Back to School

Well, it's here once again. The first day of school. I think it went well. At least I handled it okay and that is what's really important. Actually I wondered how the kids would do too. At dinner last night Lynnsey started complaining of a tummy ache. Dinner took longer than expected too so bath was late and bedtime was even later. By the time teeth were brushed and we'd had prayer, it was almost 10:00. Yikes! Then Lynnsey threw up and I wondered if she'd even get to have her first day of school. At midnight I had to get up with her again. I had given her a bowl just in case. She missed it by a mile so I had to change her pj's and bedding. But after that she slept well and kept everything down. It's possible it was just nerves I guess.

The kid's were actually easy to wake up this morning since I think they were actually excited/nervous about the day. I had told the kids that there were no tears allowed today except for me. Not only will I be sending off another one to Kindergarten, but I've just really enjoyed having everyone home this summer. And Taylor has been an enormous help with Spencer and Kaya, I'm sure I'll be lost without him for all those hours of the day.

Taylor went first at a little after 7 a.m. He goes to Washington Gardner Middle School and is in 7th grade this year. He says he actually thinks his schedule this year is pretty decent. He has Advisory (which is basically home room), Science, Algebra, Band, Social Studies, Explorers class (this term he has Exploring the Human Body; future classes include Exploring Computers, Exploring Careers, and Exploring Creative Writing), and English. He is thrilled not to have gym this year. He says he thinks he'll like most of his teachers and one of his best friends shares several of his classes.

Kalen took Kendall across the street to his school. They changed the school this year from a Pre-K through 2nd Grade school and it now has 1st through 4th grades, so Kendall gets to spend a couple of extra years at Harrington Elementary. His teacher this year is Ms. Ellenwood and he seems really excited about her. Plus, he has several of his good friends in class too including a neighbor girl that he plays with lots and "The Twins", two little girls who are so much fun. I think he'll really have a great year.

I drove Lynnsey up to her school. She goes to Caldwell Elementary which is an early childhood school that houses preschool, Early 5's, kindergarten, head start, and an early childhood class for developmentally disabled children. Her teacher is Mrs. Geyer and I think she will have so much fun with her. I was pleasantly surprised to see how large her classroom is and how few children are in the class. They're trying to keep class sizes to less than 17 kids which I think is great. I expected tears from my little shy girl, but she did great. Once we found her name tag and her seat at her table, she opened a jar of playdough and gave me a hug goodbye. I had planned to stay a bit longer but I figured I'd better take advantage of an easy exit. She seemed to have a great day and says she's excited for tomorrow.

Even though he's not old enough for school yet, Spencer didn't want to be left out of this post so we took his picture wearing the shirt that the kids said he needed to wear today since he still has "no school". I think he really missed the kids today, but I'm sure he'll quickly get used to having more of my attention. Plus tomorrow his little friend Aksel will start coming a few mornings per week again and he's SO excited about that. Here's a somewhat scary and sad thought though(at least to me): Next year Spencer will be having a first day of school photo when he's off to preschool!

Kaya--Growin' Like a (really cute) Weed!

Kaya Nicole Oswald--2 months old

We just had Kaya's 2 month old well-baby visit so I thought today would be a good time to give a little update on how she's doing. At her one month appointment it was decided that baby could not live on breast milk alone. She weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz. then which was only 2 oz above her birthweight and she was really fussy all the time. I had been worried that she was becoming colicky or worse, that we might be headed down the food allergy route again. But it was only hunger! Apparently I'm not producing enough milk this time around so we had to begin supplementing with formula at each feeding. She gained a pound in one week and became a completely different baby. She was so much happier! I actually feel really bad that I hadn't figured out that she wasn't getting enough to eat. I just thought she really liked nursing-- a lot.

So anyway, at today's appointment she now weighs 10 lbs. 6 oz. and is 21 1/2 inches long (this is only an inch more than the length they gave us at the hospital at birth but when we took her to the doctors office a few days later, they measured her at only 18 1/2 in. so by their calculations she has grown 3 inches). So now she's up to the 50th percentile for both height and weight which seemed to please the doctor. She got 3 shots and is now quite miserable. Poor kid. I really hate that they have to go through all that. She was so happy and unsuspecting as the nurse came toward her with the syringe. I felt like in her eyes it was the ultimate betrayal because I just stood by and let it happen! Hopefully she'll perk up soon and forgive me.

When she isn't being stuck with needles, Kaya is an absolute delight. She smiles all the time and really likes to talk to us. She's so expressive, you can almost guess what she's saying. She's a good sleeper. Twice she's slept through the night but usually she does a 6 hour stretch which still feels pretty good to me. I'm just enjoying her so much. I find myself torn between wanting to keep her like this forever or getting so excited for all the fun stages to come as her little personality continues to develop. But I guess since I can't keep her this way, I just need to continue to savor every day with her no matter how big she thinks she has to get.

"Old"-ies in the Park

Albion does a great summer concert series every year beginning with the community band concerts and then bringing in lots of other talents from various places. This was the final concert with Bill Haley's Comets. Bill Haley himself has passed away but the band lives on. The guy on the right is an original band member and we figured he must be at least 80 by now! The other band members weren't original but some were close to it. They did a great job and had everyone dancing and singing along.
Lynnsey had a fun time dancing to her favorites: "Rockin' Robin" and "Flip, Flop, Fly".
Even Taylor admitted that he enjoyed himself. He and Kendall both liked the songs "Tequila" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" the best. I asked Spencer what he liked the best and he said "the crazy songs" were his favorite. I think that pretty much meant the ones that he could dance to. He spent most of the time chasing and being chased by a cute little girl named Emma who was sitting near us. The faster the music, the faster they ran!

