The perspective of a child...

Out of the mouth of babes...  I never know what is going to come out of my kids' mouths - quite often it is something pretty funny.  Usually it is something to do with their perspective of life - which is rather different than ours.  I remember this happening alot when I taught school as well.  My students would say some of the funniest things and I was so thankful to be there to hear them. 

This past week I was able to go to enjoy Kaylee's Christmas party at school with her.  It happened to be on her 6th birthday, and also at the same time that Braden had his class party.  Thank goodness for Matt - he went to Braden's school and I went to Kaylee's.  We then met up and got to enjoy her dance party together as a family.  Yes, she had a Christmas party with her dance team on the night of her birthday.  However, she didn't think it was a Christmas party - she told her class at school that her dance team was having a birthday party for her that evening!  We actually celebrated her birthday with Matt's side of the family the next evening by going to the movie to see "The Princess and the Frog" (cute movie by the way) and then eating dinner at his Aunt's house.  Needless to say, after two solid days of ALOT of attention on Kaylee combined with a pile of unopened Christmas presents under the tree, Braden was about to explode with jealousy.  He wanted to open a present and wanted it NOW!  Oh, this is going to be a long week.  I fully expect to walk into the living room some day this week and find every last present under the tree opened by Braden.  I won't be happy if it happens, but I do secretly think it would be funny - kinda like a dog watching a child's plate of food for the perfect opportunity to walk up and steal it. 

Anyways, back to Kaylee's school...  I haven't gotten to spend much time there this year because I haven't felt very well most of this semester.  There were several days that I barely made it from the house to the school to pick her up and home before being sick again.  It was not fun, and hopefully it is all behind us for now.  I was so happy to get to see her in the classroom that I hear all about each afternoon.  As I walked in the doors  of her classroom she ran to greet me with a huge hug and then dragged me over to a chair that was right by hers - she had saved me a seat!  While the kids were enjoying their Christmas snacks, I got to talk to Kaylee and meet several of her classmates.  As she introduced me to them, she informed them that, "my mommy has a baby in her tummy..."  One of the little girls then followed with the funniest response I have gotten so far.  She looked at me and said, "For real!? You got a baby in there?  Can I touch it?"  She then put her hands all over my stomach and smiled.  A few minutes later she was back to eating her food and added, "My momma just ate her a whole bunch of maccaroni and cheese to get her a big tummy.  Then, all of a sudden one day she went to the hospital and POOF out came a baby!"  I was the only adult that heard this - the kids just went about their party, but I thought it was the funniest thing I had heard in a while. 

This weekend we have tried to lay low and stay out of the craziness of Christmas shopping.  It has been such a nice break from all of the rushing around we have done over the few weeks between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break.  Sometime during the day yesterday Kaylee came to me and said, "Mommy, do we get a Christmas break from Church too?"  I had to explain to her that, "No we don't get a Christmas break from Church.  The whole reason we celebrate  Christmas is also why we go to church."  She nodded and went about her day. 

Then, this evening I heard her getting into the silverware drawer in the kitchen.  I knew what she was doing - trying to get a bite of her left over birthday cake.  (I told her she could have some after dinner, but I guess that wasn't soon enough).  Anyways, I shouted out, "Kaylee - get out of the kitchen.  You don't need to be playing in there."  She came to me and said, "Mom, did you know that there was not even a knife left in the cake?  I was just putting one there in case someone wanted a piece!"  Right, and I was born yesterday...  By the way, go wipe the crumbs off of your mouth and no more until after dinner.  :) 

Just another "do nothing" day

There is never a dull moment in our house.  Today we stayed home and basically did nothing.  (Nothing productive, that is).  However, the kids kept me busy smiling and laughing most all day long. 

This morning, Kaylee accidentially hit her ankle on the wooden base of our bed.  She hit it right on the bone where it hurts really bad.  Of course there is really nothing you can do for that, except maybe some ice and time.  However, she decided that a bandaid would make it better.  So she went to her backpack, pulled out her "secret stashed bandaid," and put it on her ankle.  Seeing his big sister get to wear a bandaid made Braden decide that he wanted a bandaid, too.  He asked me for one and I told him "No, you aren't injured, so you don't need a bandaid."  I then went on making breakfast.  Within about 2 minutes, Braden came running to me crying.  He had a red face and huge crocodile tears.  I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he kicked the wall and then jumped off of the chair in the living room to get "injured" so he could have a bandaid too.  SERIOUSLY?  I guess that is a little boy for you.  By the way, he did not get a bandaid and forgot about the whole thing very soon.  I sure am glad I didn't say that he needed to be bleeding to get a bandaid - who knows what he would have done then.  

