Sports Day 2012

On Friday the kids had Sports Day at school. Normally we have it in 4th term, but this year they changed it to 1st term. All the of my children are in the green team named Coombes.

They started the day doing their team chants and a health hustle. They then went around to all the different events with their teachers.  They had lots of fun and did really well through out the whole day. Of course they were all in different events, in different places all at the same time so Haylie and I spent a lot of time going between the events to watch the kids do different things.

Vortex Throw

Frisbee (Discus)

Long Jump

Accuracy Kick

Hurdles

They even let Haylie have a turn on the Hurdles

Obstacle Course

It was freezing cold on Friday and we even had a bit of rain, but it wasn't enough to dampen the kids enthusiasm.

By the end of the day though the kids were very tired and worn out!

Where have you been?

It's been so long I almost forgot how to blog! But I'm back and hopefully I can catch up a little bit.

The month of December was crazy. The kids finished school which meant class parties, Christmas cards, bringing lots of things home and getting reports. They all did a fantastic job this year.

 Lachlan really like his teacher and enjoyed doing lots of maths and science. They studied rocks and minerals at the beginning of the year, so now Lachlan has an ever growing rock collection and will tell anyone who will listen lots of interesting facts about them. He also got very interested in space so he got a telescope for his birthday and enjoys looking at the moon and planets. He is one of the fastest readers I know! He loves to read and I'm constantly looking for something new for him to read. When he went to the States with Buzz in the middle of the year he got a series called, "Tennis shoes among the Nephites." He has also been reading a series called 'The 39 Clues." Those books are a bit thinner and so it only takes him a day or two to get through each one. He already had the first three and got the rest (11 books in total) for Christmas. He is already up to number 10! I love that he loves to read! I will often find him in his room laying on his bed or sitting in his bean bag for hours reading!

Amie also did a great job at school this year. This year reading finally 'clicked' for her and she has been blazing through the reading levels and gaining confidence in her reading ability. Amie has always loved to do art and craft and that desire to create has gotten stronger this year. Both of her teachers have commented on how neat all of her work is. She is an amazing drawer, much better than I'll ever be. She won a prize around Easter time at school for the Easter egg that she coloured it. It was pretty amazing the details that she put into it. Amie is also very much a social butterfly and loves to have friends around. She has one friend at school in particular that she is very close to and I'm glad she has that friendship!

Caitlyn went from Kindy to School in the middle of the year and enjoys it a lot. She had a fantastic teacher and had enjoyed learning to read and doing homework like Lachlan and Amie! Caitlyn is my helper and is always cleaning up when no-one else will. Caitlyn also really loves to sing. She can often be heard singing in the other room and often asks me to turn the radio up in the car so she can sing along. She has missed having her cousin Zoe around for the last six months. They love playing together and having sleepovers. It will be great to see them together again!

Haylie has grown up so much in the past year. She went from being a toddler to being such a grown up little girl. Since all the other kids are at school all day she has been my little buddy. She loves to go to the shops, visit Grandma and help me around the house. She is such a cute little character. She says the funniest things and has such a funny attitude. She loves to have time with just me but she looks forward to playing with the other kids after school each day! It is going to be really weird for me because Haylie starts Kindy in February. She starts with just one morning a week until May and then she will go four mornings a week. It is going to be really weird to have all this time to myself each day. Haylie is really looking forward to going to Kindy. She got a new bag for Christmas and she also got a choose a new lunch box and drink bottle like the big kids. She asks me every day if it is a school day today. She is going to be really upset when the kids go back to school on a Monday, but she doesn't start until the Thursday!

We are looking forward to a fantastic new year with lots of adventures, changes and new things to experience!

Haylie and Me

Since Caitlyn started school this term Haylie and I have been spending a lot of time together. She is my little buddy. Wherever I go, she goes.

 Most of the time she is pretty good and will go along with whatever I have going on that day. She will go to the shops quite happily, as long as she gets a treat! She likes to go and visit Grandma and our friend, Aurelia. She is happy to sit in the stroller while I go for a walk or play at the park while I run laps around the oval.

I think she also likes to have the whole house to herself. She gets to choose what is on TV and she gets to play in the girls room with their stuff. She gets the whole trampoline to herself, which she absolutely loves!

Even though she is very happy to have some time to herself she does get very excited when we go a pick up the kids from school. She loves to tell them what we did that day and join in with whatever they decide to do that afternoon.

Ever since Buzz and Lachlan went to America she has it in her head that her bedroom is scary and she wants to sleep in the girls room. Most nights she throws a tantrum at bedtime because she isn't allowed to sleep with the girls. We have thought of putting all the girls in one room, but to start with the rooms in this house just aren't big enough. Her bed wouldn't even fit in there and if it did they would have no room to play, walk or move! Secondly, the times that they have been allowed to sleep in the same room they talk and play and take forever to go to sleep.

