First day of school! Wake up! Wake up!

Gotta love a good Nemo quote.

Well, we're well into the swing of things with school and it is going so well. Emma is already settled and getting good reports from her teacher. Jackson is a total hit in his class. His teachers say he's a laugh a minute (anyone surprised by that?) and that he's doing so well. On his second day he told me he could walk into school by himself. Such a big little man!

The only downside to the past week is we're already dealing with our first virus. So not fair. But fortunately it's just a cold for the boys. Emma seems immune so far. I would have never thought she'd be the one w/the super-strong immune system. I guess all that illness early on did her well!

Greta is getting huge too. She's a great addition to our family. Her only issues are totally related to puppyhood, so we've got high hopes that she'll outgrow them soon. One thing we need to figure out how to control is the standard great dane affection moves. She likes to walk between your legs and also lean up against you. The leaning thing isn't a problem for Dave or I, but it could really hurt the kids. And while walking between our legs isn't a problem for us now, it will be soon. She tried to do it to Emma this morning and picked her right up! Poor Emma! She thought it was funny, but we were also right there to catch her. It's hard to figure out what to do because she's just trying to show affection. How do you punish affection? I can't do it. So, for now we'll just have to stay close when she's around the kids.

My folks are coming in to town tomorrow. Saturday is college football season opener - at least for the turner house. Our two teams we root for are NIU and Iowa. And this Saturday, they are playing each other at Soldier Field! Oh how we wish we could have been there to witness it in person, but luckily we get it on cable. My parents don't get it so they are coming here to watch it, and play with the kids of course! I can't wait for them to get here. Our only dilemma is who do we root for? Hmmm....

Ok, onto the pictures. I wouldn't dream of posting without pictures!









So how is everyone out there? Leave a comment and let me know how you're doing!

Later taters!

Lots of kid pics

Well, the summer is over for the Turner household. Jackson starts preschool tomorrow and Emma starts first grade on Wednesday. We are excited for the year ahead, because we know it means big changes in our kids by the end of it. With two years of school under our belt w/Emma, Dave and I feel more prepared this year about sending two kids off. I know Jackson is ready - he needs to go. I'm really looking forward to seeing him mature socially this year. I'm also looking forward to him having his "own" friends. It will be fun to have kids to invite to his 5th birthday party this year, other than neighbors. Don't get me wrong - we absolutely adore all of our past and present neighbor friends - but you get the idea. He's never had a group of friends that were just his. It'll be sweet.
Emma is all set to start her new school. They did finish construction on time (can you believe that!) and she will be among the first students to ever attend the new school. She was assigned a teacher a month ago, but just this past wednesday I received a phone call from a new teacher that had been hired the day before telling me she was reassigned to this new teacher. They wanted to make the class size smaller, which I appreciate, but poor Emma had been practicing her new teacher's name for a couple weeks and now she was going to have to learn a new name. But - no worries - it's an easy name. And we got to meet her on Friday night. Apparently Emma hit the jackpot because even the principal was so excited to have found this teacher. She has studied literacy in New Zealand and is evidently exceptional. She definitely left us with a very positive impression. When we brought Emma over to meet her she bent down to Emma's level, gave her the biggest hug, and told her how excited she was to have her in class. Emma of course ate this up and left feeling excited for school to start (well, even more excited than she was - if that's possible!) So we now have very high hopes (beyond what we already had) for this school year for Emma.
And finally - Brian is talking up a storm. He says lots of words and a few sentences too. He will also finally say Mom - FINALLY! What mother has to wait almost two full years before she hears her baby say this most important word?! It's just not right! Hee hee hee. But the good news is he no longer is behind on his communication and we don't have to worry about speech therapy for now. Yay!

I realize I don't give credit enough to the One who has blessed us abundantly. Let me just say now that we know and are truly in awe of how much the Lord has blessed us and we just wanted to publicly point to God and praise Him! He is a loving and giving Father!

OK, on to the pictures! These were taken just the last couple days. Some of Emma and Jack's sibling affection (it amazes me still how well these two get along) and some of Brian after he enjoyed a yummy pile of chocolate teddy grahams. What a mess! And the last picture of Brian is my new favorite shot. He's so awesome!














and I guess I'd get in trouble for not including just one picture of the puppy.

So that's all for now. I'm guessing the next couple of weeks will be hectic trying to get into a routine but I will do my best to post some updates. Definitely when Emma starts her ballet school in a couple weeks.

Much love everyone

Pics of Greta

These are for Alison and the Pierce boys. They requested new pictures of Miss Greta. So here they are. She's getting so big!!!!

Also, just wanted to wish Mr. Nathan Pierce a very happy 1st birthday!!!!! We love you!