He really is a pretty smart kid.  He is pretty quick with his thoughts and responses, even though he is only four.  Today he informed me that he is going to be a "chef-cooker" when he grows up.  I asked him what he is going to cook and he looked at me as if I was the dumbest thing that ever walked on this planet.  Then, he responded with, "FOOD!"  (Duh)! 

This evening we were eating dinner and Kaylee started talking about the Christmas song, "A Baby Changes Everything."  I asked her if she knew that it was talking about Baby Jesus and she said it did.  Then, Braden interrupted and said, "they were going to pay their taxes and had Baby Jesus...  A tax is money that they take from you."  I have never talked to him about this so I assumed he learned this in school.  I asked if he did and he said yes.  Then he followed that up with, "so am I a genius or what?"  I have my hands full! 

Actually, they both love to learn new words.  Matt is really good about talking to them about the meaning of things and using every opportunity he can to teach them something new.  The other morning they heard the word "tradition" on TV.  Kaylee asked me what a tradition is and I told her it is something that we do over and over that not everyone does.  To see if I made any sense to her I asked her what some of our traditions are, like what do we do that is special at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  She responded with, "Taco Tuesday is one of our family's traditions!" 

Yes, there is rarely a dull moment.  When there is, or when it gets really quiet; one of two things has happened...  They are either asleep, or they are busy working on something that is going to soon become yet another "story" of ours. 

