The Ivie Family Blog

The Ivie Family Blog

Friday, August 30, 2013

First day of school 2013

The girls are back in school!!!!  Yahoo! They are pumped and so are we!  They both had a GREAT first day!  We are looking forward to a great year at Fielder. I am also looking forward to my daytime yoga sessions and daytime dates with Chris!
Emma got some kisses from Seb before school.
Ry was slow moving at first.
I had to wake both girls up at 8:00 a.m. to get them fed and ready.
Happy girls!
Emma tried to wear her backpack this year.
It lasted 3 steps.
Ryan is growing up so fast!
Pre-K already!

Our little Sweet Pea on the first day of her second year of Pre-school!
Our big, little girl.
She is once again the tallest in her class.
(and one of the only ones in panties!)
Pea walking in with Daddy
My three loves.
Last minute kisses from Daddy.
She walked right in and said "bye Mommy, bye Daddy, bye Pie Pie",
meanwhile most of the other kids were crying. 
Ryan had a bit of last minute anxiety.
(She is just like her momma in that way)
She reminded herself that "Mommy and Daddy always come back",
and then she was all smiles.
She walked right into her classroom and found her buddy Eily.
We are so proud of our Turtle! She has matured sooooooo much!
After school I took the girls to get their haircut at the salon I go to.
It was Ryan's first time to get her hairwashed at a salon.
She LOVED the salon treatment!
Emma got her first big girl, real deal haircut.
Bye bye, Emma Dirt!
The girls got to have their "back to school dinner" at the fire station!

After the fire station, we grabbed some ice cream.
It was a fabulous first day of school for all.
(I got to run, go to yoga, read my book, and I am now enjoying a celebratory glass of wine!)

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Meet the teacher

Ryan will be a Turtle and Emma will be a Little Lamb this year.  We got to go to Parent Night Tuesday evening and meet the teachers and see the classroom.  I was so excited that Ryan's 3 best friends are in her class again!  And, Emma will have the same teachers that Ryan had when she was two.  All in all we were very pleased.  Wednesday morning we took the girls up to school to meet the teachers.  Ryan's teachers are Mrs. Pressley and Mrs. Harper.  Emma's teachers are Ms. Nelda and Ms. Erica. Both girls were very excited!
Ryan was so excited to meet her teachers and see her friends!
I can't believe this is her last year at Fielder!
Emma was a little shy, but warmed up pretty quick.

Such a blondie!
Ms. Nelda gave Emma a sticker. :-)

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Bedtime Preciousness

Every third night I put the kids to bed by myself.  Those nights can be hectic since we have yet to combine the girls bedtime routines.  They brush teeth and take their vitamins together and then Ryan "helps" me put Emma to bed.  We sit in Emma's room and read a few books on the floor and then Ryan helps me sing to Emma. We usually sing Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Jesus Loves Me and You are my Sunshine. Some nights she is super sweet about it and pats and kisses her, and Emma eats it up.  Other nights she is not so sweet and becomes a disruption instead of helpful.  After a few songs I leave Emma in her room, doors locked.  She sometimes says "nite nite Mommy" and I never hear a peep and sometimes she will cry out for me for a bit and then she settles. Every once in while she gets up and checks the door to make sure it is locked. Then, I read Ryan 2-3 books in her bed and we say the pledge of allegiance, say prayers and sing the Marine Corp hymn.  Then, she asks for milk and for her IPod to be turned on.  Usually, that is the end of it.  After a promise to leave her door open and to check on her she lets me leave and falls asleep pretty quick. Then, before I get in bed I unlock Emma's door and cover her up.  It is clockwork every C shift, usually the whole process of bedtime takes about 25-30 minutes.  I try to start at 7:45 and be done by 8:15.

On nights when Chris is home we each take a kid. It goes a lot quicker when we are putting them down simultaneously.  Lately, Chris takes Emma and I take Ryan.  The only difference is that Chris lays with Emma and sings 3-4 princess songs.  They have an order of songs and Emma asks for them by name. ("Ariel", "Snow White", "Belle"....)  There is really nothing sweeter then hearing your husband sing the princess songs (word for word) to your baby.  Emma loves it, I love it (when I can hear it through the door).  When he is done with Emma I am usually done with Ryan's routine and she asks for her dad.  Chris comes in and Ryan and him sing Hermie The Worm (a camp song that he has taught her).  Then, he usually starts her music and grabs her milk.  That's the routine.  I wanted to write it down so I would remember it.  Precious moments with our precious girls.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Galveston 2013

We had so much fun down at Galveston last summer that we decided to do it again!  This year we were lucky enough to have the Hackbart family join us.  We also got to spend a night with the Crowley family in Houston on our way to Galveston.  We had fabulous weather, company, food and drinks!  Lots of memories made again.  Only one bad one - I performed CPR for the first (and hopefully last) time during one of my morning runs.  Besides that, we couldn't have asked for a better trip.  Our girls had an absolute blast and all four girls slept 11-12 hours every night together in the bunk beds.  That was my only concern going in, and it worked out so well! I think this may be a new tradition!
Ryan stayed awake the whole drive and played with toys.
We didn't even have to turn on a movie!
Emma snoozed for 2 hours!
Chris finally got to try the Sonic pretzel dog on our way to Houston.
He gave it two thumbs up! So did Pea!

We got to spend the night with the Crowley family!
Ryan and Emma were in heaven playing
dress up with Avery and Mia!
The girls swam in the morning before we headed
to Galveston.
Beach babes, ready to hit the beach!

Ryan spent a lot of time alone soaking in the beach.

Lots of sand "cakes" were made.


Even on Daddy!

Cute Katie!
Yummy chocolate covered marshmallows!
Emma rockin' my hat.
Me and my girls!
Ryan loved to lay in the sand.
She would sing, talk to herself and play with the sand.
I loved watching her.
This nudist stayed busy!
Cutest hiney on the beach!
Little surfer girl.

Kevin getting covered.
Chris getting an exfoliating scrub.
Katie all smiles, Emma not so much!
Cuties!

Wish I knew what she was thinking about.
Lilly and Becca
The little girls.
The big girls.
One of my favorite pictures of the trip.
Lilly and Kevin
Katie caught a nap on the beach.
I really enjoyed hanging out with Becca!
These two goof balls always have fun together.
We love the Hackbarts!
We hope they travel with us again!


We couldn't resist a little yoga in the sand.
Kicking up into handstands.
So fun!
Scissors pose!
Real men do yoga!

Pea spent a lot of time using her watering can to fill the little pool.


Hacbkarts at dinner at The Spot.

Pretty girls.

On our way out of The Spot Ryan and Emma spotted some cool
looking ice cream.  It was vanilla Blue Bell dyed rainbow.
The girls had to have some.

Emma's outfit remained white for about 4 bites.
My three loves.
Blue Pea Pie
I am so thankful for all these precious moments and memories.



It was a great vacation to end our summer!  Pre-school starts in 10 days!