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Holli Pool Photography

Photographer + Filmographer: Stuarts Draft, Augusta County, Staunton, Waynesboro, Harrisonburg VA

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September 2018 - Letters to Our Children

Mason, Rylan, and Elli,

We crammed August full of fun before school started on the 23.  Mason, you were hesitant to go back, but it seems to be going well so far in first grade.  We took our family vacation with Nonni and Poppy a couple weeks before school, and we left straight from Luke's wedding, so we got to the beach pretty late. 

Jill came for part of the beach week too, since Uncle Tony and Janelle weren't able to come and we had extra space.  There are lots of pictures to show what vacation was like, so I won't say much about it.  But none of you wanted to leave.  (I'll put the beach pictures last this month because there are sooo many).  The rest of the month was filled with LOTS of bike riding, book reading, and putting happy faces and sad faces on our obedience chart to end with a popcorn party where we watched the Lego Batman movie and ate popcorn!

We also got to go to Shenandoah Acres a few days before vacation.  Mason, you played some of the organized games with the other kids camping there.  It's been so fun to watch you and Rylan having fun in the water this second half of the summer.  Mason, you especially love the water now.

Mason, we got to do our tradition of school shopping together where we went to Micah's and got special drinks before looking for all your school stuff!  I like to do things like that with you.  Wednesday nights being late because of Awana are going to be hard again this year, but I'm hoping your body will get used to the schedule and we're trying to do all we can to make it easier on you to get to sleep faster.  I love seeing how helpful you are and how kind you are (when you're in a good mood) ;) You still love playing baseball in the yard with Daddy and doing jobs with him.

Rylan, it's so funny to see how light your hair got this summer even compared to April or May.  Anyway, you are so sweet, and I love that you still call yourself Ry Baby at times.  You make friends with other kids wherever we go; you introduce yourself and ask them how old they are.  I'm proud of you for that.  We're still trying to transition you into Mason's room at night, but I'm still wondering how it will work since Mason has trouble just going to sleep on his own so far.  Hopefully that will happen pretty soon though.

My sweet Elle Belle, how are you almost two???  (Actually, as I'm writing this late, you turn two TODAY. Aaah.)  You are so pretty and so silly.  You still don't talk with real words, but you know every bit of what we say to you.  I know it's frustrating to you when we don't understand you sometimes, but you handle it pretty well.  You like to climb and run and play hard with your brothers.  You get messy but are also very into being clean.  You are finishing being in the nursery at church (moving up to toddlers), which makes me sad, and you will even be in Puggles this year in Awana!!  You started giving us super good hugs and real (sort of) kisses this month.  You push your mouth/teeth up against us so hard and just keep it there for like 30 seconds....it is really funny, doesn't feel very good, and incredibly sweet.  

You tried putting on my eyeliner in the few seconds that I wasn't looking when I was getting ready in the morning!

Here are the quotes from this month!

“Can the government hear us here??”
— Rylan, after a mention of governments in other countries that don't allow religious freedom
“I don’t WANT to be in a family that drinks only water!!!”
— Mason, in a fit that made me laugh
“Can you let me get up? .....like babysit me or something?”
— Rylan, talking to me in the morning on vacation before he came out of his room
“Don’t go over there cause it looks like a company picnic.”
“Or maybe a GET company picnic....like where they get company.”
— me and Rylan, in a confusing conversation at the park
“Why aren’t our ears on our head like Kitty?”
— Mason
“Mommy, I wish we lived at a restaurant cause then I could have sweetener!”
— Ry
“I think part of my head is Thermos brand because it’s still cold.”
— Rylan
“I have a surprise for you! It’s not a hug, it’s not a 4 wheeler, it’s not a monster truck, it’s a...... *kiss*”
— Ry, the sweetness, almost every day
“Can you carry me to the Spanish Safari..... what’s it called?”
— Rylan, referencing the Italian Festival
“That’s the best smile I’ve done in about a month!!”
— Mason, referencing his smile in his first day of school picture, which WAS a really good smile

I love you all my little cutenesses. :) 

Love, Mommy

This month had a self-portrait challenge in the Click Pro community I'm in, so I took a few this month.  Also, in the Target picture, we pulled up there and both of you boys said, "Mommy, why is that buggy popping a wheely??"

