Playing Catch Up - Alli

Here are a few Alli updates-

In February, after only 7 months of braces, she got her braces off! Beautiful straight teeth now!

In March, she joined a volleyball team. The season was pretty short, but she improved a lot during her time on the team.

In April, she turned NINE YEARS OLD! And after five years of asking for a guinea pig, she got one! Meet Bubbles, AKA Piggie. I cried when she saw that we had got her a guinea pig. I was so happy to see her excitement. She has done a pretty good (read OK, not that great, have to remind her a lot, makes a huge mess when cleaning the cage) taking care of her.

Alli also took the TAKS test in April....that wonderful test for all public school students. She struggled with the math part and was tutored once a week for a few months before the test. She was so nervous when she took the test. But I bet she did great. We haven't received her scores yet. And, honestly, I don't care if she passed or not because I know she gave it her best effort. Her teacher sent me an email after the tests were complete to let me know that she had never seen a student work as hard as Alli did while she was taking her test. I am so proud of her for trying so hard! And that is all that matters to me!

Playing Catch Up!!

Wow- it has been quite some time since I have posted anything on this blog! So many excuses....but I wont get into that! Let's go straight to the pictures and updates!

Starting the first week of 2011, after NINE YEARS of being a SAHM, I became an employee of First Friends Preschool! It was a tough transition. I only worked two days a week, but sometimes it felt like five! This was Katie's last year of preschool so I was glad to be at her school.

Katie and I at school on Camo Camping Day

Next year, I will be teaching four year olds- 3 days a week. I am super excited about it....a little nervous, but mostly excited! I can hardly believe that I am at the stage in my life when all of my girls will be in full day school! They really do grow up too fast!

Tori is 6

Tori is 6 years old! 

We celebrated Tori's birthday with a party at home with some of her friends.  We decorated gingerbread houses and played a tasting game.

The girls had a lot of fun decorating their houses and guessing which flavor of candy cane they got. 

Tori asked for an iPod for her birthday.  She has had a lot of fun with that and all the other toys she got.....and then a week and a half later, more toys from Christmas!  Needless to say, she is over-loaded with things right now! 

And the best part about turning six in our house is - you can get your ears pierced!  For a long time, Tori was saying she was going to wait until she was seven to get her ears pierced.  Which was completely fine with me....six is just the earliest that I want them to do it.  But then just a few months before her birthday, she changed her mind.  So after school on December 14th, we went to go get her ears pierced!

Her eyes are a little teary....she cried when they did the first one, but was fine after the second one went in.

Hard to believe she is six years old!  She is a great kid!  So sweet and loving!  And she has been doing an awesome job taking care of her newly pierced ears.  She is so responsible!  (It must be a middle-child thing!)

Halloween 2010

The Queen of Hearts

Miss Strawberry Shortcake

A Beautiful Butterfly

As always, the girls had a great time trick or treating!  I loved the costumes they picked out this year. 

Here they are with our neighbor friends ready for the evening to start!

Look at all that candy!  So dangerous to have all this chocolate in the house!

America's Greatest Generation

An era that has been said to be the most terrifying and turbulent in our nation's history, an era of men who served their country by fighting in and winning the battles of World War II, and of women and men who helped America finance the war with their home front efforts, these are the men and women who are now referred to as 'America's Greatest Generation'.  My grandpa, Alex Rodriguez, was one of the men who served in our nation's military during this time.  He served in the United States Army and lead a group of solders in the Philippines as a Staff Sergeant.  He served proudly.  He was a man that took Duty, Honor and Country to heart.  And up until his last days, he participated in every local WWII event.  He rode in parades, waving his flag proudly, as the crowds honored him and the other veterans.  But he was humble and never boasted about his medals.  Grandpa could usually be found at one VFW or another.  He was selected through a veteran's program to be taken to see the WWII Memorial in Washington DC.  Sadly, he will not make his flight, missing it only by three weeks.  My grandpa passed away on October 14th.  He was a great man.  He was loved by so many people.  And I am proud to say that I am a Rodriguez and that my oldest daughter is named after her great grandpa. 

Alex Rodgriguez, my grandpa, front and center holding the flag.

 

In honor of Grandpa, Post 76 conducted a 21-gun salute and flew the flag at half mast.

  

 

I am fascinated with this generation of great men and women - their dedication and patriotism helped shape our nation.  Veteran's Day is right around the corner.  Don't let this day pass without thanking someone from our Greatest Generation.  I wish I would have called my grandpa every Veteran's Day. 

10/10/10

Today was a very special day for us!  A few months ago, Alli asked Jesus to be the Lord of her life.  And today, (on her half birthday), she obediently followed Christ in baptism.   WE ARE SO PROUD OF HER!  And I am so thankful for her decision and her desire to be obedient!  I love that my children are getting to experience Christ at a young age.  My prayer is that Tori and Katie will follow in Alli's foot steps and make the decision to follow Christ.  And that they would never stray from His path!

In her baptismal outfit

Proud daddy ready to baptize his first daughter

So sweet! I love this picture!

September

Wow! Time is a flyin'!

September was a busy month for us......well, every month is pretty much a busy month for us!  But with the start of school and all the activities that come with the start of school, it seemed to be extra busy for us!

Alli is taking cheer for the first time this year.  She is really enjoying being a cheerleader and is already talking about wanting to cheer again next year. 

She also got braces!  She had the bottom braces put on at the end of August and the top ones a few weeks later.

Here she is with her new braces!

 

Hopefully these things will make her teeth super straight because they are really a pain in the butt!  We were at the orthodontist at least once a week when she first got them.  She was always having some thing or another poking, stabbing, or hurting her.  She seems to be doing better with them now that they have been on her teeth for awhile.

Tori is loving school.  She loves going to art class and loves the new friends she is making.  Her favorite day of the week is Tuesday.  Tuesday is ballet and tap for her.  She loves ballet!  She has been saying for at least two years now that she wants to be a ballerina.  She is very good at it and practices at home all the time.  I will go into the playroom and she will have all the chairs set up ready to give me a show!

Katie is doing well in preschool.  She has really developed an interest for words and reading in the last few weeks.  She is in gymnastics and is doing very well in it.  My favorite days with Katie are Wednesdays and Fridays- these are the two days that she does not have preschool.  I love that we get one on one time together!  We cuddle, read, clean (she loves to help!) do puzzles or go shopping.

These pictures were taken at one of Alli's games.