Punkin' Pickin'

Sam's class took a field trip to the pumpkin patch, so Sydney and I tagged along.  We had never been to this pumpkin patch before, and I was excited to see how it compared to the one we usually visit.  It did not disappoint.  On the way there, we passed the castle in Versailles.  The kids know it is there and they always comment on it.  This time, as we were passing by, Sam exclaimed, "Hey!  Look!  A big castle!"

Sydney promptly followed up with, "Oh no!!!!  We didn't bring my princess dress!"  I don't think princess dresses are standard attire for pumpkin patches.

On another note, look how tall my boy is getting.

Since we were part of a large group (and there were at least 5 other school groups there that day) we kept to a pretty tight schedule.  I was pretty impressed with how they managed the crowd.  First we picked a few apples to take home, then everybody headed out to the pumpkin patch to choose a pumpkin.  When I was looking back over my pictures I realized that I didn't get very many pictures of Sam.  Probably because it's nearly impossible to catch him being still enough for a picture.  There are 11 students in his class, 9 of which are boys.  (God bless his teacher...)  You put 9 little boys in an open field on a gorgeous fall day....you're not going to get very many still-life photos.

But Sydney was excited for her chance to choose a pumpkin.  She, of course, had to look at every single one in the patch before she selected one.

Next we visited the petting zoo.  They had sheep, goats, ducks, a donkey....and a white pony.  There was a sign asking that the children not feed or pet the white pony because he apparently bites.  Three guesses which animal was Sydney's favorite.

Sam got a kick out of feeding the animals.  I couldn't get him to get up the nerve to let them eat out of his hands, but he agreed to hold the little cup of food and let him eat out of it.  Until the sheep got a little over-eager and yanked the entire cup out of his hand...

Next they ushered us into a little classroom where the kids learned about how bees make honey.

And finally we got to go on the hayride.  The kids had been talking about this all day.  To be completely honest, I wasn't sure if Sydney would be scared or not because you just never really know.  Everybody got a little cup of apple cider before we got on.  I'm not sure if it was the apple cider or what, but I'm pretty sure the hayride was her favorite part of the day.

Funny story about the hayride.  Immediately after this picture was taken, the little boy beside her jostled into her and spilled her apple cider all down the front of her shirt.  Honestly, I was afraid she was going to deck him.  She clenched her fists, narrowed her eyes, set her jaw a stared him down.  I grabbed a napkin and cleaned her up and the crisis was averted.  That night I was putting the kids to bed and we were going through our nightly routine.  I always ask them, "What was the best part of our day?  What's something that made you sad?"  I asked Sydney what her favorite part of the day was and she told me she loved the hayride.  When I asked her if anything made her sad that day, she immediately got that indignant look back on her face and said, "Well...dat boy spilled my juice on me!"

They also had a really cool play area with a huge slide, a hay bale tower to climb and all sorts of other fun things that the little boys were all drooling over.  Sam will climb anything.  I swear, sometimes I think he's part monkey.  Pretty sure Mt. Everest is in his future.

He scrambled up to the top of the hay bale tower like he'd been doing that all his life.

Meanwhile, I just set Sydney on one of the lower bales.  She was not amused...

...and chose to spend the rest of her afternoon in the safety of the sandbox.

Eventually Sam decided to join her because he couldn't miss a chance to get dirty.

I always love our trips to the pumpkin patch.  I might even enjoy them more than the kids.  What was my favorite part of the day, you ask?  Both kids took a big ol' nap that afternoon.

All I Want For Christmas...

On about the 3rd morning of kindergarten, Sam complained on the way to school that his teeth were hurting.  I made a mental note to check his mouth when we got to school...then promptly forgot about it.  (As I do with most mental notes...)  That night while eating corn on the cob, he again commented that his teeth were hurting, so Shawn took a look.  Sure enough, he had not one, but TWO loose teeth!  He was so very excited.  And I...well...let's just say I did a lot of blinking over the next 30 seconds or so.  His first day of kindergarten didn't bother me too much, but loose teeth in the same week?  Too much for this momma's heart.

The next day, because I am weird about such things, I decided an impromptu photo shoot was in order to get a few last pictures of his baby teeth.  Sam asked me why I was taking his picture, and I told him I wanted to get some nice pictures of his teeth.  So of course, I got lots of dinosaur growls.