Time to listen

We are now in the fourth week of the school year.  It has gone by pretty fast.  I guess having somewhere to be every day of the week and only two days to recover really makes time fly.  I know Christmas will be here before we know it, then Spring Break, and soon after that we will be staring Summer in the face again.  Kaylee started Kindergarten this year.  WOW!  I am still in shock that I have a school aged kid.  I do not know exactly how to describe it at times, but I kind of feel like our family schedule is dictated for us now.  There are no last minute trips to visit family out of town (without absences and make up work that is).  Vacations have to be planned over breaks and holidays - when EVERYONE ELSE goes.  I guess you could say that gets me a little down.  I also remember how fast the school year flies by.  I know that before I know it, Kaylee will be done with her first year and we will be looking back at all that has been accomplished over these nine or ten months.  Right now, we are working on just getting her into the school building without a major meltdown.  For some reason, Kaylee feels major anxiety about being left at school and church.  Once she gets into her classroom and starts with the day's activities she is fine.  In fact, she is very social and adjusting fine academically.  She just does not like saying bye to her parents.  By the end of the second week of school it looked like a mini-WWF match in the hall outside of her classroom.  The participants were Kaylee and me, and spectators were Braden and her teacher.  I was trying to pry her off of my leg and push her into the classroom but the brakes were on and the death grip was in full force.  Finally, her teacher and I were able to coax her into the room and I was able to leave the school building.  Lets just say that Kaylee was not the only one crying that morning.  I think I made it to the car before shedding a tear, but I was extremely exhausted and defeated feeling.  The next week, Matt decided he would take her and see if he could break that cycle.  HA!  When they got to the school and he stopped at the front door, she lost it.  She told him she was not going to go to school and really thought she would be able to get her way.  Eventually, the Assistant Principal took Kaylee by the hand and they went on a little walk before heading to class.  Throughout that week, Kaylee became close buddies with the Assistant Principal, Office Attendants, Counselor, and I think even the head Principal.  I guess she does not want to be "just a number" at her large school.  The good news is that on Friday, for some unknown reason, she took off with a friend and was in the school building without even realizing what she had done.  I think Matt sprinted home that day.  He didn't want to give her a chance to think twice about what happened.  :)  This week, Matt has been out of town again, so I have to take her to school in the mornings.  After much prayer from our friends and family, Kaylee has actually done quite well.  There have been a few moments where she almost lost it and reverted back to the fits, but she has been able to get in the school without completely breaking down.  I am really proud of her and hope that she continues to get better at this. 
By the time I pick Kaylee up each day, she is having a great time, and is really not in too much of a hurry to leave her friends.  On our way home, I ask her about her day and what she did, but only get one or two things out of her.  She usually tells me about which "special" class (Art, Music, Library, PE) that they went to, if they got to use the computer, and maybe tells me about a letter that they practiced.  I have found that I have to just be patient and let her have some time to unwind before I find out about her day.  She never "spills all" at once.  Instead, I have to listen for little things that she says and does.  Sometimes, I hear her counting forwards and then backwards - something that I am pretty sure they practice each day.  Sometimes, she brings things up right before bedtime, or while we are eating dinner.  This evening, she was spelling different sight words and number words while we were driving home from dance.  This is the first time Kaylee has been away from me on a daily basis since she was 2 years old.  I am realizing that I have some influence on her, but she is also around other people for a great amount of her waking hours.  I have come to the conclusion that I now have to be extra careful to listen to the things she says and does, to understand what she is thinking and what she has learned. 
Now, Braden is a little different.  He is my independent and adventuresome child.  We decided to put him in preschool for two years before Kindergarten.  He has been dragged around from one activity to another for Kaylee over the past three years, and has really wanted to have something that is "his own."  When we got to his first day of school, Braden came into my room that morning and said, "Mommy, do I get to go to school and stay all day today???"  After being ready about an hour early, eating breakfast, and begging to leave every five minutes, it finally came time to take Braden to school.  On the way, he told me that I didn't need to cry.  He would be just fine and he wasn't planning on crying either.  We got to school, went inside and he took off into the room.  I had to beg for a hug as he tore away from me, and couldn't get him to even look up at me and say goodbye.  He had a blast!  When I picked him up, his teacher said, "Bye Sugar!"  He quickly informed her, "I am NOT a sugar! I am an alligator!"  She laughed and said, "Well, then see ya later alligator!"  He responded with, "Okay, Bye Sugar!"  She cracked up and went into the classroom for the next student.  Braden loves school.  He is growing up so fast and becoming so independent.  Of course, he loves to give hugs and kisses and tell me that he loves me, but he is able to do so much more on his own now.  I am really proud of him, too. 
We get a few minutes to talk on the way to pick up Kaylee and he tells me a little about what they did during the day.  I say a little not because the rest of the time is silent.  I say a little because he makes up A LOT about what they did.  He told me one day that he drove a fire truck to a fire, put out the fire, went down a fire man pole, and when he got done with that he drove a dump truck and let his friend sit in the back.  To say Braden has a creative imagination is an understatement.  His brain is firing so many thoughts and ideas each second that I don't know how he even gets a complete thought out.  This summer during vacation bible school he had me convinced that they provided his class with swim suits and they went swimming in little pools outside.  I say I was convinced because he was able to describe each child's suit in detail, and gave me a list of things that happened when they were outside.  I actually called his teacher and asked if I should have sent a suit.  They cracked up because they had done NOTHING of the sort.  Braden is quick-witted, and loves to tell stories.  Alot of the time, his stories turn into songs.  They are mostly rambling, but sometimes they are hilarious.  When I listen to him sing a song, or tell a story, that is usually how I tell what he has learned or heard.  For about two weeks, he kept repeating a song about "Herman the Worm."  From what I can tell, this is something they learned in music class.  Tonight I heard him retelling a story about "Five little Puppies sitting in a tree."  He told me today that, "I am a quick learner, Mom."  Uh, yes, is all I could say to that - he retold the story from this afternoon almost word for word.  He has also been walking through the house saying, "Septembiere" and sticking his tongue out as he says the last part.  I guess they are learning the months of the year in Spanish class.  It is cute to watch and listen to because although he IS a quick learner, sometimes things get a little butchered.  I'll close with a quick story about this week...
We have recently had a few geckos roaming the outside of our house.  Somehow, one apparently got in last week.  Matt and Braden were able to capture it and get it outside before I got up though.  Whew!  I really don't like those little things.  Anyways, I opened the door to let Gracie out another day and one darted off of the door and outside before I knew what it was.  Since then, I have reminded the kids to watch for the geckos when they open the door.  This morning, Braden looked outside and said, "I don't see any gettos, mom."  Yet another word butchered by my cute little preschooler. 

Where to I begin? Tomorrow is a big day around here. Kaylee starts kindergarten! I know that she will do great - she loves to learn new things and make new friends. She loved pre-K last year and has been talking about kindergarten all summer, but I am a basketcase! I have been this whole summer, but it has been worse this past week or so. I have found myself crying when I wake up in the morning thinking about school, dreaming about school, and today getting sad every time I look at Kaylee. I've tried to make myself stop and realize that there is no way I can stop her from growing up, but it still doesn't make it easy. Last week, we went to meet her teacher, and were very pleased. This is the first time I have been on this side of things. In the past, I have been the teacher that was waiting for all of the new students to come in and meet me. It was kind of different. The school is huge, but it does have a "family" feeling. The principal is a Christian, and is not afraid to stand up in front of everyone to say so. It helped me a little with my concern about handing my "baby" over to another person who will have a HUGE impact on her life. I know that she comes home to us every afternoon, but teachers are so influential in kids' lives. I think that this is going to be a good year - I just have to get through tomorrow. :)

Here are a few pictures of Kaylee in her new classroom, and also a few from the last day of preschool just a few months ago.

