Summer 2012 Memories

In keeping with my new tradition of this blog being an unorganized, informal collection of stuff I don't want to forget with my kids, here are my favorite moments and memories from Summer 2012.  

Celebrating the last day of school with field day at school, ice cream and a "Welcome to Summer" banner across the door.  

The morning the boys decided to build a mini-golf course in our backyard.  They spent hours in their room with clipboards and pencils, occasionally emerging to ask questions like, "Do we have any PVC pipes?"  

Sarah Kate asking, "Are you SEE-WEE-OUS?!?" 

VBS x 2 = VBS CD x 2.  All.  Summer. Long.  

Despite Will's insistence that he would not go underwater at swim lessons, he learned to be an independent swimmer and go in the deep end by himself.  I was so proud of him!  

Christopher's sweet relationship with his Great-Grandpa when we went to visit him in Illinois.  When a nurse asked if the kids wanted to go get something from the snack closet, he said, "I think I'll stay here with my great-grandpa."  

Sarah Kate starting "bayyet" class and loving every minute, especially the outfits.  

Our trips to the snow cone stand, on a quest to determine the best snow cone flavor.  The boys loved the Spiderman!  

Another great family trip to Great Wolf Lodge with Grandma and Grandpa.  All except when I finally convinced Will to go down one of the big water slides, and he flew off the inner tube and hit his head on the inside of the slide, and I nearly had a heart attack.  (He was okay.  But he may never ride a water slide again.)  And how Will rebounded a couple of months later and went down the much smaller slide at the public pool over and over again.  

The boys' first year to attend day camp at New Life Ranch.  Will thought one of his counselor's sole purpose in being there was to give piggy back rides.  They both loved camp and still sing the songs all time time.  ("Pharaoh, Pharaoh, oooh baby, let my people go!")

Sarah Kate's imaginary baby that she likes to take care of.  

Will joining Christopher at Camp Invention this year and loving it! 

Successfully teaching the ice cream truck driver that if he takes the time to turn down our cul de sac, there will be two boys waving him down at the end of our driveway.  

Reading "James and the Giant Peach" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and then watching the movie of the latter.  And learning how amazing Will's British accent is.  

Sarah Kate's first pedicure and how much she loved every pampering moment.  

Mommy cannonballs at the neighborhood pool and the "family jump" into the deep end.  

Sarah Kate saying "sleep tight" over and over when you put her to bed until you close the door.  

The juggling guys who were the opening act at the Dixie Stampede in Branson.  Will watching the guy juggling five balls behind his back and saying, "I sure couldn't do that."  And our condo in the treetops during our end-of-summer family getaway.  

The "No Pants" song . . . written by Mommy to the tune of "No Room."  An instant classic.  

Sweet hugs and kisses from all my kids.  

Will's first day of first grade:  "She had a machine called Mr. Squeaky, and when she turned it on, a sheet APPEARED ON THE WALL and she WROTE on it!!”  (Which was especially funny because Christopher also commented on the overhead projector on his first day of first grade!)  

First day of homeschool:  Will wanted to use a compass to write his O’s for handwriting.  Christopher informs him that would be cheating.  

Let's pretend it's 2011.

I think this blog is having an identity crisis.  Facebook has replaced it's job of keeping out-of-state relatives in touch with what the kids are doing.  The yearly photo books I'm making for each kid are replacing it's job of documenting holidays, birthdays, first days of school, and vacations.  But neither of those are a very good record of the little things--those hilarious questions they ask and things they do that make us laugh.  So I will try to continue posting those here occasionally for the six people who read this blog, but mostly to have a record of them for the kids.  They love to hear about themselves!

So yes, we've had birthdays, piano recitals, last days of school, first days of school, vacations, swim lessons, summer camps, etc.  We had a great time with all of it!  But today I'm going to document some things from Fall 2011.  Yes, I know this is 2012.  But I found a list the other day on my computer of things I meant to blog about a year ago.  I guess I'm a little behind on the ol' to-do list.  So here are some random thoughts from Fall 2011.

Sarah Kate loves telling everyone she meets, "I'm two!"  She went pee in the potty on August 22, and was so excited to call Grandma and say, "I pee in the potty!  I big girl like momma!"  She lost interest the next day when she peed on her leg and got upset about the mess!  She loves taking care of her baby dolls, telling them, "You are so precious!" and reading to them and changing their diapers.  Sarah Kate has a special high voice that she uses when she's talking to her babies.  She loves to wear bracelets and bows, and always picks her "party dress" if given a choice.  She is freakishly good at singing complicated tunes on pitch.  And my favorite thing she loves to say:  "I love momma!"  

The boys love it when I use my "automated Mommy" voice.  We usually do this when I'm combing their hair in the morning.  I sound like one of those voice-activated computer-generated phone menus and say things like:  "I am now going to comb your hair.  This will only take a minute.  Thank you for your cooperation."  They crack up every time!  

