Settling Back In

September was basically spent trying to get back into the swing of things after a summer of traveling. Obviously I am still trying to get into some kind of schedule since I am just now posting this. I felt like I had things pretty much under control right before King was born and now ummm not so much, but I think King is worth it. Anyway, one of the highlights of coming home from Utah was that my sister Sarah and her husband Casey moved here to Austin the next day! My kids are so excited to have family here and so am I. When we moved here I figured we would be on our own and never imagined that within 2 years we would have family so close. Sarah is getting her Phd at UT and Casey is getting his masters and they live about 20 minutes away! Their timing couldn't have been better, since they arrived in time to help me out while John was away for his dad's funeral. Having dad gone was a lot easier to handle with an awesome aunt and uncle down the road. Here we are hanging out at their pool. (I like holding King because he makes me look tan).

September meant back to school for EZ. I will have to admit I was counting down the days till preschool started. Last year we were at the YMCA, but this year because of scheduling we switched to a local Lutheran church and we couldn't be happier. EZ loves his teacher and he seems to really be opening up and playing with other kids. He has also started reading like a champ. He is always excited to go to school and is very proud of the artwork he produces. He likes crafts so much that he made me buy him scissors and of course immediately cut of some of Netta's hair. Luckily, the damage can be easily hidden.

One of EZ's projects at school was a book about his family. I had to help him fill out a little survey and one of the questions was "What is a favorite family tradition?" and I realized that we don't really have any specific traditions, so inspired by how much fun my kids had roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in Utah, I bought us a little fire pit for our backyard. The first time was used it we were a little unprepared and we didn't eat dinner till about 8, but the kids were so excited they didn't even notice.

We also decided it would be good to get the kids involved of some kind of sportish activity so we signed Netta up for dance and EZ up for gymnastics at the local rec center. They both absolutely love it. I must say Netta is the star of her class, since she is typically the only one paying attention. She loves to dance so I am not surprised. Of course I had to search for the cutest dance outfit possible. It's kind of silly considering how young she is, but she is so stinkin cute I just can't help myself.

Finally, I little update about King. He had his four month check up during September and weighed in at 18 lbs, making him the size of some one year olds we know and he is still the biggest of my kids so far. He is definitely a morning person and I have no idea where he gets that from. He is so smiley when he first wakes up. Now when it comes to evenings things aren't always so smooth. He is also definitely the fussiest of the kids so far and always seems to melt down around dinner time. There are days when I think it's good thing he is number 3 because otherwise our family might have been a lot smaller. But really it could be a lot worse and of course his cuteness makes up for it.