Our middle one.  He is getting big so fast.  He turns five in just two short months.  And I recognize and appreciate his fiercely independent spirit.  It is a beautiful thing to watch.  But he shakes off the hand I can only get him to hold when we cross the street three quarters of the way across.   I can’t walk this independent soul to his classroom on his tenuous second day of preschool. He did give me a fierce hug when I asked if it was okay and then his classroom assistant encouraged him into his room, let him open the big heavy door by his big, capable self and he disappeared into his own separate life for two and half hours. 

When I got back in the car, my last little one tearfully said “Mama, I want to go to preschool!”  I laughed.  It was funny…because she is never going to preschool.  Well she might, but I am sooo going with her.

getting ready

As the days have gotten shorter, the normal brother sister fighting has gotten farther and farther apart.
I have reminded Jack and Brayden all summer that they won’t get to be together during the week during the fall winter and spring, so make sure to spend the time loving each other and not fighting each other.  Charlotte is far to young to understand, but Jack remembers the separation from his brother and Brayden does too.
If they feel no sting of separation from mom (which thank the Lord Brayden does, he would tell me he missed me while he was at kindergarten), surely they feel the separation from each other.  And while growing up is so necessary and sweet, separation between these two brothers causes them some anxiety, and a bit of sadness.

 Jack gets quieter as the days the days get shorter.  He has another big separation coming up too and he is unsure and nervous about his own pre-school adventure.  I assure them that they will do wonderful and remind them to be gentle and kind and brave.  They already know everything they need to know to be good at school, now they just need to go.  And I remind myself of the same things as I plead with myself not to cry for the hundred and 18th time in the day.

And now the day is here and the preparations are over;  if we haven’t done it by now, it just isn’t going to happen, and they probably don’t need it anyway, much like the 32 glue sticks and 64 sharpened pencils we had to send to school.

silly mom

I love, so much, the times when Charlotte says

"Siw wy mam".

or

"Goo fey mam"

Makes my day.  :)

Getting ready for Christmas

Thinking about summer time today

We have a reader!

Well, it is official.

We have  a reader.

Brayden brought home his first book from kindergarten yesterday.  And then he read it to us!
It was awesome!  First we fought about the letter "I", because the printer wrote the letter so it looked like a lowercase "l" and we couldn't figure out how to get past that.  Since "I" was the first word, and it was a 10 minute struggle, we put the book away to try again later.

When we sat down together again, it was smooth sailing.  B had to remember not to just read me the letters, but to put them together to makes sounds.  It was amazing to watch and feel.  We are so proud of him.  He never backs down from a challenge these days (not even his mommy or daddy, eek!), and we can't wait to watch as his life unfolds.

It has also been fun to watch Charlotte learn new words.  She watches closely at how the word is formed in your mouth.  Then she thinks about it, studies it and slowly forms it over and over in her sweet little mouth, repeating it.  Today it was nnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!  Nnnaaappp.  ppp. pp.  Nap!

We have a reader!

Brayden has been growing by leaps and bounds at school.  He loves it.  And this is a big accomplishment...the first book he read all by himself.  Go BRAYDEN!!

Thanksgiving at our house!

We have had a crazy fall.

So we celebrated Thanksgiving at home with just us,

and a lot of food. :)

Sweet Jack's Fourth Birthday

Jack was so excited to turn four.

And the thing about Jack, the thing is-

he is rough and tough-

and super sweet.

He is kind and giving and he loves life.  He has the BEST laugh in the world.  

He takes such good care of his family.

And we love him to the moon and back.  Twice.  

Happy birthday sweet Jack.

s

Halloween: Superheros and fairy princesses

B's first school pictures

Aw!  The first one!  He is so cute.  :)

October

We picked apples and made sauce in October.  One of our favorite things to do together as a family.  :)

October was so beautiful we still had cucumbers and zucchini coming in with our apples!

And this little pumpkin,

well, 

she just couldn't get any cuter.

We also tried to foster some kittens.

Even with round the clock feedings, they didn't do very well.

We ended up taking Ginger to the Humane Society.  

But Ranger took them in like they were his own puppies.  

There was also a lot of baseball and leaves.  

Baseball, super heroes, and very well loved little sisters.  :)