Have I turned into THAT mom?!

Well...it has been months since I last updated apparently. June to be exact. Summer ended and our lives got incredibly busy very fast! I guess I will start with August and Bella. She started 1st grade in a public school this year for the first time! This is a big deal to our family because I've home schooled for the past two years and she hasn't had much "real life" experience. Growing up at camp can sometimes be seclusive and sheltered so we weren't sure how she would do.  She begged us to let her go and the school district closest to us opened up to transfer students so we decided to give it a shot and she.....LOVES IT!! I can't believe how well she has adjusted. I think she appreciates it more since she's never experienced anything like it. She absolutely loves the cafeteria food (especially the chocolate milk)and has developed a MAJOR crush on a boy. I realize this is typical for a girl her age but she is border line obsessive! The first few weeks she would just watch him, very closely and his mother! She learned his mothers name by listening to a conversation she was having with another parent during pick up time. She knows what he eats everyday and what his backpack is AND how he wears it! She has developed this smile that she does when she sees him or gets embarrassed. Basically she just sucks her cheeks in really tight and does this fast paced walk down the hall. She almost looks like the speed walkers in the mall. It's so crazy to watch! Her Dad doesn't  like all the boy talk :) 
Since she started school in August I feel like we have been SO busy! We drive over 60 miles a day to take and pick her up and then  between AWANAS and other church and school things, it can be overwhelming at times. I feel like THAT mom that I never envied. I used to complain about all the free, boring time that we had when I home schooled. Now the free time is seldom and missed. If she didn't enjoy going so much I would seriously consider pulling her out but for now, we'll stick it out.  Just a funny side note...since Halloween is around the corner I have candy in jars on the kitchen counter. The other day we were walking out of the house and I had given them all a piece for the road. Bella was eating a mini Reese's peanut butter cup. This is what she said to me, no lie! "Thanks Mom! I love Reese's penis!" I almost fell down the steps and had to hide my smile before correcting her several times! Bless her heart! We don't need her saying this at school...

Beau has become quite the big sister and has really stepped it up ( all on her own) since Bella has been in school. She's always been a helper, too much sometimes, but now she's taken on more a motherly role with Jude. I didn't realize how much I depended on Bella to help me with the girls until she left! At different times through out each week I will find Beau trying to put a bib around Judes neck...an infant bib. She now tries to pick her up and bounce her on her hip!! Jude does NOT enjoy this at all and will just yell till Beau drops her! There's no such thing as gently placing Jude down with Beau. She's just not the gentle type of girl but that's what makes her Beau! She's rough and tough and she doesn't care. She also enjoys doing Judes hair and putting shoes on her. For the most part, Jude is pretty tolerant but she has a limit. They've definitely grown a lot closer since Bella is gone and I love that. Neither one of them are T.V. kids so they keep each other pretty busy and me as well!

Jude has also grown up in the past few months and is EVERYWHERE people! I find myself always calling out her name and looking in everyone's room only to find her sitting in an empty bath tub or hiding under her crib. She has discovered the ladder on the girls bunk bed and has almost climbed to the very top!! She loves to sit on top of the couch and wave to the passing cars but often gets too excited and falls off, hitting her head on the wall on her way down. She just realized she can jump up and down and that she can bend all the way over and put her head between her legs. Her most favorite thing to do would have to be spinning around in a circle until she falls over. Just watching her do this makes me dizzy! She is smart and sneaky. I found her yesterday trying to carry a stool to the counter so she could get a better look at what I was doing. Before you know it, she's standing on the kitchen table with a Sharpie in hand, trying to color on Bellas homework! She's quick and fast. She is going through that stage of pulling her rubber band out and will NOT leave her hair up. Leaving it down limits her vision but she doesn't seem to mind one bit. I will spend way too  much time doing her hair and the second she walks away, she's pulled out her bow along with a handful of blonde hair! I would love to trim it and get it out of her eyes but her dad is not a huge fan of my haircuts...enough said.This is what she usually looks like. 


So over all it's been crazy, busy, new, too much but it's been exciting and interesting! Until next time...!