No training wheels!

It was a big BIG BIG day around here! Kayla learned to ride her bike without training wheels! Go Kayla! Woooooooohoo!

Okay, summer can officially end now. That was quick. That was easy. There she goes. And that's that.

 We paused during our bike ride to admire a cute little (actually, they're not so little) praying mantis on the side of the street

We had a goal this summer and it was to have Kayla learn to ride her bike without training wheels. She was willing and ready to learn, but to be fair to her, we just didn't commit the time she needed to learn this new skill.  I was not going to put away bikes yet until we put in our time running up and down the street, helping her balance on two wheels. So here we are, summer is gone and fall is here; and I've been feeling bad about not reaching our goal yet. We wanted to pull out bikes next spring and be ready to go with no training wheels!

Fortunately we have had BEAUTIFUL fall weather this past week, including this weekend. I told Kayla 'Today is the day'. She got a wrench off Daddy's workbench and took off her training wheels (she's practiced before), geared up in pads and a helmet, and off we went down the street. After five minutes of me running behind her she asked me to not touch her bike anymore. I took my hands off her bike and haven't touched it since. The rest is history.

Despite this highlight, it has been a very rough weekend for our family. On Thursday, Aaron and I spent the day in the hospital for his hernia surgery. This is an intense, rough, hard surgery and recovery; we were not prepared. Come Saturday, we realized that the over-the-counter medicine we had been giving Kayla for her week-long cough was not working; our trip to the walk-in clinic revealed she had a double ear infection. Whoa, that came out of nowhere! Then we thought that Khloe's similar coughing symptoms might be a sign of the same diagnosis, so on Sunday I went back to the walk-in clinic with Khloe (thankfully there was no ear infection). To sum up, this has not been an enjoyable weekend for anyone: Aaron is immobile and in pain day and night; Kayla and Khloe are fighting terrible allergies, and I spent the last three out of four days in doctor's offices with three different patients. I learned two things this weekend: A) I was not cut-out to be a nurse, and B) I was not cut-out to be a single mom. I have had to play both these roles this weekend, but thank goodness I am neither of these full-time! Please pray for speedy healing and recovery for everyone here! We need our "normal" back!

Soooo, Kayla's accomplishment was a ray of light in our otherwise dark weekend. She literally learned how to ride without training wheels in five minutes with a double ear infection. Aaron and I just stand in the driveway watching her ride back and forth in the street, laughing, amazed, proud.She is allowed to ride to Asia's driveway to the left and down to Sophie's driveway to the right. She seems so big riding independently in the street, yet seeing her ride away from us makes her look so small. It all happened so fast!

Despite the challenges we faced this weekend - and will continue to face this coming week - there are still many things to be thankful for. We are thankful for caring, skilled doctors and nurses, modern medicine, nearby friends and family for hands-on help, warm fall weather, and bikes without training wheels!

We're in awe with you Kayla! Great job!

Field Trip!

It was my... er, ummmm.... Kayla's first field trip! The three Kindergarten classes at Michigamme visited  McCallum's Apple Orchard today. I don't know if Kayla was more excited than me, or if I was more excited than her!

Melissa, Khloe and I met Addison and Kayla at school at 11am for their lunch, with a special lunch treat - McDonald's! We got a peek into what lunch is like for 90 Kindergarteners! The conversations, the kids, the lunches, everything... it was very fun to sit with them in the cafeteria. After lunch the kids boarded the buses to go to the orchard. Kayla was SOOOO excited for the bus ride. The bus could've drove in circles around town for 30 minutes and that probably would've been field-trip enough for her. Khloe and I rode by car and met them at the orchard.

Unfortunately, 90% Michigan's apple crop was wiped out this spring by a late spring freeze; in fact it hurt much of Michigan's economy in fruit production this year. So we went to the apple orchard to pick - not apples - but pumpkins. In the history of McCallum's Orchard they have never not had apples to pick. They, like all orchards in Michigan, have had to ship their apples in from other states for people to buy. A bag of apples? $15! We stuck to donuts. We got a hayride, picked pumpkins, ate donuts and cider, and played on the playground.

Addie, Kayla and Makenzie

We couldn't have asked for better weather! Beautiful blue skies, sun and high 60'! When's the next field trip?! Sign me up!

Two of Kayla's classmates, identical twins Madison (above) and Marissa (below) Raymo, could not keep their hands and eyes off of Khloe the entire time. They were such great little babysitters!

 Marissa, Kayla and Khloe

Driveway Art

Goodness! I just stumbled across these pictures. This was one of my favorite summer nights which was now a few weeks ago of course. I'm playing catch-up here!

