5 LITTLE MONKEY'S JUMPING ON MY HEAD!!: September 2009

One Decade!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!

Austin turned 10 on May 14th. I still can't bring myself to believe that I am the parent of a 10 year old. This also marks the end of my first decade as a parent. This is the hardest birthday for me to swallow. I look at this boy and I can't even say little boy anymore because he is a young man. I walk next to this boy and am blown away at how close he is to looking me right in the eye, which makes me want to shrink him now because I know one day not too far away he will pass me in height. But other than height we are starting to see eye to eye in other things to. Austin can discuss things with his parents, and he is teaching us the art of giving your child space and not treating him the same way I treat his 4 year old brother. I will admit it is hard for me to let go of being the over protective, hovering mother. It is hard being the oldest child and having to teach your parents how to do things. I know being the oldest child in my family, so I try to be a little sympathetic to his request of "Mom I need some freedom!"

Austin had a monster truck birthday and the past couple of years the number one requested gift has been the all mighty dollar.

Austin and his brothers counting the loot!!!!!

I have really seen Austin grow a lot this past year. It is a bitter, sweet thing for me. I still remember bringing this tiny little baby home from the hospital and thinking "OK, now what?" Austin has taught me so much about love and compassion. Also about forgiveness, like a child he can forgive and love his parents despite all the mistakes that we make. Austin is turning into a very fun young man and we are so happy that he is part of our family. Austin's brothers look up to him so much and watch everything that he does. I am glad that Austin came to our family!

The lovely monster truck cake, I have made a few of these over the years. Austin has been true to his first love of cars and trucks. The first toys Austin ever played with were ones that rolled.

Aurora Scholar of the Year

Preston has always been a super star student. He teacher's consistently gush about what a great student Preston is and how thoughtful and caring he is. This year Preston won the Aurora Scholar of the Year for 2nd grade for his school. The teachers in each grade nominated a student from each class and then they chose one student from each grade to receive the award. The Aurora Scholar is someone who is consistently a good student, a good citizen, a good friend ,and an all around good kid. Preston got to go to the city of Aurora building and get his award from a member of the city counsel. Preston was very excited and we were all so proud of him and the good student that he is.

Here is Preston with his "Key to the Future"

Preston and Mom with Ms. Kenyon the principal at his school. (Aidan had to show how happy he was to be there too)

Congratulations Preston!!!!!

1 YEAR OLD!!!!

Logan turned 1 April 24th!!!

Time has gone by so fast!!

It seems like we were just here with our brand new baby.

Logan really was a dream baby. I can say that because I have had other babies (who I love dearly) who were not so easy. The day Logan was born was a crazy day. I had just gone to the doctor to have my blood pressure checked and it turned into a hurry and get to the hospital so we can induce you appointment. I was super happy to have Logan 10 days early but had to make a pit stop on the way to to hospital. In the days before Brian and I had cell phones things got a little complicated, Brian had taken Carter and Aidan to the zoo that morning with preschool. Luckily the teachers knew right where they were so I found Brian right away and we all headed to the hospital. Labor and delivery all went pretty smooth, except for a epidural that left me with a epidural headache for 10 days after Logan was born (I was fine as long as I laid down but instant migraine if I stood up). Logan came out screaming and proceeded to scream for a full hour after he was born. He was not happy to be out but after the crying he became a sleepy baby. Logan was very hard to wake up and wanted to sleep more than he wanted to eat for the first few weeks.

Logan has been so happy and brought so much joy to our family. When I run errands with Logan sometimes I forget he is with me because he is just happy to hang out in his stroller and take everything in. We never had any of the late afternoon, early evening fussiness that some of his brothers had. Logan would just hang out in his bouncy seat or play on the floor and fall asleep if he was tired. He has been a super sleeper and has slept through the night since he was 3 months old. Now these are all 12 month stats some of the angle baby has turned into crazy Condie boy, but I will save that for Logan's next post.

We had a fun little party for Logan!
Logan was so funny when we sang Happy Birthday to him. He just sat a stared at everyone and then got a little upset that we were all looking at him and singing to him.