Kindness Week & the 100th Day of School

This past week has been spirit week at Sugar Creek Elementary. The first day was "Crazy Hair Day" and we had so much fun with it. I really love Tanner's surfer hair. He loved it too. 

Bailey's hair was pretty wacky too. She loved how she looked. 

Love these two!

The next day was "Athletic day" and the kids wore athletic clothing.  

Then Wednesday was "Wacky Day". Bailey wanted to go all out- Wacky clothes, wacky hair and wacky attitude. We did our best. I personally loved her donut hair. She did too and told me she got lots of comments on it. Her teacher loved her donut. 

Unfortunately, Tanner didn't want to dress up for wacky day because some kids had made fun of his hair on "Crazy hair day" so he didn't want to do anything else too weird. He was afraid of being made fun of again.  I hate how mean kids can be. I tried to tell him that those kids were just jealous because they didn't have cool hair for "crazy hair day", but he still didn't want to do anything for "wacky day"

Thursday was "School Spirit Day" and the kids wore their Sugar Creek shirts. Bailey also got to bring her teddy bear to school for reading time. 

Then the last day of kindness week also happened to coincide with the 100th day of school. So it was "Pajama Day" but it was also wear your "100th day of School" shirt. 

So Bailey wore a shirt with 100 little hearts on it and some pajama bottoms. She loved the way she looked. She's so funny! 

Tanner did wear a "100th day of School" shirt for Friday. And he wore pajama bottoms. It was the best of both worlds. His shirt had a 100 piece puzzle on it - one piece for each day of school. 

These two loved their shirts. Which good because I was up until the wee hours of the morning making them!

Also on Friday, both Tanner and Bailey were recognized as "Person of the Week" in their respective classes. So Chris and I went to their morning assembly to watch them get their "person of the week" certificates. It was so fun. Bailey loved that we were there and couldn't stop looking at us and grinning. So cute!

Tanner was pretty happy when he found us in the audience too!

When they called Bailey's name, she got all shy and wouldn't smile.  Eventually after the attention was off her, she smiled for me. But it's not often that we see a shy side of Bailey, it was so funny. 

When the principal called Tanner's name, he stood up proudly and smiled so big!

It was the perfect ending to "kindness week" and I'm so proud of my kids for working hard to be kind to others and being a good friend to those around them. 

Gender Reveal for our last Little Baby

Today I had my gender ultrasound at my doctor's office, but I didn't find out the gender at the appointment. The ultrasound tech wrote it down and put it in an envelop for me and I gave it to my dear friend Jessica Fuhriman.
We decided to do a shotgun/powder reveal this time and so Jessica opened the envelop and bought the appropriate color of powder. Then I made this box and a few hours later we met up to take the picture. 

We used chalk powder and tannerite for the explosion. So Jessica set up her camera behind us and then when Chris shot the box with his shotgun, the box with the powder inside exploded and the power revealed we are having a BOY!!!

Bailey was heartbroken the powder wasn't pink. She saw it and immediately started crying. Through her tears she said "I wanted it to be a girl baby". I was disappointed too but mostly heartbroken for Bailey. I desperately wanted her to have a sister. But the baby is healthy and growing right on track so we are grateful. 

Chris took Bailey aside and dried her tears. He told her that she would always be his girl and that he would play barbies and princesses with her whenever she needed someone to play with. It was so sweet and I'm grateful for a wonderful husband who knows how to deal with the emotional ladies in his life.

Bailey was still sad when it was time for a group picture, but it's kind of the perfect depiction of our reactions. Tanner is so thrilled that it's a boy. Tucker is just sad because he isn't going to be the baby anymore and Bailey is heartbroken it's not a girl. Meanwhile, Chris and I are just grateful we have  a healthy little baby. 

