Future Bobcat Dazzler?

 Several weeks ago Avery participated in the Pretty in Pink dance clinic that was put on by the Bobcat Dazzlers drill team at Byron Nelson High School.  Even though she only knew one other girl that was there, she still had a great time having pizza, learning a dance, and doing a craft.  A week after the clinic she got to participate in a pre-game performance at the high school football game.  She loves to perform, so this was definitely right up her alley!  She did a great job and we enjoyed getting a glimpse into the football games at the kids' future high school!

Kendall starts Pre-K

1st day of Pre-K (Kendall 4 yrs)

It's a little hard for me to believe, but Kendall is in Pre-K this year at Young Children's World- only one more year until I send her off to big kid school!  She was excited to start school after taking and picking up Avery at school for two weeks straight.  One of her teachers this year is a sweet lady who was her teacher when she was in the two year old class, and the other one seems very nice as well.  She has several of the same little friends in her class this year, so that's fun for her too.  This year she gets to do some neat big-kid things like watch a movie at her table instead of resting on her nap mat, alphabet show and tell, filling the phonics can and estimation jar, bringing home books from the reading specialist, and being queen of the day. Although its hard to imagine now, I can tell that she is on her way to being ready for Kindergarten.  Lately she has been spending a lot of time drawing and writing, and is getting good at writing her letters and knows what sounds most of them make.  I have also noticed her talking about friends more this year and the pretend games she plays with them.  It will be neat to see how much she learns and changes during the year, but for now I am just trying to enjoy her last year at YCW and her last year to be at home some with me!

Labor Day Weekend

Family pic in front of the firepit outside our cabin

 

 

 

 

Once again this year we went up to Broken Bow Lake in Oklahoma for Labor Day weekend.  We spent a lot of time out on the lake- we rented a pontoon boat for a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday.  We had a great time tubing, swimming, skiing, and relaxing on the boat.  I think one of the girls favorite things besides tubing was swimming in the lake and playing an alligator man/mermaid game with Scott.  One of my favorite little memories was when Scott and the girls were swimming, and Jud and I danced on the boat to some Oklahoma Gold country.  He loves music and thought I was so funny dancing to "On the Road Again."  The house we stayed at had 5 or 6 mounted deer heads as well as lots of bear statues, ducks, etc.  Judson was fascinated by the deer heads and kept walking around pointing at them and saying, "du" (deer).  On Saturday night we celebrated my birthday with a yummy steak dinner that Scott and my Mom made and delicious cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Sunday evening my Dad took the girls in the woods behind the house on a nature walk to find bugs.  He had bought them a field guide and everything in attempt to turn Avery's giant fear of bugs into firsthand knowledge and experience.  The verdict is still out on that one.  Despite the fact that it was still 90 degrees outside, my Dad made a fire in the fire pit after dark so we could roast marshmallows for s'mores. Needless to say, we only stayed around the fire just long enough to get our marshmallows toasty, and then we headed back in to the air conditioning to enjoy our treats:)  We also took our little city girls outside just before bed to look at the stars, which was a neat experience for them.  It was a fun, relaxing weekend and a great way to say goodbye to summer!

Mimi, Poppi, and the grandkids

Kendall and I tubing

Scott and Avery tubing

Judson fell asleep in my lap while Scott was water skiing

Alligator man and the mermaids

Jud wasn't too fond of the life jacket at first, but he eventually got used to it and was all smiles

Avery and Kendall both took turns helping Scott drive the boat

my little birthday party (Jud was exhausted and had to go to bed early that night)

Poppi and the girls going on their nature walk

searching for bugs

Mimi, Poppi and the kids on the boat

Judson did a little lake swimming, but he also enjoyed toddling around on the boat

Scott was the only one who skiied

family pic on the boat

Kendall was pretending that Scott was her surfboard

Judson and Poppi checking out the deer and ducks

Kendall and Judson playing with the ducks

"Goodbye Sooner State!"

