Back to School, Miss S Edition (& Oak's life on Baby)

Miss Scarlett has been ready and waiting to go to school for so darn long!  She was absolutely thrilled when her turn finally came yesterday.  yay! yay! for Pre-K!

 Ahhh, love that happy girl smile!

showin' off her [ginormous] bedazzled cheetah print backpack

I never thought it was possible for a four year old to have a signature print...but this girl does

In other news...

this is Oak's life.

this is Oak's life with Fischer.

poor, poor boy.

who would've thought such a cute little face could wreak so much havoc?

Introducing Lifferth Version 5.0

Introducing the latest Kansas Lifferth model (version 5.0) - Fischer Jack.  He arrived yesterday morning (August 26th) at 3:44am, after checking into the hospital at 2:20am.  He weighed in at 6lbs 15.7oz and is 18.5 inches long.

Some of the version 5.0 updates:
1 - Smaller, rounder ears, a notable Holyoak influence...may have also resulted from wrestling matches in the womb - victory is obvious, but opponent was not.
2 - Dark hair (previously dark hair was only available with the female model).
3 - Increased toe length (we may have overdone it in this department)
4 - Dusky complexion (last seen in model 3.0)
5 - Stork bites clearly visible on version 4.0 have been removed for version 5.0.
6 - Improved suction power and stamina.
7 - Improved sound criteria over previous models, although long term testing has not been completed and higher decibel levels are still likely to be experienced long term.
8 - Speedy delivery - approximately 84 minutes after request submitted at hospital (approximately 6 minute improvement over version 4.0)
9 - Improved manufacturing time - version 5.0 rolled out 18 days under budget, a 2 day improvement over version 4.0.
10 - Version 5.0 is slightly heavier than version 4.0, but packaging is notably slimmer.
11 - Other improvements and are yet to be determined, but are expected to surface in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.

[full credit goes to my creative husband, Spencer, for the announcement!]

Welcome to the world, Fischer Jack!

pictures of me...yes, just me.

At the end of July, I was lucky enough to have a maternity photo shoot done by the uber-talented Bridgett J Photography. I was about 33 1/2 weeks along at the time.  I'd never done a maternity shoot before, but I figured since this is my last pregnancy and I've spent 4 years of my 9 year marriage ginormous with child, it couldn't hurt to document it.  After all, did I really want my only proof of pregnancy to be badly taken belly shots I'd taken in the dirty bathroom mirror?  exactly.  Warning: there will be a lot of pictures, all of which are of me...just me.  It's a little hard not to feel  like I'm being vain and self-centered while looking at this post, but I wanted to make sure I got these pictures on here because, after all, that is why I had them taken in the first place.  I want my daughters to know what their mom looked like pregnant, what they'll most likely look like pregnant.  I want to help me remember that pregnancy can be beautiful, even though it most definitely doesn't feel beautiful.  In fact, it feels a lot more like a beached whale.  But sometimes, given a decently flattering outfit, some great lighting, and a talented photographer...the amazing-ness of pregnancy can be a beautiful thing.  Without further ado...

Enjoy!

 Love this picture!  Definitely one of my favorite shots from the shoot.

  ...aaaand this would be my other favorite picture from the shoot.  I just love how this angle turned out!

...and of course, the picture reminding us what exactly that huge big belly is all about :)

Well, that's a wrap!  Thanks for making it through my indulgent, self-centered post.  Next time there'll be pictures of the beasties, I promise :)

Oak's Birthday Camp-Out (birthday catch-up, part II)

Remember a reeeeally long time ago when I promised to post Oak's birthday pictures (which happened on *cough*June 7th*cough*).  Well, I've been on an insane nesting frenzy since then and haven't had a chance to get it done until now.  I rarely nest productively since typically the last month of my pregnancy is filled to the brim with other must-do jobs (important things like packing up my belongs, moving them across the country or city, and unpacking them...).  So, it's been a nice change to actually have a chance to funnel all that nesting energy to things I just want to get done, like spray-painting everything in sight and sewing baby blankets.  Anyway, without further ado, here's Oakie's 2nd Birthday:

Poor Oakie, he, quiet honestly, had a truly awful 2nd birthday.  He was fighting off a fever, fell out of the suburban onto the driveway and got a HUGE goose egg and scrape on his forehead, and just was all-around miserable.  We tried our darnedest to help him have fun and went camping, regardless.  I know, I know, that makes us seem cruel but Oak handles things best with a heavy dose of distraction.  He managed to enjoy himself a bit on his actual birthday and was in a much better mood the next day while camping and hiking.

