Cutest Kids Ever

I am the worst mother when it comes to taking pictures of my kids.  I never have a camera and never think to make an appointment for a studio.  I took Sam in at 3 months and 8 months and then gave up.  Luckily, my dad has taken a lot of great pictures of my kids.

When Sam was two, he and I went to Colorado to visit my mom and Doug.  My mom made a photo appointment and paid all the fees and we ended up with some darling pictures of my boy.  They were so cute, in fact, that we ended up completely losing our minds and ordering WAY too many different poses.

Last week the kids and I went to Colorado for Thanksgiving.  My mom didn’t even ask this time.  “They have a photo appointment Tuesday at 10.  I’m shopping for coordinated outfits,” her terse text informed me.  I was very happy and grateful and we agreed that this time we would be keeping our cool.  We’d get ONE pose of the two of them together and MAYBE one of Matilda on her own (as she doesn’t have school pictures).

Y’all know where this is going.  We were a mess.  We were already hysterical in the car driving TO the appointment.  Sam and Matilda sat calmly in the backseat as my mom and I dissolved into manic laughing fits.  While the photo shoot was happening we literally clutched at each other every time the camera flashed because we saw how cute the pictures were going to be. 

By the end of our order we wound up ordering seven poses and 108 Christmas cards.  But people, look at these pictures.  Can you blame us?!

Kindergarten Man

Sam started Kindergarten in September.  He absolutely loves it!  I did have a few surreal moments when I was walking behind him on the way to school where I thought I might cry.  Hood up, loose-fit jeans, backpack, hands shoved in his pockets…he is very much a little man.  Thankfully he is still more than happy to rush out of the school and into my arms when I pick him up in the afternoons. 

Mrs. Hince, his wonderful teacher, has repeatedly referred to Sam as “SO sweet.”  He is friends with everyone in his class.  Mrs. Hince said that several children who have trouble getting along with others have “attached themselves” to Sam as he is so patient and gentle.  She said she’s heard him more than once try to diffuse an argument by saying, “You guys, let’s find something we ALL want to play!”  Sam is kind to his core.  I think it’s my favorite thing about him. 

He’s doing well academically, too. By the end of the year, all Kindergarteners need to be able to read 80 sight words.  Sam knows them all now, as well as the sight words for first grade, and most of the sight words for second grade.  He’s a reading machine.  Mrs. Hince did suggest that we expand his library to include more non-fiction books, as they will help his vocabulary, so we are definitely going to work on that. 

We are so incredibly proud of our boy.

Halloween at IBM

2010 marked our third year of trick or treating at IBM - our favorite! It's our entire Halloween celebration.

We have roughly 70 costumes in our house that I've picked up on clearance and at garage sales. Therefore, Sam chose to wear the same costume he wore last year. It just about killed me. Matilda was a very excited puppy.

Thanks, Grandpa Mark!

I Had No Idea That Heaven...

...was right off the 75th St exit.

Sam had his very first friend-driven playdate today. His life has been one playdate after another but today's was the first one that wasn't my doing. Garrett invited Sam over to play and Sam accepted.

We have been very, very excited about this playdate. We headed out to Garrett's house at 9 this morning. When we turned on to the gravel road leading up to their house, Sam could hardly stand it.

"Oooooooh, Mom...the road is BUMPY!"

"Sam, it's gravel. If you're already this excited you're going to need a nap this afternoon."

I could hardly believe it when I pulled up to the house. It was Wonderland. They had a play structure that is better described as a playground in their yard. There was a dirt pile covered in toy trucks and shovels. The bunny cage stood next to the motor bikes. A pony patiently waited for attention under the treehouse. All of this stood in the middle of a massive, working farm. There were barns, semis, cows, tractors, and ATVs as far as the eye could see.

Garrett dashed out of the house and threw himself under the tires of my car. Sam went inside without even a goodbye. Matilda, devastated that she couldn't stay, was given a short tour by Garrett's mom. ("Matilda, do you want to pet the bunny?" "No." "Matilda, do you want to pet the pony?" "NO!")

Sam spent the whole morning there and I picked him up after lunch. He was a little sad at first but I was able to lure him out to the car with a new book. We said goodbye to Garrett, the dog, and the cat, and we went home.

I begged and pleaded with Sam for ANY information about his day. 50 points to anyone who can guess what he reported.

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Yep. "We had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, AND milk, AND chips, AND A BROWNIE!"

We owe Garrett a playdate. Does anyone know where I can buy a giraffe?

Sam in the combine.

Sam on the pony, Bullseye. This may be my new favorite picture of my dude.