1st of 1st

Two weeks ago, Avery had her first day of first grade.  Since we moved last May to a new school district, she is going to our neighborhood school, Kay Granger Elementary in Northwest ISD.  She was pretty anxious about starting a new school- particularly about having to make all new friends.  She loved Harvest Christian and her friends there, but we just keep telling her that one day she will have good friends at her new school and will love it just as much, if not more. She is still adjusting, but is doing pretty well so far and is starting to get into the groove of things I think.  I've been told that her teacher, Mrs. Word, is one that many parents wanted their kids to have and seems really sweet. Avery has 22 kids in her class, which is more than she had at Harvest, but not as bad as at some schools in the area.  One of the things we have really enjoyed about her attending Kay Granger is that it is just down the street (our street leads right to the school driveway) and we are able to walk to and from school.  We see most of our neighbors doing the same thing every morning, so that is kind of fun for the kids and grown ups alike. There is such a sense of community around here and it really shows in the involvement of parents at the school.  In fact, I am going up tomorrow to volunteer and plan on doing more of that in the spring when Judson starts school at Young Children's World.  We are looking forward to all three of our kids being Granger Wranglers and seeing how they learn and grow there!

Judson-15 months

Judson is now 15 months old and is one busy, active little boy!  He runs around all over the house climbing on things, playing chase with the girls, destroying things, and generally getting into mischief.  As my pediatrician put it, he is like a Sherman tank.  He is definitely all boy!  But despite the destruction he leaves in his path and the amount of time I spend making sure he is safe, it is a lot of fun to watch him play and do all his little boy things.  He is already good at making car noises, loves to throw a ball, likes getting dirty, and plays rough. But he also is a very friendly, loving little boy who loves to give hugs and kisses and cries when realtives or friends who have come to visit leave the house.  Some of my favorite cute little things that he does right now are spontaneously giving Avery and Kendall kisses at bedtime, getting out bowls and cups from the cabinet and lining them up or pretending to cook, pushing his lawn mower and school bus around, bringing me a snack he wants from the pantry, and bringing me the bag of dog treats so he can give some to Josie.  Judson can say about 40 words now including hi, bye, uh-oh, mama, dada, Avery, Kendall (doo-dle), Mimi, Poppi (baba), Ma, ball, bubble, frisbee (wibee) , phone (uf), outside (ouwi), water (awa), milk (ma), strawberries (baba), cheese (ee), snack (na-na), more (mo), spoon (bu), bowl (bo), shoes (ish), no, night night, fish (ish), paci (baba), book (bu), door (do), bath (ba), up (bu), down, three (dee), this (dis), tickle-tickle (diga diga), hat (ha), nose (no).  As you can tell, his articulation isn't great, but he is still a pretty good little communicator and gets his point across most of the time.  He is just becoming such a big boy so fast it seems!  He is getting to be more and more interactive and fun and we are enjoying him now more than ever.  Happy 15 months Jud!

Colorado Vacation

Our major vacation this year was a week-long trip to Colorado over the week of July 4th.  We went to Lake City with my parents for the second time and enjoyed a relaxing week in the mountains with nice cool weather and some fun activities.  The first day Scott and my Dad rented a little boat and took the girls out fishing on Lake San Cristobal.  After lunch, my Mom and Judson and I went out to the lake with them.  Scott and I ended up taking just the girls back out on the boat by ourselves though because it was raining on and off.  Unfortunately, no one caught a single fish!  The girls were so bummed!  I thought it was still fun to go out on the lake and enjoy our surroundings though.  Tuesday we rented a jeep.  Scott and I took the girls on a four-wheel drive road that went through some beautiful Aspens, past some gorgeous waterfalls, and ended up in a mountain meadow.  I lost my camera right after the trip , and I am so upset that I don't have those pictures!  Luckily my Mom took quite a few with her camera, so at least we have pictures of most parts of the trip.  Wednesday was July 4th and we went to the Lake City parade, hung out with my brother-in law and his wife and kids at their cabin (they have been going to Lake City every year with her family for years) and had a picnic lunch.  We took the girls back to Doug and Sheila's cabin area in the afternoon to play Bingo with all the kids in their group.  Sheila had a Bingo set with the little balls in a cage, prizes and everything.  The kids loved it!  Lake City didn't have the usual fireworks because of the burn ban, so that evening we went on a little hike around the property where we were staying and Scott read the girls a Magic Tree House book.  One of the really neat things about the house where we stayed was that they had a salt block right out front and the deer would come up every morning and/or evening for a little treat.  We also enjoyed watching the chipmunks and birds around the house as well as the hummingbirds by San Juan Soda Company where we got ice cream several times.  The cooler weather was so nice for a change and Scott and I enjoyed sleeping with our window open every night.  Thursday we drove over to Gunnison, had lunch at the patio cafe at Three Rivers Resort, and then Scott and I took the girls on a raft trip down the Taylor River.  It ended up cloudy and rainy that afternoon, but everybody still enjoyed the ride and beautiful scenery.  That night we got to go have dinner at the second home belonging to a couple from our church.  Their home/property and the view were amazing, and they were so hospitable.  Friday morning Scott and my Dad did a little more fishing, and then my Mom and I took the girls shopping to find t-shirts and stuffed animals.  After lunch at a pizza place in town, Scott and my Dad watched all the kids while my Mom and I had some fun shopping time.  It was a great vacation that allowed us to spend some fun time together as a family and truly unplug!

