Kent's Thanksgiving Play

Kent is having a great time in Kindergarten. He really likes his teachers, PE and computer class. Art is fun too, but it might just not be his very favorite class...unimaginable, I know! I'm still shaking my head. I think his very favorite subject is math and his reading is going very well too.

While Kent's scholastic progress is going relatively smoothly, we have definitely had some behavior surprises. Kent, it turns out, is quite the rule follower (not unlike his mother, by the way- I mean what are rules for if not to be followed? Hello!). He is such a rule follower that he really gets upset if someone else does not follow the rules. I mean REALLY upset. It might just be a control thing (quite unlike his mother. Definitely unlike his mother!) When Kent sees someone else not doing what the teacher says, he has no problem going right over to that individual and taking matters right into his own hands. Most of our conversations go a little like this, please note-names have been changed to protect the not so innocent.

"Kent, why did you push/pinch/yell at Stephen?"

"Well...the teacher told him to go line up and he didn't go line up."

"And you thought that it was ok to push/pinch/yell at Stephen for not lining up?"

"Well...I was just trying to make him line up!"

Pete and I were very surprised when this happened the first (and second, and third) time, because he has never acted like this at church or with his friends. And teachers' kids are supposed to be the most well behaved, right? Apparently, it wasn't as terrible as I originally thought it was and his teacher assures me that Kindergarten is all about learning those social boundaries.

One of my favorite days this year so far was seeing Kent and about 100 other Kindergartners in their Thanksgiving play. All six kindergarten classes at Kent's school got together to perform a bunch of turkey and thankfulness themed songs. We didn't get a photo of all six classes together as Kent was in the back row and we kept trying to get close up photos of him. Here is a photo of Kent with his class.

Kent was a Pilgrim Man and as you can see, the other students were Pilgrim Women, Indian Men and Women, Turkeys and Corn. All I can tell you is that it was all just too cute. One of the students read a long poem and every time she would name one of the costumes the kids would say something. When she said Pilgrim Men then all the boys dressed as that would say, "Bang Bang!" The cutest was when she would say Pilgrim Women and the little girls would put their hands on their faces like they were shocked and they would all say, "Mercy Me!" ADORABLE.

My mom came to see the play too! Cohen was mildly interested.

  

Blane from Pretty in Pink was also there!

And here he is, the CUTEST pilgrim ever!!!!

Cohen these days.

I wanted to post a little update on our youngest little guy. Cohen has really gotten big since he turned two; he is three feet tall and almost thirty pounds! With personality to spare, Cohen always keeps us laughing. My mom says he has quite the temper, (which he does), but he's just so cute- how can I get mad?
 
One of Cohen's favorite things to do is drag out ALL of our shoes out of the closet as he tries each pair on and walks in them around the house...for hours. He loves shoes, but hates socks. I cannot keep socks on the kid- he really doesn't even like footy pajamas. He says that he wants to see his toes. Maybe he thinks they will disapear? Here he is in his many jaunts around the house in our shoes.

Cohen had a great time at his little birthday party. I say little because I was so stressed that we had a family only party and it was quite little, which was just fine. Cohen loves whatever his brother loves, so this year it is all Toy Story. Cohen carries Kent's Woody doll around everywhere. I think Kent realized how much his brother likes Toy Story so he wrote Cohen's name on the bottom of one of Woody's boots and put his name on the bottom of the other boot. Woody is VERY well loved.

Cohen blew out his candles so quickly and efficiently, we all missed it and had to re-light them and have him do it again! Of course neither of my boys had any birthday cake, no matter how much I tried to convince them sugary things taste good!