And a few silly faces... 

Somewhere along the way, we have figured out that if we can find a way to chase Sam, we can pretty well trick him convince him to do about anything we want.  So he and I started playing a little game of catch around a tree in our yard. 

 Then he decided that he needed some pictures with his dog.  This boy and that dog...they sure do like each other.  We're pretty sure Molly thinks Sam is her puppy. 

A couple of weeks later, we were in the car for a little road trip, and Sam announced that "something had happened."  That "something" was his tooth coming out.  He was, of course, worried that the tooth fairy wouldn't be able to find him since we wouldn't be sleeping at our house that night.  But luckily, the tooth fairy knew just where he would be.

You know, I am a little sad that my kids are growing out of the baby stage.  I suppose it's a bit natural to longingly remember all of the little things they won't do anymore.  And every time I clean out a dresser drawer or place an outfit in the "too little" box, I choke back a wave of emotion.  But I have to admit...watching them grow up is pretty fun too.

School Days

We're about 6 weeks in, and I'm just now posting first-day-of-school pictures.  Sam started kindergarten this year.  He was super excited...he told me on the way to school that day that he couldn't wait to learn to read all by himself.  As for me, I was surprisingly okay.  I really thought I would be sad, but I guess his excitement helped alleviate my sadness.  

He did get a little embarrassed about the pictures, though..

But I finally managed to coax a smile out of him.

We had been to an open house a few nights earlier where his teacher went through his morning routine with him.  In typical Sam-fashion, he remembered every single thing and carried out the routine in the exact order she had described.

As we were walking out of the school building, Sydney was chattering along about her plans for the day.  First we went to the library.  We had gotten in the habit of going a couple of times a month last year, and that was one of the first things Sydney asked to do when we started talking about Sam going back to school.  This girl...she walks in everywhere like she owns the place.  She immediately wanted to know where "that girl I always play with" was (Ms. Bethany, the children's librarian).  But Ms. Bethany wasn't there that day, so we had to amuse ourselves.



Next, we went to the park.  We threw rocks in the creek, cooked some imaginary pancakes, slid on the slide a few times, and basically had the run of the place all to ourselves.

And what girl day is complete without lunch at Panera?

So far, as he predicted, Sam is loving all things reading-related.  But he hates any kind of work that involves writing or coloring.  It's just not his thing.  And music!  He is crazy about music class.  He comes home nearly every day singing some new little song that I've never heard.  His memory amazes me.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

I'm trying to catch up a little here...

This summer we took the kids to their first baseball game.  Shawn loves baseball.  In one of our first real conversations about us...our future...I remember Shawn sharing that he wanted to coach our kids' little league team.

We're so lucky to live close to a minor league team city.  We loaded the kids up for a late afternoon game.  And dude...it was HOT.  We actually ended up changing seats so we could sit in the shade, and we ended up with a pretty great view.

It turned out to be a REALLY good decision because Sam ended up with a foul ball!  Initially he wanted to throw it back.  I don't think he understood.

I wasn't sure if we would last the entire game, but you'd be surprised what a well-placed concession stand run will get you.  Did you know the proper way to eat an ice cream cone is from the bottom?

We had a great time!

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Today is Shawn's birthday.  I thought it would be fun to post a list of reasons that we love him.  I refuse to comment on if the number has anything to do with his age.