 Last day of preschool - she grew so much last year, I can only imagine how she will change this year!

Here are a few of her friends that she met last year. The little girl standing beside her will be going to the same school as her this year. She kept telling us that, but we didn't believe it. Sure enough when we showed up for kindergarten round up, the first child we saw was Kaylee's preschool friend. They were both so excited! They ran up to eachother and hugged eachother like they hadn't seen one another in years.

Kaylee's teacher - Ms. Donna - she was so good with Kaylee last year. She really helped Kaylee enjoy going to school.

Kaylee showed us her Pre-K scrapbook. It made us both tear up as we looked through all of the things that she did this past year. It was the coolest surprise we could have asked for.

Ms. Maddie - Kaylee really liked Ms. Maddie and kinda knew how to get sympathy and extra hugs from her on days that she wasn't quite ready for me to drop her off. We were so blessed to have two teachers who were absolutely wonderful for Kaylee.

This is the assistant principal at Kaylee's new school. She was very friendly and made the kids all feel very special.

Standing outside of her new classroom.

Kaylee's kindergarten teacher - Mrs. Earl.

Ready to learn something new!

Her "big kid" desk.

We have done alot of things to get ready for this new school year.  Of course we have tried to work with Kaylee as much as possible on her reading, writing, and numbers.  Luckily, she LOVES to learn new things and has done alot of that on her own.  As we got closer to the end of the summer, we started to get some new clothes for school, and the last stop was a trip to her favorite salon - Sweet and Sassy - for a back to school haircut.  She was so excited and loved every bit of it.  Here are a few pictures of her getting ready for school...

She doesn't like being pampered at all, does she?

Her new "do."  She was so proud of the curls and didn't understand why they were gone the next morning. 

This is what little brothers do while they are waiting on their sisters at Sweet and Sassy...

And this...

And this...

He did make sure to tell her she was "beeeeeeeuuuuuutiful" when she was all finished!

One of many "home improvement" projects

This was a very expensive spring for us. We had our patience tested quite a bit, as several things broke around our house all at once. Luckily, we have been in the habbit of saving some money each paycheck for "emergencies" and were prepared for most of these. We started off with one side of the fence falling down. Of course, we didn't have time to replace it right off, so Matt and Braden created a "brace" to keep it from falling while he was on a trip. It actually helped even though there were some days that I wondered if it wouldn't. The kids and I would actually look out the back door on windy days and think each time a big gust of wind came through the fence would fall. Here are a few pictures of Braden "helping" brace the fence. Later on in May they actually replaced it all, but Matt wouldn't let me take pictures that day. I thought I had an "after" picture, but I cannot find it. You see, another thing that broke this spring was the computer. Unfortunately we had about 1 1/2 years of pictures on it when it crashed. Luckily we were able to get most of them backed up, but I cannot figure out how to get them off of the back up disk. Oh well, maybe I will figure it out someday and come back to post the picture.

Time To Catch Up

Okay, I'm seeing a habbit here... I tend to get so busy and forget to update this blog. Maybe someday I will get it all figured out, but for now I will have to update with lots of pics of the last few months. Here goes...

This spring flew by - I cannot believe that we are already one month into summer! I guess when you just go from one activity to another that is what happens.

I left off with soccer... The last weekend of March, my cousin got married. It was at the Botanical Gardens and was beautiful. Of course, you never know what the weather will be like in March in Texas, and it ended up being quite cold that day. Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

The flowers were beautiful - I could spend days walking through and looking at all of the flowers.

As the cerimony came to a close, the sun came through this path and lit up the stage. It was awesome!

Some of the candy from the "open candy bar"

"Milk shots" to go with the chocolate cake!

My aunt told B he could pick any cookie he wanted (before they even cut the cakes). He decided to get a little icing to go with the cookie!

B and PaPa took a walk and found a cool pirate ship to play on. They were gone for quite a while, but I think they had fun.

B with my Great Aunt.

B wanted to try some of the crawfish, but was afraid to ask. He got over that soon and loved it!

Here the kids were visiting with the bride. We asked them what their favorite parts were and B answered, "The Bride. She was BEEEEAUTIFUL!" K liked the open "candy bar" and the dancing.