One night, about a week ago, she got very upset at bed time. She had taken her little Dora fold out couch into the girls room with her pillow and blanket. But it was a school night and I didn't want to have to go in a tell them to go to sleep 50 times so I took it all back to her room and the screaming started. When she is like that the best thing to do is to just leave her. After about half an hour she finally fell asleep.

Later that night, after Buzz and I had gone to bed she woke up crying. She likes the door open, but Lachlan can't sleep with it open so he closes it when he goes to bed because she is always asleep by then. Then we usually open it a little bit and make sure the nightlight is on the the hallway. Anyway this night we must have forgotten to open her door so she got a bit upset. Buzz got up, opened her door and then left our door open as well so she felt closer to us. She was happy and went back to sleep, or so we thought!

Buzz gets up about 5:30 am and when he gets up he shuts their bedroom door so that they don't wake up. When he went to close it though he noticed that Haylie wasn't in her bed. Now she is an early riser but that was too early for her. He noticed that the girls bedroom door was open and there she was fast asleep. She must of gotten up and dragged her Dora couch and pillow and blanket around to the girls room and gone back to sleep!

I'll say one thing for her she is definitely determined. When she sets her mind to something there is no stopping her!

Oh, for all of you who are wondering, we still have one more day left for our bedroom challenge. So far the kids are doing great and have kept their bedrooms clean. They have also been much nicer to each other. If their rooms are clean at bedtime tomorrow night then we will be off to see the new Smurf movie this weekend!

Sunday Thoughts . . .

As is common on a Sunday evening the kids are all in bed, the dishes have been done and Buzz and I are sitting down at our different computers tinkering away.

Today at church it was the Primary children's turn to do their Sacrament Presentation. The kids were very excited about their parts and the girls wanted to look their very best. They chose what outfits they would wear and then we spent some time straightening or curling their hair. 

When we arrived at church they went off to the primary room with the other children to get ready. Right before the meeting started they all walked in and took their seats. As Amie and Caitlyn walked past Haylie saw them and wanted to go and sit with them. When she realised that she wasn't allowed she started to get very upset. We told her that she could go and sit with Poppy, who was also sitting on the stand, but she didn't want to and she soon decided to sit down with Buzz.

 As the sacrament was being passed I noticed how quiet it was. Our ward has about 40-50 primary aged children so this was quiet a feat. All of the children did really well. They sang beautifully and remembered most of the words. That was really nice to see because up until a couple of months ago I was in there teaching them all the songs. Nicola did a great job with them and they sang wonderfully.

 Caitlyn, Amie and Lachlan all did really well with their parts. They spoke clearly so everyone could understand what they were saying. The only problem was that they were sitting on the other side of the pulpit so I couldn't really see them. It was a special presentation and you could definitely feel the spirit there.

Next year Haylie will be in Sunbeams so she will get to sit up on the stand as well. It's actually a little bit scary to think that next year all of my children will be in primary and be in the primary presentation.

I'm so proud of all of my children and I love them so much.

Sleep overs

When I went to Sydeny Haylie slept over at Grandma's house for the very first time. She loved it and has been asking to sleep over again.

This week we got to catch up with a friend and Haylie practically invited yourself to sleep over her house. Her husband was working night shift this week so she welcomed the company.

On Saturday before being picked up she was very excited. She helped to get her bedding and clothes packed and made sure she had all her toys to sleep with. When she heard the knock at the door she ran over and was jumping up and down with excitement!

She couldn't wait to get in the car and leave. After some quick hugs and a short wave she was off.

We met up at church today and she came running over and gave me a big hug but she didn't want to sit with us. She sat up the back with her friend. I thought she might of gone back and forth a bit but she stayed with her the whole time. After sacrament I went to give her her fruit for nursery and to take her to nursery but she didn't want me to take her. She wanted her friend to take her.

After church was finished she didn't want to come home with us. She had decided that she wanted to sleep over again. So there she is spending a second day at her friends house.

It has been fairly quiet around here. It doesn't matter what child is missing, when one is gone it seems so much quieter. There seems to be less fighting, less questions and less mess.

I hope that when she comes home tomorrow she doesn't get too upset. When she has her mind set on something it can be hard to change it. I guess we shall see in the morning!

Best Friends

The weather this week has been a bit weird. It has felt like spring has come early, but it was just a tease because today it was back to the wet and cold weather that is normal for August.

On Tuesday, however, we decided to take full use of the beautiful weather and headed to the park for a picnic.

When I told Haylie what we would be doing that day she replied, "Yay! Chase and Tilly are my Best Friends!"

Chase: Hay, hay me too!

Haylie: No! (You can be my best friend but I won't share with you)

Tilly wasn't too sure about the slide but she always had a smile on her face at the bottom.

How big is she?

Sooooooo big!

I love that hand on the hip!

We had a great day playing and eating our yummy lunches together. I can't wait until the warmer weather comes to stay so that we can do this more often.

This Child!

This child is very stubborn. She digs her heels in and won't do whatever it is you want her to do.