38.  His big brown eyes.  It's one of the first things I noticed about him.
37.  He smells good.
36.  He cleans up all of the disgusting gifts our cat leaves on the back porch for us that include, but are not limited to: entrails, organs, blood, decapitated rodent bodies, and amputated bird feet.
35.  He gives a great neck rub.
34.  Around this time of year when football season starts and trees start to turn, he always makes me gumbo.
33.  He makes a mean chicken chili too.
32.  He never complains when I stick my cold feet on him.
31.  When I'm at my wits end with the kids, he can usually get them to comply.  Sometimes it's by using the "Daddy" voice.  Other times he cracks a joke about burps or farts and lightens the mood.
30.  He kills spiders for me.
29.  He reaches things on the top shelf for me.
28.  He sends me random texts during the day to check on me.
27.  He always listens to Sam's minute-by-minute play-by-play of his day at school.
26.  He can tell you the stat history of every UK player and recruit, past or present.
25.  He can make me laugh when I'm so mad I can't see straight.
24.  He takes me to football games.  (Sam)
23.  He takes us to the movies. (Sydney)
22.  He gives me the olives and croutons from his salads.
21.  He has a weirdly eclectic taste in music.
20.  He snugs in bed with me at night and we listen to music.  (Sam)
19.  He doesn't mind if I nap while he drives on long trips.
18.  He takes care of us.  (Sydney)
17.  He always tells me my hair looks great after a haircut.
16.  He lets me fold clothes with him.  (Sam)
15.  He does things for me that I know he hates doing (like spreading mulch and hanging pictures.)
14.  He takes Molly out when it's cold outside.
13.  He rubs my hair until I fall asleep.
12.  He gives me some of his birthday cake.  (Sydney...yes she really said that.)
11.  He patiently waits for me to research, analyze, obsess over, and read every review ever written when we're making a big purchase.
10.  I know he'll do everything humanly possible to be at every game, recital, match, meet, or other activity that the kids are in.
9.   If I spill something he cleans it up and doesn't get mad.  (Sam)
8.   Even when we disagree, I can always count on him to consider my point of view.
7.   He usually has supper waiting when I get home from work.
6.   He always makes sure my phone is up to date.  If not for him, I have no idea what IOS version I would still be using.
5.   He sits on the back porch swing with me.
4.   It's fun to dream about the future with him.
3.   He is equally as good at playing dolls as he is at playing super heroes.
2.   He is really great at recognizing and responding to those situations that God sometimes puts us in to make a difference in others' lives.
1.  And as always...he puts up with my crazy...and even finds a way to love me in spite of it.

Dear Sydney,

Last month, you turned 3 years old.  I'm finding that I don't get a lot of computer time lately.  I steal it here and there when I can to pay a bill or to balance the checkbook, but I get a little too much help when I'm on the computer.  Often, if you catch me sitting down to type, you'll sneak up beside me, and I'll see a tiny, pudgy finger eeeeeeasing up to press just one key on the keyboard.  You can't stand it.

This year has been an explosive vocabulary year for you.  You know ALL of the words now.  And you say them.  All.  Of.  Them.  You almost constantly keep up a running monologue during the day.  It's like when you wake up in the morning you have a 10,000 word quota to meet.  If you don't meet that quota during daylight hours you'll lie in bed and night and just give an endless speech, sometimes hardly taking a breath in between, mixing in little snippets of songs just for fun.  You often talk in your sleep at night.  One night not long ago, you were lying in bed having a hard time sleeping.  I was sitting in the rocker in your room until you dozed off.  Your constant stream of words sounded something like this:

"Mommy.  Look at my face.  Ugh.  You're killing me.  What's wrong with you?  Mommy can I have some water?  Mommy?  Please?  Pleaseplease?  Can I have some orange juice?  Can I have a big girl cup?  Mommy look at me.  Watch this.  Look at this.  I'm stuck.  See Mommy?  Like this.  See?  Ow! I hurt my eye.  See?  Watch this.  Mommy?  Mommy?  Mom?  *now singing* IIIIIIII'lllll driiiiiiiiiive.  In Daddy's caaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr.....not Mommy's caaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr....  I'm the BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"

Most of the time I don't know if I should kiss your face or spank your bottom.  Your antics absolutely crack me up.  A good friend of mine said you would keep me on my toes and on my knees.  She's absolutely right.  As you and your brother grow, I find myself praying more than I ever have before.

You love music.  You and I started taking a little music class once a week at our church last year, and something just clicked with you.  They took a break over the summer, and you cannot wait for it to start back up.  The first few times we went, you just sat in my lap and wouldn't really participate much.  I was even thinking that maybe it just wasn't your thing, but one day while you were playing by yourself, I heard you singing some of the songs from class to your toys.  Then we had to miss a couple of weeks for this and that, and you couldn't understand why we didn't go to your "Wachel cwass" that Thursday.

You're all about princesses right now.  Your favorites seem to be "'Punzel" (Rapunzel) and Ariel.  In fact, you went through a spell this year where you didn't want to brush your teeth, and Daddy started telling you he thought he saw Rapunzel sneak in your mouth.  You'd open your mouth wide so he could find her and it would give us just enough time to swipe over your teeth with the toothbrush.