Sarah Kate's music class

Sarah Kate and I have been going to Kindermusik this year, and we love it!  She loves to sing and dance and move around and play instruments with all the other kids.  If anyone is looking for a fun activity for your toddler or preschooler, I highly recommend it!

Thanksgiving 2011

We had so much to be thankful for last Thanksgiving.  We were blessed with a visit from Uncle Brian, Aunt Amanda and Asher, too!  We had fun eating, playing, and decorating our Christmas tree.  We also celebrated Asher's 2nd birthday (a few days early) and went to ride the Christmas Train, which describes the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  We also rode the carousel, ponies, bumper cars and other activities at the Christmas Train.  It was super-cold but very fun!

Walt Disney World 2011

So it turns out that when you take the family to Walt Disney World for a week, it is so overwhelming to try to blog about the trip that you just shut down and don't blog for over 6 months!  But in the interest of documenting our lives as best I can, here is a long-overdue blog post about our fabulous trip last November.  Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a week of over-the-top fun at Disney last November.  We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and spent 3 days at the Magic Kingdom and a day at each of the other Disney parks.  We ate at Chef Mickey's twice, dined with Pooh and friends and the Crystal Palace, and met other characters along the way.  Christopher and will had a blast fighting Darth Vader, Sarah Kate adored the characters (especially Minnie Mouse), and we all enjoyed watching the little kids and big kids having so much fun.  I am so thankful our family was able to experience this together!

Sarah Kate--28 months

Now that she's two, she doesn't get monthly posts anymore.  But I suppose it's time I give an update on our quickly growing Sarah Kate.  Oh yeah, she's two.  She has mastered the tantrums, the bossiness, the whining, and the strong opinions on clothing, shoes and accessories.  She refuses to wear jeans and rejected shoes at Target recently because they weren't "princess shoes."  She loves to wear tights, bracelets, and bows.  She even let me paint her toenails a few weeks ago and sat still until they dried.  But she has two older brothers, so she can also be spotted wearing backwards baseball caps, Iron Man masks, and wielding swords and light sabers.

She's getting really good at counting and knowing some of her letters.  She is learning some of their sounds, but she usually says every letter says "buh."  She will mimic her brother learning to read, pretending to sound out words by looking at the pictures and saying "buh-buh-lion!  buh-buh-monkey!"  She also loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me," and her little singing voice is so sweet.  She says "yes" most of the time instead of "yeah."  She says it with the slightest lisp that makes it so adorable.  And she is currently obsessed with her colored counting bears.  She will sit and play with them in her high chair for hours!

In August, I came home from the store one day with a pretty pink princess potty.  I bribed her with candy, and Sarah Kate peed in the potty that very evening.  She was so proud of herself!  The next morning, Daddy took off her diaper and sent her in the bathroom.  She said down sleepily on the potty like she'd been doing it for years and went pee!  But this time, she stood up before she was done and didn't like the mess that resulted.  That was the end of that!  Even princesses and candy can't get her to sit on the potty now.

The other day, I heard water running in the bathroom and went to investigate.  Sarah Kate had taken the princess potty apart and had it in the sink, with water everywhere.  I said, "What are you doing?" and she answered truthfully, "Making a mess!"  She later told Daddy she was cleaning the potty. It was very diligent of her, since she hasn't been using it!

A few weeks ago, I realized that Sarah Kate's hair is just long enough for me to french braid part of it.  It is so much fun having a girl!  She doesn't usually hold still long enough for a braid, but she is wearing part of it in a ponytail with a bow.  She calls the rubber bands "silly bands" (remember those big brothers?).  One day I tried to tell her it was a hair band, but she corrected me:  "No!  My silly band!"  Did I mention she's opinionated?

Below is a video of Sarah Kate singing her catechism song--"Where is God?  everywhere," and "Jesus Loves Me."  

Will's Super Letters

Will is doing so well at kindergarten!  He loves to learn new things and be with his friends.  He is so much more talkative, so I get more detailed reports than I can usually get from Christopher.  He doesn't usually tell me a lot right after school, but over the course of a few days, he starts telling stories.  Apparently, the first week of school Will took too long doing his business in the bathroom when his class had a potty break at the bathroom down the hall.  He got left in the bathroom and had to find his way back.  He ended up at the kindergarten classroom that it is adjacent to his through a small bathroom, and he found his way back.  He seemed to think it was pretty exciting!

In the few weeks before school started, Will taught himself a bunch of math facts.  He learned the doubles (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.) and then figured out that if he knew that 4+4=8, then he knew 4+5=9.  We were impressed!  He also loves learning about animals.  He is obsessed!  He also likes to come up with imaginary animals and then quiz us:  "Mom, tell me five ways that burpy slurpy carankulas interact with their habitat."  Not an easy pop quiz!

Will also loves superheroes.  So it shouldn't be a big shock that he's invented "super letters."  It started with the L's in his name, but it has expanded to other letters as well.  After this paper, I convinced him to save super letters for his artwork and not do them on his homework.  :)

Whoooooooo Pig Sooieee!

