I’m pretty sure Kaitlyn wants to be Teague when she grows up…
Barrington
I had the cutest dates for lunch today.
Kaitlyn was working hard to convince me these guys needed a nap too. She put them so gently on her pillow and snuggled in beside them.
I heard them hit the floor about two seconds after I got downstairs and turned on the monitor.
Teague had a Lego Birthday Party to attend today. What fun!
Teague and Kaitlyn were playing upstairs when I heard a “real” cry from Kaitlyn. I went upstairs to check it out. I found her in her room with the door shut and Teague standing outside in the hallway. I asked him what happened and he couldn’t exactly explain it but it was obvious she got hurt and most likely it was his fault. I opened the door to find small drops of blood. I scooped her up and couldn’t immediately find a source of the blood. I opened her mouth thinking that was the most logical place and then realized it was her foot. Oh her poor foot. Evidently she was in the room and Teague was out and they were fighting over an open door versus a closed door. (Which is why in our our house we aren’t allowed to play with doors.) I’m pretty sure she’s going to loose her big toenail.
After Kaitlyn got calmed down she was really excited to get her first bandaid.
She heard the beeper and before I could get to the kitchen she had my oven mitts on. Thankfully she has no interest in opening the oven.
I wonder where she got this idea? (see here)
Another benefit to having Gram in town is her green thumb. She helped me get my pots planted for the backdeck. (Or rather she helped me pick the plants and the kids helped us plant them.)
Today started my three day garage sale. My neighbor coordinated a neighborhood-wide garage sale and it sounded like a great idea to get rid of so many unwanted items. Then I realized there was no way I could have a garage sale and watch Kaitlyn. (I might could have handled the boys.) My Mom was nice enough to agree to come for a visit and watch Kaitlyn while I sold $2 items. Kaitlyn did check out all the items before approving them for sale.
The race is on between Madison’s ability to stay and Kaitlyn’s attention span when it comes to cleaning up her mess. (Too bad the spill involves raisins which Madison can’t eat. Otherwise it’d just end up being a nice treat for her.)
Oh this dog loves us (and tolerates so much).
Today’s family activity was bowling. The boys loved it and Kaitlyn was fascinated. It actually makes me miss my one year on a bowling league while I worked at the Patent Office in DC. (Those were the days….)
To really get summer going, we convinced Wade to join us at the beach. The boys loved having him and Kaitlyn got her first ride in the boat.
I’m going to go ahead and call this a parenting win simply because she isn’t using her hands to eat it straight out of the big bowl. Bonus points that she is using the serving spoon to try to fill her own bowl.
Alex’s last day of school was today. We did pictures in the morning and then Maria had some awesome after school traditions we joined in. Evidently the kids are met at the bus stop by Moms and siblings with silly string! Everyone knew was what coming except for Alex. He actually took it pretty well and I thought it was an excellent idea.
Then we headed up to Maria’s back deck for ice cream and water balloons. The kids had a wonderful last day of school and I am officially ready for summer!
To wrap up Alex’s school year here is a first day and last day comparison:
Today Teague had his last day of school in preK. We decided to celebrate big. There were lots of pictures (of course) and the school provided popsicles. Then Mary and I loaded up the kids for lunch at Lindy’s Landing. (A place where we can eat outside and the kids can play in the sand. Best idea ever!)
Then we had a crazy evening of a babysitter not showing up, a rush to dinner with Kaitlyn in tow, and off to Teague’s preschool graduation. As you can see from the pictures, he handles being in the spotlight quite well.
To wrap up the school year here is a first day and last day comparison:
The countdown to the end of school continues. Want to guess what today was at Teague’s school?
We always seem to have some extra time in the mornings and usually spend the extra minutes outside at the bus stop. Some days Alex is a little too wild and crazy so today I convinced him to bring a book. Kaitlyn also realized the boys both have her favorite kind of clip to fasten (the chest clip on all backpacks) on their backpacks. They were kind enough to let her clip it over and over and would undo theirs while she went to clip the other boy’s.
Kaitlyn still has only a few words. Her only animal sound is “quack” and she loves to show it off. That might be why this duck is one of her favorite toys. She loves to walk it around the house saying, “Quack. Quack.”
These two were determined to play in the water. I think they were rushing warm weather a little, but it was fun to take their pictures.
This one has a personality all her own. I predict the next few years are going to be filled with many, many battles but lots of laughs.
– The hat was all her own idea, but definitely cute enough to leave.
Today was blue day at Teague’s school and he didn’t just want to wear blue. He really, really wanted blue hair. I had tried to find blue hair chalk or temporary blue hair dye online but found nothing. I tried to prep him that his dark hair might make blue hair hard. The night before I sent Wade to Walgreens for blue hairspray (remembering when we used some on Madison – see here). Amazingly, it worked! Teague was so happy.
This picture always makes me do a slight double take. Backwards day at school today – part of the countdown to the end of the year.
These little explorers spent all afternoon exploring the woods.
