Halloween!

So Halloween has come and gone! :) The kids had a great time all day long from school parties to trick-or-treating around to a bunch of different houses, they had a blast!

I was informed when we got home that Daniel would eat more candy....but not tonight! :) Chris crashed hard and Kate is still sitting with Greg, eating a bottle and fighting sleep with all she's got! :)

I will post pictures tomorrow!

What a great day!!!! Great times, great friends, great memories! Definitely a Halloween that will stay with me for a very long time!!!!

Hope it was a good one for all of you!

Until next time!

Random Pictures...again!

I seem to be the queen of putting random pictures together in a blog post these days! :)

This is a picture of Chris next to the sign for his school....he LOVES his school, LOVES his kindergarten class, LOVES his teacher and LOVES everyone who is in this school! He told me that this would be a great picture for his school scrapbook! :) A little man after my own heart!

While at the Family Fun Night at Chris's school, Kate fell asleep....with her binkie in hand! :)
Kate has also decided that this little puppy of Daniel's is the perfect confidante for all of her little 6 month old secrets! :) Every time she is feeling particularly chatty and loud...we hand her this guy and she tells him everything...a little quieter! :)

This is the tree in front of our house...the leaves turned such a beautiful shade this year. I can't wait until this tree is REALLY big...of course by then the boys will be old enough to go out and rake the leaves for me!

The only one I don't have a really, really recent picture of in this bunch is Daniel...that child is always on the go!!!! He's a hard one to pin down and actually get a picture of! :)

Hope all is going well and there is more to come later on!!!!

Tonight while tucking the boys into bed, I was snuggling Daniel. He had had a particularly rough night with listening, etc. and so I was paying a little bit of extra attention to him and talking with him about how he should listen....

He's been listening all right...as I was laying there snuggling him this is the conversation we had....

Daniel: Mommy, you say sorry me!

Me: What??? (I didn't quite catch what he said the first time!)

Daniel: Mommy! You say sorry me!!!!

Me: You want mommy to say sorry to you? (with a completely shocked voice might I add!)

Daniel: Yes....you say sorry to me....(cue pouty face!)

Me: What for????

Daniel: For yelling to me and telling me what to do....I not like that!

Me: Daniel, I wasn't yelling but you're right...I was not a happy mommy and yes I was telling you what to do so you wouldn't get hurt and you could get ready for bed....

Daniel: You say sorry me....I'm sad....

Me: I'm sorry you're sad....remember that the next time you don't listen!

Daniel: Okay...thank you....

And I tucked him in and he was out not long after that....guess he's been listening, huh? Think we all have to apologize a bit around here???? :)

Have a good one!

It Worked!!!

I finally got a video of Kate to work!!!! I have been trying and who knows why it worked today but it did!!!!

Anyway, this is a video of Kate in her swing...she has really started "talking" and she has started that raspberry noise (at least that's what we call it!)...her shirt is now usually covered in drool!!!!

Enjoy!

The Sweetest Thing...

Sometimes the sweetest things happen in the blink of an eye...

Just now Chris and Daniel were playing in their room with cars and little skateboards and who knows what else! :) But Chris came out in tears because he had hit his back pretty hard on something (more than likely the corner of Daniel's bed!)...anyway, Daniel followed close behind with the most concerned look on his face. Once I had calmed Chris down, Daniel put his arm around him, gave him a kiss and told him "Come on and play...it be otay!" and led Chris down the hallway...melted my heart!!!!!

And just as I was typing this Daniel came bounding out of his room and came to tell me that "Chris doing betta!" in the best whisper he could manage! :)

So sweet and cute! Just when I think they want to kill each other these small moments pop up....just so wonderful!!!!

Until next time!

This Time of Year....

This time of year always is a little stressful for me...I have Parent Teacher Conferences which means that it was the end of first quarter....which means that grade cards need to be done....paperwork needs to be caught up and you need to have a plan of what you are going to talk about with various parents, etc....always an interesting time of year!

This year has only been made more interesting by various things we have been up to....

Kate is finally over her ear infections and so on Monday she had her six month shots...poor girl...two shots in one leg, one in the other leg and then an oral vaccine...she handled herself pretty well! She is now 18 lbs. 12 oz. and is 26 3/4 inches long! :)

Daniel has just gone through a growth spurt and is growing more opinionated by the day! :) He is such a thoughtful kiddo and has really been great with Kate. He adores his older brother and has REALLY taken to coloring! Loves it!