I know by the time this little boy gets here, Bailey and Tucker will be excited and happy, but in the meantime- I let her eat chocolate and ice cream for dinner tonight and I joined her as we ate our feelings. And even though, I am a little disappointed that we are having a girl, I am also relieved. My boys have been angelic and happy babies, while Bailey was extremely difficult and cried non stop. So if this baby boy is anything like his older brothers- I will be thrilled to add one more wild Herb boy to our family. Finding out the gender makes this so much more real. I'm getting excited and can't believe that in less than 6 months he will be here and our family will be complete. . 

Ice Skating at Lawrence Plaza

Today we tried ice skating again. We went once before when I was pregnant with Tucker and Bailey was only 2. The kids loved it but needed a lot of help then. This time, all three kids had a great time. Our Furhiman friends joined us and that made it even more fun.
The weather was actually pretty warm, which was delightful. 

These girls skated all around together and giggled non stop. 

Bailey mostly skated along the railing and used that to balance herself, but every now and then she would let go and try to skate by herself. I'm proud of her for trying. 

Tucker and Tommy had so much fun together. They just scooted along the railing and laughed the whole time. These two little friends have their own special language and its so funny to watch them together. 

Tuck asked me to help him a few times but he decided he preferred to stay next to the railing too. 

Tanner alternated between using a walker and skating all by himself. He was, by far, my most adventurous. Tanner is getting so big and brave. 

We had a great time and right about when our feet were beginning to ache, it started raining so we were able to leave without any major fits. So nice.
Such a nice way to spend the day together and it was fun to have Dad hang out with us. It's back to school soon and I'm just not ready. I kinda love having these kids home with me!

Enjoy Every Minute of 2017!

Last night we celebrated the new year with lots of family and friends and it was so fun! We've never been home for New Years Eve and it was kind of awesome to get to celebrate in our own house this year. Nanny, Papa and Aunt Laura came over from Mtn. Home, Aunt Sarah and her family came up from Farmington and Uncle Joseph and his family came over too. Then our friends, the Fuhrimans, came over to celebrate as well.

This year's theme was "Enjoy Every Minute of 2017". So we played lots of "minute to win it" games and had spontaneous 1- minute dance parties. Oh and of course, ate lots of yummy food!

Here was the game counter set up. 

After eating, we started the games. The kids could hardly wait to play. The first game was the 1- minute cup stack game. All the kids liked this one and it wasn't too hard for the younger kids. 

Next up, the cookie face game. We placed a cookie on each of the kids foreheads and they had to wiggle their faces just right and try to get the cookie to fall into their mouths. I think Annalise got the closest. 

Then we had to eat the cookies!

Next up, donut on the string. This was hysterical. We had the younger kids go first and it was so funny to watch them. It was hard for them to resist using their hands. 

Tucker got in a few good bites before he gave up and used his hands. 

Then the older kids played. They took it a bit more seriously than the younger ones and they were so fun to watch. 

Then we did a game where the kids had to use chopsticks and transfer marshmallows from one bowl to the other. This took great concentration. 

Danny finally joined in on this one- him and Clark hadn't wanted to play any games thus far. 

After the marshmallow game, we did a cotton ball/Vaseline game. The kids got vaseline on their noses and then they dipped their noses into a pile of cotton balls and then tried to transfer the cotton balls into their bowls. 

There were lots of laughs during this game. 

I was seriously cracking up as I watched these kids. 

Then we did a Popsicle stick/ dice stacking game. The kids worked with partners and had to see how many dice they could stack on the end of their Popsicle stick before the time ran out. 

These four played all the games and got awesome prize medals- or chocolate medals. Aunt Sarah had to take her kids home before the games were over, but they got participation medals too. Clark and Danny didn't want to play, but they got medals anyways. 

Then it was time to ring in the new year. We did some fireworks in the front yard and the kids loved the sparklers and roman candles. 

Then we watched the countdown and tore apart our confetti poppers. 

It was such a fun night and a great way to ring in the new year- lots of laughter and smiles. 

I cannot believe it's 2017 now! Time is flying by so fast. This year we will welcome a new baby, Tanner will get baptized, I will turn the big 3-0 and Chris and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. That's a pretty big year for us and I can't wait to see what else the upcoming months hold in store for us!

Happy 2017 from the Herb Family!