Thursday 09.06.18
Posted by Holli Pool
 

August 2018 - Letters to Our Children

Mason, Rylan, and Elle Belle,

July was a fun month full of summer things.  For the second year in a row, Mommy did the Clickin Moms scavenger hunt, so we were on the lookout for a whole list of summer things during the month.  Mason, you started to use Mommy's old camera a lot more, and you got a bunch of things on the list too! We have read lots of books this summer- we've gotten chapter books at the library for the past few times, and you boys are enjoying them a lot.  (So am I!)

The month started with 4th of July fun.  We went to the parade at Gypsy Hill, where we all turned into puddles of sweat, even in the shade.  Then we ate at a cute restaurant in Staunton that we'd never been to before.  Later in the day we went to Nonni and Poppy's for a cookout and watched some fireworks from their yard/driveway.

We had another round of swimming lessons this month, and both of you boys were in the same Jellyfish class!  Daddy wasn't able to come to any of the lessons this time, but Nonni and Poppy came one day, and that was really fun.  Poppy even worked on learning how to dive!  Mason, you made huge progress in swimming this time.  You learned how to float all on your own, and you also did a few REAL dives!!  Rylan, you seemed to be intimidated by being the youngest in your class, so you ended up doing less this time than you did in Drylander.  The two of you were excited that the Erdmans were there most of the days that we swam this time too. 

You also got to have some special dates this month.  Early in the month, Nonni watched Elli so I got to take you boys to swimming lessons alone, then to the dentist (Mason you did great!  Rylan, you sat in the chair for a minute at the end, so that seems like a good start), then to McDonalds for Happy Meals, and finally to 7-11 for free slurpees!  

Mason, you got to have a date with Nonni and Poppy to see your first in-theater movie: Incredibles 2.  You came home with some popcorn to share and it seemed like you had a lot of fun.  

All 3 of you got to have an all day adventure with Nonni and Poppy one Saturday so that Mommy and Daddy could have an overnight date celebrating our 10th anniversary!  You boys got to go on your yearly tradition to the monster truck show, which is one of your highlights of the summer.  And Elli you got to spend some more special time with Nonni.  Mommy and Daddy had fun going to the lawn party in Bridgewater, finding fun things to do in Harrisonburg/Dayton area, and staying at a bed and breakfast in Dayton.  We missed all 3 of you, but it was nice for us to spend time alone too.

This month also included some of my favorite summer traditions, like the fireworks in Waynesboro at the park and the Stuarts Draft parades and carnival.  I ventured out alone with the 3 of you for the old car parade, which was pretty fun until you (Mason) got very upset with me for something and then said the parade was way too short (it was) and how you wished we would have never even gone to it.  The next day was much better....except Rylan, you weren't allowed to eat any of the candy from the parade since you refused to eat your food 2 meals in a row.  But riding some fun things at the carnival made it better.  In Waynesboro the next day, the fireworks show seemed better than ever this year.  And Elli, you loved the fireworks!  Mason, you found a creative place to sit during the show, and Daddy and Rylan joined you at the end.

At the end of the month, we had a fun day with Grandma and Pap in Woodstock at a park.  Aunt Hilary and Carson came at the last minute too.  We played at the park (which had a lot of cool things in it), Grandma packed us a picnic lunch that we ate on the stage of the ampitheater place, and then we swam in the pool.  

We had a fun hangout night with friends one Friday, when we hit baseballs (tennis balls...with a t-ball bat), ate summery food, and played a game of capture the flag.

Rylan,

your biggest accomplishment this month was learning how to ride your bike; and you taught yourself!  Nichole gave you one of Waylon's old bikes on a Monday, and on Saturday, Mason ran inside to tell us that you were riding all by yourself!  He told us that he didn't teach you...you just started doing it on your own!  You were even trying to do wheelies one day after learning!

You have been giving me and Daddy "surprises" almost every day where you give us a sweet kiss on the cheek.  You warn us saying, "you can't know the surprise when I do..." and then you make a kissy face.  You also give lots of spontaneous hugs that we love. 

