A Senior and Two 3rd Graders!

First day of school.  Wow! Where did the summer go?  So much happened this summer.  I can't believe we are at the start of yet another school year.  One that I have not been looking forward to for 17 years. Tiffs Senior Year.  :-(

Everyone was excited this morning.  Everyone got up on time.  I think Hope & Maggie were confused and I think they wanted to go too.  (You can read about their day on their adoption blog).

Tiff left very early.  Like 6:50.  Actually that was late for her. She hoped to leave earlier.  She was picking up a few friends and of course had to take photos with them too.  I can't believe how much the girls have changed.  How on earth are they Senior's in High School already???  We were just sending Tiff off to Kindergarten.

First day of School 2000

LAST First Day of School 2012

Friends (holding their very 1st day of school photo)

Then it was time to take Abby & Jadyn to school.  THIRD Grade!  Seriously???  How can this be?  They are growing up way too fast.  They were excited. They could not wait.  I drove them and parked the car. I wanted to walk them to their class. I did not get to meet their teachers on Thursday because we were flying home from China.   The girls ate breakfast in the cafeteria (something they did every day last school year) and then we went to class. Their teachers seem really nice.  I hope and pray they have a fantastic school year.  

Miss Abby ready to go

Miss Jadyn is ready

Sisters Forever

Breakfast at school

Abby at her desk

Jadyn at her desk

Carline was insane as usual for the first day of school at dismissal. I waited almost 45 minutes.  The girls told me about their day. They had a good one. Jadyn complained because her teacher sent her home with homework.  Abby was sent home with homework for me. :-)  

Tiffani had band today so it was almost 7 PM when she got home from school.  And guess what?  Someone hit her car as they were backing out in the school parking lot.  Tiff did not get out to look at the car. The other girl did and Tiffs friend looked out the window. They did not see the dent.  Well there is a dent. Tiff has contacted her now but I bet it's too late.  Live and learn.  Not a fun lesson Bill wants her to learn right now.  :-(

THE DENT!!!  

Other than that, Tiff said she had a good day. She said her classes are going to be great this year.  I hope she is right.  

Praying day # 2 is even better than day #1.  

Does Not Feel Real

Today, I took Tiff to get her senior pictures taken.  I am in denial. There is no way that she is old enough to have senior pictures taken.  I wanted to cry while we were waiting for our turn.  But I didn't. I didn't want to embarrass her.  :-)  I don't know if I was allowed to take pictures, but I did. And I think the photographer saw me and he did not say anything.  So here are a few.  I can not wait to see the proofs. And then I plan on comparing her senior picture with my senior picture. :-)

Patiently waiting for our turn

After almost 2 hours of waiting, Time for pictures.

I promise I will be crying when she wears this for real. 

Summer Is Here!

Today is the last day of 2nd grade for Abby & Jadyn.  Where has the year gone?  It's been  good year for them. They loved their teachers.  Abby came home crying yesterday because yesterday was her teacher's last day (she has family obligations today).

Tiff finished school yesterday. She is officially a senior now.  Unfortunately she did not really pose for a picture for me.  She was home for 10 minutes to pack some clothes and then she was off with friends.  She is officially a senior now.  Makes me want to cry.

But, since Abby & Jadyn are still willing to take photos for me, I did snap a few this morning.  I will put a photo from the first day of school and from today, the last day of school.  My how they've grown!!!

August 23, 2011

June 8, 2012

First Day of School (yesterday)

Sorry this is a day late.  Bill & I ran errands all day while the girls were at school. 

The girls had a good first day of school. Abby & Jadyn acted like old pros.  They are big 2nd graders now you know.  :-)   Tiffani drove herself & a couple of friends to school. I was very nervous, but also happy that she did it.  She did text me and let me know they made it safely. 

Tiff is going to be busy the next 3 months with school & band. We won't be seeing much of her.  But that's okay. It's good to keep busy.  She is happy her school schedule finally got fixed and she has friends in her classes. 

