Doggy love

Just wanted to give you a few cute shots of Greta. She's such a sweet baby girl. And she's getting soooo big! Now if only I could figure out how to stop her from eating the cat. Hmmm, anyone got any ideas on that?

How can you resist that sweet face?!

The one above just shows off how well behaved she can be. Sitting next to a bowl of food and not eating it? That's gotta be a good trick, right?

Woo Hoo!!!!

I had Emma at the dr. on Saturday for a nasty cough (no, that's not why I'm cheering!) and they weighed her while she was there. Get ready for this.......38.9 lbs!!! Yeah baby! She's soooo close to 40 pounds - the weight minimum here in SC to ride in a booster seat. I was planning on keeping her in the regent for as long as possible, but the poor girl is the only one in first grade still in a car seat. And she's finally got an opinion on the whole thing. So, I guess I can let my 6 1/2 year old ride in a booster once she hits 40 lbs. But, considering it took her like 3 years to gain 5 pounds, she's probably got some time to wait yet. But I won't tell her that now. We'll just keep checking her weight now and then. She's so excited about it - it's so cute!

Quick

Just wanted to take a quick minute to let you all know that Emma's dentist appointment went really well. She actually had fun while she was there. She has no cavities and the dentist said she's doing well. He isn't worried about her baby teeth not falling out. He said they'll come out in time, so no need to worry. He did say she had significant overcrowding with her baby teeth and it will only get worse when all her adult teeth come in. Braces here we come!

Hold me closer tiny dancer

As promised here are a couple pictures of Emma in her ballet gear. Could she be any cuter??? She loves ballet class and has met a new friend named Carli. And even better is I have made a new friend w/Carli's mom! We spent the entire class today talking and getting to know each other. She is about to have a little boy this week so they won't be at class next week. Maybe Emma will get to know another little girl that day. It's fun to see her try new things and really enjoy them.

Jackson is loving school and is sad on the days he doesn't go. Too bad we couldn't afford to put him in for a full week, but he's really enjoying his MWF class.

Brian is crazy talking! He went from not saying anything and having us just a tad worried to talking up a storm. Now it's just a matter of trying to figure out what he's saying. It's a wonderful time having him to myself three days a week. We spend a lot of time reading books and reciting shapes and colors. He's just a little sponge right now.

Greta is doing well too. She's hit the terrible two's right now so we're trying to figure out how to keep her from running laps around the house. Walks don't seem to cut it, but we're trying different things. She's also lost all her baby teeth already and her adult teeth are coming in.

Speaking of teeth, Emma has her first dentist appointment on Monday. I realize we are very late in starting this routine but I had good reasons that I'll spare you for right now. Just pray for her to have a positive experience. They are going to look at her bottom teeth since her adult teeth have started to come all the way through but she hasn't lost her baby teeth yet. Makes for some really tight quarters! I'll let you all know how it goes when we get home.

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!

Updates galore!

Ok, ok. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post lately. But I tell ya, having a puppy is far more work than a newborn I swear! Not bad work, just always busy. We watch her like a hawk to avoid accidents so it's like we're constantly running around the house all day. And they told us she'd sleep a lot! Ha! But all that aside, Greta is just the sweetest thing! She loves to play, hates to be in her crate, is a total scrounge (even though we've never given her a single scrap). She loves her food - she practically begs to be fed all day long. And when it is meal time - watch out. She will take a finger off without even knowing it if it happens to be in her way! She is slowly learning what is okay and what is not. She has the potential to be the best family dog ever. On the downside, she has something wrong with her front legs - especially the left one. We think it's something called knuckling over. We'll take her to the vet tomorrow and see what's up. Please pray it's nothing too serious. We're all very attached to her already and that would be a devastating blow to say the least.

Ok, onto Jada Hoyt. I'm very late in posting this, but the biopsy results came back and Jada is perfect. They said it was nothing more than trauma from delivery most likely and is completely benign. There is nothing more for them to worry about and they can now just enjoy her.

And the Turner children are all doing so well. Jack and Emma will be leaving next weekend to spend a week with Dave's folks, and Brian is going to my folks. Dave and I will have an entire week to ourselves - at our own house!!! If it wasn't for Greta, we'd have no responsibilities to think about! While we know we will miss the kids terribly, we can't help but be excited for our time just the two of us. I think all 5 of us will have fun.