There's A First Time For Everything

As we drove to school this morning Sam was talking about his friends. He always confuses Garrett's name with Beckett.

"What is his name, Mom?" Sam asked.

"Your best friend is Garrett," I answered.

"Oh yeah, Garrett," Sam said. After a moment he added, "And my girlfriend is Brooklyn."

Wha - ?

"Brooklyn is your girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. "You know, your friend's little girl."

"Yes, I know who Brooklyn is. I just didn't know that she was your girlfriend."

"Yep," he said.

When we walked into Sam's classroom, none other than Garrett and Brooklyn were waiting inside. Sam cried happily, "Oh, my best friend and my best girl!"

Here's Brookie - we really can't blame Sam for being smitten.

Sam's Story

"Sam, tell me a story."

"Okay! Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. And there was a princess in it. And she got eaten by a crocodile. But she got out."

"How did she get out?"

"There was an opening by the tail. And she got out and she fought the crocodile. And then she got to go to her kingdom. The end."


Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Sam made up a story about a woman so amazing, she could be eaten and digested by a crocodile and STILL come out to defeat it. Sam, you are the most fun I've ever had.

His Favorite Playdate

On Sunday Sam and I were looking through his photo album. "These are all my friends," he sighed happily.

Then we came to the picture of my dad and Tina. "Here," Sam said. "I want to go with these dudes."

He pestered me and followed me around with the picture. "I want to go to Grandpa Mark's house, Mom," he said. "You don't have to go. I can go by myself." He thought for a moment, then added, "Well, Grandpa Mark will have to drive."

I got my dad on the phone and arranged a playdate for this afternoon. Sam is SO excited. When Eric was putting him to bed on Sunday they couldn't stop talking about it. "Dad! In three sleeps I'm going to go to Grandpa's house! He'll get me in his car. You can come too, if you want."

Eric politely declined and I was a little put out by his invitation. I was very clearly NOT invited to come. This morning at breakfast I reminded Sam that his big day was finally here. He smiled so big his eyes disappeared and turned to his sister. "Matilda! I'm going to Grandpa's house. Do you want to come? It's really fun!"

Matilda nodded furiously but I declined for her. I explained to Sam today was just for him (and NOT for me!).

Clip-Free

I'm too exhausted to go into details but this morning had good news and bad news.

The bad news: Sam was MUCH MORE excited about the idea of having an x-ray than actually doing it.

The good news: Sam's x-ray showed no paper clip! What a relief!

Lime Springs

I'm close to giving up our house and living directly out of our car. Every day is another trip!

Today the kids and I drove down to Lime Springs, IA to see Grandma Colleen's new house. We followed Amy and Sean down and got there in time for lunch. I wasn't surprised when Colleen got home a few minutes after we arrived, blew a small tornado through her kitchen, and had us all at the table with our plates piled high ten minutes later.

It was such a nice day. Sam, Matilda, and Sean ran from room to room chasing each other with dog toys. When they finally got tired Colleen set them up at the table with paper and markers. I almost passed out when Matilda ran into the kitchen with her artwork and managed to leave a pink marker trail across the front of the refrigerator. Colleen couldn't have been less worried about it but I'm so stressed, imagining her there trying to scrub it off! She said she misses having a house full of marker swipes and grubby fingerprints. I think I'll bring her a Magic Eraser just in case.

Colleen has been like a mom to me since I was 15 years old. She gives of herself endlessly. I couldn't be happier knowing she is in such a lovely home in a safe little town. Even better, she is just under an hour and a half away - the perfect distance for a day trip. The kids and I will be able to run down to see her whenever the mood strikes.

I truly love my husband's family - what a wonderful gift!

Geography Humor

I'm pretty impressed by Sam's awareness of his surroundings. I was 15 years old and I didn't know how to get to Eyota from Rochester. Seriously! I spent my whole life with my nose in a book and didn't care at all about what was happening outside the car windows. Sam knows when to turn right at a light to get to the store or how to get home from downtown. I think it's awesome.

Today I tried quizzing him again. When we were a few lights from our house, I said, "Sam, do you know where we are?"

"Yep," he said. "We are in Mexico."

"What?" I said.

"Mexico," Sam repeated, and then laughed until he got hiccups.

Once he calmed down, I said, "Sam, you were pretty silly saying we were in Mexico. Where are we really?"

"Ha ha ha, Mom!" Sam said. "Mexico is funny. But really, we are in Colorado."

That sent him into another fit of giggles that didn't stop until we were home.

I wish I got the joke.