Here are a few pictures we took yesterday morning.  Enjoy!

First Day of School Update

So, Abby & Jadyn loved their first day of school.  Abby said her teacher read them a book.  Jadyn said she met a new friend.  Jadyn said to me "Mommy, do you know that you can make a new friend by going up to her and asking if she wants to be your friend?"  I said "Yes, I knew this.  Did you do this today?"  She said 'Yes I did, and she said she would be my friend".  This is so out of Jadyn's comfort zone. Especially on the first day.  I'm so proud that she made a new friend.

Tiffani did not have such a fun day. Her schedule got changed and she did not realize it. So she went to the wrong class.  She also had band after school so she did not get home until 7 PM. Then she had about 2 hours of homework.  She was exhausted.  Thankfully today she had a much better day. She loves her new English class.  She said the teacher is really nice.

I pray that the school year will be a successful one for my girls.  So far, it seems to be going really well. 

First Day of School

Today started off good. Everyone woke up when they were supposed to wake up.  Everyone got dressed and ate breakfast on time.  And we even had time for me to take the annual 1st day of school photos.

Tiffani- a Sophomore

Abigail- a 1st grader

Jadyn- a 1st grader

Our girls, up bright & early

The girls in front of their school sign

After we got the girls off to school, Bill, Ethan & I headed off to our annual back to school breakfast at Chick Fil A.  When we arrived, the parking lot was empty, which is very unusual for our Chick Fil A.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  :-)

Ethan is ready to go

Ready for breakfast

Ethan loves Chick Fil A

Unfortunately, this storm chased us home after we ate

It is now pouring at our house.  Very dark here.  Ethan is taking an early nap.  I think I might do the same.  3 more hours until A & J are home.  We won't see T until 7 PM tonight, because she has marching band practice right after school. 

Until next time.......

A Night Out With Tiff

Yesterday morning was spent with Abby & Jadyn.  And last night was spent with Tiff.  It was the annual band awards.  We had dinner before the concert/awards.  Pasta & salad.  Yum!  It's so different having a child who is old enough to do her own thing, and not need me to get her food, or tell her it's time to go to the band room etc.  I was sitting with my friend at dinner and we were just chatting away.  We thought we should go to the auditorium and when we got there, our kids were on stage, practicing.  It was that moment that we realized how grown up they are getting.

I was looking forward to the night out.  But, I did not realize we would be out that long.  I was exhausted.  We arrived at school around 5:45.  We did not get home until almost 10 pm.  The awards took forever. And there really weren't that many awards handed out.  Just a lot of talking & clapping.

Tiff received her band letter & pin that she can put on her jacket, if she buys a jacket.  She does not think she will. I told her she can just wear her boyfriends, when she gets a boyfriend. LOL  (no we are not rushing that).

Here are a couple of photos from last night.  Enjoy!

  The mom's: Debbie (Josh), me, Barb (Ashley) & Kris (Brooks)

  The kids: Josh, Tiff, Ashley & Brooks

Learning New Things, Teeth Falling Out, Mother's Day Treat & Surgery Date

This week has been good.  Ethan is happier this week.  Praying the happiness will continue. :-)  We had an evaluation this week with a speech therapist and also a psychologist.  Ethan did great. They were impressed with how well adjusted he is, and how on target he is for his age.  The only thing we need to work on is communication.  Which we already knew.  So there were no surprises when we left.  Ethan will be getting speech therapy soon.  We're just waiting for it all to be scheduled.

They told us that we need to work with Ethan on saying some things.  They want him to be saying mama and dada (or sounds that represent us) within 3 months.  Well do you know what this stinker did?  He said MAMA that afternoon.  I was changing him and he said "mama" and laughed so hard.  He knew what he was doing.  And he knew that it would make me happy.  He's done it a few times.  And only when I'm changing him.  Since that moment, he has started saying "ow" and "u" (short u) for up.  He will also say "hi" when he wants to.  He grunts a lot and points at things.  So he's starting to understand language.