Little miss thing! She loves to have her picture taken and we can't get her to stop "posing" for the camera!

More of the flowers. The colors were great!

Here is my Grandma. She doesn't like having her picture taken so I kind of had to sneak one while she was talking with us.

The day after the wedding was my Dad's 61st birthday. We were so glad that we got to spend the day with him. We took him and my mom out to lunch before they had to head back home. Here are a few pictures from that day.

My dad and Braden were shocked at how much food came out!

Skipping into the restaurant for lunch. Braden loves his PaPa!

Braden was actually not feeling real well that weekend. In fact, we had to take him to the doctor on Friday to see what was going on. It turned out to be just asthma aggrivated by allergies or a cold. He gets that way about once a month or so. It has gotten to be a little easier on us because all we have to do is breathing treatments and over the counter allergy or cold medicine for a few days. However, he is quite used to going to the doctor. In fact, he has the doctor's routine down. When we walked into the exam room with the nurse, he looked up at her and said, "I won't be needing any shots today, okay?" I don't think she knew what to say. When the doctor came in, he did his regular exam - checked B's ears and throat, and then listened to his lungs to make sure they were clear. Before the doctor could say anything, B said, "Do you hear Pizza? What about chicken? You don't hear french fries though because I threw them up last night!" Once again, the doctor had to just sit back and laugh.

Pictures from Lindsey

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"Great Job Bubba!"

I want to take a quick break and brag on my little girl for just a moment. Yesterday was just like many other Saturdays around here - BUSY! We got started early with a soccer game for Braden, and then rushed off to a wedding, got home late and followed it with an early morning church service for Easter Sunday. As we sat at the soccer game yesterday, I really hoped that Braden would get his chance to kick the ball more than just a "kick off" from the center field line. (His team is full of 3 year olds and half of them don't want to play. This makes for one opportunity after another for us to get pounded by older kids, and is VERY hard to watch as a protective mama bear). He started off the game very enthusiastic about chasing after the ball. He tried really hard, but the other kids were just bigger and faster. When he finally did get the ball and kicked it once another player ran up behind him and jumped on top of him to tackle him to the ground. (Can you say upset mama bear? My tongue is still a little sore from the holes that I bit through it!) It is so hard to watch your baby get defeated. I want so bad to jump in there and protect him that it hurts at times. It is also hard when both parents are as competitive as Matt and I are. Like I said, Braden tried really hard. He did his best, and he did what we told him to do, but he got frustrated because he kept getting defeated one time after another and another. By the end of the game he was sobbing because he didn't want to go out there and get hurt by those kids again. I really didn't blame him, but encouraged him to finish the game. When the final whistle blew I have to say I was a bit relieved that it was over - for his sake. He was frustrated and done for the day.

Like I said, I wanted to brag on Kaylee though. She sat with either Matt or me on the sidelines and did something that made me so happy for her. No matter what was going on she screamed and cheered for Braden like he was a little hero. She continued to say, "Go Braden!" or "Yea Braden" the entire game. When the game was over I found myself holding back tears because of what she did. The kids lined up on center field, shook hands, and then began to walk off of the field. Before Braden made it to us, Kaylee ran out there to center field, gave Braden the biggest hug and told him, "I'm so proud of you, Bubba - you did GREAT!" She knew that the other team definately "won" (even though they don't "keep score" in this league - the dad next to us sure did). She also knew that he was sad about not getting to score a goal, but she was so proud of him and wanted him to feel good. I had already put my camera away, so I missed the opportunity to get a picture, but I wanted to make sure and remember them walking off of the field - Kaylee with her arm around Braden and his tired little red cheeked face just relieved that it was over.

I know that there will be times that they fight and get frustrated with eachother, but I really want to remember the times that they show love and encouragement towards eachother as well.

More K and B "isms"

I almost always have a story to tell Matt about something that the kids say or do while he is out on a trip. I am so thankful that I get to spend so much time with them and get to hear and see all of the things that they do. (Even on the days that I want to pull my hair out because they have completely worn me out). I know that there will be a day when they don't want to be as open with their thoughts, so I want to soak them all up while I can. Here are a few of the things that they have said to me or in my presence lately...

Braden often goofs off and ends up hurting himself. When he does he runs to me and tells me what happened. Here are a few examples:

"Braden, why are you crying?"
"I was jacking around and I bumped my dome!"
(Translation - I was goofing off and hit my head)

"Braden, what happened?"
"I was jumping on my bed and I hit my chinny chopper."
(His chin).

