Aloha!

Mark and I are off to Hawaii for 9 days - without the kids! I'll post when we get back, if not before. Aloha!

Tooth update...

I forgot to mention in my last post... Amanda had a dentist appointment yesterday. We actually went an entire 6 months this time!! Not injury-free, but not anything bad enough that I felt like I needed to take her back in. When your kid's dentist jokes that "we'll see you next week," you know you're a regular!



Anyway, we got another x-ray of those lovely front teeth. The front one on the left is definitely loose and moving down, but it's attached to enough bone that it could still be another 6 months before it comes out. Can I just say again what a miracle it is that the teeth have lasted this long??!!



She is so funny when we go to the dentist - she is so chatty and loves the ladies who work there and everything about going to the dentist. We made Andrew's first appointment for December, right after he turns 3 - I already warned them he would not be as much fun!!

Mommy's First Day...

Today I had the opportunity to volunteer in Amanda's class for the first time! It was a quick 2 1/2 hours of cutting out hundreds of pieces of black paper for the spider hats for their upcoming halloween party, and putting the final touches on the class scarecrow for the auction at tonight's Fall Festival. It was fun to see how the class works and to watch her amazing teacher in action!!

A few more fun things to mention...


We have started a new family devotional book, complete with Bible story and a project. Last week's topic was creation, and the activity was to cut pictures of things God made out of magazines and glue it onto a poster. Andrew & Amanda both loved it, and they both have their posters hanging in their room. Each day we thank God for all that He made!

Last week Lisa & I took the kids to the park for some fall pictures, with the promise that they could play if they were good. Colin did okay (he doesn't LOVE to cooperate), but the rest of them were had their smiles and were ready to pose! The pictures at the top of the blog are from that day... here are a few more cute ones. We were thankful for the beautiful weather and the opportunity to get outside!!

The photo shoot... aren't they cute??!!

Andrew and Colin running away from Lisa... and she's taking pictures!

Andrew discovers a fun hiding place at the park.

Nothing is quite as fun as spinning... and spinning... and spinning!

Loose Tooth, Pumpkin Patch, and Pinkeye!

Okay, I guess it's time for a real update, so this could be a long one!

First of all, Amanda has her first loose tooth! You may remember that almost a year ago, she whacked her teeth pretty well on Josh Price's head while they were here for a short visit, and we thought the two front teeth were goners. It's nothing short of a miracle they've lasted this long, because she's hit them multiple times since - but the one discolored tooth even returned to it's pearly white color. But now... finally... it is loose! Amanda loves showing people, and I encourage her to wiggle it every chance she gets. I'll keep you posted on it's progress!

Our next big event was Amanda's field trip to the Pumpkin Patch with her kindergarten class. With 26 kids and 20 parent volunteers (are all you teachers out there jealous??!!), we took up a whole bus by ourselves! (Amanda's first bus ride, since we live to close to the school for it to pick her up.) It was a cold day, but dry. We played on the playground for a bit, then headed off on a hayride to the pumpkins. Thank you to the wonderful people who tromped through the actual pumpkin patch, and brought the pumpkins for our kids to choose from to a small field, no vines, no mud - it was perfect! We ended with feeding the goats, and then headed back to school on the bus.

The whole class...

Amanda & Lauren show off their finds!

Amanda & Lauren enjoy the tire swing with a new friend!

Feeding the goats - probably how we got pinkeye!

And finally, we had our first "outbreak" of pinkeye. Not fun! It started with Amanda last Wednesday, and by that afternoon I knew we'd be making a visit to the doctor in the morning. She had to miss school and dance class! But she was happy she didn't get the eyedrops. Poor Mark - I left for the weekend with him in charge of not letting the pinkeye spread!

Of course, Monday I noticed Andrew's eyes getting a little runny, so made a quick call to the doctor and they called in a prescription without the visit.

They both are so much better now, although Andrew is scarred for life from ever getting eye drops! They're both troopers, and other than a few extra days at home, we did pretty well.

That's all for now... stay tuned for more from the Walter clan!

Happy Fall!

Happy Birthday, Mark!

Today is my amazing husband's birthday (I won't tell you how old he is!)... we started the day with some special birthday coffee cake, complete with a candle and singing. Well, technically Andrew & I started the day together at 5 am with him running a fever and trying to fight off the pink eye that he got from his sister... but that's another story!

Anyway, we don't have anything planned for tonight because he has his racquetball league game and I have my Moms in Touch group, so we wish him a fabulous day and the best of luck, and we'll celebrate soon in HAWAII!!

I'll update more later... for now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK ... WE LOVE YOU!

Veggie Tales, Power Paws & Tap!

A couple of weeks ago we went to see the Veggie Tales - Live! They were at our church for some special performances. We went with Grandpa, Miss Pennie, her son and his wife, and their daughters. Everyone had a great time!! (If you don't know about Veggie Tales, you must not have young kids!)

Andrew will tell you he sat in his own seat the whole time... which he did not. He was better than he was at the Wiggles, but still insisted on sitting with someone during the entire show. Amanda loved every minute of it, and was doing her best to dance even though we were in the middle of the row!!

Amanda has been talking about Power Paws from school lately. Apparently they are some sort of "award" (ie: piece of paper) you get for exhibiting the attributes of the "Life Skills" their school teaches. Amanda earned her first 2 yesterday during her reading group, and then came home with 4 today! I have a feeling we're going to have quite a collection by the end of the year.

Amanda is in dance again this year, and is in the Tap & Tumbling class. Here is a picture of her and her friends working on their fierce tap skills - Amanda is the third from the right in the pink (of course!) and braids.

Birthday Update!

We had lots of celebrations for Amanda's birthday - first she got to bring special snacks to share at school (M&M cookies), then we had dinner at a local pizza place... then last Saturday we had a birthday party for her girlfriends! She plays the Birthday Princess very well, and is enjoying being a 6-year-old. Thanks to all of you who sent cards and gifts... we are working on the Thank you cards as we speak! Enjoy the pictures (courtesy of Lisa!)...

Amanda celebrates with Great-Grandma Walter!

Ready, set, blow... what a great picture!

Riding on the carousel!

Thankful for our friends and family... Amanda with Emma, Lauren, and cousin Luke!

Girl time - we made princess wands,

then danced around the living room to Disney Princessess!

What's a party without dessert... have you figured out she likes pink??!!

To our Princess, may all your Birthday Wishes come true!!