September 3 was the start of the Razorback football season!  Thanks to the sweet generosity of friends, I was able to take the boys to their first football game.  Our seats were amazing, and the weather was a little hot, but we had a great time.  As we were walking from the car to the stadium, I told the boys that this was their chance to show me they were good walkers, and if they did, maybe we could take them to Disney World sometime.  Will said, "I think we need to bring ice water to Disney World!"  It sure was hot--ice water would have been a good idea!

The boys loved being in the stadium, especially the snacks.  Will kicked over two cups of frozen strawberry lemonade (partially melted and therefore spillable), so we were kind of a sticky mess.  But the boys did great at calling the Hogs, chanting "first down!" and cheering on the Razorbacks.  When the stadium filled up before the start of the game, Will looked around and said, "There must be a hundred people here!"  Will asked a million questions and learned a lot about football!  I got in trouble with Will when I commented on a "stupid move" by the Hogs--we're not supposed to say stupid!

One of the highlights was watching the marching band perform at halftime.  They were so impressed that they could walk and play music at the same time!  We left after that, since it was an evening game and the Hogs were winning by thirty points.  We stopped for frozen yogurt on the way back to the car.  I'm so thankful for the special memories with my boys and my Hogs!

First Day of School 2011

On August 23, Christopher started 2nd grade, and Will started kindergarten!  Will has been so excited to go to school with Christopher.  He was a little nervous the week before school started, until we realized he thought he was going to have to do timed math in kindergarten.  Once we cleared up that misunderstanding, he didn't seem hesitant at all about the first day of school.  He was still concerned that it might not be as fun as everyone said.  He waited patiently in the hallway with his best buddy Iain, and by the time I got back downstairs after taking pictures of Christopher, Will was already seated at the table, coloring his picture, and informing his teacher that he had already written his name on the "Name" line at the top.  After school, he said it really was fun!  He's off to a great start with school!

Christopher is loving 2nd grade so far, too.  He was nervous the week before school I realized he thought he was going to be doing algebra, and I set him straight.  :)  Science is new in their curriculum, and it is his favorite!  He's also excited to learn about the Ancient Egyptians and make a mummy this year.  We are so thankful for the boys' classical, Christian, university-model school.  I was volunteering at the school the week after school started, and I walked into Will's classroom just in time to see his teacher pray with the class to start their day and then lead them in singing "Holy, Holy, Holy."  I love our school and our kids' amazing teachers!

It's also sweet to see the boys sharing the school experience for the first time.  They have one of their electives together, and they enjoy working together on their at-home days.  In fact, one day I returned from the laundry room to find that Christopher had drawn a little Spiderman for Will on Will's writing assignment.  I had to tell Christopher that he can't do Will's work for him, although I think he was just trying to be helpful!  On the first day of school, we were in the van in the parking lot, and Sarah Kate started saying, "I go to school, too!"  I told her you have to be five to go to this school.  Later, after we had dropped the boys off and were driving home, I heard Sarah Kate in the back seat saying, "I five!  I five!"  Poor thing--she misses her brothers when they're at school!

 Will and his best buddy, Iain--note the matching shoes! 

 2nd grade boys are so silly! 

 Already hard at work! 

 Will and his teacher

Our first at-home school day

Orange Belt

Right before school started in August, Christopher earned his orange belt in tae kwon do.  He's worked very hard on learning his skills and mastering his form.  Congratulations, Christopher!

Our New Aunt Eva!

In August, we traveled to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area for Uncle Jamie and Aunt Eva's wedding.  The kids were super excited to fly on an airplane--the boys were two and four years old the last time they flew.  They loved being at the airport, and they all did so well on the plane.  I was so proud of the boys pulling their backpacks through the airport.  Flying with big kids is so much easier than flying with toddlers!

The boys loved seeing the cars, trees and buildings from the air.  Our flight had a stop in St. Louis, and before we landed, Christopher had asked me how the pilot knows where to go.  When we landed and the flight attendant announced our arrival in St. Louis, Christopher said, "Oh no!  We're not in the right place!"  I guess I had neglected to tell them about our stop along the way!

In Michigan, we got to hang out with Aunt Amanda, Asher, Great-Aunt Marilyn, Great-Uncle Mike, Mommy's Cousin Katie and other relatives.  The kids had a blast playing with Asher, swimming at the hotel, and playing at a park with Katie.

Of course, the reason we were there was the big wedding event!  Christopher was asked to say a prayer before dinner at the reception, and he did a wonderful job.  He was so brave and didn't even need anyone to go with him as he took the microphone and prayed in front of the large group.  We entertained Sarah Kate with bubbles and candy while her brothers tore up the dance floor.  Christopher worked up quite a sweat dancing with all Uncle Jamie and Aunt Eva's friends!  Christopher and Will even got to dance with the bride!

Congratulations, Aunt Eva and Uncle Jamie!  We love you!

 The slidey bench at the airport

 Making decorations for the getaway car

 Wedding receptions can get long when you're a toddler . . .

 Crazy dancing machines!  

Be warned:  if you take a silly picture with my kids, I WILL put it on my blog!