Shots and Shoes

We FINALLY had Emmitt's 6 month appointment today (he is actually 6 months and 19 days old). He weighs a whopping 19.5 lbs (77th percentile) and is 27.5 (72nd percentile) inches in length. The percentiles mean if you had 100 kids in the same room EXACTLY the same age, he would weigh more than about 77% of them and would be taller than about 72%.

On the last day of preschool, we came home to a message from Jesstine's teacher that she needed me to call her back at my earliest convenience. When I called her back, she said she had been meaning to talk to me at school, but we were all so busy getting where we needed to go, she didn't have a chance to catch me. She said that she and the other teachers were a little concerned about Jesstine's feet. She said that the director of the school had happened to be with the class as they were assessing their ability to walk up and down the stairs. They noticed that Jesstine was walking funny and constantly mentioned that her legs hurt. They checked her shoes and thought that they were perhaps a little big. I told her that they were a thumb and a half from the end which is what they are supposed to be at this age. They also noticed that her feet turn in and she walks on her toes a lot. I told her that the feet turning in thing was normal and that her mother and grandmother have the same problem! I am VERY familiar with it! As a result of this conversation, I thought it best to have her feet sized. I took her to the Stride Rite store. I had her sized correctly in a size 10 (with a thumb and a half). I also looked at some shoes while I was there and they were $38... ON SALE!!!! I had just purchased shoes for her 6 months ago! So I did some searching and contemplating. I decided to try Payless because they had some Dora shoes in a new color that were JUST like what she started the school year out in and LOVED! So, I got them (also worth noting is that Stride Rite had a very similar shoe for a whole $10 more than Payless...I am sure it was the same type of shoe). I talked to my mom about it because I knew she had experience with this from having 5 kids and because she is a nurse practitioner. She recommended that I talk to our doctor. So I took the liberty of mentioning it to the doctor while I was at Emmitt's appointment. He had her take her socks and shoes off. Then watched her run down the hallway and walk back. He said that she has high arches and that she has "in toe" or pigeon toe (like her mommy and her grandma). He went on to say that kids' shoes have too much structure to allow for their growth and for flexibility of their foot. That is why she complains of her legs hurting. He recommended that since it was summer, let her go barefoot as much as possible. If she has to wear shoes to let her wear something with a flat bottom or very flexible. Stephen and I decided that we would stick with what we have shoe wise and follow the doctor's directions. Then when she changes sizes, we will look for something that will be more flexible  or with a flat bottom. I have a pair of converse waiting for her in the closet!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Let the Summer Fun BEGIN!!!

Remember Jesstine's to-do list? Well, we started officially checking things off today! Here are some pictures of the summer fun we have had today:

 Take one tub (this is a Rubbermaid, 28 Qt. tub).

 Add some of these gems (you can find them at Michael's in the flower section. They are made to go in vases for live plants).

 And 4 of these (or 1 liter to every 10 grams. Ours had 40 grams hence the 4 liters).

 Will look like this....

 Set timer for 4-6 hours (this is my microwave and there is not 4 hours on it, so this is technically 4 minutes. We actually left them over night.) and stay tuned to see what happened at the end of this post.

Jesstine started swim lessons today too! She had a great time and I think she learned something too!

 Sitting and waiting to see what group they will be in.

 She was placed in a group with older kids actually. She was very comfortable in the water and followed directions quite well.

 They started out by splashing each other! 

 As you can see, she thought this was a blast!

And here is what the "water gems" look like! Jesstine had a blast......

 And so did Emmitt! (Don't worry, none of them ended up in his mouth!)

And this was not on our summer to do list, but when Jesstine and I were running some errands yesterday, we found a pirate hook, mustache, earring, and eye patch. So of course we had to try on her pirate costume!!!

I had to put the mustache on for her to be interested in it though!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

P.S. I almost forgot to post the video from swim lessons:

And some footage of the kids and their water gems:

This was a little later after I had already posted the above videos! LOL! He can't get enough of this!

