Boo!

Well, I'm usually not in the habit of telling embarrassing stories about myself, but this one's just too funny.

Shane was off on his youth retreat last night and I was home alone with the kids (minus Seth who stayed with Shane...isn't he a big boy!!??) Anyway, it was about midnight and the kids had been asleep for a few hours, and I was sitting at my computer working on some pictures when I heard a really, REALLY loud crash inside my house. I mean, it was so loud that I did not even hesitate for a millisecond to pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1. I've been spooked before, but usually I just walk around and make sure everything's alright. But I just couldn't imagine a crash this big happening without someone causing it. The operator answered and I explained the situation and just told her I wanted her to be on the phone with me while I walked through the house. I decided that if there was a boogie man ready to snatch me, I wanted someone to hear me scream! I walked through every room, checked the doors and windows, checked on the kids, and finally told her that everything looked fine. I convinced myself that it had to have been the dogs outside (even though I KNEW it came from inside) and went to bed.

This morning I had forgotten about it, but I was getting the kids ready for church, and we went in their bathroom to fix Kallie's hair. And wouldn't you know the whole, huge shower rod...curtain, rings & all...was lying smack dab in the middle of the tile floor. I felt better knowing I didn't imagine it, but then also giggled to myself (or maybe at myself). I'm just glad I didn't let them send a police officer out here to check it out...that would have been embarrassing.

It reminds me of when I was pregnant with Kallie, and one night there was a loud noise in the middle of the night, and I sat up in bed and screamed. Shane got up and discovered the metal razor suction-cup holder thingy had fallen in the shower. We went back to sleep but a few hours later I rolled over and my water broke. Shane is convined to his day that I scared Kallie out. That probably explains why she lives for the dramatic. ;)

It's sad, but I actually have a few other similar stories I could share, but I think I'll just stop now.

Luke's First Haircut

Here's the BEFORE picture. Yikes! It was definitely time for a trim!

My friend Amanda cut it over at her house. He barely has any hair so I couldn't justify even a $10 Supercuts style! We strapped him in a booster seat and bribed him with a snack and a cartoon.

He sat there like such a big man!

Is that a good-lookin' head or what?? SOOOOO much better!

Here's the AFTER shot. How cute are those eyes??

My little turkeys!!

Luke & Kallie's little school had a Thanksgiving feast yesterday. They had turkey dinners from Boston Market with corn and macaroni & cheese. Can you tell he enjoyed it? This kid loves to eat. He had seconds. They were the cutest bunch of turkeys you've ever seen. And all of their placemats had their pictures on them. So precious.

Here's the one-year-old table...

This is Kallie's best buddy Connor...
And here's a few random pictures. This was Luke on Sunday morning. He woke up that morning with a crick in his neck and literally lay in the same spot for TWO HOURS. At the time I was worried there was something wrong with him, but it was really sweet to have a calm, still baby for once.

I snapped this right before he saw me the other day at school. I think it's so cute how they walk around in a line with their arms through these little rings. As soon as he saw me he dropped it and ran. The teachers started singing, "and another one's down, and another one's down..." Apparently the moms kept showing up. :)

Oh, and here's my new haircut. I think I'm 5 pounds lighter.

We've got spirit, yes we do!

So we decided to go with the football theme for the costumes this year. We went to Trunk or Treat at church & the kids had a blast. Every single time I turned around Luke had a different sucker in his mouth that someone had unwrapped & given to him. After you watch the videos of the kids, be sure to watch the videos at the end of the post. Our children's pastor is a professional illusionist, and this year he decided to use someone new as his assistant. Be sure to listen to Kallie screaming "Daddy" in the background of the second one. You'd think my kids would have been traumatized by the whole thing, but they thought it was hilarious. No sympathy at all for the Great Ape.

THE FOOTBALL PLAYER

THE CHEERLEADER

THE REFEREE

DADDY'S MONKEY DEBUT

part 1: "There's a monkey in my church!"

part 2: "Who is that masked man?"

part 3: "Tu-tu be or not to be?"

As my friend Emily said so perfectly, HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

A Johns Saturday

We took some cute pictures on Saturday that I wanted to share. Kallie went to another baby shower with me this week. I think she's enjoying getting to do girl stuff. This time she wanted to wear a dress & wanted me to braid her hair.

