Elementary School Halloween Parade

Daddy's Girl

Ladybug Girl

Indiana Jones greets his fans

Saige, the American Girl doll, is accosted by a happy ladybug

 

 

Happy Halloween!

I had good intentions.  I really did.

 

I wanted to get a great photo of all four kids, sitting on my front steps, arms around each other, flanked on both sides by hand-carved jack-o-lanterns.

 

Friends, we didn't even get the pumpkins carved this year.

 

In fact, this is the only shot taken outside our house to commemorate Cece's first Halloween.

 

In our defense, it rained all day long and we spent much of the afternoon preparing for a smashing neighborhood Halloween party that  reminded me (as if I could ever forget) how much I love my neighbors and my neighborhood.

 

We are truly blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

 

 

Cece's First Halloween

 

Our neighborhood friends (and this isn't even all of them!)

Preschool Parade

Maggie had her first ever preschool Halloween parade last week.

She was a kazoo-playing mermaid, complete with a slightly disheveled wig. 

Wearing the mermaid dress around the preschool, however, led to the decision to NOT wear the costume on Halloween.

The dress was scratchy and apparently it's just too hard to walk with a fish tail.

Waiting for the parade to begin

Post-Parade

Mom, Dad and the Little Girls (do not tell Maggie I said that...)

Best friends play kazoos, of course

Cece's New Best Friend

Sadie has found a new favorite hang out spot...directly beneath Cece's high chair.

Smart dog. 

Positive Affirmation

We are feeling the crunch this week.  I'm teaching an additional class this fall, one I've never taught before.  Chris has started traveling again. The kids are busy, busy, busy.

I'm not sure how people you full-time working moms do it.  I'm not sure how my mom, who was a full-time working mom, did it.  Wow.  I'm struggling to keep all the balls in the air while working 20 hours a week.

And the thing about teaching is that I always feel I can do better.  It's rare for me to leave a class and think, "Wow, that was awesome."  It's more typical for me to say, "That was okay but here are 23 things I can do better next time."

On Wednesday morning I was thinking about my class the previous evening.

"Oh Mags," I said.  "I just don't think I did a very good job teaching last night."

"You did."  she said.  "You really did."

"How do you know?" I said, amused by her certainty.

"Well, you pretty much good at everything," she said.

"Thanks buddy.  That's a nice compliment," I said, touched by her thoughtfulness.

"Well, except for rock wall climbing.  You not very good at that," she said.

Negotiations.

Maggie:  Mom can I have a piece of candy?

Me:  Well...

Maggie:  A little one?

Me:  Okay, a little one.

Maggie:  How about two?

Me:  How about one?

Maggie:  Two?

Me:  One.

(Maggie selects a Tootsie Roll and carefully unwraps it).

Maggie:  Thank you for giving me one...but I'm still wishing for two.

My Little Minion

The kids started swimming lessons this week with their triathlon coach.

I was worried Maggie would simply refuse to participate.  It's a well known fact that she typically likes to do things on her terms.  When she wants to do them.  And if she decides she does not want to do something, good luck getting her to change her mind.

But Coach Mandi must have the magic touch because Maggie eagerly(!) followed her and her two little friends into the pool and eagerly participated. 

I was shocked.

Here is a picture that I snapped before she got into the pool.  She was the happiest little minion in the place.

 

Stitches

I always thought that Ben would be my first child to break a bone.  I was wrong.

He was, however, my first child to get stitches. 

The kids were playing in the green space in front of our house last Wednesday.  When Chris pulled in the driveway, they ran up to meet him.

Ben slipped and landed on his chin.  And he landed hard.

Chris only had time to walk into the house, set down his work bag and tell me, "We're going to the Emergency Room."

It took eight stitches (two inside, 6 outside) to close the gap in his chin. 

The girls were very worried about Ben.  They built him a cozy "nest" in his bed of all his favorite blankets and stuffed animals.  They drew pictures for him.

They were still at the ER when it was time for Maggie to go to bed.  "Mama," she said. "I just can't sleep if Ben not here."

And then, when he came home he asked to go in and kiss her before he went to bed.

Too bad it takes eight stitches for them to remember that they really do love each other...

 

 

He was as brave as can be when he got his stitches out this week.  I could hardly bear to watch the resident tug on the stitches and poke around his scab.  He didn't move a muscle.

And I almost cried when Maggie, who is often his arch nemesis, patted his arm and said, "Oh Ben.  You bein' very brave."

Cecilia: 7 months

Look at this big girl!  I simply cannot believe she is 7 months old.

Likes: being where the action is, peek-a-boo, "This Little Piggie," Cheerios, Sadie, loves seeing Mommy or Daddy when she wakes up, showers, standing (with help), chewing on (and reading) books, trying to pull up on things

Dislikes: naps, not being able to crawl, being scared

Cece's biggest frustration right now is her inability to get moving!  She is adept at moving from a seated position to her hands and knees.  Once there, however, she can't quite figure out how to get moving.  She rocks back and forth...and cries. 

Cate, Ben and Maggie continue to adore her and I hope this doesn't change once Cece is crawling...right into their toys.

She remains exceedingly social.  The babysitter has no problem getting her down for a morning nap but if the big kids are home in the afternoon she cries and cries, unable to bear the thought of being away from the action.

In typical 4th child fashion, she is often along for the ride and, by default, her schedule is pretty flexible since we have drop-offs, pick-ups and early releases to contend with. 

I hope that her easygoing personality is here to stay.  I need to have one laid back child in this house!

Celebrity Sighting: Herky

This fall the University of Iowa Spirit Squad had a fundraiser where for a $50 donation Herky and the Spirit Squad would come to your house and spray paint a tigerhawk on your driveway.