We had Chris's kindergarten parent teacher conference on Monday. We found out that he is doing a great job! In fact, he has started writing in complete sentences whereas at the beginning of the year he was just writing a long string of letters...then he moved to labeling things with one word...and now we are into complete sentences! It is very exciting!!!! He is also really reading and picking up on new words everyday...so much fun!

All three kiddos are healthy and happy! :) Greg and I are still amazed at what we have and how blessed we are! Fantastic family, friends and life... :)

Until next time....

Oh To Be Young...

Daniel has hit the phase that I now envy....

The ability to be put into bed at bedtime (8:00) and then do everything and anything in his power to NOT fall asleep any earlier than 9:45. THEN be able to wake up at 6:45 (most of the time completely on his own!) and be as wide awake as can be, happy and ready to face the day. He can manage to eat breakfast, get dressed and be ready to go to the babysitters in no time flat!

I figure if I were in this phase now...I could be put into bed at around 10:00...do everything in my power to stay awake...maybe read the book I've been trying to finish for MONTHS or grade some of the many papers that are quickly piling up and not be actually asleep until around 11:45. THEN I could wake up around 6:10 and be as wide awake as I can be and be completely ready to face the day rather than the current wake up around 6:20, grumpy because I need another 30 minutes at least, and then rush around to get everyone ready and out the door when they need to be out the door!

How I wish I were young again...if for nothing else but the energy and the innocence of youth! :) Although since I'm not young again...I'm hoping this phase passes soon for Daniel...for my sake! :)

So this past weekend, Greg and I were folding laundry in our room (which seems to be never-ending these days!) but while we were doing it, Kate was laying on our bed and we would randomly giggle at her or talk with her, etc...we just wanted her close to us while the boys were down for a nap! While we were folding laundry, we snapped this picture of her...she was SOOO tired and she hadn't blinked in a long while and so we knew she was getting sleepy!

Not long after that picture....this is what we saw! :)

This is what I have today....three very happy little people who love each other and who I love with all of my heart! :) This is a picture I will cherish for a very long time!!!!! :)

Hope you have had a good one!

My children and sweets!

So tonight after dinner, we offered the boys each a cookie...Chris took one without hesitation (of course he's been eating us out of house and home lately...but more about that later!).

Daniel on the other hand said "No thank you!" I was shocked...but then he asked for some Cheez-its which he had already had quite a few of. When I offered him a piece of candy he again told me no thank you and asked for some more Cheez-its....seriously??? What kids turns down sweets?

But that seems to be a phase my boys go through...Chris went through it big time when he was younger...wouldn't eat cake or cupcakes, cookies, ice cream...nothing! He would always want something else...usually something like fruit or crackers. Interesting, huh?

On the subject of eating...Chris has been an eating fiend lately! I'm really afraid for his teenage years! Last night for dinner, Chris ate a corndog, some ritz crackers, some oranges and a glass of milk. Once that was all gone he declared he was still hungry and asked if he could have some bologna and cheese? Well, this sometimes happens and so Greg gave him one piece of bologna and one piece of cheese. This was polished off in no time with Chris begging for more so in an effort to slow down the eating, we gave him another glass of milk. After that was gone, he asked for another piece of bologna and cheese which was gone in a matter of seconds along with another glass of milk....seriously??? The child is almost at the point where he can eat his weight in food!!!! I guess I have a growing boy on my hands!

Until next time...

Ghosts Galore!!!!

So the boys have really been wanting to decorate for Halloween and we've been very slow to get stuff out this year! So yesterday we pulled some of our decorations out and the boys worked on putting some stuff on the front porch with Greg and they helped me put some stuff around the house. Today the boys and I created some ghosts to hang around the house and outside. It was a fun project for them and they worked on it very well together! :)

Chris thought it would be a neat idea to put faces on the ghosts! So after they put them together (actually, they mainly handed me the materials but they helped where they could!), they each took a marker and decorated them!

Our collection of ghosts! :)

The front porch when they were done with it!

We still had ghosts left so it was decided that they would go in the tree! We have seen this around Kirksville quite a bit and the boys did not want to be left out of the fun!

It was a fun project and who knows....a yearly tradition? We will see! They were so easy to make and the boys did have a lot of fun making them and hanging them up!

Have a good one!

Piggy Banks are Safe Places!!!!

