Weekend Update

 

We had a relaxing weekend at home.  Carter and Ava have persistent colds right now, it feels like they just got better and here we are again with the runny noses and coughs.  So we did a little work around the house, ran some errands and just hung out.

 

 

 

We also took the kids on a bike ride.  We made it 1.7 miles according to runtastic, so we have a looooong way to go to get them ready for Cade's Cove! 

 

Poor Ava girl is always sweet, but she is particularly clingy when she doesn't feel well.  I have to say it's nice to have my little shadow following me around. 

 

The kids watched the blimp fly over our neighborhood, it must have been going down for the Ohio State game.  I must say the weather on Saturday was gorgeous!  I would have rather been doing ANYTHING outside but pulling weeds and trimming hedges.  Being a grown-up stinks at times!  I understand that gardening is a hobby for some people, then it is worth it for them to invest the time and money into extensive landscaping.  But I do not have the time nor the money nor the interest to do so.  I already have plans on downsizing the beds around our house.  Everything is just out of control and it looks like a jungle out back!

 

Mike walked into the playroom and Dawson nonchalantly replied "Hi Daddy."  Like it was no big deal, he hangs out under the train table every day!

 

To get the kids interested we looked at our pictures from Gatlinburg, and I thought everyone was on board.  Later Dawson told me " I don't want go there.  It's boring.  There's no trains!"  So after a little googling I showed him pictures of the "sky train" at Ober Gatlinburg.  It seems to be making him happy for the moment!

 

Quiet but restful and fun weekend!

Kindermusik

 

These year all three kiddos are taking kindermusik classes.  Carter has mentioned several times how much he enjoys them and has mentioned several times he will do it for as long as he can.  Ava is also enthralled and wants to play the trombone when she gets older.  Dawson is also taking a toddler music class.  He wants to play the drums, and with these fancy moves I totally believe it!

 

 

While Carter is in his class Ava and Dawson play with me.  Purple baby decided to join us on this particular day and I had to laugh.  Purple baby needed to hear the book and of course sit at the table and enjoy a cheerio snack.

 

Love our Roo, and purple baby too!

 

School Matters

Oh, my sweet handsome Carter boy.  To put it bluntly, kindergarten is bringing out the worst in you.  Not at school of course, you are on your best behavior there.  But at home we have struggled on and off with grumpiness after school.  Yes, you are tired.  Yes, you have been on your best behavior all day and need to let off some steam.  Yes, you have been cooperating with kids all day long and need a break.  But as your Momma, it is hard to watch you be flat out plain rude, mean and nasty to your family.  It is NOT my boy.  This doesn't happen every day but when it flairs up, it's pretty dramatic.  Today you ran over Dawson's foot with your bicycle (I watched the entire episode happen, you went out of your way to hurt him) and then threw chalk at Ava.  This all happened in about a ten minute span.  You were literally in tears four times in twenty minutes because the other two were not listening to you.  GRRRR.  Eventually, we started cleaning up the toy room and you were in tears crying and crying because you didn't want to help and it's not fair (you DID help make the mess.)  I finally couldn't stand it and told you to go to your room.  You threw a terrible fit, screaming and crying.  You did stay in your room but got so worked up you started coughing and wretching.  It makes me so sad to even think about it.  So where are we going from here?  An earlier bed time for sure.  We have three swimming classes left and we aren't going to sign you up for anymore (the day after swimming class has typically been the worst.)  Keeping the weekends as free as possible so you can rest up.  I've been told that this should improve by mid-October and I'm hoping that is true.

It's funny how quickly peer pressure kicks in.  The second week of school Carter kept complaining that his shoes were too dirty.  I was a little dumbfounded, but I wiped them down and sent him on his way.  The next day he was crying that someone told him his shoes were dirty and that he needed to have separate shoes for school and play.  WHAT!?!?!  His shoes really look pretty good, they were brand new in June.  Shortly after this he was complaining that his shoes didn't fit.  I realized his shoes fit fine, he just wanted to go and buy new shoes.  It just breaks my heart that you are so upset about kids making fun of your shoes.

Obviously I'm focusing on the negative here, there are many positive aspects to kindergarten.  I was able to volunteer in your classroom today and it was wonderful.  I loved watching you before you realized that I was there.  You were watching the teacher, answering questions and working so hard.  I liked meeting your new little friends and doing an activity with them.  I love you so much Carter boy, and I really hope that as the year progresses these outbursts decrease. 

Our Avaroo

 

Ava's outfit of choice:

pink, brown and orange tights

blue white and brown dress

pink purple and aqua coat

 

 

Ava has a funny habit of narrating a story, but the funny part is that the listener was there for the story!  For example, Dawson mentioned wanting to eat a book.  Ava looked at me and said "Dawson said he wanted to eat a book.  But I said ew that's gross."  Silly Ava I was right there when he said it!

