That's my girl!!

Regan is wearing her Disney Princesses nightgown. She came up to me out of the blue and said:
"Mommy, I don't want princesses on my gown. Do you think you could get me a nightgown that has QWEENs all over it?"

It was such a Regan statement, I had to write it down somewhere to remember it. Take care!

School Festival

St. John Early Childhood Center had its annual Nursery Rhyme Festival recently, so here are some pictures. The kids were suppose to dress up like a nursery rhyme character, but mine did not want to participate. We had great ideas, like jack and jill, Mary had a little lamb, jack be nimble, etc, but none of them would wear anything fun. So we went as Regan, Dylan, and Adam.

This is Adam and his new girlfriend. They were so cute together!

Adam finishing off a cookie

Searching for more prizes

Adam's class photo

This was actually Adam's last day of preschool for the year. I decided to pull him out and wait another year before starting him. He was having a hard time adjusting, so it wasn't worth it. I think he will be ready next year.

Regan had a blast riding the train

Princess Regan and Prince Charlie...she talks about him nonstop!

Regan's class photo

Dylan riding the train

Dylan wishing on a star! So sweet!

Dylan's class photo

Everyone here is doing good. We are all recovering from colds, sinus infections, etc. Regan and Dylan have their first school "field trip" this Friday to The Oil Ranch. I will be going (of course), so I will post lots of pictures next weekend.

Hope everyone is doing good!

Wendy

Catching up!

I know, I know...it has been a LONG time! I have no excuses.

Hurricane update:

We survived! We were very lucky! Our house took a small hit, some up-rooted trees, a blown down fence (portion), and a broken window. Nothing very dramatic! We were without power for 3 days, but luckily my mom had power, so we stayed there. I did make the kids sleep in the guest bathroom under the stairs for fear of tornados. The wind was VERY loud and the windows did shake! It was scary, to say the least.

School update:

Regan and Dylan are doing great in school! They never even mention being in different classes. I guess they get enough of each other at home :) Since the storm (and the 2 week break they had from school - week of illness, then week of post-storm cleanup) neither have had a problem going into class. They are both shy kids, so it takes a little prying them off my leg most mornings. The past 2 school days have been easy!

Adam is still having a hard time adjusting to me leaving each morning. His teacher does say that he is getting better, but the first hour or so is all tears. It is pitiful to watch (through the one-way glass).

Marathon update:

My friend, Janice, and I are up to running 5 miles. This is amazing to me, simply because I am not sure that I have ever run 5 miles total in my life prior to starting this, much less all at one time. We are averaging an 11.5 minute mile.

Mark is running a lot more! He is suppose to run 17 miles one day this week. CRAZY!!!

Kids update:

Regan - She is getting so big, so fast. She is still very petite, but has a huge personality. She weighs 34 pounds and is 40 inches tall. I know this because we had to visit the doc yesterday for a swollen foot and hand. She was biten by some mosquitos (VERY BAD sworms since the storm) and her foot and hand swelled up and bruised. The doc put her on steroids (for swelling) and an antibiotic to knock out infections. It is much better today. Her vocabulary is amazing for a 4 year old. She will talk your ear off and asks a million questions every hour. She doesn't skip a beat when she is talking to you. Every word comes so easily to her. She knows exactly what she wants to say, and she says it. She is not the "girly" girl that I always thought I would have, but she is just like me...imagine that. I still get to dress her cute and make bows for her hair...for now anyway. I don't imagine that it will be that way for very much longer. I keep trying to convince her to take dance class, but she wants nothing to do with it. She prefers karate and soccer (not that there is anything wrong with either of those activities, they just don't wear tu-tu's). I am holding on to gymnastics as long as I can :) She is really good at gymnastics, and just got moved to a higher level class (her and Dylan both). Her favorite toy is the bug catcher that she collects worms, love bugs, and lizards in. She will spend all day outside digging in the flowerbeds for bugs. Nice. She is also a dog lover...hmmm, wonder who she gets that from? She gets up every morning and goes straight to the dogs to tell them good morning and feeds them. So sweet. She also loves helping take care of Adam. She plays the "mom" in our house, and the boys pretend to be her kids. It is so funny to hear some of the things I say! Her nickname is still "Princess", and it will be until she stops responding to it!