This morning I made monkey bread for their breakfast. They got to help a little, but mostly just stood at the counter to watch. After eating all of his breakfast he said, "MMMMM, that was mighty good monkey bread I might add."

Kaylee has been learning to read lately. One night I was reading the book The Shack (which is wonderful by the way), and she decided she wanted to have some "adult" conversation. She sat down beside me and said, "So, mom - How's The Shack? Let's talk about it."

Today we were talking about why she doesn't need to be taking nail polish from the top of the refrigerator and taking it to soccer games to paint her friends' nails. A few minutes later I heard her say, "Yeah, I am kinda clumsy at nail painting..."

This evening we were talking about the fact that our pastor is moving and we will be getting a new pastor someday. She responded with, "Oh, I'm sad. I'm sure gonna miss Pastor Bill. What's Kentucky like? Do they talk funny there? I wonder if we'll get a new pastor from China? If we do, I won't be able to understand him? They talk really different there. Well, maybe Mr. Roger can be our pastor." (She took very few breaths between each sentence. She didn't give me a chance to even respond to each question before asking a new one).

Back to the lack of "l's" in our vocabulary. About a month ago we were eating lunch with Matt's mom and brother and sister in law's family. We were in a fairly nice restaurant and really just wanted the kids to behave. They did okay until the bowl of lemons came out. The three girl cousins grabbed some first and left no lemons for Braden. He's not the best at controlling his temper at times and he shouted out, "I reawwy, reawwwy want a wemon." It sounded really funny and we told a few people about him saying that in a quiet restaurant. They thought it was funny and asked him about it. When the ladies that cut his hair asked him if he liked lemons, he responded with, "Yeah, I wike reawwy big, huge wemons!!!" I think Matt wanted to climb under the chair at that point because he knew that did not come out good at all.

Apparently I don't give my kids enough treats when we are out running errands. One day I decided to take Kaylee with me to the school for an hour of tutoring. On our way we had to stop at Wal-mart and mail a package for Matt. I decided that I would let her pick out one pack of candy and a drink to take with her to the school to give her a little extra special attention. She was so excited and went right to the starbursts. On the way to the school she was just beaming with excitement over the silly starbursts. Finally, she said, "Mom, whenever I ask you for candy at the store you just say no! But, not today - today you said YES! Today is THE day! I am so happy!" (If only starbursts would make her happy when she is 16)...

This is the conversation I heard in the back seat the other day...

"Look - it's an airplane. I wonder if Daddy is flying it. He's a pilot you know." (Braden)

"Daddy's not a pilot!" (Kaylee)

"Yes, he is! He flies the Hawker XP" (B)

"Well, yes he does fly the Hawker XP, but he's not a captain. He only has three bars, but when he gets four bars he'll be a captain." (K)

(And you think that they don't pick up on things we talk about from time to time...)

"I need a break"

Well, today was Braden's first soccer game. For the past two and a half years he has sat on the sidelines with me as we watched Kaylee take swimming lessons and take part in dance class. He was so excited that this year he would be able to do his own thing. Even more - he would be playing with his best buddy. As far as he knew it would just be the two of them out there playing by themselves and that was okay with him. Over the past few weeks he has told every one we come into contact with that he is going to play soccer. He got really excited when he got his new soccer shoes and his "knocker things" that I had to remind him are really called "shin guards." He has done a great job at not kicking his soccer ball in the house (because Daddy D says not to play ball inside). His first practice was quite interesting from what I hear. Actually, Matt described it as a "kindergarten fire drill." Since I taught kindergarten for one year, I quickly understood. However, I don't think anything could have totally prepared me for today...

The game was at 1:00. We planned on leaving at 12:00 and being there 45 minutes early, but I wanted him ready early. At 10:30 I put his shirt and shorts on him. Kaylee came in and laughed because "Mom - he's so cute - it looks like he's wearing a dress." (Yes, the smallest jerseys are still huge on the 3 year olds). I tightened his shorts and walked away for a few minutes. When I came back they were on the floor and he was just standing there looking at me saying, "Mommy my shorts fell off." Okay - we already had a wardrobe malfunction at Kaylee's dance recital last year and I was not about to have my little boy on the soccer field run out of his shorts. We still had an extra hour, so we loaded up and went to look for some smaller black shorts. He walked through the store holding onto his shorts because he was afraid he would lose them, and whining the whole time. Finally we found some shorts, and were on our way. I even let him change into them in the Target bathroom so he would not have to hang onto his shorts any longer.

