The LAS clan, a blog about our life...
Friday, September 30, 2011
Aunt Gloria and Uncle Ken
We had a great visit with Aunt Gloria and Uncle Ken a couple weeks ago. The kids (especially Ava) took to both of them and they have been asking when "Auntie Glowrah and Uncle Ken" will return. We took them to Pike Place Market, Snoqualmie Falls and a couple of other places while they were here. We bought some Italian Kale and the biggest peaches I have ever seen at the market. Aunt Gloria even got the fish Market to throw some fish!
Our Little Soccer Player...
We are so proud of Luke and his mad soccer skills :) He started for the first time a wekk ago and is playing in a pre-soccer league with 26 other kids. He was very shy last week but definitely came out of his shell and participated this week. Daddy was especially proud! Ava was yelling "Go Lukey, Go Lukey" from the sidelines for her big bro!!!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
What a difference this year has made...
A year ago this month I started this blog. And now, here I am 242 posts later and I all I could think about when I put little baby Sydney to bed tonight is how things have changed. Bedtime for her a year later is nothing but relaxing and easy. I guess it is unfair for me to say it has never been anything but relaxing because it has always been nothing less than me nursing her to bed or feeding her milk and watching her wind now. What I really meant is that now, when I put her to bed it means I have a full 12+ hours of sleep. Now that I am illness free it means I get to wake up a 6am or maybe earlier if I am truly rested and get back into my workout routine... get some ME time. Shower, and get my daily one load of laundry in the washer. I have learned in the past month or two to just do one load of laundry a day and it never gets overwhelming. As long as I divvy up my daily tasks and do a little bit everyday, having 3 kids so close in age is easy. 2 out of 3 are in school now and I get some precious one on one time with Sydney.... which also works out as time for me to get the shopping done.
Sydney Bean is 15 months and getting so big. She says "haiiiii" to me whenever I look at her and gives me her huge grin. Steve and I both say that if she smiled any bigger, her face would break into two. She tries her best to mimic every word I say. I have got to believe this child will be social. I have been saying this ever since she was born and flirted her eyes at everyone she sees. Surprisingly though, for how social she seems to be, she is truly a Mommas girl, more than Ava or Luke ever were and pretty much just wants to be by my side. In fact, when taking her away from me, her comfort level lowers and she becomes a crying mess. I have thought this is a phase and I know that it will not last forever but she has been going through this separation anxiety now ever since she was 10 months. She reminds me so much of Luke... the way he is so laid back. In fact, he prefers for me to make his decisions... he just wants to know what the deal is. He thrives on routine and when I pull a fast one him, he does not like it and definitely will let us know. He is passionate and is a collector. He is very engaged when he is interested in something and you definitely know when he is excited. It started out as arm flapping when he was an infant and now he just full on jumps up and down when he gets excited. He is anxious like his Mommy (sorry Luke for passing this onto you) and he shies away in social settings. A true introvert with a huge huge heart. He has never once had a naughty, mean, or selfish moment his his Baby sister, Sydney. He is her protector, and I know he will always be. His best friend is Ava and he has a completely different relationship with her than he does Sydney. He is always so happy to see both of Sissy's first thing in the morning or after school, but Ava is his partner in crime. They play together nicely 80% of the time. He never hits her despite her snaps or even bites (that she has finally outgrown.) Ava created the new nickname for Luke. She still is referred to as "Sissy" about 75% of the time and he is "Lukey" which sounds more like "Wukey." She is our sweet Avabee. The self sufficient "middle child." Could entertain herself most of the day. She is a born leader. A lot of time she is the the first one of the Las Clan to do something, and Luke feeds off of her leadership. She is the younger kid in most settings that keeps up with the older ones. She probably gets this from her Daddy because I do not remember being like this when I was a child. Yes she does have her shy moments, but she overcomes usually very quickly. She is Sassy, thinks for herself and is very true to herself. She knows what she likes and doesn't like. She is a snuggler and loves to give HUGE bear hugs. Despite her tough side, she is very empathetic and can be a softy. I love her little "awwwwws" when she feels sorry for someone or something. When she falls and skins her knees, she barely flinches. She loves to mother her dolls and she LOVES puppies. This will be the child that talks Steve and I into buying a dog in 5 years even though we say we won't.
And then there is Steve.... my soulmate for the last 16 years... almost half of my life. I am so fortunate for the early years in our marriage that were more about us... so we could establish a solid foundation for creating a family. After having children now, I understand how it could tear a rocky marriage up. But we are best friends and most importantly, we support each other. We have fun together... we play hard and work hard... always have and probably always will. Part of playing hard used to mean a career for me but now that career has turned into me raising our children. We have overcome so much in the recent 4 years. We had 3 babies, moved clear across the country (away from family), dealt with the loss of very close family members and changed jobs. We managed to survive all that and make some wonderful new friends and a great home for our ever growing family. Dealing with all of this has only has made us stronger.
This is who Luke, Ava and Sydney (Steve and I, too) have become in the last year (or more.) The kids are so different and in some ways very similar. Their closeness in relationship is a true testament to Steve and I about what having a close family, rich in values and love will create. I can't wait to see what else I will learn about my sweet babies and their dynamic personalities in the next year.
Sydney Bean is 15 months and getting so big. She says "haiiiii" to me whenever I look at her and gives me her huge grin. Steve and I both say that if she smiled any bigger, her face would break into two. She tries her best to mimic every word I say. I have got to believe this child will be social. I have been saying this ever since she was born and flirted her eyes at everyone she sees. Surprisingly though, for how social she seems to be, she is truly a Mommas girl, more than Ava or Luke ever were and pretty much just wants to be by my side. In fact, when taking her away from me, her comfort level lowers and she becomes a crying mess. I have thought this is a phase and I know that it will not last forever but she has been going through this separation anxiety now ever since she was 10 months. She reminds me so much of Luke... the way he is so laid back. In fact, he prefers for me to make his decisions... he just wants to know what the deal is. He thrives on routine and when I pull a fast one him, he does not like it and definitely will let us know. He is passionate and is a collector. He is very engaged when he is interested in something and you definitely know when he is excited. It started out as arm flapping when he was an infant and now he just full on jumps up and down when he gets excited. He is anxious like his Mommy (sorry Luke for passing this onto you) and he shies away in social settings. A true introvert with a huge huge heart. He has never once had a naughty, mean, or selfish moment his his Baby sister, Sydney. He is her protector, and I know he will always be. His best friend is Ava and he has a completely different relationship with her than he does Sydney. He is always so happy to see both of Sissy's first thing in the morning or after school, but Ava is his partner in crime. They play together nicely 80% of the time. He never hits her despite her snaps or even bites (that she has finally outgrown.) Ava created the new nickname for Luke. She still is referred to as "Sissy" about 75% of the time and he is "Lukey" which sounds more like "Wukey." She is our sweet Avabee. The self sufficient "middle child." Could entertain herself most of the day. She is a born leader. A lot of time she is the the first one of the Las Clan to do something, and Luke feeds off of her leadership. She is the younger kid in most settings that keeps up with the older ones. She probably gets this from her Daddy because I do not remember being like this when I was a child. Yes she does have her shy moments, but she overcomes usually very quickly. She is Sassy, thinks for herself and is very true to herself. She knows what she likes and doesn't like. She is a snuggler and loves to give HUGE bear hugs. Despite her tough side, she is very empathetic and can be a softy. I love her little "awwwwws" when she feels sorry for someone or something. When she falls and skins her knees, she barely flinches. She loves to mother her dolls and she LOVES puppies. This will be the child that talks Steve and I into buying a dog in 5 years even though we say we won't.
And then there is Steve.... my soulmate for the last 16 years... almost half of my life. I am so fortunate for the early years in our marriage that were more about us... so we could establish a solid foundation for creating a family. After having children now, I understand how it could tear a rocky marriage up. But we are best friends and most importantly, we support each other. We have fun together... we play hard and work hard... always have and probably always will. Part of playing hard used to mean a career for me but now that career has turned into me raising our children. We have overcome so much in the recent 4 years. We had 3 babies, moved clear across the country (away from family), dealt with the loss of very close family members and changed jobs. We managed to survive all that and make some wonderful new friends and a great home for our ever growing family. Dealing with all of this has only has made us stronger.
This is who Luke, Ava and Sydney (Steve and I, too) have become in the last year (or more.) The kids are so different and in some ways very similar. Their closeness in relationship is a true testament to Steve and I about what having a close family, rich in values and love will create. I can't wait to see what else I will learn about my sweet babies and their dynamic personalities in the next year.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
First Pigtails and Standing!!!
Baby had her hair in pigtails for the first time today. It's amazing how much older she looks with them!
She has been standing for 10 seconds at a time. Walking is not too far away :)
She has been standing for 10 seconds at a time. Walking is not too far away :)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Luke's Artwork
Luke has made some good progress this school year from last on his artwork. He is drawing recognizable objects and trying to write his name. He has a hard time keeping all the letters of his name in order but we are working on it. Here are some of his latest pictures at school that happen to be my favorites.
A really big truck...
a car...
Monday, September 19, 2011
Celebrating Pop Pop's 65th Birthday!
We celebrated Pop Pop's 65th while we were in Milwaukee. Grammy, Pop Pop and Great Nana Betty flew in for a few days. This was the first time Great Nana met Sydney and it had been 2 years since she saw Luke and Ava. We had a great visit!!!
Eating cream puffs with Pop Pop
The boys
Our Beloved Auntie Jen...
We have been back from our visit with teh Boettchers for over a week and the kids keep asking when can we go back? They love their Auntie Jen, Paige, Chase and Uncle Chris. It is always fun to get the kids together to play to see how the dynamics between them change as they get older. They all played so well together!
Here are some of the fun things we did on this trip...
Here are some of the fun things we did on this trip...
The shoe bandit at it again!
Ava loves Jo Jo
Enjoying the Pool!
Getting cozy on the couch for some downtime.
Roasting very large campfire marshmallows on the fire and making smores. The mallows were so big that Luke was upset he couldn't taste the chocolate hershey bar!
The kids took the rocketship to every planet on the solar system!
They loved playing on the trampoline without letting theball touch them. Ava was a little stressed out by this game but she was a trooper.
Berry Picking
Luke is really into picking berries even though he will not eat them. He will taste the juice but that is it. We have been picking the blackberries up at his school. There are tons of them and they are free and delicious!!!
Just a week and a half ago when we were up in Milwaukee... Jen, Nana Betty and I went raspberry picking. We would of brought the kids but there were a lot of bees there. We had so much fun!
Just a week and a half ago when we were up in Milwaukee... Jen, Nana Betty and I went raspberry picking. We would of brought the kids but there were a lot of bees there. We had so much fun!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ava's First Day of Preschool
Ava did great today at her first day of preschool. Before we left she said she did not want to go but once we got there and I reassured her that I would be back soon and that Luke was in the next classroom she did great. She hugged both of her teachers when she left.
Here she is with her buddy Addee (Izzy's sister.)
Here she is with her buddy Addee (Izzy's sister.)
Monday, September 12, 2011
4 Generations
I have a ton of photos to post from our wonderful trip in Milwaukee. We were so lucky that we got to see Great Nana Betty. She had so much fun with the kids!
Luke's First Day of Pre-K
Today was Luke's first day of school. He was excited to get back to school to see all of his friends, especially Izzy <3 He is in school 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. I can't believe we will be sending him off to kindergarten next year at this time.
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