The pictures above are of Greta (at 10 weeks old) and of my garden. Did you see that huge caterpillar I found on my tomato plant? He was so much lighter this morning when I first saw him. I forgot to go take a picture until 7:30 tonight, I'm lucky he was still there! The garden is way out of control. It looks horrible right now because we had a few wind storms that pushed all my supports over and I have no idea how to get in there and straighten them back up. And the cucumbers look pretty lousy too. I don't know why, if it's lack of water or too much water. I was gone for a week and have no idea how much water they got. We've probably gotten a good 20+ cucumbers from it already. And I just started getting tomatoes! They are soooo yummy! I love having both in my garden, but next year I think I'll only do one cucumber plant and maybe 3 tomato plants instead of the 10 I have now!

Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

Update on Jada

Thank you to all of you praying for Jada. Michelle and Steve took her up to Milwaukee yesterday to see the specialist. She didn't know what it was either, but said they would biopsy one and send it in for tests. Steve said Jada did really well with the biopsy and didn't even cry (other than the numbing shot). They will hopefully hear something in the next week to ten days. Keep on praying!

New pics of the baby

I love saying that! We are all soooo excited about the puppy and can't wait to bring her home. We've named her Greta and get to pick her up on Saturday. So here are the latest photos from the breeder. Isn't she so cute?






We'll make sure to post a new picture of her every week so you all can see how big she gets. I hear they literally change almost daily, so it will be fun to document how quickly she grows.

On a side note, I just got home from 5 days in Chicago visiting Michelle and Steve Hoyt. They had a new baby - Jada Marie - on June 13th. I got to go play with her and spend time with her mom and dad. They are doing so well as first time parents. I was very impressed! Jada is a good baby and so cute. I'm a dork and forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures to post of her, but I'll try to pester Michelle for some soon. Pray for them. They are taking Jada to a pediatric dermatology specialist tomorrow (wed.) because they found some strange lumps on her arms and her back and her pediatrician had no idea what they were. I'm not sure the derm. will know either, but just getting her seen will offer some comfort. Pray that the doctor knows what is going on and that it's a treatable problem. Also pray that Jada is comfortable and in no pain. Thank you!

testing

testing......

Just for fun

I'm just posting this to show Steve how easy it is to blog. This way, maybe we'll get them to have a blog and see pictures of Jada more often!

Decision made

After a lot of conversations and considerable thinking, we have made a decision. We are getting the great dane. I made contact with the breeder today and she's now officially ours! She will be sending us updated pictures of her over the next few weeks. We can pick her up after July 14th, so we have a few weeks to get ready. We are very excited! Although, we haven't told the kids yet, just in case, and also I don't think we could handle the incessant questions of "when when when?" :-) But nonetheless, we are thrilled to add her to our family. So now we have a new question...

What do we name her? We are currently liking Paige or Regan, but open to suggestions. We do tend to like people names vs. pet names. Not that we want to offend people with the same name as our dog, we just like them better. We'd love to hear what ideas you all have.

Yes or No?

So we've got ourselves a dilemma. Many of you know (some of you don't)that we've been doing a lot of research on adding a dog to the family. I know some of you don't think we should given our history, and I appreciate your concern. But the bottom line is it's really something we want to do, and it's not something we've been going into lightly. We've been doing a ton of research on breeds and going to a dog show, talking w/breeders, etc. trying to make an educated decision. During this process one of the things we did is to take a quiz to find out what breeds would suit our needs/wants. Out of that quiz we discovered that the Boston Terrier and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel were both great fits for us. We visited a CKC breeder and just didn't feel a connection w/the dogs. A little too girly for Dave. I went to a dog show to see some Boston's and I fell in love with them. They are such cuties. I know most people don't think they're that cute, but their personalities more than make up for the lack of outward beauty. So we decided then that we would pursue a Boston. I made contact with a few breeders and found one that we really like. We have been in contact with them continuously since early April. Well a new litter was born on June 21st. 3 boys and 2 girls. We really want a girl, for various reasons (and not breed specific - we'd want a girl of any breed). But the catch is girls are really hard to come by. They keep most girls for breeding purposes. So we have to decide if we're willing to give up the desire for a girl and get a boy. My gut says no, but my heart says yes. I'm very excited to add this new member to our family. I have not heard yet if the breeder is willing to part w/either of the girl puppies.