After sitting in traffic forever - apparently everyone around here plays soccer on Saturdays, waiting to find a parking place and a half mile hike to the field we were ready to play. He got out there and did a great job at kicking the ball when he got close to it, not the best at going in the right direction, but we'll work on that. After about 4 minutes of playing he said he was ready for a break. WHAT?!?! You're kidding me, right? He was DONE! We took a quick trip down to the bathrooms and then came back to play again. He said, "Nope - I'm just going to sit over here and eat some cheetos and take 3 breaks!" Finally, after a few begs and pleads from his coach and myself, a phone call to Daddy for some extra encouragement, 3 cheetos, a few threats and a bribe for a sno cone on the way home he decided he would finish the game. Geez, I never knew that you had to be a psychologist to get kids to get out there and play. By the time it was all over I was spent. (And we still had to hike back to the car).

Where was Kaylee during all of this? Well, you see - she decided that she would climb on the kitchen counter this morning and get her finger nail polish from the top of the refrigerator. (The child has NEVER been a climber and she decides that she's going to do this now?) She was sitting off to the side with her friends and being pretty good. However, I noticed that she had a purse full of goodies and thought I should check things out. Yeah, it was too late - she had already painted her nails and a few of her friend's nails as well. Oh, joy. (There's a reason we have not signed her up for soccer. I'm pretty sure that nail polish and a purse are not part of the standard uniform). :)

Well, it's all about the memories and hopefully a few good pictures along the way. Here are a few from today...

This reminds me of a song, "My Buddy, My Buddy..."

Waiting patiently for the okay to kick the ball.

Determined to kick the ball really hard.

After it was all over.

The infamous "phone call to dad"

"Good game Buddy"

Another Call Home and Another Story to Tell...

I know I haven't updated anything in a really long time. Here's why. You see, Matt works out of town every other week. When he's home, we spend the majority of our time as a family or catching up on everything that fell apart when he left. I'm sure he is quite hesitant when he calls home at times because there is no telling what story he is going to hear on this end. When he's gone, our weeks consist of things like this...

Gracie ate yet another stuffed animal on Thursday - yes, it was about 12 hours after Matt left. I spent all evening trying to vacuum up the little beads that filled the poor puppy's midsection. She usually pulls these stunts within a day or so of Matt leaving town. Sometimes they are easy to handle and sometimes they end up costing a lot of money. Right after Christmas she licked her paws until they were all raw and bleeding. She could hardly stand up and walk. Now, why would one do such a thing? She was miserable. I felt bad and was out of medicine from the last time this happened. So, I took her to the vet. They tried to tell me some big long thing was possibly wrong with her and gave me a long list of treatment options. They also sent me home with some antibiotics, pain meds, cleaner for her feet and numbing solution, and a big cone for her to wear and look like a walking or stumbling "radar." Cost - $250. (Oh, and the cone lasted about 4 days - she kept ramming into things to break it off of her because it drove her crazy. We finally got sick of taping it back around her and being chased down like a bull chases a clown in the rodeo. She would literally start in the front room and run behind us until she hit us from behind and the cone fell off.) Ouch!

The next time Matt left she got really sick. She couldn't keep anything down and had some other problems that I will spare your eyes and minds from. Let's just say it was bad and I got sick of being up all night for 3 nights and cleaning the floors constantly. I took her to an all night animal clinic on the 4th night and they kept her overnight. After an Xray and a shocked vet, we found that she had eaten something - probably another sock or something cloth-like, and it had blocked her intestines temporarily. Lots of fluids, special food and attention, and $600 later she was back home and happy again. Oh yeah, and Matt got home that night - a few hours after she perked up.

The next time he left town Gracie did nothing. She was good. Then I walked into the back yard and found the neighbor's dog in our yard. Yep, she broke the fence (actually it was pretty rotten anyways) and just waltzed right in. When I went to get her and take her back she ran away from me and went back to her own yard. Once on that side I built a temporary "wall" to keep her out until we can get to replacing the fence. Of course, this trip only lasted 2 days thanks to jury duty and an ice storm. I guess Gracie didn't have time to get into much.

We are on trip number four for the year and that is where the stuffed animal got shredded. I don't know why she did it - never do - it has been around for years and she hasn't bothered it, but I guess it just gave her the wrong look one afternoon and she let the poor little puppy have it. Thank goodness she moved on to things that are not "security objects" and necessary for sleeping around here. Someday I will post a picture of all of the "dollies" and "puppies" that have the "mark of Gracie" on them.

