We got S.P.I.R.I.T

We got spirit, yes we do.

We got spirit, how bout you?

 

 

 

Our girl has been looking forward to spirit day all week and the day has arrived.  It thrills me to know she is already so proud and excited about her school.  One week of Kindergarten down and it has truly been better than we ever expected.  Emma is happy, excited and thrilled about learning and waking up every morning.  She chose this T-shirt and wanted it long, so it would look like a dress.  I must say, the girl has got it going on when it comes to fashion and she is picky beyond belief!  So thankful for an amazing week, a wonderful teacher and an "over the top" school.  We love you Emma Caroline!

 

Cousin Camp 2012

We took our annual "Back to School" Cousin Camp 2012 trip this past weekend and it was a great way to say goodbye to summer and welcome a new school year.

 

 

Thanks to a good friend I found the queen of the cookie kitchen and she made these cute and yummy cookies for our little weekend getaway.  She also made a set for our Nanny who went back to college this week and Emma's Kindergarten teacher.

 

 

These kiddos were so excited to have their own table at breakfast one morning.  Blows my mind how big they all are and how much they love one another.

 

Look at those smiles ready to have some fun.  You are looking at a Kindergartner, 1st grader, 5th grader and my sweet little PreK 3 boy.

 

We decided to travel to a resort close by and it was wonderful, we will definitely go back one day soon.   So many things for the little ones to do and so much for the adults to enjoy too.

Muffie the clown did face painting all day.  Emma chose to get a sunset on her back with a dolphin jumping out of the water, super cute.

The resort had snow cones, karaoke, balloon makers, bands, games, smores, water slides, an underwater treasure hunt, hoola hoops, a splash pad and so much more to keep these kiddos entertained.

These cousins are the best of friends and where 1 goes, they all go.  Gavin thinks Hunter and Camryn hung the moon.

 

I thought Nana was going to have a stroke when these two crawled up in her bed to share a can of Pringles and some cuddle time.

 

I love this boy and remember when he was the size of Gavin.  So hard to believe that he started 5th grade this week.

When the sun went down, the fun still continued on with a dive in movie, Shrek 3.  I was the only one brave enough to stay in the water with all 4 kids after the sun went down and the water got cold.  The kids enjoyed this and so did I.

 

We had a great time at Cousin Camp and I think it was a great way to get Hunter, Camryn, Emma & Gavin super excited about going back to school.

Class of 2025

Today was an amazing first day of school for Emma.  She woke up this morning and was ready to go to school from the minute her feet hit the floor.  She picked out her own outfit, had very strict instructions for me on her hair and selected the perfect pair of shoes.

 

Of course we built in some extra time to try and get some pictures of her special day.   Thank goodness she is so patient with me and my crazy camera, even though she frequently reminds me that Darla does a much better job (ha ha).

It is true, the day has finally arrived and the "1st Day of Kindergarten 2012" is here. It looks like one little girl is still excited to head towards the school house.

 

Mommy is so PROUD that today was a great day.  There was not one tear shed by me or my little girl.  It was an enjoyable and exciting time for us all. 

 

This picture makes my heart want to burst and leaves me so thankful that my children have such an AMAZING Daddy that loves them beyond their own understanding.

 

She did not skip a beat when we arrived.  As a matter of fact she entered the room and began searching for her name and seat.  The class was so calm and all the little people inside were busy working and saying their final goodbyes.

 

It was a great experience from the second we were greeted at the door until we walked out.  Emma was so excited to finally be in her seat surrounded by new friends.   One of her friends from dance is actually her table mate. 

 

When the day was over and I asked her how it went she replied, "Mom, I loved it so much that I didn't want to leave.  It was great".

 

We are so thankful that KINDERGARTEN is off to an amazing start.   Daddy and I walked away this morning so proud of how brave Emma was and talked about the great things in store for her this school year.  Daddy knew that  you would love school and we both agreed that the decisions we have made for you this school year are truly what is best for The Frazier Four. 

Kindergarten Bound Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day for Emma Caroline and we are all super excited to see her go to Kindergarten in the morning.  We have had an amazing summer and have been looking forward to this big day for some time.

 

 

The Frazier Four decided to celebrate our sweet girl tonight with a couple of surprises.   She got two books about Kindergarten that we will read before bedtime at 7:30.