deer in front of the house enjoying the salt block

My Dad, Judson and Avery enjoying some ice cream in front of San Juan Soda Company

Avery and Jud on the side of the house

Waving at people on the floats at the July 4th parade.  Forgot to mention that Josie went with us to Colorado this time.

family pic after the parade

relaxing and listening to Daddy read a Magic Tree House book

a Bedichek family picture with Doug, Sheila and 2 of their girls

Swimming at the hotel in Clayton, NM on the trip home.  This one's out of order, but I couldn't seem to move it!

Enjoying more ice cream from San Juan Soda Company.  I also got the most beautiful vase and pottery from here- unlikely combination!  Love this place!

Judson and my Dad playing with hats in the front room of the house.  Jud was obsessed with hats on this trip!

Headed out for a hike around the property

Zimbal/Bedichek family picture

To Judson on Your First Birthday

 Sweet Judson,
From the moment you entered our lives one short year ago, you have been such a joy and a blessing to our family!  As I have written before, you seem to balance us out and make our family complete.  You have two big sisters that absolutely adore you, a Dad that thinks you are awesome, and a Mom that is wrapped around your little finger.  You have such a cute smile and an easy-going, happy nature.  You got a funny little sense of humor from your Daddy and an independent streak from your Mommy.  You have been the best baby and have happily let us tote you around everywhere- from school pick ups and gymnastics classes to an airplane ride to Miami and long car trips to Red River, NM and Buena Vista, CO.   At one year old, you are a little over 23 lbs (between 50 and 75th percentile) and 30.5 inches (just over 75th percentile).  You drink regular milk from a sippy cup and are a great eater.  You sleep from 8:00 or 8:30 PM  until 7:00 AM and take 2 naps a day, usually an hour or more long each.  You began taking some steps about 2 weeks before your birthday and now at 13 months, you are practically running!  You are also a climber and keep Mommy busy trying to keep you safe.  You really like to sit at the little table, but then sometimes you decide to stand up in the chair, sit on the table, or even crawl on the table and try to get on the kitchen counter.  Yikes!  You have also managed to climb in and out of the bathtub all by yourself.  At one year you could sign "more" and said "uh-oh" and "bu", which meant "up."  Now that you are 13 months you can consistently say quite a few words including uh-oh, up (bu), ball (ba), bath (ba), snack (na-na), Avery (Abee), Mommy, this (dis), Josie (Os), Amen (a-bi) and also have started trying to imitate many more.  You can make sounds for a sheep, tiger, elephant (with the arm of course), and a car.  The past couple days you have also started coming over to get me saying "Mommy", and then pointing or leading me to what you want and saying "dis". You have really started taking an interest in books and enjoy our time reading them together before naps and at bedtime.  Just about anytime we are in your room, you go over to your book basket under the nightstand and start looking at all the books.  Some other things you really like to do right now include take a bath, swim, play with Avery, play rough games with Daddy, play chase (especially when we are changing your diaper or clothes!), ride in your car, play ball and with toys that have balls, go outside, play with shoes and Daddy's OU hat, and play with Josie.  You try so hard to keep up with your sisters and are starting to do so many big kid things like trying to get yourself a snack from the pantry (usually Fruit Loops), getting a cup out of the low cabinet and standing on your tiptoes trying to reach the water dispenser on the fridge, standing on the stool in the bathroom, playing at the playscape at the Hills C of C, and sitting in the chairs at the little table. Even though you are super active and sometimes a little rough, you are such a sweet, precious little boy and your hugs and kisses never fail to melt my heart.  We love you so much and hope to show you in turn a glimpse of God's great love.  As David said in Psalm 139, you are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and Daddy and I know that God has amazing things planned for your life.  We can't wait to watch you grow and see His plan for you unfold!
                                                                                                                       Love,
                                                                                                                            Mommy

playing with your cars on the speedway

I get a lot of blurry pictures because you are always in motion!

cooking up some grub in the play kitchen

you love to sit on the speedway and try to take a ride yourself