This morning

The conversation I had with C as I was upstairs getting ready, and he was downstairs, yelling up...

C-Mommy, I wish I could freeze the world.

Me-Really? What do you mean?

C-I mean I wish I could stop time. You know, I could be a kid forever. Mamma's cancer would be frozen so she wouldn't be sick. 

Me-Yes, those would all be really good things to happen.

C-And I could put you in a snowglobe and have you forever. And I would hug Daddy. That's what I wish.

Sometimes they say the most interesting things. And then it makes me think about why he's thinking those things. What's really going on in that head of his? Whatever it is, I love it. I love that he shares what he wishes and hopes for, even if they are things that may or may not happen. 

I love that kid!

Know how much I love you?

To Pluto and then to the next galaxy, and then to Venus, and then to Earth, and then around the sun, and then back to Pluto, and then to Heaven, and then to the Moon and then back again. That's how much I love you, Mommy.

~C, age 7 tonight, around 6:00 or so

I love that kid. So much.

Interview with C at 7 Years Old

Who is your favorite person in the whole world? Mommy
What is your favorite color? blue
What's your favorite television show? Wild Krats
What's your favorite outfit? my Adrian Peterson jersey
What sport do you like best? baseball
What song do you love? That's What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
What's your favorite cereal? Trix
Who is your best friend? Knut
What do you want to be when you grow up? a race car driver
What's your favorite book? Junie B. Jones books
What are you really good at? playing on my DS, baseball, and wrestling Daddy
Where do you wish to go on vacation? Hawaii
What is your best memory? visiting Oregon and Disneyworld
What would you buy if you had $1000? an iPad, an iPhone, and a few games for my DS
What vegetable do you hat the most? spinach & green beans
If you could have a wish, what would it be? probably to have a motorcycle
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Superman
Who is your biggest hero? Daddy
What do you like to do best with your friends? have playdates with them
What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday? play football with my friend, Knut

How to impress the ladies

The other day while we were at the cabin, J and C were playing catch with the football. This is how the conversation went:

C: Dad, do you know how to impress the ladies?
J: No, Buddy. How do you do that?
C: Well, first you have to get a motorcycle. Then you have to get a ramp that is 11 feet high. Then you have to be able to do back flips off of it. And that's how you impress the ladies.
J: Ok-I'll have to remember all of that.

The funny thing about this conversation is this...When my mom and dad went on their first date my dad came to the house to pick up my mom. On a motorcycle. My grandma made him turn around to go back home and get a car because there was no way she was letting my mom get on a motorcycle with him! I love that story.

Just remember men...a motorcycle and a ramp. That's all you need! If only it was that easy...

First Grade Photos

I love watching the progression of school photos as the kids get older. Here are this year's photos, cute as always! (at least to this biased mommy)

I always analyze these photos, wondering if we need to do retakes. A sits up so straight in this one, but I can only imagine the photographer saying, "Ok, sit up straight!" And then there's C, big boy smile and missing teeth to boot. Man, when did they start growing up?! Stop already!!

Another note from C

I love my son. Always. Forever. Especially when he writes sweet notes like this one:

Froggy Boy

Boy with frog melts my heart.

6th Birthday...book style!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Birthday letters to my babies

If you were around last year, then you'll remember these. Albeit a bit late, here are the 6-year letters:

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Dear A,

You are 6 years old! I cannot believe how fast that happened. You are a loving, thoughtful little honey that keeps us on our toes. You are happy and spunky. You are funny and observant. You are our Nans. You continue to surprise us every day with things that you do, learn, and say. We can't wait to hear what will come next!

