Such a big boy!

We live really close to Andrew's school and he really wanted to walk to and from school by himself last year and I said absolutely not...you are too young, maybe when you are in 1st grade. Well of course he remembered that and after much conversation we decided that Tuesday we would meet half way and if that went well he could come home on his own Wednesday. I sat on the porch trying to be relaxed, but was a nervous wreck and looked at my watch 100 times as I anxiously waited his arrival. He was very exasperated by me catching the whole arrival in pictures, but I was really proud of this small step of independence that he made!

First Day of School

Andrew started 1st grade today! If you remember from last years first day of school post, the morning was rather emotionally charged. Andrew crying and clinging to Brian's leg and me, 2 weeks postpartum and bawling in the hallway. Thank goodness Brian took the morning off of work to help me with the transition! Well today Andrew and I managed all on our own and neither of us shed a tear! I will admit I got a little choked up on the way home (there is just something that tugs on those heartstrings when you walk away from a little boy who is so trying to be a big grown up boy), but overall it was a smooth transition from summer break back into the school year! Andrew is so excited because he has the teacher he wanted and he has at least 5 kids from his class last year in his class and there are also 2 kids from our church in his class as well and they sit at his table!! We are excited about another great school year!! Here are the standard first day of school shots! And it was sweet...I was letting Emily sleep a little (Lauren graciously came to watch the girls so I could get Andrew to school without having to tote them along) and Andrew was heartbroken that he didn't get to say goodbye to her and have a picture taken with her as well! So of course I woke her up...want to encourage that sibling love as long as I can!

Fun at the Maillefers!

We have had some great opportunities to go swimming this summer and Kelli and Andrew are turning into little fish! They remind me of me and my sisters swimming in the summers! Remember the Ridge, Nikki and Heidi? (Danielle you might remember, but Lauren I don't think you were born when we went there). Here are a few pictures I grabbed today...love the ones of them floating. This was towards the end of our day and I think they got tired out! I thought Kelli's use of the noodle was pretty creative for a 4 year old to come up with all on her own!!

Out of the mouths of six year old boys who are way beyond their years!!

Brian had a long day at work yesterday. He sat in his seat at the dinner table and let out a big sigh. Andrew asked him what was wrong and Brian said it was just a long day at work and he was having a hard time on the job he was doing. Andrew asked him why it was hard. Brian said there were several things, like they didn't have the supplies they needed and the person running the job didn't really know what they were doing. I had some insight in to this latter problem, I knew that the person running the job was a woman and I can only imagine what a bunch of guys think of having a woman as their general contractor. Andrew asked who was running the job and Brian said (without any special emphasis on any of his statement); "Her name is Cathy, and that's part of the problem". And Andrew without hesitation said, "because she's a woman?" Brian and I couldn't believe it! He sure is a perceptive little devil! =)

It only took me 6 years and 3 kids....

but I finally did it! I have wanted to do this, or some variation of it since Andrew was born! I finally got it together and I love it! These are just a few pics of the nursery since I "updated" it! Thanks to my precious friend Elise for the sweet wall art! Sorry it took me over a year to get it up! Also thought I would include a few pics of our morning...Kelli always loves to greet Emily in the morning and Emily gets so excited when we walk in her room!

The Big Birthday Bash!!

We had such a fun time yesterday at Emily's birthday party! The weather didn't exactly cooperate...we had several downpours! Thankfully the garage was close by and ended up being the perfect shelter! The kids had a blast getting wet in the rain and because they were already wet, were allowed to get in the pool with their clothes on! Here are some pictures from the day! Thanks so much to all of you who came to help us celebrate! I know it was a long week for many of you (mom and dad are the lucky ones who were captured on camera showing signs of the toll of the week!) For those of you who don't know, my mom and dad purchased a beautiful home and they and my sisters have been helping to get their current house ready to put on the market and hosted the worlds most successful garage sale from Wednesday through Saturday. You can see a few pics of their new house at Nikki's blog (link on the upper right hand side). It is the perfect house for them!! Enjoy the pictures! Hopefully they capture the fun we had!!


She loved pulling the tissue out of the bags!



Go Bears!

Emily's Cake

Everyone else's cake



Andrew was yelling "Don't touch the candle Emily!"

Gentile at first

a little more agressive...









You go girl!! That's how you do it!







Okay, now I am all done!

The famous glare







Good thing it's Arbonne....pure, safe and benificial!!





Olivia didn't want to get in the pool because she would sink to the bottom!



Uncle Jed joins in the fun!!





Olivia decided to go in with Jed and she for sure didn't like it!!

The Smith Family

Garage Sale Coma

Oh, and I broke my toe that morning....ignore the bad paint job...have you ever tried to paint your toenails with a 1 year old in the room??

And as promised...the new due!