She brought baby Emma along with her. Here she is swinging her around.

Seth is quite the daddy's boy these days. He thinks his daddy can do anything. Here was the conversation at the table during our after-school snack today:

Seth: It's really good that we have Daddy, isn't it?

Me: Yes, he's a good daddy.

Seth: We need him, because you can't even drill.

Me: Nope, I can't drill.

(He then proceeds to name all of the other things I can't do that Daddy can do.)

Me: Well, it's a good thing you have me, too, because there are things Daddy can't do, right?

Seth: Yeah, like...(he stops to think for a really, really, really long time)...like you can touch the ceiling & Daddy can't.

Me: Yep.

Not quite what I was going for but true nonetheless. But I can't blame him. We do have a good daddy. He gets Seth up every morning & gets him ready for school. They walk everyday & sometimes take the dogs along. And then Shane does homework and reading with Seth every afternoon. They also throw a lot of footballs together. It sure does make this mommy's life just a little easier. And hey, I'm always there to save the day when there's a light bulb to change. On a side note, Shane's response to all this was, "Well, not every daddy can be a legend." Hilarious.

Luke was trying to throw the football at the park on Saturday. This was after he watched Daddy & Seth for a while. It was so funny, because he kept trying to get it over his shoulder and it would just fall back behind him every time.

Look Mom, no hands!

What a sweet boy.

I love this picture. He looks like such a big man. And no, Mom, I'm not pregnant. It's just the shirt.

So much to share!

Kallie started Mother's Day Out on Tuesday. Here she is on her first day. She was so excited. She's been saying forever that when she turns 4 she gets to go to 4-year-old school. She's in a class with 5 other boys. I was a little worried at first that she wouldn't like it, but I think she's holding her own. When I picked her up today her teacher commented that of course she likes it because she has 5 boyfriends! Here was the conversation in the car this afternoon:

Kallie: Mommy, know what Sam told me today?

Me: What?

Kallie: That he loves me.

Me: Did he say anything else?

Kallie: Yes, that he's going to marry me. But we didn't kiss.

Me: Good, you're not allowed to kiss boys.

Kallie: I'm going to marry Connor anyway. Sam doesn't know where I live.

Yep, I think she's just fine. Here's a few other pictures we took in the front yard last week.

These are the roses Shane brought home to me last week. Isn't he sweet?
Here we are at Six Flags on Monday. We decided to take a family day, a rare occasion for us lately. Here's Shane & Seth walking around in their camel packs. Those guys are two peas in a pod. I just hope they include Luke when he's big enough to care. ;) Seth rode the big roller coasters with Shane...the upside down twisty ones! And loved it.

We got Luke to wear his hat for a little while, but his head was getting sweaty & I think it was bothering him. Like I said, I'm not sure he was cut from the same mold as his Daddy & big brother. By this age Seth's hat was a permanent fixture to his head.

Seth was really sweet and helped Kallie in and out of all the kiddie rides. He pretended like he was just going on them with her as a favor, but you could tell he really wanted to.

Luke really wasn't into it. It was hot & he didn't get it that the rides were supposed to be fun.

This was Kallie's reaction to all of the fright fest skeletons & creatures that were all over the park. She loved getting her picture made with Scooby Doo & Bugs Bunny. Luke wouldn't go near them.

Seth is really into football these days. He got all dressed like this on Saturday and asked me to take his picture. He kept asking me if he looked cool enough. And he said he had to frown so he'd look cooler. I'm not sure what the hand out front means, but I'm sure it has something to do with being cool. I mean, come on, he's SIX, what will it be like when he's a teenager??

Kallie, oh Kallie

So Kallie went with me to her first baby shower on Saturday. It's sort of a girl's right-of-passage, so I was excited she really wanted to go! We found these cute matching outfits at Target the day before & decided to wear them, which she thought was really fun & special. Anyway, that morning we were in the car on the way there & she said, "So we're just going to watch Mrs. Vicki take a shower?" I contained myself and tried to explain it all to her. Her response to my very long & very thorough explanation was, "Oh, so we're just going to watch the baby take a shower?" I gave up on the explanation, and even afterwards on the way home she was still feeling a bit confused. One day sweet girl, one day.

Messy can be fun!