This year a lot of new things happened! We got to go to Disney World together as a family! That was a treat. You loved meeting the princesses and going on rides. Kindergarten started which was a huge plus in your world. You loved your teacher and everything about school-reading, writing and math. Coming home was a highlight because you shared your whole day with daddy on your walk home. You were able to ride your bike with only 2 wheels and even "graduated" to your big-girl bike! Wow! This year you started dancing with Just For Kix and loved it. You were always so sassy in your costume and loved putting make-up on for every show. You continued to do gymnastics, soccer, and swimming too. What a swimmer you are now! We love it! We traveled to Florida and you saw the ocean and went to the beach for the first time. You loved collecting shells and boogie boarding! I'm sure we'll go back again soon. Tennis was a new one for you this summer as was basketball this winter. I think you liked both of them equally, too! Day Camp was another new thing this summer. You came home exhausted every day, but loved EVERY minute of it. Whew!

You're always willing to try something new. That is something I admire about you. Now when it comes to food, that's a different story, but...I'll wait around! Your fear lies in the "kid fears:" the witches, the scary parts of a movie, the scary characters in a show. But when it comes to new things in life, you're right there: waterskiing, riding your "big" bike, picking up worms and bugs, combing goats at the zoo, dancing, making friends, doing the monkey bars; the list is endless!

You are still my favorite curly redhead around. You make me smile with your silly faces. You melt my heart with your love for Jesus. You continue to be the best sister your brother could ask for (even if he doesn't always think so). You make me and your daddy so proud to have you as our daughter. We love you so much and cannot wait to see what the next year brings!

Love, Mommy

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Dear C,

You are 6 years old! How did that happen? I know you are still my snuggler and that it is one of your favorite things to do with me. You are a confident, fearless little boy. You are sensitive and stubborn. You question lots of things, but still trust that we know best (most of the time). You surprise us daily with the things you say-funny and thoughtful. You are one smart Punkin!

This year was another year of firsts for you! You lost your first tooth! That happened on Daddy's birthday when we were eating pizza. Since then you have lost 4 teeth and you're pretty proud of it too. Our trip to Disney World was a highlight-especially seeing Lightning McQueen & Mater. Being a pirate was pretty cool too, wasn't it Ned Goodhawk? School brought about many friends for you. That is something we were so happy about. You have so many good friends from school and made really smart choices with those friends. We know you'll continue to be a great friend the older you get. School was a favorite of yours with all of the math and reading you did. It is amazing to see you reading through a chapter book already and to hear you counting by 9's (no joke!). You were not too far behind your sister in riding your bike. You learned about 3 days after she did last fall. We went to Florida this spring and you saw the ocean for the first time. Jumping the waves with Daddy was a favorite for you. You continued to love gymnastics, soccer, basketball and t-ball. A year really makes a difference in everything you do. We are amazed at how strong you are! We love watching you play sports, wondering if you will play "lefty" or "righty." Ambidextrous, that's for sure! This summer you tried tennis and day camp, loving them both. You even asked if you could do camp again!

The funniest thing about you lately are the things you say. I wish I had a recorder with me every where we've gone, because I can't even remember them all. My favorites have to do with growing up and when you have a wife. "When I grow up, I'm gonna play silly string with my wife." Funny, Buddy, that's what you are! You think movies are hilarious and are just like your daddy when it comes to remembering movie lines. You even try to say it just like they do and get frustrated with your sister when she says it wrong. You also say things that melt my heart. "I love you, Momma," just out of the blue. Those are my favorite things to hear.

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us this year. If it's anything like last year when you were 5, we are going to have a blast! Thank you for continuing to be you, my big guy. You are a very patient brother and a loving son. You are our Do-Dos and we are so proud of every bit of your six-year-old self!

Love, Mommy

I'm Toothleth!

See me?

I'm toothleth!

