Art skills

Kindergarten is a time of developing art skills and creativity...for the parents too! I'm Brooke's room mom and their Fall Party is tomorrow morning. One of the games is "Pin the Beak on the Owl" - which means you need an owl to put a beak on. I gave my best effort. Drawing/painting is not a gift that I was given. In fact I looked to see if Jo-Ann fabrics, Ebay, etc. might have a panel fabric that I could have used my straight stitch sewing skills on - that's the extent of my sewing skills too. No luck. SO - I'm sure it took longer than it would have for most and definitely doesn't look as great as if my sister had done it, but it was handdrawn (not traced) and painted with my best ability...most of all, it was done with love. AND, Brooke was able to identify it as an owl when she walked into the room. Hopefully the other 22 kindergarteners will as well!

All about Chlorophyll

On the way to the airport on Thursday, Brooke says "Hey, do you want to know what I learned about at school?" I thought sure - it's usually things that I would expect a kindergartener to learn AND retain all the way to the end of the school day. I was NOT prepared to hear..."Chlorophyll. Did you know that leaves have chlorophyll? That’s what makes them green. The red leaves turn red because there is food stuck in them! AND the yellow and orange – the leaves are always that color but the chlorophyll covers up the color. Because then the sun stops shining as much and then we SEE the colors. Did you know that?!"

And so...I'm kind of excited to re-learn all of the things that I'm sure I knew at one point but had forgotten.

Birthday trips

I've been able to enjoy two trips in two months - one in celebration of my 30th birthday and the other for Brooke's 6th.

Mike and I went for a weekend to Fort Meyers, FL and stayed at the LaPlaya. We had a great time and enjoyed our sunset dinners, but agreed that kids make a vacation a lot of fun - and we'll hopefully have plenty of years after they are grown to take trips just the two of us. Still - it was a nice break from reality for a couple days!

I was excited to be able to wear this dress - I wore it on our honeymoon to the Riviera Maya. Almost 10 years later (and a lot of work post baby 3) it fit nicely.

For Brooke's 6th Birthday she really wanted to go see Aunt Laura in Dallas, TX. We enjoyed the warmer weather (despite the rain) and seeing Aunt Laura, Uncle Eric and perhaps trumping that - the dogs! We were also able to catch lunch with some long-time friends. Brooke cried as we left because she missed Aunt Laura so much already.

Walking!!

Since just before his first birthday Lincoln has been standing for longer periods of time and would occasionally take one or two steps. Then over the past few weeks he would take 5-6 steps full speed until he lost balance and toppled. On Friday he learned the art of regaining his balance. He would take 5-6 steps, re-balance and then take a few more. He can now successfully walk the room - or at least until he finds the toy that he's interested in.


One other Lincoln stage that I want to remember...he's been throwing "temper tantrums" when he doesn't get his way or if someone takes a toy away. He'd lay flat on the ground face down and whimper a very fake cry. This weekend he added a bit more flare to his episodes. He'll lay down, cry, and then roll partway over to peek and see who might be near enough to respond to his "tears." I think it's cute!

Why do I not write this stuff down?!

The kids make me laugh multiple times a day with their funny stories, naivity, and just plain silliness. Clayton has to be in the lead with making me laugh the most these days...and everything is SO funny to me at the time and then come the end of the day, I can't remember anything! here's a few of my favorites...


Clayton and I were playing/wrestling on the floor. Somehow his cheekbone collided pretty hard with my head. He started to cry for just a second and then stood up and proclaimed "It's okay MOM - I'm okay...it was just my head, not my WHOLE body that got hurt."


Tonight my mom and I were finishing up bringing in the last of our Sam's club run. Clayton was "hiding" behind the door and when we walked in he yelled "SURPRISE!" Grandma did a good job of pretending to be startled. Clayton started laughing hysterically and says, "That was fun - let's do that again!" So we walked back outside and closed the door - he thought it was equally funny the second time.


Clayton is definitely my more extroverted child and turns out to be a little boy full of random facts to share with...well...just about everyone. His current favorite "My dad likes coffee." Today we had a friend come over and he greeted her at the door with "Hello....My dad likes coffee."


Grandma Nancy told Clayton that Uncle Kenny was going to see his friend Joshua. Clayton says, "OH - Joshua of JERICHO?!"

Brooke's Bible verse for the week was "...the word of our God stands forever" Clayton has been doing fire safety in school and responded that her verse was true unless her Bible got burned in a fire. I told them we could use grandma's Bible if that happened.


Brooke was working on her BSF lesson and one of the questions asked for the definition of "holy". She turned and told me she knew it meant "set apart and exhalted" because OUR GOD is NOT "worn out with holes"

Squeezing in the Apple Picking

On the snowman list from the beginning of the year the kids had listed Apple Picking. Our weekends got busy and we waited a bit too long... We didn't bring that to the kids attention - they were satisfied to pick the 5 good apples left on the trees and then buy a huge bag from the store at the orchard. It was a chilly morning, but we had fun!

Beyond excited!

Brooke was just giddy as she went to bed last night, woke up this morning and went through our morning routine - she could NOT be any more excited that this is the first day of Kindergarten.

We waited for the bus (in the rain) and then a little girl down the street in the 5th grade, Maddie, introduced herself and helped Brooke cross the street to get on the bus. I was able to get her to look back so that I could take a picture. Then I said, "Have a great day!" She was too far onto the bus to have heard me, but the bus driver responded with, "Thanks I will - you do the same!" So at least I was able to give someone well wishes for the day...even if it wasn't the person I intended the message for. (and it gave me a small chuckle as I walked away from the bus)

I had a friend call who dropped off her son this morning and said that Brooke was standing in line with her class still SO EXCITED to be there. I was very thankful to hear that.

Daddy's been a little bit more emotional about his "baby" going off to Kindergarten. I think I'll be sad when Lincoln goes and I'm home by myself, but Brooke is just too excited for me to be anything but excited for her.

I can't wait for her stories this afternoon. Mike and I gave her a special journal with pocket folders in it so that each day she can record her favorite things of the day and also keep any special work or notes in it. At first she was very concerned that she wouldn't be able to remember everything to write it all down. After I reassured her that she didn't have to write down everything from the day she seemed relieved.

Last comment - After I put the boys down for nap (boy, is it quiet around here!) I went into Brooke's room to clean up the evidence that Clayton had played with her things. As I was picking up I found that on her desk was a piece of paper that she got during her preschool's bus safety week - rules for the bus. I smiled as I thought about her intentionality to pull out the sheet and mentally prepare herself for what she'd need to do today.