Random Picture Update

A bunch of i-phone pictures from the last few months: 

I was so proud of our little family for finishing this accomplishment. We started reading through the gospels together. At first we read one chapter at a time, and the kids would take turns summarizing each chapter in their own words and trying to make connections between the stories and chapters we read together. It was a great time of conversation around the dinner table. Now, we read it more flexibly and without the formal summary... but it's still been a precious memory for me during this season.

Random wake up picture of the girls and their Daddy.

Cutest neighbors.

Thankful Momma on her weekend.

Date night with neighbors that have become family to us.

Friday night movie at home with the family.

Wiffle ball, always wiffle ball with the very best neighbors. 

Wiffle ball after school with our buddies once a week.

Speaking of buddies, so good to see these fifth graders together on campus again. I adore these kids!

Dad found us a used bike and I love it! Family bike rides on the weekend are my new favorite. 

Taylor loves her classmates and is supposedly marrying the boy on her right. 

Back to school means sick days. Dustin snapped this picture of Tay and I sleeping on her floor. As long as these nights feel, I am so thankful for the numbered days I have of being needed like this by my littles. 

Soccer. What a fun season we had. Emmerson grew so much in her knowledge and skill this year. She had such a great time with her teammates. 

Taylor was on the Sunflowers this year. She spent most of her games asking when it was going to be over and walking around giving us thumbs up. But she was also so proud to be out there on the field this year like her brother and sister. 

Donovan has a successful season, too! His team was so advanced and fun to watch. 

Saturdays have been busy with soccer and Sundays with baseball since the start of the school year, but things are finally beginning to slow down again. We were so grateful to have the opportunity to play again this year!

 

The perfect end to a tough week

Today was Hein family perfection! Thank you, Lord for a fun day adventuring with my family. I needed this. 

 By the end of the work week, last week. I. Was. Done. For the past few weeks Taylor has been in this "phase" of not sleeping and throwing tantrums every moment of her awake hours. We have always drawn a very hard line when it comes to kids sleeping in our bed. I am all about what works for each and every family. But for ours, we just don't roll that way. In rare occasions when the kids are sick, or they have a bad dream, Dustin and I usually crawl into bed with them until they fall back asleep and then we sneak back into our own bed. 

But in recent weeks, things have completely flipped. Taylor seems next to impossible to get down to sleep at night. We have to tuck her in over and over again. She's such a stinker. She'll turn the lights on, start pulling out toys, jump on her sister's bed... basically torture poor Emmerson. When she does finally fall asleep, she'll wake up an hour or two later and cry/scream uncontrollably for an hour or two. There is no consoling her. It's total insanity. So for that reason, we've been pulling her into bed with us. And to make matters worse, after the time change, she started to get up for the day at 4am. 

Annnnddd... (I think because of her lack of sleep) she is having melt downs over everything! I mean everything. I didn't pick out the right shirt, she actually wanted her hair in a braid, she hates these socks, she only wants chocolate milk, not regular. Dad can't take her to school... only mom! She doesn't want Emmerson to touch the blanket that she's cuddling with. She wants her stuffed animals, no wait, she hates them. 

You name it. There was literally nothing we could do right with her last week. 

I hit a new mom low on Saturday morning when I got very stern with her and said between my grinding teeth, "If you keep screaming, the neighbors are going to call the police and they're going to take you away from our family because they think we're terrible parents. Is that what you want???" 

Yep. I went there. 

It was either that or I think my marriage was about to end. When you are completely sleep deprived, still working 50+ hours a week, and listening to non stop screams of rage every second that you're not working, you say horrible things like this to your two your old. Or at least, I did. Sorry, not sorry. It did seem to work, at least temporarily. 

Here was poor Emmerson sleeping with me all Friday night because she began to cry uncontrollably from the Taylor torture. Ugh. 

But I am sooooo happy to report that Saturday night and Sunday night were like miracles! She slept in her bed with only a few wake ups and no screaming cries. Glory, glory, Hallelujah! All is right with the world. Our marriage, sleep, and sanity have all been restored in just two days of normal sleeping. 

Things I have learned this week. I am feeling too old to hang with the highs and lows of a two year old. I love my family so darn much! That is all. 

Back to the weekly updates, then... shall we? Saturday wrapped up the soccer season. Donovan's team won the silver division title. It was such a fun final game. 

He played against one of his best buddies from school. 

Emmerson was sad to see her soccer season end. She loved playing with this little group of gals. Saturday night we went to the Trampoline Park to celebrate a fun season together. 

