Leaves and more leaves

Joseph was helping to clean leaves out of the pool.

Natalie on her swing

Natalie got to swing while the other kids helped with the pool. Beauty has it's privilidges.

First Cut

I started cutting Natalie's hair tonight. I will take her to get it finished up tomorrow. I just felt bad for her because the back of her neck was one huge heat rash.

A Poem about Natalie by Taylor (age 10)

Taylor wrote this story about Natalie for a school project about six months ago. She got to read it out loud to the Principal one day at school.

Have you ever had a little sister? I do and her name is Natalie. She is one year old and loves to talk. One bad thing is that she has Downs Syndrome. She is small, loving and always laughs. She loves to play "Peek-a-boo" and "How big is Natalie?" That is when we ask her a question and she raises her hands. She loves to cuddle up and go to sleep. Natalie is so cute!

Natalie eats baby food and bread. She ate stuffing, Italian bread and green beans for Thanksgiving. She eats eggs, pancakes and rolls for breakfast. She eats very funny. She likes to eat fruits and vegetables, but loves bread the most of all.

Her favorite toy would have to be her blocks. When she plays with them, she likes to knock them down. Then she laughs a lot. She loves her blocks. That is why I wrote about Natalie!

Graduation Day!!!

Bailey graduated from preschool today.

Marching In

Bailey marches in with her class.

The Class of 2005!

Bailey's entire preschool class. As you can see, she was the tallest.

Trying Not to Laugh

Bailey got to say a poem about Graduation Day. She was trying not to laugh because the teacher had told them not to.

Getting a Diploma

Yeah - Bailey gets her preschool diploma!

Natalie and Daddy

Joe takes a turn holding Natalie during the graduation ceremony. I liked the color contracts of their clothes against the evening sky.

Joseph gets a hug from Natalie!

Even Joseph took a turn keeping Natalie occupied. Here, Joseph gets a big hug from his baby sister.

Rachel got licked by Natalie

Natalie kept licking Rachel's hair while she was on her shoulders.

Haircut for Natalie?

Now that it's gotten hot and Natalie's hair has gotten so long, she's got the worst case of prickly heat. The rash is all around her neck, but mostly on the back of her neck under her hair. I am thinking of getting her hair cut like Bailey's. I wonder if she'd sit still long enough to get it done right? What do you all think?

Who Me?

Natalie looked so cute in this dress that I got for 96 cents. As you can see, she has climbed up by the kids' computer again.

The Dry Look

Here's a picture of Bailey's new haircut after it was dried. It looks much better than the wet picture below.

Bailey's New Look

Bailey loves her new haircut. She's been bugging me for days to get it cut. I love these short summer styles.

Busted

Now where is that mouse? Do you think it will work if I stand on the keyboard? I wish that this desk were just a little bit wider. My little climber got caught trying to use the kids' computer.

The Results of my Watch-It

I have been trying to watch what I eat since the beginning of April when I got on the scale and didn't like what I saw. I had also noticed that my regular pants did not fit and my fat pants were getting tight around the middle. I have been doing some Ab exercises 3 times a week too. I am keeping track of what I eat at http://www.NutraWatch.com/ which really helps me balance out what I eat during the day. As of today, I have lost 10 pounds, which was my goal. All of my fat pants have been put away and even some of my regular pants are starting to look baggy. I really need to get out and get some new pants anyway. I have been calling my weight loss plan a Watch-it rather than a Diet, because all I have done is just take a good look at what I was eating. I have switched out unhealthly snacks and meal choices for healthier ones. Now I eat 6 times a day, which keep me from being so hungry at meal time and then it takes less to fill me up. A friend of mine at work is doing the same thing and it helps to have someone to bounce food ideas off of. Now I have to figure out how much to eat to maintain around this weight. I have been losing about a pound or so a week since I started. Best of all I feel much better and my horrible hormone related headaches have almost stopped. Woo Hoo!!!

Not too happy about being kissed!

I don't think that Joseph was happy to be kissed by Rachel.

Our Hero!!!

Freckles saved the day today when he caught and killed a 3' red bellied black snake that was in our garage this morning. He got it outside as it was trying to get under one of the decks in our backyard. Somedays I really like this little guy. Rachel had to give him a bath after we got the snake away from him. Ick!!!

So Long?

When did my baby get to be so long. I measured her while she was sleeping and she is approximately 33" long.

Working Hard

The Stratton kids working on their serve for volleyball. Rachel and Taylor were working on an overhand server and Joseph was working on an underhand serve.

Ready to Serve?

Bailey was just trying to hit the volleyball at all. Mostly she missed the ball because she threw up both hands at the same time.

Yellow Rose of Virginia?

I just planted this new yellow rose bush alongs with my other spring flowers in the front of the house. This flower just started to open today.

Impatients

These are some of the impatients that are planted in the shade on the side of our house.

Our Special ME's

Joseph and Taylor both got selected by their teachers to be the "Special ME" for the month of May. We get to keep the signs in front of the house for 3 weeks.

T-ball Trophy

Bailey got her t-ball trophy at the team party on Thursday. She was on the Sand Gnats.

Baseball Trophy

Joseph got his baseball trophy at the team party on Wednesday. He was on the Red Sox.