"Thirty, flirty and thriving"

If you haven't seen the movie "13 going on 30," it's pretty cute.  The 13 year old makes a wish to be "Thirty, flirty and thriving" like the woman on the cover of a magazine.  

David finally turned 30 this month.  I say finally, because he's been ready for this for a long time!  He was always the kid who hung out with the older kids at school.  Then he married an older woman (I was 22, he was 20).  So, I'm glad we are both in our thirties now!

Notice David's Georgia t-shirt.  He went to his first Georgia bulldog's football game on his birthday!  If you don't know, football is like a religion here in the South.  People pay big bucks for tickets, women wear heels and fancy dresses, and everyone drinks way too much at the pre-game and post-game tailgate parties. (Wait a minute, that sounds nothing like a religion!)  

  Kids singing Happy Birthday

Tickle Chamber.  This is a game I try to avoid getting involved with.  Claire sure loves it, though.  One of the reasons we needed to have kids was so that David would have someone other than me to torture with his tickling.

Growing Up

Ethan started preschool 3 mornings/week at Winterville First Baptist Preschool, just 2 blocks from home.  HE LOVES IT!  I couldn't be happier with his teachers and with his school.  It is an answer to prayers.

Ethan and Mrs. Nancy.  His two teachers sent him a letter and photograph in the mail a month before school started, and he immediately responded with a letter of his own.

  

Ethan's class is comprised of eleven 4-year-olds.  He is one of two boys.

 

His teachers are really good about informing us about what activities are coming up.  Ethan has something to look forward to each morning as he's getting ready for school.  After school, Ethan is always very excited to show me his new creations! 

Claire the two-year-old

 

Claire is growing up, too.  We finally gave up on her highchair, and now she enjoys "big girl" status at the table.  She still sleeps in her crib, although she climbs out and lets herself into our room each morning on her own.  (Sometimes she climbs out at night and we find her on the floor with her friends).

  

She still sleeps with Bunny and "Dup-dup," although I've trimmed all her pacifiers to make them less enjoyable.  This photo was taken before the most recent trimming.  

 Naptime is a thing of the past... Claire has too many fun things to do, like setting up her tea set, putting down her stuffed animals for naps, watching Maisy Mouse videos over and over, and chasing Ethan around.  Here she is playing goalie during Ethan's soccer practice.     

And here she is wearing mascara for the first time:
 

When I was pregnant with Claire, people sometimes asked me, "So, you're ready for another one, huh?"  I would respond, "No, but Ethan needs someone to play with."  Well now, two years later, the kids are finally coming into an age when they can play together and truly enjoy each other's company.  I love hearing the sounds of them laughing and playing together! 

August craziness

Well, if we were too relaxed in June and July, we made up for that in August.

First of all, David returned to graduate student life at UGA.  He teaches an undergraduate course on Educational Technology three times per week (somewhat similar to the course he taught in Oman, except now he's just "David" instead of "Doctor David.").  Several of David's students are athletes, and so despite his feelings about UGA's football culture, he actually bought season tickets to the games this year.  David attends a class on Friday evenings (lame!) and works on analyzing his dissertation research whenever he can.

David bought a cute Vino scooter to get him to class this year.  

He can get up to 40mph going downhill!

 Ethan and Claire love the scooter, too.

I can take turns at 10mph (I don't leave the neighborhood)

Filling up the scooter with gas

 

I began working a couple afternoons/week at a private speech and language clinic this month.  I only have a few clients so far, but I love working with preschoolers and educating their parents about techniques they can use at home to develop their children's communication skills. 

