The First Graduation

Bliss has reached a milestone...he/we survived our first year of school! Thanks to Mrs. Lee and all the other teachers at Banks-Caddell, Bliss did superb. We are really happy with all that he has accomplished...reading, writing, basic math, music, art, computer, and his most proud achievement....1st place in the foot race at field day.

Bliss received an invitation to attend the magnet school next year and he was really excited until we found out that we were leaving this summer. We assured him there would be new opportunities in his new school.

Apparently, Bliss was a Science Fair winner too. His is the top poster. He decided on what to draw, and drew and labeled everything himself. He loves animals and especially those found in the ocean, so this was the perfect theme for a science fair.

Kipp's One!

This little guy has already turned 1! Can you believe it?! I can't!
He is such a joy to have in our home and in my life.
Kipp weighed in at 19 lbs 4 oz and 29 3/4 in(?) at his check-up. He did not appreciate all the poking and prodding...can't blame him.
Just a few Kipp facts:
His eyes are so dark that you can't even see his irises...a first in our family.
He is an early riser, getting up around 6-6:30 each morning. If he sleeps to 7 I'm lucky. Again a first in our family...but I think it has to do with everyone getting up when I get Bliss up for school.
He took his first official steps the day after his birthday and is improving every day.
He doesn't mind wearing hats, which is a good thing since he has very little hair. Loving this new one we found for him.
He has 8 teeth and his molars are cutting right now. Ouch!
He loves playing with his brothers and sister and adores his Dad. I guess Mom's not too shabby either.
He has been totally on table food for a little over a month and dropped the nursing all on his own around 11 months...another first for me.
He, like his siblings, has the most amazing eyelashes. I'm jealous!
He makes the most expressive faces.
He prefers laying down on his own to go to sleep over me rocking him. And he always lays his head on or up against his stuffed elephant I made for him.
He loves going outside and will even settle for looking out the window when we can't go play outdoors.

Again, I can hardly believe how quickly this first year has gone. There are so many other things about this wonderful little boy that I haven't listed here. Looking forward to all the years that lie ahead.

Space and Rocket Center Trip

Finally getting the pictures of our Space and Rocket Center trip up. Bliss spotted his name right off in this article about the rocket program being moved from Fort Bliss, TX to Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal in the 1950s. He thought it was cool that he shares a name with an Army base.

Going by all the exhibits quickly. Of course, they just liked looking at the pictures. When there was actual space gear or equipment...they loved it.

Our little astronauts. Funny thing though, no one wants to be an astronaut because Bliss says it's too dangerous. Which I can't blame them, space sort-of freaks me out.

We visited the Space and Rocket Center when Great-Grandma Archibald was here. Not sure what look Zade was going for here. Thanks Grandma for sending all the pictures.

One last picture with the astronaut bust outside.
It's a great place to visit and recommend it to anyone passing through. They also are part of the Science Center passport program, so they honor most other science centers passes.

Literary Confession

I know I threw all those posts out there last week and then left a few days. I just got pictures from the Space and Rocket Center and I'll get those up.
But I want to confess something. I can feel my older sis's gaze on me...maybe more of a glare once she reads this.
I've never read Jane Eyre.

I know, I know...it's a classic.
I had a choice in 12th grade English on my books. In typical Sara fashion, I read things I'd never heard of. Sometimes it paid off, others not. One that did was Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurier. Great book. I highly recommend it. The others must not have been that great, because I don't remember what I chose.
I was a bit apprehensive to start it. I bought a copy of Jane Eyre almost a year ago. Picked it up in the thrift store for $1 and it's sat on my shelf of "to read" books since then.
So why did I decide to pick it up finally?
1) A new movie of Jane Eyre came out last year and I wanted to see it, but I wanted to read it first.
2) My local library is recarpeting the fiction area and they have packed up most of their books. And I don't even want to go look through what they've kept out.
I'm really enjoying it and I'm not getting lost in the language which can happen if I'm not focusing.
So go our and read something on your "to read" list that you've been avoiding for years.
My next pick?
Anna Karenina...maybe. I need to tackle some classics.

Isla's 3

I'm getting caught up folks. After Easter is Isla's birthday. The day she was born was actually the day before Easter that year.
Here's the lone photo I took of her birthday. I'm horrible. But I was really busy that day. Grandma Archibald flew in that day and then I had to get ready for a sewing activity I was leading at church that night with the Young Women. It was more than I thought it was going to be...my poor planning I guess. Anyway, Isla did get her requested fruit pizza en lieu of a birthday cake. My kids just don't eat cake, so I decided it wasn't worth going through all that trouble to decorate some fancy cake.
One of her favorite gifts came from my parents. This cute baby stroller. It can be a pram, a stroller, or a carrier. Kipp tries to climb in it.

I promise to try and take better pictures in the future. I keep telling Blasen if I had a nicer camera I would take more pictures(hint, hint). I don't know...maybe not.