Now you see them...

now you don't!

This sweet little thing is ecstatic to have finally lost some teeth.

It doesn't bother her one bit that they didn't get loose first, or that she didn't get to experience the excitement/horror of pulling her own teeth out.

She didn't mind that she didn't get to twist them with her tongue until they were sideways, or that I didn't have to coax her to "just let me look at them" in order to get those dang things out.

And you know what...those teeth didn't mind either. Those stubborn baby teeth that refused to come out on their own...those stubborn baby teeth that wouldn't let the newer, prettier teeth come through. They wanted to stay and stay forever. So we did the only thing we knew to do...we yanked those babies out.

She couldn't very well have started first grade without having lost any teeth, now could she?

Back to reality...

We just got back from here:

But before I talk about that I need to do a little catch up...again. Here goes nothin'.

Nate had surgery at the end of April. He has had some unexplained abdominal pain for the last year or so and surgery was our last resort. He has had multiple scans, procedures, tests...you name it. Our last resort, for now I guess, was an exploratory laparoscopy to find a possible cause. The surgery went well and they repaired a "sports hernia" that they thought was the source of the pain. We are about two months post-op and the original pain is still here...go figure. We would like to start looking into alternate medicine now. I am so tired of all the medication to try and put a "bandaid" over the pain, lets find the source already!

I was able to go up north to visit my family and see Wicked. It was absolutely amazing!! My sister-in-law, Ashlie, was able to get us tickets on the fourth row. (Thanks again Ash) I had goosebumps at the end of the first act. If I could just see even the first act again I would be happy. My friend Linzee and I want to become Wicked groupies and travel with the show, just so we can see it again and again. When it finally comes to Vegas...we are so there.

P turned 4 and had a great birthday. He got a motorcycle and he still loves it. Nate took him and his best buddy to the driving range and we ended the day at Pirate Island Pizza. P's choice, of course.

The kids all finished school with flying colors. B and A will be attending a new school next year. Although I love their school, we will be trying a new charter school this next year. It has an emphasis in performing arts and technology. I am excited for the opportunity, but we will miss our old friends and teachers. Change can be good.

My new favorite sound

Today is her 11 month birthday.
How could you not LOVE this baby??

Tooth Fairy Trickery

I found this note under B's pillow the other day.

It says:

Dear Tooth Fairy-

I lost a tooth today at recess and I went to p.e. and lost

my tooth. So do I still get the money and candy?

From B

P.S. I'll give you an extra tooth, please!

Now, I know that she hasn't lost any teeth recently,

especially at school. (Obviously we need to work on our honesty.)

And I am left to wonder where she might have come up with

any extra teeth.

I hope that Ms. Tooth Fairy isn't fooled.

In honor of Grandpa Dave

We have pictures of my dad holding us kids like this.

It is only fitting that we keep the tradition going.

Oh how I wish he was here to meet my kids and love them.

Who knows....maybe he already has.

But I do know for sure that someday...he will.

Playing Catch-up!!

Thank you all for waiting so patiently for a new post. I have now turned into one of those blogs that people don't check anymore because it is never updated. Sorry.

Allow me to back-track a bit. To prepare for the coming of my all-time favorite holiday (Christmas, obviously), we participated in the usual pre-holiday events, like....

*Searching the the perfect Christmas tree

*and participating in the usual ward nativity.
See my cute Mary?And see my cute little angel?

We also decorated our Christmas tree....

and played in some of our winter leaves.

In keeping with a new and extremely beloved tradition, I returned again to Las Vegas with my best friend of all time, Linzee, for a little Christmas shopping.

We even had a freak snow storm. They canceled school for the day and the kids had a great time playing. Without any snow clothes the kids were soaked and freezing, but they didn't care. We had so much fun.

We also took our usual trip to see our dear friend Santa Claus. What a guy!!

Of course, the actual holiday itself came and went....and we had a blast. We decided to do our own Christmas down here this year because it is becoming increasingly more difficult each year to transport an entire Christmas up north and back down again. We LOVED it!! It was so nice to have our own little Christmas and to be able to relax the rest of the day and enjoy our family. Christmas morning was so fun with the kids. They loved all of their presents.

B got a lot of what I thought were "grown-up" gifts this year....a new mirror to admire herself in, some fake nails, and, of course, the ever coveted hair extensions. She had those nails on first thing and was so cautious about them for a bit. Then, they started falling off everywhere and she was so concerned about those darn things. Although it was a little stressful for me, she loved every minute of it.

We decided to get A a doll house for Christmas this year. She has the ability to sit for hours and entertain herself with little dolls and such. I thought she would love it, but it wasn't meant to be. While she was a little excited for the doll house, she was over-the-top extatic for her own makeup set and spent a good part of the morning trying on every shade she could find. Go figure!!

I debated for a while on what we should get P for Christmas. I finally decided on some "indoor" toys so that the poor guys won't get so bored on cold days. He loved his race track and we heard those cars all day long. The brand-new batteries were completely depleted by the next day. Thank goodness he now has some toys that keep him busy.
And, of course, we can't forget our sweet K's first Christmas. She turned 7 months on Christmas day. She also made a haul with all her loot....all of which she could care less about.
We left for family's house the next day and spent the next week with them. We had so much fun being with both sides of the family. I will have to post other pictures later. This one is long enough as it is.

Bad....Bad Blogger!!

No..I haven't forgotten that I have a blog. I just never get around to updating it. I really do have a lot to say, a lot of which I am certain you have no interest in hearing whatsoever. So...just letting you know that the Cowans are alive and kicking. We had a wonderful holiday, of which I will post pictures later. Right now....well, right now I just don't feel like it!