It's Labor Day Weekend

So we did the most American thing we could think of: we bought a mattress. On sale. Half off. I love the commercial side of holiday weekends!

We bought this fireplace…

 

…and the house that goes with it. This summer was busy. We searched for, found, and bought the house. We closed on our new house August 1. We closed on our old house today. One chapter ends. A new chapter begins. And once I get our new house settled and our children back into a routine, life will be grand. Until then…

My Sweet Sassafrass

 
It’s hard to believe that this little gal is almost 18 months old! She is just as cute in person as in pictures. She LOVES dogs, can spot one from a mile away, says "doggy," and chases after them yelling “woof, woof.” Nothing rocks her world more than dirty hands or feet and she will let you know if she has ickies on her body by pointing and saying “ewwww.” The boys love to teach her new words. The word of the week is “toot” and everyone under age 6 cracks up whenever she speaks that word. Just as funny to the boys: When she toots, she says “ewwwww,” and laughs. Peek-a-boo is her forte and she will never pass up a game of “where is Camryn?” This chick loves to jam, and always is looking for music to be playing. Her favorite song: 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Camryn even has the finger-shake down pat. She is currently mastering the fork, runs away from her brothers, can hang from monkey bars without assistance, and can almost always climb down stairs without falling (geesh!). Camryn knows what she wants and will demonstrate if we can’t figure it out. Case in point: She wanted a yogurt drink. I didn’t know it. So she went to the garbage can, pulled out an empty yogurt drink, and carried it to me. Got it, sister! She is quite the busy body and is always picking up and “putting away” everything. She screams when she doesn’t get her way, screams when her brothers are bothering her, and screams when we aren’t paying attention to her. That makes me want to scream. She says “thank you,” “excuse you," “bless you,” and “what’s that?” Her favorite people must be Mommy and Mimi because those two names spill out of her mouth at least once every 30 seconds. She lets us know she is tired by coming to us with her Gloworm. She can sleep through anything, but will wake up for no reason at all. Her shoulder-length hair curls up to her chin and starts halfway back on her head, the gap between her front teeth is cute for now, and her deep man voice is hilarious. We love this little lady and everything she is becoming!

Today

Mason told me he is “getting drunk on a plane.” If I wasn’t a country music fan, I would have a few key questions for this pre-schooler…

*Dierks Bentley is visiting me in Chicago on Sunday. I bet he is just as excited as I am!

Reality

Jacob told me that Kindergarten wasn’t at all what he was expecting. I asked for an explanation. This is what he told me:

When I was picturing Kindergarten I thought there would be a bunch of tables with chairs, and we would all have to sit down with white pieces of paper and practice writing our letters all day long. But it’s so much better than that!

I had no idea that Jacob was capable of imagining future events. Conversations like this with my children blow my mind. And I am so glad that Kindergarten far exceeds his expectations!

Soccer Busy

The boys are playing soccer this fall. Two different teams. Two different practices. Two different game times. Makes for one busy momma…

 

Jacob likes soccer. I think. He scored his first goal about 5 minutes in to the first game. He plays with a grin the whole time. He is fun to watch. And he can be spotted wearing his soccer shoes in the back yard while he kicks the ball around.

Mason does not like soccer. I know. He told me. This picture looks like he is doing some advanced soccer kick, but, alas, he is just spinning circles half a field away from where the ball is. He is the only child who does not swarm the ball. In fact, he decided about 10 minutes in to his first game that “soccer takes too long. And it’s too boring.” I wonder if we could consider his activity fee as a charitable donation and write it off come tax time…

Four years ago today, this happened.

 

It’s Mason’s birthday! The concept of going to bed as a three-year-old and waking up as a four-year-old blew this kid’s mind. His breakfast: donuts. His cake: chocolate with butter cream frosting and yellow flowers (store-bought, of course!). He asked me this morning if he turned four while he was eating his donuts. Something like that, buddy!

Among the loot he scored for his birthday: Juggle Bubbles (a total bust, by the way), a Dusty Crophopper shirt and toy, and a Lightning McQueen race track. This little boy was eating up his special day, and even toted his SpongeBob balloon to the bus stop to pick up Jacob. Mason thinks four is pretty spectacular, and I agree!