 

 

This girl is a CUDDLER!  I'm very sorry that momma is not a huge cuddler but every night before bed we lay together and snuggle.  It really is the highlight of my day.  We read together, say our prayers and every single night she tells me she is thankful for her mom.  She has no idea that I'm the thankful one to have my sweet little girl.

 

As Bo and Grandma noticed while they were here caring for the kiddos for the week, you are a touch bit sloppy in the eating department.  Who am I kidding?  Dawson is generally neater than you!  But you are very good at getting your small broom and dustpan and cleaning up the floor under your chair when asked.

 

Yesterday I was gone for the day to visit friends and Daddy took care of our three.  He reported that Ava became the "mommy" figure while I was gone.  She made sure that prayers were said, and that nobody was drinking more than one cup of milk at dinner time.  When Dawson had his daily constitutional she jumped up to make a big deal over this and gave him words of praise.

 

Ava, you really are such a special part of my life.  My girlie is sweet, silly and so generous.  Love you!  

Daring Dawson

One word:  Dawson.  This kid has his own brand of crazy that makes my head spin.  Here are a couple of little stories about him lately:

• This week I was perusing the clearance school supplies and we walked past the Halloween costumes.  Dawson looked over and said "I will be a hot dog."  Sure enough, there was a hot dog costume for kids.  He has been talking nonstop about becoming a "hot dog dressed like a Dawson."  He has also repeatedly told Mike and I "make sure to put ketchup and mustard on me." 
• It is scary how much he has learned about driving/traffic signals.  He will yell at me to "STOP" when I'm turning right on red.  I have to explain to him that you are allowed to turn right on red.  One day I was waiting to turn left at a green light and he was yelling at me to "go!"  I had to explain about yielding to those going straight.  I also had to explain about stopping at the white line at a red light, because he wants me to stop immediately when he sees the red light, even if I'm a hundred feet away from the intersection.  I told Mike that he is planning for the day when he is going to get ahold of car keys and go for a joy ride.  In his little brain he going to be driving any day now!
• Today I came up to give him a cuddle and a hug and he looked at me and said "I cut you."  Then proceeded to pretend to cut off my ear.  I really feel the love around here.

 

Today we took a wander around the McKinley museum.  Carter and I went to a planetarium show, he was enthralled.  I can't wait until everyone is 5 and we can go as a family. 



 

 

Bike Pictures and a weekly recap

 

Lately the kids have been interested in nothing but riding their bikes.  We have a path that we regularly take through our neighborhood that has the smallest hills and thus the greatest chance for success.  Over the course of the summer the kids have improved so much! 

 

 

At the beginning of the summer she could barely get up some of the bigger hills and we would have to push her the entire way.  Now she is stronger and has improved so that she does not need any help the entire way.  Way to go Roo!

 

Tomorrow the plan is to take a long bike ride to build their stamina.  They are in training for Cade's Cove 2014!

 

Dawson goes back and forth between running after his brother and sister, riding his train, or riding the red tricycle. 

 

There's our crazy Roo face!

 

Now that summer is over we are hitting the reading hard with this little one.  She is picking it up so easily, we have another fantastic reader on our hands!

 

This handsome face.  Love it.

 

We've been working with him on riding without training wheels.  It usually goes something like this:  he has two or three successful rides until he crashes.  Then he cries about how much he hates his bike and never wants to ride it again.  He is on Carter's learning curve which means one day he will just take off perfectly on his bike and never look back.

 

I couldn't get a picture of him that wasn't blurry!

 

So I must document this funny little quirk of our boy that may be embarrassing to him in the future.  After seeing his father and big brother use the restroom, he has decided he wants to use the toilet just like them.  The problem is, he isn't tall enough to go standing up.  Instead he climbs up onto the toilet and sits backward with his head facing the tank.  We call it riding the horse, and sitting forward is riding the train.  Crazy kid.

 

We've had such a busy week again, but I'm glad to be back in routine and consistency again.  Ava is loving her new gymnastics class, I'll definitely bring my camera to take pictures next week.  Carter is really getting into kindermusik, he told us this week he wants to do it for a long time, maybe a budding musician?  Dawson is the biggest helper (at least he really wants to be!)  He loves to throw things in the trash, help with jobs like unloading the car, push the code into the garage keypad and open/close the garage door.  He also loves to help in the kitchen.  Love our sweet guy!

 

 

Donald Crews

 

Dawson and Donald Crews enjoying breakfast together

 

Meme, Dawson has been enjoying his stuffed animal fish that you picked out for him.  He has decided to name it Donald Crews.  Sound familiar?  Well, Donald Crews is one of Dawson's favorite authors from Freight Train and School Bus fame.  These books are read over and over and over........and I guess Dawson decided that he deserved to have a stuffed fish namesake.  I just find this hilarious!

Good-bye Tooth!

