Giggles and Grins!

We had such a wonderful weekend!

We headed off to the Giggleberry Fair on Friday. It is basically a giant KID LAND with games, a carousel, and little rides. The kids had a great time! Braeden was in his glory...he rode every ride and played every game. (SHHH...Don't tell him none of the games were actually ON.) We actually did this trick with the girls, too. Give a kid a steering wheel and they are good to go! We stopped at None Such Farm on the way home for treats and BANANA BREAD (which I have eaten almost completely myself.)

On Saturday, Grandmom and Grandpop came over and the kids ate a HUGE pretzel tray. Literally, they inhaled this tray of soft pretzels! They then went off to dream land and we got to spend some time with ADULTS!!! Yippee!

Today we went to Alverthorpe Park where the kids played for HOURS. It was really fun. We then went home and stopped at our neighborhood block party before filling up the water table in the yard for the kids. It is STEAMING hot here now!

DISCLAIMER---This may happen to YOUR baby after a weekend like this...check out the cookie crumbs on the sides of his mouth.

School, twins, and television!

We have been so busy. Going from a Mom and Dad of one FIESTY little Guatemalan to FOUR FIERY children has made for some ups and downs.
Here are some updates:
1. Rhys started summer school on Friday. He seems to really like it and we are hoping it will help him with his English. He really wants to learn but is having a hard time. He is in first grade in the program and has pull-out for ESL which is wonderful. He has become OBSESSED with t.v. so it is a good thing to get him on to better and brighter things! He continues to be a wonderful kid who we are very proud of!
2. MAJOR DEAL - Since the kids have been home, we have definitely had our doubts about the girls being twins. Riley seems so much older in how she looks, acts, etc. Well, we were sitting down to dinner one night and OUT comes Riley's tooth. RED FLAG! She has beautiful teeth so there is no decay that would make it fall out. We decided to get up the courage and ask Rhys. He very sadly told us that the girls are NOT twins. Riley is 5/6 and Waverly is 4. Needless to say, it threw us through a loop only because here we are treating our girls as twins and they are NOT. We are rolling with the punches but it is kind of weird.
3. Braeden has been really good. He tries really hard to play with the kids but they seem annoyed by him. He is the little brother that is following along with the "big" kids. For those who know about his therapies, he is KICKING BUTT! He is talking much more and really cooperates so much better!
4. Megan is starting back to work on July 1st. I am actually o.k. with it but just hope Shawn won't jump off a bridge! Haha!
5. Which leads us to SHAWN, who is OFF for the summer. He is doing great. He keeps wowing us with better dinners every night. We have some lucky kids to have a Dad who is such a great cook.
So that is us for June 24, 2008.

Pool Fun!

I am going to post more this weekend because we have been VERY busy but I thought I would share a few pictures of the kids first time in the pool.
Waverly did GREAT! She loved it and will probably be swimming by the end of the summer.
Braeden LOVES the pool but of course had to HOARD all of the toys. It was pretty silly.
Riley is like MOMMY! She gets cold very easily!
Rhys was HYSTERICAL. He could not figure out the pool. He kept turning his body and couldn't figure the whole thing out. Maybe next time!

Ethiopia and SPIDER MAN??

O.k. So I know that many of us who are home with our kiddos have experienced THIS phenomenon. In fact, Heather N. just posted on the listserv about it today. OUR KIDS THINK THEY ARE SPIDER MAN.

We have begun to call the kids by their American names. They are doing GREAT.
Rhys proudly says..."My name is Rhys Tewodros SoMONS"

Riley says..."My name is Wiley."

When we ask, Waverly, "What is your name?"

We get...SPIDER.
O.k. So we say "Hi, Spider." She laughs. We ask what is your FULL name?

She says, "SPIDER WOBBLY (I'm NOT kidding) Simmons."
Does it get any cuter? I LOVE to call her Wobbly. It melts my heart.

Taeden...NO!

O.k. For some reason, Yitayish calls Braeden TAEDEN. We tell her his name is Braeden. Seble and Teddy call him Braeden. Yitayish says TAEDEN. She also tells him NO all the time.
"Taeden, NO!" These are two words that Braeden is unfamiliar with. FIrst, he's like, "Who is Taeden??" Second, he is like, "No? What is No?" Haha.

The kids are doing well. They are a HANDFUL. The pediatrician told us that they need to be in a structured activity this summer because they "lack structure." Overall, we are all enjoying our time, going crazy sometimes, and loving being a family.

This is I call, SECURITY. Braeden will cuddle up with us ALOT lately. I think he needs this.



Seble, Yitayish, and Taeden....sorry, Braeden



So cute





Tewodros...Hanging out!

Beauty in Family

As many of you know, I LOVE photography! Some of my most prized possessions are my most beautiful shots of Braeden!
This week THE SIMMONS SIX have really started to grow as a family. We are becoming more and more comfortable around eachother.
Through silliness, laughter, tears, patience, and frustration, I have truly seen the beauty in my family.