Elli,

You still aren't saying real words (do I say this every month?), but you've still been exercising your "no!!" very strongly every day.  You like to stomp your foot or try to hit us when you're mad too.  I think us not understanding what you want to say is getting a little more frustrating for you than it has been before this. 

You are still sleeping in your swaddle, but both arms are out now...so it's basically just for comfort.  When you slept at Nonni and Poppy's that night, I was sure you would wake up crying at least 3 times, and I was shocked to find out that you didn't wake up at all!  Maybe I need to get some tips to find out how to get you to sleep through the night at home.  In good news, there are no ear infections to report this month!  You had 2 days of a fever, which turned out to be that virus where you have a fever and then have red spots on your belly and back afterwards.  It wasn't too traumatic though.

I think your favorite people are Daddy, Poppy, and Nonni.  Your face lights up, and you run to them laughing and smiling whenever you see them.  I like to think that I would be on the favorite list if you weren't constantly with me... we just don't get enough separation for you to get excited to you see me.  Ha.  Another new thing you're doing is smiling reeeaaally big when you're doing something wrong.  Like a huge, squinty eyed smile.

Mason,

You're in the middle of seeming like a big kid and still seeming very small.  Sometimes you are a huge helper with all different things.  You help with picking out Rylan's clothes, giving Elli something that she needs, cleaning up messes, encouraging Rylan to do good things, and doing jobs with Daddy.  

You love riding your bike outside; that's become your main go-to thing this summer.  You sometimes ride your bigger bike, but often you still ride the smaller one, since you can get on it yourself.  You're incredibly fast, and you can even do little wheelies, ride while waving, and ride with your feet up.  You like to do bike shows for us, and we like to watch.

I've tried to get you to read this summer, but you usually resist it.  I'm scared reading is going to frustrate you in first grade, but you love books so much that I don't want to make you hate it now either.  You've practiced writing your numbers a little this month too.  We'll try to practice that more before school starts though.

Here are the quotes I wrote down that made me laugh this month:

“The gigantic beetle pictures gave me a fever. :( ”
— Rylan, in a sad voice
“Look at those porridge potties!!”
— Mason, referencing the porta-potties
“I would CREP up behind them and scare them!”
— Mason (although you've taught Ry to say "crep" too instead of "creep")
“Mommy, speaking of “we’re having frozen pizza,” frozen pizza is my favorite food in the Whole. Wide. World.”
— Rylan

Well, my cutenesses, that's all I have this month.  

I love you!  Mommy

Friday 08.03.18
Posted by Holli Pool
Comments: 1
 

July 2018 - Letters to Our Children

Mason, Rylan, and Elli,

Our June was filled with 2 weeks of swimming lessons with Harley, a couple birthday parties (including Rylan's!), Mommy and Daddy's 10th anniversary, a tractor trailer show, a night at the park, a trip to Pennsylvania, lots of walks/some running in the driveway, an ER trip for Mason (after burning his foot on a mountain pie maker at Rylan's party-- resulting in wrapping it every day, using crutches for a while, AND not being able to finish swimming lessons), bike riding, and loooots of heat and humidity!  We're loving sleeping in late and staying up later too. 

Here are some quotes from this month:

“Mason, What are you feeding Elli?”
”A horseshoe.”
— Mason's answer when he was feeding Elli a cashew
“Mommy, I ALWAYS get boiled.”
— Rylan, soon after I lazily explained the word "boiled" as "super hot"
“Would I die if I drank coffee?”
— Rylan
“I went underwater two times and I cant....stop....shrinking!”
— Rylan, meaning "shivering"
“Mommy, there’s a really cool machine over there! There’s water shooting out of it!!!”
— Rylan, referencing the shower in the bathroom at the pool
“I stuck my truck in a secret age spot!”
— Ry
“I’ll always be your Ry Baby, even when I’m Poppy’s size.”
— Rylan
“This is probably a military dinosaur!!”
— Rylan, excited when looking at his new dinosaur present
“Me and Mason saw a Lightning-Did.”
— Rylan, thinking it was a version of a Katydid
“Four year olds are like babies mixed up with grown-ups.”
— Rylan, explaining what 4-year olds are like

Happy summer!

I love you,

Mommy

Tuesday 07.03.18
Posted by Holli Pool
Comments: 2
 
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