Cohen is also pretty sneaky. He is always up to something. Last weekend we were cleaning out the boys closets and put all the bubbles and chalk next to the basement door to take downstairs. I should have known that leaving these things there would be a bad idea as Cohen is known for taking things and moving them around the house. You can't find your keys? Check Cohen's pelican toy in his room, it could be in there. Or, maybe in Cohen's shoe in his closet, or under his booster seat in the kitchen. He is a master hider. I was actually thinking about Cohen and his sneaky ways when I realized he had been kinda quiet for a while. Any mom knows that silence is a recipe for disaster if you have kids. Just as I was going back to his room to see what he could have gotten into, I heard the hall bathroom door close. When I tried the doorknob, it was locked. Good thing I put that little key they give you when you replace your doorknobs in a safe place. I had that door opened in no time and this is what I found...

Sneaky Cohen had taken ALL the bubbles and chalk and set it up in the bathroom and shut and LOCKED the door. I can only imagine the mess I might have found if I hadn't known exactly where that little key was!

Cohen's all time favorite accessory is his paci. He loves his paci and ONLY his paci. Of course the pacifier he likes is discontinued and cannot be found anywhere anymore. His little friend Annie gave him her pink one in this brand since she never liked it and has her own favorite brand (which is also discontinued, by the way). Of course, the pink one is his favorite. Here you can see just how much he loves his nu-nu. (He came up with that himself. It was one of his first words and when we corrected him saying paci, he replied "no, my nu-nu!"

Cohen is also growing a head full of curly hair. Well maybe not a head full, but some curls in the back. He does have much lighter hair than Kent as well. Hopefully all those curls will come back after his first haircut.

Can you resist those eyes and cheeks!?! I can't!

Happy Halloween!

It was really hard to get a good picture of the boys in their costumes. Here's what I got. Woody and Superman wish you a fun Halloween!

We headed over to church for the annual Fall Festival. The boys had a great time. One of the first things we did was go on a hayride. Pete decided at the last minute that he had to go put Cohen's bag in the car. He made it back just in time to snap this picture. Apparently, something very interesting was happening off camera that I didn't know about... Pete decided there wasn't enough room for him and sat the hayride out. I don't think he minded too much.

We played games, jumped in the jumpies, ate snowcones and saw old friends. Many of the friends we hadn't seen in a while did not recognize Pete with his lock flowing locks. He has grown his hair out quite a bit. I'm now referring to him as Goldilocks and I encourage everyone to embrace this new nickname.

Cohen loved his snowcone, and mine, and Pete's. He did not love me trying to take pictures of his cute moustache. This is the best one I got.

Here is Kent with another one of his superfriends. They had fun posing together and were pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

Pete kept trying to get Kent to pose like Superman with his hands on his hips and looking off in the distance. He did it, but my camera snapped a little late. You know, that irritating delay that happens with digital cameras. His eyes were blinking, but you get the idea.

We hope you all have a Super Halloween, full of treats and no tricks. Just candy and definitely no snakes in your boot!

Drat!

Well, I've talked before about the crazy weather we have been having lately. This week was very strange. Lots and lots of rain after being dry for soooo long. Not only wet, but also HOT and muggy. I think it got  to 80 one or two days and there was one evening I was out around 10 pm and it was still in the mid 70's. Yuck-o. Especially yuck-o for our pumpkin family. This is what they looked like just a few days later!!!

A very mushy and hairy pumpkin family.

Carving Pumpkins

After the pumpkin patch, we immediately came home and carved our pumpkins. Pete and I chose "different" pumpkins. Pete said he wanted a multicultural pumpkin family. This was the first year that we carved pumpkins in I don't know how long. Definitely the first year for Kent. He absolutely loved it, of course. Here he is lifting the lid off his pumpkin.

The inside of my pumpkin was kind of a surprise. It was pale yellow inside and very spongy. Not slimy at all.



With the inside of my pumpkin being kind of a surprise. We all tried to guess what Pete's pumpkin would look like inside. His pumpkin was a dark, dull green on the outside...

But, when we opened it, it was bright orange inside! The rind was also really thick.

