Lost tooth!

Caitlin has lost her first tooth!

It had been loose for a while and I could see that it was ready to come out. So I asked her if she wanted me to pull it. She said yes. So I just reached in and grabbed it. Surprised both of us. But baby girl was brave. She didn't cry or even wince. Probably too excited to have finally lost a tooth.

Happy Birthday Dominic!

Our little boy is now 9 years old. 

And what a fun age that has been so far. 

Here are a few pictures from his birthday celebrations.

 

 

First Day of School

While we had a wonderful summer, both kids were excited to start school.

 

 

Caitlin is in 1st grade and Dominic is in 4th grade. Seems hard for me to believe.


Caitlin at her desk. 

She has Ms. Janzen for her teacher this year.

Dominic at his desk.

He has a two new teachers this year, Mr. Moors and Ms. Ellie.

 

Lewis

We had a sad element to our summer. While we were visiting my grandparents we received news from my MIL that Lewis was at the vet and very sick. He couldn't walk or eat by himself. He was completely helpless. It was obvious from the start that he was wasn't doing well and probably wouldn't make it. But I brought him home and spent a week feeding him and keeping him clean. I wanted the kids, especially Dominic, to have a chance to see that we'd tried and to be able to say good-bye.

By the 2nd week he had begun to be in pain. So we made the painful decision to put him to sleep. I took him to my friend's house (who is a vet) and she helped us say good-bye. She turned down the lights, put him on a soft blanket and let us hold him while he went to sleep. It was so sad, especially to watch Dominic say good-bye to his friend. But we couldn't let him be in pain with no hope of getting better. We'd tried everything and now it was time.

We will miss him greatly. He was a very special cat.

But Dominic wanted to heal his heart with a new kitten. A friend had some kittens so we brought two home. Wouldn't want one to get lonely. =) And with Alex (Caitlin's cat) so big, we weren't sure how one little kitten would adjust alone.

We named them Meme Fox and Katie Ganshert - Meme and Kate.*

They are the sweetest little kittens imaginable. The kids are in love and even Alex seems to have accepted his two new sisters.

*Sadly a coyote got Kate about 2 months after we brought her home.

Summer Fun

Remember those choirs they were doing so well? They've been great at getting them done, but some are more fun than others. =)

The kids have gone to sports camp the last two years. This year it was pretty hot, but they did great and loved it.

 We had a couple of picnics in our back yard. 

Caitlin loves her Daddy.

 Jon was out of town visiting his grandmother. So I took the kids to Burgess Falls. We had so much fun. Although I had to say silly stuff to get Dominic to give me a real smile, I eventually got the photo I wanted.

We went to see my Aunt and Grandparents this summer.
 My kids adore their great-grandparents and the feeling is mutual. It's wonderful to still have my grandparents and be able to share my children with them.

We had lots of other fun activities this summer.

Summer reading program fun

Lego Club

Even the Algood Police joined us for that one. Turns out they like Legos too. =)

Playing dress up

Picking up some pools at the store for our party.

 We had a blast this summer and all bemoaned how quickly it went by.