Arts Academy at Bella Vista

I feel very blessed that as soon as I moved here I got introduced to the Arts Academy. As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to work there and for the kids to go there. So, I went about trying to get my job. I was kind of a stalker, I probably went to meet the principal 3 or 4 times, just trying to catch her and make a good impression.

Finally I met her and got an interview. She was gonna make me come back and do a mock lesson for a group of teachers, but liked me so much that she called me back about an hour after the interview and offered me the job. :) I was so relieved!

Anyways, I was able to teach 3rd grade at the AABV for two years and loved it. Even with me not working there it was never a question that Christian would continue attending the Arts Academy.

The whole vision behind our wonderful school is that kids who are able to actively participate in the arts do better on tests, have greater academic achievement, and usually behave better because they feel good about themselves. So each morning the whole school eats breakfast in the cafeteria together and then sing and dance each morning to wake up our brains and bodies. Then we say our pledge of allegiance and New Mexico state pledge, then sing some patriotic songs, and have a moment of silence.

On Friday my school buddy Kirsten and I took our babies and visited good ol' AABV. Every Friday morning we have something called Breakfast with the Arts. That's where every class gets the opportunity to perform a song, dance, or whatever for the entire school. For example, one year my class rewrote the words to YMCA, we changed it to AABV, and we came up with a dance and everything - it was really cute!

Anyways, here are some pictures from Breakfast with the Arts.

Addie dancing with Christian.



Can you spot Christian with his head in his hands. He spotted the camera and tried to hide.



This one's called "Shed a Little Light." In the chorus everyone raises their arms, gospel style, and waves 'em in the air. I thought it was really bizarre the first time we sang it, but soon after that it became a fave.



Another wonderful thing about the Arts Academy is that they have so many opportunities to perform. Saturday they had a huge ethnic fair downtown Clovis on the "brick road." They invited the school to perform, but somehow nobody at the school knew about it until Friday so they decided to perform some of the morning songs.





And now for a movie. Here is one of the patriotic songs we sing most mornings. This is Celine Dion's version of God Bless America. Yes, Celine, the Canadian. Kinda ironic, but she's got a beautiful voice!


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And just in case you want to learn more about our school, here's the link.

http://www.clovis-schools.org/bellavista/index.html

Two new do's

Lexi and I got our hair done!!! Every couple of years I decide I need bangs. That's something I usually regret, but for right now I'm enjoying it.



Here's Lex getting artsy. That's me looking in the mirror.



Alexis getting ready to get her hair washed up. She loved getting it done!



So grown up!



The girls with their new looks. Lex LOVES her haircut and she looks so cute! We're ready to start fresh in California!!!



And then the next day. I think my favorite part of this picture is the open (and very full) dishwasher in the background! Very homey!

4 month check-up

Since we'll be leaving soon I scheduled Addie's 4 month check-up a little early. After waiting for 2 hours, we were finally done! Does everyone's doctor take so long? It's not just the doctor I guess, it's the waiting in the waiting room, then waiting for the doctor, then waiting for the nurse to give the shots... ugh! If we were staying here I think I'd be switching doctors.

I went by myself this time so pictures were a little more difficult but I tried to get a few. This one is titled "The calm before the storm..."



She weighed in at 13 pounds 10 ounces and in the 60th percentile. I think that weight is pretty good because when I took her the week before for her earache, she weighed 13 pounds 2 ounces. Or is that a normal weight gain? That's totally normal for me, not sure about for a baby. :)

She is a tall girlie! She measured 25 inches long and in the 90th percentile. I think we got a basketball player on our hands!

Oh yeah, the best part of our visit... both ears were clear and we were able to throw out that yucky medicine! Hallelujah! It made me sick every time I had to give it to her! I felt like I was water-boarding her, holding her head below her body and squirting gross medicine in her mouth and then blowing in her face! And she still managed to spit out at least half the medicine! So glad that's over!!!

Here she is getting examined. (finally!) She is always so curious and studies everything! And can you see her blurry hand? Always moving!



Right after the shots. :( If there wasn't a nurse in the room I would have been crying just as hard as she was! The nurse even commented about the quality of her lungs!



