Big C Turns Six

Caleb, the little man who arrived on a cold December morning, turned six in December.  He is such a sweet kid who his teacher says: "is a friend to everyone."  He most always plays with cousin Jake but he liked by the other students because "he's kind to all of the kids".  He wanted a lego snowman party so we had each of the five boys at the party build a lego snowman as the activity. (This turned out to be a genius boy party idea for winter parties)  

Caleb's reasons for things are often unique but entirely well thought out.  He told me he wanted pie for his birthday.  When we were talking about it, he told me he wanted apple pie and blueberry pie because they were warm and it is usually cold outside on his birthday.  We always make the kids'  birthday cakes so I decided to take on the task of making homemade pies for Caleb.  They miraculously turned out and I have the utmost respect for those who often make pies from scratch.

 Baby Katie was only one week old at Caleb's party.

Hodge Podge of Fall Fun

We love the whole fall season around here: the foods, the activities, the holidays and the birthdays (oh the birthdays... now every single grandchild on my side of the family is born between September and the end of December).  We take an awesome trip to the pumpkin patch on a week day (because as much as I love the patch, I detest crowds more so Jamie takes a day off for this kind of fun) and this year was entertaining fun for all, as usual.  My favorite and possibly the boys favorite is the pumpkin launcher.  I would pay the price of admission just to see that thing do it's magic.  As a former physics teacher it is great amusement to see those things launch across the lake or better yet, skip across the lake.

 The giant jumping pillow

 This fiery one was not to be held back by being only 13 months old... she wanted a piece of all of the action.

 On to Halloween.  I generally do not especially like Halloween.  Maybe it's because everything else is so busy that time of year and the costume preparations catch me by surprise and then, suddenly, I need to have a costume right now.  Add to that the particularities of the children in regards to how things fit and feel and it's just not my favorite.  However, I put on my happy pants and we go trick or treating and dress up and have an enjoyable time.  We had a penguin, a Chiefs player and a pumpkin princess this year.

The pumpkin princess and evening family pictures did not turn out.  I am not sure what happened other than it was just too dark.  She was sleeping during the school party so that's when all of these other photos were taken and I have no other photos that were recognizable.  So, imagine cuteness in an orange tutu. 

Big Man is Eight

The big guy you see below used to be my baby.  He was my first baby and now he is eight.

Jonathan loves to create.  He has always been a child with so so many ideas and options for how to make things work.  He makes lego masterpieces, writes stories, makes up games, and the list could go on and on.  Watching him create and listening to his enthusiasm for his newest project is one of my great joys.

Last year he liked reading, this year he has begun to love reading.  His favorite books are all of the Boxcar Children series books which it seems he has read multiple times each.  He also loves to read anything relating to dogs... as long as there is not a sad ending (lesson learned on that one - he now asks me if the ending is good with every new book).  

As the fall approached, I thought that one more year of soccer would be fun for him (before kids starting doing leagues that require lots of commitment).  However, when I asked him about it he was certain: he did NOT want to play soccer.  "I like to swim so can't I just do that?"  Sure thing, kid.  He has also asked about golfing so we have headed to the course on several beautiful Saturdays this fall to hit some balls and play around a bit.

Have I mentioned that this boy can EAT?  I have had multiple dinner guests be amazed at how much food that little body can put away.  The kid who used to be picky likes so many things that it's hard for me to think of what his few favorites would be.  For his birthday he wanted flank steak, garlic toast, and green beans.

He has always been a leader, a strong personality.  In the past two years I have watched him show such kindness to younger kids or those who are a little more timid.  I love to see him growing in this area and loving those around him.  As we started talking about updating our home study for the possibility of another adoption, he said, "I think having a family with lots of kids will be fun."

He asks amazing questions and makes observations about the world around him that are insightful and thought-provoking.  He makes connections about things he learns and what is happening in his world that make conversations both very interesting and challenging.

One of my favorite thoughts from him this year was on a sheet that asked questions and he was to describe himself: What is the best thing about you? "I am not like anyone else." was his response.  

This year he loved reading his cards and really loved the humor in some of them.  One of them made he and Caleb laugh and laugh and laugh.

Jman, we love seeing you learn and grow.  We absolutely love to spend time with you and can't wait to see what this year will bring!  We love you up to the moon and back (a million trillion times).

Eliana

Miss E, El Bell, Eliana... You are an absolute delight.  See that smile?  You welcome your Daddy, me,  and the boys with that smile.  When you hear the garage door around dinner time, you shriek with delight and wave your arms.  When Caleb comes running out of the doors of the school at half-day kindergarten pick up, you start shrieking with delight.  Your joy and energy are infectious.

You were such a content baby and just loved to be around all of us and be held.  That contentment has morphed into a little bit of spunk and fire.  You can throw fits (already??) when things don't quite go your way, you love to run and jump into the pillows, you climb all over things (again, already??).  You are fast and agile and daring.

I joked that your first word would be "gentle" because it is my regular reminder to you.  Your friend, Eden, loves to kiss her babies and have her momma kiss them.  You, not so much.  They are much better to be used in other, less gentle ways.

One of your first words was "Chester" because you do love the dog.  The other day you were giving him drinks of your water from your cup.  You will stand and watch him run around the yard, all the while, yelling: "ched - er"

It is great joy for us to see your personality emerge as you grow and learn to express yourself.  You are dearly loved by all of us and we cannot wait to see what this next year holds!

El Bell is ONE!

Eliana (affectionately nicknamed, El Bell) turned ONE in September.  Jamie said it so well when he said, "sometimes I'm so amazed that we get to be her mom and dad."  She is a precious gift.  She is full of fire and spunk, love and kisses, laughter and fun.

Her favorite book is "You are My Sunshine" so we made her party about that and she loved it.  But she really loves life so she was beyond delighted at the party.  It seems like my kid's responses to their cake and the singing are perfectly reflective of their personalities.  Eliana saw that cake and heard the singing and started shrieking and waving her arms and diving at the cake.  Ready to dive in and thrilled at everyone's attention.

 This is my favorite picture - look at her smile!

 The grandparents

 Our friends, Curt and Shelley and Gregg and Sarah

 The customary donut cake on the day of her birthday

And Then There Were Two

School starts in the middle of August around here.  We walk to school every day, we have met countless neighborhood friends through the school, we volunteer there, and now we have two little boys going to school together.  Kindergarten and second grade.  

 Caleb and his rockstar teacher

 Do you see this?  Do you know what this is?  One of God's sweetest gifts that I thought was way to much to even hope for.  Carla and her family live less than one mile away from us and her kids go to the same school as my kids.  In this big city place my kids get to go to school with their cousins. 

Growing Things

Growing things is my thing.  It doesn't involve the pressure of making things look good and there is the amazing time when everything starts to grow.  Every year I am amazed when those tiny, tiny seeds that are planted out of sight produce sprouts of green that grow and make food.  My garden is very reflective of my personality, though.  Random.  I told Jamie one day (when the dog was driving  me crazy and the third person in one day had told me that my hands were certainly full): "this garden is a metaphor for my life: overgrown and slightly out of control."  He responded with: "True, but like your life, it's highly productive."  Isn't he a nice guy?  The garden was very very productive despite the fact that I probably planted three times too many plants for the given space.

 The bugs are crazy out near the garden.  So, I dress like an idiot and avoid bug bites.

 Absolutely nothing stayed inside the boundaries this year.