Reading

Elijah's big accomplishment for this month was learning to read. He's so enthusiastic about it, and looks forward to Phonics each school day.
This past week he was sitting next to my sister Katie who was quietly reading her own book. He reminded her that he is now an accomplished reader and asked her what she was doing with her book.
"I'm reading this book," she told him.
"I don't hear you," he contradicted.
"Well," she responded, "That would be because I'm reading in my head."
He leaned in close, putting his ear next to her head, "But I don't hear anything!"

By the way, he wasn't mad in this photo but decided he wanted to look "cool". Notice the crossed arm trend in my kiddos portraits...

Naughty & Nice

So with Christmas only nine weeks away, no doubt Santa has begun making his list and will soon be checking it twice. My question is, what does he do about the kids who are both naughty and nice?? My girlie is talking so much and one minute is such a delight to be around as she hugs my leg or helps me do laundry. Then, the next minute, she is decorating her room with Desitin diaper cream or bossing her brothers around. Even after reminding her that she is only their sister and not their mother, she has insisted, "No, I am my boys momma!"

Yesterday morning, I came to get her after her room time was over. She stood by her dresser with her little chair and was looking quite guilty.

She immediately told me, "I didn't touch anyfing!"

I realized that she probably was using the chair to climb up to the drawer with the Desitin. I walked over to check it out and asked, " What did you do?"

The pushed her hand against the drawer in question, emphatically denying the obvious, "No! No! I didn't touch anyfing!"

I tried to open the drawer and she pushed it all the harder, "Don't look! I didn't touch anyfing!"

I broke every mommy rule and just started belly laughing, having to gather myself to even muster a correction.

For my two-year-old's sake, I hope Santa defaults to the "nice list" in such cases, or else a certain little girl might be decorating her room with coal come December 26th.

Cousins

Eric and Autumn, Steven's brother and sister-in-law, flew here to Virginia with their daughter to spend the weekend with us. The kids had so much fun with their cousin who is now walking. The boys spent a lot of time pretending to be lions and tigers, chasing Trinity up and down the hallway while she ran laughing and shrieking. Adriana called her "baby" most of the weekend; and when not having a bad attitude over sharing toys, enjoyed having another little girl in the house. Steven and I had a great time as well and were grateful for the chance to get to know Eric and Autumn even better.
We grabbed the opportunity to get some "cousin photos"...

First Field Trip

The farm we went to was a lot of fun. For all of you local moms with little kids, I'd highly recommend it: http://www.greatcountryfarms.com/ It had a pumpkin patch, berry patch, petting area, huge moon bounce, mazes, hayrides, giant slide, play area, dried corn sandbox, and lots more. Even though it was about an hour drive, it was totally worth it; and we're hoping to make it an annual trip.


You've got to love the masculinity my son is embracing as he crosses his legs...

My Little Pumpkin

Yesterday we took our first field trip to a farm with a pumpkin patch. Isaiah was the one who found the perfect pumpkin for our dining room table. Adriana picked up a sad little marred pumpkin that in her eyes was just perfect. She toted it around, proud of her find.







More pumpkin patch pictures (say that four times fast) to come!

Gifts From Cancun

If my husband ever tells you that you should watch "Nacho Libre," just ignore him. The only reason I even wasted my time finishing the pathetic movie is that I was having too much fun watching Steven doubled over laughing. So when we were in Cancun trying to find some gifts for the kids, we spotted some wrestling masks akin to the kind worn by Mr. Nacho Libre. We knew our own two wrestlers could have a lot of fun with those masks.

And of course, someone else had to try it on...

Honeymoon #2

This past week, Steven and I got away for a sort of "second honeymoon". We spent five nights in Cancun, Mexico at a gorgeous resort. Having six days to focus on Steven and our marriage was priceless. We had a blast, rarely leaving the resort. I walked away with the most wins at the pool table but thoroughly humbled on the tennis court. The food at the resort was super gourmet and fabulous, and my waistline grew right along with my love for my hubby. Best of all, my wonderful husband had me giggling like a teenager, kissing like a newlywed, and spending hours talking and growing closer.

Part of the resort:

The view from our room...the water really was that blue!:

In front of the lobby's hanging lounge beds:

The main difference between this honeymoon and the first was that instead of coming home to piles of wedding gifts, we returned to three of our biggest gifts who lavished us with hugs and kisses.

From Psycho Fan To Daddy

When I met my husband, he was a football fanatic...and that's putting it lightly. Not only did this former, all-region highschool football player watch just about every televised game. But he became the self-made University of Toledo "Psycho Fan". He went to every game in tights and a cape (no, I won't be sharing photos) and became a sort of mascot during his four years of college, even having a write-up in a local paper.
After his conversion, the cross became bigger and bigger in his eyes and football got smaller and smaller. Suddenly, he was watching fewer games and prioritizing his time. Now don't get me wrong; my husband still loves football, especially the University of Michigan. He could still hold a lengthy conversation giving you stats of the team and how he predicts they will do this year. He still tries to watch his Wolverines every autumn Saturday. But it's no longer a high priority in his life.
As I looked over the railing in our home this past Saturday, I realized that the Psycho Fan has truly become a daddy. I rushed to get my camera to capture this candid moment during the game. Who says you can't have tea party while watching football?




And the neighbors can still hear him when Michigan makes a good play...

A Bit of Humor

While we were hanging out with our kids, a friend was telling me about how her daughter Isabella was stung by a yellow jacket.
The next morning, Elijah said, "Mom, do your remember how Isabella was stung by a coat?"

~

Adriana has been confusing the names of bodily functions. Yesterday morning, she sneezed while reading.
"Momma," she told me, "I tooted on my books."

Art Tuesdays

My friend Nicole and I are doing our homeschooling together every Tuesday. We figured it would break up the week and allow us to work together in tackling things like art, science experiements, and field trips.
Being in charge of art projects is my contribution (anything but the dreaded science experiements!). Nicole had the great idea of photographing our kids with their art projects so that when the refrigerator filled up with display items we wouldn't have to rent out a storage unit to keep the memories. So I figured on the two or three Tuesdays a month that we do art, I would share the photos on the blog. Today we made painting using the wheels of Matchbox cars instead of paint brushes. You can imagine the kick the boys got out of finding another use for those beloved cars.








The boys' buddy, Jack: