Holiday Dress

I have been searching for a holiday outfit for Avonlea. I thought I would go the smocked route or a sweater dress, but I found something else that I love! Its a Pinnafore and I adore them. I originally bought one for my niece a year or two ago and I love this shop at Etsy. They are reversable and you can wear them alone, with jeans, leggings, short/long sleeved shirt. So versatile! This is the one I bought for Avonlea:

I just love the print and it reverses to a dot print. I thought the red/cream would be perfect for the holidays but she can also wear it throughout the year too.

Please visit this Etsy shop, she is amazing!

ThreeYellowStarfish

Birthdays

Bennett turned 3 this past week! I can't believe he is 3 years old already. He is getting so big and talking so much now. We had his party this past Sunday and Bennett received so many great things. He is loving the fire truck, bull dozers, and new shoes that he received. Everyone was so generous and Bennett really appreciated it all.

Here is what Bennett is up to these days:
--wearing 3T (some 4T) clothing and size 8 or 8.5 shoe
--fully potty trained
--attends preschool twice per week
--talks in sentences and can express needs or wants (or tantrums!)
--is still super ornery but is learning more self control and consequences every day
--enjoys running and playing outside, playing with trucks, wrestling with his brother, and playing with his sissy

Bennett seems to have grown up so much just in the past 2 weeks. I remember three to be the pivitol age for Peytonn. I am excited to see what the next year holds for Bennett!

In other news, Avonlea turned 3 months old. Well, she's more like 3 1/2 months now. :) But here is what she is up to:
--wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, some 6-9
--measuring 23 inches and ~13-14lbs when I weigh her on our scale (fully clothed)
--can roll from front to back but has yet to even attempt back to front
--loves to smile and coo
--engaging more with her toys. I noticed this weekend she really loves the plastic rings
--still nursing but takes 3-4 oz from a bottle at the babysitter or with daddy
--sleeping anywhere from 3-6 hour stretches at night
--outgrowing most of her small diapers and is moving into mediums or the medium rise setting on her onesize diaper, size 2 disposables
--loves to stand or sit with you and check out what is going on. She especially loves when her brothers play with her. Bennett loves to sing to her.

Here is a little video of Bennett singing to Avonlea:
http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f157/clemce/?action=view&current=photobucket-4892-1321373442750.mp4

Its been a while!

I know its been ages since my last post. There's a million reasons why, but mostly because we have just been so busy.

We are in the midst of making a lot of bigger decisions regarding our family. Some of those decisions include jobs, schools, and religion.

We have decided to withdraw Peytonn from the Montessori school that he was attending. We absolutely love the school and I think it was a great opportunity to introduce Peytonn into the learning world. However, after our parent/teacher conferences this Fall, its evident that Peytonn needs more structure. He is lacking in his letters and upper numbers. We excels in areas of Art, practical life, puzzles, and colors/shapes.

This then leads into the religion part of things. I knew from the get-go that I would never enroll my kids in the public school in our area. Given what I do for a living, I was not having my kid attend the same school as my clients kids. Its just something I am not willing to compromise! I am very adament about keeping my work and family life separate.

We have decided to send the kids to private Catholic school. Now, neither of us are Catholic. However, I am baptized Catholic and my father's side of the family is all Catholic. After much research and discussions, we have decided to convert (Hubby and I) to Catholic. None of the kids are baptized, however, we will have them baptized in the Spring, after we have been completely accepted into the church.  This is something that I feel is right for our family.

Peytonn will start Preschool at the Catholic school on Monday. We are excited for him and he will continue with the kids in his class through to Kindergarten. We made a visit to the school last Sunday after Mass. I really like it and the teachers, I think Peytonn will succeed.

Bennett will remain at the Montessori school for the rest of the year. He will start preschool at the Catholic school next Fall.

I am excited about the new changes we are making for our family.