I got pretty brave today when Mommy and I were playing Sorry! Man, my mommy would not leave me alone about this tooth. She made me wiggle it every single day at least 5 times. Usually I did 10. Then she always tried pulling it out. I tried telling her it wasn't ready to pull out yet. But she never listened. Today while we were at home I was wiggling it with my tongue. Mommy said, "Try pulling it out!" So I twisted it a bit, got my finger nail between the spaces-so it must have been pretty loose-and twisted some more. I had to get really brave because I was afraid it would be all bloody. I was right. I gave it a real big tug and it was out! As soon as I pulled it out it was bloody. I rinsed my mouth out a lot in the bathroom. My sister was gone at a birthday party, so she didn't even see it! I was so excited to tell her about it. Mommy looked at the space where my tooth was and said, "Huh. You can't even see the next tooth." All I could say was, "I told you so! I told you the other half was still way up in my gum! That's why it was bleeding so much." Yes, I was right this time. And now I'm toothleth. I sure hope the Tooth Fairy comes tonight. I wrote her a letter telling her all about it:

Now if only my mommy will stop bugging me about my other teeth. Give a guy a break!

last night for t-ball

Tonight was the last night for C for t-ball. He did great! He was very excited about getting his trophy tonight. And, of course, the snack.

We had quite the cheering section tonight, too! My cousin was here visiting from New Jersey with a friend, so even more support for our kiddo!

C is really loving baseball. He asked me, as we were walking inside, "Mommy? Can I do t-ball again next year?" Of course! So glad he loves it.

He was still a switch-hitter this year. He would alternate swinging from each side. Coach Tim said he thinks he hits better from the right. He throws the ball with his left. We'll see what happens as he gets older. J already has him pegged as a left-handed reliever. Too funny.

One of his favorite things to do was to run the bases. He's a pretty fast kid, my C. I should know! I tried catching him at the park one day last week and couldn't! He was too fast!

He had some pretty good teammates this year. A friend from his class and some others that go to his school. The parents were great too. You can't beat that when it comes to sports!

Coach Tim was fantastic. He really took time to teach the kids how to throw and how to swing. He kept the kids focused-out of the dirt, away from climbing the fence, how to take care of their glove, hat, and bats, etc.

I know this is just one of many sports C has tried. But I'm glad he loves it. I'm glad he has the focus and attention span to learn the game and improve (which he did!). I'm glad he loves it because we do too. And we love him!

Feelin' the Love

We were definitely feelin' the love tonight at t-ball.

We are so lucky and blessed to have Mammas and Papas that are so close to come to games during the week. Thank you a million times over for being a blessing in our kids' lives. Especially tonight for this little boy.

First Sleepover

We did it. I'm not sure that it's a good or a bad thing, but we did it. Yes, our kids are only 5 and are in kindergarten, but it was for a birthday party. Not a good reason? Hmmm...well, there were about 7 or 8 other boys that were going to be there too. Still not a good enough reason. Hmmm...ok, um, we've known the family for almost 2 years. Yup. Not sure that's a good enough reason either.

C had his first sleepover on Friday. Even though J and I had said the kids wouldn't have their first sleepover until they were at least in spring of first grade. I guess we didn't hold out. It was a tough decision. Trust us. And he will not have another sleepover for another 3 or 4 years. Seriously. I'm not even joking when I say that. The weekend was enough to scare us straight.

The sleepover was an interesting one. You know, there were the normal things...wrestling, dancing, more wrestling, games, pizza, cake, wrestling again, Spiderman 2...wait, WHAT? What was the name of the movie? Spiderman 2? You mean the one that's rated PG-13? For 5 & 6 year olds? Sooo not prepared for that one. Oh, and did I mention that the movie started at 10:30? Yes, STARTED at 10:30. And what time did they go to bed? C said he looked at the clock at 12:30 the last time. Needless to say, he was a bit cranky, ornery, salty...can you come up with any more synonyms for not happy? It was an interesting timeline, if you ask me, for a group of kindergarteners. I guess I need to ask what is planned the next time he goes to a sleepover...when he's 9!