So Close, But So Far

I am officially taking bets on how long people think it will take Emmitt to learn to crawl (at least army crawl). This is the scene I witnessed today that tells me he is not far from learning to crawl.

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

ABC Drumming in Bathing Suits With Charlie Brown

Okay, so I have been trying to put as much of what is being posted in the title in some capacity. It makes for some very interesting post titles, plus it is MUCH easier to go back and find exactly what I am looking for later on because the description is right there in the title! :-) So without further adieu, here is, "ABC Drumming in Bathing Suits With Charlie Brown!"

We visited the Bixby Hutchins clan last weekend. Jesstine had fun showing off her new bathing suit for Aunt Jenni, and playing the drums in said suit while singing the ABC's in the style of her Fisher Price door (with "la la las" at the end). WHEW!! That's a mouthful!

Since Emmitt was about 3 months old, I have been tempted to dress him as Charlie Brown. He just has the perfect round, bald head! So, I started to browse the internet and was jokingly telling my friends on Facebook. One of my friends (and neighbor) came through! She has a cousin who dressed her 18 month-old as Charlie Brown. She asked for the shirt and loaned it to me! I put it him today because it looked a little small....Glad I did! It won't make it to Halloween! So, here is OUR Charlie Brown.

 Pretty close, even down to the expression! Hehe!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Return to the 6 month pictures!!

 1

 2

 3 (will try to get it in color too)

 4

 5

 6 (again, will try to get in color)

 7

 8

 9

 10

11

Rolling Into Summer

And this is how we roll!!!!

Get ready for a LOT of pictures!!

Summer officially started for Jesstine last Thursday. For me, it doesn't start until this Thursday. Regardless, we are ALL looking forward to it and have big plans! A few birthdays and vacation among other things! So without any more dialog (except for a few picture captions/introductions), here:

Jesstine's last day of school was a field day and party day. Since every single one of the kids in her class have summer birthdays, it seemed fitting to have a birthday party. It isn't like they got to celebrate it at school ON their birthdays! There weren't very many parent helpers for the party, so I offered a few little things to help! I brought party hats and stickers to decorate them as well as noisy party blowers!

 There was even a birthday cake with four candles!!!

Emmitt is showing off his new shades!

We also took a quick trip down to remember our loved ones in Oklahoma who have already passed. We decided to beat the rush of the ACTUAL Memorial day weekend by going down a bit early.

 Ready to ride!

We stopped at Stephen's uncle's house along the way! Emmitt was ready to eat about that time! We sent this picture to Stephen's aunt who was still at work, but headed home for lunch with us!

Uncle Jim and Aunt Susan have a grandson now, so there were a few toys for Jesstine to play with.

 And even one for Emmitt! He is really rolling now!

The toys also were successful in wearing the kids out. Jesstine very seldom sleeps in the car, but she fell asleep for a little while on the way to the cemeteries. 

Okay, this may seem morbid, but we wanted to get a picture of Emmitt next to the reason for his namesake!

And of course we couldn't forget his middle namesake either!

Because we missed our weekly grocery shopping trip, we went the day after returning. We got Jesstine a new helmet to perhaps coax her into riding her bike and going outside more often this summer.

I have started keeping up with a blog lately that has been captivating. Partially because she takes amazing photos, but also because her oldest daughter reminds me of Jesstine! Anyhow, I got the idea to do this (see below) on her blog, HERE (Sorry! It may take me a while to find the actual post).

It was also kind of part of Jesstine's Summer list of things to do! We may add to it! Thanks for the idea Jenni!

Oh and speaking of rolling, this boy is at it again! The picture below is where Emmitt started tonight (over by the piano on the blanket).

And THIS is where he ended up! Crazy boy!

He certainly is the most amazing brother ever to Jesstine!

(This is a 12 month shirt by the way! Emmitt is rolling right into the next size of clothing!)

Hopefully I won't wait so long before posting again!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family