Well, here are just some cute random pictures....Cody made calzones a few weeks ago and the kids all had their own jobs and they did a great job! They love to cook with dad and he's so patient and he lets them all do their thing....they got more flour on themselves than on the dough but they're all smiling to the night was a success. He had extra dough so the next night, they got out the rolling pins again and made fruit turnovers for dessert and they were yummy. Good kids, good dad = fabulous night!
I know many people had such wonderful posts about the Olympics and we were just like the others....we stayed up late every night and we loved watching Michael Phelps, Volleyball was fantastic, we always love to watch diving and track and field was exciting. Cody couldn't figure out why they showed the whole women's marathon....but other than that, we loved every minute that we watched and by the end of the whole thing, we watched way too much because we were exhausted. We were almost glad to see the closing ceremonies so we could finally get some sleep! The kids sat up with us a lot of nights as well and we made a party of it. They're all night owls so we stayed up late and slept in the next mornings....aah, the mornings before school!
Avery is getting too big, too fast and I haven't posted many pictures lately. She is constantly cracking us up and we all get a big kick out of watching her. I'm sure she's going to clue in to this soon, so we'll enjoy it while she's still innocently cute! Her thing right now is saying "hi" and "bye" to everyone as they come into a room and as they leave the room. It's so cute because it's actually "ha" and "bah" with a sweet little wave and a soft voice. She also says, "Yes", emphasis on the sss if you ask her any question. She loves to say "Mom" and I love that she loves it! She is still very much a mom's girl and I love it! She loves to sing (her favorite part of nursery) and will now do "rocks" to anyone holding a fist. She loves her brother and sisters and she really misses them while they're at school. We dropped Bailey off at school the other day and she cried when she shut the door.
She loves her blanket and is having a little bit of a hard time in nursery. We take her blanket every week because I've been sneaking out when she gets occupied and when she sees me leaving or looks around and misses me, she buries her face in her blanket and lays face down on the floor and cries for a minute. She's pretty good after that, but she has to have that blanket (and I'm sure the nursery leaders appreciate that too). It's so sad, but it doesn't last long.
She never sits still, loves to punch letters on the computer keyboard, gives kisses and hugs so sweetly, she's quick (as the people in the front 3 benches at church can attest as Brittany made a mad dash to get her before she hit the stand the last two weeks in church). I love her and she really makes our family complete. As Brittany said today, "I wouldn't trade her for anything!"
I had a hard time sending Brit to school this year....for starters, I really loved having her and Bailey at home this summer because I was able to get some work done. I had 2 babysitters who were happy to help because they got paid to do it. :) They actually told me I didn't have to pay them, but now at least they have some spending money, which they love. I also had mixed feelings because I dropped her off and watched all of the other kids go in ahead of us and wondered how my little Brittany was going to do with all of these giant kids with grown up bodies (I tried to put that in a delicate way, but some of the girls look more mature than I do) and when I picked her up, it was exactly the same only there were a lot more girls that were hugging on boys and flipping out their cell phones...It's a whole new world this year but she seems very happy there and she really loves her classes and is getting the hang of everything. Lunch seemed to be the hardest because there are so many kids at one time and not a lot of her friends were in her lunch, but she has found some cute friends and is liking it much better. She is doing better than I am, I guess. :)
Bailey was really excited to go back to school, I think. I asked her the night before if she was excited for school or to see her friends....guess what her answer was? She's my little social butterfly and she loves her teacher and even though all of her friends aren't in her class, she sees them all at recess and lunch so she's fine with it all. She's running for Secretary of the Student Council so that's been exciting. I haven't gotten my act together, but I'm glad she has. She's been great to hang in there with me and she always make me feel like I'm doing a great job, when I'm really not. She's off to a wonderful start and I'm looking forward to a wonderful year for her. She has been such a big help and has really taken charge of a lot of things....she comes right home and does her homework, which is a new thing, she gets everyone a snack and watches the kids if I need a little help. She's been so much fun (not that she wasn't before) but you can tell, school agrees with her. 
I think the saddest part of watching them go to school was watching Carson and Avery after they were gone. They've been so used to having Brittany & Bailey to play with that they were kind of lost for a couple of days. Carson has really stepped up and has been taking such good care of Avery. They're so cute together and I love that he gets her blanket, picks up her juice for her, tries to carry her around and calls her "Aves". They're so sweet, but I know they still miss their sisters! I guess we'll just start looking forward to Christmas break. :)
