Stella Ross received my baby doll high chair last weekend and she absolutely loves it! It is so much fun to watch her talk to her babies while she feeds them. Thank you, Gram, for keeping your attic full of my toys for 35 years. It is worth knocking off the dust to watch the excitement on Stella Ross's face!




Wednesday, August 17, 2011

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school for both Rafe and Stella Ross and I could not be more pleased with how well it went. Rafe went to bed last night VERY excited about starting school and that makes this Mommy one happy girl!! He jumped out of bed this morning and ran downstairs to his breakfast choice - cinnamon rolls, bacon, banana and yogurt drink. (he also found his back to school surprise and letter from Mommy and Daddy!)


Stella Ross was also excited about her back to school treat - an Elmo balloon, book and letter from Mommy and Daddy.

The enthusiasm continued outside for pictures of my 1st grader and preschooler!


I LOVE this picture! Stella Ross ADORES her big brother!

"We're on our way!"

walking in with his great friend, Carter

When we arrived in Rafe's classroom I was busy helping him get his book bag put into the correct cubby and Stella Ross just made herself right at home in another person's desk!!



"1st grade is GREAT"


After we left Rafe at school we made our way to Stella Ross's new school. (She is going to our church preschool one morning a week.) Stella Ross has EXTREME separation anxiety so I have been dreading this day for a long time. I was pleasantly surprised at how she responded, though. She immediately jumped down to find a toy to play with and was so content that I was able to slip out without her even noticing. Her teacher said she did well all morning, but of course she cried as soon as she saw me coming in to get her. I expected this - Rafe always did this at her age! It was so cute talking to her about her day. She would just light up when we talked about her teachers, the toys and playing with her cousin, Tucker.



Needless to say the first day of school is REALLY tiring for everyone involved. Stella Ross couldn't even make it home before falling asleep!


**Rafe had an EXCELLENT first day and we celebrated with his good buddies, Lane and Colt, over ice cream after school. He is already talking about how much fun they are going to have tomorrow!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Meet the Teacher!

Tonight we went to Meet the Teacher for Rafe's 1st grade year. (I still cannot believe it!) We could not be more pleased with his teacher and class.

Rafe, we are SO proud of you and are looking forward to a wonderful school year!




Thursday, August 11, 2011

Back to school blast!

Tonight we celebrated the beginning of a new school year at the Melting Pot for dessert (Rafe's choice). This is always such a treat - literally! I think it is safe to say Stella Ross enjoyed her first visit too! We all had a hard time walking back to the car.










Deja' Vu!

Here is a picture of Rafe at almost the same age at Stella Ross with a very similar injury. He was running and crushed his head on the corner of a brick wall!


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Stella Ross's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week!!

Stella Ross has had a very bad week (and it's only Wednesday!! UGH!). It all started on Sunday night (see previous post) and just got worse from there. Monday evening I left Stella Ross, Rafe and Cory at Pop and Gram's house to go have dinner with some girlfriends. As I was pulling out of the driveway, Stella Ross climbed, jumped and fell off the back of the couch landing directly on her head on a ceramic tile floor. Of course everyone was in the room when this happened and unfortunately things like this happen so fast that there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. She immediately starts crying (thank goodness) and Cory scoops her up to start examining her head. Pop and Gram were sick to their stomachs at the sight of her fall and Rafe ran to the freezer for the ice pack. Thankfully she appeared to be alright, even trying to climb on the couch again!! Cory decided it was best not to call me during my dinner. He knew how I would react and there was really nothing anyone could do at this point for her. (he even debated not telling me until the next morning, but luckily Rafe spilled the beans as soon as I got home.) Needless to say I did not sleep a wink Monday night. I woke Stella Ross up at 11:00, 2:30 and 7:00 to check on her. That was such a scary night. I prayed all night long and thanked God for watching over and protecting my sweet baby during this horrible accident.

All day Tuesday I was on pins and needles. If Stella Ross even attempted to climb on anything I immediately got her down. I know she felt like she couldn't do anything. She was back to being her normal wild and crazy self. For that I was SO thankful .... but still very nervous. Tuesday night Stella Ross and I stopped by Pop and Gram's house for a brief visit around the same time as the accident the previous night. When we walked into their house I jokingly told them we would have to move to another room besides the sun porch. It just brought back too many bad memories. Stella Ross wanted Pop to take her outside the see the puppies. They had only been gone 10 seconds and I heard her crying. I opened the door to find Stella Ross in Pop's arms with a HUGE goose egg on her forehead. Are you kidding me?? Two head injuries on back to back nights. I felt like all of the air had been sucked out of me. She was running extremely fast down the sidewalk and fell, hitting her head on the corner of their wooden fence. Stella Ross handled it a lot better than I did and I spent another sleepless night checking on her.


So we are NOT going to be visiting Pop and Gram's house any time soon. In fact I don't even want to leave the house!! I am praising God that my little girl is alright. This has been a very scary week. I don't want time to pass quickly, but I am ready for her little feet to catch up to her on-the-go body!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Boo Boo!!

Stella Ross received her first boo-boo yesterday! After a fun afternoon of swimming in the pool, Stella Ross and Rafe were playing with her water table. They were both filling up the metal measuring cups and pouring water on each other and Cory. Rafe filled the biggest measuring cup up and as he was throwing the water on Cory it accidentally smacked Stella Ross in the eye. It scared her at first, but she was quickly healed after a visit from her frozen Elmo boo-boo pack.