We have one of those rolls of white paper in our basement that's 300 feet long by 3 feet wide. It makes a great table covering when you want kids to be entertained for a week by drawing on the table (like those restaurants that let you draw on the table with crayons) or for rolling out on the driveway for big art projects. We like to do both often. And, I just discovered a fun project to do with this paper and fall leaves which we will be trying too!

This particular afternoon we were in the driveway tracing our bodies for life-size art pieces!

First, and most importantly, all outdoor summer projects must start with what our family likes to call around here "A special drink". All special occasions call for a Special Drink. Mommy has her hard lemonade and Kayla has her grape juice/7-Up in her special glass (aka wine glass). We're ready to begin our project!

The Artist

 We are re-creating Kayla in her Ariel bathing suit.

 Like 1,000% of the time, Khloe is running through the sprinklers.

 The finished masterpiece! Well, actually, the finished masterpiece was cut-out and hung on our kitchen wall. Fun summer times!

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I love that Kayla loves to do crafts. There must be a "craft" gene that she inherited from me (and definitely not Aunt Amy). One afternoon this past Labor Day weekend she said to me (like she often does) "Let's do a craft!". Then she thought about it for a moment longer and said "Can our craft be to get out the fall decorations and put them out?" So of course we did! It's fun to go through a seasonal decorating bin when someone else is as into it and excited about everything as you are. A girl after my own heart! 

Go Lions

This time it was Daddy who picked out all of our outfits for a Sunday afternoon of football watching. Just like I might do for Khloe on a Sunday morning or for Kayla the night before school, Aaron went in every girl's closets, found their Lion's outfit and had them all laid out on our bed for us. Can you tell that someone was (a little) excited for the Lion's first football game of the season in Bar Faust?!

16 months

Goodness Khloe, time is going by so fast! I've been meaning to write an update on your 16-month of life for awhile now.

You are wild, girlfriend. Words your Daddy and I often use to describe you are... troublemaker, instigator, sassy, crazy, funny, silly, and of course, loving. You are the Pickle! Here's a little breakdown summary of your life as a 16-month old on the go:

You are always on the go! Living on the edge is your way of life.

You will sit still for a very long time if books are being read to you; you love books.

You desperately want to be four. This has its benefits, but mostly it causes friction about what you want to do and what you can do.

As much as you like to run through water, splash in puddles, play in woodchips, throw rocks, and hug stranger's dogs, bugs (and anything that resembles a bug) still freaks you out.
Being outside is your favorite thing. You have completely abandoned the baby swing; you do well on a big swing by yourself! Slides are still meant to be climbed up. I have no doubt that you will love downhill sledding this winter.

Listening for airplanes, motorcycles and trains is great entertainment, and excitement.

You love to "vrooooom" your cars around the carpet and fly Transformers around the room.

You can say "Gampaw" and "Gammaw" for Grandpa and Grandma. You love to look at photos of them.

You are almost always carrying a tube of toothpaste in your hand. When a tube of toothpaste is not readily available, a toothbrush will do. And not your own toothbrush, but only Daddy's, Mommy's or Kayla's. You have your own toothbrush - three to be exact - but you want nothing to do with them.

You almost always have a play bead necklace around your neck. If it's not a necklace than its a dishtowel or a blanket around your neck.

You favorite three-word phrase is "Ne!Ne!Ne!" (No No No!). Your favorite two-word phrase is "Ne!Ne!".
Your favorite words to repeat over and over and over again are "Maaaaaaaaaama!" and "Daaaaaada!"
There is no denying you are a girl who knows EXACTLY what she wants.

You want everything Kayla is playing with. And not just because you like it, but just because Kayla is holding it.

You're a great laundry helper and you love to help clean up messes. You don't appreciate when your sister tries to "help" you with things. 

You are NOT a shoe girl. Unlike your sister who has a love of shoes like I do (love), you are not even a One Shoe girl. You are a No Shoe girl. And just like Kayla, you dislike socks. Since May you have not even seen a sock, and summer was all about bare feet. Oh boy, fall and winter are going to be a challenge. Now, if the shoe is mine or Kayla's, you'll wear that around all day long.

Tikky is still a constant companion.

You sometimes do things you know are wrong, just to get a reaction, or you think it's funny. In the end, you quickly offer up a kiss and a hug as an apology.
When Kayla's upset, you're upset.

Hot, spicy and flavored blasted foods do not scare you! In fact, you embrace them! Speaking of eating, we joke that you eat 4 dinners a night. No joke. You start at about 4pm, and eat a dinner once an hour for the next three hours. Anytime someone is eating, you have to be sitting right with them eating too. We don't know how you're not SOOOO off-the-charts big, but you are just right. We keep saying "She must be going through a growth spurt", but we've been saying that for 3 months now.

You have a sweet tooth. Your first Oreo you somehow knew to twist the cookies apart and scrape the frosting off with your teeth. You want nothing to do with the cookie part.  Smart girl. You could live on M&M's and ice-cream.