When in St. Louis last weekend, I picked both boys up a fuzzy poster in the Dollar Spot at Target...fantastic! Well, both of these posters came with tiny markers to color on them with! These markers have become a favorite of Daniel's. He carries them around everywhere and the funniest part of this is what Daniel does with them when he has to leave or when it's bedtime....he places them where he thinks they would be safe....in his piggy bank! He has a toy piggy bank with plastic coins and this is where he has decided all of his small items need to go to stay safe! :)

So tonight before getting ready for bed, I asked Daniel if I could take the markers from him and put them away and he told me "No! In my piggy bank!" So down the hall he marched and placed his markers carefully in his play piggy bank. Too cute!

Hope you had a good one!

6 Months Old!!!!

So on Saturday Kate will officially be 6 months old...that's right....half a year old. Amazing...I can't believe that much time has already passed! I was reading some of my old blog posts about when she was younger and I just can't believe how much bigger and older she seems already! She can now roll over, her first tooth is about to break through (or at least we are hoping so!), she is eating cereal along with some bananas and the occasional thing of peas, she smiles at us all the time, and is really interacting with the things around her! Her brothers simply adore her, she has her daddy (and me!) wrapped around her finger and she smiles at everyone and everything! It's great!

So as I was contemplating our life now with three kids who are starting to really interact with each other, I was holding my phone and opening and closing it. This of course caught Kate's attention! :) She kept reaching and reaching until she finally got a hold of it! And a good grip she had! :) She held onto it and really checked it out! So here is a pic of little Ms. Kate with a cell phone (Man! They start younger all the time!!!!) !! :)
I thought that after taking that wonderful little chewable object away from her she would throw a fit or get upset or something....she did the something! She just grinned at us!!!! What a perfect 6 month smile! :)

While I was trying to capture a bunch of wonderful pictures of her, I really noticed her eyes...they are BROWN! I've suspected it was going to happen and Greg and I have talked about it but it seems like over night they have just changed. They aren't a dark brown but there is definite brown to them and I don't think it will be long before they are completely that way. This was amazing to me...the boys both have light eyes and so the process their eyes went through to change wasn't as drastic as Kate's....I find it amazing. It wasn't that long ago that I was looking in her eyes and could see a streak of brown here or there...but now there they are...those wonderful baby browns!!!! She is now my Brown-eyed Girl! :)

So see what 6 months will do to ya? :) Love you baby girl! More and more each day!!!!!

Pictures!

So here are quite a few pictures....Enjoy!

We went to a pumpkin patch just north of La Plata...the kids had a blast! There is a corn maze, a hay maze for little kids, a bounce house, a hay pile for the kids to jump in and lots of room to run around!!!! Here is a picture of the stray pile that the kids thought was fantastic!!!!

We also had the chance to go on a hay ride!
Then it was back to the hay pile!!!!

It took Daniel quite a while to warm up to the thought of playing in the hay but once he did it was tough to get him to leave!

Our church group then had a bonfire and we made hot dogs and s'mores!!!! Yummy! The boys thought it was pretty neat to cook their food over the embers!

Daniel LOVED the pumpkins!!!!!

My boys!

My three kiddos...I think they were watching one of the Baby Einstein videos...but they all decided to snuggle up and watch something together (the boys decided for Kate) and I couldn't resist getting a picture!

Chris snuggling Kate....

Last night Kate was laying on the floor and Daniel decided that she was cold! So he covered her up....then decided he was cold so he crawled in with her! :) What a sight it was!

Kate thought it was great! :) One of the few smiles we got out of her last night! Poor thing!

Until next time....have a good one! :)

Well, poor Kate can't catch a break! The poor girl went in for a check-up today for her last ear infection only to find out that she now has ear infections in BOTH ears! :( Plus she's caught a cold on top of it all....man....poor girl!

However, she does weigh 18 lbs. 12 oz. so she is growing like a weed. I don't remember how long Greg said she is now (in fact, I'm not sure he told me!) but I do know that she is getting so big!

What else is new in good old Kirksville?

Well, gas just dropped to $2.99 a gallon...that's right my friends. We are officially below the $3 mark!!!! Yeah! I about jumped for joy...the only thing that stopped me was the fact that I was in the car....good reason to not, huh?

Chris soccer practice is rained out, he is really figuring out how to read and put words together and read a book by himself last night while Daniel is just going to town coloring and building things. Amazingly enough, Daniel actually asked for a sticker last night in Walmart. I decided to try my luck and ask if he wanted a hair cut (really just a trim) but apparently I pushed it too far because the immediate response was "NO!" Oh well...gotta give it a try, huh?

I'm really going to post pictures later tonight so be on the lookout! Hope you have had a good one!