You got glasses this year.  I must admit, you look pretty stinking cute in them.  The first few days you had them, we stressed that if you needed a break from them, that was fine but you had to give them to Mommy or Daddy...not just lay them down in the floor.  You've actually done a pretty good job following those directions.  And now you leave them on pretty much all the time, although we still have good days and bad days.

You're becoming so independent.  You want to dress yourself, put your shoes on by yourself, walk instead of ride in the shopping cart, brush your own hair...  And you love helping with chores for the most part--feeding the dog, folding towels, putting groceries away--although I must admit your attention span for those things is pretty short.  But you have a spirit that others can sense in the first 5 minutes they're around you.  People seem to know that you are your own person and you won't be pushed around.  I like that about you.

My Sydney-bug, I love your big personality and how you walk into a room like you own the place.  I love how when you're tired in the afternoon, you ask me to "wock" with you and how you snuggle down so your head is right on my shoulder and your arm is looped around my neck.  I love how you wake up like you're ready to conquer the world.  I love how you ask me to twirl "wike a pwincess" with you.  I love how your gorgeous red hair has golden highlights woven into it by the summer's sun.  And I love watching you become who you are.

Mommy

A Weekend With The Girls

A few weekends ago we got to have a sleepover with 3 of our cousins.  I remember staying at my aunt & uncle's house A LOT when I was a kid.  And I don't think I ever wanted to go home.  It's such a source of happy memories for me, it has been bothering me a bit that my kids aren't experiencing that.  It was time to do something about it.  So one Friday afternoon I picked up 3 of my nieces and 

we made the trip back to Casa de King.

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was AWESOME that weekend.  We spent the majority of the day Saturday playing outside.  I love watching these girls together.  Their birthdays are just two days apart.  That being said, I kinda felt like I was taking care of twin 2 year-olds that weekend.  While I've always had a deep respect for moms of multiples, it grew even more over those couple of days.

 

 

Even though Sam was outnumbered by the girls, he had a great time.  In the days leading up to their visit, I was able to say, "We need to do fill in the blank so the girls can come over."  Instant obedience.  And I can't count the number of times since then that he and Sydney have asked when we are going to have another cousin sleep-over.

 

 

 

Popsicles and lemonade in big people cups.  (Outside....of course.  I'm a cool aunt, but I'm not crazy.)

 

 

 

I asked the girls to pick one fun thing each to do that weekend.  Izzy immediately said she wanted to paint fingernails and toenails.  Hers are the blue ones on the left.  I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture, but she wasn't happy with just uniformly colored toes.  She needed polka dots on hers.

All. Her. Idea.

Also, I love that you can see Sydney and Abby are holding hands on the right.

 

 

 

And what sleepover is complete without a little dress up?  Someday it will be heels, pearls and make-up, but for now I like that it's super hero capes.

Dear Sam,

You are now 5 years old.  I didn't have a chance to get your letter to you on your birthday because we were celebrating in a BIG way.  (I'm over a month late getting your letter to you because...well...that's how I roll these days.  Be grateful I got it written at all.)  You have been planning this birthday for months.  You've been so very excited.  We had a big countdown in the days leading up to your big day.  A few months before your birthday you announced that you wanted a Spiderman birthday party with balloons, a Spiderman cake, and Rescue Bots wrapping paper.  You even had it planned out down to what presents you would get from specific family members. 

This year you started preschool.  I'll admit, I was pretty nervous about it, but you were so very excited.  You never shed a tear...not even on the first day.  You simply gave me a hug and happily trotted off into your classroom.  I managed to keep the tears at bay until I got into the car. 

I can't believe how much your speech has improved.  You tell long, involved, very detailed stories now.  And if I break eye contact with you for even a second during the telling of said story, you have to start over at the beginning. 

You are so hungry to learn.  I mean...you absolutely crave knowledge.  And you're such a pleaser.  One little word of praise, and your whole face lights up.  I'm so excited to see what that combination does for you.  You are so.  stinkin'.  close. to reading.  You insist on me telling you what every sign and label says.  You are constantly telling me, "L is for lollipop, S is for swim, M is for Momo...."  You learned 9 new Bible verses this year.  I think I often don't give you enough credit for what you're capable of...I'm so glad you have teachers at your school who have pushed you to excel.