School year activities are starting to end. Running club ends with the Wacky Sock Run. Alex has been talking about this for weeks. I thought it sounded like fun and was a great first run for him to try. Everyone had the option of running a 3k or half of that. The problem is we woke up to a freezing (literally not quite 32 degrees) morning. We bundled everyone up and headed to school. The turnout was a lot less than years past (or so I hear), but we actually had a good time. Alex and I ran while Wade, Teague, and Kaitlyn cheered us on. Then there were snacks and door prizes.
Wade cut down a tree in our backyard a few weeks ago and the larger branches have just been sitting in our driveway. Today Wade rented a large chipper and made wood chips for the kids’ Spy Club. Obviously we had to move lunch outside to watch the show.
Wade called me yesterday to ask me if I had used his amazon account to order some baseball stuff. I said no but asked what kind of stuff. It was baseball socks. He cancelled the order, but ended up having to cancel five more orders for socks. Today I walked into the kitchen to find Teague ordering “socks” from our Amazon Echo. Thank you funny TV commercials.
I don’t remember when Kaitlyn first learned her body parts, but she loves to point them out. She has even made them part of her bedtime routine and wants to show you eyes, nose, head, mouth, and teeth before you turn out the light.
To make the weekend even more special I got to spend Mother’s Day with my Mother. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms.
Spring weather always amazes me. The kids were dressed in long sleeves and pants in the morning for school.
By the time Alex got home from school they were begging me for swim suits.
Notice anything? He’s missing his glasses. Alex has now broken 5 pairs of glasses since October (I think….) We are waiting on pair number 6.
Teague is still taking swim lessons with Leah one day a week. We started with semi-private lessons. Then we added in two of her friends for a session. Then we added in two of Teague’s friends for a session. Their teacher is awesome. Teague went from a boy who liked to be in the water to a boy who likes to swim and will voluntarily put his face in the water. (I wasn’t sure this would ever happen and that he might only learn to tolerate it.) He’s come such a long way and I can’t wait to see his swimming develop now!
When you are having too much fun with your friends you might as well bring them home. Teague had some of his buddies over for lunch and fun. The boys loved playing outside and enjoying this awesome weather.
Part of my morning routine has always included unloading the dishwasher as the kids are deciding what they want for breakfast. Lately Kaitlyn has offered her services in the unloading and is surprisingly helpful. She knows where most items go in the kitchen (she is most observant) and loves to hand me the items from the top rack that she can’t reach in the upper cabinets.
Today the kids talked Wade into donuts for breakfast. We decided to try out the spiral donut place we saw in downtown Barrington – Spring Donuts. The kids loved watching the donuts being made and talking to the other customers in the quaint little shop.
Teague’s friends are fascinated with his talk of a “spy club.” Today they discovered a tiny patch of woods in the corner lot of their preschool and immediately named it the PreK Spy Club.
We had a fabulous day today and everybody wanted to stay outside after school and enjoy the sun.
By evening we had a freak storm with hail. Crazy days.
Alex’s favorite thing to read is still Wade’s old comic books. Lately he’s been sneaking them into bed at night and reading them until it gets too dark outside (bedtime is 7:30) and then reading them in the morning until I come to get them at 7.
Kaitlyn loves to mimic everything I do. That includes “cooking.” Currently my spices are her favorite plaything and today she realized she could stack the jars.
Teague and Leah enjoying their afternoon before the big kids get home from school.
Today I celebrated turning 37. There were lots of presents, handmade paintings by my kids, sushi, and a fabulous chocolate cake. Perfect!
We all have our little routines. One of Kaitlyn’s is going through Alex’s lunchbox everyday when he gets home. I’m always curious what’s she’s looking to find. He never brings home a scrap of food, but he does always have slightly different containers which she loves to open.
Wade decided to cut down a second tree yesterday. (This one in our backyard.) Today he worked to get to get it chopped up and used some of the wood to create a fire pit. The kids started off helping Wade and quickly decided water guns sounded a lot more fun. (We have got to get some more water guns. There is always an odd man out!)
We ended the day with hot dogs and s’mores. Spring is here!
Alex, Leah, and Teague showed up in my kitchen during Kaitlyn’s nap and asked for cleaning supplies. I was a little suspicious and asked what they wanted to clean. They informed me my house was dirty and they wanted to clean it. I decided to humor them with sponges and buckets. I came outside to find them cleaning the side of the garage and they continued for the rest of the day (at least a couple of hours)!
I left Kaitlyn in her room for a few minutes while I put laundry away. This is what I found when I returned – another big mess, but at least the laundry is done.
This girl loves shoes. She is always in my closet or demanding her own shoes be changed for another pair. Today I want to thank Zappos not only for quick shipping but for an afternoon worth’s of entertainment. Alex needed new soccer cleats and we ordered quite a few pairs. Kaitlyn was more than happy to open all the boxes and try them all on before Alex got around to it.
Teague is always so excited when I show up as Mystery Reader. Thankfully his teachers are awesome and entertain Kaitlyn while I do the reading. Today she took every single toy off the shelves in the time it took me to read these two books.
Alex is desperate to have somebody in the house interested in Minecraft with him. He’s obviously now set his hopes on Kaitlyn. (These books have become his constant companions.)
The boys are becoming pros at helping with the cheese dip making. Awesome!