We didn't tell the kids they were coming and Ben almost had a heart attack when a little white SUV pulled up to the curb and Herky stepped out.

"HERKY IS AT OUR HOUSE!" he yelled.  "HERKY IS AT OUR HOUSE!"

He literally could not believe it.

It was pretty awesome.  The cheerleaders did back handsprings.  Herky posed for pictures.  Even our neighbors came over to watch.

Cate:  "But why is Herky at our house?!?!"

GO HAWKS!

Cece meets Herky. And...she's not sure what to think.  She looks relatively happy here but in reality was trying to decide if she should cry or not.

Painting the driveway

Family photo (not sure what Cece was looking at)

 



Kids and Herky

Playing the leaves with Herky.  Does it get any better than this?



Sunday Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

The Corn Maze

My Motley Crew and a Spook in the Corn Maze

Cece and Daddy

Oh Maggie

On Top of the World

 



CHEESE!

What a pumpkin!

Sassy Girl

Storytime: Maggie and Cece

Cece's morning nap often prevents us from making it to story time at the library. 

Yesterday Cece's took an exceptionally short morning nap, which left us with a wide open morning.

I don't know if Cece has ever been to a library storytime yet but she was mesmerized!  There were songs, puppets, egg shakers, and dancing.  Oh and I guess there were a few stories too. 

Cece could not take her eyes off of all the activity.

 

 Me:  Are you dressed and ready for storytime?

Mags:  Yeah.  I all ready.

 

Loving the library.

 

Getting ready to read books afterwards

Niabi

Chris had to go out of town on Sunday morning and the day was entirely too depressing (cold, gloomy, overcast) for us to stay home all day.

So we hit the road and headed for Niabi Zoo.

It was Cece's first trip to the zoo and Cece likes just about everything.  She did not like the zoo.

It was a little cold.  And a little rainy.  And Maggie was hogging the stroller. 

Perhaps not the best timing for baby's first zoo visit.

She did perk up a little bit when we saw the monkeys leading her siblings to conclude that monkeys are now her favorite animal.

 

(And yes, Ben is wearing shorts despite the fact that it was probably 47 degrees out.  My new parenting mantra is "logical consequences."  As in, "If you wear shorts to the zoo today, you will be cold."  To his credit he stopped complaining after I reminded him of this conversation).

We finished the trip with a stop at Happy Joes where two high school students gave the kids over 200 tickets that they'd won, which translated into about 75 pieces of Laffy Taffy and Tootsie Rolls.

Hanging Around

We're trying to take advantage of this unseasonably warm fall weather before it goes away for good.

Some of us might be taking this a little bit farther than others...

Maggie: A Preschool Update

There are a lot of phrases I could use to describe Maggie.  Fiercely stubborn, is one that comes to mind.

 

Although she seems to like preschool once she's there, thinking about going to preschool and actually walking into preschool remain the most difficult parts of her day.

 

She will sometimes begin to cry the minute after we've dropped off Cate and Ben at school, even though we don't arrive at her school for another 30 minutes.

When asked she said that she doesn't like school because "I can't be with my Mommy and Daddy every second."

 

I suggested that preschool is important, especially if you want to go to Kindergarten someday.  She said, "I never, ever, ever want to go to Kindergarten."

 

I said, "But you don't want to live with me and Daddy forever do you?"

"Yes," she said.  "I do."

 

Despite the fact that she was all smiles at the preschool picnic (see below) it's still quite hard for her to go to school in the morning.  Anticipating the sadness (and tears) that invariably ensue is exhausting for both of us.

 

Her teachers have been great about trying to get her involved in activities the minute she walks in the door so hopefully we are making some progress.

 

I'm sure it will get easier.  Probably the week before Christmas break. 

 

And then we'll start the cycle again...

 

 Maggie masters the corkscrew

 

Daddy and his girls

Future preschooler 

Preschool alum

Looking on the Bright Side

A few weeks ago we came from late on a Sunday afternoon, opened the door to our house and were instantly assaulted by the smell of natural gas.

We quickly filed out onto the patio and called our contractor.  He suggested we call the police department's non-emergency line.  No answer (which doesn't bode well for future non-emergencies).  So we called our former neighbor, who works for Mid-American Energy, and he gave us the appropriate number to call.

Their advice?  Leave the property immediately.  Do not go back in the house for any reason.

Shoeless and iPhoneless, we parked ourselves in the green space across the street, where we could still(!) smell the natural gas.  I was comforted by the fact that (with the exception of the dog who was in our bedroom) there was really nothing I would miss (that much) if the house did explode.  Chris and the kids were with me and I would just have to trust that the Cloud would back up all of my photos. 

Fortunately, the problem was relatively easy to fix and we were back in the house in plenty of time for me to watch the Breaking Bad season finale.  Unfortunately, it meant we got a really late start on bedtime.

As Cate and Ben were brushing their teeth that night, I overheard the following conversation.

Cate: So much for going to bed early.

Ben:  What?

Cate:  Mom and Dad were going to put us to bed early tonight.

Ben:  Really?

Cate:  Yeah, but victory!  Our house almost burned down so we didn't have to.

That's us.  Always looking for the silver lining...

Mirror, Mirror

Since the day she was born there has been much speculation over who Cece looks most like.

The general consensus is that she definitely looks like one of our kids.

And, depending on the day or on Cece's expression, I can see a resemblance to each of my other children in her tiny face.

The other day we were driving to preschool and our little neighbor said, "I think Cece looks like Ben."

"I've heard a lot of people say that too," I responded.

"Yeah," was Libbie's reply.  "I think it's 'cause of her haircut."