The Storyteller

The kids and I just spent the weekend in Sioux Falls with Tali, Chad, Beckett, Liam, and Joy. (My favorite people - woot!) I thought I'd try something different and asked Sam to describe our weekend.

"We drove and drove and drove and drove and drove. Then we played played played played played played played played played played played played and slept. Then we played played played played played played played played played played played played played played played played played and slept. Then we played played played played played played played and watched a show and drove and drove and drove and drove and we are home."

While totally accurate I don't know that he captured just how fun it was. I'll wait to relate my view of the weekend until I get pictures to go with it (hint, hint!).

Aiden Is Four!

I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how old Aiden was when I met him. I am really, really bad at this, but I think I've figured out that if he turned 4 in July 2010, he turned 1 in July 2007. I feel like Karen and I became friends in the fall but I've always thought I met Aid when he was 10 months old. Well, no matter if he was 10 months or 14 months old, he was a teeny tiny thing. I will never forget the little jeans and flannel shirt he was wearing when Karen came over to our house for our first playdate. He was sooooo cute!

That cute little dude is four years old now. Four! All grown up and calling me "Mrs. Mom." Sam and Aid have gone from diapers and naptimes to preschool and dinosaurs, but they have a relationship that knows no bounds. People at Aiden's birthday party were even commenting on their infatuation with each other. They LOVE each other.

(Speaking of that party...it was at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon. Eric was on call and that is dangerously close to bedtime. I was 50% sure we would be going. Then Karen, that rat, said, "I asked Aid what he wanted for his birthday and he said, 'A bucket of dinosaurs, a bucket of dragons, and Sam.'" How could I not go to the ends of the earth to make sure Sam was at Aiden's party?!)

Karen took these pictures of my kids at the party. It was a huge backyard blowout and my kids were naked for most of it. It was awesome! Sam couldn't have been any more excited about Aiden's presents than if they were his own. What a great party!

We LOVE the Bures family!!

Corkscrew

I have moved our play kitchen, table, and chairs into Matilda's room. The kids have been in there all day playing 'tea.'

I walk in and find Matilda wearing a black velvet bodysuit with a pink tutu. Sam jumps in front of me holding a plastic pot.

"This is Dave!" he screams.

"Dave?" I say, baffled.

"Who is Dave?" asks Sam, just as confused.

"Did you say the pot is named Dave?" I asked.

"Oh, Dave," Sam says, nodding. "Yeah, this is Dave."

"Day! Day! Day!" Matilda screams and bends at the waist, resting the top of her head on her toes.

I leave them in there, bent in half and filling Dave with plastic carrots, and go look for a bottle of wine.

Open-Mouthed Enthusiasm

My dad and Tina came over on Tuesday night. As always, my dad managed to get the BEST pictures of my kids. These are just two of them.

While Matilda was babbling at Grandpa and trying to climb up on the table, he caught this:

After we all passed his camera around, laughing at that picture, he asked Sam to give him a good smile like Matilda's. So, he got this:

They're two of the most bizarre little people I've ever met!

Running Out Of Answers

Sam has been blowing my mind lately with the questions he is asking. He is truly thinking and expecting answers from me - and I am really struggling!

"Mom, do girls marry girls?"
- Yes, sometimes. (I was surprised when he asked and this turned out to be the easiest one.)

"Mom, why is the day over? Because the Earth is round?"
- Actually, that has to do with it, yes.

"Why are we happy that Jesus died?"
- Well, it's more being grateful for his sacrifice and feeling joy that he came back from the dead. It is very sad that he died.

"Is God a boy or a girl?"
- Um...

"If Jesus came back from the dead, is he here now?"
- Kind of...

"What is heaven?"
- Oh boy...

I have trouble answering these questions for myself, let alone in a way a 4-year-old could understand! I've always kind of scoffed at those "How To Talk To Your Child About (insert issue here)" parenting books. Now I want to go buy a copy of each one - just in case!

Q: What Could Be Better...

...than Eric taking the kids to the park so I could stay home and nap?



A: Waking up from said nap with this picture on my phone.

It's impossible for me to look at it without laughing. It seems that one of my children had a better time than the other.

Eric, you are such a fun dad.

Sony, How I Love Thee

I was 12 when the world really started moving from cassettes to CDs. I had my cassette player and was amazed by how awesome CDs were. You could skip directly to the song you wanted!

One Saturday morning my dad and I went to Best Buy. We started looking at the CD player/stereos. I ooohed and ahhed over them - some had remotes! I really loved a bookcase stereo that had separate speakers. I thought it was amazing. There was also one that was more like a boombox - one compact piece with a carrying handle (who put 23 D batteries in those things and carried them anywhere?).