Turkeyville

For those of you you have never been privledged to join us here, such a wonderland as Turkeyville does indeed exist! We had heard about it when we moved here but we hadn't ever visited it until last year. Now we visit regularly. Turkeyville is pretty much a glorified turkey farm, but it is so much fun. Nearly every weekend there is something going on--flea markets, craft fairs, yard sales, entertainement, etc. There are two gift shops (one of which sells old fashioned candy), a game room, an ice cream parlor, a restaurant that sells (surprise!) all sorts of dishes made with turkey, a playground, a dinner theater, and on certain weekends they have trains running (see below). Also, it is really nice for the kids to see actual farm animals. I didn't realize how citified they were until recently Kendall said to me "I don't think I've ever seen a real chicken before." (He has but it was so long ago that he couldn't remember it.) Lynnsey responded to him:"Yes you have. We had it for dinner the other night."
These trains are really amazing. They're tiny little things and run on even tinier tracks, but they are sturdy enough that adults can ride too. The track winds through the woods and the ride is complete with a tunnel and a couple of trestles to cross. The kids all fought over who got to ride with Timothy. Taylor grudgingly agreed to ride with me, (and Nana and Kayleigh).

We all got to ride together this time around since this train had two cars attatched to it. We rode twice and the kids probably would have ridden a few more times, but after the second time the line had become really long. It's okay though. They know we'll be back another day...

Something Cute

My kids often say the cutest/funniest things and I often intend to write them down, but in the craziness that is my life, more often than not, I never get around to it and then end up forgetting. But I thought this latest was really cute and wanted to share it.

Yesterday at church I had taken Kaya to the mother's lounge (which is a fancy term for "closet with a chair in it"). Anyway, Spencer and Lynnsey followed me there and while I was feeding the baby they decided to play a game of hide and seek. Lynnsey hid repeatedly under the changing table and Spencer crouched in plain view on the floor by the chair with his eyes covered. When it was Spencer's turn to count, this is what he said: "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10...Eleven or not, here I come!"

The First Annual Nolan Potter Reunion

The Oswald Family on Kaya's blessing day. Trying to get everyone looking at the camera and smiling is asking the impossible.
All of the "kids" ages 18 and under at Albion College. Left to right: Ashley, Isabel, Kendall, Lynnsey, Bentley, Taylor, Cecily, Spencer, Adrian, David, and Samuel.
One of our crazy Tripoly games that lasted till almost one in the morning (sorry Timothy, I hope getting to work then next day wasn't too awful!)



We've just had an amazing week! This year we decided since our family is getting so enormous and so spread out all over the country that we should start holding a reunion each year. This year since we were blessing Kaya, we thought it would be good to hold the reunion in Michigan. At first it looked like everyone was going to be able to come, but gradually we had a few back out. We were missing Andrew and Marni because of Andrew's Air Force training. Melissa and Cody ended up not being able to get the vacation time after all. And we think Nathan was working and so was Susannah's husband Kevin. We missed them all and it would have been even better with them here but we did have Alison and Mike and all their kids, Jonathan made it out for half of the time, Susannah and her step-kids came, Timothy, David, Samuel, and Kayleigh, our family of course, and Dad and Mom. I think I got everyone.

We all had a tremendously great time! We went on many outings: swimming at the college, to see a first edition Book of Mormon, two kids museums, Lake Michigan (which sadly, got rained out), Binder Park Zoo, outlet shopping, etc. We also had lots of fun at home too: a campfire, lots of fun Tripoly, Bunco, and Bocci Ball tournaments, a girl's night tea party, and lots of reminiscing. And of course, the main reason that everyone came: Kaya's Blessing Day. I'm so glad that she had so many people who love her there for such a special time.
Oh, and a very nice bonus of having a talented Dad (and brothers): We got a new section of roof done and Mom got new tile in her entryway.

Mostly it was just so great to have so many of us together again. Some of the plans didn't go quite like we thought and there were some misfortunes: two broken toes (Susannah and me), a slight bout of the stomach flu (Isabel, Spencer, Kendall, Alison, and me), and right at the end Spencer and Lynnsey caught a cold from somewhere. But overall it was a wonderful visit and I hope we continue this every year no matter where we decide to gather. (Michigan is always an option!)

The Potter Reunion (more fun photos)

Spencer and his cousin Bentley had so much fun together! They are both at an age now where they actually played with each other and it was so much fun to watch them.
We rented the pool at the college for a couple of hours so that we could all go swimming the night before Kaya's blessing. That way we were able to shower there and avoid major shower issues on Sunday morning. Smart thinking!
Albion College has a first edition copy of The Book of Mormon so we set up a time to go and take a look. It was so amazing! I loved how carefully the kids handled the pages--like they new what a treasure they were touching.
Kaya and Daddy. We had a beautiful blessing day and a beautiful blessing given by Kalen.

Must have been a little exhausting for Kaya! I think we all felt this way by the end of the week. But it was so wonderful to have everyone come. It's been too long since we've all been together like that. Can't wait till next year!