Seth & Kallie were bored yesterday & were begging for an art project to do. So we did some hand-painting! Kallie's the parrot & Seth's the alligator.

Messy (but happy) boy! And the chicken parmesan was YUM!

Oops...

Well, we WERE making strides in our social confidence (see post below) until Mommy goofed and told the story about the playground shenanigans to the teenage girls at church, who then talked to Seth, who then went to bed crying because he was embarrassed. Way to go, Mommy. So if you see Seth, don't mention it.

Job Day

All of the first grade classes had a job parade today where everyone dressed up as what they wanted to be one day. Seth was a paleontologist. That's a dinosaur in his hat.

This wasn't his first choice though. His first choice was to work for Mythbusters, but even this mommy isn't that creative in the costume department. Plus, what would the other first-graders think??

Paleontologist is definitely a "safe" costume. And don't think for a second that Seth didn't consider that when choosing his career ambition.

Shane went to see the parade & said he was praying the whole time that Seth would make it to the end without a meltdown. And he did great. He walked around as a proud paleontologist!

We are definitely making strides in our social confidence. In fact, he came home today very excited to tell me that he chased Jennifer & Joanna (twins) all over the playground today. He thought this was great.

Through the eyes of a 4-year-old...

Kallie: Mommy, are you old?
Me: No! (emphatically)
Kallie: Then why are your elbows wrinkly?

I've decided "old" is a matter of perspective.

Why is this one so hard?

We have three children, and between them we have celebrated eleven birthdays. So why does this one feel different? I don't ever remember feeling quite so emotional and sentimental about a birthday. I mean, it's not even a milestone year or anything.

Maybe it's because she stayed a baby so much longer than Seth. He grew up so fast. Kallie has remained so innocent.

Maybe it's because she's the second one, and now I realize how fast they grow. I know that this is probably the last year she'll fit in the front part of the grocery cart. She's almost too big now. Or the last year she'll want me to carry her. Or that we're getting to the end of the time I can put big bows in her hair. And that it's the last year she'll be home with me all day long.

Maybe it's because she's just so sweet. Like the way she says "Yes Momma" to every single thing I say right now. And the way she cuddles with me on the couch at night and in the mornings while we're waiting for Luke to wake up.

Maybe it's the "innocent" things she says and the questions she asks. Like when I was buying limes at the grocery store today, and she said "No! I don't like green oranges!" Or tonight when she asked me where the music was coming from & I showed her the speaker & she wanted to know if someone was inside it singing. Or yesterday when she asked me when her party was & I told her at 6, and she said "But I'm not 6! Seth is 6!" And the way we had to start practicing a few weeks ago so that when her birthday got here she'd know how old she was.

Maybe it's because I appreciate the relationship I have with my own mom more than I ever have before & I know how special this mother/daughter thing really is.

Maybe it's because I want her to be sweet and innocent forever. I want her to always believe everything that I tell her. Four seems so much older than three. Four comes right before five, and five's just too old.

It's hard to believe four years and one day ago we had never seen her pretty face. We are so blessed to have our sweet Kallie.





Happy birthday baby girl!

Kallie's Birthday

We celebrated Kallie's 4th birthday last night with a little cookout. Here are the pics:

Kallie & I made strawberry Tinkerbell cupcakes while Seth was at school...


This morning I was commenting how clean my kitchen floor was even after the party....Shane quickly reminded me that the kiddos ate outside. Not sure what that face was about...


...but it didn't last long!


The kids in this picture represent only 3 families.
Kallie - 3 (not a typo, she's 3 until Sunday, right?)
Luke - 1
Ethan - 5
Juliana - 5
Mariana - 3
Bennett - 1
Seth - 6
Noah - 1
Connor - 3


Can you guess what's in the box?








Noah & Bennett were popping up & down on the banister. It was cute.




Luke enjoyed dumping out all the play food from Uncle Brian & Aunt Mary.


Here's Daddy JOYFULLY putting together the kitchen. He is practicing his patience for Christmas.


Seth & Kallie had planned this "slumber party" all week.


This morning I thought Kallie was still asleep when she came walking in Luke's room wearing her tiara, earrings, and carrying her new Cinderella Barbie from the Cuppett's. Here she's giving her a bath in the sink...


I love having a new toy in the house. They played up there ALL DAY!