 

 

We also gave her this little silver cross that she can wear on her necklace as a constant reminder that we love her so much and that Jesus will protect her when she is away from us at school.  She loved it and told us she would wear it every single day.

 

Of course we will take pictures in the morning too, but I knew we would probably be a little rushed, so we snapped a few this afternoon.

Emma will not be riding a bus to school even though she would love it, but I thought it would be cute to snap a couple of pictures of her on a school bus to commemorate the big day tomorrow.   The inside of this bus was about 120 degrees, so my idea was not so grand after all.

 

So hard to believe that tomorrow is the day when our sweet girl will walk into the doors at her school and begin her education in public school.  Emma we are so PROUD of you and LOVE you UNCONDITIONALLY.  You are the daughter we have always dreamed of and we know GOD has amazing things in store for your life. 

 

Dream big, work hard, help others, have fun, pray before lunch, hug your teacher, do your best, wash your hands, always be kind, use your manners, smile big and let your little light shine for JESUS!  Tomorrow is your day and it is going to be a great day.  Always remember what Mommy has told you since the day you were born...

 

"Life is about choices"

Meet the Teacher

Big day for our little girl and the Frazier Four.  Today was the day Emma got to hand over her golden ticket, meet her teacher and visit her Kindergarten classroom at school.

 

 

We found out on Tuesday who her teacher would be and God answered our prayers.  Even though Mommy works in the district, I trusted that God would put Emma exactly where she needed to be. 

 

When we started the "kindergarten grand tour" the Principal assured me that Emma would be taken care of if I chose to send her to school there and sure enough she delivered on her word.  It is my understanding that we got the best there is and that makes me happy.  All along, I knew in my heart Emma would love and be just fine with whomever she got, but it is nice to know that we got a teacher that will challenge her academically, hold her to high standards and love her at the same time.

This little girl is as prissy as they come and YEP, I love it.  I can not wait to see her walk in her classroom and take a seat Monday morning.  Sort of blows my mind that the little girl I brought home from the hospital 5 years and 2 months ago is about to be in public school, time has flown by so fast. 

Here she is, the one that I will entrust with my HEART Monday morning. The one that will spend as much time with my child as I will.  The one that will build the foundation for my daughter's educational experience.  The individual that will determine what kind of day my daughter will have and how she will choose to deal with each day. 

TEACHERS are such POWERFUL people, they really are and part of that chills me to the core.  I have always been passionate about education and even more appreciative of great educators.  Not everyone was born to teach, teaching truly is a work of HEART!

Believe it or not, come Monday morning my prayer is that every child in the world gets the education they deserve and that every classroom is filled with loving, caring and compassionate individuals that want to make a difference.  I pray that the gift that is going to be shared with my child will be shared in classrooms with your children too.  God, I just pray that every person my child comes in contact with from the cafeteria workers, custodians, administrators and teachers are BUCKET FILLERS and not BUCKET DIPPERS as my sweet 5 year old refers to them.  I pray that her spirit is never broken by an educator and if it is, I pray that we have raised a confident little girl that loves God and knows he will fight her battles for her.

Monday is a HUGE day for our family, a day that will be filled with mixed emotions along with lots of prayers. 

You might be...

You might be my SIBLING, but you are also my very BEST FRIEND!  Only 21 months apart, so different yet so much alike. 

These two kiddos love hard, play hard, fight hard and at the end of every day are so PROUD that they have each other.

With school starting in 7 more days my mind is working overtime thinking about the changes that are coming our way and running through the list in my mind to make sure that we are ready.  I am so excited for the new adventures that are awaiting the two of them, but at the same time part of  me is really sad. 

One of the things I am most proud of is that we have managed to have 3 wonderful Nanny's (we are on number 3 now) in the past 5 years that have allowed our kids to stay at home and only attend MDO.  When I think about these two going their separate ways this year, it hurts my heart and makes me super sad but I know it is coming.  Emma will be venturing off to Kindergarten and Gavin is starting a new MDO program that is filled with Spanish, Computers, Moving & Groovin, Playtime, Chapel daily and many other educational experiences.   I know that we have done our research and positioned both of our kiddos for success, but not having them under the same roof makes me sad! 

This is the one I worry about the most, the littlest of The Frazier Four will be lost without his big sister for a couple weeks. 