Checkin' out The Incredibles

Oakie is my movie addict.  The kid would watch movies all. day. long. if I let him.

We all know the actual opening of the presents is the best part of present-opening for a 2 year old

Don't be fooled by his look of excitement.  He actually ended up hating this doll and still much prefers his sisters' baby princess dolls.

Love this one of the 2 (outta 3) boys!

Playing in the water down by the lake definitely helped improve his mood
(every time I see this picture I think about how he should have an undershirt on.  That's your voice in my head, Lib ;)

He wasn't the only one who enjoyed it, obviously...

(yes, I know those last two pictures are almost identical, but I couldn't resist posting them both)

(also, I don't know where Ezra was.  I think maybe he headed back up to camp when I came down to the shore with the camera...that or we don't love him as much.)

My great little eater didn't complain a single bit when he got dutch oven peach cobbler instead of birthday cake :)

(the candles, however, did complain while melting almost immediately)

My oldest three the next morning lounging by the fire

Gearing up for the hike!

Ezra being horribly disobedient and climbing down the edge of a mini-rock cliff to the water.

I was going to say this photo is proof that we love him enough to take an occasional picture of him...but then I realized it's also proof that I'm letting him recklessly put himself in danger.  So, you'll just have to decide whether or not you think we love him as much as the other three.

 Enjoying the view of the lake

During our mid-hike refueling break

Oak is literally manhandling Scarlett out of his backpack here.  He's extremely possessive of it, even during downtime and will kick Scarlett out of it anytime she gets uppity and forgets her place.

There was gobs of animals to be found on our hike including a couple of turtles, multiple lizards, and a few frogs (not to mention literally HUNDREDS of ticks).

Well, folks, that's all for that.  Next up...the maternity shoot post!

(unless I have this baby before I get around to it.  no promises.)

Back to School!

Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool.  I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight.  Ohhhh, back to school.

there's pretty much never a time that an Adam Sandler quote doesn't fit the bill.

Today is the first day of school for my oldest two. Georgia's in first grade and Ezra's in second. You know what that means?  They'll be gone ALL DAY LONG.  Praises be, glory hallelujah! I'm sure there's a time I'll miss having all the small savages underfoot at home, but that time is not today.  To top it off, Scarlett will start her 3-days a week, half-day Pre-K on the 28th, which we're both looking forward to. yay! yay!

Miss Georgia in her hand-picked sparkly unicorn shirt and hot pink pettiskirt all ready for 1st grade! She's super-excited to have gotten Mrs. Callahan, who was Ezra's teacher from last year, and have her bestie Baleigh in her class again.  She's a little nervous about starting up school again, but glitter and ruffles always seem to help the medicine go down.

Ezra Emil in his "smart shirt" (aka: any polo shirt) which he refuses to wear for any day except the very first day of school.  In case you're wondering, he insisted on buttoning up all the buttons since it's "the only way I can make it look nice."   Ooooh, heavens, that kid is such a natural nerd!  Don't ask me why his eyes are closed.  He insisted he was "smiling normal!" when I complained about it.  Oh my heavens, how I love that quirky kid.

Here's a few more shots from picking up the kids after school.  Our friend, Jenny, (Liam's mama) is a super-star of a picture taker and is always willing to take a few extra since I always seem to be lacking my camera.

Georgia, Ezra, and Liam (Ezra's bestie)

Liam, Ezra, Nathan (Liam's older brother), and Georgie in front of the sign out front of the school

Mr. Ez

Miss G

That's all folks!  I'll have to put up Scarlett's first day pictures at the end of the month.  eeee! I can't believe she's so old!  I can't really believe any of them are so old!