To make matters worse, I've come across a female blue great dane puppy, 5 weeks old. For those of you that do not know this, I have wanted this dog since I was about 15. And in doing "adult" research this week, turns out danes are an excellent fit for us as well. The reason they didn't show up the first time was because of size. I had marked small and they are obviously anything but small. So that is the true issue at this point. I don't know what to do. If we act quickly, we can get the great dane. If I wait and see if we get one of the boston girl puppies, we'll probably miss out on this dane puppy. I am truly torn on this. I wish we could do both. No worries - there's no way. I know we'd love the boston tremendously. I know I'd love the dane, as well as Dave, because it's a big dog. No idea what the kids take would be on it, but we can't really take their opinion seriously. Yesterday Jackson said he wanted to get a baby jaguar.

I've somewhat figured out the logistics of having each dog. The only downside to the dane is space - if we travel it's harder to take her with us. Otherwise it's pretty even. Help us! We're really trying to decide what to do and we'd love some input (only helpful, positive input - none saying don't get a dog...).I'll attach a pic of the great dane puppy, as well as a link to the breeder of the bostons. The dog on the main page is Destiny - she'd be our puppy's sister - same momma. Thanks everyone!

http://www.lumberjacksbostons.homestead.com (warning - music on this link)

Feeling homesick

Why is it that once you get to where you think you want to be, you're suddenly sad for what you left? This past week we were able to see two sets of neighbors from our old house and it was just so wonderful to see all of them. Our friends the Montambo's came down for Emma's super small birthday party and the kids practically attacked each other when they got here. They were so excited to see them and it was bittersweet to watch. And then today our friends Beth and her son Conner came down to play for a couple of hours. It was just so great to see them and have the kids together again. I know the move was the right thing for our family, but it is still hard to know what we left behind. The good thing (and probably the only thing from making me completely losing it) is that they've all moved out of the neighborhood, too. So even if we hadn't moved, they still would have so we'd still be missing them but in a much smaller house. So it's all for the best, but it's still hard to be so far away from them. Both families moved further north of Charlotte, while we moved south, so we're a good hour from each other now. But hopefully we'll continue to make the drive to see each other because it's wonderful when we do. I know we'll soon make friends down here, too, but nothing will take their place. We've watched each others kids come into the world and grow up (just a bit). Nothing can replace those memories. It was a great place to live and raise our kids for the time we were there. But times change and needs change and you gotta do what you gotta do. We're very happy in our new home and neighborhood, and excited to see what God has in store for us here. I'm sure in a year's time we'll be saying we couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

A pic of Macy

This is our sweet lovey kitty, Macy. I'm posting this for the Hummels (a blogland family I love to read about and pray for). They have a kitty named Jack (fitting, I know) and he looks so much like Macy. If we had gotten Macy from Illinois, I'd almost believe that they could be litter mates. But Macy is a southern girl, right down to her love for everyone. She's a keeper!

Great news!

I am so happy to announce that Jackson was accepted into Westminster Catawba Christian School. He will be in the 3-day preschool next year. We are very excited about this for Jack and hope it is a great experience for him. We will consider extending his education here past preschool based on the next year.

Here are a few photos - the first is of Jack's reaction when I told him he was going to preschool next year.

The other one is of the school magnet we now get to proudly display on our van. Enjoy!

Go Emma! It's your birthday!!

Can you believe this little peanut...

has grown up to this?

Seriously - where did the time go? I don't know why, but I feel like a ton of bricks landed on me. How is my first baby six years old? I said to Emma this morning - "it's feels like yesterday that you were just 2." Her response back to me was quite intelligent w/a little bit of sass mixed in. She looked at me and said so matter-of-fact - "Mom, yesterday I was 5." What a little stinker! Good thing she's cute!

A little later on I'll do a photo post of pics of Emma from birth to today. It'll take a while so check back tonight.

I've also changed the comments part so you don't have to be registered to leave a comment. Didn't know it was set like that to begin with. Please feel free to comment away now!

Brian takes a dip!

We got Brian a little baby pool to splash around in on our screen porch. We tried it out Sunday night and he just loved it. Our new neighborhood doesn't have the pool built yet, plus it won't have a baby pool like our old house did, so we thought this was a good investment at $10!

He wasn't so sure about it at first, but he soon got his water wings after big sis Emma walked around in the water to show him it was fun.