Ethan also figured out how to get up on the couch.  We watched him throw his leg up.  He's been trying for a little while, but he's so short, so it's harder for him.  Well, this day we were watching and he did it.  He was laughing so hard because he was so proud of himself.  Little man figured out how to get his little body up on the sofa.  So now we can't get him down. Of course, I'm nervous that he's going to fall off.

Jadyn has had a wiggle tooth for weeks.  she is terrified about pulling it.  She's been working at it and yesterday we noticed how loose it really was.  It needed to come out.  Well Jadyn was scared, and she cried so hard.  We've never seen her cry like this.  It was heartbreaking for me.  Well we had to get it out so we tried comforting her while Bill tried to get his fingers around the the tooth.  When he looked at it, he noticed the tooth next to it was about to fall out too.  She had 2 that were ready to come out.  She finally calmed down enough for Bill to get the 1st tooth out.  She was so happy.  After rinsing, she let Bill look at the 2nd tooth.  He barely touched it and it fell out.  We made a HUGE deal.  Jadyn was so happy.  Last night the tooth fairy came and gave her $2.00.  She was thrilled.

Today was Muffins for Moms at school.  I went to their classes. I spent about 10 minutes with Jadyn.  She gave me a muffin & juice.  We ate together and I read the note she left for me.  Then I went over and ate with Abby. I saw her note too. Precious!  The title of the letter is "My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world!"  Here is what Jadyn said:
-My mom's name is Debbie
-My mom has brown hair and blue eyes
-She is 16 feet tall and weighs 19 pounds
-My mom likes to eat chicken
-My mom is happy when she hugs me
-But I know she is really angry when we do bad things.
-My mom's favorite tv show is Biggest Loser
-My mom is smart. She knows all about books
-If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be to have a candle
-I love my mom because she helps me with homework

Here is what Abby said:
-My mom's name is Debbie Byrne
-My mom has brown hair and blue eyes
-She is 12 feet tall and weighs 12 pounds
-My mom likes to eat pizza
-My mom is happy when I hug her
-But I know she is really angry when I lie
-My mom's favorite tv show is Big Loser
-My mom is smart. She knows all aobut if Jadyn & I are lying
-If my mom would have one wish come true, it would be for a clean earth
-I love my mom because she is cute.

I just love their answers.  And I love how they answered a few the same. Made me smile!  They also planted a plant for me in a decorated flower pot, and made me a ladybug card.  I had a great morning with the girls. Very special moments

I called the surgeon again yesterday.  Apparently the surgeon & orthodontist had a meeting Tuesday night.  They have decided to do the lip repair surgery at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. I did not understand why we are going to a new hospital.  The receptionist said that the orthodontist is going to be putting in a new appliance in Ethan's mouth. They will be taking the Latham out.  They need to have something in his mouth so it won't collapse.  So, the orthodontist tech will take a mold of Ethan's mouth at the beginning of surgery, and then go to the office (which is close to this hospital) and make the appliance. The surgeon will then do the lip repair.  Hopefully by time he is finished, the appliance will be ready to put in his mouth.  The surgery is scheduled for Friday May 28 at 7:30 am.  3 more weeks.

So, this has turned into a long update. :-) I guess a lot has gone on this week.  Tonight I'm going to the high school band banquet with Tiff.  I'm excited to spend this time with her.  Of course I will take my camera and hopefully get some good pictures of the "big" kids.

Until next time....

Falcon Festival 2010

Tonight was the annual Falcon Festival at the girls elementary school.  This was our first year going.  The girls were so excited.  They each had 20 tickets to play games.  They had so much fun.  It was great watching them.  Jadyn of course wanted her face painted. So while she waited in the long line, Abby played games.  The night was perfect, with the exception of the weather.  It's March 5th right?  Well we were FREEZING!

Ethan did great too. He just sat in the stroller. I was surprised that he did not cry with how cold it was.  He made it about 1 1/2 hours and then he was done.  And so were we. 

I have a lot of photos in this slide show.  I hope you enjoy them. 

Until next time....