As for this social butterfly, she is beyond ready to make new friends and hug her teacher tight.  She is looking forward to becoming a great reader, taking her lunch to school, art time and most of all going to BIG school.

I will continue to pray over my children and for God's super natural favor with their teachers, their administrators, their educational experience, their environment, their friends and that they will be loved beyond measure (Mrs. Jenny is praying too).

My children are children in whom there is no blemish, but they are well favored. 

They are skillful in wisdom, cunning in knowledge, and understand science.  They have the ability to stand in the King's palace and teach others.

Daniel 1:4





Kindergarten Screening

Big changes are coming our way and I am so PROUD that Emma is excited and ready.  This afternoon we visited her school for her Kindergarten prescreen.   When we arrived at the school and she unbuckled Emma said, "Mom, I am a little bit nervous but I know I will be okay."  I immediately wrapped my arms around her and we stood in the parking lot and prayed.  We prayed for peace, we prayed for a great first experience, we prayed for God to protect her, we prayed for a great kindergarten teacher, we prayed for wisdom. we prayed for God to put a hedge of protection around her and we prayed for her little light to shine bright for HIM this school year.

She is beyond excited to start school, meet new friends and her new teacher, but has admitted to me a couple times that she feels a little nervous.   When we walked in the school we immediately saw Mrs. Hale, lead Kindergarten teacher and she embraced us with a smile, hug and told Emma to come with her to her classroom.  Without hesitation, my little love bug grabbed onto her hand and took off.  As a Mommy, my heart was happy and I was at peace.  

Emma was gone for about 20 minutes and came back with a huge smile on her face.  As soon as she saw me she took off running towards me.  Mrs. Hale explained the screening process to me, we exchanged educational stories, she walked us to the door and told us she would see us soon.

When we left I thanked God on Emma's behalf for a FIRST wonderful experience in public education.  My heart also skipped a little beat when Mrs. Hale revealed to me that she had attended Capturing Kids' Hearts this summer.

In the spirit of "Back to School", I decided to share our mantle with you.   Truth is I want to decorate for Halloween, so to satisfy that craving I decided to do a BTS mantle to get the kiddos excited for the start of the school year.  Emma's school colors are lime green, black and white so I had this little banner made, well maybe two...one for us and one for her teacher. Needless to say, The Frazier Four are looking forward to an amazing school year as we celebrate our little PreK THREE boy and our BIG Kindergartner!

Finally got his teeth CLEANED!

Guess who went to the dentist today?  Emma and Gavin.  Guess who finally got his teeth officially cleaned for the first time?  G.A.V.I.N!  Today was his third trip to the dentist for a 6 month visit, xrays and cleaning.  

The two times prior we were unsuccessful and the dentist was only able to look in his mouth, however today was much different.  He got up on the table like a big boy, opened up wide and let them clean his teeth, put fluoride on them, check the hardness and even allowed the dentist to examine his teeth.  Three cheers for Gavin, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!

I wonder if it had anything to do with the Thomas the train Sodor Street Sweeper he refused to leave behind, even after I promised to try and find it for him.  The dentist is a train lover and assured me I would not find it anywhere and told us if we would bring a train back to replace it that he could take Sodor home. At the end of our visit I had a little boy with clean teeth, a pretty smile and a new train.  It was a great visit.

Yay Gavin

We are so PROUD to announce that Gavin is 100% potty trained, yep even at night.  One of his favorite things to do is tee tee outside on the grass.  I happen to think it is pretty cute when he ask to go outside and am happy to open the door so he can stand on the edge of our patio and "shoot".

Tonight Gavin, Emma and Daddy were outside and he told his Daddy he had to potty.  Curtis was helping Emma make some signs while Gavin was taking care of his business.  After a little bit Gavin came running over and told his Daddy that he was finished pooping.  You got it, he pooped outside on the grass just like our dog!  Wow, Daddy was not really happy about it and let me know that was the reason it was not a good idea for him to be tee teeing off the back porch (ha ha). Oh I love this little boy!

The Tooth Fairy is on the Way

At 5 years, 1 month and 23 days old Emma has lost her 1st tooth (#25) and she is anxiously awaiting the tooth fairy's arrival.