Still going strong, even after cuddling and getting dressed. She was not to be comforted! The only thing that stopped her was food. So I rushed to get her dressed so I could feed her. After a few pictures of course. :)



So glad I don't have to do that again for another two months! And then I think I might see how daddy likes taking Addie for shots...

Christian's Wisdom

After scriptures last night (right before bed) we were talking about how to handle teasing. Christian shared that whenever he gets teased, he likes to laugh and make a joke first and beat the teaser to the punch. That way they'll have nothing to tease you about. So when someone starts to tease him about his ears, this is what he does -


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Oh I laughed so hard! I think he's got a great attitude about teasing!

Missing daddy

We've been working hard around here! And with Matt gone we're having to do all those things that he usually does! Alexis and Christian have been such a big help with that. Today our big job was to clean out the attic. I've never really been up there, like I said, that's Matt's job! So I was a little scared... Here's Christian getting ready to climb on up.



Here's sweet Addie hangin' out safely in her mosquito netted stroller.



Here's the little man of the house in the attic.



And sweet Lexi-lu mowing the lawn.



Precarious...



The MESS!!! Everything is finally out of the attic!



Fast forward a few hours...

Here is what happens after a late night of friends sleeping over and a hard workin' day!



And here is the drama-queen herself, gagging on her medicine. I appreciate all the tips, but it's not working! Today I got some spit in my face, pretty awesome!



And here is the finished garage, organized and ready for movers.



So even though we're getting lots done, we are really missing Matt and appreciating all he does for us! Who knew he did so much?!

Keepin' busy

We've been keeping pretty busy around here. Here are two of the things that have been keeping me busy during the day.



I'm babysitting for a friend that babysits for this baby. Crystal clear, right? It really has been fun having another baby around, even when I had to go to Wal-Mart with both of them - ughhh! It's been fun having her here and seeing how much Addie's gonna change in the next few months. Alexis and Christian are absolutely fascinated with her and think she's a genius because she can do so much more than Addison! They don't quite get the whole older baby thing.

And did you notice what Addie's doing in that picture. She's pulling at her ears. Yup, double ear infection. She hasn't been fussy or had a fever or anything, the only way I knew about it was her tugging at her ears. What a sweet girl.

She hates her medicine! She took it best the first time, the one we got on video, but now we're having a tough time giving it to her. She spits it all out! I try to put it into the back of her mouth, she gags, I pick her up, and she spits it out. So if anyone has any great ideas on how to keep it down, I'd appreciate it. Here she is getting her first dose of medicine. I took all her clothes off because I knew it would be messy.


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I have also been on the phone all week because... it looks like we have a renter for our house!!! I say "it looks like it" because I just won't let myself fully believe it until we get the contract back and signed and the deposit check clears. Renting wasn't really our first choice, but they seem like a nice, responsible family and their rent will cover the mortgage. Woo-hoo! So, Matt and I have decided to become slum-lords. :0

I'm trying to keep things as normal as possible, for as long as possible for the kids. That means choir, baseball, and volleyball Tuesdays. Church and scouts Wednesdays. Piano, dance, and baseball Thursdays. And friends over every weekend. Every weekend. Did I mention we have friends over every weekend? And while I am thankful that they want to have friends over, the extra kid part can be interesting.

Last night at church the kids did an Olympic style series of activities. Of course I forgot my camera for the first half of the evening, but I did bring it out in time for the gum spitting contest and the book-on-the-head relay. It was really cute and the kids had a good time.




























Aren't they cute?! Here they are waiting for the relay.





























Here's how it all played out. FYI - Lexi's team won! :)



So we're keepin' busy, but havin' fun!

Pacifier woes

My children have never taken a pacifier! This isn't something that really bothers me, except when they are screaming in the car and I feel like there's nothing I can do for them. We got many different types and sizes of pacifiers for Addie, so after the debacle of our ride home on Friday, I thought maybe I should take them all out and try them on her again. Here are the results of the trial.

Lots of people have had good luck with this one.













Not us though.








































































































Maybe a different size???








Here it looks like she's saying "Gross! It's like the worst thing I've ever tasted!"





































































































































Here are all the dead soldiers.



And here she's saying "No thanks, mom. I'll stick to my fist...



and my bottom lip, thank you very much."



She's a girl who knows what she likes!