Sunday, the kids were happy to have a lazy day without plans. I started to deep clean the house in anticipation of all things Christmas. Does anyone else do that? It felt so good to clean, clean, clean. The bigs and I got on a kick cutting paper snowflakes. We came up with a fun plan for decorating their rooms for the holidays. I am so excited for the holidays! Thanksgiving break is right around the corner and I am here for it! Also, I have had holiday music playing non-stop AND we broke out the Christmas jammies... so pretty much, It's the most wonderfulll time of the yearrrrr! 

 Today we had no school in observance of Veteran's Day. PS So grateful for those that have served our country. We decided to make the most of our first free of sports, day off since summer with a little family outing. We drove the kids down to PL to see the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

 We also did some adventuring at the Cabrillo National Monument. 

 The kids posed with who I think was supposed to be Cabrillo himself. He awkwardly pulled out a dagger and posed like he was attacking the kids. #memories I guess. 

We toured the lighthouse and watched a little informative movie about the Point Loma tide pools before heading over to our college alma mater. 

The kids have been on campus a handful of times, but we typically go during summer and winter break when the university is empty. Today, classes were in session and the kids thought it was so funny to be up in the mix during a college school day. 

After playing around on campus, we went out for a late lunch and then came home in the afternoon. 

It was the most beautiful day together that ended with sharing homemade queso around the table and some fresh chocolate chip cookies for dessert. 

It was the perfect family day that I needed oh, so badly. 

We survived last week. Even in the chaos and sleep deprivation... I am so very thankful to do life with this crazy crew of mine. 

Wishing you all an amazing week ahead. 

xoxo

Major Catch Up

Rather than try to spread out 10 different posts with miscellaneous pictures of September, I thought I would attempt squeezing them all into one gigantic September catch up post. You ready? 

Here I am. So tired, so drained, and so happy. Despite how busy these first weeks of the school year have been, life has been pretty smooth sailing. Every morning is a hustle and nightly baths and tuck-ins are the same. But each day is amazing in it's own special way. I am thankful for these full days and the memories that accompany them.  So without further ado, here is September and a whole lot of phone pics to go with it. 

Birthdays: 

Oma Oma turned 97 this month! Can you believe it? She looks so beautiful and continues to be so healthy both mentally and physically. My mom and dad took her out for her annual fancy, lobster dinner. I'd say she liked it! 

My most selfless, incredible, loving momma had her birthday too. She is always so satisfied with little as she took a back seat to Oma Oma's special day and graciously soaked in the simpler celebration of coconut cupcakes and a family dinner together.  I still owe her big time. She is definitely the one that keeps me sane on our most hectic seasons of life. So thankful for her!

And precious Gram, was a birthday girl this month, too. She somehow escaped back to Sacramento right before we could celebrate her... but she will be back so soon so that we can have a belated birthday party for her. Gram is the other half of my sanity. At 77, this woman continues to be hard to keep up with, always serving others and using her spiritual gifts of hospitality to bless everyone around her. She is truly amazing!

My brother and his family came down for a birthday celebration for our Oma. My mom was pretty much planned the entire thing and all we had to do was unlock the front door. It was such a special day. All of the cousins played so happily all day long while us grown ups sat out in the backyard, enjoying wine and some incredible Oma stories, some we'd never heard before. In fact, we stayed outside until way past the kiddos' bed time because we were having such a great time listening to Oma tell us the stories of her life both during and post WWII and how she immigrated to the US shortly after. She told us about how she fell in love with my Opa and what it was like to be able to own a home and have a family and live such a successful life when she started in this country with nothing to her name. I barely ever reached for my phone this day and missed lots of photo opts... but the joy of this day is one I won't forget. 

Oh, and I also won't forget this moment when my brother realized that he was wearing the same shoes as Oma. That had us all rolling! 

Sports: 

Our weekends are dictated by sports but I have grown to love it. Soccer fields and baseball fields are our social scene. We love being with the families we've grown to know so well through these weekly games. Here's Emmerson with her besties again. 

She is on the Scarlett Witches this year and has loved every minute of it. 

The grandparents are the best spectators... always keeping us happy with high-end seating and plenty of snacks. 

Unfortunately, most of our soccer Saturdays are blazing hot. Look at all of these red cheeks on the way home. 

But the evening practices have become nice and cool. 

Last weekend was nothing short of a miracle... our first Autumn weekend brought RAIN! We never get rain this time of year. It was fall heaven. First things first, 2 morning soccer games. 

It poured at the start of the game. 

Super Grampie brought out these umbrellas from his car. Such a life-saver!

It was another win for the Voyagers. Donovan has played so well this year and is really developing his skills at this level. He's on a great team full of friends and lucked out with one of the best coaches in the league. 

