Stelie Designs

Eight!  8!  Paxton & Avery are Eight!    Every year I want them to slow down from growing up so fast. Every year they refuse and keep growning. {this is what I got when I said I want to take your picture} I am blessed with two truly amazing 8 year olds!  They are sweet, smart, caring, compassionate, funny, goofy, silly, snuggable, lovable kids and I get to be their mommy! Paxton is into legos, nascar, monstor trucks, running, sports, shoes, art, wild kratts. His favorite color is hot pink but chooses orange or red if asked at school. Even though he is only 22 seconds older he has first born traits. Avery is into anything animal, art, legos (as long as they aren't the girl ones) pythons, nothing girly (except jewelry), wild kratts, chipmunk movies.  Her favorite color is golden or red. They remain as thick as thieves, still share a room, always think of the other, bicker, share secrets and prefer not to do something without the other if...

we won the lottery with this kid! (honestly, we won the lottery with all our kids) he is such a sweet + caring boy + full of great one liners. the other day at the park ~ "i got my climbing mojo on!"  or after jer kissed his cheek ~ "daddy, i rubbed your kisses in because i love them so" other sweet things he says on a regular basis... "my favorite thing is my family" "i love my whole family so much" "i am the luckiest kid" "mommy, you are wonderful" "should we order pizza tonight? should we?" "mommy, i gotta tell you something...i love you" or these "we're playing john deere heaven" "i want to drive a semi when i get big! where do we buy one, at the semi store?" and so many others that i am drawing a blank.

{my live laugh love print in blues with the added give} {gymnastics girl notepad in blue + blonde} {paxton with a blue tongue}

did i mention my boy,  paxton, now swims underwater?!?

tuesday was picture day!

 paxton & avery had their first school bus ride tuesday.  who knew it would be the answer to paxton's drop off issue. paxton did. he even sat by another boy and was chatting away. never looking to wave as it went on. while he wouldn't allow me to be at the bus stop.  papa took photos for me. for this monumental moment. who knew it would hit me so hard. i didn't. my dream of being in a position to take them to school is not paxton's dream.  at least not now.  avery. she is fine with either one. their teacher said they both had the best day at school.  paxton arrived at school happy.  which makes me happy. lets hope this morning {day 2} goes just as well.  paxton even made his bus driver franny a picture.

i officially have kindergarteners! today is their first day of school.  last night was full of tears for my sweet boy but today he was back to being excited.  we dropped them off to their teacher without a tear from them. once back in the car, i of course cried and i have this emptiness feeling and a now what feeling.  i love spending time with my kids.  i'm used to seeing them.  they will be gone almost 7 hours. i can't wait to hear how their first full day went. to kick off the school year. we had a special dinner. fondue is what paxton wanted. we made crowns. ate. laughed. had fun. tuesday was their class orientation. oh how i love them so!!!

there was a heat advisory here... and paxton insisted on wearing this. along with his camo visor! [he has a style all his own.] and yes. that is chocolate ice cream on his face. the ice cream truck came to preschool today. [only 2 days left of preschool.]

finally!  please forgive me....i do have 4 kids [2 of which are infants] and a business i was going to have a baby select a winner again this time to avoid the 2 older ones fighting over who gets to pick. while i was thinking "if i wait until babes wake, i'll probably forget" a little someone popped into my office wanting a snack. a snack, sure. after one little project... [paxton with a bucket full of names] [apparently it's hard work picking a winner when your hungry] and the winner is.... AMY !! Congratulations Amy on winning! :: apparently my kids are drawn to picking you :: email me steliedesigns@yahoo.com

this is what 5 looks like! happy and having fun. as 5 should be. i am thankful everyday for these 2 blessings. 2 blessings that turned 5.

my oldest child [ by 23 seconds] is sweet. caring. helpful. observant. slight perfectionist. intelligent. loving. a wonderful child. he loves to learn. follows direction. is impatient. has a great memory. is currently into bindi the jungle girl, hiro from thomas the train, and zooboomafoo. becoming a picky eater. loves dinosaurs. monster trucks. is an excellent big brother. i am truly blessed to have this boy in my life. thank you paxton for being you.

need i saw more about my sweet little cheeseballs...

since the reindeer are so busy in december they came to visit P&A's preschool today! first they called and talked to santa on the elf's cellphone. then they each took turns petting button. they have been waiting for this day since the first day of school. so cool, so fun, so special.

Above are my sweet kids on their first real day of preschool. The day I dropped them off at their classroom, left them, ran errands, then returned to pick them up 2.5 hours later. Look how happy they are, so excited to finally go to preschool like we've discussed for so long. The morning went like this...we greeted the teacher, walked into the room, I discussed their red dye allergy with the teacher with they washed their hands, Paxton and Avery sat at this table playing with the animals. Shortly after Paxton asked Avery if she wanted to go play cars, she did, I asked them to put the animals back in the bin and give me a hug bye. They did and I left without a protest. I was shocked, thrilled, and a little sad they are big kids now. The next day went like this, Paxton not wanting to go to preschool, we greet teacher, wash hands, Paxton kept saying he wanted to come with me, we wrote on chalkboards, Paxton declined because he wanted to come home with me, I said it was time to go,...

Monday was their first day of preschool, orientation really, so Mommy & Daddy got to go along to meet the teachers, classmates, and other parents for the first half. The second half was for parents to learn about the school, policies, procedures, etc. Of course, my kids had to come along they didn't want to stay in their room. Foreshadowing really...

I just love this pic that Avery took. It shows what a cool little sweetheart he is! I am so lucky.

Tonight, Avery and Daddy went to Sam's Club. Paxton wanted to play a game instead, I told him I had to get a few work things done while they were at Sam's and I could play a game when they returned. Mr. P decided to stay home anyway, play downstairs and cut while I downloaded/edited photos. First, he cut paper, into squares and rectangles, then put it in an envelope and said "This is for one of my clients." Then he took and empty envelope box put in some packing paper, gave it to me and said "Mommy this is for you. You are one of my clients!" Such a sweetheart. Then I heard him telling a story about dinosaurs, bears, etc. I wondered what he was looking at so I turned around and this is what I saw... He's reading a printer manual. After I took a photo our conversation went like this. "That was a good story wasn't it Mommy?" "Yes, it was a wonderful story. Thanks for reading it to me" He was so proud of himself and I am so proud of ...

These sweet ones made me a Mommy four years ago. Something I looked forward to my entire life. Then came a time when I thought it would never happen but thankfully God heard my prayers and with the help of science I was blessed with not one but two miracles of life. Thank you Paxton and Avery for making my dreams come true! As I tell you every day, "I AM the luckiest Mommy in the whole wide world!" I am also the luckiest daughter in the whole wide world. Thank you Mom for being an inspiration and such an incredible person. Happy Mother's Day to you! Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there.

What happens when it's Friday, in the 70's with lots of sunshine and little wind? Play in the water of course! I lounged in a chair with my feet up (to alleviate swelling) watching my kids have a blast kicking up the water, while I chatted with my parents. Surprisingly, I sunburned my arms on April 24 in Minnesota no less! How does that happen? Sunscreen on kids, no sunscreen on me while sitting out for under 2 hours. I did manage to get out of my chair and put my feet in the cold water. I looked down and this is all I could see. A big belly full of two growing babies. Feet? What feet?