My dad asked me which one I liked better and I said I liked both of them. He said, "If you were going to pick one to buy right now, which one would you pick?"

I started to get a little excited then, wondering if I was going to get one. It would have been unprecedented - a HUGE gift and no where near Christmas or my birthday. I really wanted the bookcase stereo, which was something like $99.99. The boombox was less, around $79.99. I didn't want to appear greedy so I said I'd pick the boombox.

Without another word, my dad reached to the bottom shelf and picked up a box containing the boombox. He started toward the registers as I screamed and ran to catch up, hardly able to contain my excitement. I can still see his back in my mind as I ran after him. I can see his black coat and the edges of the box showing on either side of him. It was a REALLY GOOD DAY, y'all.

The point of this story is that there is no way my dad and I could have imagined the life of that stereo when he bought it. I used it all through highschool and it went to college with me. It was my stereo in Colorado and the one I used to choose the song Eric and I wanted at our wedding. And right now, today, it is in Sam's room. Whenever he is in there playing he is listening to music. The last thing I do for him at bedtime is put in a CD and press play.

If you've done the math you've realized that my dad's $79.99 has been keeping me entertained for 18 years and it keeps on kicking. Every once in a while it won't play a CD or will take a moment to get going and I wonder if that is the day it finally quits working. But so far, so good. As I write this, Sam is listening to Disney's Hero Songs as he plays with his turtles.

Thanks, Dad.

Pipsqueaks

Oh, Rochester. I'm happier here than I ever thought I would be. If it only had a library (no, I don't consider that building downtown a library) and more than one play gym. To be fair, as far as indoor gyms go, Pipsqueaks IS a good one. About a month ago I invited Dusty and Charlie to join us for a morning playdate. Dusty is the type of mom who carries a camera with her and was snapping away the whole time.

Sam and Charlie having a meeting in their cars. Poor Sam is so big.

This is the top of the huge play structure. Sam is in the opening of the spiral slide. Charlie would not go down it and Matilda was just mad she had to wait.

You can't really tell here, but Matilda the Brute started pushing one car and picked others up on her way across the gym. By the end she was pushing a pile of 10 cars.

Sam Speaks IV

Sam: Mom, I want to talk to Jesus.

Mom: You can talk to Jesus any time you want. What do you want to say to Him?

Sam: Thank you.

Mom: Thank you for what?

Sam: Thank you for dying for me.

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Sam: Mom, I remember you and Dad's wedding.

Mom: You remember that we are married? Or you remember the wedding?

Sam: I remember the wedding.

Mom: Sorry, dude. You weren't there. Neither was Matilda.

Sam: Why weren't we there?

Mom: Because we didn't have you yet. It was just me and Dad when we got married.

Sam: And then (dramatic pause)...GOD GAVE US TO YOU!!!

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Sam: Mom, why is your stomach big?

Mom (devastated): It's not big, honey. It just isn't flat any more. Remember how big it was when Matilda was in my belly? It just couldn't go from being that big to flat again.

Sam: Well, I think you should make it flat again.

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Sam, standing with his feet together and arms pressed down at his sides: Mom, look.

Mom: What?

Sam, now raising his eyebrows as high as they go and straining the tendons in his neck: Look...at...how...tall...I...am.

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Mom: Sam, why are you so nice?

Sam: I don't know. I think because I'm four.

GOOOOOOOOOAAAL

Sam had his first soccer lesson yesterday!

Matilda and I stayed home, as she was napping, and Eric and Sam headed out to Soccer World. Eric reported that Sam had a great time and really jumped right in. A few times Sam would just stop and watch, the observer that he is, but otherwise he was part of the action. Eric had a couple videos on his phone and I could hardly believe it when I saw them. The kids were running the ball up and down the field and Sam was right in there. He ran drills and practiced dribbling and shooting. He absolutely loved it.

Sam was, of course, the biggest kid in the class. Coach Kate asked if he was in kindergarten. He's big but we're not yet sure if he has the spirit or aggressiveness for sports. When the kids would get rough around him he'd mostly flinch and try to block himself. Maybe his confidence will increase when he starts to figure out that if he wanted to he could make each of those kids just a grease spot on the floor. Not that we WANT him to do that, of course, but the fact is there is a level of confidence and aggression needed to succeed in most sports.

There are just two more classes for us to attend. I called Soccer World all day yesterday, trying to get Sam into the next session, too, and never got in touch with anyone. I'm holding out the small hope that it isn't full so he can keep going with this.

We are so excited for Sam to be starting this part of his life!