Speaking of smart, you are! Boy, are you smart.

I painted your toenails and fingernails for the first time (because I was doing Kayla's and you had to do it too). You love showing everyone your "pee-ey" (pretty) nails.

You love your rocking horse, sit-n-spin, motorized jeep, piggy-back rides, wrestling, wagon rides, and throwing the cushions and pillows off the couch and jumping. If you crash in the process, there's nothing but giggles.

Your armpits and thighs are your ticklish spot!

You do bedtime well, fall asleep quickly, sleep 12.5-13 hours straight every night, cuddle with your baby doll, and wake up happy.

You love to wear sunglasses! We have to keep ours hidden from you!

 Just like you learned from your big sister, you love to get a blanket out of the storage cube, drag it onto the couch with you, settle into a pillow, and get cozy in front of a cartoon. (Although, this rarely happens because you never watch TV).

We couldn't ask for more! You keep us laughing and on our toes! We love you!

Happy Fall!

With the boat put away, leaves starting to show their fall colors, cooler mornings and evenings, school in session, our home decorated for fall... we're fully loving and embracing fall!

Kindergarten: Update

Not knowing what this new Kindergarten World would bring for our family (all day schedule, navigating the public school system, no more sleeping in), we were feeling a lot of uncertainty. Now that we are fully immersed in this new world, we are are having so much FUN! The first week was GREAT! (And of course, starting Kindergarten was waaaaay more difficult for Mommy than it was for Kayla). There's so many new friends we've made, we see our neighbors regularly and play with neighborhood friends (new ones and old ones!), reconnect with high school friends that haven't been seen in a decade or more, there's making creative healthy school lunches and packing them in a Cinderella lunch box (soooo fun!), and a first field trip to look forward to soon!


Just this morning Kayla said, "I want family day to be over. I miss Mrs. Prout and want to go back to school. Kindergarten is so much fun." We thank God for our smart, independent little girl!

First day of Kindergarten

The end of the world as we know it. Welcome to the real world. Also aceptable titles for this post.

What a roller coaster ride it has been for us me to get Kayla myself ready for this BIG day. I had thought that by the time Kayla was ready for school I would've been ready for her to go, that it would've felt like she had been home with us forever, but it really does feel like we just brought her home from the hospital! I do need to realize that I get a little sentimental about the passage of time, and that's okay. We had more frequent and longer periods of cuddle time all day Monday in anticipation of this day. I took comfort in knowing, from friends also with Kindergarteners, that I was not the only mom feeling this way.

The ride began with uncertainty back in the early spring as we began the process of deciding which school Kayla would attend - our public elementary school or the charter school. It felt like - and was, really - a monumental decision. Both were full day schedules and within a mile of home, so it would come down to our level of comfort with the curriculum, administration and atmosphere of each school. After months of interviewing, touring and deciding, we landed on Michigamme, our public school. After that, my ride took a short detour through sadness during Pre-School Graduation, then the ride led to excitement as we attended Kindergarten Round-up and a school Open House in late spring. Kindergarten was really happening! That excitement gave way to anticipation during the summer thinking about the new unknown world we were all about to step into. Then.... then... the ride came crashing down exactly seven days before school started. The tears started flowing uncontrollably. I was one who never understood the stories of moms that dropped their child off at Kindergarten and cried. I thought it was a little over-the-top and I would not be one of those moms. I was shaping up to be one of those moms, only my tears were starting an entire week early. Would I really be a mess for the entire week leading up to, and including, the first day of school?! Please, no.

My turning point came with three days to spare. I made a conscious decision to be happy and embrace this next chapter of life. Kayla was, so why shouldn't I?! Everything we've prepared Kayla for, and everything we needed to have happen for her to be ready, is. She is an eager quick learner, she is not sad to be away from us, not nervous to be surrounded by unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar setting, loves to make new friends, listens and follows directions well, and can communicate her thougths and feelings. This new stage of life is a little bittersweet because although we've prepared her to take her first steps of independence, it means she is losing a little more dependency on us.

And so, here we are. The first day of Kindergarten! It was a stormy morning, but it didn't affect our spirits!

Off Khloe and I went to have a great quiet day of snuggling together. I think Khloe will enjoy her peace and quiet since she will not be getting mauled all day by two bigger girls! The day went by fast with a little retail therapy to get me through, plus lots of "checking-in" phone calls from Aaron to "see how I was doing".

Sending your big sister off to Kindergarten is exhausting

Kayla said it was a great first day of school, that there was only one boy who was bad (he cried and didn't listen), she shared one of her chips with the girl sitting next to her at lunch, today was gym class and tomorrow is computer class. Let this be the start of a GREAT first year of school! God is good!!!!