Paul starts kindergarten

Paul started school on Monday. He has really been loving going to school every day this week and has come home bursting with news of what he did and what teacher said and a song they learned. I am soooo happy for him! And I am sooooo happy for me! I have been loving my three and a half hour respite from noise and continual mess-making. Nora naps nearly the whole time Paul is gone and Katie rests and entertains herself...quietly...neatly...aaahhhh yes....

I have felt like I have more energy to make it through the whole day instead of throwing in the towel around 2 pm. What a difference one kid can make. Actually, it's not just him. He was not always this way. He has only started to get restless the last year being at home. School is such a great thing for him right now.

Nora bath

Well, it seems like we've been giving Nora a lot of attention lately. I suppose it's because she's been doing so much! This past week she finally took a step. One step 3 different times. But she hasn't done it in two days. She doesn't really care. She stands up a lot though. Tonight she surprised all of us by saying "bath" very clearly during bath time.

Nora being cute

Nora is just about the cutest thing ever. We really love her a lot. She was so stubborn though and wouldn't say "hat" for anything the other day! She can now say hat, hi, dog, Hi dog!, bye, mama, dada.

Muddy Buddies

These are the dirtiest children in the world. If there is one drop of water on one speck of dirt, they are in it. After a HUGE rainstorm last week where we got more than an inch in like 12 hours, our backyard became a mud wrestling pit for the kids since we had just dug up a ton of trash trees and it left nothing but dirt and holes. And dirt holes+water=Fun dip for kids.

Typical

Nothing extraordinary here. This is just an everyday episode in the Jensen House. I just think it is worth capturing the ordinary sometimes.

5 Years Old

I can't believe that Paul is 5 years old today! He's five! Five! Five! FIVE!!! This really is incredible to me. He turned one, and that was weird, but we moved on. Two and three came, and he was turning into a little boy, but still a baby to me. Four, well, I started to believe that he was a boy instead of a toddler. But, now he is really big! And he's gonna start kindergarten this fall. WOW! He was the sweetest baby and the happiest little toddler. Then as he got bigger, he started to get mischievous. And that curiosity and cheesy-funny antics of his really make him special.

Paul Singing Happy Birthday

News about...well, me.

Here is the basic history of my smile:

As a kid, I always had a goofy grin with that big gap in my teeth (I'm about 3 or 4 here).

As I got older (I'm about 14 in this picture), I started to become more and more embarrassed to smile in pictures. Here is a rare picture of me smiling with my gappy teeth. You can barely see them because my lips are pursed so tight over them trying not to show them.
I did everything I could to hide my smile. I even covered my mouth when I laughed (age 15).
After I got braces during my freshman year of high school, I still didn't smile that much until the gap started to close enough that I felt comfortable showing off my teeth.
Something I noticed while looking through my pictures is that after I got my braces off, every picture of me had a big cheesy, toothy grin. I was sooooo happy with my beautiful teeth. I even got compliments on my smile and my teeth quite frequently from total strangers. It's no surprise that the second half of high school and all through college, I was totally confident in myself. A great smile does so much for a person. This picture was taken the day after Jeremy and I decided to get married.
This was taken on our honeymoon. A perfect smile. I want that again.
This is my smile now. SAD! The gap is not as big, but it is there and my confidence around others is not what it used to be.

So, in case you don't read facebook, or have talked to me lately...I'm getting braces--again! When Jeremy and I were first married, I had some dental work done and consequently, my retainer didn't fit well anymore. So, I stopped wearing it. Over the last 5 years, the gap between my two front teeth that made me super self-conscious as a teenager has slowly creeped open again (not nearly as bad as it once was--I used to be able to stick my pinky finger between my teeth). However, it is a cause for some social anxiety for me, so I am getting it fixed again. We have orthodontic coverage, so the cost is fairly low, and since it is such an easy fix this time around, I only have to wear them for about 4 months just on the first 6 or 8 teeth on the top. And yes, if you are wondering, they will be the metal brackets that the teens wear. It was way cheaper and quicker that way and I'm not too proud to wear them. Heck I did it before. So, anyway, if you're lucky and you get to see us this summer, you'll see me and my metal mouth.