As a parent you hope you're making the right decisions. As a parent, you're sure you're doing the right things for your child along the way. As a parent, you also realize you can't always make the right decisions all of the time. As hard as we may try. As hard as I may try, I'm not always going to be able to be with the kids all of the time. I know this sleepover was a baby step. The moms there looked at me like I was a little crazy for being worried about leaving C. He wasn't worried about me leaving. I was. I also know it won't be the last time I'll be worried. Even when he's old and grown, I'll worry. For now, he'll play the boy things he plays, he'll watch Curious George and he'll snuggle me because it's one of his favorite things to do. And I'll hold on to all of those 5 year old things with all I've got.

the girl who could do whatever she wanted to & giant ants

This week has been an odd one for C. He's woken up 2 times in the middle of the night, made his way upstairs and snuggled in, soon followed by, "I had a bad dream!"

Dream 1:
There was this girl. And she was in our house. And she could do whatever she wanted to!
Like what?
Well, she could take whatever food she wanted to take. And she played with whatever toys she wanted to play with.
Did she do anything to you?
No, but I was still scared.
Ok, well, she's gone now.
I know, Mommy.

Dream 2:
Well, it was the first day we were in Florida. And we were playing on the beach. I was building a sandcastle and all of a sudden 5 huge ants came and carried me away.
How did they carry you away, Buddy?
They were giant, Mommy! They had jumpers on their legs so they could go really high!
I'm glad it wasn't a real dream. It's over now, so you don't have to be worried.
Yeah. I just want to snuggle you and Daddy for a little while (at 1:15 AM!).
Ok, just for a little bit.

The dreams of a 5-year-old boy...

T-ball

...Funny what you find "in the archives" when you go back to look at posts you started on but never finished. Has that ever happened to you? It just did for me and I found 17 unfinished posts! It goes back to me wanting my writing to be perfect with all of the right pictures to tell the story. I hope you enjoy this post, started last June, of my son and his t-ball experience!
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Batting helmet on? Bat in hand? Standing by the "T?" Eye on the ball? (Standing a bit to close to the t, but that's ok...just looking for coaches help.) Ready? Swing! Run, C, run! Ok, he made it. Next batter. The ball is hit. C runs still stands on the base looking at who-knows-what. Kid steps on the base with him. Run, C, run! He made it to second. Same routine for getting to third and finally to home. But, if you're the last batter that inning, where every single person on the team bats, you get to run a home run! C got to do that this week and he knew just what to do!

It's been a lot of fun watching C play t-ball this year. By chance he had two of his friends from school on his team, too! One of his very good friends at that! He's learned how to throw the ball, run the bases, play different positions-his favorites being pitcher and first base because he got to throw the ball a lot and catcher, too, because of the equipment he got to wear. We hope you enjoy this look at C during his first year in t-ball.

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Can you sign me up?

If you've been around reading things lately, you know I'm a bit taken with my kids. Each in their own way. My son gets me with the things he says and the squeezes he gives me. He gets me with how he says goodnight to me and those big brown eyes he looks at me with. He got me again tonight with his sweetness.

I was in the kitchen and he walked up to me and said, "Mommy? Can you sign me up for a Francesco camp?"
"A what?"
"A Francesco camp. Or a Lightning McQueen camp?"
"Oh, buddy, I don't think they have a camp like that."
"You know, like when A got to go to a princess camp?"
"Well, I'll have to check on that."
"Ok, Mommy!"

So sweet that he thought about asking about something like that. In his head, he's thinking, "Well, my sister got to go to a camp where they talked all about princesses. So, why wouldn't there be something for me that is all about cars...which I love?!" I'll have to look into it, but I'm not sure where there would be something like that.

In the meantime, on an upcoming trip, C will have a chance to go on a real racetrack. The DAYTONA racetrack. The kids don't know we're going yet, but I can hardly wait to see the look on his face when we go to the speedway and he can see where the real race cars race!

Love my son

I love my son. For many reasons, but look at the following and you'll see my newest reason:

You see why, don't you? I hope so. Love this boy.

Inspired

Sometimes we need to be inspired to write. Right? Right. Today I was inspired by my husband. I read through his post on his blog where he usually writes about school and his classroom. But today was different because he wrote about our kids. Something I do (almost) every time I write. And I became inspired by his topic: READING! (thanks, honey!)