I had been giving her a hard time all week about pulling it while I was not at home.   Needless to say, I had just gotten back from bringing them lunch from CFA and as soon as I got back to my office I got the above text.  I was a little sad, but thankful our Nanny text me right away and I got to talk to her.  She actually pulled it herself and walked up to Ms. Becca and said, "I just pulled my tooth."

Emma received this from her Nana when she was born and has been looking forward to finally using it one day.  It sits on a special shelf in her room and she often ask to hold and look at it while dreaming of losing her first tooth.

This girl is so excited about losing her tooth and can't wait to meet her Kindergarten teacher and say, "Hi, I am Emma Caroline and I lost a tooth this summer." It is hilarious to hear her say it too.

Look at that little bitty tooth in that sweet hand that I love so much, she made sure the blood wasn't showing before I took the picture.

When Gavin got up from his nap she told him that she lost her tooth and he screamed, "good job Emma, good job" she replied, "your the best brother in the world Gavin, I love you".

She could not stop looking at her tooth, the first tooth carriage and sliding her tongue in and out of the open spot in her mouth.

I am so happy for this sweet girl and amazed at how quickly she is growing up.  I am thankful that she enjoys the little things in life while celebrating in a BIG way.  Night night sweet girl, I am sure the tooth fairy will leave a surprise under your pillow after you drift off to sleep.  You look adoreable!

Year 3 of Dance

Emma started her third year of dance tonight and she struggled to make it through both classes because she was exhausted.   Perhaps it had something to do with getting up at 6:30, no nap and walking over a mile to the park in the heat.  Needless to say, we are going to do things a little differently next week.

Before we headed off to dance I looked back at her dance pictures over the past three years and time has flown by.  She even got to move up to a size 10 jazz shoe today (ha ha), they are actually too big but the 9's were to small  (the girls feet are tiny).  Hard for me to believe this little girl is headed to Kindergarten in 21 days, but I am so excited for her and she is beyond thrilled.

We hope you have a wonderful year in the dance studio Emma Caroline.

My Ballerina Girl

Emma's collage from recital finally came in and I am in love with this picture that will soon be hanging in her room.   My AMAZING photographer started selling these frames from Organic Bloom and they just make things so much sweeter.

I was excited when I arrived home today and this huge box was on the porch for me, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this special delivery.  The collage is 10x20 so you can imagine how big it is framed, eek!  This picture does not do it justice, but trust me it is beautiful.

Speaking of dance, this little girl will be back at it Monday evening as we begin a new year of dance that is going to be filled with excitement.  Emma will be starting her third year of dance at our studio and we could not think of a better place to call home, these people are heaven sent.  Lots of exciting things happening at the dance studio in the next couple weeks.

Now for the random ramblings of The Frazier Four...

• Mommy went back to work, so we have been busy and had less free time.
• We are getting ready for both our kiddos to start new schools this year.  We could not be more thrilled about where God has placed both of them and are in constant prayer that they will be blessed with teachers that are "over the top" in so many ways. 
• Curtis and I have committed to teaching a Sunday school class at church and we are both looking forward to teaching those little people about Jesus. 
• Emma's tooth is still loose but not ready to pull just yet, she is ready
• Gavin in 99.9% potty trained, even at night
• Our new Nanny starts Monday
• Emma is in the process of being taken off her steroid inhaler, Thank you Jesus!
• 23 days and we will officially have a Kindergartner
• Gavin is sleeping in his big boy bed and never gets up until he sees Mr. Sunshine every morning
• I got my 5 year old SUV detailed and I feel like I have a new car, it was worth every penny.
• Daddy is dying to take the kids to Disneyland before Christmas
• Mommy is responsible for Seniors at school this year, so I will be planning Prom, Graduation and Senior Field Day
• We were blessed with a new cousin this week, Preston Sterling Carnes and he is a healthy little boy.  We can not wait to meet him.
• I need to get the kids 3rd and 5th Birthday pictures ordered before my photographer divorces me.
• We visited the zoo this morning and got to see a newborn giraffe and witness a chimpanzee picking his nose and eating his boogers (YUCK!)  Emma waved at him and he waved back, she was so excited.

I hear someone crying, so I better go blow the whistle and see what is going on in there.   Hoping to blog our final day of Disney soon and some other fun stuff that helps me remember these days that are passing by so quickly.