The one thing you are NOT interested in learning is how to write...or at least write well.  I think it doesn't come easily for you.  I can see you getting frustrated and then your attention drifts away.  You'd much rather recite an entire passage from memory or describe in detail some picture that you've seen. 

You are so full of energy.  I just can't even...  We learned this winter that if you don't get outside for a little while every day, you are much more likely to get in trouble.  God bless your future teachers when the weather is bad.  I feel like some kind of organized sport is in your future for your dad's and my peace of mine...and your safety. 

You grew 4 inches this year.  And I think you gained only 3 pounds.  You aren't so much interested in eating much, which makes you long and lean.  We joke that you eat about every third day or so, so on your "eating days" we try to keep food in front of you all of the time.  You love meatloaf, hot dogs, plain cheeseburgers with nothing on them, all candy, frosting on cakes (you are your mother's son, after all), and pretty much any kind of fruit.  And chocolate milk.  You would drink chocolate milk all day if I would let you.  You have the longest, skinniest legs.  And your feet!  I swear, we cannot keep you in shoes.  You love to tell me, "Someday I'm gonna be as tall as Daddy."  Yep...probably.

Sam, I love how polite you are.  You might not be able to sit still for more than 3 seconds at a time, but you say "please" and "thank you" while you're bouncing off the walls.  I love watching you concentrate as you're studying your Seek and Find books or memorizing every detail of an Avengers book.  I love how you love to play dress up...but only in super hero costumes.  I love that you passed up the opportunity to go the movies (something that I never thought you would do) because you didn't want to go see Cinderella because "that's a girl movie."  I love how when Sydney and I walk into your classroom to pick you up, you proudly announce to your entire class, "Hey everybody!  This is my sister Sydney!" 

I think I've said this every year, but THIS is the year that is the most fun.  I'm so happy I get a front row seat to see you grow up.

Love,
Mom

Springtime Fun

It looks like the Bluegrass is finally green again!  I was seriously worried about Sam not reaching his 5th birthday if we didn't get outside and burn some energy.  Both of the kids need to be outside, but it is especially true for Sam.  If he goes more than a couple of days without getting some fresh air, he just goes bananas.

 

I've mentioned before, but my kids are absolutely obsessed with storm drains and tunnels.  There is a pretty large one down the street from us, and there are usually a bunch of frogs lying around sunning themselves.  Sydney loves to go "see da brogs."  Molly does too.  I'm pretty sure she thinks one of these days, she's going to catch one, but I have my doubts.  My kids make way too much noise for her to sneak up on one.  There is always a mass exodus into the water about the time we top the hill.

 

I'm thinking there is really only one way this can end, right?

 

 

They like to pretend fish too.  Looks like we're going to have to get a couple of fishing poles, soon.  Right now, they just use sticks and stir them around in the muck, then jerk them out saying, "I caught one!"

 

 

 

But so far, all we've managed to catch are a couple of old tires, a stinky shoe, and some crayons.

 

 

These days, I'm thankful for sunshine, kids with healthy imaginations, and soap.  Very thankful for soap.



Feed The Birds.

We've been spending a lot of time at our local library lately.  Sometimes if Sydney and I have a few errands to run while Sam is at school, we find ourselves with an hour or two to kill before it's time to pick him up.  Rather than go home just to turn around and go back, we will drop in at the library.  We recently discovered that they have preschooler play time every Thursday, so we've been making a point to go by for that.  They always have a craft and lots of toys out, and the children's librarian is super sweet.  Sydney beats a path to the children's area as soon as we walk in the door now.  Fair warning if you are there when we are...please stay out of her way.  She probably won't slow down.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, we made a bird feeder out of toilet paper rolls, peanut butter and birdseed.  We hung it outside our kitchen window so we could see the birds coming to eat.  For the first couple of days, we didn't seem to have any visitors.  I was kinda bummed.  But lately, we've been having a couple of cardinals stop by a few times a day.  There is a male and a female, but the female is a bit more skittish than the male.  She never hangs around long enough for a picture.

 

 

I told Sam we should name them, so he decided we should name them Sam and Sydney.  Hey...if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?