David stays home with the kids while I'm at work.  After my first day at work, I came home to find these notes on the door from Ethan:

The biggest shocker of the month came when I was called to be the president of the Primary organization at church.  Wow!  That means I preside over the Sunday school teachers, cub scout leaders, and other staff who work with children ages 18months to 12 years.  Fortunately, I already know most of the kids at church since I was the children's music leader before we went to Oman.  Unfortunately, morning sickness kicked in the day after I was called as Primary President.  It's a bit overwhelming, but I have an awesome secretary and counselors to work with, and I think it will be a great experience.  Here's a picture of our new church building:

Ethan began soccer this month, and loves having his Daddy as his coach!  (David was the only parent to volunteered for the job).  His team is made up of 4 and 5 year olds.  David had never coached before, but he did some research online and has come up with a lot of fun games for the kids.  Claire and I come to practices, where I spend most of the time keeping Claire off the field and out of my purse. 

Speaking of Claire, she has become quite a funny little girl.  She's not the same angel she was a few months ago (after all, she did turn 2 in June) but she sure has a lot of personality.  She talks very well (and very much) for her age, she loves to sing, and she is the most wiggly thing I have ever seen.  Sometimes I think she was destined to be a trapeze artist.  Here she is doing stunts from her highchair at dinner time:

Claire also enjoys the visual arts.  A few weeks ago after an early-morning drive to the airport, David set the kids up with a video and went to our room for a nap.  He awoke to the sound of Ethan's voice, saying, "No, Claire!  No pens on the couch!"  She managed to draw "circles" on each cushion of our two white couches.  David spend the next few hours applying 75% rubbing alcohol to the microfiber.

Meanwhile, I was thousands of miles away in Seattle, celebrating the wedding of my stepbrother Scott and his wife Kristen.  It was a beautiful wedding, and I enjoyed hanging out with my mom, John, Jared and Emery.  We also got to see my stepsister Johnna and Ryan, and John's sister Cheryl and her family.  It was fun to be back in Seattle again, but after 2 years of summer weather, 70 degrees sure felt cold!  We didn't have time for much sight-seeing, but I did buy a box of my favorite Chukar Cherries at the airport.

 

Flower girl and ring bearer.

 

Emery, Johnna, Mom, Me

 

John and Jared waiting patiently for us girls at the make-up counter.

 

My beautiful little sister.  Can you believe we have the same mother?  

I guess I missed out on the Japanese genes.  

 

Last month of "vacation"

We were still being lazy bums in July.  

Happy 9-year anniversary!

s

4th of July Parade in Colbert, GA

 

 

Boiled Peanuts-- this is sooooo Georgia

Old-timey political rally...notice the white-haired folk in lawn chairs.

 

Parade loot (that's a gallon-size bag, BTW)

SPARKLERS!

What kind of parents give flaming objects to 2 year olds?!  

(See video at end of post)

 

Ethan was scared to hold one at first, until he watched Claire do it!

 

LDS temple in Columbia, SC (3hr drive)

Our closest temple in Atlanta is closed for renovation.

 

 

 The kids got excited about spotting fire hydrants this month... 

One of the many novelties of the U.S. not found in Oman.

Cute little SPELLER.  Ethan began spelling around his 4th birthday.  I always thought kids had to learn how to read before they could learn how to spell.  It's so amazing to me to watch Ethan sound words out!

Ethan's version and my translation

 

Claire loves drawing circles.  

She also loves giving me these sneaky looks from underneath her bangs.  

 

Just a random picture.

 

David's response to the random picture above.

June was a pretty rough month for the family, presumably because the kids were adjusting to their new life in Georgia.  Ethan and I created this rule chart together, and we've seen HUGE improvements in behavior.  Not like we didn't have rules before... but it helps to have a visual reminder  hanging on the wall.

 .

Block Party 2010!!!  This is becoming a summer tradition.  We host a potluck BBQ and invite all the neighbors.  David provided the homemade Gelato.

 

Not a huge turnout this year, but we had a good time.

 

My handy husband and helpful Ethan changing the brakes on the Equinox.

Here's a video of Claire with sparklers.  I'm so glad she didn't manage to set her dress on fire.  

How would I have explained that to children's protective services??