Dylan - He has passed Regan signifiantly on the growth charts. Last weigh in he was 40 pounds and 41.5 inches tall. He is still my sensitive child, very emotional and sweet. He is constantly coming up to me saying "I love you" for no reason. The latest thing is "Mom, you are the best". It sounds so grown up....Mom. He has started sticking up for himself a little more. He will get mad at Regan when so doesn't give him an opportunity to talk (A big reason we chose different classes this year). I love seeing that tougher side come out of him. His favorite activity is swimming...by far. He talks about it everyday. It doesn't matter if there is a hurricane outside, he wants to go swimming. He is very good at it too. He can stay under water forever. This is amazing considering how bad his asthma is. Even his asthma doc was impressed that he likes swimming. She said most asthma patients find it uncomfortable, and he is a "true asthmatic". Speaking of asthma, we have had a great summer...hospital free. Lets hope that this fall is just as health friendly to us! Dylan is getting better at wearing his glasses. I think he realizes that it is easier to see with them on. I do still find them in crazy places, but recently I noticed that he was putting them on without me asking him too. That is a huge step! He is the best big brother to Adam! They will play and wrestle until I make them stop for fear of someone getting seriously hurt. I always call Dylan "D", but he has recently asked me to not call him that. It is so hard to stop...it just comes out of habit. His nickname is "Handsome", and I am sure that one will have to go too. I will continue using it until he asks me to stop :(

Adam - Crazy man. I think he is around 24 pounds, but no idea on the height (yes, he is the 3rd child). He is quite the character. He loves anything relating to a ball. Baseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf....you name it. He is also very good at hitting, kicking, throwing, swinging, etc. All of the neighbors are convinced that he will play pro sports one day. How often do you see a 2-year-old dragging a baseball tee, baseball bat and ball out of the garage, down the driveway, and into the cul-de-sac to play ball with the big boys? It is so cute. I will have to get a pic one day soon! He is in a big boy toddler bed now and we are attempting potty training. I know he is physically ready, just not interested yet. He is still attached to his paci and the famous "rags" that Regan introduced him to. Adam is also a very picky eater. It is a job just getting him to eat. He is very small for his age. He looks a lot like Regan and has a very similar personality. He is VERY independent and knows how to throw a good tantrum. Hard headed to say the least. He also has a sensitive side to him (in his momma's boy mode) and will cuddle and say "I wuv you mommy". So sweet! He also LOVES gymnastics! whoo hoo!! (but so did Regan and Dylan at this age!) The coaches keep telling me that he will go into an advanced preschool class when he graduates from mommy and me class (3-yrs-old AND potty trained). He likes to help Regan dig for bugs and play monster with Dylan. I love that the 3 of them are so close in age, they really do play well together (most of the time). His nickname is "Monkey" and it fits him perfectly. He will climb ANYTHING...you name it, anything. His goal is to be up higher than anyone else in the room. Crazy kid.

This picture should be an advertisement pic for those saftey nets across your driveway to prevent kids from running into the street!!! AUGHHH!!!

Sorry for the long post...lots of reading. I hope everyone is good!

Love,
Wendy

First day of Pre-school

Wow, what a day! All three kids gone for 5 full hours. It was amazing.

We got up early this morning, prepared 3 lunches, packed 3 backpacks, got 3 napmats covered and packed into the car, ate breakfast, got 3 little ones dressed, brushed teeth, combed hair, then 2 of them had to change clothes because of toothpaste of their shirts, took pictures, went potty, changed a diaper, and loaded the minivan for preschool.....whew.

Everything was going great as we walked into the building. Adam was clueless about what was going on, he is used to dropping Regan and Dylan off at school, then coming home with Mom. We dropped Adam off first, and he went right in to blow bubbles with his teacher. I was able to put away his stuff, sign him in, and talk a little to the teacher aide before I went over to tell him goodbye. I said "Mommy's going now, I will see you later okay?" He said "Okay momma". As I started to walk away, he followed saying "wait mommy, wait". I told him to go blow bubbles with your friends, and I will see you later". He said okay and went to blow more bubbles. We left for Dylan's room.

Dylan froze at the door. I had to about shove him into the room. He was very quiet and withdrawn, but no tears. I told him I would be back right after rest time, and he said okay. He didn't want to sit at the table, so his teacher aide came and sat with him to help him write his name. He seemed fine when we left for Regan's room.

Regan stayed attached to my leg the ENTIRE time I was unpacking her stuff. We met a couple of friends and talked to the teacher a little, but she was not budging. I had to pry her off of me while she cried and I gave her to the teacher. She always has a hard time in the beginning, but experience has shown that she is fine after a while.

As I walked out the front door of the school, I felt a huge sense of relief, a little sadness, and a lot of trust in the school and teachers. St John is by far the BEST preschool. I just can't say enough about it. Regan and Dylan have been there since they were 18 months old, so everyone knows us well. It feels like family.

When I went to pick them up this afternoon, I thought I would start with Regan since she had the hardest time this morning. She was still napping, and the teacher said she had a GREAT day! She cried for about 5 minutes and then was fine the rest of the day. Same story with Dylan. He had a GREAT day, but did shed some tears after I left earlier. He was fine after a few minutes.

