Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for crazy bed head and baby smiles.

I'm thankful for my sweet, kind, and handsome little boy.

I'm thankful for sibling love

I'm thankful for my sweet, fearless little girl

And most of all, I'm thankful to call this my world...

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Monday Morning

It happened! That moment when all of your hard work comes to head in a few seconds. 

So I am going to brag on Bennett for a moment, if you don't mind...

I dropped him off at school just like every other morning. We pull up in the drop off lane. I hop out of the car and open his door. Our good-bye routine goes something like this...

Me: "love you"

B: "love you, too" (followed by quick hug and kiss)

M: "have fun and remember your morning manners."

B: "but not too much fun" as he is walks toward the building. 

Each morning the high school athletic director, Mr. S, greets the kids by the gym doors and helps them get to the correct place in the gym. Well, this morning wasn't any different, except as I began to pull away I noticed Mr. S had stopped Bennett as was talking to him. As I began to drive off, I watched and they were still chatting. I thought something may be wrong so I pulled out of the drop off lane and got out of the car. By this time Bennett had headed to the gym, but Mr. S saw me and probably knew I was concerned (by the way, I still hate dropping my 4 year old off at school. I swear I want to wait in the parking lot all day in case I'm needed. I don't and I wouldn't). Anyway, Mr. S popped his head out and said "your son has the best manners. He is so polite and pleasant. He greets me by name and says good morning everyday. I didn't know his name, so I stopped to talk to Bennett." 

YES!!! That moment, I had a mini party in my car, not because my child was polite, but because he is hearing me and listening!!!!! 

We have worked with Bennett on the importance of greeting people and greeting them by name. This has been a work in progress. He tends to be shy at first, but we are hoping to teach him some social graces that will instill confidence. 

What a way to start my week. It was the reminder I needed to keep going. Parenting is hard. A day doesn't go by where I don't pause and think this is challenging.  Keep going, they are listening. 

Let's Make A Deal

Yesterday, when I picked Bennett up from school, he was telling me all about the letter F that they are learning about. Words that begin with F, the sound letter F makes, how to write the letter F... You get the idea. He then said "my teacher asked each us of us to tell her a letter F word. So, guess what I told her??? I gave her the word fruit flies, because it has two F's. He was so excited that he had a "double F's."  And then, I told my teacher all about the fruit flies and bugs we have in our house..." 

About another three minutes into our drive home Bennett was sharing a story with me that he was telling the teacher. It went something like this...

"I told my teacher that when we have to sleep in the car..." 

Yep, that's right. In a matter of minutes, Bennett managed to tell his teacher that our house has fruit flies (I blame it on the organic produce) and we (mostly Charlotte and I) "nap" in the car. It took everything in my power to not email his teacher with a follow-up and justification on why we have an infestation (really, there were only a few) of fruit flies and why we nap in the car. 

I remember back-to-school night his teacher said "let's make a deal. I'll believe half of what they share, if you will believe half of what they tell you about school." Teacher, We. Have. A. Deal!!!! 

And proof, that there is some napping in the car :) 

Happy 10 Months

This little lady is 10 months old. Well, I can officially say her first birthday has been in the works for a few months. I'm very excited to celebrate this past year. 

Happy 10 months, Charlotte! 

Weekly Wrap-Up

1)

This little girl got her first tooth. It's so little, so sweet and so sharp. Ouch! It is a razor. With the arrival of that little, white tooth, she has been wanting to eat everything. At dinner the other day she ate a meatball. She loves, loves food (she comes by it honestly). 

2) 

We surprised Bennett with a special treat. Graham told him and I snapped this picture. I love his smile. It's so real and do genuine.

3) 

We can have a lot of fun doing nothing. Trying to snap a family picture, I'm not entirely sure what happened in the last photo. 

4)

This is the state of our living room and well, every room in the house, for that matter. I'll take it! It means I have happy, playful kiddos. 

5) 

Bennett has a major obsession the Legos. He wakes up early to play Legos and simply can't get enough of them. These were two of his latest creations. The creation was a car. Engine, spoiler, dashboard and all. The bottom is a rocket. Still in the works, but its off to a great start. Bennett can take almost any set, read the instructions and build it. He is now to the point of creating his own planes, cars, rockets, helicopters, etc... You get the idea. It Lego-madness here. 

Stay tuned... We surprised Bennett with a trip to LegoLand. 

Speechless

Bennett: Where did you learn to cook? 

Me: A lot of different places

Bennett: Like your mom? Could she make frosting, too?

Me: Yep, I learned a lot (of cooking) from my mom.

Bennett: Oh, what was her name again?

Me: Alice

Bennett: that's a really pretty name. Was she pretty like you? Do you think she would like me? Will you tell me all about her someday?

Weekly Recap

1) Seriously, why did it take me so long to figure out feeding my child with just a diaper on produces a lot (A LOT) less laundry!

2) The signature Charlotte head tilt! You say Charlotte and she tilts her head to the right. Sort of concerned me at first, but now it's kind of her thing.

3) After desperately trying to get Charlotte to nap (or even just sleep) this week, she feel asleep in the car. Trying not to disturb her sleep, Bennett and I drove up to Eagle Creek, laid down a blanket and watched boats in the beautiful fall weather. We talked about which boats were racing, which had pirates and which were stuck out at sea, surrounded by crocodiles! 

I really hope this boy is always so easy-going! 

4) Bennett had his award dinner for soccer. A Pizza Party (need I say more)!!! This kid was so excited about this pizza party. What a great season this little guy had! 

5) What a week!!! I didn't get an opportunity to post about finding the positives this week, feeling grateful or even keeping perspective. I had plenty of opportunities and situations to do so, though. Perhaps, packing a pillow and blanket for the car to nap is a situation where I was just so grateful to nap for 45 mins. Or that so many dear friends were on fall break and being able to enjoy some precious moments with them. Or hearing some much need words of advice. Perspective is what kept me sane this week!

Happy Weekend! This weekend is shaping up to be a fun, fall themed weekend!

Will he let me kiss on him forever?

Daddy's girl!