Setting the Scene:
Sitting on the couch, fireplace on, football game on in the background, cozy in jammies...
A says she wants to read some books. I told her I would but that she had to read a book to me first. This is a habit we're trying to get into each night. They have books from school that they bring home, and those change about once a week. We are trying to find other books they can read to us that are already in our house. And it's happening! They are able to pick books off the bookshelf and read them to us! Yes!!

Last night was the first night that it "officially" happened. We read for about 45 minutes where A would read a book then I would read a book and so on. The boys did the same thing! C's choices were Danny and the Dinosaur and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. A read Polar Bear, Polar Bear..., The Foot Book and 2 "baby" board books. She thought it was funny that she picked those. As I sat there listening to both of them read, I wondered when it happened. Did it just happen? Did it happen in November or December? How did it happen? When did they learn to read?! And at this level, too?!

Sometimes people look at us with that well-you're-a-teacher-so-you-know-how-to-teach-them-to-read look. Honestly people, we didn't "do" anything. Well, anything different from the average "parent in the know" about how reading to your child is important. We've been reading to our kids since they were babies. Since they were old enough to see the pictures. You know, you start out with those black and white picture/pattern books. The ones with nothing else because they can't see much else? Yup. We started with those and quickly moved into story books because why not? We haven't sat with our kids and made them do flash cards. We haven't drilled our kids until they've known their sight words. Nope.

I'll let you in on a little secret...I think it's been their teachers. Shhh...don't say anything! It was their Fun For 4's preschool teachers. This year it's their kindergarten teacher who meets with them in reading groups each week and sometimes twice a week. Those are the people who are fostering their love of reading. Yes, J and I do our share at home with encouraging reading, but we can only do so much. There is such a partnership between school and home and I am seeing the positive product here and now, in our own home. And I love every single minute of it.

I wonder what we'll be reading tonight...perhaps some Robert Munsch or Pinkalicious?

Warts

Gross. I had one as a kid and it was on my finger. Man, did it hurt to get it frozen off! Well, C has a wart. Or wert, as he calls it. It's on the bottom of his foot. He had it "froze off" earlier in December, but nothing has come of that yet. We're trying at home with Dr. Scholls discs every night, but it's a process. So here was the exchange that happened today between A & C:

A: Mommy, will I ever get a wart?
me: I'm not sure, honey.
A: C, how did you get your wart?
C: Well, I got it by going outside without socks and shoes one day. Then I stepped on a very pointy acorn and the point poked into my foot. That's how I got my wart.
A: Oh. I'm never going outside without shoes again.

How have you gotten your warts before? Hmmm?

I lost a tooth!

Delayed. Behind the times. Forgot. Distracted. Call it what you will, but I will say I forgot to write about my son losing his first tooth. My excuse is because it happened on J's birthday. Here was the order of events...I remember it like it was yesterday!

C realized he had a a loose tooth the night of September 9th. He was sitting on the toilet-no, I can't remember if he was going to the bathroom, brushing his teeth, or just sitting there-and was kind of smiling at me. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "My tooth is loose!" Just like that. And I mean really loose. It seems to be the pattern that takes place with our kids. They have a loose tooth and they lose it the next day. That's exactly what happened with C.

September 10th was J's birthday. C worked on his tooth throughout the day, but not to the point where I thought it would fall out. We went to Punch Pizza for dinner that night. And C wasn't eating. I knew he felt ok, but I couldn't figure out why he wasn't eating. Then I saw the tooth. He wiggled it and wiggled it until he finally had it to the point where I could see the bottom of the tooth. Crazy.

We all kept eating our pizza and pretty soon he pulled it out, "I lost my tooth!" Sure enough, Buddy. You did!

 He was so proud that he had pulled it himself. He's a big kid, now, right? I think that's what happens when you lose a tooth. And now, since I waited so long to write about it, he lost a second tooth yesterday...while eating a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles. Fitting for my son!