Adam was a different story. He was in the teachers arms when we got there, and apparently had been in her arms most of the day. She said "he really missed you mommy". The teacher was able to distract him a little on the playground to watch the birds, and then again at lunch, but that was it. Poor baby was so sad. His voice was hoarse and his eyes were so red. Friday is going to a rough drop off. Hopefully it will get better with time. His teachers are great, so I know he is in good hands.

When we got home, we celebrated with some ice cream cone cup cakes. Everyone was in a great mood before we even drove up the driveway (3 minutes from the school). I think we will all sleep good tonight.

Love, Wendy

Meet the Teachers!

Tonight was meet the teachers at the kids preschool. They did such a great job! I read the teacher cards to them on Friday, letting them know that Regan and Dylan would be in different classes, and they didn't really even flinch at the thought. Dylan has said once that he wants to be in Regan's class, and after tonight, Regan mentioned that she wanted to be in Dylan's class, but no fits, crying, drama...you know....the typical Yamasaki kids reaction. I was SHOCKED, to say the least. I guess it was more my anxiety than theirs....THANK GOODNESS! Let's hope and pray that Wednesday goes equally as smooth! Enjoy the pics!







Tomorrow evening we have our first Free Trial TaeKwanDo class. It should be very interesting. They keep talking about karate, and practice kicks on each other (I know, scary!), so I figured this might be the route to take. The hard part for them will be deciding which sport they want to continue with, Karate or gymnastics. Adam will stay in gymnastics because he LOVES it, and he is too young for TaeKwanDo. I will keep you updated with their selection.

I ran a little over 3 miles this morning, and about died. I am starting to think that this is an awful lot of pain and exhaustion just to say I ran a "half marathon". I told my friend that if we were running the FULL marathon, it might be worth it.....she said "well, we just wouldn't be alive at the finish line to tell anyone that we ran a full marathon!" She is so right. As I was STILL struggling this morning after my 3 miles of torture, Mark came be-bopping in the house after his 9 mile run. And, he even goes when I get home, which makes it harder because it is hotter outside by then. I am not giving up, just venting. It has got to get easier. On the brighter side, I do feel healthier and more tone than before I started running. Next weekend will be 4 miles...wish me luck!

Take care!

Staying busy this summer!

Last weekend we went to Austin to spend time with Dave, Kim, Cole & Ryan. Everyone had a great time playing the Wii, X-box, DS, Rock band hero (or whatever they are all called!) Dave has it all!! Now mine want it. Thanks! We woke up bright and early Sunday morning and made our way to The Schlitterbahn! Whoo Hoo! Of course, when you are with my brother, you are organized...so we were early and were able to ride several slides before the crowds hit. Dylan was brave enough to take on the body slides (soda straws) and another I don't know the name of. We all rode the tube shute ride, and Adam was less than thrilled. He cried the whole way down, and unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about it until we made it to the bottom. Regan on the other hand, laughed the entire way. She loved the tube slide. Most of the day was spent at the smaller kid areas. Thanks to Dave and Kim, Cole and Ryan for a GREAT time!

On our way out of town, we stopped to visit a couple of long lost friends - Anna and Darrell. Anna and I were roommates/sorority sisters in college. It was great to see them and catch up while all 3 of mine and one of hers slept.

This week we are trying to get ready for back to pre-school! I am SO READY to have a few days to myself each week. I think I will sleep for the first couple of weeks, and then start on all the projects I have planned. It is amazing what can be done in 5 hours without kids in the house! Regan and Dylan will be going into separate classes this year. I have yet to tell them that part...I think it is best to wait until the day before "meet the teachers". I know that if I tell them now, they will spend the next week stressing over it and building up a fear of starting school. It is the best decision for them (to be in different classes), and I have no doubt that they will be okay with it eventually.

Mark and I will be enjoying a much needed trip to Puerta Vallerta (sp?) at the end of the month. With all of the traveling he did last year (4 days a week), he earned enough Marriott Rewards points for an all-inclusive vacation for the both of us. Had there only been enough points for one of us, I would have been lonely on the beach by myself! :) It was a rough year for both of us, so this trip will be a nice reward.

I need to get back into the habit of taking pictures like I used to. Actually, I need to get a smaller camera to take with me in my purse. Mark would KILL me if he knew I was wanting a different camera after the investment he made in the one I have. But, realistically, I can't carry that huge camera with me everywhere I go. Any suggestions on a good purse size digital camera (not too pricey) would be great!

Last month, we celebrated my friend and neighbor's 40th birthday at a party down the street. The hit of the party was a cartoon artist drawing all the couple's pictures. Can you find ours???

I hope everyone is doing good! I promise to get better at posting more! :)

Love, Wendy