Pete carved his pumpkin as well as Kent's and the cat's. I carved my pumpkin and Cohen's pumpkin. Here is a blurry camera phone shot of our lovely pumpkin family. Top Row- Laura and Kent, Bottom Row- Pete, Patches (cat) and Cohen.

Pumpkins

Here are some of the photos from this year's pumpkin patch expedition. I saw two of the cutest scarecrows ever.

Cohen was enjoying all the little pumpkins. He said he was counting them, but all he kept saying was nine, nine, nine. We'll have to work on that some more. On second thought, maybe he is just speaking German. I mean, he says no all the time and I kept telling him to look at the camera.

Lining them up. Still saying nine, nine, nine, still refusing to look at the camera. You be the judge.

Here is Kent before we told him he could only have one pumpkin.

Here is Cohen after he found out about the one pumpkin rule. Why am I smiling when Cohen has the tears going? I guess I must be a mean momma...or ready for the photo op.

Pete took this photo that I love. I do wish Pete was in some of these. He was there!

Where are we, who am I and what are we doing???

It was a lovely weekend in Georgia. Pete and I have been traveling so much lately (for us) it was really nice to enjoy a quiet weekend at home. I'm extremely behind with posting in general, but especially behind with our travel posts. I mean I haven't even finished with the Europe trip and we've been to Arkansas, Washington DC and New Orleans since then. YIKES! I guess it will all happen soon enough. That's what I keep telling myself anyway...back to this weekend. On Saturday, we took the kids to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. It was a beautiful day here, but it would be a lie to say that I didn't wish it was a tad cooler. I'm just saying, I am done with 80 degree weather, at least for a long while. Ask me again when I'm shivering in January, daydreaming about the heat, heat, heat of a Georgia summer day. Fantasizing about the feeling when you get in your car and the hot air just hits you like a wall and your leather seats are burning you through your clothes. I know, the memory is only good in the dead of winter and the reality is definitley not good at the end of October people!!!

Do you ever feel like everything going on in life just leaves your head spinning? Well, I have decided that I don't like that feeling and from now on I will be still and just let the world spin around me. I have had a pretty introspective couple of months and all that thinking just might make its way into written form here from time to time. I hope you all don't mind. The changes in season always make me want to make changes in my life. I like writing very much and plan on making use of that hobby because when it comes down to it, I need a hobby! Something I like to do things that are fun and do not involve working or cleaning or folding. Now this is hard for me, because I am known to work all evening and then stay up into the wee hours cleaning just to get things done. It took me a while, but I've realized that that is not fun and I don't really want to do that anymore. I want to have more fun.

I know only three of you will probably respond, but what are your hobbies? What do you make time to do for yourself, to keep yourself sane in your crazy, faster than lightening paced life? Let me know and I hope to be seeing you on a more regular basis.

Marriage

Kent is very concerned about marriage. He asks who he is going to marry all the time. The conversation usually starts out with questions about why he can't marry his brother.

"Mom, are you SURE I can't marry Cohen?"

"Yes honey, I am very sure you can't marry Cohen"

Then he discusses who he might marry. Sometimes he thinks it will be his friend Abby. Sometimes he thinks it will be his other friend Lauren. He told Pete this morning, "(Sigh) there's just so many girls to choose from!" He cracks me up! I keep assuring him that he really doesn't need to decide this now, but he keeps asking me when, WHEN. So, today I gave him a deadline. I let him know that people do not decide who they are going to marry till they are in college. That stopped the questions for a few minutes. Then he responded, "Mommy, if I marry Lauren, then she will have to leave her family and move in with us." I let him know that he would probably move out when he gets married, because married people like to live in their own houses. He completely freaked out saying, "Mommy, I don't EVER want to move out of our house!

I hope he always feels this way! I told him that he could live with me as long as he wanted it was all smiles again.