Now, when I am not dealing with cleaning up or picking up after Gracie I am working on keeping things picked up so she won't get into them. Yes, I feel like I pace the house from the time my feet hit the floor to the time I fall asleep and I look for potential problems. No food can ever be left on the counters - it is always an easy target. I have to make sure all food is always put away immediately. Braden even had a meltdown tonight because he stepped away from the table and while he was gone I noticed his plate was empty. I picked it up and put it in the sink only to have a HUGE display of dissatisfaction from him a minute later. He accused me of eating his pizza. Now, why would I want pizza that a 3 year old little boy has picked at, licked, and eaten parts of??? My guess is that Gracie took her fair share when no one was looking, I thought Braden was done, and in all reality he probably only got a few bites plus the applesauce and yogurt that went with it. OOps - problem solved with a small container of Jell-O. (For Braden, not the dog). Once we got past that problem I was off to get the kids bathed and into bed at a decent hour - it is a school night for miss Kaylee after all. Before I could do that I had to attempt to solve the mystery of "why the heck is a wet paper towel roll wadded up and in the bottom of the bathtub?" And, "what are all of the polly pockets, Cinderella and Prince charming doing having a swimming party in the bathroom sink? I just finished cleaning this bathroom and this is how I am thanked!?!?" Oh well - bedtime is in 30 minutes - not near enough time to get to the bottom of these so I won't even try.

Well, Matt called home right about the time I was tucking Kaylee in and he got a different story for a change. He got to hear her read her very first "book." Recently I decided that she is ready to learn to read since we have been playing the "how do you spell..." game over and over again in the car. She was very excited and after about 30 minutes of working on it today she was really starting to get the hang of it. I am so proud of her and happy that I got to actually watch her when she first started to get it. She obviously has a long way to go, but it is so priceless to hear your baby sounding out words for the first time. For now, I will take "c," "at", "CAT!" It is SOOO cute and I wanted to make sure and write this down because I know that I will forget the exact date later on. Someday when Gracie stops eating stuff and drama slows down I will get around to updating pictures; but for now know that I am not just sitting on the couch eating bon bons. I may be sitting on the couch, but it is probably because I am listening to my little princess read me a new story. :)

A New Year and A New First

Before the flight...

A little nervous, but at least Dolly was here...

So excited he could hardly contain himself...

I know that I have completely skipped all Christmas and holiday event pictures. Those will come soon. However, I had to go ahead and update from today before I forgot the kids' comments.

This morning we got a nice surprise. Matt called and told me that he would be flying from Florida to Nashville to Addison (just north of Dallas) and then had a short ferry flight to Dallas Love Field. That NEVER happens. Today was day 6 of his trip, and typically day 6 takes him to places like Southern California, New York, or Timbuktoo... Then, he gets home late on day 7. Since he was going to end in Dallas the company would allow him to come on home for the night. The big surprise was that they were going to allow me and the kids to ride with him from Addison to Love Field - the kids have never gotten to ride in one of his planes when he was flying, so this was going to be quite a treat.

So, Matt called his mom and asked if she would drive us over there - so we wouldn't end up having to go back later to get our car, and she thought that would be a great idea. We didn't tell the kids about going for a ride until right before getting on the plane. Of course they were thrilled at that point - they got to see their Daddy in the middle of the week and go on a ride in his Hawker 800 XP (as they tell everyone). :)

We loaded up in the plane and Matt and his Captain prepared everything up front while I tried to keep the kids from being too loud or out of control. Braden sat in his seat patiently watching out the window for things to start moving, and Kaylee got a little more nervous by the minute. She asked how high we were going to go and if we would get close to the sun or not. Thank goodness for the left over sprite from her lunch. I kept offering her sips of that to take her mind off of her nerves. Once we finally took off, the kids squealed at every turn or movement we made. Their comments from that point on were priceless...

Braden during Takeoff

Kaylee just after takeoff...

As soon as we could start seeing houses from the air, Kaylee informed me that she was pretty sure she saw our backyard (nevermind the fact that we were 45 miles from home). I'm not sure who said the next thing, but they informed me that they were pretty sure that they could see China - or at least the Ocean. About 5 minutes before we landed Kaylee asked me, "Mommy, where is that lady that comes out and gives me snacks?" (She later told us that she thought that maybe the lady was getting snacks ready for us in the bathroom or something). I guess she is used to the airlines or something. It was priceless and when I told Matt he made sure to tell the Captain that his daughter was a little dissappointed that the flight attendant never appeared.

Snacks???

We got a lot of pictures and enjoyed our day and have already started 2009 by experiencing some more "firsts."