 

Carter has had a loose tooth for about a month now.  I've showed him how to wiggle it and jiggle it, but this little guy was not doing anything to help it out of his mouth.  I really thought that while I was gone on the cruise it would pop out, but nope.  Selfishly I was happy that it stayed in his mouth.  Finally, on Saturday I said to Carter "you know you could have tooth fairy money tonight!  You just have to let me try to wiggle it."

 

To the surprise of Mike and I he said "ok."  I used a tissue and all I had to do was touch it and the tooth fell out in my hand.  No pain and so much excitement over the missing tooth! 

 

The tooth fairy came the very same night and brought two dollars.  Success!

 

Now the tooth fairy has only one question.  What is supposed to happen to the lost tooth? 

September Pictures and Stories

The beginning of September was crazy and busy, I barely had time to keep the house clean while taking care of the kids and getting ready to go on our cruise.  So here are some of the pictures/stories from the beginning of September:

 

 

Ava went to the dentist for the first time.  Yes, I know she should have gone a long time ago.  Fortunately eating as little sugar as possible in our daily lives has another benefit, both kids have beautifully clean teeth.  The dentist was very complimentary and said that he wished all kids had such clean teeth!  Ava did wonderful during the exam.  She sat still and let the hygienist clean her teeth with no issues at all. 

 

I caught Dawson and Ava trying to "sleep" on this bookshelf.  Ava was on the bottom and Dawson got on the middle shelf.  I got him down immediately, it's not a high quality bookshelf that could hold that much weight, but I had to take a picture of Ava.  It reminds me of Margie and I playing boat on our old white shelf.  I'm pretty sure we busted out the drawers in it.

 

Ava LOVES fire soup.  I've been making tomato soup like crazy to use all the tomatoes from our garden, and she loves to help.

 

We also made it back to the Akron zoo.  Here are the kids in front of the Grizzly Ridge Statue.  Ava was cuddling the baby bears.

 

Dawson and I on our hike today

 

I'm very proud to report that Dawson has mastered both functions of potty training!  Thank you once again to Grandma and Bo for helping out while we were on the cruise and working with him.  Officially we have no one in diapers during the day now, only the night!

Cruising!

We just returned from a wonderful cruise with the Labbett/Chester side of the family.  Thank you to Grandma and Bo who wonderfully handled these three crazies and their myriad of classes, parties, preschool and playing responsibilities.  The kids did miss us of course, and hearing Ava crying on the phone about missing us was a little traumatic.  We all made it through the week and had a great time, but seeing Ava run to me at the airport for the longest hug/snuggle was the best.  Dawson also gave me a long hug.  Carter on the other hand, very nonchalantly said "hi Mom and Dad."  Funny kid.

 

 

 

 

Anyways, pictures of our cruise.  Mike was going to be all over that shuffleboard.  But we didn't play once, I didn't see anyone play at all!

 

The (cess) pool

 

This was taken when we first got on the cruise around 11:30 and the ship didn't depart until 4.

 

Our first stop was in Key West.  Mike and I checked out the beach, and he snorkeled.  I swam and read, relaxed and maybe even slept a little.  This picture is on top of Fort Zachary.

 

 

 

Fort Zachary is a little underwhelming after visiting the Castillo this summer.

 

But the very very very BEST part of the trip was our excursion in Cozumel.  Paddle Boarding and Snorkeling was THE highlight of our trip.

 

We paddle boarded for about an hour.  There were six people in our excursion and we were all up and standing within fifteen minutes in the water, not too bad!  Mike took a crash and burn approach and fell about five times.  I was a little more cautious and only fell twice. 

 

I felt like yoga really helped my paddle boarding skills, because it is all about balance.  I can't tell you how amazingly gorgeous it was.  It was an overcast day and it drizzled a little bit while we were there.  But the water was absolutely crystal clear and we could see all the way to the bottom at least ten feet or more.

 

At the end of paddle boarding, we saw dolphins about fifty feet out.  We tried to approach them, but they swam off. 

 

I don't have any pictures of snorkeling, but it was gorgeous.  They feed the fish, so as soon as you jump in the water the fish come looking for food.  I've never been surrounded by so many fish in my life!  Mike and I love snorkeling so we were free diving and trying to get to the bottom.  We saw so many different kinds of fish, a sting ray, sand crab and I held a sea urchin.  We had a blast and are already dreaming of our next vacation to Cozumel!

 

We also indulged in the most delicious plate of nachos I've ever had in my entire life!

 

Happy Birthday Sara (on Monday)

Happy Birthday Bridget and Riley (on Friday)

 

Everyone:

 

Bridget, Margie, Riley, Bob Bob, Meme, Mike, Tracey, Aunt Jeanne, Aunt Patty, Patrick, Sara and Brendan

 

Mike had a stare down with a brontosaurus.

 

Our verdict?  I don't think cruising is our type of vacation, but I loved spending time with our family, getting to enjoy the beach and celebrating my sister's accomplishment!