First Day of School

Thursday was Kent and my first day of school! I love the beginning of school. While many parents dread this day, I love the first day of school. I guess that is good since I have been going to a school every single year of my life since I started preschool. Seriously. I love the structure of school, a set schedule, new supplies, rules that are followed, lunch at the same time everyday...made for me, even! Someone else even cleans my room each afternoon. Don't get me wrong, my love of the beginning of school does wane some, somewhere around faculty meetings, grading piles of work, morning detentions, computing data... you get the picture.

I have been so excited for Kent to start school. Of course he has too. Every day this summer he asked if it was time to go to his new school. All he talks about are all the science projects that he wants to do. When Thursday finally came, we all woke up early for the big day, got ready and loaded ALL of our bags into the car. Pete and Kent headed out to his school and Cohen and I followed behind. We were all there to walk him to class and say goodbye. His teacher even emailed us halfway through the day to let us know how great of a day he was having. In the afternoon, Kent rode the bus home to my Mom's house where Pete and Mom were waiting for him at the bus stop. Pete said he was so excited to ride the bus and he had a huge smile on his face. We still haven't been able to get too many details from him about how school is going. He says he likes it, has not done any science projects yet, but the bus is great! If I try to ask anything too specific, he just responds with, "I don't remember!" We all love his teacher so far and the school nurse says that he has a big smile on his face every time she sees him. He even asked why we couln't go to school today, which is Saturday. Hopefully he will feel the same in ten years when he's fifteen!?!

A great day all around! 

Summer Pictures

My good friend Elizabeth took these for us. Check her out at elizabethduvallphotography.blogspot.com.

Life of the Party

Cohen saw a different use for the cones that were marking the race track at a friend's birthday party.

Pizza Time

Kent has been begging for pizza forever. I still don't have the dairy free cheese yet (it's like 20 bucks!!!) so we made it without. Can we still really call it pizza? I ordered the crust from an online grocery store that I sometime get things for Kent from- when I'm feeling wealthy...this little pizza crust cost $6 plus shipping! Thank goodness he can have regular pizza sauce and pepperoni. I just kept wondering if he was really going to eat it. He did try a pepperoni before the pizza went in the oven and said it was really spicy. I should have seen the forshadowing...

Cohen ate half the bag, no problem. Here you see him tearing into some salami.

The finished pie.

And the verdict...

He likes it.

Well, not so fast. By the third bite, Kent had decided that it was just ok and he didn't want anymore. Oh well. I really don't know if I can blame him. You should have smelled that thing cooking. No cheese, rice flour pizza crust = BLECH!!!!

Europe- On the way to London part 2

After leaving all things Shakespearean, we continued on our journey to London. We stopped in the afternoon in Oxford.

Oxford is really unique. It really is a college town. I can't remember exactly how many schools are in Oxford besides, well Oxford, but there are a lot of them. The city itself is a medieval town full of Gothic architecture. Every corner you turn is another place where part of a Harry Potter movie was filmed and many famous people have lived, taught or gone to school in Oxford. Some of the names I remember are Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

We walked into a little square courtyard inside a group of buildings. Apparently it was the entrance to all of Oxford's libraries. There were doors everywhere you looked leading to different libraries covering all topics- religion, philosophy, science, math, etc... You have to be really quiet in the square, whispering only. We didn't go in to any of the libraries, but you have seen at least one of them in one of the Harry Potter movies. I meant to take some pictures of the square, but I spent most of my time sitting on the ground trying to get a picture of this cool facade.

We didn't stay for long, just a couple of hours. We did go on a walking tour of the city, shopped, watched street performers, got lost in the crowds, and waited for a really, really long time in line for milkshakes. I got a ferrero roche milkshake and Pete got one called a jammie dodger. It was strawberry jam and biscuit flavored. Kind of like strawberry shortcake. Here is a cool shot of the street performer that one of my students got. I seriously was terrified he was going to light someone on fire!

Apparently it was some kind of holiday and there was a race of some kind, so it was CROWDED. We had to maneuver our way through the crowd to get back to the bus. Thankfully everyone was late so we weren't to blame...this time.