And then there's Sundays. This is the first year that we've played baseball in the fall. It's the same team Donovan played with competitively in the spring. Dustin helps to coach them still, too. This is their first year playing kid-pitch which has been a great learning experience, and also super scary for mom to watch. 

Most of my "baseball" pictures are of the girls on the side lines. This was a super warm scrimmage in Escondido. Oma treated us to sno-cones!

And during this tournament, our girls played with their besties the Powell sisters. Their mom is the queen of all things cute and Pinterest-y. On this hot, Sunday morning, she brought an ice block with lots of sea creatures frozen between the ice layers. The girls used spoons to chisel them out throughout the entire game. Genius! 

This is "best friend Charlotte" as Taylor calls her. We're so lucky that James, who is Donovan's exact age and has played soccer and baseball with him since they were 4 also has a sister, Eleanor who is Emmerson's exact age and Charlotte who is Taylor's. A match made in sport viewing heaven if you ask me. 

Fall: 

Onto all things fall. Our garden is now starting to wrap up it's growing season, but it has been very fruitful this year. Our pumpkins took off! We planted jack be littles, Connecticut fields, and big macs. We got one pretty big mac, 3 or 4 Connecticut fields, and so far about 15 jack be littles. It has been so much fun watching them grow all over the hill.  

This was our first jack be little that we harvested. 

And many more have followed.

The kids helped me back an apple pie from scratch for our Sunday dinner. 

School: 

School mornings are harder for some than others. Emmerson must have asked me every single morning last week, if it was Saturday. Ha! She takes after her Dad. 

 This blurry shot was a Wednesday night concert that Dustin and I went to. So proud of us for going even when we were so tired. We saw Angels and Airwaves and it was a blast!

 This is Desi, who I often refer to as my "work wife." This year my role has officially been moved to "math coach" which is so exciting for me! Desi is my other half, our ELA coach. We have so much fun learning together, pushing each other forward, and riding out the highs and lows that come along with the roles that we have. So thankful I get to spend every day with her. 

 And as I mentioned before in another post, my bestie Hollie, is teaching at our school this year. We feel so lucky to have her at our site. She is the most positive, professional, and fun person to work with. Can you believe these outfits...Rock Your School Day was a hit! 

 I love running into my kids at school. Here is Donovan in true form with two of his best friends Jax and Mitch. 

 At the end of the month we had our school carnival. The kids always love it and I look forward to seeing all of the students running around with their families. 

Cooking with Donovan:

Donovan and I are on a cooking kick. He is always so interested in helping me cook, bake, you name it. I love having company in the kitchen. It's become our little thing and I am thankful for it. 

 He wanted to make a football appetizer last weekend so we gave Joanna Gaines' queso recipe a go. 

 It was a hit with kids and parents! 

 Monday night he jumped in with me to make a pretty complicated pasta recipe. He stayed with me for an hour step by step making magic happen. I love this time with him!

We also tried Joanna's ricotta pancake recipe! The fam was skeptical about it but oh! my! gosh! they are the BEST pancakes we have ever had. Dustin has made me promise to make them a weekly thing and so far, two weeks in a row, I'm following through. 

Miscellaneous: 

Taylor, oh Taylor. I really will have to devote and entire post to this one. Until then, these sparkly eyes say it all. Half trouble, half adorable. 

This was a rare afternoon where these two spent hours in the garage creating a Lego house together. Sibling bliss. (Until Taylor who was channeling her half trouble side, came in and destroyed it). 

A quick cousin visit as they drove through town. 

Taylor as a very busy momma. 

Oh, and this is important news to share! Taylor is POTTY TRAINED! We have no children in diapers anymore. Can you believe it??!! Grammie kicked it off with a week at home with Tay. She's had some initial weeks with accidents here and there. But now, we are in full blown undies, for church, for running errands, even for napping and she's been amazing! Such a huge milestone. That means preschool won't be far away. 

Donovan checked this novel out at the library and was so proud when he finished it. He loves to read in bed both before he goes to sleep and immediately when he wakes up. He seriously amazes me. I don't think I read nearly half as much as he does until I was so much older. 

And first grade has turned this one into a full on reader, too. She's reading everything now and it is so sweet. She loves playing teacher (just how I used to) and like to have an audience to read to. She will even advise you to please raise your hand and wait to be called on if you have a question. 

And last but not least a fun little neighborhood get together. We all brought over appetizers for a little meal with friends. I didn't take many pictures but we had a blast! 

September has been good to us. And now I am thrilled that the start of my favorite season is here! 

I hope you are all well, too. 

Until the next one. 

xoxo