This child is very independent. She wants to do everything herself without any help, even if she is clearly having trouble with the task.

This child knows what she wants. And she will do it even if you have told her that she is not allowed.

This child is sneaky. When she knows she is doing something she shouldn't be she will hide somewhere and do it anyway.

This child throws big and loud tantrums. Usually over seemingly small things.

This child doesn't like to go to bed. Lately it's been taking 1 hour of screaming before she will finally give in a go to sleep.

Yesterday while I was having a shower and getting dressed this child ate a whole jar of nutella. She didn't use a spoon, just her hands. She then wiped those nutella covered hands all over the shelves of the pantry, where she hid and ate said nutella. She then proceeded to wipe her nutella covered hands all over her clothes, including one of her favourite skirts.

I came out of my room to be told that this child was covered in chocolate. So what did I do. I told her to go to the bathroom and wait. I then got the camera out so that I would have some proof of what this child does when no one is looking.

And here is my proof.

 The Jar.

The smears.

The skirt.

One day in the distant future she will become a mum and all this will come back to her.

Ten Things Tuesday

Haylie loves to have stories read to her every night. Most of the time we read the same stories over and over. Often I will read the story to her and then it is her turn and she reads it back to me. 

These are ten of her favourite books, in no particular order.

1. The Octonauts and the Frown Fish

She, of course, loves anything Octonauts so she got these for her last birthday. They are usually her first pick.

2. The Octonauts and the Sea of Shade.

3. The Octonauts and the Only Lonely Monster.

4. Dora: Island Adventure.

 She, of course, likes everything to do for Dora, but this one talks to you. You push the little question mark button and it gives you a type of object to be found on all of the pages. It is good for recognising colours and shapes, etc.

5. Where is the Green Sheep. 

This is a classic. I don't know any child that doesn't like this book. Haylie knows this book so well that she can pretty much say it word for word.

6. Where's that cat?  

My Mum got this book, I think for Amie, and all the kids have loved it. Haylie especially likes it because it is about a cat and she loves cats.

7. I've Lost My Kisses. 

This is one of my favourite stories to read. It is about a girl, names Matilda, who has lost her kisses. But she needs to find them fast because her Poppa is coming for a visit and he always says, "Where's my big Smoocheroo?" 

8.  Josephine Wants/Loves to Dance.

A kangaroo that wants to be a ballerina, what could be better than that?!

9.  Swim, Little Wombat, Swim!  

I love all of the Little Wombat books and so does Haylie.

10. Sometimes I like to Curl up in a Ball. 

Another Little Wombat book that we love.

I love to read and I'm so glad that my children love to read as well.

The Octonauts: An Obsession

The Octonauts have taken over at my house. Haylie is obsessed and the rest of the kids love it too! We have about 50 episodes recorded on our TiVo and we watch a few daily.

If you've never heard of the Octonauts it is a cute tv show about a group of characters who help out sea creatures in trouble. There is Captain Barnacles, a Polar Bear, Kwazai, a pirate cat, Peso, the medic penguin and many more. Haylies favourite is Dashi. She is a dog who like to take pictures and video of their adventures. Haylie goes around the house taking photos just like Dashi.

For Haylie's 3rd Birthday we had to have an Octonauts birthday party. The only problem in that the show is very new so they don't have any toys or merchandise out at the moment. All they have is the books that started it all.

My sitter, Lisa, Painted the pictures for me. They turned out brilliant! Haylie loves them and looks at them all the time.

Everyone got to take home some bubbles!

The photos didn't turn out great, but Haylie loved the whole night and that's all that I needed!

Sleeping Beauty

 

Haylie gave up her naps when she was about 18 months old. But every now and then she just can't wait until bed time to go to sleep. If she does have a sleep though, even if it was only 5 minutes long she will be up until 9-10 o-clock that night. No matter how cute she is and how nice it is to have some quiet time I have to be the mean mummy that wakes her up and gets her moving again.

Here are just some of the places and positions that I have found her sleeping.

With her two favourite things in the world, at the time, Dora and Upsy Daisy!

The day after we moved into our new house Mum came over and was helping me unpack. All the other kids were off somewhere so we just had Haylie. We noticed that it had gotten quiet so we went to find Haylie. She was in my bed, with the covers on fast asleep and it was only 11 o-clock in the the morning!

We spent the afternoon at the swimming pool and Haylie did not stop the whole afternoon. When we got home so was so worn out that I couldn't stop her from falling asleep. Grandma joined her for awhile!

Sunday afternoon, after church is nap time for Daddy. Haylie joined him this time. Aren't they so cute together. I don't know how comfortable it is though. This is where they were sleeping!

These two are nearly identical. In both of them it was about 6pm and I was sitting right there on the other couch. One minute she was talking and playing the next she was asleep! I just love how she is half on and half off the couch.

These were taken just the other day right before dinner. I thought she was watching TV but she was fast asleep. I don't think it was very comfortable on the Wii Fit board!